Skip to main content

Reply to "Did You Ever Drop A Locomotive?"

Robert Coniglio posted:

One of the great fears is that while transporting a locomotive around is that it will fall out of hand or off tracks and take a big trip to the floor.I especially have this fear with the big heavy Big Boy.

 

One time I had an MTH GG-1 sitting on a table and I was wearing a sweater when I walked by it as i had done many times. On one of my pass bys for some reason the sweater sleeve grabbed one of the pantographs and before i knew the loco took a 5 foot trip to the floor. I was devastated but was glad to find that the only damage was that one of the couplers wouldot fire.

 

I was wondering if any members have had "loco drop" experiences.

 

Bob C.

I read through this thread just last week thanking my lucky stars I've never had this happen... until tonight. I decided to have a quick operating session with my 1937 259 taking the lead since I haven't run it in a while. I soon remembered why. That's my only prewar engine, and consequently, the only engine to pull my prewar cars, which do not like my switches on my table. I took a curve which had a switch on the end. The engine stayed on but the super light tail-end of the train swung over the side of the table and pulled the engine over with it. My big clutter of wires caught all the cars but the engine took a dive into the shadows behind my control panel, making an awful sound as it hit the floor which is concrete with thin, all-weather carpet over it. I was doubled-over, contorting my face in what I suspect was quite possibly the largest cringe my face had ever produced as I watched the engine tumbling in slow motion. I waited at least a minute before even picking it up. Thankfully, it only suffered a bent cowcatcher and cab roof. Being a tinplate engine, I bent everything back into place and put it back on the tracks, and like the trooper it is, proceeded to zip around the layout without missing a beat, which is to be expected since it's a Lionel, but it still scared me enough to whip up a possibly new combination of profanities that has not yet been produced by any other individual throughout the entire course of human history. I'll be relegating that engine to the Carpet Level Route from now on.

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
×