Happy New Years to all my fellow MRR’s on the forum!
I was thinking recently about the different environments/conditions that we MRR’s keep our layouts in. (Indoors, outdoors, basements, attics, etc.) My musing leads me to ask you all the following question:
Of those of you who live and have your layouts in more arid regions (e.g. the southwest US), are there any special challenges that you experience that those of us in more humid climates might not?
Two that immediately come to mind are: static (in reference to DCC circuit boards) and lubrication (premature drying out).
Yes, dryness in Arizona is a problem for indoor layouts because of static electricity and dust. We had two hand-held DCC controllers get zapped one day from static electricity at our club’s layout. Dust is an eternal problem here – I can go around the house dusting off all of the furniture, and five minutes later dust is settling on it again, no matter what time of year it is.
For outdoor G-scale railroading, though, the climate is more agreeable. Because of the elevation where I live (5,500 feet) we do get frost and some freezing during the Wintertime, but not enough to cause damage to trackwork. As soon as the sun comes up, the frost begins to melt off, and it’s usually warm enough to work outdoors by 9:00 a.m.
Snow? Yes, on the mountaintops – and I hope it stays there. I don’t particularly reli***he idea of having to drive in snow again, having moved here from Illinois.