does rain ruin garden model trains?

Rana Rudell: All I can suggest you do is be very careful as it might.

Chanda Wittwer: No, but rust will effect smooth running which can be fixed with enery cloth

Verdie Wollen: Depends a bit on what setup you're going for. RAILS: Rain will cause rusting of rails and joints - so if you want an electric current driven outdoor model railway then you'll need to regularly clean the railhead to ensure good contact. If you're going for live steam then obviously that's not a problem.TRAINS: Again, dependant on gauge. Larger gauge carriage and wagon models are often built from wood with metal wheels, so although these will withstand some weather, eventually the wood will start to rot and paint will peel. But the locomotives are metal and will need repainting more often if kept outdoors.Smaller gauge models more often use plastic or painted brass / steel - but even then models start to look scruffy very quickly if kept outdoors for long.But basically - rain (or snow, sl! eet etc.) won't actually ruin anything other than delicate exposed electronics, but you will find maintenance is much more important with an outdoor railway....Show more

Victor Macallister: I (we with my two boys) have started our adventure as of 6 months ago and they both count the days of the week waiting for the weekend to go and do “our” thing. Thanks to this site http://tinyurl.com/ModelTrainsBeginnersR , staff, site and books, I was able to quickly get up to speed on the latest technologies and techniques without spending days if not weeks on the web to look for it (and most likely not finding all that you have provided). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this hobby is still so active since I have not touched my boxes of trains since packing up the layout my father did with me in 1975. I can only imagine the hours needed to keep up with all of what you are doing and I salute you in your mission. My two boys are saved from the video game frenzy for now ! but its up to the parents and grandparents of this generation ! to help the next generation. This site help us do what we can do better and we all have fun and at the same time educate our children…...Show more