Your worst model railroad tragedy

[Trainman203]

What was your worst model tragedy?  Let's leave off house destruction like fire or flood.

50 years ago I had an entire 10 car train go to the floor  because the horn hook couplers held very well.  Later on, my mother let my 2 year old nephew play with a brass steam engine on the floor.  That engine actually survived only to be destroyed along with others later while in storage and the box it was not packed very well in fell 8' to the floor.

[Terry Toenges]

Right now. I've lost some of my On30 cars. I can't find my baggage car, stock car, and one flat car and maybe a gondola. Back when I got away from trains for a few years after my heart attack and amnesia, I put everything in boxes in the garage.
My garage is separate from my house and it is a 2 car garage with 3 extra rooms. I have one small room with mostly train stuff on shelves all around the whole room, floor to ceiling. I've looked through it all a couple of times.
Some years ago, I gave away some HO train sets and track and stuff to a kid whose father knew my ex son-in-law. I'm now wondering if those were in one of those boxes. I've looked in the boxes where I thought they should be to no avail. I'm now going to have to do a detailed search in every nook and cranny out there.
The olive unlettered baggage car isn't sold anymore. I had the set of all 3 - baggage, combine and pass.

[Terry Toenges]

Here's one from 2002 where I made wrong turn onto an uncompleted stretch of track.

[Trainman203]

Hahaha😂😂😂.  The Santa Fe did that at LAUPT in the 40s, and there's a famous picture of a French steam engine like that plowed through the terminal and down to the street below.

[rogertra]

My parents giving my mint OO Hornby Dublo trains dating from the early 1960s to my brother's children to play with 20 0dd years ago.  Rec'd a box full a few weeks ago of what would have been considered collectable were in fact now junk.  Not a happy camper.

Cheers

Roger T.

[Terry Toenges]

On mine above, I was building another bridge and didn't have it installed yet as you can see.
Roger - That would really break my heart. I rem when I was a wee lad and I didn't get my room cleaned up in a time period acceptable to my parents. I had model car parts all around and model car projects strewn out. I came home from school one day to find out Mom had bagged up a lot of it and it was gone with the trash man that day. If Mom was here today, I'd be in big trouble but it would be train stuff instead of model car stuff.

[Trainman203]

Common theme emerging-  the difference between toys and serious models not understood.

[bbmiroku]

Probably one of the more famous train 'oops' moments, Trainman203...

[Trainman203]

That is the French engine I mentioned earlier

[Len]

My worst model railroad tragedy happened while I was doing Basic Training after joining the Air Force 'back when'. I came home on leave afterwards and discovered my younger brother had sold my American Flyer trains to get the money to by a car. I'd been collecting since my parents gave me the first hand-me-down set when I was little. And he only got about half what they were worth.

Len

[Trainman203]

My depression era mother didn't believe in keeping anything not acutely essential .  I was just getting into serious Model railroading when I was 12.  One day I found that my Lionel stuff had been given away to some drive.

[ebtnut]

Had a friend come to vist the layout one day.  My O standard gauge includes a drop-down bridge across the entry aisle.  When up, the bridge is locked in place with a door hinge pin.  Well, after he came in I put the bridge up but, being a bit distracted with the conversation I forgot to put the pin in place (it's a snug fit).  Cranked up the Weaver RS-3 with a few cars.  It made it around at least once OK, but when it got the bridge again the bridge dropped as did the loco.  The only good news is that the Weaver model is plastic, not brass, and I managed to repair it enough that it is still servicable.