The first piece of new equipment has just pulled out of the fabrication shop for the Rosebud Falls Scenic Railways. According to Douglas Flatbottom President and CEO of the RbFSRWy this caboose will be the first of a long line of equipment to be locally produced. Mr. Flatbottom said that within the next few weeks several log cars will be fabricated here at our local shops. The first should pull from the shop at the end of the month, with one or two more cars per month after that. Mr. Flatbottom stated that the only foreseeable shortage problem would be acquiring the axles and wheels, as RbFSRWy has no plans to construct a foundry at this time.
On the serious side, this year for my birthday the wife gave me three days of The Big Train Show in Ontario. The San Diego GRR tour, the Saturday build a bobber caboose clinic by Ozark Miniatures, and two days in the show, (one by myself with the proviso that I spend no more than $20, and then Sunday with her, as she wanted to look into purchasing a forest and some people.) The tour in San Diego was a very pleasant experience, observing four different GRR’s.
The builders clinic was fun, when they started they said “we guarantee you will be successful today.” I ask them if they were sure that they were going to make the class “me proof” and he asked what is me proof, and I said that my wife has forbidden me to use the phrase “idiot proof”. They said yes! The class went well and I did learn a few things. Then during the construction they said “now those of you who are not going to detail the interior of the caboose you can glue the roof on next: I did not realize it at that point in time but that is when they failed in making it 'me proof”. I’m sitting there thinking "no, I’m not yet i