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What is the Worst Railroad Disaster You Have Had?

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  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Sunday, January 27, 2013 9:22 AM

Lehigh Valley 2089

BroadwayLion

Eh? The LION had a subway train catch fire.

LION has a huge 15A regulated power supply to run up to eight trains (12 locomotives) all at once. The layout is automated and uses resistors to slow the trains as they approach the stations.

A train derailed causing a short which overloaded the resistor which caught fire, not much more than a lit match that burned itself out by the time I got there, but it did burn a subway car. I think I can repair it, or at least paint the whole thing yellow and use it on a work train. (Which is what NYCT does with such cars).

I had read about using an automotive tail light in series with the track, the train does not draw enough current to light the lamp, but if a short occurs the lamp will come on and there is no short. It works fine with one locomotive, but when all 12 are running, there is more than enough current to light the lamp and put a load on the railroad. If I want to use this system, and I think I do, I'll need to use a lamp for every power district, but then it will tell me where on my 14 miles of track to look for the problem.

ROAR

I think that if you haven't done any work on the car yet, you could put it on a low boy trailer to make it look like the car is being replaced. I know someone did this with a Lionel Trolley car that caught fire.  

Eh? Well, the LION does need that car on his railroad. Maybe when I buy some spares this summer I can replace the body with a good one, for the moment, I fixed it the same way the MTA does, I got out the BONDO and went to work on it. I used modeling clay to hide the melted plastic, and painted that side of the car. I lost a window set but it still runs.

This summer I will buy a four car set and repaint them yellow to match the MOW cars, and so I'll hold one out for this train, and paint this car for MOW service.

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • From: Michigan
  • 338 posts
Posted by georgev on Sunday, January 27, 2013 9:38 AM

Interesting that this thread should revive, as it is the source material for Neil Besougloff's "From the Editor" column in the February issue of MR.   But he has kept it anonymous, so for those of us who made the column, our secrets are safe here with our forum buddies!

George v.

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