. . . and that is outside on the 1:1. How is your layout fairing without climate control? Fortunately, mine is enjoying the cool inside 76 degree room along with my dogs who don’t appreciate the dog days of summer.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/26/3248335/its-so-hot-that-railroad-tracks.html
We keep the house set at 67* in winter for warmth, and at about 68* during the summer with the A/C.
So there should be little buckling.
I DO feel sorry though, for the commuters in the high heat zones where 1:1 tracks are warping who may have a rough time getting to and from work, though.
Just for fun, I took some temps with my infrared thermometer today on my outdoor live steam track. Ambient temp was about 98 degrees F, rusty steel rail in the sunlight was as high as 157 degrees, aluminum was just 119. No sun kinks yet, but then I have expansion joints every 10’ - 15’, no CWR. The highest temp I read was on a pole treated with Penta that is nice and dark at the bottom: 176 degrees! It’s a good day to sit inside and catch up on the forums…
I keep my layout in an air conditioned basement, so no warping here. The heat index reached 120 degrees last week, so I’m glad I don’t keep my stuff in the garage!
Arjay and I worked on some of my modules a couple of week end under an awning, outside…
Tracks had expanded about an eighth of an inch…
I’d hate to be paying your hydro bill if you keep your house at 68 degrees, that is way to cold. I keep mine at 70 in the winter and 74 in the summer months at around 35% humidity.
Hey, galaxy, isn’t this the fellow from Canada responding to a thread about heat in Texas who previously chastised people for responding to a thread when they have no first hand knowledge? LOL
Rich
HI!
Here is some first hand info… I live just north of Houston in a two story house. The second story houses the train room and my “hobby” room, etc.
The thermostat is halfway up the stairs, and is kept at 73 about 90 percent of the time. Yup, its pretty cool downstairs but pretty nice upstairs - where we spend a lot of time.
Once the plywood dried up on my 2 year old layout, no further rail kinking has been noticed.
ENJOY !
I don’t have a layout, but I do some of my painting and soldering in my garage. The problem is the garage is currently 95 inside. Outside, my thermometer reads 110 in the shade. I feel like I live in the desert instead of Southeastern Kansas.
Our basement stays relatively cool but we do have a dehumidifier set at 50% to keep it dry down there.
During the winter we keep our house set @ 65 degrees. And the only AC we have in our house is a window unit in our bedroom, which we’ve been keeping at 78-80 degrees at night this summer - i.e. when the nights are unusually warm, as they were 2 weeks ago. I was quite surprised just how comfortable 78 degrees is to sleep in when the moisture is pulled out of the air.
Tom
My home layout is doing OK. But on my clubs layout we have a problem in one of the yards. There is an intermittant short on the DCC district that powers that yard. Our club room is very hot and the heat is causing the rails to run a little. The expanding rails are pushing into some of the switches, making the rails on the frog points touch each other causing a short. These are old Atlas switches and eventually will be replaced.
The UP main line west from Ft. Worth cuts our ranch in half. I haven’t seen any kinking but haven’t looked in a day or two. The UP has Hi Railers running along every now and then so they are keeping a close watch on it. We really don’t need a Hasmet spill on top of everything else.
I haven’t checked my 7 1/2 inch track. Mine is all aluminum so I can expect some kinking. James you have some steel? Where did you get it? Drop me a line on E-mail and we can talk the big stuff.
I was only responding because it is very odd for someone to keep their house at 68 degrees in the summer months not to mention the expensive. Being he lives in basically the same climate as myself I figured I would post. Sorry to have troubled you and for wasting your time. [:(]
LOL
No problem, TA, your initial reply amused me. Just pulling your chain. [:)]
Rich
I generally keep the house at 75 during the day and 72 at night during the summer and 68 during the winter. No problem with humidity or buckling yet - unfortunately I can’t say the same for US-10. Pavement buckled during the heat causing a back-up and road repair. Welcome to Michigan…
Well, since you HiJacked the thread, and though it’s not your business…we don’t have a “hydro” bill. We have an electric and NAtural gas bill. For hot water, heat, and A/C all year long we manage quite well paying only $100.00 a month. We keep the heat at 67*, and the A/c at 68* becuase I SWEAT tremendously at anything over 70* and I’ll be darned if I am going to SWEAT in my own house!
And my model railroad tracks STILL don’t buckle.
UMMM, ya ok. Way to much info there dude. To be honest I really don’t care and I’m sorry for your “condition”. [xx(] [:#]
Time to Move to Canada… We call it hot when we get 3 days in a row over 90F … If we get 4 days, we call it an extended summer…
Still spreading old stereotypes from the 17th century… and from a fellow countryman!!! LOL just kidding…
Our first club layout room was an under heated and uninsulated basement with a 10 feet high ceiling. It was almost frosting there in February. We were working with winter coat, boats and sometimes gloves… I felt like the bricklayers working in Siberia in The Gulag Archipelago!!! Although cold, temperature was stable and track didn’t show an problem… but the benchwork took it quite differently…
Matt
Then WHY, Oh WHY… Did YOU bother to bring it up???
ANd, as I said, my tracks don’t buckle because the house is maintained at 67-68* year round!!! ANd it is humidity controlled as well!
I ALSO allowed a few “expansion joints” just in case!!!