What happen to your Layout when you're Gone: Part II

[Anonymous]

I posed this question in a serious manner before and got several replies that were not serious. Well now is your chance to really describe what happens when you turn the power off and turn the lights out.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR LAYOUT THEN???

Give a your best description of how the little people come to life when the big people are gone[:D][:D][;)]

[Hawks05]

nothing so far. don' t have a layout. i'd be ticked off though if someone came and pushed my trains off the tracks. i have like two 5 foot straight sections of track with the ends of the track hanging off the plywood. this is just to see how stuff looks.

i have no little people to screw up my stuff. my dog could but it can't get up the 2 flights of stairs to my room.

[Anonymous]

Umm... am't sure what u mean.. when we are old and gone? younger ones take over ?
if that what you mean.... I had been thinking of that a bit.. I have no kids yet and never know if they will every get in to train.. but I am still young! if something every happen to me.. I was thinking to wirte a WILL and put it with the trains to tell my wife who I would like train go to if there were no kids.. but hey we are looking in to have our first child!

u know, when I got married.. wife's father just pass away long before and he did have TRAIN ROOM!! it was all cover up, I asked mother in law if allright for me go in and look.. sure dust off the tracks it did run.. she did't even know how to get it to run [:D] so later a year she plan on moving and she said that I can have all the Train things, she said anything I dont take will be throw out!! so I TOOK IT ALL!! about 10 boxs full..!! I did take the train bord too with tracks on, so I clean it up and do some up touch on it.. will keep it that way for the greadkids to think about him... man sure it took up all the room... I wish he (late father in law that I have never meet when I got married) was still alive today we would have a great enjoy time playing with the trains.. hard to understand why his own sons not really in to trains but they always can come and visit me.. [:D]

[Anonymous]

well...without offending anyone...i guess you will just have to read my tombstone and take a wild guess. My tombstone will say "F*&$ THIS IM OUTTA HERE" so once im gone...who cares...ill be dead nothing i can do about it if its cut up. LOL

"yeah i need help dont i?????????? HAHAHAHAHAHAH

[michaelstevens]

[8D]Good question.
[:)]
At our last house (an old center city Philadelphia row house), I had an almost fully landscaped layout, occupying the entire (full height) basement.
It was becoming a regular event, that I would turn on the lights, power etc. only to find derailments and bad running in the hidden staging and other concealed track areas.
[?]
With only myself, the wife and a small dog, in the house -- I was really beginning to wonder whether we had "little people" messing around on the layout, when we weren't watching.
[:0]
This went on for some months, until the track cleaning train emerged from the hidden staging yard, one evening, with a deposit of mouse poop on the lead car's cleaning pad.
[V]
When I lifted out a section of landscaping, I discovered the origin -- mice had built themselves a comfortable, secure little nest in a landscaping compartment whose single entrance involved their crossing the staging yard's main lead track !!
These mice were evidently getting into the basement, via the (less than a) crawl space, under the kitchen.
[:(!]
The solution, believe or not (until we moved house), was to leave the track power energized !! Presumably the mice got enough of an unpleasant little tingle thru their feet, to encourage them to find a new nesting spot.
[:D][:D]

[cacole]

Geckos, Chuckwallas, and garter snakes. Initially, we had quite a problem at the Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club's layout in Sierra Vista, Arizona, with field mice and pack rats, but then a garter snake, chuckwalla, and several geckos started hanging around both outside and inside the building and the mice and pack rats have disappeared. The chucwalla ate all of the foliage off of a Woodland Scenics tree, sometimes it knocks cars off the track, and the garter snake shed its skin along a section of track. I'd rather have them than the mice and pack rats any day -- pack rats, especially, can cause a lot of damage by gnawing on everything.

[Anonymous]

I hope noting happens to my layout. that sucks cacole

[Anonymous]

Ouch, the cochophiny of no inmagination out there is realy hurting. I left my empire once, for just an hour or two, and came back to find that the old junker I left laying accross the mainline was pushed out of the way. All of the little folks were looking up at me and had that one fingered BoyScout salute pointed directly at me. [8D]

Now there can't be no one out there that has not had that happen to them once or twice in this lifetime.[:D][:D]

That is what I'm getting at, Y a see. [^][^]

[rf16a]

I'm not going anywhere![:D]

When I do go, I'm taking it with me![;)]

My HO scale people come to life and have a ball running the layout.[:p]

8 legged "electricians" come out and string "wire".[;)]

Seriously, when I finish running trains or working on the layout, I shut all blocs off, turn off the power pack/packs and pull the plug to the layout.

I also try not to leave any locos or cars near the edge of the layout where they could accidently get bumped or fall on the floor.

[Anonymous]

No mice.
She has never seen a train move so has no desire to attack them.

[Anonymous]

My layout isn't anywhere close to being completed, though the tracks are in place, the power packs are connected and I run trains, usually passenger, while I work on other areas. An hour, then several, past by. Where did the time go, I question. No matter; it's time for bed. Reluctantly, I close the door to the spare bedroom; tomorrow, I know, will bring another day to work on the pike.

I fall asleep across the hall. And then the noises begin.

I hear the faint sound of a diesel backing up and making contact with a line of streamliners. No HO scale people exist...yet I hear a trainman yell, "Alrighty! She's all set for tomorrow!"

The blast of a switcher's horn startles me. I hear it creep-creep-creep down an empty siding before the engine dies. More talk. "I'm outta here. The little misses is awaitin' and she gets grumpy when I'm late for supper!" There's laughter. Must be the other trainman.

Silence. I tell myself I've got to lay off the overloaded pizza and glasses of wine before bedtime.

The next morning I walk into the room to look for the watch I took off and laid atop the layout the night before--and gasp.

The streamlined cars are coupled to a sleek E6. The switcher isn't where I left it. And while there are NO people around--anywhere--I think I hear a faint chuckle and someone, over my shoulder, whisper, "He'll never figure this one out!"

I leave the room with a curious smile on my face, wondering if I shouldn't continue to order pizza's late in the evening after all.[8D]

[Anonymous]

The underpants gnomes come.

DOG

[dave9999]

Oh my god! They killed Kenny! You bast%$ds! Dave

[AggroJones]

I guess I'm not the only one who watches South Park.

[Anonymous]

Well, if the little people are to blame for all the mess on my layout, I wouldn't know. My cat enjoys knocking over anything and everything on my layout. Of course, while i shoosh my cat off the layout every chance I get, I PUT my snake on the layout (not when its running of course) to film litle scenes of "ANACONDA 2: Terror in Madison PA!"

[BRAKIE]

When I go to the great model rail club in the sky or as my grand-pap would say "Shoveling coal on a leaky steam engine in the lower inferno regions" my trains go to my oldest Grandson who is becoming quite the modeler..I don't care what they do with my small layout but hope they savage the track ,switches,buildings etc.
I have this in my will..I also have 3 CD's with the value of my train stuff and how to sell them if my Grandson so wi***o do so..It will be his call.

[Anonymous]

Someone I knew who had a large G-scale layout in the garden was always having problems with wildlife in tunnels - worst was a dead rabbit that their cat dragged in there! Their solution? a Playmobile loco known as "Big Bertha" - a hefty black tender loco that was sent in to bulldoze blockages!

I don't think my HO people can get up to much - there's only two of them on the layout at the moment - it's meant to resemble one of those half-abandoned urban rail yards, though in this case being slowly tidied up by a rail museum. Having said that, I'm sure I heard grumbling from there last time I left an intermodal set blocking the switches!

[Anonymous]

SuperChief, You got it[bow]. Far as I can see, you're the only one. I like the tale

Was I that vauge with the question?

Darn Boys, get that imagination in gear and tell us some stories bout how your layotu comes to life when no one is home[:D]

[joecool1212]

When I leave the room there is always somone left behind, usually my son Tom on the computer. When I turn out the lights the other kids gather around and see whose train has a brighter light or whose can pull the most cars, But when I think nobody is in there the youngest Anthony, (almost 4) trys to find out why some cars go on there own and why some are in the back or in the middle. Well when I come back in the room nobody knows anything, but the cars arent in the order I left them or on the same track I left them. Hum, I guess I shouldent leave the Atlas or Kato locos out when im not in the room. JOE

[jaloose2000]

I recently installed two cab control on my layout, so if I kick tomorrow, at least my two daughters won't fight over who gets to run an engine! [;)]

[Anonymous]

I used to have an N scale layout (I'm now modeling HO Scale), but my two cats destroyed this layout, they pulled off the track, chewed the scenery, and turned the layout into a horrible mess.

[Anonymous]

Well, I suppose I should give an example as well.

Last night I had a wee bit much to drink. I felt very calm, almost like the world was spinning in greased grooves. I just finished running my new Shay through the nothtwest woods and thought I saw something. I paid no mind to it. Boy I sould have.

When I powered down and turned off the lights I thought I saw something move in the shadows of the basement. I chalked it up to the beer I had enjoyed while running.

As I climbed the stairs to the first floor I heard one of the most gawdaful howls. I stopped and turned to see something again move in the shadows cast from the neon Eat At Joes sign. I dismissed this aberation again and continued up the stairs.

As I was sitting in my easy chair I could hear the faint noises of what seemed like a train wreck in the distance. In my beer induced euphoria I paid it no mind and continued to watch Bad Boys on the tube. I fell fast asleep and have no recollection of what happened after that.

I was awakened early in the morning by a shrill shreik comming from the basement , I jumped up out of the easy chair and bounded down the stairs to find my lovely Wife standing in the corner shaking like an aspen tree and pointing towards my layout. I turned and looked and saw......

[dave9999]

John,
Are ya just gonna leave us hangin' ? Dave

BTW, You still haven't answered THE question: http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=10769

[Anonymous]

Dave, Maybe and YES, YES I have.[:D][:D]

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by norboy

Dave, Maybe and YES, YES I have.[:D][:D]

You're too quick for me [:D] Dave

[Anonymous]

Dave, I really enjoyed all of the responses to that poll[:D][:D][;)]

It's kinda like a good chili or stew, the longer it simmers the better it tastes.[:D][:D][;)][8D]

[dragenrider]

One evening I neglected to turn off my power pack which was barely cracked open. The next day my wife commented on smelling something burning. Later, I found one of my favorite switchers in a pile of plastic goo from where the motor had stalled and burned. [:O] The shell had melted down around the motor and run down into the chasis. I was only able to salvage my low speed gearing in the trucks. [V]

I'm lucky we didn't have a fire. I can see all my fellow firefighters having a field day with that! [:D]

[lyctus]

y'know those neat coffee table layouts under glass, the kind that lets you spend quality time with the real boss while actually just carrying on the main obsession (I wonder if she's wise to this ???) , well I'm developing a line of caskets which enable the fallen model railroader to have his/her favourite loco/cars/senic details mounted on an oval of track in the lid and by a series of mirrors enjoy an eternity of un-interrupted rail action. Persons wishing to reserve such a casket should sent me a $US1,000 holding deposit and I will do the rest. Fantastic Eh ?

[lyctus]

OK, here's a serious reply to one interpretation of this thread. The local Model Rail club offers a service to (usually) the widow of a modeller who has been called to the Great Roundhouse in that they will collect all the model rail gear and organise a club auction. Proceeds are forwarded to the widow. For members, I think there is either a small or maybe no charge, For non-members, a nominal charge (10% of proceeds).
This ensures that in general, the best return is acheived for your stuff. For Sale notices in the local paper bring all sorts of problems, not least of which is shady characters with "rip-off" in mind, house breakers doing a bit of pre-project surveying and how does the family really know what your stuff is worth ?
Hint: Use a spread sheet to record the models you own,date purchased, and (be honest on this one now) the price paid. Print it and keep it in a place the family can find it. This will at least give them some idea of what they should ask/expect for your stuff.
You can then nominate a hobby shop that deals in 2nd hand and your people will be able to negotiate a fair price.
Alternatively, just arrange to ship the stuff to me. I will respect it and I will name one strip on my wall display in your honour for every $US5,000 estimated value received.

[Anonymous]

Seeing as I don't really have a layout yet I shouldn't really even be posting but I have had one strange incident.

I have a small oval of track that I run my trains on. One night I left my Spectrum 4-8-2 on the tracks and went to bed. The next moring I woke up and it was facing the other direction! Creepy![:0][:0][:)][:p]