Well guys I am calling it quits
I have neither the time nor the patience to build my layout. My layout currently resides in our garage, I insulated the door and ran two air ducts to it. It still hits the 90 mark out there but no where near the 110-115 it used to. I am using cork on plywood gluing the track with elmers wood glue gapping on the straight runs and the curves still pop loose and get a kink in them so that trains derail. I have laid and relaid track to no avail. I dont have the budget to keep replacing track I will never make it to scenery stage at this rate so I have decided to scrap the whole thing and sit in my armchair and dream.
Thanks for everyones help with all of my questions.
I am sorry to hear that. Is there any way you can just re-locate to a different room with better conditions? I hate to see people quit like that, there have been alot here lately.
Years ago, I built a layout in our garage in Phoenix, and we experienced those kinds of temperature swings. I found the following to avoid those kinked rails/roadbed. I switched from white glue to Liquid Nails to hold the cork roadbed down. And used the rail joiners ONLY for a mechanical connection. I left .015" gaps between the rail ends and soldered feeders to each section of track. Result: Problem solved. Hate to lose another railroader. Ya sure ya don’t want to give it another try using the suggestions I listed above?
Either way I am ripping up track and replacing.
I am thinking of other options but just dont see one that really makes sense.
I am wondering if point to point type layout would work.
I believe your problem is using wood. It will expand / contract with changes in the humidity. Try using the extruded foam ( 2" x 4’ x 8’ )( blue or pink color ) and glue roadbed to it with 100% silicone caulk and track to roadbed with 100% latex caulk.
This method has been tried and tested true by many MRR’s. Hope this helps and
hope you stay in the hobby and keep building your layout. Also, can you put a window
air conditioner unit in a window in the garage or even thru an outside garage wall. This will solve
your cooling problem. The central air for the house was sized for the square footage
of the house and is not big enough to cool down the garage space.
Ya see? More suggestions. We all hate to lose ya from the hobby, but if you’re determined to call it quits… send me all your stuff… I’ll send pictures when mine’s done.
I agree with losing the wood. Unless your garage is well-sealed and powerfully air-conditioned (and I’ll bet my next paycheck it ain’t), your wood is at the mercy of the ambient temps and H2O. That means your rail hasn’t a hope.
I support 2" extruded foam as your base, supported by a few well-spaced 1X2’s. Put some gaps with joiners in place, and you should be running trains as fast as you can get it put together.
Edit- forgot to address your first statment. If you really have no time, then all of our entreaties to you to hang in there are moot. Patience comes and goes, so back off and take a rest for a week. Please recommit to trying our suggested rememdy so that you can claim to have persevered (the motto of my tank regiment, by the way: PERSEVERANCE) in years to come, and to have finally enjoyed running trains the way you always wanted. Please.[:)]
My layout is in the non-hvac loft of my house.
The temp range goes from about 45F to 95F depending on the time of the year.
I live in Southern Ontario.
My layout is made with 1x4’s screwed together in 8 sections, bolted together & plywood is SCREWED down to the 1x4’s. This can support my 225lbs with no problem.
It’s been there for almost 6 years now & not once has the benchwork, roadbed or track caused me one ounce of grief.
Where I’ve used liquid nails on foam insulation I used drywall screws to help hold the first sheet down. That part I’m going to have to cut out in order to remove it.
With a bit of overkill, you shouldn’t have problems with benchwork.
Sorry to hear about your problem and hope you become a permanant member.
You said you insulated the garage door. Around here in the Delaware Valley, the typical garage is built with uninsulated walls and ceilings. If your walls have exposed risers (2x4’s spaced every 16 inches), the air conditioning ducts will be ineffective unless you fill these spaces with insulation and drywall the interior.
If your walls are already insulated, the two air conditioning ducts will be ineffective unless there is some kind of means for the air to return to the house or the central unit.
I had a contractor add two supply ducts to a room to provide both heat and A/C, but there is a 3 foot square opening between that room and the adjacent room that allows the air to return from that room to the rest of the house.
If your garage could use either one of these remedies, they should be good for at least another 5 to 15 degree total drop in temperature.
I would have to agree with Pcarrell, you might want to step back for a while, clear your mind and give it another try when you feel up to it. I live in Phoenix, AZ and believe me when it gets hot in that garage and things go wrong, it’s enough to commit anyone to an insane asylum! I typically go back and work on other projects such as scenery (i.e. buildings, detailing) until I’m ready to try the benchwork again. For example, today is supposed to be 110 + degrees, not a great day to lay track in a garage and get aggravated so I do the next best thing, build a structure or two in the cooool house, then hit the track work again another day. Steve [:D]
Steves got the right idea about it, assuming you can’t get any additional cool air in there. I live in central Georgia where high humidity and higher temperatures are the everyday norm from May through September. I know that here the best airconditioning in the world isn’t that effective unless the area is very well insulated. Kinda like trying to heat a house in Toronto in January that has no insulation.
I hate to see anyone drop out, but I also know how it is trying to do anything with sweat dropping into your eyes.
I hope you can find a solution.
Jarrell
This hobby is supposed to be fun. If it is creating anxiety, then a different approach, such as has been stated above, is definitely in order.
Having said that, There isn’t a whole lot of action in Phoenix in the summer. It’s kinda like Winnipeg in the winter.
Have fun whatever you decide.
BB