like some of you, been tuning into the History Channel’s D-day stuff.
In this one segment, they showed color footage of US attack aircraft diving on a speeding (60 or 70+ mph?) large steam locomotive with munitions rushing towards the front.
In a blaze of bullets and glory, the locoomotive was struck and erupted in a volcano of fire and steam. It was pretty spectacular.
But I couldn’t help but think of the hapless engineer.
And I also thought about our own slab-diving locomotives and the ensuing explosion if our toys were live steam.
I’ve had a few of those.
If I had live steam, I’d have to run those on the ground.
Speaking of Live Steam, thought BB the Beagle would like to ride this around her yard!! [:D]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4145&item=5979271256&rd=1 Thanks, John
If it is an Ottoway, it has an interesting background.
Rather than me going into detail, just go to http://winfield.50megs.com/tripod/HerbOttaway.htm, or better yet google “Herb Ottoway”. He was a good friend of my dad’s, competitors and compatriots, building 125cc racing bikes in the 50’s, farting around with traction steam engines, and such. Herb helped me get a good grade on a high school term paper about Stanley Steamers (He had one), made a gas powered pogostick,
and had great fun parking his 6cyl Indian,constructed by morphing two 4 cyl engines into one 6, at a ralley, and listening to the stories people concocted.
I wish I could meet the reserve bid.
Bob
Speaking of slab-diving, why don’t more people put some kind of raised protective edge around their train layouts? Accidents happen. I’m definitely putting one on mine!
Jim
I have a bad habit of leaving things on the layout. Over the weekend, I put some tools on the edge over my workbench, intending to collect them up and put them away, got distracted, then later ran a train into them. A P40 on the point of the train derailed and tumbled a foot and a half to the bench. I was amazed to find not a scratch on it.
A little later, I did the same thing, this time with books from the bookcase on the opposite side of the room, but the same P40. This time it fell about 4 feet to the concrete slab. Again, not a scratch.
I am not going to tempt fate and try for three: I swear I will never leave stuff on the track again.
Seems the one car we have always gets knocked off. It’s a godola that my boy puts all kinds of scrap in & when it falls on the floor, a million little pieces go everywhere!! We need gaurd rails too. Thanks, John