Well it really wasn’t the gleam treatment that I did to the track as much as it was a ground throw accidentally thrown.
I’m still working on my layout (who isn’t) and have several sidings for industries that I have not finished. All industries and my yard have Caboose Industries ground throws that switch the turnouts.
Well last night I decided to clean my track by using the “GLEAM TREATMENT SYSTEM”. I use Mothers Mag Wheel Polish and a cotton cloth to clean the tracks. As I was cleaning them the rag must have caught the ground throw that I have going to a turnout that hasn’t been finished. It is about 6" from the edge of the table and will eventually parallel the main but currently it just stops with just a few inches of cork roadbed left at the end before going over the edge.
Well after cleaning the track I decided to run my Athearn Big Boy on it’s maiden voyage on the new layout. I put it on the track and got it moving at a nice slow speed (15) on my NCE system, turn around to grab my soda when I hear the sounds of it derailing. By the time I turned around to see what happened it was too late. I watched in terror as it plummeted some 45" to the floor!
It broke into several pieces. Both sets of drive wheels were hanging from their wires. The front guide truck lost one set of wheels. A piece of the pot metal boiler snapped off where the rear set of drive wheels pivot. I also found a small piece of plastic that I havent’ figured where it came from yet.
In all, it’s now pretty much trash. What’s really bad is it has never been run except when it was first bought to check it out on a small oval of temporary track.
First thought was to try to put it back together again. But I don’t know if I can. Second thought was to contact Athearn to see if they repai
Sorry to hear of the demise of your Big Boy…on my layout, any turnout that is installed without the diverging leg track has the points spiked closed so there is no way for the equipment to take the potentially fatal route. Once I complete the diverging leg track, the spike is then removed.
One fellow I know even goes through a ‘blue flag’ routine where he posts flags at turnouts that are being cleaned—he only removes them AFTER he makes sure that they are in the proper position—now that I am reminded of this I think I’ll do the same…
Oh man thats some bad news.I would have cried but I like Don’s idea plus maybe some kind of “catch” system? You know in an area where aderailment may make the model “fall off the face of the earth” you could have some kind of scenic piece strong enough to stop it.
You can also be gld it wasnt a brass loco!! Then I wouldnt have cried I would have had a massive heart attack!
Thanks for the idea. I’ll spike the points on all the open turnout sections before running any more locos. I’ll also put up a temporary wall to block any trains from running off the edge and to the floor. That’s a lot less costly than fixing or purchasing new trains.
Ouch! That really stinks![:(] I have to ask though, You bought a Big Boy 2 years ago and haven’t run it till now??? I don’t think I could have done that!
Hope your able to get it back together.
C’mon, Bill, you’ve got to fix this grand machine. That’s what the prototype would do. If you’ve got a digital camera, post some pictures and we’ll make it a group project. Your LHS or a train club can help, too. My guess would be that most of the damage is superficial and can be repaired with glue. First, though, you’ve got to get the shell off and inspect the frame.
It’s always painful to hear about anyone’s accidental loss like you just experienced. Even more so that you hardly had a chance to break your new locomotive. Ouch.
Just in case it might be helpful and you have a few of these lying around, here’s a tutorial how to modify some Walthers track bumpers in order to make them both “working” and removable. If it will stop an Athearn Blue Box F7, it will stop an Athearn Big Boy.
Sorry about your loss. I’ve put many a car and locomotive into the canyon (48" drop to concrete floor). My worst accident was a string of 12 Intermountain grain hoppers that I had a friend assemble for me. I was very excited to get them on the layout. The trucks snaped together on these kit cars. At a turnout near the edge of the layout, one of the trucks came apart, pulling about 1/2 of the cars to the floor.
I use brightly colored push pins to hold the points of my turnouts until I can install a caboose ground throw. I also use the push pins at the end of track.
While I am very sorry to hear of your loss, I must say the title of this thread is hilarious!
When I was in the Navy we used the high-power stainless steel cleaner that look like milk that had the name brand “Gleam” so when I saw the title of this post I thought “ did someone try to clean a loco with that stuff and it disintegrated the loco?!?”
On my layout I built a 1/2 inch square wood guard rail all the way around my layout.
I used 1/2 inch square uprights nailed to my wood fascia and used 1/2 inch square
for the horizontal guard rails, and they are glued on to the uprights with Elmers wood glue.
It may detract slightly from the beauty of the layout, but it sure prevents those 300 to 500 dollar
nose dives to the floor 45 inches below!
I need to take some pictures and post them.I still have a long way to go to completing my layout.
There’s a lot of tools and stuff laying on my train tables( 3-6 foot by 8foot tables bolted end to end) right now, but if you guys can handle the mess, I’ll post some pictures later.
I had an IHC steamer 2-8-2 that dived off the table before the guard rail was in place and it suffered some slight damage, so the “light bulb” went off in my head, and I designed and installed the guard rail.
I made it from scrap lumber I had laying aroound, and cut it up on my table and band saws to what I needed.My outside two line mains run about 2 inches from the edge of the tables.
Any feelings I would have experienced has been hammered out of me long ago. Several engines or good rolling stock taking the big dive to the floor in the sky and thence to the trash can.
I have never, ever left any switch open to space or floor during layout constuction of any kind. In fact, there are two bumpers on the program track that do stop engines from time to time at the cost of a busted kadee coupler.
Having said that, I am sorry for the loss of a engine that has sat so long in the box before being run. That is what bothers me more than anything. A nice good engine sitting in the box 2 years before getting a chance to get out and run.
I have a couple of extra T type signs with good bases, painted a blue color makes very good blue flags that are visible at a reasonable distance during operations.
I doubt that I have seen the last of the engines or rolling stock taking the big dive. Just last night I had 4 coal cars and three proto tankers derail in the most protoypical manner about an inch from the edge. I was able to stop the switcher fast enough to avert about a hundred dollars worth of loss.
I know that I will be adding a face panel to the layout on all table edge high enough to catch these rascals when they decide to try and go over the edge.
I am rebuildin my layout, I don’t have enough buffers for the yard,
so I use 9/16ths nuts to stop cars and finishing nails for locos.
I had a buddy drive an engine off of the end of a siding and onto the floor. That supured me into getting buffers for my layout. I DO NOT WANT A REPEAT AGAIN…
Don Gibson’s answer is definately the way to go as I’m in the process of doing the same thing. I’m also insuring I have a “buffer” between the rail and the edge. This consists of river beds, catch alls, cliffs and coniferous trees. The trees actually work the best and are akin to the wires you see used on Aircraft Carriers. That’s what the Loco looks like when it fetches up intoa hedge row of them. Just something to think about. And please try to make an attempt of fixing the BB. It is doable
My sincere condolences on your loss - but it might not be a loss. E-mail Athearn, telling them of the present condition of the loco - it’ll only cost a few key strokes!! As to open sidings, as long as you only have cork or plywood at the end of track, a 2" drywall screw will stop even a BB!! - and it’s easy to remove afterwards. Again, sorry [:(]
I have a Bachmann GS-4 that sat in a box for 30 years. I recently tried to run it on the layout and when I applied power, the wheels fell off. At least you got to hear yours run.
Have you considered rebuilding it as two separate engines? That’s what some prototype railroads did after a wreck.
Sorry to hear about your loss. I was luckier some 55+ years ago when for some reason I used a turnout for a curve track on my first Lionel layout. (Had the track, have no idea why I substituted a turnout for a curve.) Anyhow, my pre-war 0-6-0 took a dive off the table. The only thing that broke was the drawbar between the engine and tender. Later my dad went back to work for an aircraft corp and was able to make a replacement part. About 12 years ago it survived a house fire, but a lot of '50’s buildings and equipment didn’t, that’s why I’ve gone to HO.