Recently I disassembled my railroad and bundled it up to allow my daughter to move in for a year. I very carefully stacked it up on my covered patio and sealed it up with tarps to keep the dust out. So this weekend I realized it had to be moved because the location was interfering with our normal use of the patio. I had to open it all up because it’s just too heavy and I was shocked to find it in shambles. We are in the middle of a heat wave with temps over 110°F and my entire code 55 track buckled up so high at points that you can push a pencil under it. The only thing holding it on was the wire feeders. I was just sick when I saw my 50+ code 55 turnouts twisted up and my servos dangling by its wires underneath. I’ve been up all night thinking about it and I just don’t have the hart to redo it after years of working on it. Maybe this is a sign that it’s over. I’ll probably start trying to salvage some of it to sell on eBay after I’ve mourned some. I can’t even look at it right now.
I am sorry to hear you relate your loss. I can imagine how devastated you feel. Salvage what you can. After a few days, and maybe a few weeks, see how you feel. In the midst of the tragedy is not the best time to make permanent decisions.
+1 to what Hoyden said. There's a saying among hikers: "Never quit on a rainy day." Wait a bit and reevaluate. You might find that it's an opportunity to change focus.
The track is not all that hard to fix once it gets cool again. As has been said, make no decision in the midst of anger or frustration.
Not done and fixable. The first issue is just like the 1 to 1 railroads is you need some expansion joints here and there. Easy to retro in if you have a Dremel tool and a cut off wheel. But first you either have to wait for a cool day or move the layout to a cool spot that has the same temperature as when you first laid the track. Get the track back down and then cut those expansion joints.
I agree with John up to a point. However, before doing anything, try to move it back into an AC controlled space and wait a month. Then take a deep breath, and decide what can be done. Everything might have gone back to normal, or nearly so...but try to get back on the horse.
When I moved my layout from Minnesota to Nevada, I experienced some of that. Going from cool temps and high humidity to high temps and no humidity changed the layout. I had some track buckles. My 6'3" layout segments shrunk 3/16". I fixed the track (its 115* outside and I don't have AC in the garage, so I should go check it all right tonight), I figured this is railroading. Even 1:1 railroads have heat buckles. Trim the rails up a little to allow for expansion joints.
I'll add to the dogpile of "wait before making any permanent (out of the hobby for good) decisions" advice... it's pretty standard advice after any traumatic event (e.g. loss of job, death of close family member, etc.) to not make any major moves for at least 6 months or more... you've got to get some space from the immediate feelings before you can make any rational decisions. It may be that this particular layout is toast. If so, it's really no different than the many of us who have lost a layout to a forced move or something. Maybe a move to focusing on weathering cars or building structures, or T-Trak or something is in order, at least for a while. Maybe even a "season" of armchair modeling or railfanning. It may be that the layout is salvageable... in that event, no great loss. It may be time to take up golf or something. Bottom line is you've got to do what makes you happy long term... the problem is right after a blow like this is a really, REALLY BAD time to decide what's going to make you happy long term.
I do think we can all understand the feeling and the sinking sensation on first seeing it. Patience and time...
Well after going back to bed and getting some more sleep, I woke up thinking about all the money I have tied up in this and I may have to think about it some more. The heat is not over and I should do something soon so the rails are not permanently bent if they aren’t already. I was thinking about cutting some of the feeders that are holding it in place and running a razor around under the track to allow it to expand. Eventually I may have to add more expansion joints, but I’m not sure how to accommodate this much expansion. I don’t know how to figure the math, but I’m guessing it must have expanded at least ½” in 36” with a 35 ° F difference of temp if I can slide a pencil under it. I’m having trouble believing it because I thought the plywood would have expanded some as well.
You aren't the only one who is wondering what's next. Despite your kind gift of insulation and the fact the temperatures in my shed can be kept in a moderate range. Most of the damage from the weather has all but been eliminated. My mousers have contributed to some of the damage. Messing with my track work. That cork roadbed must feel good to those front paws of theirs. Requiring me to replace the accessible track work. The cost to do so is prohibitive. I need the mousers to keep the mice and snake population at bay. The one thing I don't have to worry about is the substructure or the bench work. It is solid and should last forever. I learned long ago that if my bench work can move, flex and isn't solid my track work will bend and pop off. Not something I want and obviously not a good thing. I found if I lay track during the heat of the summer I don't have as many contraction or expansion issues. Perhaps a club layout would be a good place to take our model railroading interest. I wish you the best.
I agree with the above statements. Never decide in the heat of the moment. Mine is packed away in a distant Garage and shutter to think what it will look like a year from now; when I move into another home and unpack. But it is what it is and I'll deal with that when the time comes. With much patience I must add. You'll get it straightened out before you know it.
I have had issues on my existing layout with buckles and it does get disheartening. Seeing your mainline and yard tracks in a yard 53' long kicking and swerving all over dampens the spirit, but it must be overcome!
Well the old basic laws of everything has different expansion/ contraction rates. Wood, cork, and plaster all have them but to much lesser extents. Wood tends to react more to the excess or lack of moisture than to heat. Thus those metal rails are the most reactive on your layout. The plastic ties can react to but not to the extent that the rails do. If you had rail joints which butted tightly together there was no room to go but up/down, or sideways. Gaps at 1/16th of an inch or less through out the layout add up and can be more than enough. That is about the thickness or a little less of a Dremel cut off disc. Plastic components, depending on the type of plastic, get unhappy with temperatures that get to 140 deg. F. or more. They will warp and not return to shape once cooled while the metal generally will. So the temperature of 110 deg. F. can be much hotter if exposed to direct sunlight, and can reach that magical 140. I would be more concerned with the shape that the plastic ties are in and whether there is warping.
Never give up. Never surrender! The code 55 is pretty flexible, it should be readily fixable. Might be time to find an RV???
Not knowing the complete situation I won't be making any judgement or recommendations. Do to things out of my control I have had to give up on making a new HO layout in this apartment without a job so I may be in much the same situation. But, as said it's best to give it some time to see what happens.
One of the things I'd like to add here is what many in years past called heat or expansion joints aka gaps in the track. Since I have block wiring, I have an inordinate amount of isolation gaps that will also act as expansion gaps. As a result my rails will move around and I have to check to make sure the gaps haven't closed. Usually a drop of cyanoacrylate (Gap Filling) super glue will solve the problem.
It may not be as bad as it looks at first discovery. Years ago, I wrote a thread here about the coefficient of expansion of brass, and how a little expansion due to a rise in temperature can lead to a surprisingly large displacement of track. Let it cool down, and the rails may settle back into place--the forces of contraction are equal to the forces of expansion. When I moved my railroad from Albuquerque to Ohio, the workers I hired took no care whatsoever to make sure that the "modules" stayed vertical and did not flex, so I saw huge sections of track bowed up (or sideways) about the firmly-glued ties. I too thought everything was ruined! Yet, after letting the modules settle a bit in their new environment, I found that most places resettled as they were before, with a few minor kinks. Now, some sections were ruined completely, but these were in the minority, and not the most scenicked ones. The most scenicked ones bounced back the best--they had the most ballast, the most glue, the most feeders, the most attention. So don't give up yet. I'm still swearing, having to move again after six years, at the track that once seemed irreparably separated and that now can't be separated without a long soaking and careful prying. Given a chance, that twisted and bent track just might settle back to where it was. Here's hoping!
Best of luck Pete. Moving has destroyed more of my layouts then I care to account for. Usually I move my own layouts, spending time to pack them up, box them and stack them myself in the truck. The movers can handle everything else but my layout is a different story. Take care and I can only hope this time is a permanent home for you. Adding: Until I hit the brakes in a panic stop swerving to avoid creating an accident. That U-haul truck responded amazingly well and we averted a disaster. Not so for the layout. Next time tie it down...dummy! I said to myself....not grinning. It is what it is and can't be anything more.
