About Us

I grew up within 3 blocks of the South Wilkes-Barre mine which was serviced by the Jersey Central railroad, and many of our neighbors worked there. You could tell if they were going or coming from work by the color of their hands and face. The four tracks of the Lehigh Valley and CNJ mainlines passed within two blocks and there was nearly a constant procession of trains to hear and watch. My grandfather Davis was a car inspector for the Lehigh Valley at their yard in Wilkes-Barre. I got to ride one of the yard engines which I never forgot, and to ride on the Black Diamond passenger train with him. That started my love for the Valley.  My grandfather Scott, as well as my wife's father Leo Hudock, were coal miners who died from Black Lung.An accident flooded most of the mines in the valley in 1959 devastating the anthracite industry. This was just as the country was switching to natural gas and oil for heating. The railroads serving the area were eventually consolidated into Conrail in 1976 and few traces of the railroads or mines can be found in the area today.

I always enjoyed making models, and working with my hands which I learned from my dad. My room was filled with models of planes, ships, and cars. By the time I reached high school, I had expanded my 4'x8' Lionel layout into an L shaped moveable layout with a 26 ft. branch line that covered most of our attic. Toy Train magazine articles had opened up a different train modeling perspective for me.

After graduating from college I was commissioned in the Navy. We moved to Norfolk, VA in 1970 and have spent most of my military and high school math teaching careers here. Shortly after our daughter, Christina, and son, Sean, were born; we bought them an HO Tyco train set. That got me hooked on HO and back into modeling. Fortunately there was a large HO club layout in Norfolk at that time whih I joined. Learning from them kept me in HO at a time HO engines were notoriously poor runners.

I've been a member of the Tidewater Division of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) since returning to Norfolk in 1992. My first real exposure to the NMRA was at a regional convention in Richmond in 1975, and then at a national convention in Washington in 1983 when I was stationed there. The tours and clinics really impressed me.

Christina, her husband Mincy, and our first little engineer Harper Ann, live in Athens, GA. Sean and our newest little engineer Reese Kennedy, live in Charleston, SC. Harper Ann helped Pop Pop plant rows of soybeans during one sunmmer visit, and both of our grandaughters enjoy running trains when they visit.