TRAIN MISHAPS! ! !

[Anonymous]

What is your worst model rail roading mishap?

Mine is when I was four, I left my HO layout running and went up for a snack....
Then when I came down, My Sante Fe train set was on the ground. The caboose, the Shell tanker, and the boxcar where off the bases, but the Diesel was still intact![:0][oops]

My other one was when my O gauge train was running to fast, it delrailed. The locomotive and tender fell off the table, but lukily I caught it just in time!!!! !!!![oops]

What is your worst mishap?

[Anonymous]

running a 150 + train, and stringlining becuase of my snappers(pushers) going too slow.

[ben10ben]

Stepping on an American Flyer gondola that I had just knocked off the table, and was getting up to reach down and get. Luckily, it was a common one that I was able to replace for $5.

[pbjwilson]

Watching my Pennsy GP-9 w/railsounds sizzle and smoke as I held my cab-1 contoller in my hand, "no, no what's going on, NOOOOO!"
Replaced some wires, the insulation melted off the originals. It runs again!

[wiz1500]

I was running my 1 hour old TMCC M.O.W. crane on my west bound main line behind my GP-35 swinging the boom back and fourth ( BIG NO NO) and of course on the east bound side THERE is my GP-9. With NO time to react I just closed my eyes, when I heard it hit I opened my eyes to watch my 9 on it's way to the floor. You see In this part of the layout there is no scenery yet. I still don't no why or how the crane never even left the track ( I had my eyes shut[:D] ) It had to be my higher power...[:)] The 9 hade a cracked sound board but basicly came out of it ok...so please learn from me check your main line or better yet DON'T PLAY WITH THE CRANE WHEN THE TRAIN IS MOVING[;)]....

[TurboOne]

Hiya snell,

tough luck on the Jets today. Anyway, my mishap was almost a month ago. I was in a hurry to get the trains set up. I found two saw horses, don't know why I had them. Grad a 4 x 8 that we didn't use building our shed. Cleaned a perfectly messy garage. Set up my 35 year old trains, cleaned track, fired it up. Was running too fast, put track with 22 curves to close to edge, didn't nail it down, and watched my engine roll on the third lap right off the corner, onto the concrete. All the detail parts are off, and one of the plastic clips that hold the trucks on broke. Broke my heart.

Tim

[jimhaleyscomet]

The Houston Tinplate Operators had a "bridge" that you could swing up to get to the center. You had to be careful as trains came at it from both directions. Sure shooten one time I opened just in time for a steamer to come rolling in. Off it went 3 feet to the floor. It looked just like a movie. I felt awful! No harm done though, as it was a simple "club" engine without much detail. The seasoned guys just looked at me and said "That wasn't the first time".... A nice bunch.

Reading all the mishaps perhaps I better add nets to the end of my new door layout!

Jim H

[3railguy]

About 10 years ago, I had removed some curves to the outside mainline of my layout in order to add a switch or something. The next day, I forgot I had done that and fired up a Fundimensions SP Daylight.. By the time I remembered, it was too late. I slammed the throttle off and made a mad dash for the lead F-3 as I watched it make a nose dive off the table for the concrete in slow motion. It landed on its front coupler and I caught it before it could topple over on its side. The only damage was a smooshed front coupler and a pair of soiled underwear. Somehow the remaining dummy A and coaches never made it off the bench.

[TexasEd]

Watching my Rail King Big Boy fly off the table, out the garage door, and into the driveway ...

with an audience.

[daan]

@texasEd.. auch! probably the biggest auch of the mishaps..
My mishap is in h0, I had a nice lilliput swiss Ae 4/7, a really great engine with lots of detail and a huge pricetag. It derailled, fell of the table. The outside was easy to repair, but the gears where dislocated and the motor was gone..
Since it was a rare item not made anymore, that really was a shame.
With 0, I did't have had any huge accidents or derailments jet.. (lucky me)

[Anonymous]

watched my 442 catch on fire while going around the christmas tree. Got it before it damaged the carpet, but the flames roasted the wiring underneath pretty good.

[cnw1995]

Well, I did a bone-head move Fri. eve. I was experimenting with placing tunnel portals (never place one on a curve) and I pulled out a long train with a K-Line MoW crane - which swings from side to side as it goes 'round 027 curves - mid-consist. The boom snagged on the back of the portal and the train which was going slowly stopped. Not noticing this, I slammed up the throttle. The FA took off, the crane stayed put and cars flew everywhere... no permanent harm done.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunalty , mishaps do occur. Those are some pretty sad ones.


And yes , TurboOne, the Jets lost...

NYJ- 17 IND-6 PHI- 27 ATL-Won
PIT- 20 NE- 23 MIN- 7 STL- Lost

I am deeply greived by your mishaps. Thank you for sharing.

[cbq9911a]

A brand new MTH Rail King went straight through the curved side of a switch, down to the floor.

[Anonymous]

I miswired the locosounds tender to the 2-8-0 and seeing it derail and drawing sparks, luckily there wasn't any damage, except for some slight ridges on my rails now. (I'll post pics later)

[4kitties]

Watching (and smelling) my nearly new MTH PS2 GP-9 fry on startup after it had been running fine the day before. Fortunately it was under warranty and was fixed quickly.

[wiz1500]

There was one other crash I forgot about. The main line was not finished and ended in to the air ( you no where this is going) and can you believe that I backed 4 cars off of it ???? The worst part about it was that my wife was under the lay out and took a head shot from the caboosse. I told her that was nice to take one for the teem and prevent damage. She was not ammused. what did I nearn? Check you remote batt. for shure when you have track out in mide air.

[Anonymous]

Thats a funny one[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]!!!


I am sorry but It made me laugh!

[wiz1500]

snell50
I laught to and had to buy dinner that night. O and I'm not aloud to run or touch anything on the lay out when she is vacuming, even though the main line is done.

[Anonymous]

Watching my MTH 0-6-0 switcher, the tender going up in smoke in front of 100 people. Fried the PS-2 board for the second time.

[TexasEd]

Even bigger than the RK Big Boy was last Summer when I was running my PW Celebration Series Texas Special at the Temple train show on the outer loop of our layout. Someone apparently moved a flier display and a car caught it and most of the train crashed to the concrete in the hall. I think 30 people asked me if that was my train that hit the floor.

I wanted to leave.

I still haven't fixed everything, a coil coupler broke and some other items were scratched.

[Anonymous]

Crashes happen alot, this one was a little different...

While working on the benchwork for my new layout in my poorly lit basement, I have been using a Montana Rail-link GP38 to test track. Being a poorly lit basement (which will be fixed at a later phase of the project) I am using a halogen work light to light up the area.

One night, I parked the GP-38 close to the light... It wasn't until I shut down the light at the end of my work session that I realized that I had melted the cab.

[espeefoamer]

Had an American Flyer set as a kid with a curved tunnel in one corner. fortunately the tunnel wasn´t fastened down as my cat was asleep inside.As the train entered the tunnel, the cat shot out like a Metroliner, and the train went in all directions. Fortunately there was no damage done.

[Anonymous]

I feel sorry for you Will_K.


The poor cat! ! ! !

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine who's only been into trains about a year was trying out his new Kato TGV. He has a bad habit of leaving the room to watch TV in his living room if something catches his eye, and just lets his trains run-which I've warned him about a number of times in the past. Suddenly, he hears a loud crash come from his train room, and upon investigating, found that his brand new and very expensive TGV had flown off the track and hit the floor full force doing a great deal of damage to it. Being the saddistic b-----d I am, I couldn't help but say "see, I told you so", afterwhich he asked me to leave, but not in a very nice way... Before it was over, he apologized to me for blowing his stack and offered to pay me to repair his train, which I did-for as much as he was willing to pay. (Stupid idiot...)

[TurboOne]

New mishap.

Got on ebay. Saw two trolleys for dirt cheap. Looked good, one looked like a SF trolley. Won the bid at $5 plus 4.95 shipping. I was excited, to get two trolleys for so cheap.

Turns out they were trolleys from Avon, and had no motor, just a decoration. At least it was a cheap lesson to read the WHOLE ad, it never mentioned a motor, now I am smarter.

Tim

[Anonymous]

My worst? I was running my California Zephyr with a K-line F3 ABA lashup pulling 14 K-line 15 inch cars. I was at the whell of my Z-4000, with my dog copiloting, watching the train rush from one end of the trainroom, flying past us, and dispperaring again, all with the lights out. Then I heard a crash, and saw the power units leaving the table and falling to the floor, along with 4 or 5 cars. The track had seperated. Several model people were casualties, and my dog and I were charged with scale model negligence. Scale model crimminal and civil charges are pending, and one of the A units no longer functions

[Anonymous]

I never figured this one out, but one night when I was a teenager, my dad had put a new smoke unit in a PW 736 Berkshire so we could use liquid smoke. I loaded it up, turned out all the lights and was highballin' downgrade on the main with smoke pouring out of the stack when the whole cloud turned yellow and then a momentary fireball came out of the stack. Cool effect, but that new smoke unit was, of course, history, and the old man was none too pleased...

[1688torpedo]

Hello Railmail! Any time a new smoke Generator or Heater element is installed the smoke wick needs to be saturated with smoke fluid so that it does not dry out right away when track power is applied to the engine. I suspect this is what happened with the 736 Berkshire.....Keith.

[laz 57]

I use to run real coal in my coal drag of about 15 cars. My cars were running a little too fast and well when one flips over they all flipped and needless to say rice coal all over the layout. I now use simulated loads much cleaner and easier to clean up a good wreck. Sometimes we do learn by our mistakes.
laz57