Over the weekend, I built another slide-type track cleaning car, and wanted to see if two were better than one, but one beater Lifelike F7 wouldn’t pull it, so I got out two and set them to orbiting. Now, here’s the important part. My son and I had been running trains, so there was some passenger equipment blocking the inside track, so they were both taking the outside track, through Wattsburg Yard:
and a BN unit, pulling the masonite-slider car, was following an SF unit, pulling a crocus cloth-slider car. Things seemed to be going smoothly, so I let them run.
And here is the scene of the crime (photographed after cleanup had begun, obviously). Please disregard the dire state of my model railroad’s scenery:
Please note that the BN unit is ahead of the SF unit, and both are on the inside line. Hmm.
Well, it appears to be a very pointed problem, something to do with a legendary strong man who didn’t get wired and went off half cocked. Wow that’s obtuse even for me.
Horrors! You rear-ended a passenger train on the inner siding! AND, you left a derailed and overturned car blocking the main! Shame, shame, shame!! LOL
Looks like the cleaning car behind the SF unit derailed on the main. The BN-car-SF combo continued counterclockwise around the layout, were shunted into the inner siding track at the turnout to the left of the station and rammed into the passenger cars that were parked on the inner siding.
I tend to think a few things, like if the 2 engine speeds were mismatched, the rear engine being faster, they could run fine in a few circles, but time catches up, the rear engine could have sneaked the slider car to the right, notice the atlas snap switch, which usually have these little slider switches to change the route, and maybe the slider car with broader width, hit the turnout pin and changed the route. The springing kept the train on the correct track till the next circle then voila!! shaken up passengers…
or else a sneaky child plays with the turnout controls and dissappears fast pretending he didnt do nuthin…
Leads, huh? [8D] Time to fire up the Hummer tricked-out van!
Hmm, looks like the switch is lined solidly for the siding, where it was lined solidly for the main, before:
Looks like DW’s got it…time to go ask questions in the unscenicked part of town…
The dame said she’d been at work at the Dinor when the SF train went by, and noticed it made a little jump at this other switch…hmm…
So here’s the real story.
The trains were pretty well-matched in speed, as I said…but the new cleaning pad caught on the converging rail at the switch by the Dinor, slowing the SF engine just a bit each time. I had noticed this but didn’t think much of it, and got distracted with other work.
Pretty soon the two collided, right before the junction.
For a brief instant, the Tootsie Roll slider car was angled out, jammed between the two engines, just long enough to throw the switch…and just happened to fall clear as the BN loco was diverted into the passenger cars. The SF engine then continued on its merry way , all the way around the outside track, then happily followed the thrown switch into the Black & Decker slider car.
I was at my workbench nearby, heard the first collision, and looked up to see the whole demented thing happen. It was too silly a set of coincidences not to have a little fun with. I can’t say I’ve had a train throw its own switch before.
Darn right there will be. Especially since the engineer has apparently admitted in the fore going statement that he was not sufficiently attentive to his duties in controlling the train. A circumstance that contributed significantly to turning a simple derailment into a major accident involving possible loss of life and limb.
I’m afraid we are going to have to set you down for at least 60 days while we conduct the formal investigation. You may wish to contact your union regarding representation.
