New Additions to Possum Ridge

It has been too long since I posted here.  So in light of the Christmas season, here are some of the new additions to the imaginary town of Possum Ridge, Mississippi, which is an O-scale railroad layout and town constructed every Christmas at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where I work.

Previous posts about Possum Ridge can be found at "Christmas 2011 at the Barracks" and "Trains on Christmas Day" on this blog.

The biggest addition is a crop dusting airstrip and plane.  Crop dusting was (and still is) used extensively in the Mississippi Delta for insect control.  For many years it was the only way to control the deadly cotton boll weevil which was devastating our cotton crops.

A new piece of motive power for the railroad is this Shay engine.  It provides the sawmill in town with freshly cut timber from the surrounding forests.

And you can't have a railroad without a hobo camp.  This one is located very close to the area's still!  The hobos know where the "good stuff" is.

One of my donations to the collection was a Model T Coca Cola delivery van.  Here he is making a delivery to Osborne's country store.  The van is a Matchbox Model of Yesteryear vehicle and was excess to my needs.  I decided it would be a great addition to Possum Ridge.

And the final addition is another delivery vehicle that I donated, a Carnation milk truck, which has just made a large delivery to Luna's Coffee Shop.

All here at Col Campbell's Barracks wish everyone a

very merry Christmas

and a

happy and prosperous New Year!