I Think there are Elves in my Closet Playing with my Rolling Stock

[mondotrains]

Hi Guys,
Believe it or not, I think there are elves in my closet who have been monkeying around with my rolling stock.

Here's the story....I keep all my rolling stock in cardboard beer flats in my closet. I have clearly marked each flat, indicating the ones where all the cars have been "tunned up". You know, Kadee couplers and metal wheels are installed; the coupler height has been checked and corrected and I've added pennies as weights to ensure cars are the recommended NMRA weight.

Just today, I took out one of those flats with tuned-up cars and decided to double-check them. Well, come to find out, those darned elves have put back some plastic wheels, messed with the coupler height and even removed some of the penny weights because now some cars are underweight.

All kidding aside, it turns out that I tuned these cars a long time ago; long before I really new the correct weight for a car and long before I had mounted a Kadee coupler height gauge on a piece of track, which itself is mounted to a 1 by 2" piece of wood. I guess what I'm trying to say is that once again, time and experience has improved upon my skills and I guess I should be glad that I have the time to go back and fix what those nasty little elves have messed up.

Mondo

[twhite]

It's the same elves that sneaked into my refrigerator car drawer and substituted plastic wheels for all of my old Tichy PFE's. Their names are Gustav and Horst, and they used to work in the Black Forest making Volkswagens. If you bribe them with Sauerbraten, Black Forest Cake and a couple of good Bavarian beers, they'll gladly re-wheel and re-weight your rolling stock, but for God's sake, don't play any polka CD's, because they've become dyed in the wool Bruce Springsteen fans.
Tom [:P][:P][:P]

[Pennsy58]

Hmm have experienced the same problems here. Guess I'm not loosing my mind after all. I've even gone as far as having a computer program that lists all my stock, type of wheels, couplers, etc. I even have my storage containers numbered and cross referenced so I can find things.
The cars are continually shuffled around at night by my elves and are rarely found in the correct container bin. Somewhere in my walls are probably over 50 metal wheel sets that have been hidden away by the elves. They have to be taking the plastic ones out of my trash can at night too.

Anyone have a web link to a site that sells elf traps?

[Anonymous]

Playing a little Elvis will keep the elves at bay.

[jwar]

[#ditto] on the Elves.

First of all Mondo I cant believe you used emty beer flats, any thing Elves hate most, is running out of beer, what you invertently did was really tick them off, It was kind of like giving a heavy smoker a cigarett with NO matches, Now they will be hiding in tunnels to derail trains, moving balast between your turnout points, they can also rearange electrons to do weird things. If they are not appeased, they will invite thier antagonistic friends, Grimlins to party at your house.

Ya better take Toms suggestions above. BTW they dont go for Rap Music either. However the Trolls under my bridge love it....John

[rtraincollector]

I was thinking its acually lepppercons as there the one that normally like to play tricks and things elves like to help and fix things. But jwar might have a point on the empty beed flats but I think it would take a little more like maybe having your houses and parts in empty rum and vodka boxes . Go buy some little one shot bottles of some Rum and vodka and put it in there also buy some irish wisky in case its leppercons and your troubles will end

LOL

Bill R.