Large Scale Central

Pissed off

General Discussion
#1

I went out to clean up the RR after the last ops session…and one of the old Pola tanks has been…emasculated.
Spout, chain, pulley, pulley block, weight AND the entire hose…gone.

Pulled it out of service, wondering WTF do I do now.

Today, cleaning the lower branch at Glory, Pola tank, EXACTLY the same parts missing.

Pulled it out of service.

Not exactly sure if one can even GET this stuff out of Pola anymore.

Everytime something disappears on the CCRy, I tend to get a little depressed…and PISSED OFF.

I’ve got 9 tanks, and am thinking, maybe just pull them all off…
Then the buildings…
And the wheel stops…

Beginning of rant mode.

#2

Make them all sign a contract to equally cover the costs of any damaged/stolen items BEFORE being allowed on the property? Surveillance cameras? Little hidden wires hooked to model T coils?

There’s crudballs in every hobby. Someone stole a BUNCH of copper and brass stuff from our antique machinery club between early August and mid September… They didn’t force entry, which means they had keys. Only about 35 people are SUPPOSED to have, or even NEED to have, keys to ANY of the buildings.

Bad enough getting ripped off. Twice as hurtful when it’s done by people you thought you should be able to trust. I understand completely, and I feel the same way.

BTW, does anybody have a 3/4" injector to replace the one they liberated?

#3

Tree rats?

#4

The chain is 12" long, with a weight on the end.
Plus the spout and pulley assembly.

Most likely, not.

#5

Two legged rats.

Bob c.

#6
Bob Cope said:
Two legged rats.
More like 2 legged cockroaches. Stealing off your host when he's treated you as an honored guest is stooping about as low as you can get. It's right up there with making your momma cry.
#7

Yup.

Neither one of these towers were secured down.
For an animal to have been able to rip the hose completely out would have tipped the tower over or at least displaced it where it stood.

#8
Curmudgeon said:
I went out to clean up the RR after the last ops session......and one of the old Pola tanks has been....emasculated. Spout, chain, pulley, pulley block, weight AND the entire hose.....gone.

Pulled it out of service, wondering WTF do I do now.

Today, cleaning the lower branch at Glory, Pola tank, EXACTLY the same parts missing.

Pulled it out of service.

Not exactly sure if one can even GET this stuff out of Pola anymore.

Everytime something disappears on the CCRy, I tend to get a little depressed…and PISSED OFF.

I’ve got 9 tanks, and am thinking, maybe just pull them all off…
Then the buildings…
And the wheel stops…

Beginning of rant mode.


People like that are all around us. Even people we think we can trust or deal with at work or in the hobby. I just had a guy try to screw me out of a measly 13 dollar or so shipping charge on something I bought from him via this forum. Conveniently the shipping charge got doubled and when I challenged it he copped an attitude. Strange to say the least and it does piss me off and I’ll never deal with this person again in any manner.

#9

Somehow, I don’t think Dave got upset so much with the sharting on his coffee table, it was the wiping of the arse on his drapes. It’s really insulting for a guy to pretend to be your friend.

#10

Remedy-
Dave, you have the electrical know-how to hook up a very bright bulb and buzzer in an enticing theft item activated by a mercury switch once the EZ-to-steal item is lifted. For a trial run, make the item singular and enticing. If more than one item is used as an enticement, the buzzer services several items, the light is set in each item. Light goes off, buzzer sounds, and hopefully the attending self-deputized will nab the thief.

Or have a 50 lb. fishing line coiled so when the thief makes the move the line plays out and there is an abrupt cessation.

Stocks are the appropriate punishment – at a nearby model store.

Wendell

#11

This isn’t the first stuff to disappear.
We lost a customized combine/caboose during an ops session, tools have gone away, bags of parts, one Sierra shipment from UPS went missing from the shop floor, and we lost two loaded cars DURING the last convention.
Somebody once pried all the piping off one of my Shays.
I am getting rather tired of it.

#12

They probably think they’re too smart to get caught, sad to say this is a prime reason I never got involved in any club or group, or let any neighbors or god forbid, neighbors kids, ever to know what my hobby is.

#13

Try not to let it mess up the enjoyment that you and most of the people have there. Too, it’s entirely possible that someone who only visited as a guest a couple of times and never operates at all has been sneaking in to do his evil deeds.

A couple of well placed security cameras might expose the culprit and if it is a regular that you’ve trusted you can deal with him privately one on one and let him know he’s no longer welcome. Perhaps with your connections you can buy him a one way trip out of a torpedo tube! There’s some pretty good security cameras available at reasonable prices these days and with the investment in time and money you have there would I think be well worth the cost.

#14

I guess you didn’t show them the shotgun before hand?

-Brian

#15

EVERYbody gets shown the 12GA.
If they don’t believe that, they get shown more.

#16

Dave,
a one-off theft is bad enough, but it seems that you have suffered the indignity of repeated thievery, which implies that a fellow modellor has nothing but contempt for your hospitality.

    While theft is a factor,  present in all modelling scales at exhibitions, etc,  a feature of largescale modelling that I feel abhorence for,  is the repeated requests from members,  across all forums,  for other members to give them items,  with no apparent exchange in return.  If exchange is implied,  then the person making the request states that it must be very cheap or inexpensive.  What happened to the old work ethic that you earned what you obtained in life?  I cringe every time I read of someone asking or pleading for things for free. Have they no shame?

    I have modelled in other scales for 45 years and yet,  a feature of largescale modelling, over the last few years,  is the implication that if one asks then he will get things for nothing.  In my modelling days,  if I needed something then I saved until I could afford it.  I did not steal,  or plead for things for free.

    I would be interested to know if your personal incidence of theft is a relatively recent phenomenon,  or has occurred over many years past.
#17
Curmudgeon said:
This isn't the first stuff to disappear.

I am getting rather tired of it.


I bet you are. I can tolerate a lot of things. But not thieves.
Pitiful that someone you invite to your home treats you this way.
Ralph

#18

Back in 1998, after a weekend open running session on our club’s combined ‘Electric Eclectic RR’ [no readily identifiable buildings or structures, so’s we could run trains from almost anywhere], we got burglarised.

‘All’ that they took was my entire collection of thirteen rare and in some cases, ultra-rare, H0 Canadian brass, including an entire ‘CPR Royal Train’ set. Total value here in UK of about $27K. Of course, nothing was ever heard of them again, since they had obviously been stolen to order - over a a hundred US locos, mostly brass, were ignored.

All visitors were required to sign in, and although the police made a half-hearted effort to trace the signaturees, three were illegible. In fact, the investigating officer thought that it was all pretty funny and a lot of fuss being made about the theft of ‘a couple of toy trains’, until I pointed out that the ‘Royal Train’ alone had cost more than his damn car.

Dave, you might have to do what I do over here - only invite folks you know to see your layout.

tac
www.ovgrs.org

#19

toss up a few hidden cameras, catch the fool on tape, kick his tail then post video of the loser ripping you off online on all major train forums to show the world his ignorance!

#20

It is a shame you cant trust anyone today. Put some game cameras hunters use throughout your yard and layout. That way when they walk past you get a snap shot and now you have your evidence for court. Do you think it happens when you have people over or does it happen when when you are not home? Most thefts happen in the early afternoon because most people are at work. Im not sure how your yard is set up but you can have a one way in and out gate. No one can leave without being checked. I know it sounds harsh but explain that do to recent events you were left with no choice. The honest people wont mind. Its the culprit who will argue.