Model Railroading meets Model Rocketry

That is cool!  Do you mind if I blatantly steal this idea for my next layout (I'm finishing taking down my old layout at the moment)?   My son is really into rocketry  and this would be a neat thing to add - I can't believe I never thought of this myself.

-Greg

This started with a 7 year old putting one of those rockets in a hole in the Eagle Scout layout at InfoAge.  I glued it in and added some smoke on the rear of the rocket and he was thrilled.  I needed a source for the crash.

Syndrome was a Happy Meal find at the flea market.

I can hear the swoooooooosh of estes engines when I look at this photo! 

Here is the start of this...

Great idea!

I was once greatly involved in high power rocketry. Considering scale, what are the dimensions of the rocket (diameter and height).

TM Terry posted:

I was once greatly involved in high power rocketry. Considering scale, what are the dimensions of the rocket (diameter and height).

Probably gonna need a 'K' motor on this one.  Level II certification??

The rocket would be 10' high and 1' diameter.

(Former, certified, level one, rocket scientist!)

I laid about 30 feet of lionel track along our front porch to use as a launch rail for some stupidity that I was working on. However, it was a covered front porch, and the rocket did not need, nor did it have the desire to go 30 feet before gently soaring aloft. I was not permitted to readjust my wings either... 

However,

It. Was. Fantastic.

I may attempt to recreate the event when she isn't home. Use an old flat car as a holder...put your "rocket plane" onto said flat car...use the biggest engine you can find...pack black powder into the nose cone. Make sure it isn't smokeless powder, you'll want the entire effect.

I'm sure I should put some kind of disclaimer on here...

Made my Level 3 Cert with a full "M" (Blue Thunder) in a 95lb 11.4" diameter, 14 ft purple rocket, called Grape Big Rocket. Alt 4050ft. 

rogerpete posted:

I laid about 30 feet of lionel track along our front porch to use as a launch rail for some stupidity that I was working on. However, it was a covered front porch, and the rocket did not need, nor did it have the desire to go 30 feet before gently soaring aloft. I was not permitted to readjust my wings either... 

However,

It. Was. Fantastic.

I may attempt to recreate the event when she isn't home. Use an old flat car as a holder...put your "rocket plane" onto said flat car...use the biggest engine you can find...pack black powder into the nose cone. Make sure it isn't smokeless powder, you'll want the entire effect.

I'm sure I should put some kind of disclaimer on here...

Well... there is a history of using three rail track to leave the planet.  Could have been Lionel.

rogerpete posted:

I laid about 30 feet of lionel track along our front porch to use as a launch rail for some stupidity that I was working on.

[...]

It. Was. Fantastic.

I may attempt to recreate the event when she isn't home. Use an old flat car as a holder...put your "rocket plane" onto said flat car...use the biggest engine you can find...pack black powder into the nose cone. Make sure it isn't smokeless powder, you'll want the entire effect.

OMG! This opens up a whole world of possibilities...

Lionel 3665 Minuteman Missile Launching Boxcar for real, anyone?  

I've always wanted to adapt my Lionel 175 Rocket Launcher to launch some of my small Estes rockets

EscapeRocks posted:

I've always wanted to adapt my Lionel 175 Rocket Launcher to launch some of my small Estes rockets

That would work.... at least once. 

You could always model one of these, a SS-24 ICBM.

The USAF experimented with Peacekeeper ICBM (ten very high-yield re-entry vehicles each, something that truly struck fear into the hearts of those in the Kremlin) on a similar platform and although a couple of test cars were built, that's as far as they ever got. Would have used a giant hardened alert facility at FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne if they'd gone through with it.

Have you ever seen moonrace2001?  Google it.

in 8th grade (late 1960's), i put together all the straight track i had to demo a rocket sled i made using a pair of CO2 cartridges for propulsion.  pretty sure i remember it failing miserably (a number of test "eggs" bought the farm that day), but luckily no iPhones back then to document the disaster.

this is why I go under the layout on a creeper and hook everything up - Rich is always topside building something like this. he has more ready to go...

This was a child's layout. It's fun because we decided that we can think like a 6 or 7 year old child when deciding how to scenic it. Now, that's realistic model railroad scenery.

What he doesn't know is that I have a bit of Gomez Addams in me - he doesn't really check to see what's getting wired under the layout.