It's much more like a real railway outdoors isn't it? Heavy locos with many wheels picking up are best for reliability. Traction tyres don't work well, and are useless if it is wet. You need to do some small scale civil engineering to devise a route with gradients and curves easy enough for the locos and stock. There is ongoing maintenance to structure and track to combat what nature throws at it, and winter 'works overhaul' becomes a necessity if the stock is well used. But it is so much fun operating through the seasons, and having to do things like attach extra power to make progress against a headwind. Had some trucks blown off the tracks once and only found them during the spring tidy up. They were fine once the rather rusty wheelsets had been replaced.
I would be back outside like a shot except that the wildlife seems too destructive in our present home. Why would squirrels want to chew up Peco sleepers?Woodpeckers doing what their name suggests, and a badger that accidentally undermined some fence posts I can live with as that is occasional stuff. Haven't given up all hope, I am going to try another lot of code 100 off the old layout outdoors, as the replacement indoor layout gets going. Part of the temptation is DCC. The constant and higher track voltage should assist reliability, and the ultra simple wiring and ready access to wireless walkaround control has huge appeal over the greater distances outside.
I would be back outside like a shot except that the wildlife seems too destructive in our present home. Why would squirrels want to chew up Peco sleepers?Woodpeckers doing what their name suggests, and a badger that accidentally undermined some fence posts I can live with as that is occasional stuff. Haven't given up all hope, I am going to try another lot of code 100 off the old layout outdoors, as the replacement indoor layout gets going. Part of the temptation is DCC. The constant and higher track voltage should assist reliability, and the ultra simple wiring and ready access to wireless walkaround control has huge appeal over the greater distances outside.