How is everyone doing?

[G8B4Life]

We don't have a members lounge area so I'll just have to put this in general discussion.

It's rambling time...

How is everyone doing (genuine concern)? I hope your all coping well with whatever measures you are having to take to keep yourselves safe at this time. I am starting to go stir crazy.

I won't regale you with how things got this bad (if you read between the lines you should figure out what's happened) but I'm now stuck at home with nowhere to go, due to the exchange rate wasting my currency nothing to buy to do an RP project that I'd like to do because everything's too expensive now; and no money coming in to pay for anything anyway.

Any other project that I could do either requires parts (money I shouldn't spend since I'm not making any), is not stimulating,  or is of any use to do so. I'm starting to not know what to do with myself.

I sincerely hope that your all doing well and that none of you find yourselves in the same situation that I'm now in due to that damn virus.

- Tim

[CPRail]

Alive and well, still working at the moment, but lots of stress with the constant changes from COVID-19.

Planning to hibernate this weekend as the need to shut off the brain is high. Maybe I'll do some RP installs (I have all the parts ready to go), maybe detail some locos.

Take it easy everyone.

[atsfguy]

Hello, All. We are still alive and well if you disregard my roaring vertigo. At least my left ear now hears sounds I haven’t heard in 30 years.
I still have many different projects to work on, the parts are at hand so I shouldn’t have a problem with boredom.
I hope everyone weathers this storm well.
Take care.
Cecil

[Alan]

... I'm starting to not know what to do with myself.

How is that statement even possible from a model railroad hobbyist? 

Michigan is semi-locked down. We have been to the grocery store once but otherwise not gone off the property in the past 10 days. When you think about it, not much different than any other day except I really miss ordering pizza. 

[darryl.trains]

Now that some of our club members have started to go back home for the summer it looks like the few of us will continue to be somewhat active as what else can we do? If they lock the gates on the school grounds where our club has our model train building then we will be doing home projects. Oh those honey do things just might get done this year. Yes dear.... TOF. in Yuma

[KiloWhiskey]

I was finally able to get a dash-9 up and running, with the head lights, ditch lights and number boards all wired separate,  and a speaker and KA. That being said, in 2009 I took a week long pandemic virus course at the FEMA training facility (the week I was there, is when the swine flu began).  My layout is a 2ft X 7ft, with a 3 ft extension on each end. All 6 of my freight cars are the food advertising box cars.  So about a year ago, I was toying with a "pandemic" switch puzzle, emergency deliveries against a timer, sudden priority changes, if I had a passenger coach it would include delivery of aid workers and evacuation of passengers,  ect... so I guess I will continue to work on that, and watch the Mandalorian and Witcher again.

Kevin

[nodcc4me]

Our illustrious governor just ordered all non-essential businesses to close and all non-essential workers to stay home. I stocked up on food earlier in the week. It's been either too cold or too wet to work outside so I've been splitting my time on the computer or running trains. It's been surreal. 

[nortoneye]

Hanging in there, self quarantine after spending 2 weeks in Florida.  Picked up a DCC ready NW dash 9 that arrived in the mail today along with some scenery supplies.  Should keep me busy-also continuing to work on the American Flyer winter project.  Our club is suspending all meetings until further notice and our annual public show is cancelled.  Take care everyone and run some trains

jim

[KPack]

The governor of Washington decreed that dental offices close our doors to everything but emergency treatment only for the next 8 weeks.  So essentially I'm not working.  It'll be a long 2 months for me.

I have a ton of projects that I can get done though.  Lots of freight cars that need weathering, a few cars to build, a few locomotives that need KA's installed as well.  I will likely pick up another locomotive to build up, along with a LM-3S/PBM-2 combo.  Why not?  It's not like I don't have the time to do it.

-Kevin

[William Brillinger]

We are well here.

We are fortunate because we work from home so there are not many changes for us. I've been waiting to see what the border closure will mean for me as I cross the border several times per week for shipping. All indications are that I can still do my commercial crossings so, it's basically business as usual here. Which is good because as more people are told to stay home, more people want their decals sooner.

I wish you all well in these strange times!

[G8B4Life]

It's good to see everyone's well and doing ok.

How is that statement even possible from a model railroad hobbyist? 

A long time ago Alan I would have said the same thing, however these last several years with 99% of my stuff (models and tools) packed away because I can't just set them up and leave them out, and lacking parts to start projects my modelling too a huge dive. To compensate my hobby time stimulation changed to software development to solve RP's at the time woes with internet connectivity. With that fixed I've run out of software projects too, well, none that wouldn't get people upset at me like what happened with TR.

I guess there is a couple of things I could do, some modelling but I'll probably be disturbed by the other occupant here so I won't get to enjoy "me" time, and I could do some decal artwork, but I've now got no where to print it.

...So essentially I'm not working.  It'll be a long 2 months for me.

I feel for you Kevin, I've already been there for that long already this year due to the previous bushfire crisis, and now these virus containment measures have just killed my entire industry. Zero work, Zero job. It'll be a long few months indeed.

- Tim

[Marco]

Hello from Germany.
We have almost a complete shutdown here. 
We have a ban on going out. You can only leave your home to buy groceries (not much left in the shops), visit a doctor or go to work, although many companies are closed. Working from home is sometimes still possible, including me. But only a few hours a day. Because there is nothing left to do. So there will be less money the next few weeks and months.
It doesn't look really good and I hope it won't be as bad for us as it is in italy or china. 

We have enough food for such emergencies for a long time. Since the completely wrong going "German Energiewende" everyone has been waiting for the big electricity blackout almost every day. ok, not everyone, many obviously do not understand where the electricity comes from   
But I would never have thought that the country would be paralyzed by a virus.

So I have a lot of time for the family … and of course on the layout is mutch left to do   
and my reef aquarium gets a big service, lately done only the necessary things.
I won't get bored   

Stay healthy.

Marco

[TwinStar]

It sounds like the challenges are numerous. Glad to see everyone is in good spirits, both domestic and abroad, and at least having some hobby work that needs to be done.

I've been flying mostly empty airplanes around the country. (Kpack, I was up your way recently. SeaTac was deserted). 99% of our international has been shuttered. Airplanes, those that aren't parked, are 20% full. Airports are empty. Vegas is a ghost town. And my airline is parking 75% of the fleet for May. I've already spent 4.5 year out of the last 10 on furlough and being in the top 39% of my company now I'm still not protected. I truly feel for the small business owners who don't have the capital reserves of the Fortune 500 and are stressing over the next few months.

We have plenty of staples, lots of ammo, and several vets in the neighborhood. I also have more passenger cars to build than I probably have years remaining. We didn't freeze hard enough in North Texas this winter and the weeds are spreading faster than COVID so that's my imminent threat assuming I don't contract the bat virus before I get home.

Stay safe and I hope to 'see' everyone here on the backside of this.

[ON28]

It sounds like the challenges are numerous. Glad to see everyone is in good spirits, both domestic and abroad, and at least having some hobby work that needs to be done.

I've been flying mostly empty airplanes around the country. (Kpack, I was up your way recently. SeaTac was deserted). 99% of our international has been shuttered. Airplanes, those that aren't parked, are 20% full. Airports are empty. Vegas is a ghost town. And my airline is parking 75% of the fleet for May. I've already spent 4.5 year out of the last 10 on furlough and being in the top 39% of my company now I'm still not protected. I truly feel for the small business owners who don't have the capital reserves of the Fortune 500 and are stressing over the next few months.

We have plenty of staples, lots of ammo, and several vets in the neighborhood. I also have more passenger cars to build than I probably have years remaining. We didn't freeze hard enough in North Texas this winter and the weeds are spreading faster than COVID so that's my imminent threat assuming I don't contract the bat virus before I get home.

Stay safe and I hope to 'see' everyone here on the backside of this.

An aviation fan, I just finished Wide Body: The Triumph of the 747, the story of Boeing's post-war development of jet technology. Bill Allen (and Juan Trippe of Pan Am) bet the company on the triumphant vision of the jumbo jet, wonder what he'd say about Boeing's current mess.

[TwinStar]

It sounds like the challenges are numerous. Glad to see everyone is in good spirits, both domestic and abroad, and at least having some hobby work that needs to be done.

I've been flying mostly empty airplanes around the country. (Kpack, I was up your way recently. SeaTac was deserted). 99% of our international has been shuttered. Airplanes, those that aren't parked, are 20% full. Airports are empty. Vegas is a ghost town. And my airline is parking 75% of the fleet for May. I've already spent 4.5 year out of the last 10 on furlough and being in the top 39% of my company now I'm still not protected. I truly feel for the small business owners who don't have the capital reserves of the Fortune 500 and are stressing over the next few months.

We have plenty of staples, lots of ammo, and several vets in the neighborhood. I also have more passenger cars to build than I probably have years remaining. We didn't freeze hard enough in North Texas this winter and the weeds are spreading faster than COVID so that's my imminent threat assuming I don't contract the bat virus before I get home.

Stay safe and I hope to 'see' everyone here on the backside of this.

An aviation fan, I just finished Wide Body: The Triumph of the 747, the story of Boeing's post-war development of jet technology. Bill Allen (and Juan Trippe of Pan Am) bet the company on the triumphant vision of the jumbo jet, wonder what he'd say about Boeing's current mess.

Boeing used to build some wonderful machines. The last of which was the 777 in my opinion. Their merger with McDonnell Douglas was the beginning of their end. They replaced engineers with accountants and it shows.