Hobby Bio: Briefly

Having been a model railroader since 1965, the only thing I've done longer is breathe. Although I've worked in O, HO, N and Z, my preference is N. That said, I'm currently working in Z, and my attempts to push the envelope in this scale have been quite satisfying. Anyway, given that I currently only have the room for a small shelf layout, my options are somewhat limited.

Occasionally I'm asked if I'm a Master Modeler. Funny, I'm not even a member of the NMRA. I used to be in the 70s, back when a lifetime membership cost only $100! Now it's that much for just two years, and they don't even offer a lifetime membership option any more. It seemed as though the NMRA was more about politics than modeling, so I let my membership lapse after a few years.

Some have urged me to become "MMR certified," but honestly I'm not inclined; the process is so horrendously complex and steeped in bureaucracy and paperwork that it's simply not worth the effort. Besides, I don't have all that it takes to be a true Master Modeler (for example, I have zero interest in operation), and frankly, the status symbol of a title does nothing for me; my specific accomplishments are really only meaningful to me.

Indeed, instead of mellowing, I've become quite contemptuous of the NMRA, especially after an encounter with their legal boys over the use of a particular famous layout name. In my opinion, the NMRA considers themselves to be far more important than they really are; unfortunately, their size affords them a particular level of power that I believe is abused on occasion, and I'll have nothing to do with them as an organization. If I sound like a grumpy old curmudgeon, it's probably because I'm a grumpy old curmudgeon.

Some are surprised to learn that I have not won any awards. But it should not come as a surprise, really, since I've never submitted anything to any contest. Perhaps I will someday build a model board-for-board just for the heck of it, perhaps I won't; my "thing" is creating evocative scenes, not contest-grade models. If the passenger car in my photograph is eight feet too short, I'm not bothered, because I'm not a rivet-counter. That said, I would not build an "impossible bridge" (one that could not support a train if built that way in real life)—I'm keenly sensitive to what's technically feasible. A passenger coach that's too short could have been modified in a shop; but a bridge with no abutments could not remain standing, and this would severely compromise the realism of a scene for me. We all have our idiosyncrasies, right?

I have, however, done a fair bit of writing, and I've managed to make occasional appearances in Model Railroader magazine over the years—my publishing portfolio includes:

• "A world in my lap" October 1975, page 42
• "How to build a waterfall" December 1975, page 81
• "Double-sided foam tape makes tracklaying quick and easy" March 1992, page 110
• "For improved realism: wipe out freight car wobble" November 1999, page 108
• "Enhancing an N scale tower" December 1999, page 106
• "Let's try this again!" Great Model Railroads 2000, page 66
• "Route control for slow-motion turnout motors" November 2000, page 106
• "Stronger uncoupling magnets" June 2004, page 72
• I edited the book Weathering by Tom Mann
• I snapped the cover shot for the Nov-Dec 2010 issue of N Scale magazine, and rendered the track plan for Lee Weldon's "Finding the Sweet Spot"

I would have published a great deal more, but getting things into print can be rather frustrating. Now, through the internet, I can publish anything I want at any time, with no pesky magazine editors to mangle my work—for better or for worse. Granted, I don't make any money this way, but I'm not in it for the money.

For web geeks: this site is all hand-coded—the web authoring equivalent to scratch-building. I develop business web applications for a living, so it comes naturally. And, I take the same pride and care in building websites as I do in modeling.

Want to get in touch? Just click my name at the bottom of any page to find my contact information, as well as a more in-depth bio of Yours Truly.

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