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How do you get rid of Murphy?

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  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Thursday, August 17, 2017 10:20 PM

No Howard you aren’t alone.  Murphy has been looking over my shoulder for over 60 years.  I have no idea how he found me and I don’t have any idea how to run him off.  He has an uncanny way of figuring out how and where he can do maximum damage to any of my projects.  He isn’t very picky either.  His last trick was to coax me into dinging my left thumb using my table saw so now he’s on the top of my list.  
 
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
  • Member since
    February 2007
  • From: Shenandoah Valley The Home Of Patsy Cline
  • 1,842 posts
Posted by superbe on Thursday, August 17, 2017 10:19 PM

As a loner I'm not use to having people observe my operation of the trains. When I have guests, usually relatives, I invaribly fail to position turnouts correctly and have difficulty uncuoupling cars ruining my guest's experience.

No doubt, I'm tense without knowing it, which causes these errors.

Bob

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 685 posts
How do you get rid of Murphy?
Posted by Howard Zane on Thursday, August 17, 2017 9:49 PM

Am I the only nut in this hobby who has to deal with Murphy of Murphy's law. Now in my many decades of running trains, I'm getting rather tired of this fellow, Murphy. I rarely have a problem running trains when alone or with possibly just with one guest, but during an open house or when a new commercial video is being produced, everything that could go wrong does just that. I'll be running trains for a shooting, and a derailment or electical malfunction is inevitable. After the day's shooting or when visitors leave...........nary a problem, and actually everything then runs to almost perfection. I just had to convert 4 DCC turntables (Chris Moran) to analog as they failed during shootings. Actually I recommend doing this as the Walther's DCC 90' turntable...................well I hate to impugn any product, so lets say that analog and eyeball operation is more fun for me.

When Allen Keller was doing a shoot, I was able to trace problem to his very hot lighting as heat managed to warp some tracks, but still there were other problems like a main power supply blowing, and turnout motors being fried.

Does anyone have a theory how Murphy sneaks into the train room uninvited? If so, please do share.

Many thanks,

HZ

Howard Zane

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