Shoofly free-moN module - 2
From a John Armstrong sketch to
super-detailed signature scene ...
W
hen I returned to the hobby a few years ago and
read John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic
Operations (3rd Edition)” (Kalmbach, 1998) for the
first time, I was struck by the simplicity and story potential of
his small sketch of a “shoofly” (page 123). A shoofly is a section
of track, usually laid down on a temporary dirt embankment,
that bypasses a washout or construction site on the mainline
and allows rail traffic to continue while the main is repaired or
a new bridge constructed.
1: California Northern 203 pulls a cut of coal cars
slowly over a shoofly in Sonoma on a sunny California
spring day.
1
What a great idea for a scene on a layout! The scene doesn’t
take up much room, requires only one turnout, and provides a
stage for a highly-detailed scene that shows something rarely
seen on layouts: a bridge under construction. Given the kabil-
lion bridges and trestles that people model on layouts, how
often do you see one in the process of being built? Scenes
that show something in process immediately create a dynamic
story, a snapshot of something for the viewer to participate in
rather than just telling him or her to enjoy what’s finished.
Armstrong’s shoofly sketch stuck in my brain for quite a while
as I built some small practice N scale layouts. The largest
MRH-Nov 2013
