I was born in a small Central Florida town, that was on the Atlantic Coast Line mainline between Jacksonville and Miami. My earliest memories of trains were when my Dad took me with him when he carried the mail from the Post Office to the depot. We would go out twice a day to meet the Champion, trains #91 and #92. These were pulled by EMD E units, I guess that is where I got my love for E and F units.
After graduating high school, I worked various jobs around Central Florida. In 1972 I went in the Air Force as an electronic technician. I traveled all over the world, and lived in 12 states while on active duty. In 1973 I started in N scale trains but they were too small, and they ran poorly. In 1975 I started modeling in HO scale. In 1978 I started modeling the B & FE. It is a freelanced railroad that does not have a prototype but it is based on prototype practices, and I can model what I like. I like the Big Boy steamers, the DD35's and DDA40X's, and all of the turbines; but don't want to model the American west. I like the Santa Fe CF7's, but don't want to paint the war bonnet paint scheme. I like the E and F units, SD70Ace's and SD90MAC's. As you can see, I like a lot of different things. So, I figured the best way to have what I liked was to model a freelanced railroad.
Over the years, I bought what ever looked good to me at the time. Several years ago, I realized that I needed to settle on one era. I found that the modern era interested me the most. Now that I have changed the direction of my modeling, I now only get rolling stock and locomotives that fit my era. I did get rid of some of the rolling stock that did not fit the era, but kept all of the locomotives. I do still run them, but now it is "with trackage rights" from a museum located on the railroad.
About 10 years ago, I discovered operations. I have really taken to this part of model railroading. This has driven the desire to have a modern signal system controlled by computer, and a modern dispatcher display. I wanted "point and click" operation of the turnout control, the computer to figure out what the signals should show given the position of the turnouts and block occupancy.
After 20 years in the Air Force I retired. After retirement I worked several jobs, at this time I work for Rockwell Collins in their Engineering Department. After I retired from the Air Force, I still did not have the space to build the layout that I really wanted. I did start building the buildings that I was going to need on the layout. As I head for my second retirement, I am now planning the layout that I was unable to build up until now.
- Other interests:
I am an instrument rated pilot, and a Ground School Instructor.
I am a member of NMRA, and serve as Director at Large for the Sunshine Region.
I enjoy NHRA Drag racing and I am a member of the NHRA.
- Favorite NHRA Drivers:
Top Fuel: Brittany Force (or who ever is racing against Steve Torrence)
Funny Cars: John Force
Pro Stock: Erica Ender (or who ever is racing against Greg Anderson!!)
Pro Stock Bike: Angelle Sampey
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Last update to this page was October 6, 2020