# When should I “winterize”



## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving the other day. As some of you might know, I have a sprouting layout inside my garage. I live in northwest Indiana and it is now time for the winter months as fall has come and gone. I have had 5-6 minor frosts so far up here and I so far have been doing good on maintaining my Bachmann EZ track. (Other than those pesky switches) however one switch in particular has shown some warping in the rail height causing single axle derailments and unintended uncoupling. Do you think it’s about time to rip everything up and bring it inside until next spring/summer? I have a good bit of older and more used equipment which I want to preserve as good as I can. My garage has some insulation but still cold enough to make the rail cold to the touch and you fingers to become a little chilly at times. Thoughts?


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## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

Reference photos:


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

If it were me I would be looking for space inside to permanently have my layout. 

Unheated garages and basements add nothing to the enjoyment of the hobby, and as you have found out firsthand, are not good for layouts.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I agree with finding a permanent inside home. Spaces without any climate control and little insulation are not kind to model trains.

FWIW, though, the warping of your track is more likely due to the contraction of the wooden surface it's on (due to the lower humidity) than the metal. Nickel-silver expands and contracts at a rate of 0.000009" per inch of track with every degree F. 100" of track (8' 4") changing temp by 100 degrees would only give you 0.09" of contraction, which is unlikely to cause buckling. If you were to seal the base with either oil-based paint or latex paint and polyurethane, that would reduce the swelling and contraction significantly and should eliminate the problem.

Another possibility is that temp changes have caused the plastic to warp.


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## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

So far this is the best I can do for a layout that is out of the way of the rest of the family. I am trying to figure out the possibility of making a nice shed out back for it but I don’t know if it’s possible.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

My train room is in a somewhat insulated, unheated attic. In the winter, it is generally 10 to 20 degrees above the outside temperature. I don’t think it has ever gone below freezing, but I rarely go up there when it’s super cold outside.

There are a few locos that I don’t keep in the attic during the winter, but other than that, I do nothing to winterize. Locos and cars that happen to be in the train room stay there. If it’s cold, I use a portable space heater to warm things up before I run trains, but that’s more for my comfort than the train's comfort.

I wouldn't bother to rip things up and bring them inside, but if you have concerns about your locos, bring them in from the cold.


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## Aqualungs (Jan 25, 2021)

Put two of your kids in one room, and take the empty room for a train room. 

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Aqualungs said:


> Put two of your kids in one room, and take the empty room for a train room.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk


Yes, the OP has a lot to learn about this hobby! The layout isn't kept out of the family's way; the family manages around the layout.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

How big is the table? 
Just put a nice warm insulated blanket over the top, better yet a heated blanket.
Keep the layout warm and toasty. 
A propane heater is nice for when you want to work (play) with the trains for a bit. 
My uninsulated 2car garage warms up nice with a small propane heater when I want to do something in the garage in the winter.
After a while it gets hot enough to shed clothes.

My trains are all in the basement.


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## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

Big Ed said:


> How big is the table?
> Just put a nice warm insulated blanket over the top, better yet a heated blanket.
> Keep the layout warm and toasty.
> A propane heater is nice for when you want to work (play) with the trains for a bit.
> ...


Just a 4x8


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Hotrainewbie said:


> I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving the other day. As some of you might know, I have a sprouting layout inside my garage. I live in northwest Indiana and it is now time for the winter months as fall has come and gone. I have had 5-6 minor frosts so far up here and I so far have been doing good on maintaining my Bachmann EZ track. (Other than those pesky switches) however one switch in particular has shown some warping in the rail height causing single axle derailments and unintended uncoupling. Do you think it’s about time to rip everything up and bring it inside until next spring/summer? I have a good bit of older and more used equipment which I want to preserve as good as I can. My garage has some insulation but still cold enough to make the rail cold to the touch and you fingers to become a little chilly at times. Thoughts?


Hotrainnewbie;

I suspect your track, and especially "turnout" (track switches) problems have a lot less to do with the weather, than they do with "those pesky switches." The Bachmann EZ-track turnouts are deep under the primordial ooze at the very bottom of the quality barrel. In short, they're the worst available.
My recommendation would be to replace them with a better brand, like Peco, or Micro Engineering, or Walthers, or Kato, or even Atlas,( the second worst turnout available.) Replacing Bachmann turnouts with anything else would be a step up.

As for the weather issue, if you have a heater out there then you should be able to survive running your railroad in your garage. If you can bring it inside, that would be even better. There isn't much history of cold affecting model track in general. Extreme heat and humidity can seriously affect the wood under the track, and has been known to cause humps, but I don't recall reading much about cold damage. That doesn't mean its impossible though. My layout is in a garage too, but then my garage is in San Diego, Calif. so what do I know about frost!  

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Jscullans (Jul 8, 2019)

I live about 2 hours southwest of downtown Chicago and I had a layout in a shed that was able to be folded and put away. I never had issues like that but I also ran atlas flex track without turnouts so my track was a little better quality than the steel rail ez track


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## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

traction fan said:


> Hotrainnewbie;
> 
> I suspect your track, and especially "turnout" (track switches) problems have a lot less to do with the weather, than they do with "those pesky switches." The Bachmann EZ-track turnouts are deep under the primordial ooze at the very bottom of the quality barrel. In short, they're the worst available.
> My recommendation would be to replace them with a better brand, like Peco, or Micro Engineering, or Walthers, or Kato, or even Atlas,( the second worst turnout available.) Replacing Bachmann turnouts with anything else would be a step up.
> ...


All of my track is Bachmann and I have a lot of it. If I started over with my track I feel like it wouldn’t be worth it. If there is an adapter out there that I can get that would be a solution to the problem but if not then I’m afraid I just have to deal with it


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

The cold shouldn't be an issue with the track. I agree with others that it built into the switch and part of the tweaking process with Botch...er...Bachmann track. The cars will be fine, the locos might not like it, but only because of the lubricants gelling up and not anything mechanical. Long ago I had one in our unconditioned attic where it regularly got down to below freezing, and I don't recall any real issues.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I once saw a layout plan designed around a Murphy Bed concept. This of course poses problems for mountains & structures etc. Everything would have to be removed between operating. But the idea of “stowing” the layout vertically inside a wardrobe type thing was certainly outside the box. Perhaps something along those lines would suit your needs? Perhaps cutting it into two 4x4 halves that fold down toward each other or something.
Another possible solution is to build a narrow shelf type layout that by itself is point to point switching, with removable loops for each end consisting of base track glued down to a piece of masonite, and “plugged in” to the layout only when desired. The shelf portion would be up & out of the way, available year round.
Maybe something like the thread below, with 3 or 4 “modules” joined together.
HO Micro Layout, the Space-Saver Puzzle-rama


If you do a shed kind of thing, that’s not much different than a garage. Even insulated with a little electric heater will end up being rather expensive as that heater would have to be on low-medium all season. So a 12” deep shelf somewhere inside would likely be best, if you can find a place for it.


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## pmcgurin (Sep 7, 2010)

I had a layout on a 36 inch wide interior door that I slid under the Queen bed. It worked fine.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Hotrainewbie said:


> All of my track is Bachmann and I have a lot of it. If I started over with my track I feel like it wouldn’t be worth it. If there is an adapter out there that I can get that would be a solution to the problem but if not then I’m afraid I just have to deal with it


Bachmann track & turnouts are designed to connect only to more Bachmann track & turnouts. However, it is possible, and pretty easy, to connect it to other types of track. If you like "roadbed track" with the plastic roadbed piece under each section of track, then Kato turnouts might be a good replacement for the Bachmann turnouts. You could still use your Bachmann track. You could even start by replacing just one turnout, the one that's giving you the most trouble. At the point where you connect the two different brands you will probably need to cut of the plastic locking tabs at the ends, and just connect the turnout to the track with rail joiners only. 
All the other brands of turnouts I suggested are the plain old "non-roadbed" type. They can be shimmed up to the same height as the Bachmann track with cork roadbed. 

Traction Fan


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## Hotrainewbie (Feb 14, 2021)

traction fan said:


> Bachmann track & turnouts are designed to connect only to more Bachmann track & turnouts. However, it is possible, and pretty easy, to connect it to other types of track. If you like "roadbed track" with the plastic roadbed piece under each section of track, then Kato turnouts might be a good replacement for the Bachmann turnouts. You could still use your Bachmann track. You could even start by replacing just one turnout, the one that's giving you the most trouble. At the point where you connect the two different brands you will probably need to cut of the plastic locking tabs at the ends, and just connect the turnout to the track with rail joiners only.
> All the other brands of turnouts I suggested are the plain old "non-roadbed" type. They can be shimmed up to the same height as the Bachmann track with cork roadbed.
> 
> Traction Fan


I would do that if I had a more permanent layout as I’m never at a point where a track stays in the same place for a long enough time to be worth it. If I could set up a train table that would work though


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