Murphys Law

[Anonymous]

I spent hours today cleaning and running trains for a small open house. I thought every thing was great, then they showed up!!
I had 1 derail 2 uncuplings and the train just died 2 times also(dirty track?)
Does this happen to anyone else??????[xx(][V][V][V][V][V]

[Anonymous]

Every time!

Bob Boudreau

[cjcrescent]

csxmu;

Things like this is why I'm a firm believer in O'Tooles Corollary on Murphy's Law:

MURPHY WAS AN OPTIMIST!!!!!!!

[cacole]

That happens all the time, so you're certainly not alone. My trains can run perfectly all day long when no one else is around, but just as soon as we have an open house nothing wants to stay on the track, crossing signals malfunction, or decoders suddenly decide that they won't run on the address that was programmed into them. The worst thing that happened during our last open house was that, for some bizarre reason, when a walk-around DCC controller was either unplugged or plugged into the network, it blew out microchips in all the other controllers that were plugged in at the time. Every time one of these controllers was plugged in after that, everything on the layout started running at full throttle and was totally out of control. Those controllers had to be replaced.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Every time one of these controllers was plugged in after that, everything on the layout started running at full throttle and was totally out of control.

WOW!!! [:O] I am glad this doesnt just happen to me!

[railman]

So I'm not the only one who has trains practice run for hours on end, then for the minutes in question, nothing but derail, usually in dramatic and unusual fashion!

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxmu

QUOTE: Every time one of these controllers was plugged in after that, everything on the layout started running at full throttle and was totally out of control.

WOW!!! [:O] I am glad this doesnt just happen to me!

YET! ......But it will[}:)]

There have been several threads that have discussed this in the past and according to Stats Canada 99.99% of all Model Railroads have had, at one time or another, a Gremlin Infestation.

Contrary to popular doctrine, Gremlinus Nova Scotia Maximus is by far more bent, twisted and hell bent for leather determined in reeking havoc then any other sub-species found else where, including Texas.

Despite attempts with advanced extermination techniques this vermin is highly resilient to anything known to man. The only way to eradicate the Nova Scotia Species (Scooter) is to cut off it's food supply of nickel track and DC or AC power supply. Though it has been rumored that Scooter has trashed a few push/pull Thomas the Tank Engine sets, this has yet to be confirmed.

It has also been rumored that there is a movement to close the borders as a last ditch attempt to stop these critters from spreading.

Any and all sightings should be reported to your nearest LHS

[railman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxmu

QUOTE: Every time one of these controllers was plugged in after that, everything on the layout started running at full throttle and was totally out of control.

WOW!!! [:O] I am glad this doesnt just happen to me!

YET! ......But it will[}:)]

There have been several threads that have discussed this in the past and according to Stats Canada 99.99% of all Model Railroads have had, at one time or another, a Gremlin Infestation.

Contrary to popular doctrine, Gremlinus Nova Scotia Maximus is by far more bent, twisted and hell bent for leather determined in reeking havoc then any other sub-species found else where, including Texas.

Despite attempts with advanced extermination techniques this vermin is highly resilient to anything known to man. The only way to eradicate the Nova Scotia Species (Scooter) is to cut off it's food supply of nickel track and DC or AC power supply. Though it has been rumored that Scooter has trashed a few push/pull Thomas the Tank Engine sets, this has yet to be confirmed.

It has also been rumored that there is a movement to close the borders as a last ditch attempt to stop these critters from spreading.

Any and all sightings should be reported to your nearest LHS

[}:)]Exorcism, (spraying track cleaner and rubbing hard with a Brite Boy) doesn't work either! The gremlins are impervious and come and go at will.[xx(]

[mcouvillion]

I've had gremlins so bad at times that I had to walk away from the whole mess. I left it alone for several days then came back to where I left off and everything worked fine. Go figure!

Mark C.

[Anonymous]

Fergie,

Don't know what type of gremlins you have, but I think mine are migratory. They've followed me from NJ, to Penn to RI to Va to Cal. and now are firmly entrenched here in Texas. They are tough little boogers to beat!

I also think they are responsible for scurrying out of cover the minute you drop a small detail piece, picking it up and hiding it in the same place they store all the socks they snatch from the the dryer.

[tstage]

I have actually discovered a new law on my own. I like to call it the "50-50 Law". Tell me if you collaborate with my findings:

If you have a 50-50 chance of getting something wrong;
you'll achieve it 75% of the time.
Tom

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dkelly

Fergie,

Don't know what type of gremlins you have, but I think mine are migratory. They've followed me from NJ, to Penn to RI to Va to Cal. and now are firmly entrenched here in Texas. They are tough little boogers to beat!

I also think they are responsible for scurrying out of cover the minute you drop a small detail piece, picking it up and hiding it in the same place they store all the socks they snatch from the the dryer.

Betcha never seen one! I use to know a guy who claimed to have seen one once. Soon after he was reported missing. As to his whereabouts? ........Just say we're not quite sure.

I'm convinced they are all related and have quite a diverse migratory pattern. There have been some theories that state that they are able to communicate over long distances. Once thought to be telepathic, this was debunked by some experts as utter nonesense. While other theories, which seem to be gaining credibility, are now stating they communicate through power grids. This has been substantiated by the fact Gremlin occurances have increased ten fold with the advent of DCC and are now believed to becoming Pandemic.

Several Government Agencies, though originally unconvinced as to their existance, are now lending support into research into Gremlin Occurances as it is felt that hard proof would explain and exonerate these agencies from wrong doing in the past.

Fact or Fiction, you be the judge.

All I know is my "Scooters" have been well behaved since Teffy left for home. Do I still have them? I suspect so as I don't seem to be getting much done despite the high consumption of Track.

Regards
Fergie