I like both of your analogies. Part of the chorus of the song "Crazy Train" includes the lyrics "I'm going off the rails on a crazy train". I hope that never happens to Mike's trains, but it certainly happened to the Colossus of Rhodes when it toppled in an earthquake in 226 BC.
Well, I had one of the 999s that derailed when my Grandchildren were over last weekend. The locomotive fell to the concrete floor and it bent the front truck mount at the steam chest. Fortunately, Marx 999s are virtually indestructible. I was able to dismantle it, straighten it out and reassemble it. But the lesson learned is that I really need to put some sort of guard rails around the outer perimeter of each deck.
My grandchildren were mesmerized by the Crazy Train - and they like watching the video too.