ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.
Since I cant grow my layout bigger than 4x8, I thought I could install a line outside around the backyard, would it be possible ? no siding or anything, just a lil trip around the pool
would cost somewhat around 100$ for the track
would the snow in the winter and the rain a problem ?
Since I cant grow my layout bigger than 4x8, I thought I could install a line outside around the backyard, would it be possible ? no siding or anything, just a lil trip around the pool
would cost somewhat around 100$ for the track
would the snow in the winter and the rain a problem ?
water and HO do not go together at all. Many people have talked about this subject before, but I've yet to see anyone an outside Ho line. You being up north makes the season even shorter. Could you do a temporary set up??
HO components just aren't up to the task. The plastic of the ties and rolling stock/locos would be eaten alive by UV rays and keeping the track clean would be a maintenance nightmare.
HO components just aren't up to the task. The plastic of the ties and rolling stock/locos would be eaten alive by UV rays and keeping the track clean would be a maintenance nightmare.
The plastic of G Scale track ties and locos/rolling stock are made of a UV resistant plastic that isn't used in the smaller scales since they're not designed to be used outdoors.
I would only do it if I handlaid stainless steel rails on wood ties. You still have to consider proper grading of the roadbed, which is much more critical in HO than larger scales. A small shift in the roadbed is not going to derail a heavy G scale train but it will send an HO train right off into the pool.
just a thought, what if HO rails are covered with UV blocking paint?
i'm going to leave couple track pieces outside to see how they fare through the winter.
Nickel-silver or stainless steel rails won't be a problem. On the other hand, steel will rust no matter what you do to it and brass will tarnish. What you have to worry about is the plastic ties. The don't like UV rays and freezing temps makes them do strange and not so wonderful things. Been there and done that.
I could swear I remember reading a post about this very same subject about 4-6 months ago. The consensus was, the locomotive and equipment wouldnt be able to handle the elements, unless you live in the nicer areas of the country.
Many years ago (1960's-1970's) there was an article in either MR or RMC about a guy in San Jose, CA who ran out of his garage to the fence and along the fence to a loop and return. He did build a cover somewhat like a snowshed with a film plastic covering the open side when not operating. Heat and cold would not be much of a problem (I lived there) but rain would be several months a year. I would guess the fence might lean here and there but it lasted some time.
just a thought, what if HO rails are covered with UV blocking paint?
i'm going to leave couple track pieces outside to see how they fare through the winter.
I will do the same, cause our winter are petty hard 'round there, But the summer are really sweet, no excessive heat (i heard in california the ties could melt under the sun !!!)
Sounds like a pretty tempting possibility. Track would have to be necessarily handlaid (creosoted ties, perhaps?), and preferably on an elevated platform and you could only operate on dry, clear days. And of course, there's the ever present threat of the odd exoskeletic hobo chewing on wires and ties.
Back in 1962 my brother and I started a small layout using the then normal flex track (fiber tie strip) and snap switches with plastic ties. We added a little scenic plaster and set the layout outside to dry in the sun. Two hours later we brought in a layout with turnouts cupped up and out of gauge. He cut them apart and spiked them down for sort of suitable operation.
Just a note, this was in El Centro in the Imperial Valley where summertime temps often reach 120 degrees F. And yes, people do live there year round. I now live 55 miles East in Yuma, AZ and we saw 10 days when the temp never dropped below 100 degrees F day or night. Eat your hearts out!!!!!!!!
Yes, indeed, I've had the fun of being in Yuma in the summer. It's hard to imagine any outdoor railroad surviving the unrelenting heat and sun in the summer. Then comes winter, when it gets down into the 30's at night. Oh, yeah, forgot about the occasional monsson storms in the summer too. A nice, air conditioned building still sounds way better.
I would think that in addition to all the issues with track a huge issue would be how close to the ground an HO loco is vs O-scale or G-gauge. I would guess an HO locomotive would suck up huge amounts of dirt, into mechanisms that aren't designed to resist it.
I actually tried some experiments myself to test the feasibility of running my HO trains outside. The results: possible but not really feasible.
Experiments with tracks showed that brass held up pretty well but still required an extreme amount of meticulous cleaning. Warp-age due to temperature variances causes significant problems. As has been mentioned, there are problems with the plastic become brittle and breaking due to exposure to sunlight and the elements. Let me reiterate on the keeping the track clean part. At the time I also had a G gauge garden railroad and debris that would not have caught my attention to even bother cleaning off the tracks for the G scale stuff caused massive derailment issues in HO. You also have to secure the track. The track is so light that even a moderate rain will cause it to shift and cover it with derailment inducing spatters. You'd need affix the track permanently to something solid. Electrical components, like switch machines, for HO are not up to surviving the elements. You could use manual switches or ground throws, but again the issue of the plastic warping and becoming brittle comes up. This is one case where I would recommend the cheap or near toy quality rolling stock or locomotives. The cheap toy quality plastic cars and locomotives I tested held up better than the higher "model" quality ones. Any locomotive left out overnight or through a rainstorm or heavy dew is pretty much going to need to be junked afterward. I would never leave any HO scale trains or buildings outside, you'd need to take them in and out with every operating session.
HO stuff is simply not made to be run outdoors. You can do it, but it takes a lot of care and maintenance.
You should look at O scale. A good many modelers are now starting to run O scale outdoors as well.
I would say as long is our trains are, electric trains. Or electric trains that use current supplied from the track. This wouldnt be feasible. If the future gives us remote control battery power and the track is only used to guide the train. Then it would help take out clean track power and use a more concrete way in ties and rails that really only need to be kept smooth and straight in order for the train to keep running for long periods of time outside. Something like stainless steel track and ties perhaps. No worry about any shorts if the locos are run on battery power. Thats technoligy were not quite at yet though.
While battery power would solve the electrical problems, the physics of HO would still be hard to overcome. As has been stated, a leaf or twig that would be brushed aside by a G scale train would easily derail an HO train. Even a trail of ants would cause big problems. HO just seems too light and too small to deal with anything but the most protected outdoor environment. G scale has the additional advantage that normal size garden plants and rocks are near scale, or can be made near scale with some pruning and moving around of the dirt and rocks. An HO scale train would just get lost in any kind of planted garden scene.
