Thanksgiving and my wife is going above and beyond entertaining both sides of the family. 25 people,5 kids and a dog. About 2 hrs into it -disaster! My brother,whos well aware of my passion for trains comes up from the basement with a sick look on his face.Comes clean imediatly about what just happened. Was showing his son the trains, got distrated with the other half of basements construction and walked away from a 35 car train. Something derailed,cut loose most of the train and 4 PK2000 geeps looped around and plowed through most of the cars.22 hit the concrete along with 1 of the geeps.What a mess!
Well, at least there is a rather good second hand market for kids these days. It should cover your losses. 
Coldsteal,
Sorry to read of what happened and hope that you’re handling it well. Hindsight is always 20/20…but it would likely be better for you in the future if you allowed visitors (including relatives) access to your layout ONLY if you are present.
Today’s models are too expensive and fragile. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes adults that are not into the hobby don’t pay close attention when running trains on a layout and take it for granted that a “crash” will cost the owner time and money for repairs and/or replacements.
Years ago when I was a teen, I got into the habit of closing the door to my bedroom when visitors with kids arrived at my parents house. Before that, often times the first thing the adults and children zoomed in on was the model rolling stock on my makeshift work table. The temptation to pick models up for a closer inspection was strong so I nipped it in the bud.
Door… Lock…
Yikes! What a stomach churner.[sigh]
At the last train show I was at, a kid got in big trouble when texting while running a train. Not quite the disaster you had, but caused damage none the less. Not paying attention can get expensive.
I can commiserate. Had similar happen many years ago during a family get-together. While I was busy in the kitchen there was a massive train layout derailment, plugged tunnel and a few pieces of prized rolling stock hit the concrete floor.
I really thought my trains would be safe with an adult and his 12 year old, but I was wrong. Did painfully bring to my attention that having unsupervised layout visitors and a near inaccessible tunnel are very bad ideas.
regards, Peter
Those are called floor models.
it happens to the best of us. One of my SD9’s is a floor model because of my screw up. It is repaired now except one of the corner steps slightly dinged up.
Ouch! When I know company(read oldest nephew) is coming I lock my train room…Even at 37 he’s like a bull in a china shop.His two sons should be named "tornado and “hurricane”.
Yes, locked door.
That way no one can just waltz in and help themselves to expensive trains with no supervision. An ounce of prevention where every possible. I don’t know if it’s a no-no, but I might putting a figure on the losses. You shouldn’t be expected to swollow the losses when it was another adult’s fault. That may sound a little tough but depending on the costs of the models and damage, you could be talking hundreds of dollars, ahem.
I’ve invested a lot of hard earned money into my adult toys, and am resk averse, so I try to design in things like side guards to areas where trains would take the plunge - especially where a concrete floor is present - I did that on my last layout. My current one being built has a padded carpet underneath so some cushion is afforded “if” anything does plunge.
I have been known to just look away form a train going round ‘n’ round on my track, and have had the train run off the tracks, shoot into the air going airborne and then nose dive and hit the floor.
No kids, no brother, no relatives involved, just me and my inattention.
So,that is why now, there is a “bumper pad” around the layout. If there IS a crash, it won’t, at least, hit the floor.
Plexiglass works well,and doesn’t really distract from the “look” of the layout’s edge.
problem solved.
[8-|]
x2
This is one reason why I like Sculptamold. It’s easy to form it into a natural looking curve as slight rise along the layout edge. Most places on the layout, it would be hard to get rolling stock far enough off the track to go over the edge.
But there are a few spots where ambituos speeds and inattention could still lead to an expensive disaster - Frankly, from my point of view, unless you have at least some visible risk, you’re just not modeling real narrowgauge[;)] That’s easy to overdo, though, and does require close attention to your train at certain critical spots. One example would be crossing the Las Animas River leaving Silverton. My precious things could derail on the bridge, hit that slick epoxy river, slide over the edge (Sculptamold curbs would tend to spoil this river scene, don’t you know?) and then hopfully come to rest at Dove Creek on the deck below. If you were really unlucky, you’d simply bounce there and then head for the floor 3’ lower.
That said, I’ve never had a derailment on it, but I’ve never let others operate without being around to supervise. And you do have to keep in mind that while we all tend to operate slow and easy, most non-model RRers tend to operrate Gomez Addams-style, so the precautions made for our benefit may not provide full protection against larger risks.
Agree Mike. I plan on having some kind of “discouragement” to keep trains on the top of the layout. In sceniced area’s, scenery or something so if trains fall over, they will stay on the surface of the layout. Plexiglass or masonite with a small lip is also good, and in hidden area’s - I hot glue cardboard or some sort of wall. But again, I’m risk averse!
Yikes. Sorry for your misfortune. I have had youngsters in my train room. They must…MUST…be supervised by me or another adult, and may not be in the train room unless supervised by someone I trust to do the job responsibly.
It is simply too tempting for children, male or female, to want to reach out for that tactile input to their starving brains. Really, it is the adult’s fault if such misteps take place because the child is not responsible. They can be taught impulse control over time, but expecting that from someone under five is unrealistic.
If I cannot remain with them, the power gets turned off and I remove the ankle-biters from the room with a promise to return as soon as possible.
Period.
Your brother made an error, and he had the decency to present himself to you right away. Really, what could he do? I hope he coughs up some monetary help.
Just make them float like the chopper does. [:D]
Just remember, “There’s no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.” W. C. Fields
73
You have my sympathies, and while its cold comfort, two executives of the model railway club that I used to belong to, had a very bad habit of causing similar mayhem.[sigh]
They couldn’t be told.[:(!]
We need a pic! Don’t know your layout but how close was the rail to the edge? On my layout though there is one place this could happen and that is an outside curve on a tall bridge.
Many people don’t value what they consider “toys” esp other peoples. Years ago my younger cousin decided to “fly” my model airplanes. What bothered me most was not just his throwing them out the window, but the parents response that I “could always glue them back together.”
But on a more serious note – do you have power tools/saws/etc? If you have relatives in the house who would operate the trains unaware, they will also not mind using your power tools either. Never mind the damage they can do to the tools, think of the damage kids can do to themselves with a circ saw.
jim
Cold Steal:
Ouch!
You have my sympathies.
Dave
Wow, what a mess!
But I have to say this… There is no way I would allow - or enable - someone else to run my trains without my being there. No way whatsoever!
I’m 70 now, and that goes all the way back to when I was 12 with a Lionel set up.