magickmaker
New member
Hey, in another thread I talked about this model railroad I had in high school (that I'm rebuilding in trainz) and got thinking. Do you have any funny stories from your own Model Railroading past? Trainz counts, though for these stories I have more actual model scales in mind.
Note: I modeled a rare era, picking pre 1914. So, my stock consisted of very old wooden boxcars, tall brake wheels, and running boards. Most of my stock was scratch built, with some exceptions.
1.) Not many "live" loads after that... AKA "Why not to put passenger cars on a barge"
To understand my route you have to understand its setting. Located off a tributary of the Mississippi river, much of its traffic came in the form of two large rail barges. The barges were simply constructed, with one just being a length of wood with planking on the top and tracks laid on it. Oddly it didn't look half bad, but I digress. The barges could actually be removed from the route and replaced with other ones, "pre loaded" with cars for the next session. One barge, the larger of the two, had no bumpers on its rear, but since I rarely used it that didn't matter. One operating session, I'd decided to use this one.
Leading down to the river there was a slight grade. Yet as I would run passenger traffic often, we'd stick the passenger train on the barge leads, keeping it out of the way as the freight was brought up, or as the switcher was building the train. This one day, I'm doing just that, and have set the cars on the lead (just before the grade) and headed off to find the RPO, when either myself or the other operator bumped the layout. Bumping the layout caused the cars to start rolling, and in doing so they picked up speed. This lasted until they reached the end of the barge, where one by one they plunked off the barge and into the "water" (acrylic surface) below. Two cars made it off the table, and ended up being replaced later. Not long after that, it became an understood rule that No passenger trains were allowed anywhere near the barges. Furthermore, I wasn't allowed to make up the passenger trains again
2.) It fell over....
Most of my locomotives were small 4-4-0's, and an odd 4-6-0 that I'd purchased. (This is similar to the 4-6-0 http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/ns564.jpeg) Since my graduation was coming up soon, my best friend purchased a new locomotive for me and had it painted in my railroad's colors. The engine, a beautiful 2-8-0 (http://spec.lib.vt.edu/testdata/nw/nw19.gif) was larger than anything else on my railroad. To the point that I actually had to move some clearances back to allow it to make it past some of my structures. We decided to have an inauguration of it, and even staged this "photo" where the engine was sitting with my figures around it like the railroad was celebrating the new acquisition.
Once everything was set up, I moved to take a picture. Just as I looked in through the view finder and pressed the shutter, I watch as the locomotive falls over on its side with a soft thunk, crushing all my figures underneath. The engine was heavy enough that the light rail my road used (N Scale 100lb rail hand laid to simulate early rail) couldn't hold its weight. The rail had actually splayed out from the engine's weight, and caused it to fall over.
Most of my company's "managers" (figures) were lost in the accident, but the locomotive was unharmed.
Note: I modeled a rare era, picking pre 1914. So, my stock consisted of very old wooden boxcars, tall brake wheels, and running boards. Most of my stock was scratch built, with some exceptions.
1.) Not many "live" loads after that... AKA "Why not to put passenger cars on a barge"
To understand my route you have to understand its setting. Located off a tributary of the Mississippi river, much of its traffic came in the form of two large rail barges. The barges were simply constructed, with one just being a length of wood with planking on the top and tracks laid on it. Oddly it didn't look half bad, but I digress. The barges could actually be removed from the route and replaced with other ones, "pre loaded" with cars for the next session. One barge, the larger of the two, had no bumpers on its rear, but since I rarely used it that didn't matter. One operating session, I'd decided to use this one.
Leading down to the river there was a slight grade. Yet as I would run passenger traffic often, we'd stick the passenger train on the barge leads, keeping it out of the way as the freight was brought up, or as the switcher was building the train. This one day, I'm doing just that, and have set the cars on the lead (just before the grade) and headed off to find the RPO, when either myself or the other operator bumped the layout. Bumping the layout caused the cars to start rolling, and in doing so they picked up speed. This lasted until they reached the end of the barge, where one by one they plunked off the barge and into the "water" (acrylic surface) below. Two cars made it off the table, and ended up being replaced later. Not long after that, it became an understood rule that No passenger trains were allowed anywhere near the barges. Furthermore, I wasn't allowed to make up the passenger trains again
2.) It fell over....
Most of my locomotives were small 4-4-0's, and an odd 4-6-0 that I'd purchased. (This is similar to the 4-6-0 http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/ns564.jpeg) Since my graduation was coming up soon, my best friend purchased a new locomotive for me and had it painted in my railroad's colors. The engine, a beautiful 2-8-0 (http://spec.lib.vt.edu/testdata/nw/nw19.gif) was larger than anything else on my railroad. To the point that I actually had to move some clearances back to allow it to make it past some of my structures. We decided to have an inauguration of it, and even staged this "photo" where the engine was sitting with my figures around it like the railroad was celebrating the new acquisition.
Once everything was set up, I moved to take a picture. Just as I looked in through the view finder and pressed the shutter, I watch as the locomotive falls over on its side with a soft thunk, crushing all my figures underneath. The engine was heavy enough that the light rail my road used (N Scale 100lb rail hand laid to simulate early rail) couldn't hold its weight. The rail had actually splayed out from the engine's weight, and caused it to fall over.
Most of my company's "managers" (figures) were lost in the accident, but the locomotive was unharmed.