If you ever wanted to see what Elk can do to an outdoor layout, here you go:
Been a slow process fixing all the damage, which is a lot more than the one section I took a photo of.
Ouch. I think I’d fix that once, and if it happened again, goodbye layout. Did this happen while you were living there, or during your off season?
Daktah John said:
Did this happen while you were living there, or during your off season?
Off season. Likely covered by snow at the time they came down and trampled.
Daktah John said:
Ouch. I think I’d fix that once, and if it happened again, goodbye layout. Did this happen while you were living there, or during your off season?
Either that or “Hello elk-burger.”
That’s pretty painful to see Matt, good for you for hangin’ in there and fixing it back up.
Ouch… Know the feeling, but it wasn’t Elk, was cows once, and horses once…
deleted
Yep, another reason I’ve gone elevated. I’ve had to replace more track than I can remember on my ground layout, and thankfully I didn’t lose any hand built track. That’s really awful. Good luck Matt.
Yow. Was that just from the elk walking on it?
Ray Dunakin said:
Yow. Was that just from the elk walking on it?
Yeah Ray…elk around here weigh five to eight hundred lbs, and they ain’t no ballet dancers. Obstinate and dumb, too…up in Estes Park last fall I drove a golf ball off the #11 tee box and the ball sailed through a herd of them grazing on the fairway, right between the ears of one of 'em. Didn’t budge, didn’t care. They’re nothing but destructive gigantic rats if you ask me, but they’re protected by the Division of Wildlife.
Hope you get everything fixed up again Matt.
Geez, I guess I won’t post anything about my squirrel problem. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
-Kevin.
Ha.
That is awful, sorry about your track.
And yes the best steak I ever had was a Montana elk shot by a Navy buddy and eaten in a parking lot in Death Valley, yeah.
Would it be feasible to leave a single wire electric fence up and running all year, or perhaps during the migration season?
Jerry
dieseldude . said:
Geez, I guess I won’t post anything about my squirrel problem. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
-Kevin.
Would you be referring to the one running the railroad! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)(sorry couldn’t resist)
Matt that’s rough, I’ve had a deer coming down over the hill snag the track on it’s hoof and bend things out of whack a bit, but nothing that bad! Hope you can get up and running soon. That has to be a hard day when you unwrap things and find that.
Jerry, electric fences have little effect on western elk and mule deer in the Intermoutain region. They are simply too big and aren’t bothered much by a fence charge. And fences have to be at least eight feet high to stop them from jumping over them. What I’ve started using are the little red blinking solar lights around things I want them to avoid. This past winter they worked well and kept them away from my ground RR and shrubs I didn’t want them to eat on. The blinking red lights weird them out.
Thanks Rich, good to know. I have been to Pagosa Springs and Durango many times, and my Pagosa buddy is very reluctant to drive at night at certain times of the year as many have hit large elk in the dark…
Jerry
Sorry to see that Matt.
Elk are far more than large deer. They are very large animals and seldom (especially in winter) are by themselves. Usually several to several dozens. And While I do very much enjoy an elk steak shooting them wont solve the railroad problem. They come in wave. One wave moves out the next wave will move in.
Rich Niemeyer said:
Jerry, electric fences have little effect on western elk and mule deer in the Intermoutain region. They are simply too big and aren’t bothered much by a fence charge. And fences have to be at least eight feet high to stop them from jumping over them. What I’ve started using are the little red blinking solar lights around things I want them to avoid. This past winter they worked well and kept them away from my ground RR and shrubs I didn’t want them to eat on. The blinking red lights weird them out.
thats interesting and good to know about the blinking lights. I don’t have problems but my mom and dad have moose that eat their fruit trees tto the root everytime they try and plant them. Wonder if that trick will work on them?
Randy Lehrian Jr. said:
dieseldude . said:
Geez, I guess I won’t post anything about my squirrel problem. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
-Kevin.
Would you be referring to the one running the railroad! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)(sorry couldn’t resist)
Ha! I can’t stand it when someone beats me to a smart-alecky remark!
Good luck with the fix Matt !
You now have scrap rail for guardrails, and leftovers or waiting for the scrap crew, just laying within the r/w like the prototypes. 
“.…o avoid. This past winter they worked well and kept them away from my ground RR and shrubs I didn’t want them to eat on. The blinking red lights weird them out…”
The elk don’t smell anything at the time, but they must think they are predators like wolves just waiting for them ?
doug c
Ouch, Matt… That ain’t good at all… So sorry to see the carnage…
It almost looks as if they were mad and knew what they were doing. We have deer constantly in the yard, even while we’re out there ! We haven’t had any damage other than them eating the Day Lily flowers and pond lily pads.
This year, chipmunks are around more than ever. Had a few in the last few years but this year I have trapped about ten of the little suckers so far. I bring them a few miles away so there are obstacles that I think may keep them away, like turnpikes, railroad tracks, main highways, etc.
Bailey, our cat, is too old to care about them. Need some new blood.