Am I going mad?

Go, galen!

I loved trains when I was little. One of my best Christmas presents was a train set when I was about seven. It had a bright green engine and two pullman carriages. I wouldn't have given you a thankyou for a doll. I don't know if I would have passed this on to the grandchildren as they are all boys anyway - but it does give me a chance to play with Thomas the Tank Engine.
I would go right ahead and buy a train!

I once went to a dinner party at the senior partners house of our local vet. After dinner we were all invited to the loft, where he had the most wonderful, HUGE model railway. A talented local artist had painted backgrounds, and there were also actual models of vintage cars, vans etc.

I could have stayed there for hours!

Sounds just the thing for retirement Galen
When we came to Newcastle 26 years ago we ventured out into the city on our first weekend, with DS aged 10, DD1 aged 7 and DD2 aged 4.
We went into the Guildhall where there was.... a model railway exhibition!
It was packed with old men in cardigans, smoking pipes and displaying their beautiful trainsets. The children were entranced.
MrA has a Hornby Dublo set which he is threatening to retrieve from the loft and set up again. I'm encouraging this as I like to see him occupied
What is it about steam engines? We went to the Birmingham Science Museum yesterday and there, amid machines of incredible complexity, was the City of Birmingham in all its glory.
They certainly don't make them like that any more.

Whatever sails you boat Galen or more appropriately whatever thrusts your throttle

Oh yes - do it! My GC have just returned from the Hamburg Miniaturwunderland and had the most wonderful time - lots of miniature worlds to see with trains, plains, boats etc. They were given a list to tick off the things they saw. One item was "Couple making love"! My DD looked at their lists and saw that they had ticked this off! Very continental!

Oh! Takes me back. My father and I used to go to the steam weekends at the Birmingham sci museum until he died in 1974! My mother could never understand, there was a gorgeous beam engine that I could have watched for hours!
My idEa of heaven, is a field, full of traction engines!

Decisions decisions? N or Z gauge?

DD has pinched borrowed my old hornby OO duchess of montrose

Galen - go for it, why not. I'm afraid I don't know what Z gauge is but N guage could be interesting. Small enough but common enough to be manageable and impressive. A perfect way to keep occupied if you have the interest and grandchildren will be impressed.

Z gauge is minute. It's 1:2000 scale.
You can fit a whole system on a coffee table. In fact people have them as glass covered tables! They are fiddly though. Think I'll go for n

Well with 2 granddaughters to enjoy it (if Granny lets them) it'll be an investment. Enjoy!

Kids play with it?
Do you think model railway systems are a toy or something?
[flounces off in unbelief]

Oops * Grace*

Go Galen - it sounds like an excellent buy

Oh half had 00 train set etc up until last year when he could no longer manage to stand up long and his eyesight deteriated....but!!! I used to loveeee making the little houses, painting the tiny figures, setting up the lights etc (I think I was more engrossed than he was)! we had it set up in the little bedroom, in fact I may have pics of it..it used to look great all lit up..we had ladies pushimng prams, and it was sort of 1950/60 era with cars...window cleaners up ladders...a graveyard and church, oh we spent hours and I would encourage anyone to have a go..mind you it does cost money!!! but your never short of gift ideas!!

Do it! In our family it was DD that had the electric train set not DS.

Have you made the decision yet Galen and if it's a 'Yes' please can I have a look? Not touch of course.

galen - in light of your having recently confessed to being a bit of a hoarder - have you got room for a model railway layout -

I once had a call at work from a volunteer visitor of an older man with health issues. This man had a large model railway laid out in his two room bungalow. The railway went in and out of both rooms and the man had to crawl underneath the railway to get from one room to another.

The volunteer was wondering if the council would give him a larger flat to properly accommodate the railway. I suggested it might unlikely but she might like to write to housing on his behalf.
So don't get carried away by the Railway Galen.

I know someone whose two sons had a model railway which took up all of their bedroom except the bunk beds and the space to let the door open and reach the beds. It ran over a couple of chests of drawers, along a shelf under the window, round the walls, round a curve behind the door, across the room on top of an old table, over a bridging shelf, and joined the top of the chests. all landscaped, on two levels and with no end of detail. To operate it, they ducked under the bridging shelf and stood in the centre, surrounded by trains and track.

When the boys left home, it was all sold off. My friend and husband moved to a different house, with oinly a tiny spare room, but when the husband became housebound, they decided to start again. The same kind of arrangement was set up in the spare room, running from beside the door over chests, round a corner and along under the window, round another corner and along a shelf over the single divan bed, and into a tunnel - a disguised hole into the built-in wardrobe, where it turned and ran along another shelf and out of another hole. This took it to the other side of the room door. At this point a detachable section could be added to join it to cross the door. To run it, you went into the room, closed the door, and attached the missing section. This time it was grandsons (4 of them) who loved it. They could sleep in a room with trains all round them.

My brother (when young) was allowed a spare room in the house to set up his model railway.you ran it from the centre which you ducked unde the purpose built surrounding platform to reach. He and my father spent hours with it. I was not allowed.
Still it gave me unlimited time with the microscope!

I'm surprised you even had to ask Galen in view of the thread about sex stereotyping for boys and girls. Strike a blow for girls!!

It's more a question of room! I had the dining table in mind. It's about 6foot long.

No problem Galen visitors can use trays; really friendly