Wrecks Happen

Looks like a job for Hulcher!

http://www.hulcher.com/contrac...ailment-response.asp

I have had a couple of wrecks but no pictures, ( plausible deniability) but one was some years ago when I was not looking. 

As I was talking to a friend that was over the house looking at my layout and not paying attention to the speed of my big boy going around a curve (this was before cruise) and as it entered the tunnel it jumped the track and took out a signal, the right side of the tunnel wall crushing it. 

There was no damage to the locomotive except for some of the handrails that had to be bent back into shape,  thank God. But the signal was destroyed and the entrance to the tunnel needed to be rebuilt. 

Not on my layout, it is against the law. 

Let's just say you don't want to get these two remotes mixed up.

The Milwaukee Special often runs at the top of our displays. With its fixed couplers we use staples to make sure the cars stay together and that works pretty well. At least until the 3 year old nephew got a hold of the controls. Unfortunately there was no camera running to catch the train play the spectacular game of follow the leader over the edge. But the staples worked great in holding the cars together all the way to the floor.

But, if you were using the one on the left, you could probably record the wreck.   

You have had only two wrecks? You are a far better engineer than I am. My recollections of wrecks:

>N&W coal train rammed into the rear of the Dreyfus powered 20th Century Limited, but nothing went to the concrete floor 40" below;

>Southern Crescent slammed into the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha at a switch. The Hiawatha's Cedar Rapids dome car went to the concrete floor with serious damage;

>N&W coal train hit in the rear by a Commodore Vanderbilt powered 20th Century Limited. Three coal cars went to the concrete floor with serious damage to their trucks and couplers;

>Powhatan Arrow split a switch and spewed passenger cars all over the terminal lead tracks;

>Pennsy local freight train collided at a switch with a K4 powered commuter train. The freight train's cabin car went to the concrete floor causing serious damage to the cupola.

There have been more wrecks, but none significant enough to remember. My layout has a single track main line with several passing sidings. Running three trains simultaneously is a mental challenge where the slightest loss of concentration leads to disaster.

You need a catch net Bobby!!

I think that's a clever idea - never heard of that and sure didn't think of it myself.

I'm embarrassed to tell you that on really annoying freight cars whose couplers would readily let go, even if coupled at the very end of the train, I used CrazyGlue to shut their mouths permanently, never having had a yard for routing consists any-ol-ways. However, some still managed to release, so they got banned or parked or given away (with due warning about their plots to cause mayhem.)

I still laugh at my most spectacular wreck.  My yard lead switch started acting up and switching back and forth and created this accordion effect.  The train stopped with a loud clunk when the lead engine hit one of the posts holding up my Union Station.  Luckily the cars stayed coupled and on the layout rather than the floor.

Art 

You to huh had a orange ref boxcar.That would not keep it closse causing headaces.I went and got some glue and fixed it.There is also a t&p boxcar same problem same fix.Good to know I am not alone in when it comes to this.

Several years ago a car in the middle of the train picked a switch on a curve. The resulting yank to the forward part of the train caused a string line derailment.  Some cars went to the floor and some were saved by the under layout wiring.  The last photo shows the cars that made it into the siding where the switch was picked.

.....

Dennis

Chugman,

That's amazing. I am not sure you could re-create that with perfect timing and keep the trucks on different tracks.

I have had two. One a misbehaving coupler armature on the engine let loose the whole train at the same time my grandson distracted me. Ended up ramming the caboose.

The first caused the bent armature(unknown to me at the time). Alaska running at medium on the outer loop and the Polar Express highballing on the inside. I decided to get tricky with my cross-overs and switch tracks at speed. The Polar went to the outer and the Alaska didn't go to the inner. before I could hit Halt, head-0n. Hitting Halt shortly after the crash, I had this sick feeling. Then I thought all was ok, just a few paint knicks on the pilots. Well the impact bent the armature on the dummy of Alaska, unbeknownst to me, which then caused the wreck above a few days later.

Very prototypical, human error as the cause in both. We have a crack MOW team at the Arctic RR.

Chugman, that is spectacular!!!

i never, NEVER photograph my wrecks.

I have had one wreck, and only one, but it was very, very bad.  I left a small razor saw on the layout after doing some last minute repairs. Wasn't where it could do any damage though.  But stupid me.  anyway, vibration from passing trains caused it to fall to where it fell onto the track, but not so it shorted it out, only so that the wheels of a Legacy 3751 ATSF Northern rolled up and over it as it came around a bend.

But wait, there's more!  If you are this stupid,  absolutely free, the fates will arrange for this to happen right near the edge of the layout!  3751 plunged off and over and fell 39" to the floor, which was cushionedwith all of 1/4 inch of carpet.  It lost its rear truck, sheered off, and assorted "separately applied parts," etc.  

It still ran, but it was not a good day.  The movie ends well, though.  I used the chassis and installed it in an old MTH 2929 ATSF Northern body on it, and used its rear trucks, etc., and have a Legacy model of that later, bigger ATSF Northern class.  All is well that ends well. 

It was stilla really bad day at the time.

Layout-lite?

I found when you are new to DCS, to set your max speed and voltgaes low till you are familar. I thought I was adjusting the speed on my PS3 on the inner loop only to find out I was still on the outer loop running conventional. When I pressed the DIR, my PE was full throttle through the curve and sailing off the layout. I caught the engine with my foot before it could hit the floor and saved the engine.