A few weeks ago there was a post that listed all those unwritten rules, or laws of life, that could collectively be known as Murphy’s Laws. And today I experienced a perfect example of ‘if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.’
I thought I had to make an adjustment to a switch motor since it seemed the points maybe weren’t aligning correctly. So, I thought, this will be a simple adjustment.
First I couldn’t find the work light - it was on the shelf right where it should be. Bulb was burned out, replaced bulb. Got underneath the layout and found a loose screw - not including the one in my head for starting this in the first place. Got the electric screw driver and promptly turned the screw the wrong way causing it to fall behind my head against the wall. Found the screw, put it back in place, didn’t help the ‘problem.’ After ‘adjusting’ everything I finally decided the hole in the roadbed where the piano wire went into the turnout was too small. (It’s the same size as every other one on the entire layout.) So, I decided to remove the motor, the wiring, and the turnout to enlarge the hole. Got it done - everything seemed to work until I ran a loco over the turnout and it derailed every time - hmmm, never did that before. Got to looking at the turnout and found one of the stock rails was not secured to the tie strip causing it to be grossly out of gauge - now did I do that?? And in the process of ‘fixing’ that, the adjacent turnout started behaving badly by derailing everything in sight. So, I started looking at that one and finally decided after another frustrating hour to replace both of them. Of course, the LHS doesn’t stock Shinohara - will have to order them.
So, I tell this tale to affirm Murphy’s Law as well as another one that we all should live by - ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix, adjust, or fiddle with it.’ Be
I feel your pain. My favorite quote was.[ If it aint broke, I can fix that!]
Have you ever had one of those days that nothing went well?
Did you work on your trains that day also?
Did the frustration transfer to the hobby or was all good?
Pete
Harold, you are preaching to the chore tonight!
Running the A line, pulling a long fast moving freight train. Car’s came uncoupled. Pull the offending car and checked coupler height and found it to be to low. Had to use two .10 Kadee washer and it was good! Installed it back in the lash up and off I went. This time the other end was to low and came uncoupled again! Back the train to push the cars around where I could reach them. In the rear of the train a car came off, turn the engines to stop! But, I have the deceleration sat at 30, and I was busy shutting down the fast moving coal train heading toward the stalled freight train.
Engines kept backing up and derailed 10 cars, breaking off 3 couplers! Only found 2 of couplers and none of the lids. (Athearns)
Had to craw up on to the layout to clear the wreck, now the B line has as dead spot where I climbed up. OK, I can still run the A line, wrong, it has a dead spot at the other in 18 feet away?
Had a bad day, starter on my car went out today and all I want to do was run some trains when I got home. Spent hour and a half and only made it 2 times around the bench.
Today life sucks!
Ken
Well no offense but glad Murphy visited your house today instead of mine. He came to visit here on New Years day and left me a flat tire on my truck usually no big deal but I was supposed to go out to a friends layout in Pa. for an op-session that I have canceled on several times so to add insult to injury could not find a pair of tires to fit my truck for love nor money that Saturday. I guess it took him that long to make it to your place.before he made his way to Ken’s