Something occurred to me the other day while I was runnign my trains and I thought I'd ask this on the boards and see if was just me or do we all do it.
I don't like to touch my trains. Not in some weird scared way or anything. In other words, I try to do whatever I can to not have to manually move my freight cars, unless they jump the track that is. I don't even like to have to pick up a locomotive to turn it around(don't have a turntable). How many other out there are like me? Now exceptions would be someone who has a large staging area or a fiddle yard that is built for that purpose. I have a small layout with a small transfer yard and some hidden tracks on the mainline and some industries but I dont' like to have to move cars or touch freight if I don't have to. When I found out about the kadee magnamatic couplers and uncouplers I thought that was the bee's knees. Is this weird or is it more the main stream of playing/operating your trains?
Well I can't speak to the "main stream" of playing with trains, but I don't like to handle mine either. However, I think that my reason is damage to rolling stock more than "handling the trains".
I can say that I do have a couple of Tyco powered accessories on the railroad and they require my moving the cars, sometimes by hand. Ah, well...
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Because of the fragile handrails and tiny detail parts nothing beyond the normal routine handling that every modeler does unless of course he/she keeps them safely in their boxes or behind glass..
As far as freight cars I handed those on a "as needed" bases.
I have a old Athearn locomotive for touchy/feely for kids and some kid adults.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I try not to, but if necessary, I will. I've got both a reverse loop and a turntable, so I don't need to manually turn anything around. The other day, I was working on some scenery and needed to move a string of reefers. I powered up the layout, pulled an engine out of the roundhouse, and hauled them away. Yesterday, on the other hand, I was much lazier so I just pushed the cars by hand and continued my scenery work.
I've got way too many cars and engines for my layout. So, I have to swap them on and off the tracks now and then for variety. Solution: a bigger layout, and stop buying so dang many cars!
I go for magnetic uncoupling, too, by the way. When I'm actually running the trains, I don't like to do anything manually.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
You can put me in the no-touch group. As has been said, there are exceptions (derailment, fiddle yard, etc.). I hve mostly Athearn, MDC, etc., but I still don't like to move them by hand unless I absolutely have to during operating sessions. Even if I have to empty a yard or siding for maintenance I genrally use an engine rather than just roll them down the track. It just doesn't feel right.
Am I wierd? Probably. Am I alone? Doesn't sound like it.
Tom
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
I would say it resembles an aversion, but I do handle my engines and rolling stock if it makes sense to do so. If a truck derails on a steamer, I try to lift it back on with small tools and not lift the entire engine. Same for rolling stock...if a long passenger car derails on a tight curve, I do my utmost to just lift the end affected and leave the other acting like a pivot.
I would think that most of us prefer to treat our toy railroads as we would the real thing...hand's on when it is a must, but otherwise just watch 'em go.
-Crandell
I end up having to do a lot of 'touching' because of the fact that I have WAY too much rolling stock, and also because I do not have a turntable (yet) for my engine facilities. I use a soft cloth to grasp the locomotives when I have to turn them (actually a non-skid chamois cloth) and pretty much do the same thing with the cars if I have to move them on and off the layout. That way I don't leave oil from my fingers.
Actually, there's something about handling (very carefully) one of my big, brass hunkers that pretty much brings the 'kid' out in me. But that's just me.
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I have car and diesel touching on my railroad. There is a "mole Hole" area where three different staging yards come together, and the mole hole guy takes trains off and makes up trains on the staging tracks using the 0 5 0 engine, sometimes the 0 10 0 engine. Part of life. A good number of my really nice (expensive) cars are in unit trains which are not switched or taken on or off. Otherwise, we touch.
Bob
I much prefer to keep the meathooks off the machinery, and not just because the Great Hand of God doesn't descend from the sky to work on 1:1 scale railroads. Since most of my cars are flat black, they show fingerprints like crazy!
That said, I use cassettes for transferring rolling stock onto and off the layout, and store them on shelf brackets in between uses. I DO fiddle cars with loose loads - to the extent of adding or removing same. However, all of that kind of thing takes place 'off-layout.' Once a car is on powered track, the only thing that moves it is a locomotive.
FWIW, magnetic couplers will uncouple reliably if the track magnets are intelligently placed.
Chuck (modeing Central Japan in September, 1964)
fiatfan wrote:"Even if I have to empty a yard or siding for maintenance I genrally use an engine rather than just roll them down the track. It just doesn't feel right. "
Exactly my point! thank you. It doesn't feel right, I mean if you wanted to just push cars around yourself you could save your self a ton of money on loco's.
"Am I wierd? Probably. Am I alone? Doesn't sound like it."
I agree, glad to know I'm not REALLY letting trains get to me. LOL
I have no layout of my own, so my equipment travels to shows to be run. Super detailed equipment doesn't hold up well to touching, so I usually keep them in their boxes as much as I can, only removing them to be run. If there's a really simple move and no one is looking I'll use a hand to shove a boxcar, but other than that I think I'm "fairly" good about trying not to touch...
Alex
Jay
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From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
What about when other people just have to touch your detailed locomotives! Hmmmmm. Let's see, where's that sign? Oh there it is! Better hang it back up on the wall:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warning!
Now looka here yall! If you or your yung' uns put your cotton pikin hands on these here trains without permission..........yall will git a "cooter sized" bite by this here railroad's owner! That's me! Oh sure! Yall can dream about a touchin......but DON'T DO IT!
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
I won't touch my locos or rolling stock unless I wash my hands real well first. And I've freaked out more than once in the past when friends or guests have touched or picked up one of my cars which I wiped off with a wet paper towel as soon as they left. I'm real funny about that.
Tracklayer
In the case of the Los Gatos Sub:
Rule 895: Except in cases of accident, derailment or other unusual occurrence, operators must not pick up, touch or otherwise handle equipment which is in service on the railroad. Equipment waiting for service in staging drawers, or at other locations designated by the Superintendent, may be handled, but only to the extent necessary to either place in or remove from service.
Damaged equipment must be immediately sent to the repair facility with bad order tag attached.
In cases of accident, derailment or other unusual occurrence, notify the Superintendent and dispatcher immediately. "Oklahoma Hook" will be dispatched to remove and/or rerail equipment. Protect accident site by placing signals at stop indication or by flag protection until arrival of hook.
Rule 895a: Operators and other employees of the railroad are advised to warn and if necessary, admonish visitors to keep hands away from the railroad, including structures, track, rolling stock and scenery. Signs asking visitors to keep hands off layout are posted at each station location.
I sneezed on a freight train once. Does that count? Must admit I find this thread amusing. I am surprised at the number who are so protective. They are just adult toys you know. Guess to me there are more important things in life than my trains, and I have a large investment in them. But I don't mind reaching over and picking up an engine or car to rerail it, replace it, to move it on or off the railroad.
But to each his own.
pastorbob wrote: I sneezed on a freight train once. Does that count? Must admit I find this thread amusing. I am surprised at the number who are so protective. They are just adult toys you know. Guess to me there are more important things in life than my trains, and I have a large investment in them. But I don't mind reaching over and picking up an engine or car to rerail it, replace it, to move it on or off the railroad.But to each his own.Bob
I'm not surprised. Don't you remember what most of these guys look like?
I let my 11 year old nephew move the HO people around the layout, and I let him run the trains. I keep an eye on him though. Hopefully this will spark a love of trains for him so that someday he can enjoy this hobby too.
Modeling the N&W freelanced at the height of their steam era in HO.
Daniel G.
I think this says it all:
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Driline wrote: pastorbob wrote: I sneezed on a freight train once. Does that count? Must admit I find this thread amusing. I am surprised at the number who are so protective. They are just adult toys you know. Guess to me there are more important things in life than my trains, and I have a large investment in them. But I don't mind reaching over and picking up an engine or car to rerail it, replace it, to move it on or off the railroad.But to each his own.BobI'm not surprised. Don't you remember what most of these guys look like? I let my 11 year old nephew move the HO people around the layout, and I let him run the trains. I keep an eye on him though. Hopefully this will spark a love of trains for him so that someday he can enjoy this hobby too.
Well Said, Brakie!!!