See TOC!
Even with bat/rc, you still have to spend hours cleaning track!!!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! 
TOG
We did ask many years ago if leaf cleaning counted, and the concensus was, no.
For those who do not believe outdoor railroads should be run as real railroads, well, we have unprintable phrases to describe attitudes like that.
For almost 16 years, here in the WET Pacific NorthWest, we have run year around.
Sun, rain, snow, hail, earthquakes, wind, more wind, even more rain, nighttime, power outtages.
We keep the freight and passenger trains running.
Funniest thing I see is folks who abandon their railroad for the winter when the first leaves fall.
You ever get up here in winter to run, bring your raincoat and a hat.
Curmudgeon said:
Sun, rain, snow, hail, earthquakes, wind, more wind, even more rain, nighttime, power outtages.We keep the freight and passenger trains running.
Funniest thing I see is folks who abandon their railroad for the winter when the first leaves fall.
Well, I would have loved to get trains running last winter, but even the heartiest of railroads succumb to a scale 60’ of snow.
When things finally melted in April, we were able to get the line active again.
Actually the biggest deterrent to me running in the rain (besides a healthy dose of common sense) is that (a) my R/C installs aren’t water tight and (b) much of my rolling stock is wood, which–unlike its full-sized cousins–doesn’t take kindly to getting wet.
That, and the fact when it rains here, it’s not exactly the “gentle” rain of the Pacific Northwest, rather it’s a torrential downpour that floods the back yard in a matter of minutes. (To say nothing of the hail stones that tend to accompany the rain.) 'Course, that goes back to that whole “common sense” thing.
Later,
K
We had marble-sized hail that made it look like it had snowed.
Wood can be preserved.
There is a product that you soak it in, no rot.
Developed for wood boats.
Monsoon-type rainfall.
Pretty bad last night.
Been blockaded with snow before, worked until 0300 to keep the main open, lost the Gorge Line, had to use the old River Rock Pass line, but we kept it open, although it was only a puny 30".
Curmudgeon said:
We had marble-sized hail that made it look like it had snowed. Wood can be preserved. There is a product that you soak it in, no rot. Developed for wood boats. Monsoon-type rainfall. Pretty bad last night. Been blockaded with snow before, worked until 0300 to keep the main open, lost the Gorge Line, had to use the old River Rock Pass line, but we kept it open, although it was only a puny 30".
You’re more than welcome to bring your snow shovel over this winter. DIA promises to do a “better” job of keeping the runways open, so you’ll only be delayed two days or so in getting here. Unfortunately, you’ll have to start digging at the entrance to the neighborhood. They don’t plow our streets. In the mean time, I’ll be down in the workshop with a nice cup of hot cocoa (with perhaps something extra mixed in) working on my next project. There’s plenty of work to be done on the railroad when the trains aren’t runnin’. (And no, it’s not un-rusting Kadee pins. ) Later, K
That’s all the snow you had?
Piker.
You ignore it, you’re stuck.
You gotta forget the hot chocolate and just use the additives…straight…and keep the plows running.
Did I ever tell you we had to rework several industry sidings years ago to slope towards the wheelstops so the wind would not blow the cars onto the main?
Hmmmm.
I do hear tell the snow out in your parts is dry and powdery.
Rotaries allegedly work quite well.
Of course, if a warm living room with your feet up is what you consider hard-core outdoor railroading, well, okay, just update the Wikipedia notes for us.
I will know you have become a true outdoor railroader when you report frostbite and the water you pour out of both boots exceeds one gallon.
Piker.
I think it’s great when people get into pissing matches about how to run in snow and keep it running. Sounds almost as good as the stories I hear from the “real” railroaders. :lol: :lol:
<We did ask many years ago if leaf cleaning counted, and the consensus was, no.>
Ah,
Cleaning is cleaning.
Whether removing dirt from the rails or trash from the right of way.
TOC cleans track!
TOC cleans track!
TOC cleans track!
Neeener-neener
TOG
Rotaries on the EBT? Sacrilege!!! I’m actually operating quite historically. The EBT only rostered one snowplow, and there have been no photos ever to show up of that.* The trains were capable of running through roughly 6" of snow without much issue, but over that, they ran into delays or in extreme cases canceled service until the snow stopped and could be dealt with. So, if I get more than 1/2" of snow, I’m perfecly within the realm of historical accuracy to suspend service until the snow melts.
The snow didn’t mean the shop crews could stay home–the shops were almost always up and running with work to be done. So when the wheels aren’t turning on the rails, I’m simply recreating another aspect of the railroad’s operation. And with two very large steam boilers in the building, they weren’t catching frostbite in there.
Later,
K
*There were two wedge-shaped plow-like devices, but near as we can tell, they were used to break ice off the rails in the tunnels. If the one still-extant example were placed on the front of a loco to buck snow, it would have immediately shattered.
That’s why we use “modellers discretion”.
Gotta have the proper equipment to operate the railroad, dude.
Kevin Strong has no snow plows!
If the snow is too much for my Aristo plow to handle, I get out my fireman’s shovel that was handed down from my grandfather to my father to me and remove enough snow so that the plow can handle it. Cheating perhaps, but a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
Steve Featherkile said:
If the snow is too much for my Aristo plow to handle, I get out my fireman’s shovel that was handed down from my grandfather to my father to me and remove enough snow so that the plow can handle it. Cheating perhaps, but a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
And what is the cat waiting for? The mice jumping out of the drifts??
Quote:I had to give up huntin' beaver when I got married...
- Find yourself a beaver ...
Pretty funny bunch of postings here, made my morning! I had about 2" of ice on my layout last winter from Nov to about March. Sure glad I had taken my clay buildings inside for the winter to rewire them-I usually leave them out. Just picked them up yesterday, being prudent.
Jerry
Curmudgeon said:Well, that's not quite true. I've got one. 22" wide, 5HP compound auger/blower. Cleared the track fine, but it really shredded the hell out of my plants. :)
Kevin Strong has no snow plows!
Later,
K
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Steve Featherkile said:
If the snow is too much for my Aristo plow to handle, I get out my fireman’s shovel that was handed down from my grandfather to my father to me and remove enough snow so that the plow can handle it. Cheating perhaps, but a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
And what is the cat waiting for? The mice jumping out of the drifts??
No, he is trying to decide if he has the cajones to attack the locomotive. Each time the locomotive comes near him, he crouches down as if to attack, but when it gets abreast of him, he decides that discretion is the better part of valor and feigns loosing interest. It is hilarious to watch.
Steve Featherkile said:Cats are good at that sort of thing, eh.
... he decides that discretion is the better part of valor and feigns losing interest. It is hilarious to watch.
Curmudgeon said:
We did ask many years ago if leaf cleaning counted, and the concensus was, no. For those who do not believe outdoor railroads should be run as real railroads, well, we have unprintable phrases to describe attitudes like that.For almost 16 years, here in the WET Pacific NorthWest, we have run year around.
Sun, rain, snow, hail, earthquakes, wind, more wind, even more rain, nighttime, power outtages.
We keep the freight and passenger trains running.
Funniest thing I see is folks who abandon their railroad for the winter when the first leaves fall.
You ever get up here in winter to run, bring your raincoat and a hat.
I have to admit, by the time it snows around here, that is about it for running MY outdoor railway line. Of course, it starts getting cold and usually doesn’t stop here until it is 45 to 55 below–and THAT can happen very quickly. This year I shut down the line about two weeks ago. It will not be operating again until about mid-April.
Daft; completely and utterly DAFT.
Winter is the time for the fireside; a good book, a pipe, of some burnt mattress-smelling 'baccy, “Baby’s Bottom”; for example, and of course several drams of a good Whisky.
To go out and watch a toy train push snow in below freezing temperatures, let alone going out for some sort of crazy idea that it is fun to freeze ones’ gozzads while standing in the cold is just plain DAFT.
Fred,
You are complaining about being DAFT, and you still play with toy trains???
There is a disconnect there somewhere. 
Perhaps those of us below the 48th parallel are of a hardier breed? :lol: