Well the Stolen C&O 614 Made it back home.

Glad you got it back! Sorry it is not as it was originally, but its sounds fixable. 

 

Tom 

Glad to hear it's back with you Harry. Bummer you had to go through the crappy aggravation because of some idiot's actions. Wondering if decals / sheen are gone because when first stolen the person initially planned on renaming it for their own use or possibly to disguise it for resale. Anyway, most likely because you took the high road promising no prosecution, that's likely why it was returned mostly intact. Without bringing the theft to forum members attention, you'd likely not have gotten the outpouring of pics and videos which ultimately led you to id the thief and this positive resolution. If you'd made no promise of amnesty, the culprit might well have destroyed and disposed of it so no evidence remained when police ultimately searched for it. All of us can only hope he'll take your suggestion and leave our hobby.

Great to hear~!

 

Sad our Country is to the point where the victim can be sued by criminals for merely stating who was responsible.

Very glad to hear you got your engine back.

 

George

The good thing is, it's back home where it belongs. The engine looks like it's OK. Good luck on the tender restoration.

"The Sad part is I can't tell you guys how it is. I was told by the police that if I do

I can be sued for defamation of character."

 

   How about posting the videos of the session and let us find out how it happened ourselves? ......DaveB

Hi Harry

     Good news and well done.

Gary

• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway

The criminal justice system has indeed been twistedly evolving to a point much worse than that, but even with it's obvious flaws it's much better system than the alternatives other nations have where a person charged with a crime is automatically guilty and has the difficult and burdensome situation of proving their innocence. 

Legally that would be a bad idea for this forum as I'm confident Rich's lawyers have already advised him.

For anyone who has a layout they open to the public spend your time and effort learning from this unfortunate situation, be happy the loco was returned to Harry and enjoy running you trains rather than being a wannabe CSI.

Glad you got your locomotive back.

Very pleased to hear that your engine has made it home. Lesson learned for all concerned.

Thanks Guys

Just glade it's back home.

I wish I could point things out like on the video and pic.

 but I can't do that. but if you see me chasing someone out of a train meet

 your welcome to join me. you know why. 

Defamation of character?

 

I suppose that rules out a casual knee-capping.

I would hope that this person is a very rare exception to the people in the hobby. I would advise him to get mental help. I do not advise this as being mean spirited or even pejorative. Seek help,you are a sick puppy,no kidding. Get help then apologize and make restitution. Best thing you can do for yourself. We do not know who you are,but you know who you are and can't feel very good about yourself.

 

Dale H

Glad you got it back. Heard the story and felt very disappointed in humanity.

I had to search to see what this was all about: https://ogrforum.com/t...issing-engine?page=1

I also don't advertise where I live, even though there's nothing terribly valuable on my layout like that. I can't understand people who post all their info on websites and NMRA lists and invite total strangers to come to their home layouts. I'd never do that.

 

The same thing happened to a pal of mine into G scale where I used to be stationed in the Army. He had a brass model swiped at an op session on his home layout (I was on a field exercise that weekend, thankfully), which cost as much as a good used car. In his heart, he knew who stole it but had no evidence to prove it. He did the same thing; offering no questions asked if he got it back. He made the declaration at a club meeting he knew the thief was at. He gave the caveat that life would get very ugly, very public and possibly physically painful (if he had anything to do with it) if the engine didn't turn up soon.

He was luckier than you in that he got the engine back in the same condition. As my parents say, he "Put the fear of God into" the thief.

So, knowing he had to live up to the agreement, he couldn't go around saying who it was for the same reasons.

However, he could invite people from said club for op sessions on his home layout. The thief was pretty well known in that club and he absence was very conspicuous. Someone asked him where said person was (I guess wondering if it was him indeed) and my pal simply said, "we had a personal issue I'd rather not discuss here."

And apparently that satisfied the letter of the law. He never said that guy stole the engine, said it was unrelated, but it was well known in the club that the thief was probably in that club.

People took it up from there. The whispering got pretty loud at that point. Drama ensued but soon, everyone knew who it was without the name being said by the victim. I even heard some guys at a local hobby shop mentioning it, and the owner saying, "[bleep] will freeze over before I let him put one foot into this store!"

When people started asking him outright and he wouldn't answer the question directly, that's when things got ugly for him. Everyone closed ranks, turned their backs and he got pressed out of everything in the area. I heard a rumor he was even turned away at a swap meet someone was putting on, soon afterward.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you got it back but saddened that you have to do work on it to get it back where it was, and that the person won't get his clearly-called-for comeuppance.

This matter was handled outside the legal system; there was no criminal prosecution and the alleged perpetrator was never found guilty of any crime. Public allegations of alleged wrongdoing in such a case would be improper.

 

For example, say a neighbor of yours alleged that you used his lawnmower without permission, and he then defames you by telling everyone in the neighborhood that you are a thief and stole his lawnmower. Except it wasn't you who took the lawnmower, or else perhaps there were extenuating circumstances that were not considered. Say, for example, that his son said you could borrow the mower. Regardless, you've now been branded as a thief to the public. This is the situation that the law attempts to protect people from.

Sucks that it got grabbed. Glad you got it back in at least a workable condition. If you know who the perp is, just make sure he keeps his distance from your house.

What was the lesson learned?  Can you share what happened without mentioning names or companies?

this can explain  https://ogrforum.com/t...issing-engine?page=1

Glad you got the engine back

Harry,

It ruins your faith in your fellow man. Almost eight years ago I experienced pretty much the same thing. My Train Collectors Insurance helped return my Lionel Std Gauge 408 to almost like it was (Note: I said almost like it was). Mine was like new in it's original box. The clown knew he would get caught if he made any attempt to sell it. He stripped it and was selling the parts on eBay. The folks on eBay stepped in when the guy posted photos. One of the photos showed the shell of my engine in the background. Either way, one of your insurance policies should help you.

I think the OGR people who responded with their pictures and videos deserve a big "Well done" for helping solve this issue. I would hope, over time, the perp will be outed so he can be shunned.  Really great that you got it back.

Read or watch the news?  Who has any faith in their fellow man??

I am so glad that Harry Got it back! Even though it looks like it was slightly damaged, the fact that he got it back is better than NOT getting back such a RARE loco. The shine and decals can always be repaired.

 

IT's much better than hunting down another one. I am sorry he had to go through that while it was such a great day - weather, food, and the overall comraderie from those that attended!

I am equally thankful as everyone else is that you have your locomotive back.

Sorry to learn about the tender but it sounds fixable.

Hopefully your club is checking out security cameras.

 

Harry, now is the time to put this behind you and once again enjoy your awesome club layout and run the wheels off them trains. 

 

Bob

Great!!

Glad it's back Harry !!!! Sorry that they screwed it up!
The gawl to steal it, and even as bad, the gawl to take it upon themselves to alter that beautiful engine !!!! It wasn't theirs!
Mike

Glad to hear you got it back, and at least the damage is repairable.

As everyone else has posted. Glad you got it back.

Absent the damage, I am very happy that the engine was returned to you without any further legal involvement.  While it stinks it got stolen and damaged at least the ending was much happier.  

 

Just  goes to show that every once in a while good things actually do happen to good people with a little help from some other good people providing their videos and pictures.  

 

Ed

Great.  I always like a story with a happy ending.

Thank You for Posting That Your nice Engine has been Returned. It's not possible to ever Forget this Issue, but, I would hope you can get your locomotive Fixed and still enjoy this Great Hobby.  Although you may see this person again in your lifetime, I Pray you can let this incident go away and Walk on By.  Best Regards, and I hope to visit Your Great Store and meet you, Gunrunner John, and others in person, sometime in the not so distant future. This was a sad thread in its beginning, but Thank the Lord, what a Wonderful Ending....Amen.

This is exactly why when someone post's what new engine have you purchased , that i don't post anything, because your only advertizing to a wood be thief and why take the chance It's a real shame we can't share our new engine experience's but not worth the risk at all, the world is not the same place it was when we grew up!I can remember my parents visiting friend's and relatives when we were kid's and they did not even lock the door when we left home for the visits. don't even think of doing that now a days. in fact sometimes people go on vacation, only to come home and there home is stripped of all there copper tubing that was stolen for the price of the copper!

Sad time now!

Alan

Lets hope for a more positive outlook in the future, we can only pray for!

Good to see you got it back.

 

I am going to have to stew on that "defamation of character" thing.

 

(Someone steals your train, some chain of events occurs which you cannot tell, and then a cop tells you, the innocent one, that you could be sued for defamation of character, most likely from the thief.)

You are 100% correct.  I spent some time overseas years ago, and the country I was in had a justice system that perceived, if you or I, as a foreigner were involved in a traffic accident, we were automatically guilty.  The logic was, if we had not been in their country, the accident would have never happened, therefore we caused it by our very presence.  Guilty by just existing.  Now there is a justice system I can do without.

Glad it's home.

Changing the road name, sadly sounds like someone already into trains.

Good news! Glad it's back home.

I made like ten replies to that missing engine post and deleted every one before actually posting. I just was sick about it and couldn't add anything good.

 I too am glad to hear you got it back. I am still ****ed that it happened to you. People just don't care about anyone anymore. You open your layout and get that. You are a better man than I!