BIG MONEY accident today on my brass Engine!!

[Anonymous]

Good evening everyone I had an awful day today and feel the need to share my bad experience where one of my brass engines was pratically destroyed. Ok so I own a handfull of Overland Ho engines but I have saved up for each one and worked hard for them for the record. I was MUing two Union Pacific SD70ACes and a UP SD70M flared engine in the front. I was going round and round the layout for a while and had to run to a phone call in which I had to lift up the gate for the layout. I went upstaires and I really thought that I stopped the engines but as I ran back down with the phone in my hand I witnessed the first engine which was the SD70M going over the layout onto the cement floor which was 48" high!!!! The second one was on its way down right behind it and landed onto that one!!! The third one was heading next but I was able to grap it in mid air befre it hit the floor. I was in shock and really pissed. Both the SD70M flared engine and a UP SD70ACe were pratically destroyed!! The metal was warped and bent up to hell on both of them. It is absolutely not repairable!!! I am so upset since the SD70M I just recently got about two months ago and the SD70ACe I got about 4 months ago. I have four SD70ACe left to be destoyed by murphys law and it seems like it is just a matter of time before they get it too. This is the first time ever I had an accident with any trains and devastating. I have some plastic engines and I wish it were one of them instead of twpo brass ones. I know what happened is I must have put the controller down on the top and it fell of onto the medium or fast forward button and it had enough power to start going. There is no warranty for stupidity. now there is no way to repair them I am positive of that if you see them. Pieces came off that I didnt know exsisted too!! The paint on them was scratched badly too. The SD70M resulted in the most damage since it hit first and was hit by the ther engine afterwards. I tried to place them back on a straight piece of track and the trucks will not even line up and are visually way off.

Well I just wanted to vent my pain of the day to some people who can understand train issues since my wife just laughed at me and said better luck next time. She laughed all day long and I told her I was replacing them and it will cost about $700-800 a piece and her laughed turned into a pissed off look. Oh well right. What a day!!!

[twcenterprises]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I know you'll hate to read this, but shouldn't there have been a switch to cut the power on the tracks next to the gate to prevent this?

Brad

[Anonymous]

That sucks big time. I do feel your pain.

[mikebonellisr]

I know the feeling....my sleeve caught on one of my best running,brass engines, and pulled it off the layout.I stood there in shock for about 1/2 a minute.It was bent all to ----,and pieces were all over the floor.I've spent a bundle on repair/re-painting but it will never be quite the same.....Time to start saving for that new replacement,GOOD LUCK

[cspmo]

Will your insurances pay for it?

[tstage]

Duracelly,

Whoa! [:O] I'm sure sorry to hear about your agonizing day. I'm mainly a steam guy but the thought of anyone's locomotive going over the side of a layout makes me cringe. [xx(]

I'm going to second Brad's suggestion. Before you start forking out more hard earned cash again to replace those devastated Overlands, a contact switch at your lift gate would be a really wise move and consideration. When you lift the gate, all track power is cut off until the gate is returned into position. That should set Murphy off your scent for a while...

Sorry again for your misfortunes. [:(]

Tom

[brothaslide]

Bummer. . .[B)] Wow, the whole story got me depressed.

Good luck

[selector]

I guess we all have to learn our lessons, some of them the hard way. I have not had any really tough ones...yet..., but I know one is coming.

I don't suppose there is a retailer who happens to stock shells for these things? Could Overland repair them...would they repair them?

I would set aside a couple of hours to see about cutting and shaping some brass sheeting and tubing, doing some soldering, and trying to at least restore most of their former appeal...especially if they will run otherwise. Hammer out the damaged parts as much as you can so that you can get a reasonable template, cut and shape what you must, and try some soldering. A small grinder on a Dremel and an Opti-Visor may get your seams down to passable, and you back on the road after a coat of paint,

What do you have to lose?

[JohnT14808]

Ouch!! Man, I'm saddened to read of this mishap. A real downer. Hope you can either repair the engines, or perhaps make up an A-1 accident diorama of the the pieces / parts.

[GN-Rick]

There are individuals who advertise in mags like Model Railroader about doing repair work. It might be costly, but surely no worse than the original cost. I, too express my sympathy. Been there and done similar as well. As mentioned, what have you to lose by trying a repair shop? Good luck.

[Budliner]

prototypes have dents

[Fergmiester]

This is the ultimate in Man Pain and I feel it big time and for you. Thanks for sharing with us as it truly shows the consequences of "Unmanned" trains and I will stop the practice immediately. And if I had a "lift bridge" I'd also be working on a method of killing power to either side of it when the bridge is up.

If only it was a bad dream.
Fergie

[Pruitt]

Don't give up hope - folks who specialize in brass repair can work wonders. I know by firsthand experience ----

For over 15 years I had wanted a brass GN P-2 Mountain locomotive. Finally I was in a position to buy one, so I did. It was unpainted, but I planned to paint it as soon as I got up enough courage to try it.

Meanwhile I was running it. One day it hit a slightly dirty piece of track and stalled. The track being a long reach from the aisle, I picked up a nearby piece of flextrack with which to give the loco a light nudge. I kept the throttle on a pretty high setting.

The loco took off just fine, but one of the ties caught in the bell cord and pulled the loco off the track. As there was no scenery yet to catch the engine, it did a four-foot nosedive right onto my garage floor! The dull "thump!" as it hit was agonizing!!!

Anyway, I took the loco and its pieces to the local hobby shop. They knew a guy who did brass repairs, and about six weeks later it came back as good as new, and painted to boot!!! It cost a few hundred bucks, but it was worth it!

Two morals to this story: Almost anything can be fixed, if you find the right person to do it; and never nudge a balky loco with a piece of flextrack.

[Anonymous]

Ouch, that's tough!

I don't like your wife's reaction at all.

But thinking how I would react when this would happen to one of my locos, I realise the ultimate lesson here is, model trains are just THINGS. They can be bought, sold, enjoyed, and broken, or stolen. (my lifetime CD collection, 200 of them, was stolen a few years back)

Sure I would be mad like hell but I would try, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, to cheer up, to laugh about what happened. Realise that it wasn't any of your loved ones that fell off a 347,9 ft cliff. (though uhm... maybe... no I wont go there)

It doesnt help when your wife laughs first, that's childish, inexcusable and totally gross behavior.

Your engines are wrecked, but YOU will be a stronger man.

(okay now the preacher will go back to working on his layout and ponder PCM's decisions on NYC color schemes)

Rik

[simon1966]

Gap the tracks a couple of feet in from the liftup and then run the power to this gapped section via a switch. The switch can be placed so that it opens and closes with the lifting of the gate. I have a liftout section as well and have tested this method with the liftout open running a loco at speed into the dead section to see if momentum would take it over the edge. I am sorry to hear about your story, but this type of solutioin is a simple fix from future heart break.

[dknelson]

By all means contact Overland and explain their plight. they might have shop samples or something that would give you usable parts to work with. It is a long shot but worth exploring.
As some of you know, in common with all other brass importers they destroy excess inventory once a run seems to have sold out -- to preserve collector's value. That's why you never see cheap brass at Trainworld or similar places.
Dave Nelson

[ARTHILL]

Welcome to the club, not the worst in the world, but pretty bad in the train room.

[DrummingTrainfan]

Wow, that's all I can say...wow.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Duracelly

Good evening everyone I had an awful day today and feel the need to share my bad experience where one of my brass engines was pratically destroyed.

Well I just wanted to vent my pain of the day to some people who can understand train issues since my wife just laughed at me and said better luck next time. She laughed all day long and I told her I was replacing them and it will cost about $700-800 a piece and her laughed turned into a pissed off look. Oh well right. What a day!!!

Sorry to read about your accident, but you need to install a power cut out for the track power when the lift is up. It has been mentioned before, but wire up a micro or some kind of switch to cut track power for at least 24" or more on both sides of the lift. If you had DPU units pushing, they probably would have stalled and not pushed the lead units off of the table.

Some of the damage might be fixable. I had an E9A that was dropped from a high shelf by a dealer, and I was able to fix it completely. Your unit might be repairable, but probably would require painting after it is restored. If you have damage to the drive train, Overland usually can supply gear boxes or items like truck side frames.

Good luck.

Can you post a picture so we can see if it is possible to fix them??

[Virginian]

Many years ago, I had a lower level with a reversing loop just 4" below the main level. Ran my brand new unpainted brass Key N&W K2 4-8-2 streamlined steam engine down there pulling 5 cars to see if she would make it back up the grade (4.2%). The last 85' passenger car came upcoupled on the way down, and stopped, resting right across the turnout. When the K2 got back to it, the passenger car neatly derailed her onto the floor, 38" below. As soon as I heard it - I knew the worst had happened. Thank heaven's for carpet. Well, I looked and looked, but the engine did not have a mark on her. I don't know how it was possible, but it happened. The tender had a big ding from hitting the engine somewhere. I found a guy who said we could fix it. He was right. A little ironing out the dent and a little Squadron Green body putty, and everything looks fine. First loco I ever painted myself after the fix was done.
But, no more blind turnouts and the like for me, not ever again. One "Get Out Of the Dumbhouse Free" card is all you get, and I used mine.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I should rethink adding that 'lift-out' to my layout. This accident is exactly what I have been afraid of. If it makes you feel any better, by sharing your experience you may have saved others from the same demise. Thanks.

[jcgisel]

Man that really sucks! Makes me want to go freefall proof my layout. I have many edges on my layout that are screaming for plexiglass before the big one happens.

[MidlandPacific]

You won't regret the time it takes to put that plexiglass up - it's saved me from a few catastrophes.

[SOU Fan]

I dropped my Atlas Ge dash 8-40C that I was trying to sell.[oops]

[dinwitty]

heh, someone did a dropsy on an LL 0-8-0, put it up on ebay with another OK 0-8-0 LL, nice price maybe 80 bucks for both, I bought them.
The dropsied one is recoverable, I will modify it to another engine (Belt Railway of Chicago) the other is perfect shape.

I would contact the maker/vendor/hobby shop bought from, things can happen for the positive.

However put them on your work bench and see what can be done.
If you can interchange parts or not and get one good one or not.

[loathar]

I know how mad I got when my Bach Dash 8 did the same thing. Isn't it funny how things shift into slow motion mode when this happens? You can see every little peice breaking off and flying through the air and there isn't a darn thing you can do.
Sorry about your luck. Those Overlands ain't cheap!

[Don Gibson]

BRASS repair is very costly - if do-able at all. Think of a car going off a cliff - and be glad no one was in it.
An engine's body is soldered parts whereas an auto body is welded. Brass Importers don't stock parts, nor do repairs. I tried to get a Pilot replacement from Key once. Wouldn't even answer my letter.

BEST BET is to do as suggested here, & make the approaches into a block big enought to handle 3 engines, so the lead engine can't get pushed into the abyss by power from behind.

[Anonymous]

im probably bumping this from the depths of the fourm, but in an issue of MR on some street running layout with a liftout, there was a springey rod that came up at coupler level when the lift out was raised to stop a loco.
"my wife laughed at me all day"
no offense or anything(to you or her), but thats NOT right. not cool at all. PLEASE tell her you heard that from me.
if i wasnt half british, id almost shed a tear for you.(comming from someone who is still shocked he can afford an atlas loco.)("trains are just things, not family or loved ones." 'some of us' have a social life thats doing the same thing as those bass locos. whithout my hobby, i just dont know....[:(])
GEARHEAD426
[8]

[Benjamin Maggi]

Wife laughed... and it wasn't right? I don't know, but if I suddenly demanded that I was going to replace $1500 worth of equipment because I was foolish enough to leave them running, I certainly would understand my fiancee being upset.

Oh well, such is life.