Did You Ever Drop A Locomotive?

Steam Crazy posted:

I knocked my Lionel Mohawk #3000 off the edge of my layout to the concrete floor a couple of years ago. 

I got lucky due to: (1) solid construction by Lionel, (2) the engine apparently landed trailing truck first and the sheet metal plate absorbed the impact (but no damage to the truck) and (3) the engine hit my leg on the way down.  I had a nice bruise on my leg  as evidence.  It's a heavy engine!

John

 

 

I would take the bruise on my leg over more damage to the engine any time. LOL, Arnold

Davety posted:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

 

But my heart sunk when I saw one set of wheels on the floor that came off the tender. I examined the tender closely and noticed a small piece of plastic that I believe is supposed to be part of the journal box, had broken off. That broken piece of plastic holds the wheel axle and wheels in place. I frantically searched the floor for that small piece of plastic, and found it after about 10 minutes of searching for it.

I had some left over Loctite Superglue. I put the axle for the loose pair of wheels in each journal box, and put a tiny dab of superglue on the edge of the broken piece of plastic, put the axle and wheels back in the journal box, and pressed the glued  broken pieces together.

I now have  the tender on the track in another siding in the middle, not the edge, of  the layout. I won't touch the tender for at least 24 hours to give the Superglue plenty of time to dry/set. 

 

I believe the part that broke off is a AXLE BEARING / PLASTIC / PILOT / TRAILING TRUCK 6208616339 

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...;submitButton=Search

I find it handy to have spares of these on hand.

This is a follow up to the above prior posts. I have now received from Lionel the plastic axle bearing part shown above.

The good news is I inserted that part, and my LC+ Jersey Central locomotive and tender is running again, and at the moment is parked on a siding on my layout. With the tender on the track, gravity holds everything in place, and the train and tender run fine.

The bad news is that it is the wrong part, it does not snap or clip into place, and if I lift the tender off the track, the part and pair of wheels fall out. I believe this part is meant to hold the wheels of the trailing truck of the locomotive in place. I should be receiving the correct part from Lionel early this week, which is the part that holds the wheels of the tender in place.

Before I do anything further, I will wait for the arrival of what I believe is the correct part.

However, I believe the first part could work if the correct glue was used and applied properly. A tiny dab of old Loctite Supergue did not work. 

What do you think is the best glue to hold this plastic part to the metal truck of the tender, how should that glue be applied, and how long should I let it dry? Arnold

It just occurred to me, as a temporary measure, what if I simply used rubber cement? 

I am most interested in a permanent powerful glue that will forever hold the axle bearing in place, so if you have an opinion on that, please share it.

The beauty of rubber cement is it may be sufficiently strong to hold the part in place temporarily, and can be easily undone and removed when I get the correct part.

Any thoughts?

Arnold, why not just wait for the correct part? I wouldn't glue the wrong part in that area and have it compromise the correct part from fitting as it should.

Rusty

This is still the all time champ of dropped locomotives,  as far as I'm concerned:  

Mitch 

Mitch, I must agree,. OUCH!!!!!!!!

Ray

Ouch, indeed! Not only was that really hard on the locomotive, looks like the 'concrete floor' took quite a hit as well.

In September of 1940 my father bought a Lionel 2-6-2 #225(if an error, it is mine) along with the red baggage car, passenger car and observation car.  He had two brothers in law, one of whom joined the US Navy during the war.  When the USS Hornet was in 'Halsey's Typhoon' her flight deck was crinkled and she was in dry dock on the West coast for a few months.  My uncle came home on leave - celebration time.  We lived on the second floor of a two unit walk up apartment, the front oak stairs had three steps, then a 90 degree curve of steps, then several steps to another 90 degree curve of steps.  The second floor landing was big enough for the stairs, the door to our apartment, the door to the second floor porch and about 10 feet of banister which was about 3 feet from and parallel to the inside of the front wall.  With chairs and boxes at the level of the top of the banister, a 4x8 piece of plywood could hold a Lionel track oval which extended a few inches over the stairs.  Two uncles, one father, a case of long neck Stroh's and a Lionel train set.  During one 'operating session' the train left the tracks and plummeted about 11 feet to the second oak step from the first floor.  The cow catcher got a small chip, the draw bar between the cab and tender was slightly bent, the tongue of the tender's box coupler snapped, the roof of the baggage car lost its spring which operated the roof clip.  Other than that, the only damage was a depression in the oak step and as of ten years ago, it was still there when I walked through the building when it was For Sale.  I ran the locomotive until I sold it to an LCCA member a few years ago.  I changed the brushes in the early 1960s and Lionel put in new guts in 1975.  I sold the passenger cars on an Internet auction site about twenty years ago.  I doubt if today's engines and cars could survive such a fall.

John in Lansing, ILL

rattler21 posted:

In September of 1940 my father bought a Lionel 2-6-2 #225(if an error, it is mine) along with the red baggage car, passenger car and observation car.  He had two brothers in law, one of whom joined the US Navy during the war.  When the USS Hornet was in 'Halsey's Typhoon' her flight deck was crinkled and she was in dry dock on the West coast for a few months.  My uncle came home on leave - celebration time.  We lived on the second floor of a two unit walk up apartment, the front oak stairs had three steps, then a 90 degree curve of steps, then several steps to another 90 degree curve of steps.  The second floor landing was big enough for the stairs, the door to our apartment, the door to the second floor porch and about 10 feet of banister which was about 3 feet from and parallel to the inside of the front wall.  With chairs and boxes at the level of the top of the banister, a 4x8 piece of plywood could hold a Lionel track oval which extended a few inches over the stairs.  Two uncles, one father, a case of long neck Stroh's and a Lionel train set.  During one 'operating session' the train left the tracks and plummeted about 11 feet to the second oak step from the first floor.  The cow catcher got a small chip, the draw bar between the cab and tender was slightly bent, the tongue of the tender's box coupler snapped, the roof of the baggage car lost its spring which operated the roof clip.  Other than that, the only damage was a depression in the oak step and as of ten years ago, it was still there when I walked through the building when it was For Sale.  I ran the locomotive until I sold it to an LCCA member a few years ago.  I changed the brushes in the early 1960s and Lionel put in new guts in 1975.  I sold the passenger cars on an Internet auction site about twenty years ago.  I doubt if today's engines and cars could survive such a fall.

John in Lansing, ILL

Incredible ruggedness and durability.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Davety posted:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

 

But my heart sunk when I saw one set of wheels on the floor that came off the tender. I examined the tender closely and noticed a small piece of plastic that I believe is supposed to be part of the journal box, had broken off. That broken piece of plastic holds the wheel axle and wheels in place. I frantically searched the floor for that small piece of plastic, and found it after about 10 minutes of searching for it.

I had some left over Loctite Superglue. I put the axle for the loose pair of wheels in each journal box, and put a tiny dab of superglue on the edge of the broken piece of plastic, put the axle and wheels back in the journal box, and pressed the glued  broken pieces together.

I now have  the tender on the track in another siding in the middle, not the edge, of  the layout. I won't touch the tender for at least 24 hours to give the Superglue plenty of time to dry/set. 

 

I believe the part that broke off is a AXLE BEARING / PLASTIC / PILOT / TRAILING TRUCK 6208616339 

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...;submitButton=Search

I find it handy to have spares of these on hand.

This is a follow up to the above prior posts. I have now received from Lionel the plastic axle bearing part shown above.

The good news is I inserted that part, and my LC+ Jersey Central locomotive and tender is running again, and at the moment is parked on a siding on my layout. With the tender on the track, gravity holds everything in place, and the train and tender run fine.

The bad news is that it is the wrong part, it does not snap or clip into place, and if I lift the tender off the track, the part and pair of wheels fall out. I believe this part is meant to hold the wheels of the trailing truck of the locomotive in place. I should be receiving the correct part from Lionel early this week, which is the part that holds the wheels of the tender in place.

Before I do anything further, I will wait for the arrival of what I believe is the correct part.

However, I believe the first part could work if the correct glue was used and applied properly. A tiny dab of old Loctite Supergue did not work. 

What do you think is the best glue to hold this plastic part to the metal truck of the tender, how should that glue be applied, and how long should I let it dry? Arnold

 

Final follow up:

The axle bearing for the tender truck arrived. It looks to be identical to the part in the above photo. It does not snap or clip into place, and needs to be glued into place to hold the axle and wheels on the tender.

Last call for recommendations.  What glue would you use? 

Arnold

Arnold, you may be looking in the wrong spot - That bearing is designed to snap into place within the truck - it may be your truck is damaged and not able to provide a latch needed for the bearing to "snap" into.

Look at the bearing and truck assy when they "fall out due to gravity", does the bearing actually fall out of the truck? Then look at the opposite end of the axle (presumably undamaged during the incident.) Does the bearing at the opposite end of the axle remain in place? Can you even just pull it out with your fingers? You shouldn't be able to on a normal part.

Long story short, if new bearings keep falling out, the truck assy is probably damaged.

The part shown here looks remarkably like the one you ordered - they both have a small tang or lip that is designed to snap into the truck assy - you can see it on the right backside of this part. Look at your truck where that part would snap into place, I'll bet it's broken.

Good luck! Hope you get it fixed!

George

GeoPeg posted:

Arnold, you may be looking in the wrong spot - That bearing is designed to snap into place within the truck - it may be your truck is damaged and not able to provide a latch needed for the bearing to "snap" into.

Look at the bearing and truck assy when they "fall out due to gravity", does the bearing actually fall out of the truck? Then look at the opposite end of the axle (presumably undamaged during the incident.) Does the bearing at the opposite end of the axle remain in place? Can you even just pull it out with your fingers? You shouldn't be able to on a normal part.

Long story short, if new bearings keep falling out, the truck assy is probably damaged.

 

 

 

 

 

The part shown here looks remarkably like the one you ordered - they both have a small tang or lip that is designed to snap into the truck assy - you can see it on the right backside of this part. Look at your truck where that part would snap into place, I'll bet it's broken.

Good luck! Hope you get it fixed!

George

George, your above reply is very helpful. I will check out the truck assembly. Thanks again, Arnold

These photos might shed light on the problem of the broken plastic part re my LC+ Jersey Central Pacific tender truck.

This shows the missing axle bearing that resulted from a broken piece of plastic when the tender fell 4 feet onto the concrete floor:

This shows a loose piece of black plastic that spans the 2 wheel axles ("spanning plastic piece"), which is shown by the small screw driver pressing down on it:

On the other side of the same truck, the other spanning plastic piece is tightly fastened to the truck.

This next photo shows the new axle bearing inserted in the slot of the truck where it belongs, but it remains loose because there is nothing there to snap it into place:

With the axle bearing inserted and loose, if I also insert the wheel axle and turn the tender right side up, gravity holds the wheels in place, but that wheel axle falls out if I remove the tender from the track.

I believe the problem is this: that part of the spanning plastic piece is still there.  In the photo below, my screwdriver is touching it:

I tried to remove it, but couldn't.

Based on George's above reply, I believe I need to get a whole new truck, or use glue to fasten the new axle bearing part and loose spanning plastic piece in place, or just keep the tender on the track at all times (either on a main line or siding) and rely on gravity to keep the wheels in place. I now have 3 spare axle bearings.

Any further thoughts?

Arnold

Arnold, my first choice would be to replace the truck assy if it is available. That way you avoid the headache of trying to use glue on a piece of plastic that doesn't like to be glued.

If you do try to reuse the existing truck, you may need to pick that broken piece of plastic out of the truck frame - if you don't, it may cause the axle to sit higher (as viewed in the upside-down position in your pictures), thus causing unevenness in the whole truck, future derailments, etc.

George

Arnold...sorry about your mishap.  My only event was Lionel gang car that probably fell from a shelf about 25 years ago.  I asked my triplet sons who were about 12 at the time about it and amazingly they had no knowledge of such thing.                                                                                                                                            The trim boards on the side of the layout extend about 3/4 in.  above the table top and I have not had a problem with several derailments.

Fendermain

I'm another 682 dropper. Fell to a carpeted floor from a ping-pong table, but still broke off the cow catcher. I used epoxy to repair it, but it still bothered me every time I saw it. Ended up selling it and buying one that hadn't been dropped. Oh the shame 

Fendermain posted:

Arnold...sorry about your mishap.  My only event was Lionel gang car that probably fell from a shelf about 25 years ago.  I asked my triplet sons who were about 12 at the time about it and amazingly they had no knowledge of such thing.                                                                                                                                            The trim boards on the side of the layout extend about 3/4 in.  above the table top and I have not had a problem with several derailments.

Fendermain

Fendermain, your cabinet work is not only protective, it is also gorgeous. You are very good working with wood. Arnold

Fendermain posted:

Arnold...sorry about your mishap.  My only event was Lionel gang car that probably fell from a shelf about 25 years ago.  I asked my triplet sons who were about 12 at the time about it and amazingly they had no knowledge of such thing.                                                                                                                                            The trim boards on the side of the layout extend about 3/4 in.  above the table top and I have not had a problem with several derailments.

Fendermain

Ha! Just saw the closing comment above. If that wall had been painted the right color of green, you would have a Creeper right out of Minecraft!! Hmmm, there's a thought - I don't think I have seen a Minecraft themed layout just yet ….

Haven't seen any Minecraft-themed layouts (but i have built minecart systems in several "worlds" within the game)

There is an HO scaler on YouTube named James Risner who's specialty is running fiendishly long freight trains, and one of his projects was to convert a string of Hot Wheels minecarts to run on HO track:

---PCJ

Had an MTH NW2 that I converted to TMCC. one day the command control wall wart burned out and I  had 18 volts running to my tracks in conventional.  The locomotives flew off the rails  from 48 inches off the floor, doing a summersalt aND landed on its cab. I had to replace the whole shell with a new one. Also bent the motor shaft that had the flywheel attached.  Otherwise it works fine . 

Ouch!!!

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.

I had one slide off of the bed cover on my pickup truck onto the parking lot. Fortunately it was still packed in the yellow RailKing box. The packaging engineer (yes that's a real job) did a great job. Thanks to the Styrofoam liner there was zero damage. 

As a kid I let a school friend run the ZW on my dads ping pong table layout.  I told him to take it slow... He of course pushed the handle balls to the wall and my dads 736 flew off the rails at the 2nd curve.  Landed cow catcher first to the floor.  Didn't find any damage, but man I was mad at him. All I could think of is "dad is going to kill me".  That ended letting friends near the trains.

It's not just the kids you have to worry about.  A couple of years ago my friend had a large party and a bunch of us went to the cellar to see his layout.  The kids in the group behaved, but a couple of adults (perhaps fueled by a few beers) thought it would be fun to see how fast the trains would go.  I had to grab the throttle to slow the trains and politely remind them that a high speed derailment could cause a lot of damage to our friend's trains.

John