Any stories out there about big or little derailments at the club? We actually had a three main line NTrak layout that had a chain reaction derailment! All three main lines were blocked for minutes in our time! It was very ugly and the last train to derail was an Amtrak train #33. Thanks and God Bless! Dave
Most of our derailments at shows occur in the first hours after set up. Temperature differential in the winter causes the modules to shift requiring additional work to reset. Also humidity differences can cause the wood in the modules to warp and cause havoc with even the best laid track. Best protection is to apply several coats of sealer to the wood and follow with paint. Also one place we set up has a floor that has a springiness (is that a word?)to it. Vibrations can be transmitted to the modules and can cause problems.
our train club had a big one at the peoria gats show.i dont know how it happened but brent has pictures of it(and a really nice one of himself also ha ha ha)but anyway maybe he can get them posted. ------------------ bnfan99
If I can figure out how to send just the derail without the rest of the "peep" show , I'll get them sent. It was a nice shot, the derailment I mean...HEHEHE! I think it happened while we were backing a train up. One car's "air line" picked a switch point and...well...the whole train inploded on itself. Nice accordion effect and the crowd loved it! The engineer, "The Local Gentry" had to fill up a cup for the FRA. HEHEHE ! I think he had two accident's that weekend, but we only got one on film. ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback
I just remembered a sectacular crash we had at my old club (BatoN Rouge N-Track) years ago. We had 24-7 access to the layout which at the time was located in Essen Crossing Shopping Mall. We had a nice store front, totally glass encased, that looked out into the main lobby of the Movie Theater. I was with another club member and we were running all three mains. Hunger got the best of us, we decided to leave the trains running so the crowds waiting for the movies could watch through the glass (as they normally did.). We slipped up the sidewalk to Subway to get some eats. When we got back, we could here the whine of N-Scale Loco's, but no wheel noise. We thought nothing of it, thinking the trains were on the other side of the layout. They were...with a LARGE crowd watching the fun. I had a rather long drag of cars, none of which were MT'ed at the time, with just 2 LL GP38-2's on the point. The load was putting a strain on the loco's but not enough to warrant more power. Well, while we were gone, my train broke in half on the far side of the layout and evidently took off like a rocket! It slammed into the rear of itself and went everywhere! The other two trains (red line and blue line) came crashing into the pile adding to the mess. We, being unaware of this, started on our subs. We suddenly realised, "Hey, were's the trains?" Then, we saw the crowd...UT OH! I have a nice over head photo of it somewhere, what a wreck! We had about thirty or so people pressed against the glass, trying to get a good look at it. When we came around the other side to see what was going on, we recieved a nice round of applause from the crowd! THEY LOVED IT! Luckly, no damage to any rolling stock or loco's and nothing hit the floor! ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback [This message has been edited by Maxwell Plant (edited 12 April 2000).] [This message has been edited by Maxwell Plant (edited 12 April 2000).]
