Woops;Destroyed Imperial Bigboy;UPDATE

Like it was said the good news is there are new ones coming out...

But being an engineer I cannot have stuff sitting around broken, so I would either order the parts or look on the bay for one that can be used as such and repair it... but that is just in my nature.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Its worth doing a thorough examination of damage, check out parts availability. I joined the I left the ___on the tracks club, even renewed my subscription. Both of my incidents were viewed as a slow motion catastrophe. I was stunned like a deer in the headlights...a lot of cussing and self loathing for an extended period. Spence, theres nothing to lose in taking a good look at it once the scar's healed.

Oh Spence -

I cringed when I read the title, my stomach hurt as I read the post.

Let us know if you want some help finding a replacement. Between all of us I bet we can find you one.

Best thing I can say about that video was the Doo Wop was nice

Take care Spence,

Paul

Sorry Spence. I hope you will find another one. What an expense.

I am surprised that tears weren't running down this thread. What a bummer. 

Hope you find a replacement soon.

So sorry for your loss Spence. What a terrible thing to have happen. It looks extremely difficult to repair at best. If only the tool would have shorted the track first, before the de-railment. As others have said, I would have used much more colorful language than Woops had that happened to me.

I almost did the same thing with a diesel a few weeks ago, left some roadway I was fiddling with on a curve and just barely got the engine stopped as it was de-railing when it hit the roadway. Luckily it was going very slowly when it happened and stopped just short of the layout's edge. It did come close enough to make the old ticker speed up considerably. I have been thinking about doing something like banjoflyer has done around the preimeter. I am now thinking more strongly about it.

My LHS had some RK Imperial Big Boy's a while back. They may have sold them all, but could possibly have something left? I am going there tomorrow if you would like me to look, I will be happy to check if you are interested. What was the MTH part number for your engine?

I've run into stuff on the tracks before, but I've been fortunate that none of the wrecks ended up on the floor!  I've dropped a few freight cars, some survived, some didn't, but only minor losses.  I've never had an event like this, and it sure is a sad day for Spencer RR Lines!  Makes me want to send a $150 locomotive around first to clear the tracks!

OH boy I can only dream about owning one but to have and to loose it that way............so sorry

James

MAN!!GREAT SCOTT!!!I am sorry to see this has happened to you.MTH might replace it if its under warrenty.Guys here can disagree with me here.But this is the very reason my layout is pretty closse to the floor.With the money these locomotives cost.I am not taking that chance.You might want to see if there is a mth repairmen closse to you.And take it to him just to get his openion.But from the looks from it.Maybe you should just get another one.It will take time to get over this.I know if it was me I to would be upset.I hope things work out for the better for you.

Well, guess real world history repeats itself in the model world - tools left on the tracks are a recipe for a train wreck, but...

**** GOD ALMIGHTY that was painful to look at, Spencer.

I guess this is a reason I stayed with floor layouts running all my expensive stuff - a nice soft carpet seems to protect any big wrecks.

Regardless, I really hope there will be a silver lining to this big storm cloud over one of your favorite engines....somewhere.

Darn right.

Spencer, you gotta keep us all posted as to what you're gonna do here.

Hi Spence ,

it may be possible to fix the roof with a little heat froma propane torch , heated very slowly and then some pliers on the roof slowly straightening it a little at the time as you keep the bent area heated , do not over do the heat .

Like was mentioned check for loose boards ,once the boards are checked  it is most likely the driver axle or driver is bent , out of quarter causing it to bind , then take drive rods loose or the cab off and turn over by hand to see if axles are bent or any of the drivers are cracked , if all that is good , it could be repaired .

Cosmetic for sure , a bent axle is more of a job , but Joe at Baldwin Forge could fix the drive line I am sure .

Bernie

I feel your pain Spence.   Why is it that those things always happen to your favorite and not the old clunker you've had for years? How many additional things did you break from the tantrum you threw after the crash?

Well I've been working on this all afternoon & guess what. I got the thing running (short video attached). The engine is just sitting on the rear trucks. Believe it or not I found the spring that goes on them along with the small washer but what I need is the small clip that holds the washer on. There's a groove in the pin that this clip fits into & locks everything in place. Can anyone help me?

Spence,

  Try a hardware store or auto parts store, you need a e-clip or a horseshoe clip.

Art

That's great news, glad things are looking up for you. Maybe now the rest can be repaired as well.

That's great news Spence!  The internals are OK and it's just a cosmetic issue at this point!  

Art; thank you, I couldn't think of the name of those clips. (Old age LOL).

Penn P; LOL;

Volphin: I can live with the external damage.

Spence - I'm speechless, but if it makes you feel any better, I had a Lionel B&A scale Hudson hit the floor.  I'm glad you got yours running.  I wish you the best.  

Time heals most wounds, I think it will all work out.  Good Luck!  

Wow, got it running and made a mock-up of what an MTH Railking Imperial depleting coal load would look like.

Great news. Next step.................

Sounds like a good way to protect your collection when running on your layout.  It also helps when visitors come and try to touch a moving train.  Where to buy the plexiglaas sheet? What is the best way to cut the material?

Can you provide some pictures of your installation.

could you make another roof for it, say from brass? Glad you got your treasure running again!

What a relief.  My heart hurt reading down this thread.  I can assure you that some good will come out of your misfortune as I now plan on doing the Plexiglas edge guard as previously mentioned on here along with my plan for the locking rubber floor tiles.

Spence: I'm sorry to hear about what happened. I just checked all my spare parts, and unfortunately, I don't have anything. Could a piece of silicone or neoprene tubing hold it in place? 

Hang in there.

I was thinking the same!

Spence,

First I would like to say how sorry I feel for you right now.  Sometimes s#@t happens.  It really painful because an little oversite of your own doing caused so much pain.

How much is the deductable on your home owners insurance?  Do you have a rider for your trains?

Good luck with which ever hoice you make.

Jim

Banjoflyer: LOL, very funny.

NJCJoe: LOL

Laidoffsick;LOL

You guys made me laugh. I needed that after today's fiasco.

Guess I should have read ALL the post before i commented.  Glad to see that she is up and running.  A little more TLC in the roof and tender and you'll be back in business. 

Heart breaking to say the least.  Since I am finally getting into the building of my layout I am seeing where there are some needs to be addressed to stop something like this happening in the furture.  Perhaps I crazy, but I have purchased most of the engines, Big Boy, Challenger in brass, 844, 9000 class UP, a Texas, 3751, 2-6-6-6, a Cab forward and several lesser steamers, and special passengers cars and 50 or 60 cars before laying one set of rails.  I love just looking at them, they remind me of my childhood around the San Bernardino and Colton yards.  I stopped buying guns once I was hit by the bug, can't do both, especially at the young age of 75.

Spence, I came late to your thread, but I'm sure glad to see that you have this valuable engine running.  Best wishes with whatever further you wish to do with it. 

It's a pre Thanksgiving Miracle - Never thought I'd see that video today

Good karma to you Spence.

Paul

Hey Spence, it's about that time of year, so why not ask ole Santa for a 4x8 sheet of 3/16 Lexan to cut some strips out of. That's what I'm proposing we do to the Club "O" Gauge, as it will also take care of those little fingers that pass by when it's running, during one of our "Open to the Public" runs. That stuff is bullitt proof, not that we'll shoot at the trains, just a form of speech!

Glad to see that you got it running again. Now u can do the body work-n-paint, or do a heavy weathering job, or both.

Once again I'm glad that you shared your delima, as I bet it's made everyone who has read this post, think twice, and do a double take towards their layout, or both.

................................................................................Brandy

The cab roof?     Looks like the biggest problem is the bent cab roof? I've never seen one of these locos in person so don't know if it's possible to straighten out that bend? Is the shell diecast? Anyone have any experience with it?  The coal load could be repaired by gluing in some crushed real coal with dilute white glue so I wouldn't worry about that. If the cab roof can be fixed , new coal , and a bit of weathering and the loco should look better than new.It's a great sign that the loco runs well after the fall so nothing inside was shaken loose. ...DaveB

If you need a chunk of real coal to break up to refill your tender, email me and I think I can send you some.

It is unfortunate but sometimes bad things happen to all of us at times. Depending on your level of manual dexterity just about anything can be fixed. The cab can be restored by first removing it, tapping the bend carefully into place cleaning/roughing up the area with 180 grit wet dry paper and using automobile body putty to remold the damaged area. It then must be cut to the original lines of the cab with a special file called a "cheese grater" , sanded smooth, primed painted, and re-lettered if necessary. Probably easier just to "bite the bullet" and buy a new cab. Call MTH service, explain the problem and they may offer a solution.

If all else fails there are engine cab restorers like Len Carparelli that can make that cab look new again.  Here's Lens website  www.lencarparelli.com