Seasonal Shutdown - Do You or Don't You?

Hi Mike

For me when the weather gets better, I call it a slow down. Not a shut down.

I will run trains all year round. So just a slow down for me

Thanks,

Alex

Like Alex, I run them less, but no stoppage. I always need a little train running.

Like ALEX, I slow down after Spring YORK.  Lots to do here from cleaning out flower beds, planting garden and flowers to trout fishing season then Spring Gobbler hunting in May.  Then there is all the grass cutting and maintenance on the property. I will still run trains and do some work on layout,  when we have a nice rainy day, or when the temperature hits the 90's and humidity is another 90% then I'd be wishing for the winter again.  Sometimes you can't win?

I go to my train club every Wednesday night, all year long. 

Seasons don't matter. Since my skin cancer, I don't do outdoor activities. Trains full time.

For me, collecting and restoring is a great weeknight way to survive the long NE winter months.  But once the April thaw hits, combined with my lack of a permanent layout, the trains get put away until fall.  I still check out all the forums year round.

I definitely slow down in the summertime.These take up some of my free time. Gives me a break from the trains, and the fall I'm ready for a break from the cars.

As Alex and others above stated... More of a slow down.  Baseball and Softball have started for the kids.  The yard work will start soon.  And our other hobby of flying RC planes will gear up.

Train running and layout building will find a back seat except for maybe some lazy Sunday mornings or rainy days with nothing to do.

Ron

Slow down but never shut down.

I don't.  Summer reruns are a good reason to work on trains in the evening.  This time

of year, nothing is being accomplished with trains, though.

I have no train season. I run em when the mood hits me.

Good weather means outdoor building of modules.

I bring my workbench out to the garage To work on small projects.

The Chesterfield County Fair in August means 9 days of outdoor (but covered) running.

Peter

As both Alex and Spence have stated a slow down but not a shut down

Mike,

I still run trains in the summer, but building projects usually slow down.

Nice avatar photo!  You really clean up well.  ;-)

i missed seeing you in March since Patrick doesn't have a layout for an open house.

I slowdown boating season is here but it wont be long here in Ca.

Mikey

Have always slowed down when the weather breaks, and since I have retired this will be my first summer of not having to go to work and to be able to catch up on all the work the house and the farm needs to get things back into shape. But I do believe I will find time to just run the trains and relax a bit! Still not sure about retirement, but I am starting to get the hang of it.....

I don't.

Now that I am in Florida, my seasons will flip.  More train stuff in the summer and golf in the winter.

No, I just change the seasons since my 'layout' runs all year.

I had boats & motorcycles but getting to old for all that now. My basement is always nice & cool on a hot day so the train layout is a great place on a summer day.   TRAIN NERD AL

Beings I hate the summer, love the spring, fall and winter I run trains all year round. It's my only hobby so I do spend quite a bit of time running trains in the summer where it is cool from the AC. The rest of the year I run even more. 

I have limited time anyway.  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I spend my evenings working out and then watching TV.  Wednesday night is train night and I may spend an hour or two.  On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon I may head down for 1/2 hour to an hour.  You throw in pool and mowing season and I have even less time.

I am kinda opposite to most.  Late September to early January is a very busy time for me at work.  I usually come home exhausted, and throw in the holidays I have little time for anything else.  

January I am usually catching up on projects and repairs around the house that have been neglected in the fall.  February, March I am recovering and just enjoying the kids and the slow down at work.  

 End of March I am thinking trains, real and models.  The excursion season is starting so my photography is gearing up and I am itching to do everything trains.  I am really getting the itch now to start rebuilding my layout.  With my 4 nights on and 4 nights off work schedule I have a bit more free time then most so stay tuned for photos of my layout build soon!

I operate all year round but less so in the peak of winter and summer.  I’m the opposite of Al (my layout is in the attic).  I have an electric heater and a vent fan, but I generally don’t operate when it’s too cold or too hot.

I'm with you.  My other hobby is target shooting, and I do more of it in the warm months, but not to the extent that it cuts into my train time.  The trains are always up and running.

Steamer: I love that Karmann-Ghia of yours.  I've always admired them, but here in Pennsylvania, it's been decades since I've seen one that wasn't a rusty hulk.

Only when this happens.

As with most of the others, I slow down, but never stop.

Here in TX, we only have April and October to do things outdoors, so EVERYTHING gets scheduled then.  In the spring the yardwork starts in pretty heavy, but I still volunteer at the club layout and run mine when I can.  Just don't do a lot of major work.  There's always SOMETHING that can be done in a one-day, target-of-opportunity moment.

Mike,

When I was able, I ran my trains everyday all year. My layouts are gone now. I tinker with my rebuilds, restorations and read.

I don't slow down - it's a year round thing for me.

year rounder both home and at the club

Trains slow down, drag racing and cruise nights begin, except for rain days, then back to trains

Art

as long as my kids are home, I don't slow down - as they don't slow down!   I may run them less, as there are projects to do on the house or lawn, but we always get train time in on the weekend. I'll also run them for about 30-45 minutes a few nights a week  after the kids are sleeping & my wife goes to the gym. Helps me unwind

Its all four seasons for me.  Late spring and summer my time running trains diminishes but it never comes to a complete halt.  Funny thing is I have a number of different hobbies to include hiking, cycling, hunting, fishing and American Civil War history but being retired I have no trouble fitting all of them in along with my trains.

The Rock Island shut down March 31 1980! Now it is March 31 2015 and my

Rock Island runs 24/7 Only time I have for a slow down is for service

to my layout. Oh yea, when my wife calls me for dinner, and a habit I

picked up a long time ago MY JOB!

Trains run year round here. The time table or schedule is when ever the engineer feels like running them. Currently we are all freight, no passengers are currently inconvenienced. The freight customers are very flexible.

Only run during Holiday season  January 1 to Dec 25.

rat

We don't have seasons any more in Southern CA so it's year round for me.

I run all year long but i do slow down in the spring and summer months.