# Live Steam Train Wreck (Twice in one day)



## SailorDon (Jan 6, 2008)

I figured that at 59 degrees F. and clear blue skies, it was a great day for live steam in the backyard.

I prepared my Accucraft American 4-4-0 D&RG #101 Col. Boone for a run.










I spent about 20 minutes leveling the track by eye before the run. Obviously it wasn't good enough.









I was trying to use the butane tank valve to regulate the butane flow to a "slow speed" boil since I realized beforehand that my oval was not suitable for high speed runs. The ends are only 5 foot radius, and the trackwork really sucks.

Here are a couple of video clips before the train wreck.





The track oval goes down Sago Palm backstretch to derailment corner, back along the front straightaway, and into Train Wreck Curve.










After a short stop at Train Wreck Curve for shut down, uprighting, burning fingers, and putting the locomotive and tender back on the tracks, its time to repeat the process. You would think I would have learned that the crappy track work and the 5 foot radius curve were a receipe for disaster. I was able to reproduce the same Train Wreck after about two more laps after the one in the above photo.

The damage was only cosmetic. Several scratches. Thank you Accucraft for building a tough little engine. As the saying goes, "Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'."

After my two train wrecks, I stopped taking photos and video clips and devoted my entire attention to applying manual braking to the locomotive when it came around TrainWreck Corner. In that way, I was able to complete the run without further incident.

4 lessons learned.
Eyeball trackwork isn't good enough.
Bigger radius curves are better.
Don't try to do video clips and/or photography while running live steam without R/C.
The locomotive continued to gain a little bit more speed every lap, even though I had regulated the butane fuel flow to a "slow boil".


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## D&RGW 461 (Jun 4, 2009)

OUCH !!! OUCH !!!


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ must have flown in for the day.... 

Sorry to see the carnage.....


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## audi84 (Jan 13, 2008)

Sure glad it was not worse, ....good steaming !!

audi84


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

It would only take once for me to derail then it's time to fix the track. Can't aford to repair a LS. Later RJD


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Was that an ACCUCRASH....??? sorry I could not resist..


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## SailorDon (Jan 6, 2008)

Posted By JEFF RUNGE on 28 Dec 2009 02:08 PM 
Was that an ACCUCRASH....??? sorry I could not resist.. Very clever! But not nearly as impressive as a high speed ASTERCRASH of a (Aster) Daylight Express that occurred at Steamin' at Steve's a couple of years ago!








.
Tomorrow I plan to have a better live steam run at Steamin' at Steve's. It's the best live steam track in town. (That would be Houston.)
.
The problem with my track is that I'd rather be steamin' than leveling track. Of course the end result kind of sucks!


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