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It Only Took Three Years… but the Workspace Is Finally Done

After three years in Beaufort, I finally finished my model train workspace—and with it came a few lessons about focus, creative space, and avoiding project overload in the hobby. Here’s a behind-the-scenes update, plus advice for staying on track (pun intended).

Welcome to The Side Track

This is something a little different I’ve been wanting to try. A space to talk about life, hobbies, and everything that happens alongside the trains.

Sometimes it’s about tools and projects. Other times, it’s about making time, staying creative, or just trying to finish what we start—which is something I’ve definitely been working on myself.

If you’re into model railroading, or just enjoy building things with heart and intention, you’re in the right place. Because at the end of the day, the best part of any hobby is the people we share it with.

A Long-Overdue Update

It’s been a little while since my last video. I found myself wondering—has it been a month or two? Funny how time plays tricks like that. Turns out, it’s only been a little over a month. The last video was posted March 7th, and now it’s April 14th. That makes me feel a bit better.

Not much track laid or models built lately, but plenty of groundwork—literally. Sometimes progress on the layout comes from unexpected places.

Life Projects That Make Room for Train Projects

The focus for me lately has been house projects. We’ve been in Beaufort for almost three years now, and when we moved in, it was a bit chaotic. We had limited time to get the house ready, so we focused on the living areas—painting, installing new flooring. And yes, I did the floors myself. Not the first time either. I have a lot of respect for anyone who does that for a living.

We got the downstairs finished, but I didn’t have it in me to finish the FROG (Finished Room Over the Garage)—my workspace, office, and all-around creative zone.

Well, after three years, it’s finally done. Carpet out, LVP flooring in, fresh paint on the walls. It’s made a huge difference. The materials had been sitting in the garage for a while—space I’d much rather use for model trains. My wife thinks she’s going to park her car in there… but as we all know, in the South, the garage is a whatever space. Definitely not for cars.

Having a dedicated space to spread out, work, tinker, and dream—it makes all the difference.

Staying Focused in the Hobby

Which brings me to what this post is really about: staying focused.

I’ve always got ideas bouncing around, and sometimes they all want attention at once. I have a bad habit of starting ten projects at the same time. Eventually they get done—but I’ve learned to try and limit myself. Start one project, finish it, then move to the next. Easier said than done.

Now, I don’t mean I only work on one thing and ignore everything else. I break things into categories. Building a freight car is one category. Designing a building for the layout might be another. But I try to keep the number of active project categories under control.

Otherwise, I end up back where I started—too many half-finished projects and nothing completed. I shoot for no more than 7–10 active categories at a time.

Pick One Thing and Finish It

If you’re just starting out, here’s my advice: pick one thing. Build your first kit. Wire your first turnout. Weather your first car. See it through to the end.

There’s a sense of momentum and satisfaction that comes from finishing something—and that momentum helps build confidence.

Because when you’ve got 50 things going, it starts to feel heavy. Like you have to do it instead of wanting to. The hobby should feel fun. When it stops being fun, it’s probably time to re-evaluate how many things you’ve got dragging behind you.

Looking Ahead

Now that the workspace is done, it’s full steam ahead. I’ve got a few things lined up—some lighting ideas, maybe a new kit or two, and of course, more videos.

If you’ve been following along—thank you. And if you’re working on something of your own, I’d love to hear about it. What’s on your workbench?

Let’s stay in touch. You can subscribe to my newsletter or follow along here for more updates.

Until next time—happy rails to you.