It's not winter, it's summer down here for model railroading. It's 97 outside right now with 95 percent humidity. It's "air you can wear." No one wants to go outside. The low temp at night is 83 or so. I'm sitting in my 72 degree model railroad room switching the Midland Yard.
Winter is our outdoor activity season. Avg. daytime temp is a sunny 55. It never got below 32 last winter. That's when we work on the house and the yard outside.
Summer ...... Model Railroad time. I love it down here.
Sounds similar to weather when we lived in Macon, Georgia, in 1970s.
I was stationed at Warner-Robins AFB back in the early 70's. I remember my surprise the first time some of us went up to Macon, and there were billboards, signed by the Mayor, on the main roads into the city that read, "Armed robbers will be shot." Apparently there had been some police officers killed responding to convenience store robberies, and the Mayor basically said, "Enough is enough.", and had the billboards put up. It didn't take long for the convenience store robberies to stop.
Len
Yep, it's the time of year when I will run all of my lokies, even the ones seldom used, and do whatever repairs and/or maintenance and cleaning, needs to be done on them. Gives them all a bit of run time to stretch their legs after being in storage. The humidity saps my strength and desire to accomplish much of anything outside. I will wait until after 6pm to even start the lawn mower.
We have big thunderstorms almost every day. Yesterday when I got home in the middle of one of those, I found Niagara Falls coming through the ceiling. Fortunately it wasn't over the layout but it did ruin a bunch of historical society stuff.
I am going to need a new roof. No Bachmann or even any model railroading content at all...... Really........ Especially considering that the Long Green that the roof is going to cost will mean no new engines for a pretty good while. :o :D. Laughing to keep from crying.
Don't feel Bad we have the same problems with Midwest Summers . We have heat wave warnings out for the next couple of weeks and where there is heat there is always the possibility of thunder storms and tornadoes . God never apologizes . John2
Quote from: Jhanecker2 on July 19, 2016, 08:16:23 PM
Don't feel Bad we have the same problems with Midwest Summers . We have heat wave warnings out for the next couple of weeks and where there is heat there is always the possibility of thunder storms and tornadoes . God never apologizes . John2
Vancouver Island where thunderstorms are rare Couple days ago we had two, that's two peals of thunder. Panic sets in. ;)
Cheers
Roger T.
Haha. Panic here sets in during the "winter" when the temp gets below 32. It means pipes break all over town.
The real panic time is starting now...... hurricane season. Some little bunch of clouds forms in the Atlantic, everyone starts twitching with a death dance that may or may not culminate.
I have hurricane season rolling stock....... All the bottom end cast on detail stuff that can take a hurried packing to get out of town. The high end stuff all got packed up, ready to go, during May. I lost everything once, never again, the trains leave with me if we evacuate. In late October, the good stuff come out again.
This one isn't going to get us ..... But I'm always ready to run out. That's why I keep cheep rolling stock on the layout in the summer and the good stuff packed up and ready to go.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at5+shtml/235907.shtml?5-daynl#contents
QuoteThe real panic time is starting now...... hurricane season.
Panic time huh?
You must be a transplant from up north.
Let me guess, you retired and moved to FL?
After you've been here awhile, you will learn to properly prepare for the hurricane season, rather than panic.
BTW, Hurricane season does not end until 11/30, you may want to wait to pull out the "good" stuff until after that date.
Hurricane preparedness information is available from many sources throughout the state.
I would suggest contacting your local TV station or chamber of commerce, or city hall.
What county are you in?
I'm in Pinellas.
We are overdue, it's been what? 10 years?
Haha. :o :D I'm from Louisiana and lived on the Gulf Coast all my life. I've lived through hurricanes since the first one I remember in 1954.
I had a wind speed gauge on the house in 1964. You haven't lived until you feel your house shaking in 115 mph wind, which I read on the gauge, in the middle of the night. :o No electricity for 3 weeks.
I was prepared every year, all the stuff, the plan, everything. I was even prepared in 2005 but it didn't matter, lost everything , I mean everything, in the flood that year. We left town just in time because the Big K took a last minute turn right at us. All I had left after it was over was a guitar and a suitcase of clothes. I lived in a FEMA trailer over a year.
I've bought my model railroad stuff and built the layout since then. Life goes on.
All I do now is be ready to run. And that means having the good stuff packed up.
2005 was a real bad one. Spend a week in Miss. helping to clean up. House.s that were still standing had 3 feet of water for miles. About a mile of railroad track gone.
It was more like 25 or 30 miles of CSX gone, including the Bay St. Louis bridge.
Well then you well know what the season is all about.
'05 was a bad year, we got crisscrossed by four hurricanes, and a tropical storm, or two, that year.
Plywood covered windows for almost entire season.
Big "K" was only a Cat 1 at the time it made landfall and reduced to a TS when it got here on this side. Gulf coast. She cut a line across Florida, from coast to coast, like a buzz saw.
She was growing so fast, landfall here was just a burp in her step.
The warm Gulf killed you guys.
IIRC when the eye got back over the Gulf, It was just a matter of very few hours until hurricane status was re-established (74mph).
By the time it got to you it was a 5 and still growing.
For us, Wilma was the worst of the four.
Dennis was no fun either.
Lost my anemometer, during Charlie in '04, never replaced it.
My fight or flight is a Cat 3 even though I am '53 ft. above sea level about 2 miles from the Gulf.
It does not matter my preparedness, if my roof lifts, nothing else matters.
James, the flood is really what got me. If it hadn't flooded all that would have happened would have been only lose half my roof and the back half of the house and half my stuff instead of the whole house and all my stuff.
trainman I hope the flood didn't get you again..
What does it take to melt a Bachmann train? Today it was 90 degrees. There's a tropical storm on the map, and Christmas is exactly 4 months away. Santa will probably be wearing shorts this year and I want him to bring me a train.
The flood was across the lake and upriver in the poorly drained piney woods Florida Parishes, not here outside NO.
90 degrees is a cool summer day here. I'm enjoying model railroad season down South. Got a couple of guys coming over in an hour to run the branch with me.
Well I am glad that it miss you.
Well here's the latest. It's only good for Sunday August 28. Not a big storm yet but will get some what bigger before it hits land.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=5
Probably going for Panama City but close enough to make us sweat a little in SE Louisiana . If it goes east of here we''ll be on the dry west side and have beautiful weather for a few days.
Leaving the low end summer cars on the layout for now. Not packing up yet and probably won't.
I'd still rather have this than a Northern winter. I don't even have a overcoat. A heavy shirt with a sweater is all you ever need for winter at 30x90.
Train Dude? No overcoat, probably no snowplow for one of the engines?
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 01:19:01 PM
I'd still rather have this than a Northern winter.
"Northern winter"? What is that, LOL!
I'd rather have some diversity, as in seasons among other things...
Snowplows on my engines?????!!!!!HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I've lived on the Gulf Coast all my life and that's all I've ever modeled. There's no serious snow until up in Arkansas .
I have 4 or 5 Bachmann "Richmond" 4-4-0's that came with snowplow pilots that did not last last 2 minutes out of the box.
In the run-through diesel era, snowplow pilots were on many units down here though.
However. My railroad is "certified NDA!" No diesels allowed !!!!! :o :D
Brock, to me a northern winter is snowbound cold and dark. I spent one in Massachusetts and two in NYC. That's what they were. They were interminable too. I remember the first warm day in spring, people went nuts getting outside.
We don't do that down here.
The winters down here are sunny and usually 50 and above. Most trees don't lose their leaves, they turn brown and fall off when spring budding starts in February. It's our get outdoors season. This may not be for everyone but boy is it ever for me. I plan on never seeing snow again.
Right now we are in model railroad season. The Bach Man has not deleted me yet. It's way too hot to do much outside. But in the AC inside, I'm about to take a steam powered mixed train out of town.
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 07:28:26 PM
The Bach Man has not deleted me yet. It's way too hot to do much outside.
Why would they? They haven't did it to Brock yet ;D
IDK T203, The summers are really getting unbearable. When I visit my daughter up north sometimes I wish I would have packed my belongings :o
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 07:28:26 PM
Brock, to me a northern winter is snowbound cold
Flory, must not be aware of the winter we had last year.
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 07:28:26 PM
...and dark. We don't do that down here.
What, you don't practice daylight savings time in LA?
I know all the rest, don't need to repeat it, I read it all the first time you posted about it.
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 07:28:26 PM
...a northern winter is snowbound cold and dark. I spent one in Massachusetts and two in NYC.
And how many decades ago was that?
Quote from: Jerrys HO on August 29, 2016, 08:28:38 AM
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 28, 2016, 07:28:26 PM
The Bach Man has not deleted me
They haven't did it to Brock yet ;D
What reason would there be for me to be 'deleted'
Jerry? And why would you even say or suggest that ??? ::) And I think you mean "done" not "did". Another plus of being up norf... ;)
Brock, they tried year-round Daylight Saving Time one winter and everyone except me hated it, it was never done again. It was in the 70s I think, have to look it up.
But Daylight Savings Time haint got nuttin, as we say down here, to do with length of daylight per day, latitude determines that. We have 10 hr 13 min of sunshine on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. Sunrise at 6:52, sunset at 5:05.
http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/new-orleans?month=12&year=2016
How much you got ? Find your city on that site via the "world clock."
10 hr 13 min of sun between 40 and 65 deg, You'd have to live in Florida or South Texas to beat that.
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 29, 2016, 06:02:25 PM
Daylight Savings Time haint got nuttin, as we say down here, to do with length of daylight per day, latitude determines that.
I get that, but to say DST has no influence on daylight is incorrect.
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 29, 2016, 06:02:25 PM
http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/new-orleans?month=12&year=2016
How much you got ? Find your city on that site via the "world clock."
10 hr 13 min of sun between 40 and 65 deg, You'd have to live in Florida or South Texas to beat that.
I did thanks and also found this to be incorrect. Right now, using the site you provided, where I am, we have more daylight hours right now than you ;)
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 29, 2016, 06:02:25 PM
Brock, they tried year-round Daylight Saving Time one winter and everyone except me hated it, it was never done again. It was in the 70s I think, have to look it up.
Really? Not that you shouldn't know what goes on in your state or parish, but you are on schedule to change your clocks back 1 hour on 11/6/16 :D (again, using that handy site you provided)
Wintertime daylight hours, Brock, wintertime. That's the only time it matters. We have more wintertime sun than most in the country. You have more than 10 hr. 13 min of sun on Dec 21? Your latitude has to be below 30 deg.
You appear to be talking about yearly daylight hour totals. I don't care about the summer sun being up till 10 or 11 at night or later, I'd like to go to sleep when it's dark . Gotta be hard to put kids to bed when the sun hasn't gone down at 10 or 11. We have more than enough sun in the summer, at right around 14 hr. Any more and the high temp would always be 110 instead of 95.
Again, daylight savings time does not affect the length of the day, it only moves sunrise and sunset one hour ahead.
Whooooooh.......... Man ...... Jousting with Brock is wearing me out. Gotta go lay down awhile so I can get to some strenuous model railroading later.
Ah! Summer in the south when tropical storms bloom and the city passes out sand bags to protect houses and businesses! When the Bachmann boys put on rubber boots to try underwater trains. 😱
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 30, 2016, 05:11:38 PM
Wintertime daylight hours, Brock, wintertime. That's the only time it matters.
Tell that to a farmer, Mud Bug :D
Ahh, now, didn't see where you were strictly taking about Dec 21st
Rich. In that case,
of course, your statement about latitude holds true. I'd no more compare daylight here on 12/21 to daylight at Key West on 12/21, duh ::)
I like to sleep when it's dark too and it has never been light at 10:00 PM here. Where is it light at 10:00 PM that you are referring to?
Quote from: Trainman203 on August 30, 2016, 05:11:38 PM
Whooooooh.......... Man ...... Jousting with Brock is wearing me out. Gotta go lay down
Wow, you get tuckered out easy. You have Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue or something? Or does it have something to do with your state having the 4th highest obesity rate at 34.9% ?(right behind MS at 35.5% (
Balrog where you at?)) While my state, is the polar opposite. So much for sittin 'round the AC all day escaping from the paradise of tropical heat 10 months out of the year. Guess there is not enough exercise in packing up and running from Hurricane to Hurricane :D.
10.25 Yesterday, another 4.3 so far today (still raining).
Supposed to rain all night, figure another 6-8in.
No big deal, if you live out of the flood plain.
A little bit of wind as the bands pass. 45-65 mph.
Some flooding in the low areas of the county.
Everybody still has power. Except for a few in low lying areas of Tampa (Hillsborough County) couple of 2 -3 thousand.
Maybe a class 1 late tonight when it makes landfall way up north, around Tallahassee way.
Nothing here really, maybe slower drainage during high tide.
More wind than rain.
Yes James I've been watching that storm very closely. The sensationalist seeking media always overblows these events. There's always reporters in raincoats leaning into the wind screaming into a mic about how bad it is, when many times it really just ain't much.
We are just outside Pensacola on the Alabama side and last night we could see the outmost concentric feeder band cloud patterns in the sky.
There's another turkey bubbling up in the Atlantic.
Got about 19 in of rain in the last 3 days.
QuoteThere's another turkey bubbling up in the Atlantic.
Yeppers, keeping an eye on Invest 92L
https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/
The disturbances off of the African coast are now trending up in to the Atlantic instead of coming here, a yearly pattern. The daily highs are getting lower now. Dry air has moved in. There's talk of a "cold front" coming soon.
Model Railroad Season Down South is almost over. It will soon be time for outdoor activities.
QuoteThe disturbances off of the African coast are now trending up in to the Atlantic instead of coming here, a yearly pattern.
I wonder if Brock will get some exercise finally ;D
QuoteModel Railroad Season Down South is almost over. It will soon be time for outdoor activities.
AW man and all I needed was 5 more pounds to hit 190. I guess I would still be considered in the 34.9% obesity rate right Brock?
I work on my layout mostly in the evenings in my a/c and heat controlled garage. I love to spend the outdoors with my son no matter what the weather is like.
Quote from: Jerrys HO on September 19, 2016, 10:33:37 PM
I wonder if Brock will get some exercise finally ;D
Don't worry about me, I get exercise, no matter what time of year it is my friend. ;)
Quote from: Jerrys HO on September 19, 2016, 10:33:37 PM
I needed was 5 more pounds to hit 190. I guess I would still be considered in the 34.9% obesity rate right Brock?
I don't know
Jerry. At 5' 8", you would have to ask your doctor if you are or not.
I had thought about asking
TM if his proclamation about MR Season being over down there, meant we would be getting a break from hearing from him and then thought better of it. Instead, I will ask you that question. :)
When I lived in the South (Mississippi) model railroad season was a year-round thing. Here in western Nebraska, it is mostly a cold-weather activity, although I buy equipment year-around. The reason is not so much the summer heat, but the fact that warm weather brings so many outdoor activities that compete for time.
My model railroad has a rather narrow focus, which restrains my tendency to buy anything that appeals to me. It features mostly passenger operations on a major western hub terminal (Denver) in the 1960's. Three major railroads (CB&Q/C&S; D&RGW; UP) and two minor players (RI; MP). No BN, no AMTRAK. Milwaukee Road equipment in passenger pool operations with UP. Both standard and streamlined passenger cars.
I have tried to keep everything on the layout to be period-correct. I have found automobiles to be the easiest way to date the era of a model railroad. Rather than try to build an exact replica of the locale, I try to make recognizable scenes using available structures. I have found Walthers Cornerstone structure kits useful. My Denver Union Station is a combination of their Union Station (actually a model of Omaha's CB&Q station) with annexes kitbashed from two Heljan brick country stations. Walther's backshop is a near duplicate of D&RGW's Burnham Shop backshop (and includes decals for Burnham Shops).
My model railroading has kicked into gear for the season. I have a good collection of books about prototype operations there that has helped me immensely in creating trains and a sequence operation that mirrors actual operations in the mid-1960's.
Les
Wintertime is the tolerable outdoors time here. Daytime highs of 50 or 60 with bright blue sky and sun, really hard to stay inside with the layout.
Well now, James, that @&$$!!@@!! thing is going to loop around and hit Fla. again. It just might in get in the Gulf and hit us too. How are you managing through it?
It makes me chortle when people complain about snowstorms. When the snow melts you still have your house and your stuff. After a hurricane, you just might not have nuttin'....... Like me 11 years ago.
Oh... People up north know about tropical cyclones too ..... Remember "Sandy"? Wasn't even a hurricane anymore and look what it did.
Hi Tm203,
Thanks for your concern. We are well thank you.
Hope you are too.
Matthew tore up the East coast pretty bad, 6 confirmed deaths, 1 million without power.
From Melbourne (Satellite Beach) area up though Cocoa, Cape Canaveral (Kennedy space center), Daytona, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville, they all caught hell from beach erosion, falling trees and heavy wind and rain. Winds at 100+.
Lots of power outages even to Orlando from downed trees.
Over here on the west coast we just had two days of overcast skies and 4.5 inches of rain.
Nothing really, but the breeze was nice after a long hot summer.
I see where it is predicted to loop around and hit us again.
Not unlike Gordon? In '94 we could get hit twice. I seem to remember another that looped around since then.
As I mentioned, we are as prepared as possible with a generator and fuel and provisions for about two weeks.
All that don't mean nuttin' if my roof lifts, or a palm falls on my house.
If it gets into the Gulf (warm water) we may be in trouble, big trouble.
Getting back to modeling season...
From October till about April, I could attend a train show within 100 miles of my house every weekend.
I used to visit a dozen or more during that time.
Nowadays, I have most everything I need or want, but I still like to go when I can, especially the bigger shows in Tampa and Orlando.
Heck, I like to attend even if I buy nothing.
When it gets below about 50° it's nice to be inside with either Hot Chocolate or a toddy of Peppermint Schnapps at the work bench.
I'm looking forward to it.
Be Stay safe.
Well the hurricane didn't come here.
The days are getting cooler. No more highs in the 90s. Model Railroad Season Down South 2016 is over with.
Quote from: Trainman203 on October 15, 2016, 10:58:44 AM
Well the hurricane didn't come here.
The days are getting cooler. No more highs in the 90s. Model Railroad Season Down South 2016 is over with.
Over? never. I try to do a little bit here and there year round. Mostly in the evenings. I can see being snowed in and needing something to do but the weather down here allows year round activity. Example.... what do you do when it rains, or all your friends are away on vacation? Best of all is WHEN IT RAINS!
QuoteOver? never. I try to do a little bit here and there year round. Mostly in the evenings. I can see being snowed in and needing something to do but the weather down here allows year round activity.
I agree @ Jerrys HO and @ Desertdweller ,
It's a year round hobby, as opposed to a seasonal hobby, for me too.
It rains every day from July through September.
We average 48 inches per year, not counting tropical storms or Hurricanes.
The show season is kicking off, looking forward to it.
Inverness on 10/29
Pinellas Park on 11/06
Port Richey on 11/19
We have only two seasons here.
Hot and dry (Winter)
Hot and wet (Summer)
Both James and Jerry have it right. The best model railroad day down here is a RAINY one.
Quote from: Trainman203 on October 17, 2016, 12:41:03 PM
The best model railroad day down here is a RAINY one.
Thought that meant a shower day?
A rain shower
BTW, Daylight Savings coming up soon...
With daylight saving time end and some people forgetting to set their clocks back, some people may get to church on time. I guess that setting the clock back will help some trains to be on time for a change.