At an early age I have always been interested in trains and starting my model railroading at the quite tender age of 4. I consider that I have been a prototype modeler all along as even at the age of 4. I say that because I remember sitting in the park that was near my home that was across the road and creek from the railroad tracks. I would play all day in that park but pay attention as the trains went by. That evening while running trains with dad, I would try to emulate what I saw earlier that day with the equipment I had. Not quite the usual definition of prototype modeling but still quite an advanced concept for a 4 year old.

In the First grade I moved to Newcastle WY which is on BNSF’s Black Hills subdivision. It is also on the Western Edge of the Black Hills. It was there I found my love of high intensity railroad action. While coal train after coal train after coal train after coal train may seem boring after a while, The rush of a train going through town every 25 minutes is something I still feel every time I go back there to visit. It is here my prototype modeling concepts became fine tuned, and my varied modeling interests began to develop. Of the 7 railroads I now model, I was modeling 5 by the time I left Newcastle.

In my Jr. Year of high school My father had changed jobs and we moved to my present home of Lander Wyoming situated at the base of the Wind River Mountains. Things were going well and I was ready to rebuild my layout for a fourth time, as it was scenery and track were damaged in the move, But there were some things on it I didn't like and this gave me an opportunity to change it. This process got me through my Junior and Senior years of high school. This was completed just in time to put it in mothballs as I went to go to college in Bozeman Mt. Next spring after a 9 months of fun in games in Montana, I pulled it back out to run trains.

The theme for this layout was that of a single town along the BNSF is a highly fictionalized and freelanced State of Minnesota. I was pursuing this concept with friend and fellow model railroader Joe Wagner. The name of the town was Bedford. So named because I was to lazy to change the cast on name on the Life-Like "Flashing Light Water Tower" I had. In the concept the line was former Great Northern trackage between Minneapolis and a fictional city named North Pendleton. Traffic consisted of three daily switch jobs that switched out the auto salvage yard, the grain elevator, and the brewery, with the brewery needing most of the switching. There were then two through locals trains each way to pick up cars and then there were two more through freights each day. Also there were three Amtrak trains each way every day.

After a blowout with the financial aid people in Bozeman, I transferred to Central Wyoming College for the 2002-2003 school year. During that winter, annoying little problems started plaguing operations, up lifted track here, annoying kinks in track that weren't there the day before. In early February, a look under the layout revealed some horrible things occurring on the bottom side of my layout. After 18 years of faithful service to my model railroad hobby, the benchwork that I have used since I began the hobby had begun to dry rot. The plywood was nearly rotted through in the bottom side to the surface on top. Also many of the joist and girders were showing signs of dry rot as well. This led me in the spring of 2003 to demolish it and build anew. Fortunately just as this was happening a 4X6 HO layout became available for sale in Town, It was a Model Railroader track plan doubled the Morgan Valley. It was finely executed but to do time and family constraints the owner was getting out of the hobby temporarily. I purchased this layout and began to modify it for personal modeling. Two weeks later a good friend of mine announced he had to move and offered me any sections of his layout he had to tear down I would like. I took his finely executed classification yard. As of this writing. I am still working to modify the yard to connect with the 4X6 layout. and I intend to rewire them both for DCC in the near future. This segment when completed will be Lander Yard, and the South Lander Industrial Brach of the Lander Northwestern Railroad, (See more on the LNW below)

My railroad interests are many and varied. As such, I model five different railroads in seven different eras in two different scales. I have listed them in chronological order, with scale and reasons for modeling them following.

The first is the Union Pacific Wyoming Division, 1950, HO Scale. Uncle Pete still had a lot of neat looking steam locomotives. Including my favorites. Four Challengers in the Grayhound Scheme (3977-3980). A lot of older wood sided equipment was in its last years of revenue service. as well as new still modern looking 40 and 50 foot cars such as the AAR Boxcars or the PS-1 making their initial showing.

Next up I model mid 1960s CNW Locomotives on a Modern Day representation of CNW’s "Cowboy Line" to Lander Wyoming, HO Scale. I like the look of mid 1960s CNW Power, I also wanted to model the line that once ran to the town I now live. However upon doing research on the appropriate line, Using the modern day industrial base that is now in the area, provides more justification for a rail line than the 5 dinky grain elevators, and seasonal stock movements that consisted of the traffic base in the mid 1960s did. I operate this segment as the short line "Lander Northwestern" with the company brass deciding to have their locomotives painted for mid 1960s CNW.

Then there is the 1967-1970 Great Northern, HO Scale. Ok I am vain I admit it. The only reason I model this railroad during this period is because this was the era of my all time favorite diesel paint scheme. GN's Big Sky Blue. I have not decided what portion of this railroad I will model yet. But for the time being I usually use my models for this railroad at train shows I attend. Also I must mention that all the other lines I model are at least an end to end connection or at least interchange some where in the middle so they provide a continuous network. This GN segment so far is isolated from that. But Damn, a 16 car Empire Builder, in Brass painted Big Sky Blue is one fine looking train in deed.

Then I model 1972 Union Pacific Wyoming Division. HO Scale. I know your probably thinking, Haven't I been here before. Yes you have. Except its now 1972, which was a big transition year on Union Pacific. DD35s U50C &Ds on their last runs Phasing out of F units. All this makes an interesting cacophony I would like to model. Also this version is proposed to be a "wall track" shelf around the first story of my house so that I can promote a reasonably consistent picture with the 1950s on the big layout and the 1970s on this layout.

I could not resist modeling 1976 Burlington Northern Casper, Cannan, Valley, subs and C&S Lines Orin JCT to Denver. HO Scale. I grew up with BN, and I like the look of BN Green. While 1976 was 6 years before I was born, the chance to not only model the railroad of my youth, but all the cool Bicentennial locos and movements proved to be to much of a temptation. AFT 4449 Come on down!

Then I got into large scale. In that scale I model 1985 Burlington Northern Deadwood Brach. 1/24 scale Gauge III Track. (I will save a discussion of all the "G" scales for later. It gets confusing) Blame my grandpa. He got me going with live steam models. So with this line I am modeling the steam locomotives of the Black Hills Central. and battery power/radio control on the BN diesels. This is slow going as I have to scratch build all the railroad equipment. (I can find lots of accessories for the layout in this scale though) Yes this is an out door garden railroad.

Finally there is 1998-2002 BNSF-UP Powder River Basin Lines. (BNSF Orin, and Black Hills Subs and UP’s Powder River Sub) HO Scale. This is where I grew up. I did not feel right modeling the rest of Wyoming and excluding this corner which I have come to know and love. Yes all those coal cars may get boring after a while, but keeping the trains moving is the challenge on these busy lines. Plus having Devil's Tower in the background is nice. (Yes It really is visible from the tracks, And no, Its not a cop out from Close Encounters)

You would say after that, how I could possibly model any more. But I am not done. There are some trains I have modeled even though they have no bearing on what I am actually modeling. The things I have modeled that fit this criteria are what I call my special interest category. The things in my special interest category, I find have an excessive amount of what I call "cool" factor that ends up superceding all prototypical reasons for modeling it and having it on my model railroad.

The Special Interests Projects are.

Santa Fe Heavy Weight Train made from Athearn Cars and a Mantua 4-6-2
Santa Fe Streamliner Made with Athearn Streamlined cars and old Varney F-7s (Out fitted with Proto Power West Drives)
Amtrak Train of Athearn Streamlined Cars and Athearn F7s
(The above projects were done when I was in Jr. High)

Amtrak's Auto Train. (Full Scale Length Consist)
Amtrak's San Diagan
Amtrak's Empire Builder (Phase II circa 1982)
CSX Tropicana Juice Train. (Again Full 45 car train)
D&RGW Circa 1954 "Scenic Limited" (The Yellow Silver and Black is way cool. Modeled with old 1970s vintage "OK Streamliners" Scale length cars. This is the one special interests that some what fits into my modeling scheme)

If you are finally down to hear, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this. I am always interested in sharing ideas, and techniques. Feel free to drop me an email some time.

Latest News:

My latest news section will be a little epilogue to my biography of sorts to bring you up to date as to where I stand. All of these events have occurred in the last year, and the ramifications of them are still ongoing. As they get settled and begin to fade into history these items will be rewrote in my biography above. Stay tuned for updates.

Recent Event 1:
As school began to start up this semester, one of my friends decided that she was tired of waiting for me to ask her out, so she took the initiative and asked me to be her boyfriend. Her name is Totyawna and is also an avid railfan and model railroader. She is from Vermont and Models the old Rutland Railroad and Vermont Rail Systems. She is going to soon be starting her first permanent layout, which I am assisting her with the design of, and plans to go modular so as to provide for easy expansion in the future and also easily to tie into my layout as I am building to the same construction standards.

Recent Event 2:
I have already planned out the next expansion for my model railroad. It will be a 2X8 maintenance and rebuild facility based very loosely off of the Livingston Rebuild Center in Livingston Montana. (On Montana Rail Link/BNSF trackage) When this module is complete and tied into my model railroad, My trackage will be extended from Lander to halfway to Hudson.

Recent Event 3:
For my 21st birthday, with the money received from family and friends, as well as some money left over from financial aid this semester, I got a start on what may be my ultimate modeling project. The 1968 Great Northern Empire Builder. Being a fan of Big Sky Blue since I was little, and a kindling to model it while I was attending Bozeman, I have been itching to start this beautiful 16 car train. I was shopping around on EBay, looking for ways to spend my birthday money, when I found three old Balboa Brass Passenger Cars for sale in Great Northern's Big Sky Blue Paint scheme. I found two Vista Domes and a Baggage car. Being in Brass, these could be the pinnacle of my model railroad career. Modeling my favorite railroad's flagship train, during its most beautiful livery period.