I figured it out!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

We have often discussed gremlins, train gods, Murphy’s law, the Bemuda triangle, and various other mysterious forces as they relate to trains not running properly or acting up while we step out of the room for a moment or when visitors arrive. None of these have any bearing on the cooperation (or lack thereof) of our trains.

It is the trains themselves!

Today I was taping off a building prior to painting. A task which, while tedious, is not very demanding of my attention. I fired up a short train to run laps while I taped off the bulding. When I would watch the train pass through a certain area, it would roll through flawlessly. If my concentration was on the building I was taping, the train would give a false uncouping somewhere in the train. Even if I pretended to concentrate on taping, it would know and work correctly.

Now, I ask you, are these trains emotionally needy or do I need to get out of the house a little more often?

Tom

2

Just because your paranoid doesn’t mean them little suckers aren’t out to get ya.

3

Trains are like little children. They’re little angels when your watching them and little devils when your not. It’s just the nature of them! [(-D][(-D]

4

True words written. Mark it, and print… That should be a T-shirt.

[(-D]

5

What’s that old saying?

A watched train never derails.
[angel]

I actually think that troubles like these are more a reflection of the learning curve of the interaction between layout and rolling stock construction and maintenance standards. Something can always go wrong, but the more effort put into making things reliable, the less problems I find, whether I’m watching or not.
[:D]

6

I swear these things actually have a mind of their own!!! Brad

7

Perhaps mounting a few remote cameras above the layout might scare them into behaving. Then they won’t know if they’re being watched or not. [:D]

8

Quite true - unless the person watching it is a visitor from out-of-town.[:D]

9

Bushwah. There’s no magic, no evil intent on the part of the trains, just things the average person doesn’t understand. A rolling train is in equilibrium with the forces acting on it. A watched train has uneven sub-atomic particle radiation. Your eyes absorb photons from one side, the other side is emitting against a slightly greater backpressure. On the quantum level, this creates imbalanced forces, which, when combined with slight irregularities in trackwork and axle bearing surfaces, lead to derailments and other problems. Place a non-radiating black body trackside and all your problems will disappear. (Gremlins huh? I though it was ballast borer mites. I’ll make an appointment with my witch doctor post haste.)