I probably do not as much. Too many outdoor chores, but my basement is always a cool place to be on those hot & humid days.
I do about the same, especially in the hot summer months when I don’t want to be outside. The transition months in Spring and Fall I usually do less.
Enjoy
Paul
“Off Season?” Whats that?[:p]
Summer may not be the time to build as much, but its the perfect time to get out and research next winters projects and railfan. Is that not a part of the hobby too?
During the summer, the layout gets partially abandoned. Between other hobbies, working on the house and garden, wanting to run around in the nice sunshine, taking vacations, and railfanning (especially steam!), I don’t wander into the basement too often. I still build freight cars upstairs after work to unwind, but it will be October before I really get moving on the layout again.
I run or work on my railroad about the same all year around. I model in the winter because I can not get out of the house much.
In the summer the layout room is the coolest room in the house, and having health problems that make me unable to take much heat or direct sun I stay inside a lot.
I also know where the shadiest and coolest spots to railfan.
In the spring I cut back a little on the layout because of yard work and the weather is also good for railfanning.
I make an effort to “Make Time”.
It just makes no sense to work, work, work, and have no “play time”! Grant it,
there are people that have little choice and must work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet.
I’m referring to many of us that make a good or decent living but are so driven that we we’re not phased at all about putting in 12 or 14 hour days at work on a regular basis… Before we know it, we’ve become senior citizens and wonder “What happened with my time?” My late dad was a wonderful man but took very little time to “have fun”. The few times we did go out I will always cherish. He died from heart complications, and was the youngest of his brothers.
From age 28 to 34 without realizing it, I started acting just like my dad! Working a ton of overtime to buy this and that! My wife and I almost broke up and my toddler aged son barely new me. I had to do some serious thinking and prioritizing. I came to realize that life was passing me by. After learning to stick to a budget, going out to parks, working on home projects “with the family participating”, helping kids in Church activities, visiting train shows, and model railroading at home, I’m a lot happier now than when I was a workaholic.
This is a wonderful hobby and I’m glad to be back in it again! [:D][^][8D][8)][swg][tup]
Retired, live in AZ and have a yard maintenance crew. For me, the only difference between AZ’s two seasons is in the summer I use the spa more. Our 35°-40° winter temps are too cold for the spa. Modeling is about the same year 'round. I wasn’t aware of an ON/Off-season for modeling. [(-D]
AZ does actually have 4 seasons not 2, I was just joking… Winter = 3 mos, Spring = 2 weeks, Summer = 8 mos, and Fall = 2 weeks. [swg]
BTW yesterday it was 97°, we broke a record high temp for that date. The weatherman says there is a cold front moving in and we can expect temps to drop down to around 80° by the end of the week.
yeah yeah, snake ,an 80 degree coldfront [:p][:p]!
rub it in !
according to your weather charts we have a 365 day winter overhere!
wait until I am retired !!!
Could you retify Off Season?
Here in Texas we have the opposite problem the Northern guys have. We tend to go indoors during the summer due to 110 degree heat. 5 pm is just brutal in July and August. So it’s either the Flintstones or the layout. 
RMax
since my layout is in the garage (heated) I do a bit more modelling as the weather warms up, usually with the garage door open, which also brings in a few of the neighbours. Living on the east coast of Vancouver Island our winter is generally only a few weeks long and temp’s dont often drop below freezing for very long.
And here I thought you lived in California. Your “Location:” shows CA. [:D]
For years I’ve heard and read that winter is the time to work on the layout, implying that summer isn’t. This of course made me determined to model during the rest of the year as well! I never understood that thinking – you either like model rr and working on it or you don’t. It’s not like I can turn it off in spring, and back on in fall.
I have always encouraged people to work on their layouts during ALL seasons of the year.
I’m gonna get TONS more done in the summer because there’s no school (YAY!).
[#ditto][#ditto][#wstupid] I do alot more in the summer time, although I do get a fair amount of work done in the winter.
Noah[:P]
I believe that OFF SEASON is defined simply as NICE WEATHER, and my answer is NOPE, makes no difference. Summer is usually too hot for my taste anyway, and the basement is always nice and cool.
If the weather is nice, it is fun to go train watching though, but I clearly have TRAINS ON THE BRAIN!!![:D][:D][:D][^][(-D]
There is no off season. Work continues the same year round, regardless of temperature.
I agree with what others have said, “What off season?” If I cut back on anything, it’'s my other activities (golf, rebuilding an old car, computers).
Tom
No off season here either. I may slow down a bit but I like to spend a few hours a week “working”.
Gordon
I was in a good mood until I read this!
Snake now that I know what seasons you must endure if and I say IF I was to buy you a ticket it would be one way[}:)]LOL
But until now I have been a winter MR kind of guy. I’m hoping that this will change this year as my job changes and when I get back to sea I’ll be on day work which will free up my evenings for more leisurely activities. I will probably get into the scratch building side of things