A model train in his back garden

Are these euphemisms?

once again, personal wealth does not equal good sense

came for Gomez Addams reference, leaving satisfied

done in one

I knew garden railroading's scale was large, but I didn't think it was "sit on and ride" large.

Dude's a wreck.

UNC_Samurai: I knew garden railroading's scale was large, but I didn't think it was "sit on and ride" large.

"Live steam" is technically garden railroading; Walt Disney (new window) had one in his backyard.

The man, in his 70s, was thought to have been sitting on the large-scale locomotive when it left the rails and came off a garden wall.

Long, long past time to give it up, Ass Burgers.

He wouldn't have survived without all that fake crab meat.

Story: What may have happened

You know what I love about that? The fact that everything was not carefully choreographed. The guy getting his foot caught in the wire fence. Jumping and missing. It seemed to be more like a depiction of real life than the perfection of Hollywood.

Wanted for questioning

Maybe he was trying to get stops for Chuggin' Dustin's train?

/Obscure?

....is he a Leprechaun?

I'm imagining a version of the painted/stained a floor into the corner... except with a model railroad setup in a basement. "crap, I can't get out without ruining my terrain"

rebelyell2006: Story: What may have happened

You know what I love about that? The fact that everything was not carefully choreographed. The guy getting his foot caught in the wire fence. Jumping and missing. It seemed to be more like a depiction of real life than the perfection of Hollywood.

All true & valid observations, but do you know what I love about that?

King Something: [img840.imageshack.us image 256x512]
Wanted for questioning

Thought the Gomez Addams reference would be more than enough, but in comes a new challenger!

Live steamer / riding scale railroader here.

Usually this kind of accident is caused by excessive speed. Very rare, but it happens. There have been no known deaths in the hobby from operating engines.

The only death I know of is when a man was working on an engine in his shop, it rolled off the stand and he tried to catch it. These can weigh from 250lbs to 1,000lbs, so that's a bad idea. It landed on his legs and he died from complications two weeks later.

Yes, similar to the photo above with Walt in it. That's Walt's Lilly Belle locomotive on his Carolwood Pacific Railroad in the backyard of his Holmby Hills Home.

That engine is now at the Walt Disney Family museum in San Francisco.

The one popular media reference you might have seen live steam in is the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk". :)

Curious: The man, in his 70s, was thought to have been sitting on the large-scale locomotive when it left the rails and came off a garden wall.

the tracks run along the top of the garden wall?

It was likely a smaller scale elevated railroad, to allow for better posture while running. The track is elevated off the ground enough for your feet to clear, and the riding car has sides that extend down below the track, with a running board for your feet.

My first thought:

John Allen unavailable for comment.

// What he could've done with large scale would've been mind-boggling.

Um, wouldn't "Man trapped in train crash" actually be news? Just sayin'.

tobynx: came for Gomez Addams reference, leaving satisfied

Came for someone coming for Gomez Addams reference, satisfied that they're satisfied.

/I just *knew* I was going to be too late.
//*shakes tiny e-fist*

He was air lifted to the hospital . Nanny state will fine him for operatng a garden train at above safe speed and revoke his permit.

Personally, Subby, I would think that a man being trapped by a train crash IS news.

HelloMyNameIs :My first thought:

My husband has a line on one of these riding trains that he wants to buy it for our 4 yr old for xmas. We have no room for the train, much less a full track but he's stll hinting that if we clean out an entire floor we could probably make it fit.

/We would be the most awesome parents in the world to the little monkey. Damn hard to say no.

harlock, what kind of engine you have? Never seen riding-scale in person, but it's always been a fascination of mine.

ds_4815: harlock, what kind of engine you have? Never seen riding-scale in person, but it's always been a fascination of mine.

An Allen Models Chloe. 0-4-2 plantation engine. It's fairly small with a 5" boiler, but will pull me and a few other people around. Burns propane. My father and I built it over a period of about three years.

^ Youtube videos of your own showed up in the first search page. Nice work!