Took my new, never run, freshly super detailed Bowser C630M’s to the layout for some break in time and a bit of posing for the camera.
Twice around the mainline, then hook on to a cut of cars, add a Rapido caboose, and we’re ready to do some pulling and photo run by’s. Let them run, grab my video, then I hear the dreaded CRASH!
Seem’s a guest left the duck under bridge up, and my two nice MLW’s hit the floor, along with 10 or so Intermountain grain cars!
Well, I now have a project for the next month, nobody to blame but ME!
Not really. The moral of the story is that you should have made an easy to install dead section on either side of the duck-under bridge so that the approach tracks are dead when the bridge is up and that would have stopped your train.
Yeah, it’s a big hit one the bank account to learn a newbie lesson all over again.
I’m just thankfol it wasn’t one or two of my brass steamers that hit the concrete!
Good news though: The C630Ms will live to run again. The shells aren’t cracked or broken, but the handrails are trashed, 3 of the 4 gearboxes split open?? and chucked gears everywhere, the little clear plastic pieces that bring light to the ditchlights are broken, and of course the steps are crunched on one side on the lead loco.
Worse though was my decision to use double shelf couplers on even my frieght stuff. THAT’S what helped drag all those cars along with the locos.
I still think it’s a good idea to follow your train though.
The LION’S layout is fully automated. LION controls the tower, the trains run by themselves. The LION can walk around the layout, talk with guests and the trains keep doing their thing!
For this reason there are Emergency Power Cutouts around the layout. They cut out all third rail power to all tracks until it is reset from the main control console. [Well, OK, the third rails are fake, but the power is removed from all of the tracks anyway.] These buttons, on the fascia are marked with blue lights, just like on the real subway. On my layout it is necessary to stop all trains (and clocks) at once, for your follower is only a few minutes behind you.
For big layouts or layouts with many users, I recommend an emergency cutout system.
Mine consists of N.O. buttons wired in series around the whole layout. Pressing any one of them will interrupt the holding circuit on my power relay and will stop the layout and its clocks. On a layout with a lift out or other such disaster waiting to happen, I would include that in the protection circuit. If the bridge is not in place the relay cannot be pulled into the operating position.
The LION runs his layout on real time only. A fact clock is just flat out impossible.
I feel your pain. Happened to me as well. My layout is in a small room, so not very much space, decided to shut the entire layout down when one of the two duck under bridges are up.
Hope you can get all the necessary parts for the repairs.
I know the feeling. Over a half century ago (I’m not that old am I?), I ran my first Lionel loco off the edge through an open switch. Broke the drawbar connection between loco and tender and a few other things. Dad was able to fix up the drawbar, but it left a lasting impression and a dull ache in the stomach everytime I think of it.
“Floor models” is the term for model locomotives that fell to the floor.
One of my SD9’s (now repaired) was a victim of running off the side of a new section on the layout. Pieces went all over the floor.
I have protective fences at the edges of the layout except for new sections under construction. The SD9 struck a Model Railroader magazine laying on the track. With no barrier, it dove.
