what happened???

[jboot111]

  ok so i was running my old fp9 and my new fta with a passenger car and 2 cabooses (a wrecker and a normal one)  and after about 5 laps, my bridge rattled loose my normal caboose. I did not catch this until my engines hit it. after my modification to rude weight, i had lost the screws that hold the trucks onto the caboose, so they came off and the body rolled abou 3 times while the engines just kept going. when they got back to the brigde, the trucks de-railed. I'm amazed that the engines made it to the turnout after the bridge before de-railing, but when they did, the fp9 flipped head-over-heels into the chair, and the fta went and pulled the track appart on both sides of the bridge. can anyone help explain what happened?

[Doneldon]

boots-

Short answer? You had a train wreck.

Details? Being unable to inspect the scene of the crime I'm forced to hypothesize but I'll do my best. This will be somewhat difficult because I do not understand all of what you wrote. For example, I don't know what "my bridge rattled loose my normal caboose" means. I suggest that you read and edit your posts in the future to make sure they are clear and that they accurately express your thoughts. Good writing is clear writing and good writing is revised writing.

I'm guessing that your track wasn't securely fastened to its table or sub-roadbed or whatever, and that it worked itself out of alignment (and maybe even became disconnected) as you ran your train (very fast???). The trucks on (actually under!) your caboose separated from the caboose, the caboose body came loose from the train and rolled across your layout and your locomotives derailed, with one falling on the chair and the other staying on the track long enough to pull the track sections apart. The caboose probably went flying because the couplers disengaged due to the caboose having lost its trucks and therefore not being at the correct height. You might have a coupler problem there but even well done couplers would be likely to disconnect if their car has no wheels.

The remedies for these problems are just a few. First, carefully align your track and fasten it down. If you can't have a layout with permanently attached track, consider using a product like Bachmann's EZ Track because the attached roadbed really helps keep non-permanent tracks together. There are a couple of other brands, too. It isn't necessary that you use only one manufacturer's merchandise but I think you'll find it a lot easier if all of your track is the same brand. Make sure that your tracks are properly connected, with TIGHT rail joiners and with ALL of the rails INSIDE of the rail joiners. Use a straight edge, perhaps even a yardstick, to keep your straight tracks straight. Be especially careful about adding grades to your tracks as that can be a real source of trouble on non-permanent layouts. SLOW DOWN. High speeds are not only unprototypical (unrealistic); they tend to amplify trackage, truck and coupler problems. High speed can also lead to death dives to the concrete basement floor which is generally a lot harder on the model trains than on the aforementioned concrete floor. Last, make sure that your equipment (track, locos, cars, etc.) is in good repair and at NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) specifications. That means that wheels and rails are the correct distance apart, couplers are at the right height, track power is correct for the trains you are using, cars and locos are fully assembled, and turnouts operate reliably. You can get an inexpensive NMRA gauge which will help you with the various spacings and clearances. If you do have a non-permanent layout, as I suspect, you'll have to pay extra attention to these matters because there is so much more opportunity for things to go wrong. Last, make sure that your rails and wheels are clean.

Good luck with your layout.
                                            -- D

[ftherrmann]

Speaking of Caboose's...    I had a problem with a N scale Bachmann caboose.  Every piece of rolling stock ran fine over the crossovers and turnouts with the exception of the caboose.  I added about 0.5 oz of lead to the inside and haven't had a de-railment since.  Those little guys need more weight.....

[richg]

You might try a spell check next time.

Sounds like you have to make a good layout from what I can see.

Rich

[jboot111]

well what happened is, first of all, i was running fast. second, my bridge likes to rattle considering i am on the floor for a layout. third, the caboose came uncoupled on the bridge, the engines went all the way around my track and hit the caboose. That caused the front truck to come off (the trucks were loose because i went to mod the weight to make a caboose that would go for a long time). The train made it all the way around the track. Just before the bridge, the caboose body came off and rolled across the floor. at the bridge, the remaining caboose truck turned sideways, (the bridge held it normally until the end of it.) which then stopped the engines. Because i was running so fast, the front engine rolled across the floor into the chair. the track came off because my other engine derailed and hit the track with it's coupler (it hit just before the end of a piece of track so  it moved the track too). so that is what i believe happened at least.