Temperature, humidity and Lionel trains

[overall]

My trainroom is actually supposed to be a garage. It has no heat other than a 1500 watt electric space heater. The temperature usually stays around 40 degrees or so in the winter. The humidity stays about 35% or so. I have a thermometer and a humidistat out there to keep a check on those things. The garage is well insulated. It even has an insulated garage door.

I have begun to wonder if the above conditions would shorten the life of the electronics in my TMCC equipped engines. Should I do something about this or am I just worried for nothing.

Thanks,

George

[Big_Boy_4005]

I'm sorry George, but I cringe at the mention of the words TRAINS and GARAGE in the same sentence. If you don't use the space for parking a vehicle, then there is some hope in my opinion, and if you don't open the door, that helps even more. Have you been using this space for your layout long?

I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but I don't think that the cold is your biggest enemy. In a space like yours, I would be most concerned about humidity, and dirt. Those two factors are closely tied to the garage door, and how well it is sealed,and how often its opened. I won't bother with the problems that dirt can cause, as they are rather obvious, but humidity can be nasty.

Humidity in the winter really isn't a problem, since the air can't hold as much moisture at lower temperatures. The problems could come in the other three seasons, if you live in a climate that is not arid. If you allow moist outside air in, as it cools at night it could condense, on your railroad like it does on your lawn. It doesn't have to take the form of large droplets, like dew, for the rusting process to begin.

I once tried to do a train layout in my garage, what a mess. The fact that my garage was not insulated and the door was often open, surely hastened the layout's demise. I think that even under the conditions you described, eventually you will have damage of some kind, most likely in the form of rust.

The fact that you have the space insulated is a big help, but have you ever considered sealing it completely and conditioning it like the rest of the house?

[overall]

I very seldom open the door for just the reason you mention. I guess I could get an electric heat pump to condition the air better. I have considered doing that in the past.
Sounds like I need to make that my next project. Thanks for the reply.

George

[Algonquin]

Hi George,

This topic has been discussed here before. Search the Forums above on "Humidity". This will bring up some additional discussion on the topic.

Regards,

Tim Pignatari