Most of us have used this expression in jest as an excuse for something we have done. For me, it was certainly not the devil, but actually a Forum member. Let me explain.
This week a member posted photos of his train station area that is part of his fabulous layout. It immediately brought back memories and provoked this thread. Several years ago, I was fortunate to visit this layout. Photos simply do not do it justice. This member and his wife were terrific hosts and during my tour of his layout, he said you being a big passenger train fan, I want to show you something. He reached under his layout and pulled out a box containing a 21" K-Line passenger car. He opened the box to show me a Sante Fe Hi-Level passenger car and asked if I had seen one of these before. I had not but just loved what I was looking at for the first time. This one event started a multi-year search for this set. This beautiful set is now on our layout, but it all started with my visit to this Forum member's home. So I cannot blame the devil for this one, but a Forum member that had everything to do with it. The Forum member, our very own Alan Arnold.
How about you, do you have a story you can share with us where you can squarely put the blame on someone else for an acquisition to your layout. Should be fun to learn of your stories.