xmas_tree

xmas_tree XMAS TREE / TOY TRAIN SAFETY
courtesy of S Gaugian magazine

by Tom Jarcho

A real X-mas tree makes a wonderful

addition to a holiday layout. I love having a large living tree that smells great and purifies the air too.:

But A TREE CAN BECOME A REAL FIRE HAZARD, ESPECIALLY AROUND TOY TRAINS, UNLESS
YOU ARE CAREFUL. HERE ARE SOME VERY IMPORTANT SAFETY SUGGESTIONS

1. Pick the freshest tree you can get. 2. Don't buy a tree that has any damage to the bark on the lower part of the tree. Trees 'drink' through their bark, and you want the tree to keep drinking as much and as long as possible. Some holiday trees grow in unconventional shapes and are reshaped by a maniac with a chainsaw before sale. The lower bark is often damaged in this process.

3. Mount the tree in a stand that holds water for the tree to drink. Cut about an inch or so off the bottom of the trunk before placing it on the stand. The seller can usually do this for you when you buy the tree. 4. Fill the stand with water and KEEP IT FULL. Check it several times a day. Monitor your tree's water consumption. As long as it's drinking, it's in good shape. When it stops drinking, it will soon be time to get rid of it. 5. Put the tree where it will get several hours of sunlight each day. Remember, it's still a living evergreen. A tree that gets good sunlight will drink more and stay fresh longer.

6. Mist the tree heavily several times a day with an atomizer. It's better to have a little rust on your track than a firebomb in the middle of it. Make sure the trains and any tree lights are off when you mist 7. When the tree stops drinking, dries out, and starts to shed its needles, it's time to get rid of it. 8. Keep the wires to electric tree lights away from the track. it's usually possible to use rear tree branches to run these wires over the track. Mount them securely so there's no possibility of an accident. 9. Wire your railroad carefully. Twist the ends of stranded wire so there are no loose strands before making connections. Make good strong connections to all terminal posts. Don't try to connect too many wires to a terminal post. Instead, bind the wires together , and run one wire from them to the terminal post.. After twisting the wires together, twist on a wire nut. Wrap vinyl tape around the wires, then the nut, then the wires again. Wrap all wire splices in vinyl tape for insulation and strength. Never use wire whose insulation has lost its flexibility or started to crumble.

10.Plug all your transformers into a power strip with an on-off switch so
that you can cut off power to the whole layout in a hurry. Never leave your trains on if you leave the room. Just turn off the switch on the power strip.

11. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. Some shoot water, and some shoot caustic soda. While water will damage your trains somewhat, soda will do a lot more damage. Check with your local fire department to see what they recommend. You might also keep a couple of old blankets handy, just in case you need to smother a very small blaze. And of course your tree and your railroad should be in an area of the house that's protected by a smoke detector.
12. Remove any fallen pine needles from the track each day with a Dustbuster or another small vacuum cleaner, before you run your trains.

I have had a real tree as part of my holiday layout every year for over ten years without any fire problems at all. Of course, I have always been extremely careful with it. If you use one, you should be careful too.