James River Branch: Hobby Bio

Hobby Bio In a Nutshell

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, pushing the Z scale envelope—hard—has proved to be a very satisfying challenge. Anyway, given that I currently only have the room for a small shelf layout, my options are somewhat limited.

While not the most prolific modeler on the planet by any means, I've built several N scale layouts, plus a few more in Z. Over the years I've also managed to make occasional appearances in Model Railroader magazine—my "article 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 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 and a more in-depth bio.