Those who got a chance to see it in Denver are lucky--no one else is ever going to get to see the layout. It's been essentially destroyed by UPS. The layout looks as if a 1:220 tornado has ripped across the layout and damaged or destroyed just about everything. Although I insured it for a significant amount, I doubt UPS will part with $10,000 (considerably less than the actual value). I will find out today when the damage inspector arrives. Regardless, the layout has suffered too much damage to be repaired, so it's time to bid farewell. Here are a couple of quick shots of the layout as I found it in the packing crate; they don't really impart a true sense of the full scope of the damage, since so many small, fine details have been smashed to bits--
Sad to hear David, but lucky I got a glance at the small layout in Denver. Some of you may remember the layout I bought from Lyn St. Laurent several years ago. It received similar treatment when shipped from Seattle to Norway.
It'd be nice if we had some sort of layout appraisal kind of set-up with comps and the whole bit, sort of like in real estate. My best wishes for as much recovery as you can get. This stinks. WTH did they do to this thing? Have a couple of gorillas play squash with it on the tarmac?
Sickening. I can think of no other better word or words. Those who handled your property are a disgrace and the mere fact they continue to collect a paycheck is adding insult to injury.
.....This is very sad... These kind of layouts cannot be converted into any financial value, these are pieces of art. Unfortunately this becomes more and more common practice....obviously they don't realize that they are eventually killing their own business..... I felt sick after seeing next youtube film.... [video=youtube;zWMVpjxYJgg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWMVpjxYJgg[/video]
David, I am so sorry to hear about your James River Branch layout. The JRB was an inspiration to me. John
How horrible! I'm honestly heartbroken for you. Somewhere there is a Z scale mayor crying little 1:220 tears....
Apply to FEMA for disaster relief? That was intended as a joke. A real pity. I think it was an inspiration to a large number of Z scalers.
Sorry to hear that. I stopped using UPS in a few years ago because of the condition packages arrive in. I wish you luck on getting full value of your layout. I would also recommend talking to a lawyer before signing or accepting anything. if they do not offer you satisfactory compensation.
David, I am so sorry to see the James River is this state. It is not good at all. I hope you can rebuild and bring it back to life. I just wish I had more time during the convention to enjoy it. Rob
That is a shame. Perhaps, you can salvage parts to reuse in another venture? It surely was one of the all time best in Z.
That is a dang shame. UPS heads are telling their drivers to do more in less time, so now we as customers are getting service like this. Don't let this go, you signed up for insurance so make them pay for their unsatisfactory shipping. You paid for a service and expected that your item while in their care would get to you in the shape you sent it in. I wish I could have seen this in person because from what I have seen of it, it looked beautiful.
If the packaging that contained the layout was not literally festooned with "Fragile" stickers, I am afraid that relief is not forthcoming. There are messenger services that will transport delicate/valuable objects for an outrageous fee. If you can manage to wrangle 10 grand out of UPS, you will be setting a precedent and everybody will be shipping their layouts out in the hopes of cashing in. As intelligent as you appear to be, David, you cannot tell me that the possibility of damage to a small layout with innumerable delicate placements did not cross your mind.
I do not mean to speak for David in this matter, but having been personally present and involved somewhat with the uncrating and also delivery of packed crate to the hotel front desk I offer the following...... I was personally present when David unpacked the layout so I know of the great care he took to make sure it was very securely anchored and protected in the packing crate. I also was standing with David when the hotel clerk processed the paper work for the return. I think David did all he could to insure safe transit of his layout. The word 'fragile' was indeed on the crates in several places I seem to recall. I'll bet the handlers figured the contents were not anything to be overly concerned with and since the overall packing crate was heavy, they most likely felt that jarring the crate wouldn't hurt the contents, and since it was heavy, I'd be willing to bet they likely just carelessly stacked it and jarred it quite severely. Quite possible the thinking was 'oh well, what the heck'.........all too often the attitude of some folks now days. And I assure you the thought of 'cashing in' never crossed David's mind. Labors of love are not thought of in an attitude of 'maybe I'll get rich off this if........' Monetary gain was certainly not the thinking of David. After spending hundreds of hours on this project the thought of losing it would be foreign to his thinking. I'm sure the thought of damage did cross his mind just as much as the thought of maybe getting hit by a car in the cross walk sometimes crosses one's mind too, but you hope it doesn't happen. I have witnessed postal employees throwing packages over 15 feet at the post office on the back deck so I know this sort of careless handling is common amongst any carrier. A most unfortunate and sad situation and I am of the hope that David will prevail in getting every cent that this layout was worth.
David: If you are going to throw it out, I'll gladly drive over and pick it up. Seriously though -- If anyone anywhere has to ship something of very high value and must have a guarantee that the object will arrive in the same condition that it left, then take a look at FEDEX'S "Custom Critical". This is a separate subsidiary of FEDEX. It's a bank buster on cost but what you get is a van and assigned driver who is responsible from pickup to delivery. You can follow him by GPS for the whole trip. I used to use this SOMETIMES when shipping legal tires [involved in litigation] around the country. I never had a problem as FEDEX <<KNOWS>> they are on the hook for some serious expenses if they mess up. ...don
Allow me detail the way the layout was packaged; it might correct some of your thinking. Before getting into details, know that I've had a fair amount of experience shipping fragile objects. I worked for an optical instrument company for ten years, and since I was involved in organizing their trade shows, I often had to work with the shipping department to get instruments worth up to $250,000 safely across the country and back. My approach to shipping my layouts relied heavily on this prior experience. The layout crate was assembled like a brick outhouse. 5/16 ply was glued and screwed together with internal bracing to make the basic box. It could have been dropped six feet, and only suffered minor cosmetic damage. Inside this was 4-6 inches of high-density foam. Inside the foam was the Plexiglas display case. Inside the case, the layout was placed on a bed of foam, and secured firmly in place with chocks, which applied pressure to several key points on the layout made to withstand significant force. An inner lid was then placed on top to apply pressure to the chocks, which rendered the layout immovable. This was followed by 4 inches of foam, then another lid, then more foam, and finally the plywood top. One literally had to sit on the lid to hold it down in order to screw it shut. The double-boxing and packing chock system was sufficient to prevent damage to the layout even if the box was upended, inverted or shaken--I tested the packing myself, and it all worked as planned. As for the layouts themselves, anything that was removable or even just loose was removed and packed separately. With few exceptions, the remaining objects were very securely attached to the layout, such that I could lift the whole layout using just one of the objects. The outsides of the crates were stenciled with large "FRAGILE," "DO NOT DROP" and "THIS END UP" messages on all sides. I also confirmed with the shipper that the contents were very fragile and valuable, so all of the shipping records were so indicated. The trip from New Jersey to Denver was handled by FedEx, and the layouts arrived in perfect condition. There was one tiny crack in the scenery, but I determined this was a stress crack induced by the packing chock, and not due to mishandling. The crack was not visible, and so to anyone who saw the layout, it looked exactly as it did back in New Jersey. I was completely satisfied with the service provided by FedEx. The return trip, however, was handled by UPS. After very careful examination of the damage, I determined that the box was dropped a considerable distance either upside down or on one end. The severity of the impact was sufficient to force the farm lift-off panel to break past one of the packing chocks (which was deformed in the process), and it struck the inner box lid, not once but twice. Once this happened, several objects were broken loose and free to bounce around inside the box. These acted like cannonballs, striking buildings and breaking them free, quickly multiplying the number of cannonballs. Consequently almost every building was damaged in some way, not to mention the fact that the forest behind the farm was flattened. Very little on the layout escaped damage. Based on how much damage was done, I suspect the biggest impacts were suffered early in the trip, and the remainder of the trip was characterized by considerable vibration and multiple other impacts, since there was scenery debris sticking to every inner surface, and the Plexiglas display case sustained scratches and abrasions on every exposed area. Clearly UPS handlers paid no heed to either the warnings on the boxes or the instructions on the waybill. To be perfectly honest, I was indeed expecting some minor damage, and I came to Denver armed with an emergency repair kit. I didn't need it. Nor did I need it for the Geordie & Daphne, which survived both legs of the trip completely unscathed. To suggest that I might set a precedent, should I succeed in getting a large sum, for others to mimic by destroying their own layouts is absurd to the extreme. Only a fool would attempt it, because they will not be armed with incredibly detailed documentation on what went into creating their layout. I have the advantage of being able to prove my layout is actually worth considerably more than the maximum amount I could possibly obtain from UPS. Besides, who would want to destroy their own layout just to get some money? Certainly I did not, and to think otherwise is reprehensible.
