Being a dummy is easy

[conagher]

Today will go down in my layout journal as a day of total stupidity.

I was laying cork roadbed for several new Free-Mo HO modules when I noticed the width seemed kinda wide but foolishly kept going until I'd glued down about 48-feet (or 96-feet total both halves) and finally realized I was using my 2-rail O scale cork...duh!!!

It might not be so bad if I was a beginner, but I've probably glued down over 20 miles of cork roadbed over the years.

Fortunately, the glue was not dry and ripping it up wasn't too difficult. In fact, the only good thing was the glue residue was just tacky enough to adequately hold the HO roadbed in place while I secured it with thumbtacks.

If there's a lesson to be learned then it's to tell your amigos to leave the tequila in the truck until you're finished doing the train stuff :-)

Mac D. Numbskull

 

[Anonymous]

Haha, we all have our moments. Ever drop a hammer on one of your friend's reefers while its running?

[Medina1128]

Thanks, bud. I don't feel so bad about cutting out my subroadbed sections, that I had carefully numbered, then proceeded to put them in, in order, starting from the WRONG end...

[emdgp92]

I had a similar experience not too long ago. I had just installed a few Tortoise switch machines, and was in the process of wiring them up. The first two went fine, but the third was being a pain. No matter how I cut it into the bus, it just wouldn't work. After 3 hours and much head-scratching, cursing, and wire swapping, it hit me. Stupid me had cut the machine into the *power* bus, instead of the *switch machine* bus! I use an old Bachmann train-set transformer permanently set to full throttle to power my switches. Since the track power was off... no *wonder* it wouldn't work. Once I'd figured that out, it was pretty easy to then set it up correctly.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

What is it they say? Murphy's law: If anything bad can possibly go wrong, it will at the worst possible moment.

I almost fried a DC locomotive yesterday. I had been running it on a DCC powered track, uncoupled it, then backed it down onto a spur that can be electrically isolated. I brought my DCC loco, coupled onto the train and let it go. It was then that I realized I was still hearing the faint squeling buzz from the DC loco and realized I hadn't flipped the DPDT switch to cut off the spur. I was within just a few minutes of roasting a $200 loco. I'm new to DCC so I'm still learning.

[selector]

Just so that I can understand, are you modelling two scales?  Or did you purchase/receive the wrong roadbed?  The big question, now, is why will you do with the out-of-scale stuff that now has glue on it?

I don't even want to think about all the boo-boos I have made in my short time in the hobby.

[Anonymous]

I started my first layout about 3 years ago, a compact HO switching layout from  Kalmbach's 48 Top Notch Track Plans (I think).

I carefully laid the track as best I could, wired it all up (DC) and took great pains to make the wiring underneath the layout as neat and tidy as possible, and fully labelled.

When I connected the power pack and tried to run a locomotive - zilch!   In my ignorance I had totally missed the issue of wiring opposing turnouts, insulated rail joiners etc.   I couldn't face trying to sort it out, so I pulled up the track (luckily I hadn't ballasted it), sat down and decided to do a much simpler plan to start with.    How I laughed at my own ignorance and stupidity ....!

[conagher]

Just so that I can understand, are you modelling two scales?  Or did you purchase/receive the wrong roadbed?  The big question, now, is what will you do with the out-of-scale stuff that now has glue on it?

I model 2-rail O Scale, HO & N. I am a World's Greatest Hobby Ambassador and routinely use all three for demos with several travel layouts plus I own 2 permanent layouts (O & N). I also just got started with Free-Mo (HO modules)....making me a busy hombre.

The dried glue can be easily removed with an electric sander...no problem unless you get your fingers in the way.

Lefty MacG