Were you ever not able to find a train on your layout?

No, I've never lost any trains on hidden tracks because this guy keeps track of all the trains on my layout:

And because I have no hidden tracks. LOL, Arnold

   Rattler:  Guess I could, except my head went into dark places having had an HVAC crew in recently my worst fears emerged.  Switchable fully illuminated tracks would be a great initial asset.

I'm not sure I'd want to power up tracks that I didn't know what was on them, I'll have to go with Tom here.

We misplace trains all the time on the NJHirailers layout all the time. They go into a tunnel and never come out. It's a mystery. 

Jim D.

I heard about lost trains @NJHR, but never on a home layout. That must be one whale of a layout. Perhaps use a camera on a flatcar to explore the spur tracks?

Gee, I've lost two trains in tunnels at the NJ-HR layout, and I'm not even a member there!   The good folks there were nice enough to climb under and retrieve them for me.

Gilly@N&W posted:

I heard about lost trains @NJHR, but never on a home layout. That must be one whale of a layout. Perhaps use a camera on a flatcar to explore the spur tracks?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Gee, I've lost two trains in tunnels at the NJ-HR layout, and I'm not even a member there!   The good folks there were nice enough to climb under and retrieve them for me.

I lost my Y3 in what I refer to as the catacombs underneath the club layout once as well.  A switch in the wrong position can wreck havoc on a layout that size.   I was told I had to join to get it back....so I did. 

-Greg 

No, but I did lose one of my favorite box cars in a tunnel once after a derailment. 4 months later found it on its side inside the tunnel when I was doing some repairs.

I've never had a layout I couldn't see everything from one room or the other.  And I only run conventional so thst helps a lot.

I did have a JC Penney Silver Streak engine I liked and couldn't find it.   So I  printed out an inventory list and went through every corner, box and shelf checking items off of the inventory.  

I never found it or my boxed like new #45, and a couple of other items.  

It bothered me for quite a while but I eventually got over it.  I've often wondered what happened to them

I listed them as MIA on the inventory, but I have no idea what action they were involved in when they went missing. 

Tom Tee posted:

   Rattler:  Guess I could, except my head went into dark places having had an HVAC crew in recently my worst fears emerged.  Switchable fully illuminated tracks would be a great initial asset.

Tom, let me help you allay those fears a little. How would strangers know what your favorite trains are, and furthermore, how would they sneak O scale out of your house unnoticed?

I'm not really one to talk here, I have over 500 cars on my layout right now, though I never find myself looking for a specific one. I have done all three of the things you mentioned in your original post. 

I have a slightly different problem locating things. I have trouble keeping car cards matched up to the trains they are in.  Lately I have been making up new trains, and I can't find the cards for one particular batch. I know they are around somewhere.

This problem should work itself out, once the layout moves to operation mode. I'll have to establish a lost and found. Bring cards with no cars to the dispatcher's desk, and place cars with no cards on a special track somewhere, for future reunion.

Tom Tee posted:

There was this engine I like very much which I placed on a hidden staging track someplace awhile ago for "safe keeping" and there were three special passenger cars usually assigned to it which I had been running behind other power several weeks ago.

Well, after a while away from home busy with another project I decided to couple them up but could not find them.    

Gee.  Initially I thought this was a DCS thread.  

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.  

George

On the layout - not usually.  but elsewhere - o yea that happens!  

I know I put all those halloween cars together around here somewhere, how can I have two naughty ore cars and only 1 nice?, where the heck did the donor frame I bought for this project get to?,  etc.

I have only been to the Jersey hi-railers once, and I can totally see how lost trains could happen.  I even saw a car flipped over on its side in one of the tunnels in the kids area.  An that tunnel was built without a way to stick your had in there to get it!!