A Model Railroad Layout Story

Farmer Jones looked around at his small farm in Shepherd Michigan and decided that he wanted to expand his business to include more than just raising fruits and vegetables, horses and dairy cows. So, he took stock of the business he was generating from his vegetable stand on the road in front of his house and decided he would talk over a proposition with Al. Al was the owner of the local general store. Farmer Jones wanted to see if Al would consider selling his produce.

Al's general store is located near the Ann Arbor freight train track on the outskirts of the rural subdivision near the town of Shepherd.

Al uses the Ann Arbor freight train and Flybynite Trucking Company for the delivery of merchandise sold in the general store.

Flybynite Trucking Company is located just behind the lumber company. Farmer Jones purchased the wood used to construct his vegetable and fruit stands from that very lumber company. Next to it is the grain elevator that Farmer Jones sells his grain to. The grain elevator is owned and operated by the Valley Growers Association in the area.

After Farmer Jones meets with Al at the general store he was planning to take his daughter to the local beach on the outskirts of the town. After a quick swim the plan was to play a game or two of tennis.

Later that day, the family was planning to go into town and take in a film at the movie theater. There is a film festival showing all day of the greatest classic movies. Word is out that an up and coming film producer by the name of John Freedman will be making an appearance this evening.

After the film and a meeting with John Freedman to acquire autographs, the Jones family will be picking up their son at Grand Central Station in downtown Shepherd.

Their son will be arriving at 9:00 PM on the New York Central's 20th Century Limited. He is coming home for the holidays from college where he is majoring in business.

The Jones family love to spend time enjoying a meal at the McDonald's Restaurant in town. Farmer Jones is a Bigmac addict and also loves a thick and creamy chocolate shake to go with it.

After a late dinner the family is going to meet cousin Paul at the Bus station. His bus comes in at 10:30 PM. He's coming into town for his big wedding.

Having spent a late night picking up family, the Jones's will go home for a good night sleep and get ready for the big event along with a full days activities the next day.

After a good nights sleep, the family goes back into town for a good breakfast at the Perfect Perk Cafe.

With a satisfying breakfast in their tummies, the family heads for church to attend Paul's wedding. The entire town seems to be in attendance! It was good to see everyone.

Once the service concluded, the reception was held at Aunt Maud's house in the city.

Everyone was having a great time. Some better than others! In fact, Billy was getting a bit rowdy and had a bit too much to drink. The result was Billy had to be taken to the Hospital.

The Jones family went to the hospital and the out-of-town guests went back to their hotel in downtown Shepherd. The Grand Hotel is a very nice luxury hotel and has many amenities that draw people from all over the country.

Billy turned out to be just fine but they kept him in the hospital overnight for observation and to let him sleep it off. He did however ruin Aunt Maud's sofa which now needs to be replaced. Farmer Jones took aunt Maud to Cathy's Furniture to look at a replacement sofa. There was a lot to choose from.

Maud picked out a nice sectional that would be delivered tomorrow. Farmer Jones said his goodbyes after he dropped Maud off back home and decided to visit his brother Sam at the local prison. Sam is a guard  -- not an inmate!

Sam was out in the exercise yard keeping an eye on the inmates when Farmer Jones arrived. (That's him on the left with the guard dog.) They were confronting an inmate who was giving Sam a hard time.

After the visit Farmer Jones remembered that he needed to pick up his son and take him to the Argosy Bookstore so that he could pick up some textbooks for next semester. His wife wanted the new novel that just came out by a local author as well. (Got to keep the wife happy!)

Much to everyone's surprise, the books were all on sale and they were able to find them quickly so everyone came out ahead. With extra time on their hands, they decided to check out the new additions to the Depot Project Museum which was just across the street.

On display were some vintage locomotives and cabooses, all of which were freshly painted in the colors appropriate for their time period. (Much to Farmer Jones appreciation to detail!)

All in all, the holidays were a success. The Jones family was satisfied with all that transpired. Junior went back to school and Paul went on his honeymoon. Farmer Jones was able to make the deal with Al at the General Store. Life returned to normal in the town of Shepherd.