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Offline Rwill  
#1 Posted : 02 February 2017 06:18:32(UTC)
Rwill

United Kingdom   
Joined: 04/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 777
Location: England, London
Whilst Ray and others keep us all absorbed by the series " what you are running today" my humble selection of loks would make rather boring repetitive reading. More likely I could write a post "what are you running your layout with today"

So today (well yesterday actually ) I was running with a 6001 transformer, 6021 controller,two 6040 keyboards, and a 6043 Memory..........and then I flipped a mug of tea over said items. My wife says she has not seem me move so fast in years - flashback recalls of my cherished and then hideously expensive IBM laptop and a similar "experiment" which fizzled and died instantly. So a towel, a whole roll of kitchen paper and a hair dryer later we were ready to go again - well not quite as the bit of layout I was adjusting was still in bits so some hours later I finally switched on and all those little red lights twinkled on and "number 39" set off in the same direction as when I last switched off.

So it seems all alright - I have not had the urge or inclination to drill out those pesky plastics plugs to see if inside the cases are wallowing in tea before drowning - but I have a horrible feeling the matter is not over yet

Don't know if any of you have had similar foreign liquid versus 6021 type experiences ?
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Offline SteamNut  
#2 Posted : 02 February 2017 08:14:58(UTC)
SteamNut

United States   
Joined: 11/05/2013(UTC)
Posts: 488
Not quite like that but I cleaned some track with a electronic cleaner, which turned out to be flammable, and a spark from a lok started a fire! Five signals and turnouts were wiped out. Now I read all the warning labels. Fred
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Offline xxup  
#3 Posted : 02 February 2017 09:48:26(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,457
Location: Australia
Of course the problem with the Tea was the Tea.. If you had been drinking Tequila and spilt it (after the sixth or seventh one - understandable) then you would have a nice clean track and no mess as it will evaporate quickly.. Of course, it is important not to smoke or play with sparking things during the evaporation process.. LOL
Adrian
UserPostedImage
Australia flag by abFlags.com
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Offline Carim  
#4 Posted : 02 February 2017 10:44:00(UTC)
Carim

United Kingdom   
Joined: 15/09/2014(UTC)
Posts: 649
Location: London
Originally Posted by: SteamNut Go to Quoted Post
Not quite like that but I cleaned some track with a electronic cleaner, which turned out to be flammable, and a spark from a lok started a fire! Five signals and turnouts were wiped out. Now I read all the warning labels. Fred


An absolutely brilliant story! LOL Whilst I feel for your loss (it could have been a lot worse), this is something straight out of a comedy movie. BigGrin

Carim

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Offline michelvr  
#5 Posted : 02 February 2017 14:42:00(UTC)
michelvr

Canada   
Joined: 06/07/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,287
I wholeheartedly agree what a good story!

It can happen to the best of us, glad everything works!

Michel
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Offline kiwiAlan  
#6 Posted : 02 February 2017 15:01:22(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Well, lineside fires in the days of steam are prototypical ... Laugh Laugh

The odd cinder getting into the lineside grass is not unknown ... BigGrin
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Offline rbw993  
#7 Posted : 02 February 2017 18:26:34(UTC)
rbw993

United States   
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC)
Posts: 954
Originally Posted by: SteamNut Go to Quoted Post
Not quite like that but I cleaned some track with a electronic cleaner, which turned out to be flammable, and a spark from a lok started a fire! Five signals and turnouts were wiped out. Now I read all the warning labels. Fred


So was there anyone with the last name Addams in your ancestry?

Roger
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Offline waltklatt  
#8 Posted : 02 February 2017 18:34:11(UTC)
waltklatt

United States   
Joined: 17/03/2012(UTC)
Posts: 138
LOL! Tequila spills would make for some very clean tracks and a dirty tongue from licking the tracks.
Remember playing with my sister with some homemade playdoh(mom made with flour, salt, water and food coloring).
And we the kids were playing near a floor outlet and accidently spilled some water down the outlet.
Whoa! A volcano like eruption of sparks and smoke and loud noises.
That outlet is still out of service 40 years later.
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Offline SteamNut  
#9 Posted : 03 February 2017 21:43:33(UTC)
SteamNut

United States   
Joined: 11/05/2013(UTC)
Posts: 488
Originally Posted by: rbw993 Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: SteamNut Go to Quoted Post
Not quite like that but I cleaned some track with a electronic cleaner, which turned out to be flammable, and a spark from a lok started a fire! Five signals and turnouts were wiped out. Now I read all the warning labels. Fred


So was there anyone with the last name Addams in your ancestry?

Roger


Not that I am aware of as I come from German stock, however I swore like a sailor so perhaps I have some seaman's blood.
Offline kimballthurlow  
#10 Posted : 04 February 2017 06:48:02(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,653
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Once upon a time, I worked for a Japanese company selling sophisticated spatial measuring equipment.
Somehow I got involved with a television station, broadcasting an annual professional golf tournament from Sanctuary Cove at the Gold Coast (Australia).
Basically, the deal was we got free air-time acknowledgment in exchange for providing distances from tee-off to ball, distance remaining to green (and so on.....).
Data was voiced by radio from a field crew, to my assistant keying into a laptop computer, which was linked to a caravan full of graphics generators (this is in the early 90s).

In all, there were about 6 air-conditioned caravans, all linked by huge overhead cables to a power generator.
The noise was all pervasive.
Our laptop was connected to power by a simple home-style power board.

About 20 minutes before tee-off, my assistant got a plastic cup full of coffee from the catering tent, and sat it beside the laptop.
............. I am sure you can imagine the rest.

First there was this dying gasping sound, as all the power to the huge graphics generators, and other devices in the caravans died a struggling death.
The air was blue with swearing, and yelling, and yelling and swearing from about 10 broadcast engineers, as all pandemonium broke loose simultaneously, with caravan doors literally swung off their hinges........

Somehow, within the next 20 minutes, power was restored. I was at the least, red-faced.

Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
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Offline kiwiAlan  
#11 Posted : 04 February 2017 20:46:32(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: kimballthurlow Go to Quoted Post

About 20 minutes before tee-off, my assistant got a plastic cup full of coffee from the catering tent, and sat it beside the laptop.
............. I am sure you can imagine the rest.

First there was this dying gasping sound, as all the power to the huge graphics generators, and other devices in the caravans died a struggling death.
The air was blue with swearing, and yelling, and yelling and swearing from about 10 broadcast engineers, as all pandemonium broke loose simultaneously, with caravan doors literally swung off their hinges........

Somehow, within the next 20 minutes, power was restored. I was at the least, red-faced.

Kimball


Shades of a story a guy I worked with told.

He worked for the NZ Broadcasting Corporation at the time, involved with TV broadcast relay vans. This particular story he had a relay van at the top of Mount Eden in Auckland, NZ, as a relay from the local horse race course to the main transmitter on the top of the hills at the west of Auckland. The power for the van was provided from a power pole which had a power connector with a circuit breaker that was rated just sufficient to power the relay van.

Race day has gone well, and the last race is underway. The horses are just coming intot the last straight when he decides to plug in a jug so he can have a cup of tea while the post race discussion takes place meaning once the broadcast is over he can do a quick get-away.

You can guess what happens, the extra 1kw of the jug element is enough to overload the circuit breaker that has been running at maximum rating all day and the whole van powers down. He unplugs the jug, rushes outside up the ladder to reset the circuit breaker. The van powers up just in time for the post race commentators coming on to say 'we seem to have had a technical problem ...' and the control channel jabbering away ' ... it wasn't me ... ' between all the various studio people. I can't remember how he explained it away.

The joys of being an important link in a national hookup ...
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