Now that I’m retired I’m usually around most of the time, and when it gets hot I turn on the AC in the trainroom until it cools in the early evening. I was wondering though, about those times I’ll be out of town for a few days, just how much heat and humidity can HO scale rails, glued down on cork roadbed , take before damage is done. This summer I saw an N scale layout that was in a public building that did not have AC. One of the guys told me that it could get into the upper 90s to 100F inside, and he showed me a section of the N track that had buckled in the heat.
How hot does it normally get in your room during the summer?
It get’s whatever I have the thermostat set on, since mine is inside. I share your concerns though, because I have plans later to build in my workshop. It’s a 24’X28’ metal building that’s non insulated as of yet. I have seen the temp on my A/C diagnosis thermometer get above 140 degrees in there in the summer. We live in middle Georgia, so it get’s HOT here in the summer, and it’s always with humiditys over 70%, so I can feel your pain.
Its the combination of heat and humidity that usually creates the problems. I have my layout in the garage in Riverside, Ca. and it gets very hot 100+ outside and hotter in the garage. The humidity usually will cause problems too, with your benchwork. The benchwork problem could be solved if you seal the wood, all of it, top and bottom, paint, sealer whatever. I simply put some extra gaps in the rails and they do close up in the summer. When I had a layout with no gaps the turnouts would take most of the presure and become out of gauge. I put so many feeders on my track that I can cut gaps almost anywhere and its been working just fine. Although I do make a point to cut the gaps on somewhat straight section, and in places that would not be easily seen, but this is not always possible.
We have a 20x40 foot HO scale layout here in Southeast Arizona in a non-air conditioned building that is unoccupied most of the time; which means that the inside temperature drops into the lower 30’s in the Wintertime (we’re at 5,500 feet altitude) and approaches the lower to mid 90’s in the summertime. We’ve had only one instance of track coming apart due to changes in the weather over the past 6 years. Our layout is built on a 2x4 framework, hollow-core doors, and two layers of Upson board (Sound board); cork roadbed, and Atlas or Model Power code 100 flex track. Every other flex track joint is left unsoldered for expansion/contraction, and there’s a feeder wire at every flex track joint.
The only real problem we have ever had was a Rivarossi passenger car warping all out of shape because the sun shown directly onto it in the early morning. After that window was painted over with black paint, we have no more problems.
Hi Jarrell, you didn’t specify what part of the country you live in, and your profile has no info, so it is difficult to be specific. However, there are some good things that you can do. First, get a Humidity guage and temperature gauge and place it on the wall in the room where your layout will be. Record what the highest readings are at various times during your “hot” season, and/or high humidity season. This will give you a starting point to know just how good/bad the ambient conditions are in your room. If you need air conditioning, there are window units and there are stand alone units if no windows are available in your train room. These all now have temperature controls on them so you can set it to say 68 or 70 degrees. Then, if humidity is too high ( over 55% ), you will need a Dehumidifier. The newer ones have control settings for humidity, ie 40%, 45%, 50%, extra dry, etc. Between these two units, you should be able to keep your room in excellent control. Now the problem. If you go away for a few days or a week or two, and you have a power failure for any reason, you need to make sure that whichever model AC and Dehumidifier you purchase will self start after the power is restored. Also, most Dehumidifiers have a hose drain fitting on the tank, which enables you to run a garden hose from the unit to a drain location. This will allow the Dehumidifier to keep running when you are away. These tanks can fill up real fast in high humidity conditions and then shut off until you empty the tank. As for tracks, that is why most people leave gaps in the rails to allow for expansion and contraction due to heat/cold. I live in New England, and we can get down to -20F in winter, and 100F in summer, with high humidity. So I do all of the above.
Robert, I’m in middle Georgia also… out in Bibb County between Macon and Warner Robins. I think we live in the most humid part of a state known for high humidity… [:)]
Appreciate the answers. Maybe I’ll be ok since the trainroom is pretty well insulated. I have an AC unit in it, the kind that motel rooms usually have. It doesn’t have a thermostat on it, but I think I can modify it for one.