The Weather AGAIN

This  seems  t be  a  regular  SUMMER  topic,  but  once  again  the  weather  appears  to  have  forgotton  its  summer  and  is  causing  a  serious  re  think  of  future  developments.....at  least  with  me  that  is!!
 
I  am  in  the  middle  of  a  line  redevelopment,  but  progress  has  now  been  effectively  halted  by  the  more or  less  constant  rain  we  seem  to  be getting,   The  local  Airport  down  the  road  had  68  mm in  18  hrs on  Weds.  and  that  doesnt help  the  state  of  the  track  bed!!
 
I  am  seriously  thinking   if  it  is  really   worth  pursuing  an  outdoor  line  as  before  we know  it  the  'Summer'  will have  ended.
 
Maybe  I  will have  a  sale  and  invest  in  more  'indoor'  model  railway  equipment!! 

Steve

Don't change your hobby - move to a better climate!

Best Regards 
Chris M

http://uqr.vacau.com

Steve,
 
With a line that's just been completed 2' 6" clear of the ground and a not dissimilar amount of rainfall in the last 24hrs, I was surprised to see this morning the amount of dirt thrown up on the buildings I've 'planted' purely as a result of rain splash over a limited area. This is real weathering, fair enough, but at 1:1 scale and impact on 1:20 scale material.
 
Off outside again now between showers.....
 
Alec K

Best wishes,
Alec K

Chris M


Don't change your hobby - move to a better climate!

 
Wish  i  could  move!!
 
Mind  you  having  been  in  g  scale  for 30+ years!!  I   do  not  find  it  to  be   a  big  a  'draw'  as  it  once  was  so  as  long   as  I  model  in  some  scale  I am  quite  happy!!

Steve

The weather round our way seems to have been slightly better than last year up to now, but I know what you mean Steve. After the disasterous "Summer" we had last year, I seriously considered moving to an indoor layout.

Mel, CMO and chief sausage knotter, the Wetton Gooey Light Railway.
The advantages of simplifying origami are two-fold


https://sites.google.com/site/wettongooeylightrailway/home/welcome-to-the-wetton-gooey-light-railway

stevelewis

Chris M


Don't change your hobby - move to a better climate!

 
Wish  i  could  move!!
 
Mind  you  having  been  in  g  scale  for 30+ years!!  I   do  not  find  it  to  be   a  big  a  'draw'  as  it  once  was  so  as  long   as  I  model  in  some  scale  I am  quite  happy!!

Move to Suffolk, officially the driest county in the UK.
 
(Although we seem to have a lot of breweries here?)
 
We had our first rain in weeks only yesterday, for about 20 minutes. Not enough to green up the grass....

Gizzy, CME of the Logs, Gravel and Bricks Railway...

Cab Ride http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSrHIVmq8KY

Weybourne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uY24RZzumM&feature=related

Shunting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGSD45IraEU

Our grass has got some well needed rain in the last week or so- all of it was brown dead... I hate to say it but north Wales isn't really known for it's clement weather! 

I lived in Aberystwyth for a while- and there really is a huge difference in climate to the SE!

I really do know what you mean about the weather but I have it in reverse! it's so damn hot I can't stay out to play for too long! I have to retreat to the shed for a cold beverage and a cool down......................It's expected to be up in the low to mid 80's through next week and if it wasn't for the morning fog and overcast it would be unbearable, and rain? not for a couple of month's yet.................... 
 

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"Most garden railwaymen are ordinary folk - Albeit as nutty as fruitcakes"...D. Rowlands

I've got to be honest Steve, I don't know about where you live but May and June were by the whole pretty good here, in the midlands, I've got a lot done on the railway.
 
Perhaps "Summer" as we know it July and august are not great, but we tend to get other good months not normally associated with nice weather. September and May are becoming the better months for the garden even if the days are a little shorter, its a good excuse to have lighting on a layout.

Welsh Dave in the west mids (aka dvh9)

mine is waist level.......no ground level just up to my waist level coz is easy to maintence it,pick them up.clean the tracks..etc.....we have loads of heavy rains in my area...lucky we did have a flash flood last months ago!!!!!!!.......if i live down the road..my layout will ended up in flood!!!!.........

i agree with dave hub...

stevelewis


This  seems  t be  a  regular  SUMMER  topic,  but  once  again  the  weather  appears  to  have  forgotton  its  summer  and  is  causing  a  serious  re  think  of  future  developments.....at  least  with  me  that  is!!
 
I  am  in  the  middle  of  a  line  redevelopment,  but  progress  has  now  been  effectively  halted  by  the  more or  less  constant  rain  we  seem  to  be getting,   The  local  Airport  down  the  road  had  68  mm in  18  hrs on  Weds.  and  that  doesnt help  the  state  of  the  track  bed!!
 
I  am  seriously  thinking   if  it  is  really   worth  pursuing  an  outdoor  line  as  before  we know  it  the  'Summer'  will have  ended.
 
Maybe  I  will have  a  sale  and  invest  in  more  'indoor'  model  railway  equipment!! 

Monsoon Railway is on at 21.00 (Auntie Beeb Two)!

WE had a wet, wet (and cold, very cold) winter, a very dry spring and now we are getting all that we missed earlier plus a deposit for the coming autumn and winter. I never fill the pond on my line and very rarely need to take water to our goats - all is done by the generous hand of nature. Any yes, Wed was absolutely bloomin wet!

Mick

Mick - always learning something new (then forgetting it).

CoggesRailway


Our grass has got some well needed rain in the last week or so- all of it was brown dead... I hate to say it but north Wales isn't really known for it's clement weather! 

I lived in Aberystwyth for a while- and there really is a huge difference in climate to the SE!

 
I  dont  know  about   the  weather  here  actually  being  any  worse  than  other  places!!.  we  moved  here from Disley Cheshire ( Just  South of  Manchester)  in '84  and  the  weather   here   did  seem  to be  an improvement  on  there,  I remember  that  we  had some  really  hot summers  in  the  80s & 90s  with   all the  turf  completey  burnt  off  and   serious  water  shortages  & defimnately  no  hospipes,  But moving  to  out  present  address  almost  4  years  ago ( only 1/2 mile  from other house)  we  don't seem  to  have  any  sort  of  what  we  might  call a  summer  like  we  used  to  have!.
 
Talking  of  Aberystwyth,  I  used  to  go  trhere  work wise  for  a  few  years  once  every  4  weeks  and  i  have  to  agree  that  the  weather  alsways  seemed,  bad  there  nearly  always  raining 

Steve

Chris M


Don't change your hobby - move to a better climate!

Absolutely, we are very short of rain in these parts, the trouble is the sun gets too hot. You can’t win.

Whay not get one of those big party tents or something and put it over the layout.  It will keep things dry.

Kittatinny Mountain RR
http://kittatinnymountain.blogspot.com/

i dont care about the weather as long as i can.....
Run a Train!

Cheers
Phil

Phil


i dont care about the weather as long as i can.....
Run a Train!

 
I  used  to be  like  that  Phil back  in  the   70 &  80s   out in  the  wind,  snow,  rain,  and  everything  else  but  after  some  years  the novelty  wears  off  a  bit!!

Steve

We could do with a bit of rain here. Grass is pretty brown.

Alan.

The Oxney Island Line in the heart of Kent.

http://www.pendleburymodels.com/

stevelewis

Phil


i dont care about the weather as long as i can.....
Run a Train!

 
I  used  to be  like  that  Phil back  in  the   70 &  80s   out in  the  wind,  snow,  rain,  and  everything  else  but  after  some  years  the novelty  wears  off  a  bit!!

Hi steve i know but it's a hobby it's suppose to be fun.
but i don't mind going that little bit extra to get something good out of it.
After all it is my favourite hobby.....

Cheers
Phil

Having seen the comments here maybe running trains outside is always going to have issues - if its not too wet its too hot! Probably the answer is to have an indoor railway as well as a garden railway. I know quite a few do. I have the club railway for the winter which suits me fine.
 
I do enjoy the odd bit of running during poor weather. Something poor Minimns can only dream about
 

 

 
 

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Best Regards 
Chris M

http://uqr.vacau.com

Chris M
 
I do enjoy the odd bit of running during poor weather. Something poor Minimns can only dream about : 
  

SNOW I don't dream about snow I have nightmares about the stuff!!!!!!!!!!!

"Most garden railwaymen are ordinary folk - Albeit as nutty as fruitcakes"...D. Rowlands

Think you have better move to Suffolk Steve Just written an article for the G scale journal about the fun and games of an open day, and my biggest moan was about the weather being to hot and dry

The weather here in Leicestershire as been pretty good so far this year. In fact we have had only one wet weekend at the CFR and that did not stop us running trains. All the visitors took cover but we had a great time.

To me the weather is just another factor in garden railways to be considered and dealt with.

Casey Jones Snr

If it looks right, it is right.

Sunny Devon this year has been, well, ...... sunny!      Actually the best year for outside pursuits that we've had for quite some time.  Mind you, I like the seasonal variations in the garden and on those times that it is just too wet, I'm inside building new stock of bits and pieces for the line. There's always something to be done.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off.

The Blog of the EALR

I've got to say that I'm coming down on Steve's side on this. I'm seriously thinking about On30 and the G scale would pay for a very nice big timber building across the bottom of the garden - 20'x8'. His comment about the length of time in the hobby, I started in the mid 80's, is quite true. In all probability, knowing me, I will do nothing for a year or three then realise that the railway has hardly been used and it will be gone.
Cheers,
Kim 

I have sympathy for anyone living in the wetter parts of the UK.  With an outdoor hobby such as garden railroading ones  spirits are bound to be dampened by too much rain.

The north west is noted for rain - that, I believe, is why the cotton industry was founded in that neck of the woods.  The southern and south-western parts of the country do seems to have had a great deal of dry warm weather this year and we can hope for that much desired 'Indian Summer' which we all love so much.

  Most of the rain here has been overnight  and I can honestly say that since the very cold weather (for here) in January/early February there have been few afternoons/early evenings that I have not run trains. 

Whilst not cheap there are many properties for sale south of the 'divide'

Been exceptionally dry here since before May.
Huge cracks in the front lawn and concrete paths have shifted.....reminds me of 76.

If nothing else works a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.
General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett

Mike in Steyning West Sussex
Lightning tracking at steyningweather.info
 



 

It can be very tough and disheartening, we have had 3 years of rain here in west Devon which has made my 5" garden railway project grind to a halt. I think if I hadn't done so much in the beginning and spent so much too, I may have called it a day. But since this year has been significantly better I have got 120ft of track built and laid. It is such a different hobby when the sun comes out. I think it depends greatly on whether you are a "builder" or a "runner", if you mostly build then the rain doesn't bother us too much as we go inside and build, but if running is you're thing then I think the UK really has its limits for this hobby.  I was out with freinds in San Pablo near MINIMANS in the San Francisco bay area and I can confirm the heat was amazing. I was out working on the ML4000 Diesel Hydraulic on Niles Canyon railway, getting the rear Maybach to turn over after 42 years which is no easy task in those temperatures!
Cheers
Rob

kimbrit


I've got to say that I'm coming down on Steve's side on this. I'm seriously thinking about On30 and the G scale would pay for a very nice big timber building across the bottom of the garden - 20'x8'. His comment about the length of time in the hobby, I started in the mid 80's, is quite true. In all probability, knowing me, I will do nothing for a year or three then realise that the railway has hardly been used and it will be gone.
Cheers,
Kim 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Thats  exactly  it  after  so  long  in  this  sector  of the  model railway  hobby  you  realise  there  are  other  branches worth  exploring, actually I  am currently  involved   with  N, 00 & 0 gauge  layouts,  the latter   rather  bigger  than just  a layout  in  its  approx  60 x 25' outhouse, not at  my  address  I  hasten  to  add.
 
I did  drift off into  0 in  the  80s  for  a  while  and  found  that  constructing  locos  was  quite  rewarding,  even  got  one  in  print, ( front cover  of  MRC  Annual '86!!)  mind  you  there is  so  much  Quality  RTR  0 Gauge around  these  days  building  them  is  not  really  nescessary
Heres  some  pics  of  some  of  my 0 gauge  locos.

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Steve

OOh I#ve got that annual - there were some really interesting articles in it
 
 

there is so much Quality RTR 0 Gauge around these days building them is not really nescessary

stevelewis


Tis true and the same applies to all gauges.  As a result of this I think there are ever more collectors and fewer real modellers. Also, because the quality of ready run stock is now far superior to what most of us can make from a kit, the modlling emphasis tends to be more towards highly detailed scenics than in previous decades.
 
Although G scale is not generally thought of as a modellers scale there is less ready to run available so there are more opportunities to make models such as the excellent class 25 recent shown on this forum. If I was modelling in OO there is no way I would scratch or kit build a loco but in G scale I have had a go because I had to.

Best Regards 
Chris M

http://uqr.vacau.com

very hot and very humid for the last few. If anybody wants to trade, you can have it.

Mik,

Last year we had your rain here, on the East Coast. This year we have had 90 degree plus days for most of July and June. Not much rain. Not a good year for gardening. Even I, who can tolerate the heat, am finding it more difficult to play in it. Not only that, but I am moving a bit slower than I would like to be. There's nothing to be said about getting older.

DAN PADOVA

DOGS HAVE FAMILIES, CATS HAVE STAFF

There's nothing to be said about getting older

 
I can think of one thing..............don't do it! Otherwise I agree, bending sure gets so it's easier to get down than to get up again.
 

You don't have to be mad to play trains on the TVBL....but it helps if you're a little loco!



Being long retired, I've discovered that now I work a lot harder than before, it's just that nobody pays!

I had intended running my line today, as I had set the day aside purely for that purpose. Needless to say, it has now started a light drizzle outside, so its back to working on the N gauge exhibition layout indoors!
 
At least I did get a couple of hours running outside, though I did start at 07.30!
 
Problem is, the times I am at home tend to correspond with the naff weather..........

Miamigo259


I had intended running my line today, as I had set the day aside purely for that purpose. Needless to say, it has now started a light drizzle outside, so its back to working on the N gauge exhibition layout indoors!
 
At least I did get a couple of hours running outside, though I did start at 07.30!
 
Problem is, the times I am at home tend to correspond with the naff weather..........

I hate it it when it has been a lovely day whilst I'm at work and as I endure the 50 minute bus ride home the skies darken and..........no trains this evening.

Had some running late into the night...lovely balmy evening...left a few things out that usually don't get left out...locos special rolling stock. Was pottering about this morning about 11 and the drizzle started....something at the back of my mind.....oh yesssss....the locos   Mad dashing around like a headless chicken all that should be under cover was saved.
Can't complain about this summer. Been lovely and plenty of running. Plenty of time to really check out the geometry of the track and correct problems (found on open days of course). Lovely running in the evenings with the lighting on. After a few indifferent summers and one hell of a winter it is like being somewhere warm and dry

Beavercreek Railroad - A little bit of the Rio Grande in north Essex

  

beavercreek


Had some running late into the night...lovely balmy evening...left a few things out that usually don't get left out...locos special rolling stock. Was pottering about this morning about 11 and the drizzle started....something at the back of my mind.....oh yesssss....the locos   Mad dashing around like a headless chicken all that should be under cover was saved.
Can't complain about this summer. Been lovely and plenty of running. Plenty of time to really check out the geometry of the track and correct problems (found on open days of course). Lovely running in the evenings with the lighting on. After a few indifferent summers and one hell of a winter it is like being somewhere warm and dry

Suns come out here again, so it might be heading your way!

Miamigo259

beavercreek


Had some running late into the night...lovely balmy evening...left a few things out that usually don't get left out...locos special rolling stock. Was pottering about this morning about 11 and the drizzle started....something at the back of my mind.....oh yesssss....the locos   Mad dashing around like a headless chicken all that should be under cover was saved.
Can't complain about this summer. Been lovely and plenty of running. Plenty of time to really check out the geometry of the track and correct problems (found on open days of course). Lovely running in the evenings with the lighting on. After a few indifferent summers and one hell of a winter it is like being somewhere warm and dry

Suns come out here again, so it might be heading your way!

GREEEEAAAAAT!

Time to do more thinking, cogitating, procrastinating, oscillating (!?!) about me probs with double reverse loops and whatnot. Also maybe a little bit of running as well.
Had me heritage Rio Grande SD70 Mac out earlier in the week when Marshman came over to collect his loco and it showed that a part of my track had sunk enough to cause the lead axle on the SD70 motor bogies bogie to lift off the rails. As the lead axle is alo articulated, it wandered sometimes leading to derailments. Today was/is going to be the day to fix all uneven track probs caused by the dry weather and the clay soil shrinking! And the sinking has happened even with the track being mounted on stakes, side supports and battens.

Toodle pip!

Beavercreek Railroad - A little bit of the Rio Grande in north Essex

  

Big black cloud has been hanging over us all day but no rain not sure to get a train out and running .
 
Mike i didn't know you had a SD70 in the Rio Grande Heritage would have liked to have seen that running was looking at getting one of them for my line but wasn't too sure about the 8ft curves .

 
 

From The Foot Hills Of Shropshire-Home Of Rockery Ridge

I know I complain about the sunny weather here in Kali but we do have naff weather as well, it's just at a more defined time. Having said that you will find me out running trains in ALL weathers except when it's frigid cold (not very often get that though) Our trains are weather resistant and so are YOU! get out there and run a train!! let the whole world know what train nut you are!!........................meanwhile I think I'll go grab another cerveza.................................
 
Gratuatus Puffy picture as I couldn't find the sunny one I was looking for...................

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"Most garden railwaymen are ordinary folk - Albeit as nutty as fruitcakes"...D. Rowlands

Richie


Big black cloud has been hanging over us all day but no rain not sure to get a train out and running .
 
Mike i didn't know you had a SD70 in the Rio Grande Heritage would have liked to have seen that running was looking at getting one of them for my line but wasn't too sure about the 8ft curves .

Big black coulds keep going over us but the heat stays on......mmmmmmmm....lovelyyyyyyyyy

Yes Richie, I had it up in my office on display, forgot to bring her down. It is a lovely beast (apart from the fact that USA Trains did not produce the correct flared radiator intake model and only repainted their SD70 MAC version). It will handle 8 footers BUT it don't look good at all as it is a very very long loco...makes the PA1 look like a runt!  Also there coiuld be the issue of coupler swing and forced derailment of following cars.
When we come up your way perhaps I'll bring her along to return the compliment of the visitation to us of your great Plow kit-bash.

Beavercreek Railroad - A little bit of the Rio Grande in north Essex