Sleeping with the Trains

Where in the #$*! do you live, anyway? That would be awful! 🥵

I thought this was about what happens when you tell the CEO that you are expanding the layout further into "her" space. 😂😂

Sucks when the AC dies.....

I am in the Midwest.  The humidity is killer outside today and is only supposed to get worse throughout the week.  I discovered the ac was not working last week and called the repair company.  They said they might be able to get to me this week and then called this morning to say that next Monday was the soonest they could get here.  I guess I will have to live with it until then.

Did that this time last year. The dehumidifier in the basement made it relatively comfortable, as it could be anyway.

I was praying my 20 year old fridge didn't quit with elevated indoor temp.

Good luck with the repairman!

I certainly hope your AC gets repaired Monday but a tip of my proverbial cap to you for making lemonade out of lemons!

-Greg

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

Tonight I will be sleeping with the trains!  My air conditioner is not working and it was 99 F outside today.  The ground floor has warmed up to 83 F, with the bedroom area on the second floor being warmer.  The ceiling fans just don't cut it.  However, the train room is c. 72 F, so I have set up a cot and will move a dog bed down there for the pups.  The ac repair man is coming next Monday, with the temps supposed to be hot for the rest of this week.  Will likely be spending more than tonight sleeping with the trains.

NWL

looks  like my life

Who lives better than you, NWL, you get to sleep with your dogs and your trains! LOL!

Seriously, good luck with your air conditioner.

NWL,

Gack. Good luck with the fixes to the A/C. Used to live in Southern Illinois, about 50 years ago. Could get hot and humid (for that part of the country), but not this early in the year.

When I saw the subject, thought it was about something like this:

David

When I saw the headline, I was thinking Luca Brasi (sleeps with the fishes) and an intriguing O gauge murder mystery. Envisioned a back-alley deal gone bad for a "used but in mint condition" MTH DCS TIU Rev L or Lionel Legacy 990 Command Set "never used but no box or instructions".

For your sake, I hope the fix it guy gets delayed and maybe you have to sleep down cellar for even a few more nights!

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Who lives better than you, NWL, you get to sleep with your dogs and your trains! LOL!

Seriously, good luck with your air conditioner.

Sleeping with the dogs is nothing new.  They were a bit disappointed that they couldn't fit on the cot with me.  They did enjoy the cooler temperature, as my 10 month old Labrador wouldn't go into the basement willingly the first time, but went downstairs with no problems afterwards.

NWL

A righteous amount of pre-war. Not sure what the set is called, but its American Flyer and plated nickel, and see at least two of them. Sold all my pre-war a long time ago, but I have had an eye out for the AF O orange, not green, Illini set.

Well, at least you should have good dreams of trains! Been there with an early season heat wave and the AC broken (when I had central AC). I kept a portable AC on hand after that, which could work in a room where the central AC wasn't effective or in the bedroom if the AC failed. Actually using a portable unit in my basement instead of a de humidifier, in its 'eco mode' it keeps it comfortable and runs a lot less than the dehumidifier did.

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

Sleeping with the dogs is nothing new.  They were a bit disappointed that they couldn't fit on the cot with me.  They did enjoy the cooler temperature, as my 10 month old Labrador wouldn't go into the basement willingly the first time, but went downstairs with no problems afterwards.

NWL

Our German Shepherd/Beagle mix, would bark like crazy at the train when I ran it. I think she thought it was a snake. LOL

I thought this thread was going to be about Sleeper Cars!

I feel your PAIN!

I moved from Wisconsin to NY a few years ago.  People always ask me why? (Grandkids)  Everything out here cost 1.5 to 3 times as much, and other things are "different".  However knowing what the weather has been like this "spring" back home, and 20 below in the winter.   I ask, why I subjected myself and family to that for 60 years.  BTW REALLY miss the Illinois Railway Museum.

One suggestion, if you have a layout, put a train on running at low speed.  It produces white noise not all that different from a waterfall, like they use in those tapes (opps my age is showing) for sleep therapy.

Hope the guy gets your AC fixed soon.

@illinoiscentral posted:

A righteous amount of pre-war. Not sure what the set is called, but its American Flyer and plated nickel, and see at least two of them. Sold all my pre-war a long time ago, but I have had an eye out for the AF O orange, not green, Illini set.

Actually they are Cadmium plated.  One is the Yukon (with black steam engine) and the other is the Century , which is often referred to as the Aeolus (with cast aluminum streamline steam engine).

As bigkid mentioned, get a small window A/C (or as I call them "window shakers"). They are not too expensive and will make your life more bearable once the basement heats up in a day or 2!

I grew up in Northern IL ... never has AC ... trains were in the basement ... until we built a bedroom for 2 daughters in the basement ... then the trains moved to the attic ... luckily , there was usually a good 95degree breeze moving through the farm house on the hill ...

...and here I thought your follow on posts were going to be about how you weren't able to get a good nights sleep because of all of the noise with the trains whistling for grade crossings and the incessant dinging of the crossing gate warning bells.

Great place to sleep. I've done the same thing on occasion as my train room is the only room in the house with A/C. We have so few really hot days in New England that it's hard to justify buying even a room air conditioner, but my min-split heat pump gives the trains a better living environment than we have.

72 degrees with very low humidity (hopefully from your dehumidifier) can be pretty comfortable.  So, you really got lucky.

I had a similar AC failure 10 years ago, and had to sleep on the cool tile floor of a ground level bathroom, with the doors shut and the cold water shower running all night long to absorb the heat!

After one night, . . . I drove 20 miles to a Holiday Inn Express!

Heat as you have described it starts around May 1st and lasts until October 1st in many of the southern states.

Mannyrock

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

NWL

That is an awesome wall of trains.  It would be a great place to sleep.  I hope that your AC is fixed soon.  It appears that the AC repair people in your area are very busy at this time of the year.  NH Joe

@bigkid posted:

Well, at least you should have good dreams of trains! Been there with an early season heat wave and the AC broken (when I had central AC). I kept a portable AC on hand after that, which could work in a room where the central AC wasn't effective or in the bedroom if the AC failed. Actually using a portable unit in my basement instead of a de humidifier, in its 'eco mode' it keeps it comfortable and runs a lot less than the dehumidifier did.

But does that keep the basement dry?

Better than sleeping with the fishes!

My AC has broken twice in 40 yrs.  Both times were on the fourth of July.  The second time was on Sunday, July 4th.  The first time I went to a big box store and bought a window unit.  Everyone moved into the living room for a few days.  The second I just brought it out from under the table in the train room for a second tour of duty. 

I can't imagine how the pioneers in central and South Texas survived. 

Good luck NWL.

Comment to aussteve post.

Clothing was optional back then, mainly loin cloths.  LOL

Our split system, which cools and warms the upstairs, likely froze up due to low coolant and the temp is 90 up there. Worked fine all day and quit before bedtime. Wife on sofa and me in recliner with downstairs AC cooling fine! My AC man will be here in the morning.

As one who lives in the Phoenix Valley, A/C is essential 9 months of the year here. My shop uses a swamp cooler that keeps it around 75 degrees but the humid air can be a reminder of the years in NC, VA and FL with humidity in the mid 90's and higher.

I am looking forward to a new house, new shop and train room this time next year when it finally gets built.

Good luck on your repairs and enjoy the opportunity to HAVE to run some trains.

@pd posted:

But does that keep the basement dry?

Yes, it does.A/C's in general take humidity out of the air, when the air is cooled in the unit it causes condensation (the drip you see outside). A dehumidifier is basically an A/C, it has a compressor and it causes condensation, just doesn't blow air over a heat exchange4.

The unit I have has an eco mode that basically brings the temp and the humidity to an acceptable range, so it is comfortable. What is nice is it doesn't run all that often, and so far keeps it at 60% humidity and around 70 temp. The unit also has a dehumidify option for when it is cool but damp.

Alas, simply an electrolytic capacitor replacement! Back in business!

@Tinplate Art posted:

Alas, simply an electrolytic capacitor replacement! Back in business!

I know I had the capacitor replaced a few years ago and I suppose it could have gone bad again, but my system is 20 years old, so I am hoping it is something simple and inexpensive.

Luckily the high temps broke today and I am sitting here with the windows open at 79 F. 

My train room is upstairs and it is also my ham radio "shack", so no trains or radio last night! Latest acquisition: ICOM 765.

@BlueComet400 posted:

Great place to sleep. I've done the same thing on occasion as my train room is the only room in the house with A/C. We have so few really hot days in New England that it's hard to justify buying even a room air conditioner, but my min-split heat pump gives the trains a better living environment than we have.

I also have a mini-split in the train room.  I actually use it more for heat than A/C, it gets down to 62-63 in the dead of winter down here, so it's nice to be able to kick in a little heat.  Later in the summer I'll use the A/C a few times.

However, I'm not a masochist, we have central air for the whole house.

A/C is a must-have in your neck of the woods, John. I used to live down there and remember the HHH (Hot, Hazy, Humid) summers.

I'm very happy with my mini-split except for one thing: lost shelf space.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Our German Shepherd/Beagle mix, would bark like crazy at the train when I ran it. I think she thought it was a snake. LOL

Our dog has been feed by Thomas the Tank engine ... a very useful engine ...

A chow train - COOL! 😀

I'm wondering if the old "Gravy Train" dog food was so delivered

Well behaved pup !

My beloved BonnieDog ( now deceased after 13 years who survived a brown snake bite at age 11! ) , well to put it politely she would have INHALED the entire train , its contents and most likely have been slurping up the track like spaghetti !

Chocolate Labrador .. a stomach on 4 legs

@Fatman posted:

Well behaved pup !

My beloved BonnieDog ( now deceased after 13 years who survived a brown snake bite at age 11! ) , well to put it politely she would have INHALED the entire train , its contents and most likely have been slurping up the track like spaghetti !

Chocolate Labrador .. a stomach on 4 legs

Ours , black lab/pit   can be very gentle ... or , a bull in a china shop 🤣

When she gets zooming through the house , everything not on a table , goes flying !

I have a 10 month old black lab and a 4 year old chocolate lab.  They love to chase each other around the house and yard, but rarely get into the train room.  The loss of the ac is an exception to get them down there, as well as when there is a tornado warning.  Otherwise, I am wary of their tail wagging as it can knock trains off their shelves. 

They did do well in sleeping in the train room, as it was nice and cool and they slept on their dog bed.