Large Scale Central

Dang it's COLD

General Discussion
#1

I’ve had time-off work since Friday before Christmas. I had plans to finish up a few outdoor projects this past week, but the weather has kind of put a damper on that. Highs under 20° and lows close to 0°. I did manage to spend about an hour outside Friday taking breaks every 10 minutes or so to warm my hands, but I didn’t get my railroad task done: Bringing in Wall Station and Platform for the winter.

I tried again today even though the wind chill was pretty raw at 4° with thermometer temps about 14°. Being bedded in stone dust this sub-freezing weather had pretty much permanently attached the structures to the ground. Careful use of a propane torch melted enough ice to break them free. The real challenge was getting the buried wire out of the frozen ground without melting it. I only started a few small fires in the process. Wall Station and platform are now safely inside defrosting. I will clean them up a bit then place them on my indoor layout for winter.

I came in over an hour ago and my fingers are still cold!

#2

Same up here, John. About a week and a half ago we got an ice storm, and it hasnt thawed out since. Last week we got 4" of snow on top of it. It hasnt been higher than 9 degrees, and its getting to -5 or -10 at night. We ain’t goin’ noplace for a while.

#3

So I won’t mention it was in the 80’s the last 2 days (and of course no humidity like Florida)… too warm to wear socks and shoes.

Greg

#4

Greg Elmassian said:

So I won’t mention it was in the 80’s the last 2 days (and of course no humidity like Florida)… too warm to wear socks and shoes.

Greg

Sandy Eggo area is definitely on SWMBO and my short-list of places to spend the winter once I can semi-retire.

#5

-11 last night, 3 right now; -15 overnight…those are straight temps, no windchill factor at all

#6

I came here, site said I had 5 updates. Went and wrote a detailed reply here, clicked post and the same website which just told me I had 5 updates told me I wasn’t logged in, log in to continue. I did, a little annoyed, but I did. Page refreshed and my nicely detailed text was gone. Screw it then, just the hell with it.

#7

Bob McCown said:

Greg Elmassian said:

So I won’t mention it was in the 80’s the last 2 days (and of course no humidity like Florida)… too warm to wear socks and shoes.

Greg

Sandy Eggo area is definitely on SWMBO and my short-list of places to spend the winter once I can semi-retire.

Traffic sucks. So glad I left.

I do miss riding my bicycle in January, though.

#8

Cold here too. We reached the high of 16…I don’t even want to know what the wind chill is. It’s friggin cold. It’s going to be 2 for the low tonight…and it doesn’t get any better for a week. Next sunday we might actually get above freezing. Might have to break out the shorts and tank tops. lol!!

#9

I suppose ‘cold’ is a relative term.Here on the Florida Gulf Coast we are heading in to the mid 20s to lower 30s overnight for the next week or so. To me, THAT’s COLD. I don’t envy you folks living in the northern tier, I left New Jersey 30 years ago and have never looked back. Stay warm everyone and have a blessed New Year.

#10

Yeah Steve, we do have traffic, but a much better freeway system than the other large cities I have visited, like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.

Part of living in a place where others want to live too. But year round garden railroading weather, lack of huge storms, tornados, hurricanes, hail, floods. And never had anything damaged from an earthquake or a fire. Anyway, it costs more to live in paradise, but I worked hard to get here and stay here.

To me, having shirtsleeve weather pretty much year round is worth the extra cost. I like being outdoors, since I’m inside for work.

Greg

#11

Went for a “Polar Bear dip” this morning…-27C…and I feel better for it…now back to my study of the art of hibernation.

#12

Greg Elmassian said:

So I won’t mention it was in the 80’s the last 2 days (and of course no humidity like Florida)… too warm to wear socks and shoes.

Greg

Just came in for lunch (outside taking down Christmas decorations :)). 'Bout 78 right now. My wife got a “Happy New Year call” from her aunt in Omaha this morning…wind chill at -40 degrees!

#13
Double post....sorry
#14

Weird. Currently, it sounds like my corner of the country (Alaska) is warmer than the ‘down south’ locations of many posters here. Temps hovered around 30F today, but there was a long spell last week when they barely hit half that.

#15

Yeah, Gregg, tell me about your wonderful freeway system. The last time I was there, I spent an hour traveling the one mile length of the 805.

Here in Deer Park, a traffic jam is 3 cars at a 4 way stop sign. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

#16

Just got back from my first trip to San Diego in years and have to admit the traffic was not bad at all. Went from the Bay Area to my mother’s home near Riverside and then drove down to San Diego, another 90 miles away. The trip home from San Diego took less time than the trip down to Riverside. Thinking of getting mom to move

#17

Braved the cold for a few minutes today to take some pictures of where Wall Station, Platform & Outhouse stood just yesterday…

Close inspection of the buildings this morning did not reveal any melting of PVC parts from the torch. The wood frame around the door of wall station got a bit singed, but it actually makes the doorway look well used (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)It does look like some of the details on the platform will need to be re-worked. I don’t know if it was from the extreme cold or just being out in the weather since spring, but a few of the decorative truss supports pulled loose from the roof frame. Gives me something else to work on over the winter.

#18

Jon Radder said:

Braved the cold for a few minutes today

I do to for a few minutes, getting more wood for the woodstove…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Gives me something else to work on over the winter.

Me too! Working on a backdrop for behind the shed, bring a building in every week or so to refurbish, put together about 5 cars I bought from Bob, and pull up a switch or 2 for some maintenance.

#19

Gregory Hile said:

Just got back from my first trip to San Diego in years and have to admit the traffic was not bad at all. Went from the Bay Area to my mother’s home near Riverside and then drove down to San Diego, another 90 miles away. The trip home from San Diego took less time than the trip down to Riverside. Thinking of getting mom to move

The traffic situation really varies depending on time of day and other factors. The biggest problem in San Diego is the extremely high cost of living. Housing is in short supply and has been way overpriced for decades. That’s why our son and his family moved back to Texas, it was just too expensive here.

#20

Steve Featherkile said:

Yeah, Gregg, tell me about your wonderful freeway system. The last time I was there, I spent an hour traveling the one mile length of the 805.

Here in Deer Park, a traffic jam is 3 cars at a 4 way stop sign. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

Steve, that’s what I liked about my territory when I worked for Danka. My territory was out in cow country, so a traffic jam was 4 cars at a red light.