Has this ever happened to you?

[OldEastRR]

You manage to make a decent amount of time to work on the layout, and have your project planned out. Starting at 7 PM you're going to get in another stretch of mainline on your way to completing all the trackwork, then run some trains!  First you want to sand smooth any bumps in the cork roadbed you installed ages ago. You're going to solder on feeders for the new track you plan to lay tonite so you plug in the soldering iron. All right, get to it!
To get to the roadbed you want to work on you need to move the access hatch next to it. On the hatch you see a big factory sitting in the middle of the hilly fields on it. OK time to put this thing back where it belongs.
As you do you realize the factory was out of place because you had to move it to fix a track problem near ANOTHER pop-up area. Ah, yeah, and that work needed to be done so you could install the bridge that carries the track to the area you are planning to lay the track tonite. And so ....
In a cascade of interconnected chores, fixes, finishing touches and etc you keep running across as you progress, suddenly it's 10:45PM and your day is over.... and you never got around to smoothing that roadbed. Yes, you soldered, but not feeders; yes, you laid track -- or rather re-laid track, two mainlines in fact. Run trains? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
This is why it takes forever to finish my layouts. How about you?

[up1950s]

I switched from HO to N in 1995 . Just a crude 5 foot double main with a double crossover test track so far .

[wcfn100]

I agree that layouts are a useless waste of time.

Jason

[jpwisc]

I get distracted, but the way I look at it is "Any progress is good progress."

As long as I got something done I'm happy.

And who has access hatches anymore?

[JMaurer1]

Been here, done this. Our club is always building new modules and not finishing the old ones (most are stored at my house). By building new modules, I mean the wood frames and then quickly laying track (usually to fill a gap for a show)...and then nothing. I am always trying to do scenery, but as soon as I try to start working on the scenery, I notice that there are missing ties on the track. After fixing that, there are not enough (any) feeders...add feeders. Oh, the end of this module doesn't align correctly to the next and has to be realigned. Next thing you know nothing gets done on the scenery and here comes the boys with another new module to fill a gap...

[Missaberoad]

My biggest Issue Right now is I have "shiny object syndrome" funds budgeted for layout supplies go to new locomotives, books and rolling stock. 
So I have lots of trains but still nowhere to run them (Save for a loop of unitrak on a TV box) 

[R L Smith]

My biggest Issue Right now is I have "shiny object syndrome" funds budgeted for layout supplies go to new locomotives, books and rolling stock. 
So I have lots of trains but still nowhere to run them (Save for a loop of unitrak on a TV box) 

SOS  = Shiny Object Syndrome.

I'll be adding that to my repertoire of TLA's.   

[Blazeman]

That's how things work around my house. I go to do a specific chore and as I get to it, either I notice other things needing to be done on the way to doing it, or I have to do a couple of things to be able to start the original task. Not talking about model railroad work either.

[MichaelWinicki]

Mine will run fine and then I'll go through a streak where it seems every loco I put on the tracks isn't running like it should, which necessitates immediately tearing the thing down to see what the issue is.  If I'm lucky it's a dirt problem (many times the axle cups have become gunked up).  If I'm unlucky I'm hauling out the soldering iron to put little blobs of solder on the four corners of drop-in decoders so a good connection is made with the frame– Which also necessitates grinding down the little blobs of solder so the board does fit in.

[R.Groff]

It seems easy to set your time up to do some work BUT I'm into RC model boats and when I finish one boat someone offers me another or I find one to buy and who can turn down more work .So the trains get worked on in my head as I plan on scenery and track work to do but it's now boat season and trains are running late and not keeping to a good time schedule .
Good thing I don't have more hobbies or the boats may run late also.
Both hobbies are fun and both get worked on at different time.
Rick

[fotoflojoe]

At MIT, they created a term for this phenomenon: Yak Shaving.
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/YakShavingDefinedIllGetThatDoneAsSoonAsIShaveThisYak.aspx

And yep... Happens to me all the time.


-Joe

[Cajonpassfan]

Lol, my affiction has a name!
Seems I'm always shaving a yak herd
Otto K.

[peteski]

Not only I have a herd of Yaks (and Bisons) to shave, I also always seem to run out or round tuits. 
 

[OldEastRR]

On the other hand, I can look at it as "something got done this time", tho it seems the stuff getting done is from the last or second last or further back in time project I was supposed to finish then. But the guy who said all progress is positive is right. But when you just want to run trains and spend the time adjusting couplers, getting balky engine to run, or fiddling with a decoder that's acting funny and you get no running time, that sucks.

[peteski]

But when you just want to run trains and spend the time adjusting couplers, getting balky engine to run, or fiddling with a decoder that's acting funny and you get no running time, that sucks.

It is all part of the model RR hobby.  If everything was ready-to-run and worked right all the time the hobby would be boring.    Plus we would not have anything to gripe about. What fun is that? 

If you want easy and reliable then just put an oval loop of Kato Unitrack on a piece of plywood, A Kato DC throttle, and one of their train sets wit a matching DC loco. That setup will run reliably for a very long time with no extra fiddling involved.  You can even add some of the Woodland Scenic pre-built structures.