At what scale do model trains become potentially lethal to humans?

[JonMyrlennBailey]

At what scale do model trains become potentially lethal or potentially cause serious injury to humans?

A 1/10 scale train would travel at an actual 7 mph if it were to go a scale 70 mph. An SD40T-2 loco would be an actual 7.2 feet in length at that scale. How heavy might a 1/10 scale train be if it were a scale mile long? Imagine having your bare head on the track when such train hits you at an actual 7 mph.

 

[RHKluckhohn]

A 1:87.1 (HO) 0-4-0 Dockside loco, fired from a 2.75" Bofors barrel at 2500 feet per second, would almost certainly be lethal with a head or torso hit at most ranges.

:B~)

 

[Bill69]

A 1:48th "O" gauge live steam loco could kill if the boiler blew.

Bill69

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

This must have already been answered on Mythbusters, surely.

 

[jordon412]

This must have already been answered on Mythbusters, surely.

I watched the whole series of Mythbusters on Discovery's streaming service, Discovery+, and they didn't answer that, so we don't know. However, they did bust the myth of killing yourself by "relieving" yourself on the electrified 3rd rail of a subway system, which was tested at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum. They also bust the myth that you could be blown off a station platform by a passing train, with help from New Mexico Rail Runner. In the final season, they did their biggest myth: Tanker Crush. The myth was: A tank car has just unloaded it product and the tank has been steam-cleaned. The cleaning crew closes all the hatches and leaves. Suddenly it begins to rain. All that steam in that hot tank cools off from that rain causing it to turn back into water, causing a vacuum in the tank, with all the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on it. The result: The tank car implodes. They busted the myth, but still managed to crush a full-size tank car. They first had to replace the brand-new tank car they were using with one that's seen some use out of it, then they used a large block of concrete dropped from a crane onto the tank to create a dent in the tank. Then they used a 'vacuum truck', which are normally used to pump out septic tanks, to pull a vacuum on the tank car. Only then did the tank car implode.
Here's the actual tanker car imploding from the actual episode:

 

[jordon412]

And here's the Mythbusters explaining the myth

 

[jordon412]

Here's the High-Speed Camera's view of the implosion

 

[64Warhorse]

A typical modern 6-axle freight locomotive weighs in at around 200 tons. At any reasonable scale, that's going to be lethally dangerous if you scale the mass in a linear fashion the way you did. OTOH, if you scale the mass by the cube of the linear dimension, that same loco at HO scale comes in at about 0.6 lbs, which should be perfectly safe at any speed you'd see on a model railroad, but it still isn't anything you would want me to be whacking you in the head with ...

 

[JCitron]

Probably any scale train and peripherals left on the floor to be stepped on. An unaware person will feel something under their feet and then attempt to step around it causing the person to become unstable and fall. If the person has compromised balance, or are elderly, they'll fall easy and crack their head.

To bring this off topic a bit..., well kinda sort of.

Has anyone stepped on jacks left out in their bare feet?

To put it bluntly, these are like stepping on shards of glass!

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

A typical modern 6-axle freight locomotive weighs in at around 200 tons. At any reasonable scale, that's going to be lethally dangerous if you scale the mass in a linear fashion the way you did. OTOH, if you scale the mass by the cube of the linear dimension, that same loco at HO scale comes in at about 0.6 lbs, which should be perfectly safe at any speed you'd see on a model railroad, but it still isn't anything you would want me to be whacking you in the head with ...

Here is a screenshot. My table is 4 actual feet from the ground. That UP engine is within 2 actual feet from the edge of the bench. It's in a scale 45 mph zone meaning 4.50 MPH actual speed. The 1/10 model engine might actually be between 6 and 7 actual feet in length. It might weigh something like 100 actual pounds if constructed of steel and aluminum as an expensive high-quality scale model. The theoretical 1/10 scale train a scale mile long (consist of 55 to 70 vehicles) might weigh an actual TON (2,000 pounds) or more. Yes, imagine a "toy" train with the combined mass of a real-world automobile. Quite menacing should that train jump the track onto human bystanders at full speed. At 4 feet high and about two feet from the edge should keep small children from trying to touch the train as it goes barreling by. Human fingers placed on the scale track might be lost. There's a point when vehicles get so fast, big and heavy that they actually become hazardous. Certainly any lizard, frog, squirrel or lap dog that gets on that 1/10 scale track might become toast. Then think of the electricity in that scale track needed to power that massive scale train. My 1/10 scale steam locomotives would also be "fired" by electricity to heat the boiler.

I would also build my model track of genuine steel and wood with machinist precision. The ballast would be genuine rock and concrete. Super-elevation and easement curves. No plastic cheesiness. My outdoor 1/10 train layout in the physical world would be built for complete outdoor use and real weather by Mother Nature would weather the automotive-grade model paint over the passing of Father Time.

 

[jordon412]

The closest I know to a model train that can kill a person is the recently deceased John Ozanich's 1/3rd scale, or more specifically a scale of 3.75 inches = 1 foot, Sandy Ridge and Clear Lake Railway, which was featured in Great Model Railroads 2005, along with his model railroad, the Atlantic Great Eastern. The gauge of the track is 7.5 inches. Here's one of a few YouTube videos of the SR&CLRy in action, along with their website above it:
Website: http://www.srclry.com/

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

The closest I know to a model train that can kill a person is the recently deceased John Ozanich's 1/3rd scale, or more specifically a scale of 3.75 inches = 1 foot, Sandy Ridge and Clear Lake Railway, which was featured in Great Model Railroads 2005, along with his model railroad, the Atlantic Great Eastern. The gauge of the track is 7.5 inches. Here's one of a few YouTube videos of the SR&CLRy in action, along with their website above it:
Website: http://www.srclry.com/

Any train with the capacity to carry live humans is no doubt deadly. Even a Lionel Trains O scale can electrocute a small child.

1/10 scale model locomotives and rolling stock could be constructed of steel, aluminum, wood and/or plastic. If a real-world diesel engine was 200 tons, a 1/10 scale model would have to weigh 400 pounds to keep weight in proportion. Scale-model engines are often electric powered. My theoretical 1/10th scale physical d/e engines would have advanced lithium-ion batteries onboard. I might scrap the notion of sending electricity through the track HO style altogether. The hoods and cab sheet metal might be aluminum to keep construction quality high while keeping weight down. The train cars would have to have some type of reliable electrical connection at the operating couplers to provide current for lighting passenger car interiors, end-of-train red lights and operation of each and every car's parking brake. The electro-mechanical wheel brake would be applied by default. Coupling the cars to the engine would send current from the loco to the cars and therefore release the brake. It would have to be a very sound electrical contact at the coupler knuckles. Each car would probably have a small rechargeable battery on board too as well as micro-scale GPS navigation electronics so the layout's computer could pinpoint it's exact location on the layout. The rolling stock also would need automatic electro-mechanic couplers. 1/10th scale should be workable enough to have real-world sophistication built into model trains.

 

[Vern]

There have been a couple of fatal accidents on the 15" gauge Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in Kent, where trains have struck vehicles that jumped the lights at level crossings. I daresay a 5.5" or 7" gauge loco/consist would be heavy enough to kill a small child if they got in front of it. For narrow gauge, I remember years ago reading an article about the Ffestiniog Railway (2ft gauge) that it was not unusual to kill trespassers a couple of times a year. People have committed suicide in front of trains on preserved railways. I believe the Mollibahn in Germany recently had a collision with a camper van where the road user was killed.

The conclusion to this rather morbid discussion is that any train of a sufficient size has the potential to maim or kill so be careful around them!