Welcome to the newest section of Leather Oaks, the Rural Location! Railroading is sort of in my blood. Male relations on both sides of the family tree worked for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and I admit their occupations were always a positive fascination. Of course, I went through the usual toy trains period, and even tried N scale. But somehow, it all got put away and nearly forgotten.
As the Leather Oaks Garden has matured, several friends have tried to encourage me to start a Garden Railway. For a long time, I looked at the back yard, and said to myself, "I'd never be able to deal with all of that water and those marshy areas!" And that pretty much ended the story until two things happened.
I retired, that was the first one. Then, a friend suggested that my front yard would look more attractive if it were home to a few heroic figures. You know, Hercules, Marcellus, Atlas, maybe even Jupiter! Well, they did look awful nice out there, but then the subject of railways came up again. I again demurred, giving my old excuse. "But how about the front yard?" was the rejoinder this time. It seemed an idea with possibilities.
My friend Wolf and I made a sojourn to Orange Grove Hobby, and came home with an LGB starter set. It looked a little lonesome on the front porch, even though my Mexican Tin Warrior Julio didn't seem to mind much. I bought a case of flexible G-scale track, and just for fun, mind you, laid it up the front yard to see if that little LGB 0-4-0 locomotive, "Columbus" could make it along the not inconsiderable grade. It did. Soon thereafter, I drafted a plan in my mind for what is now called Phase One, and started laying track.
Since several friends were now interested, I began publishing e-mails, purportedly issued by the Public Relations Department of the Rubber and Rawhide Railroad. They've been keeping a growing list of folks updated on the latest progress and problems. The Progress Report link above will take you to those reports: The latest such report will always be at the top of the list!
FLASH UPDATE ! ! The Rubber & Rawhide now has a foothold on YouTube ! The Railroad's Lot Circumnavigation Route has been filmed in the most ambitious effort to date from our Department of Unintended Publicity.
