nick s.
Posts:0
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 | | 07/19/2008 1:33 PM |
| Ok so i will be moving soon to the new house if all goes well, i will need to store some of my trains temporaly in the attic. now in my old home my attic got about 120 degrees in the summer so i stored the trains in the basement, but will not have that option with the new house. do any of you have experiance with storing trains in the attic? if so did it harm them or any of there components? its almost 100 degrees here in NY today and im a bit nervous about have to store them in the attic in the heat 
Nick... | | | |
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Trains
Omaha, Nebr.
Foreman
Posts:305
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| | 07/19/2008 4:31 PM |
| Nick,
I don't think I would do it. I have empty boxes up there, but I wouldn't put trains up there. | |
I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die.
I'm in a hurry and don't know why! | |
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Spule 4
2nd Class Member
Conductor
Posts:602
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| | 07/19/2008 4:35 PM |
| | Stored stuff in the attic here in Nashvegas, TN for years, ditto with a friend, wood, brass, plastic, no harm.... | |
Garrett
“I wish something on T.V. would trouble me. Then maybe I would watch it.”
-John Waters | |
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Allan W. Miller
1st Class Member
Struthers, Ohio
Foreman
Posts:100
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| | 07/20/2008 5:37 AM |
| | I wouldn't do it (I do have an attic available myself, but would only consider storing empty boxes there). It's up to you, of course, but my advice would be to avoid storing trains--any trains--in a really hot attic. | |
Allan | |
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NTCGRR
1st Class Member
Nebraska City NE
Engineer
Posts:1077
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| | 07/20/2008 7:40 AM |
| Put a thamometer up there and see just how hot it is. we set roof power fans at around 150 degrees. I worry more about the winter cold on the plastic.\
It may not be as hot as you think.
Sitting out on the RR they get over 100 in full sun easy.
Have a roofer check to see if its properly vented. | |
 Marty Cozad
North Table Creek GRR
Nebraska City, NE
Is it "REAL" or just 1:29 th | |
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nick s.
Posts:0
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| | 07/20/2008 9:58 AM |
| Thanks for all the advise Guys. Marty i will do that as soon as we get in there, and check to see what the temp really is.. thanks all.
Nick.. | | | |
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Torby
1st Class Member
North Chicago 'burbs.
Engineer
Posts:1907
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| | 07/20/2008 11:31 AM |
| | Susan's dad found a shoebox in his attic with some marbles from when Susan and her sisters were kids. The shoe box was in fine shape, but the glass marbles had flattened and were no longer round! Susan thought they must have got hot enough to melt, but the cardboard box wasn't marked at all. | |
 One king held the frankincense,
One king held the myrrh,
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One King held the hope of the world.
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Spule 4
2nd Class Member
Conductor
Posts:602
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| | 07/20/2008 12:17 PM |
| | Remember, the majority of our model RR stuff comes to the US by containers on the decks of ships, which get as hot or hotter inside Vs. a ventilated attic. Insulated ones are reserved for drugs, chemicals, foods, etc. | |
Garrett
“I wish something on T.V. would trouble me. Then maybe I would watch it.”
-John Waters | |
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Greg Elmassian
1st Class Member
Carlsbad (San Diego), CA
Engineer
Posts:1610
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| | 07/20/2008 12:34 PM |
| 160 degrees is about the limit. I think this comes from tests long ago in closed cars in Arizona.
The heat will age the plastic faster and make it brittle, but many people in Arizona will attest to temperatures like this outside.
I would think an attic fan will keep it cool enough not to worry.
Speaking of heat in containers, I just received a box of 5' Aristo straights, and a fair amount of the wax had melted and screws were all over the inside of the box. I'm assuming it's from the containers, but it could have been storage by the distributor.
Regards, Greg | |
Be sure to visit my site, lots of technical tips and modifications, and you can search for topics and key words.
Click here for Greg's web site | |
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Pete Thornton
1st Class Member
Annapolis, MD
Conductor
Posts:625
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| | 07/21/2008 8:30 AM |
| experiance with storing trains in the attic
I didn't store mine - I ran them. We dry-walled the attic and I got to use it as a train room.
It was outside the a/c area, but when the guys did the walls, they installed 'troughs' of expanded plastic under the insulation, against the roof, between the rafters. These provided an air channel from the soffit behind the gutter to the airspace at the top which was vented by the usual end gable vents. I was astounded how cool it was, even in a NJ summer.
So my suggestion would be to put some insulation between the rafters and fit these air circulation channels behind the insulation. Good vents should help. A fan to the outside with a thermostat that turns on when it gets hot should keeps things even cooler. | |
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Rayman4449
Gardner, KS
Conductor
Posts:636
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| | 07/21/2008 5:40 PM |
| I wouldn't do it. Even with an attic fan the radiant heat that will come from the roof (unless you install radiant barrier like I did) will still heat the trains.
Raymond | |
Want MTH DCS Protosound 2 in a non-MTH engine? I can help.
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nick s.
Posts:0
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| | 07/21/2008 7:20 PM |
| Welp i went over to the new house yesterday to check on the tile guys, and i stuck a meat thermomiter in the attic and went back today at about 3pm and that bad boy said 136 degrees, now mind you this is a bare attic right now with just eve vents....im thinking that maybe to warm for the trains, im afraid the grease and oil will start to get thin and run off the engines think i will have to come up with another ideal for storage for now...i cant put them in the basement for a while as it will be almost filled with stuff from the move for 6 or 8 months. maybe i will have to look into renting something for the short term....
Nick.... | | | |
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Rayman4449
Gardner, KS
Conductor
Posts:636
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| | 07/21/2008 7:23 PM |
| How much room is your girlfriend taking up you think? 
Just trying to help... 
Raymond | |
Want MTH DCS Protosound 2 in a non-MTH engine? I can help.
www.rayman4449.dynip.com
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nick s.
Posts:0
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| | 07/21/2008 7:44 PM |
| More than i want to give her, but you know how that goes... give a little they take alot  i tried to tell her this house is going to be different... trains 1st evrything else 2nd, but no she has to go change her mind about a 100 times really starting to get on my nerves and you all know what a none confrintational person i am.. anyway at least i get to keep my flat screen tv and my trains so life is good  she says i have to buy a new chair for the living room cause it doesnt match or somthin, i was like what the hell!!!! i love that chair its been with me thru 2 wifes and i cant tell you how many girlfreinds, and she looked at me like she wanted to throw a pot at me or somthin....so why not im thinkin, shes makin me buy all new pots and pans and plates and bla bla bla. i can tell you what this arrangment is seriuosly cutting into my train buget and my last nerves... HE HE HENick... | | | |
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Pete Thornton
1st Class Member
Annapolis, MD
Conductor
Posts:625
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| | 07/22/2008 12:42 PM |
| love that chair its been with me thru 2 wifes and i cant tell you how many girlfreinds
Nick - that's the problem with the chair. She'll NEVER be happy about a chair that you tell her has been thru 2 wives, etc.
As long as she leaves your trains alone, go with the flow.... | |
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Chris Scott
1st Class Member
Sonoma, CA
Foreman
Posts:136
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| | 07/23/2008 8:06 PM |
| $0.02
Rent storage at a U-Stor-It (or whatever name) near you. But make sure it is insulated or weather proofed. Newly/recently built units tend to come standard with weather proofing. If your trains will fit in an attic you probably only need a small storage unit so the cost will be minimal. Believe me, attic baked trains are not worth the risk. | | | |
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Robert Fasnacht
Brakeman
Posts:35
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| | 07/25/2008 5:31 PM |
| Nick, for me, it's either put them in the attic or set them outside forever. Den is filled--to my sweetie's eternal disgust, 16X24 shed is overflowing and I'm simply at my wits end where to store stuff. So far, it has been my experience that the attic environment has not adversely affected my rolling stock. No locomotive subjected to temperature extremes because of lubrication concerns. Attic is located in Northwest Florida where summer temperatures nearly reach 100 degrees F. Nevertheless, when I climb up to get some cars I want to run, I routinely discover nothing has melted or assumed an odd shape. I too worried about the effects of high heat but now believe that attic storage is not necesssarily a bad idea. I daresay, rolling stock sitting on an outdoor track in the hot sun is probably subjected to the same type of temperatures present in the attic. So hundreds await my beck and call over my head. Bob
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Mik
Indiana, Pa
Foreman
Posts:420
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| | 07/25/2008 6:07 PM |
| | My grandpa had his Lionel train layout and collection in a finished attic for 50+ years... Maybe they were made of sterner stuff? | |
Mik
Unsupervised children will be given espresso and a free puppy | |
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Madman
1st Class Member
Pennsylvania
Foreman
Posts:351
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| | 07/25/2008 8:20 PM |
| Glass marbles ......flattened 
I'm not buying it. | |
Dan Padova | |
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Spule 4
2nd Class Member
Conductor
Posts:602
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| | 07/25/2008 8:32 PM |
| Posted By Chris Scott on 07/23/2008 8:06 PM
$0.02
Rent storage at a U-Stor-It (or whatever name) near you. But make sure it is insulated or weather proofed. Newly/recently built units tend to come standard with weather proofing. If your trains will fit in an attic you probably only need a small storage unit so the cost will be minimal. Believe me, attic baked trains are not worth the risk.
Having been around both attics and U-stor-its (from climate controlled to the metal shed) I do not see any difference between an insulated unit (non climate controlled) and a house attic?
The outdoor comments are valid, there you are dealing with the sun and uneven (roof in sun, bottom in shade) heat which brings about warpage..... | |
Garrett
“I wish something on T.V. would trouble me. Then maybe I would watch it.”
-John Waters | |
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