For some reason animals are atracted to layouts, and invade them now and then. In fact my cat is hypnotised by the rotary beacon. Does anyone have pets that enjoy delaying the Lionel Express?[:D]
Some feline examples from Google Images…
Whoever shot this one cheated… Mousey’s in the caboose!
We really try not to let Spanky play too much with the trains, but when he does decide to take a walk thru town it looks like we are starting to make a
Our female cat has always been a railroader. when She was younger, I was living in an apartment, and set up an oval track with an automatic gateman activated by a pressure contact. She “played” with that gateman all through Christmas, but She never did catch him. After buying a house, I built a more permanent layout, and She likes to lay on one particular outcropping of scenery, and walks all over the layout, never causing any damage, but much amusement for my wife. The Great Cat next to the grain elevator has even been a Christmas time advertisement here locally. Alas, after a few visits to the vet, and a speciallist, it was determined that she has bone cancer in her mouth ( I told her to quit smoking). She now gets whatever she wants to eat, and my wife and I treat her like royalty. She doesn’t have much time left, and being my only pet to date, She will be GREATLY missed. Picture a 230 pound man crying at the vet, and you get the picture. She plays trains with me quite a bit, and I have always let her. Just watch out for those pressure activated contacts, no animal can pass those up.
Yep, our three cats like to watch the trains. One sits right next to the tracks. The others watch from a distance. They also like to parade through the layout - some ‘smoother’ than others (who make like Godzilla)
Dave’s idea could be made into a very…uh, interesting Lionel operating car…
Operating Insect Transport Car
Tired of watch ing fish swim around in circles? Well, Lionel has taken that classic idea and added creepy-crawlies to the mix! When the train is in motion, the bugs crawl around the boxcar. Comes in a unique Museum of Natural History paint scheme, all for only ( REALLY EXPENSIVE ) !!!