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HomeSmart Art Kids Mural #14A

Mural #14: Cape Fear's Captain
By Vanessa Lussier

Train Mural


This mural tells the story of Captain John Harper and his shoofly train.  Captain Harper piloted a steamship called the Wilmington from Wilmington to a wharf on the Cape Fear River.  A small train met the passengers at the pier and carried them three miles to the beach.  The passenger cars were open and the bugs were awful!  That’s why the train was called the “shoo fly” train.  The train carried 500 passengers and made five trips a day.  This started the development of the town of Carolina Beach.  

Can you find the following - the bell, the flag, the flowers and the yellow hat?
Can you count the following - the number of buttons on Captain Harper's coat, the number of people on the train and the number of circles in the mural?

Tell A Joke

Entertain your friends with these train jokes.

Q:  How did the locomotive get so good at its job?

A:  Train – ing

Q:  What do you call a train loaded with bubble gum?

A:  A chew-chew train.

Q:  Which train car has antlers?

A:  A ca-moose.

Q:  What happened to the man that took the 5 o’clock train home?
A:  He had to give it back!

Learn more about trains

For more about trains check out this clip from National Geographic  Kids
Trains

Enjoy this video of a model train running on the beach:
Model Train on Beach


A-E-I-O-U

A – What was something about the Shoofly train that you thought was Awesome?

 

E- Did the thought of taking a boat and a train to the beach make you Excited?

 

I - Did you find the story of Captain Harper Interesting?

 

O- Did the thought of traveling to the beach in an open-air train with shooflies buzzing around make you go Ooo? 


U - Did you want to Understand more about the early days of Carolina Beach?


Read A Book About Beach Days
or Trains

Wouldn’t it be fun to get to the beach by boat and train?  You can read books about beach days 
Beach Days

Or you can read books about trains

Trains

By visiting our public library 

New Hanover Public Library


Learn more about the Shoo-Fly Train

Visit the Federal Point History Center at 1121 N Lake Park Boulevard in Carolina Beach.

Federal Point History Center 

You can learn all about the history of the Carolina Beach area,
and see pictures of Captain Harper and the shoo-fly train.

Artist Vanessa Lussier


About the Artist



Read more about mural artist Vanessa Lussier
by clicking on her picture.