It has been some time since I've posted here. The reason is because my railroad has come to an abruped stop. Just after xmas we were informed that we might have to move because of the business building on the land that I live on was foreclosed on. In Jan.

Many of you have come to realize my uncle is a very eccentric. He has more money than he knows what to do with it yet he ends up buying junk for his railroad and then expects me to make it run perfect. Oh, and of course don't spend much money doing so! There are broken hinges, missing steps and screeching noises when any part is moved. Better get to work...

Gary

Ever since reading John Armstrong's Track Planning for Realistic Operations I've been intrigued by his drawing of a "shoofly" (page 123, 3rd ed.). It's a simple scene of track diverted over a fill while a crew repaired / rebuilt a bridge over a small stream, yet contained the possibility of multiple "stories" within the scene (not only the work on the rails, but the land just outside of railroad property: orchards, farms, roads, forests, etc.)

So I designed a 2'x6' "Shoofly" module:

My uncle, the owner of Grizzly Creek & Grumpy Flats Railroad, decided he needed a car to keep control of the weeds along his rails. He found an old Union Pacific flat car, an old scrap tank and told me to make him a "weed car". Horace, the black cat is even part of the crew.

Gary