The 'summer slump' is on...

Very true.........

Gary

I definitely can relate.

 

--Greg

In the North East, there's just too much to do for the 4 months of better weather. The trains sit & wait for Winter's doldrums to roll back around again.  

Here in Bizarro World, the heat of summer sends us indoors to enjoy the trains. Sweater Weather may make you guys want to go to the "basement", but here, it's the hum of the A/C in the shop.

 

(That "heat of summer" can also send us to the white sandy beaches of Gulf Shores, too - if I wanted to assault the world with the sight of me in a swim suit.)

Not us. Since the layout is upstairs, the AC can just be "adjusted" to 75 degrees, the beer is iced, and trains will be running. 

With me summer time is train shed time , door & windows open. Too cold even with heating in the winter.

James 

It's like culture clash. Yeah, from May until about September, any warm sunny day- there's about 15 million things to do around here. You're outside cleaning up winter's left over messes, plus everyone jams their grad parties, weddings, & other events into Spring, then there's 4th of July & summer is almost over, so then the early fall projects pile up to get the house, cars, & equipment ready for winter, & the next thing you know it's snowing & time to clean the track for the 1st time in 4 months...

Water,

Your thought waves are functioning the same. Except I'm ground level with the AC set at 68 degrees and plenty of "hard" lemonade. No trains to run anymore so it's DVD's on the TV. We're already there. It has been 100+ for the last week and more of same ahead. Bring on the Mike's ("hard" lemonade that is).

Given the heat (100 - 110+) and humidity (up to 90+%) we have to deal with here where I live, and given that I work in a non-A/C environ that can reach 120+ degrees temps in the cab on those 100-100+ days, once home from work, outside activity is kept to a minimum, and A/C is the rule of the day.

 

So, my indoor hobbies often have the same activity level during the summer as the winter.

 

When I like to get out and enjoy the outdoors is during the Autumn and Spring seasons. (Also, much of our winter is quite moderate, so on those days too, outside activity is much more fun.)  Those seasons are the best for dual sport motorcycle riding.

And during the summer in the South, grass and shrubs waitheth for no man.

I have a two week slump coming up. Family and grandkids so no work on the layoput during their visits. Maybe running a train if they want to see them. This year I  made it a point that I was going to work on the layout every week through the year and so far it has worked out great..................Paul

I just started summer vacation this weekend, so between now and Labor Day (ish) is when the most work on the layout happens!

Just the opposite, we love this time of year and working on the layout. It is not 20 below with five feet of snow to go through to get to the layout.

Now that the insulation is nearing completion, my attic reclamation can continue in relative comfort.  I recall in the beginning, work had to stop at noon during the summer swelter.  I'm still waiting for one of those brutal 95F days for the ultimate test.  I'm not expecting miracles, just temps that a small window AC unit can tackle easily.

 

More to the point, I hit a swap meet this morning and bought a few 3 rail goodies.  So, the addiction hasn't come to a screeching halt yet...no matter what you might hear from my wife.  

 

Bruce 

I'm in the Northeast, and although mowing, trimming and other home-maintenance chores intrude on my time (as well as pleasanter activities like biking), I can't really say it affects my train activities very much.

 

Whenever the mood hits me, they are ready to go. I have no train season.

 

Festival season, with its increased shows and travel, definitely lessens time to spend with the trains.

 

 

not true here,its 365 a year =Jim

Actually, that reminds me of something else too. The Hobby Shops around here seem to slow down with their trains & stock a lot less this time of year. They'l concentrate on other items until around October when they order more in anticipation of Xmas. They don't have any train shows between April & September either.

for me summer is usually just running sessions once in a while, I really want to be outdoors with my kids with all the sports and activities.  but over the last 8 weeks work has been a bear (14 hour days), my oldest is graduating HS, she has the Prom, and my wife and I are getting ready to send her away to college end of August.  I did just pick up my Lionel SD70MAC #9858 in BNSF yesterday and my son and I ran trains last night and put this beast on the track - what a beauty.  My LHS held it for me for over a month because I could not get there to pick it up ... Thank God for me all good stuff keeping me busy.   

Railroaded,

 

     Not for us at the Black Diamond Society of Model Engineers in Bethlehem Pa, We have heat for winter and A/C for summer. We have a upcoming open house June 27th and 28th (see announcements forum) and twelve of us are riding the steam excursion on August 23rd pulled by Berk# 765. Want to avoid the summer slump join a club.

 

JohnB

The wife & I miss the open road. We purchased our first new Aspencade in 1986. The wife & I traveled the lower 48 nine months out of every year. While we were on the road we bought trains wherever and whenever we found them. In 1995 we purchased another new Aspencade after we had ridden 86,000 miles on our 86 model. The wife & I put 28,000 miles on our 95 model before selling it in 1999. I noticed that the open road changed for the worse, what a shame. After the better part of 35 years we switched back to Prewar Std Gauge.

Happy Pappy said:

quote:

I noticed that the open road changed for the worse, what a shame. 

That's an interesting observation.  Mind elaborating as to what you feel has changed for the worse?

 

Wife and I are looking to do some traveling after we retire, so I'm curious about your feelings.

Summer slump! Never! Trains are year round as long as my AC is cranking! I don't do well with heat and humidity so when it gets that hot the grass is on it's own and I'm down the train room. 

I guess, for me anyway, it works out ok because I like summertime hobbies that we can't do when it's snowing like bike rides, fishing, classic car shows, cruise nights, watching lake freighters (boatnerding) & trains (railfanning), train excursions, air shows & stuff like that. When winter sets in, all that other stuff goes by the wayside & model kits & trains become the 'seasonal' hobbies of choice. Nice flip in pastimes & nothing gets old, worn out , or boring & you look forward to the change of season & the different fun stuff to do with each one, marking the way points of another year in the life...

Railroaded....checked your profile and you have a very interesting name.  Was one of my favorites at breakfast when I was a kid....  Anyway, trains season is year round in my neck of the woods.  We have heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer and a lawnmower as well as other various yard implements to take care of the "in-between" times....

 

Alan

Well, "training" has slowed to a crawl around me and my estate ().  It seems there is sooo much work to do outside, that it won't end until the leaves have fallen and are disposed of.  Even though I try to get out into the yard by 7:30 AM, I am wrung out by 10:30, and too tired to do much else.  I just don't have the stamina of my younger years.

I'm kinda lucky being retired.  I can get the outside work done during the day, (weekdays) and in the evening I work on the layout if the mood strikes me.  Lately, it hasn't.  It's about time to get the HD Tour Classic on the road and wear down some tires.  That's another nice thing about being a "Seasoned Rider".  Now I ride when I feel like riding, not like 30 years ago when I rode just because I had a bike.  It's funny how thing change.

 

Chief Bob (Retired)

Very true • but, I must say the following activities compete for my time.

     1. Fishing

     2. Tigers Baseball

     3. Summer Community Band

     4. Out door cook outs

     5. Taking care of the lawn and garden

     6. Flying Model Aircraft - Flying Pilgrims - Academy of Model Aeronautics 

I did run all the main line trains today, No Chaos

Gary • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway • Click on photo to enlarge.

Neat set up, what's with the curved wall? Never saw a layout adapted to a curve like that.

I hope you're just putting the beer on ice, and not ice in the beer!

Believe me, we are more than old enough to know how to ice our beer, then follow it up with good, thin crust pizza.

NOT for me either - trains year-round, and also gauge one live steam outside!

 

It's all good!  

Sir,

You have mail at the address in your profile.

I have a stack of oak and cottonwood logs to cut up and the brush from a bunch of poplar limbs to hack into reasonable piles for disposal. 

 

The temps are over 90 with comparable humidity.  2 hours are about all I can tolerate working in those conditions.  Did that on Sat. and then ranked firewood yesterday just to clear my way around the pile.  figure I have 3-4 more sessions to go before I will be able to call it done until Fall.

 

With this heat, I'll spend the rest of the time inside, in the shop, building kits, cars, and other stuff for the layout.

Changed the name from CB&L (crappy basement and layout) to CCB&L.  Crappy cool basement and layout.

This is ramp up time for me.....I get less done on the home layout and more work is done on the modular layout, getting ready for the Chesterfield County Fair in late August-early September and our various Fall/Winter displays.

 

Peter

I never run my trains until the sun goes down anyway.  My crappy basement layout is in the furnace room so even though the rest of the house is A/C'd, the HVAC equipment keeps the room kind of warm year round.  If I closed my layout, the cover would come right back off the next time I was stopped at a RR crossing.

 

Rich