# Take buildings in or leave out in Winter?



## trainman707 (Jan 3, 2008)

For years I have left my buildings out in the weather. Some are plastic, some wood. Most have done very well in the cold, rain, snow, ice of winter. I'm in Northwest Arkansas and temps get down to the low teens at times. I recently purchased 3 built up buildings by Aristo. I'm curious if anyone has had these types of buildings on their railroad through cold winter weather. If so, how have they weathered?

Thanks!
Monte


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

Some of the Aristo buildings fade in the sun, some don't. The interlocking tower seems to be fade prone, but that is a summer problem, not a winter one. 

I leave all my structures out year round, but I live in SoCal so our winters are not much more than some rainy days. Most of my buildings are scratch built of materials that are suitable to year round weather. Redwood, aluminum siding and concrete are my favorites.


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

This station and wharehouse from Aristo have been outside continuously for six years. Temps have ranged [Wichita, KS] from -16 to 109F. They have been completely covered by snow and/or ice. The intensity of the yellow has faded a bit, but not to excess. 












JimC.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

At the Botanic, we take them all in. 

I know a guy who leaves them out and hides all the cars and people inside them. His small garden is beautiful.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

I just picked mine up, second year in a row. Need to re-do some lights/etc.


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## sbaxters4 (Jan 2, 2008)

I have left my Aristo Farmhouse, water tower, Piko - Station, and shop/house out though the winter for the last two years with no problems. I'm in southern Minnesota so I would say you should be fine leaving yours out.... The worst thing I've had is having to reglue some of the details on the shop/house but nothing major.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm starting to think our layout and weather situations are unique. We're located at 8000 feet in the rocky mountains. A base of 34 inches of snow is the norm for most of the winter. Add to this when the big storms come and you get some pretty heavy stuff. I'm afraid this much snow would likely crush the G gauge buildings, or at least break off some of the weaker details. This much snow bends the small younger pine trees which stand at about 4 feet high as they get covered. Takes them most of the summer to bend back to vertical.


So to play it safe, we bring in all of the buildings:


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm starting to think our layout and weather situations are unique. We're located at 8000 feet in the rocky mountains. 

Um, what was your first clue


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## IllinoisCentral (Jan 2, 2008)

The only Aristo built-up building I've got is one of the farm houses. It's been outside in the Chicago weather for probably about 4-5 years now. Aside from fading a bit in the summer sun, I haven't noticed any problems with it (no cracking, warping, falling apart). Temperatures have ranged from over 100 degrees to well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey, if you're not planning to run the trains during the winter then why leave them outside? Maybe you don't have room inside to store them? But if you leave them outside they could get damaged by ice ir falling limbs etc.


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## bob7094 (Jan 3, 2008)

> "Hey, if you're not planning to run the trains during the winter then why leave them outside?" 

Even if I'm not running trains, I like to look out in the evening and see the lights. It's also fun to see them covered in snow over the roof tops. 

My scratch built wood buildings have not lasted more than 5 New Jersey winters ( 0F to 95F and wet) without either disintegrating or needing repair and repainting. My Aristo, Piko, and Pola structures hold up well, although some of the details do get lost. 

-- Bob


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## trainman707 (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I'm still in the process of placing the buildings and getting them wired for lights. I'm also repairing some of the others. I'm leaning towards leaving them outside. Like to see them when I walk out on the porch in winter. I do run trains all year long so would be nice to have them outside. This year I may not run as often...cold getting worse on this growing older body. 

Again appreciate the pictures and replies!
Monte


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## Tom Ruddell (Jan 9, 2008)

In between taking them in and leaving them out is storing them out. All but one of the buildings on the Bethlehem Central are housed in handy compartments under the railroad.

In the case of Nazareth Shops, the building is five-feet long, made up of two complete Pola kits plus extra parts, and might break if picked up. So I built a box cover that protects it along with several other structures, vehicles, etc. 











This is an old view, taken around 2003 before the Poverty Branch was completed. The box is made of Sintra over a frame of 1x2 clear pine soaked with wood preservative. The pin on the left front engages an eye screw and two padlocks (one visible on the right and the other on the back of the box) secure it in place. The two handles on top make it easy to lift off and set back on. Sintra turned out to be a bad choice for the top, so that was replaced early this year with a piece of flat aluminum custom cut by a local roofing company.










Here's the stuff that's packed up ready for the cover to go on. A BCR switch engine, caboose, and the heavy duty snow plow still waiting for snow to hit southeast Alabama are stored on Track 1 inside the building. The four vents on the side (there's four on the other side, too) allow air to circulate in the storage cabinet underneath.










And here's the dolly that rolls out of the cabinet. It houses all the buildings, etc. for the City of Poverty. There are fixed casters on the back and, after this pic was taken, swivel casters were installed on the front to make the rollouts and rollbacks a lot easier. 

Two other cabinets are located at the other end of the railroad to house buildings & things for the cities of Bethlehem & Malaisia.

Engineers on the BCR's "Extra Board," who are called out to run trains during our Bible programs and other events here, help pack up at the end of each operating session, so everything gets put away in a fairly short time. 



Tom Ruddell
Bethlehem Central Railroad
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama
www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Mine come in at the start of our tropical storm season (June) and go back out at it's end (November). I don't want tree limbs falling on things if we do get a storm. My next layout is going to be long on scenery and short on buildings. I have way too many.


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## Bob Vaughn (Jan 5, 2008)

But yours are so nice......Why not figure out a way to cover the part of your layout under the trees and extend the layout into the clearing....


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By trainman707 on 26 Oct 2009 04:34 PM 
I'm in Northwest Arkansas and temps get down to the low teens at times. I recently purchased 3 built up buildings by Aristo. I'm curious if anyone has had these types of buildings on their railroad through cold winter weather. If so, how have they weathered?

Thanks!
Monte


Hi Monte,

While your winters in Northwest Arkansas tends to be worse than the rest of the state I have left all my buildings out for at least 8 years and if anything the Aristo buildings (farm houses, freight and passenger stations, water tower etc.) have held up even better than the rest (Pola, Piko, Model Power etc.) mainly because I have problems with glue failing on the other brands while Aristo glue has never failed.

On the other hand I have not put any of the newer buildings like the church outside because they seem to have a more fragile construction but that is just an impression and I have not actually tried them outside.

I think Henson Tittle leaves everything outside year round but I don't recall what buildings he and Reba may have.

Perhaps we will have a chance to visit if you go to the show in Bentonville(?) in February.

Regards,

Jerry


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

here in denver at a mere 5300' 

i bring in everything as noted it just seems that its time for repair, the details seem to last longer, i dont think snow hurts them 

but between wind and branches and other mysteries-stuff happens 

but lots of sun really does wear em down imho more than any other factors 'cept kids and critters and a mis placed snow shovel


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I had an interesting comment from the insurance adjuster. I had filed a claim for hail damage to the roof and he asked if I had included a claim for damage to my layout buildings (from hail). I did not and will not file such a claim unless they give me a hard time on the roof which is a legitimate claim. The damage to the buildings mainly amounts to the glue having separated with the force of wind and hail and I can glue them back together.

I mention this in case someone else may have hail damage to their layout that calls for an insurance claim.

Jerry


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## Tom Ruddell (Jan 9, 2008)

All the BCR "stuff" (rolling stock, buildings, figures, etc.) is covered under "personal property" on my homeowners insurance. The outdoor track is laid on 2x6s and wooden platforms and the like and is attached to the train building and, therefore, falls under the category of "structures." If a big tree falls on the railroad, it's covered. If the tree misses the railroad, I get to pay for tree removal. With $1,000 deductible, however, not even the squirrels can cause enough damage to justify filing a claim.



















I've solved the squirrel problem, by the way, with a product called 410. It requires a special applicator and when the product is properly applied to a squirrel, the squirrel will never again eat the bumper light off a siding.

Tom Ruddell
Bethlehem Central Railroad
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama
www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

We live in So. Cal. in one of the canyons and I bring my buildings and structures in (over 4 dozen) between October and April because of the strong Santa Ana winds. All our structures are lighted and if the buildings get blown off their bases, it rips the wiring out of them. They then tend to smash against the fence and the pieces are distributed throughout the neighborhood. Furthermore, we put bricks on the track on the trestles as we've actually had the trestles blow out from under the tracks.


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