About 100 years ago, I started with a Lionel train set and a circle of track as a child. As my modeling skills improved, I became more focused on scale accuracy in the models. There was a pause during the college years, but then I received a gift of a brass HO scale steam engine model in 1980, and started work on an HO scale layout. After meeting some narrow gauge modelers, my interest changed to the smaller narrow gauge railroads that, at one time, dominated industries such as logging and mining in North America.
I was involved in a hobby-related business for several years and ended up buying it. We manufactured precision wood products for model makers. Disney Imagineering was one of our clients.
Since we moved to Grimsby in 2011, I have had a nice empty basement to play with. I’m now building a medium-sized 30-inch gauge O-scale railroad that is one-quarter inch to the foot. To put that in perspective, a 6-foot figure is 1.5 inches high. That means the locomotives, freight cars and structures need to be quite highly detailed.
As a professional lighting designer, I wanted a sophisticated lighting system. I have a diurnal system that can reproduce almost any time of day, thanks to various light sources and a four-preset dimmer control system.
Non-railroaders often comment, “It must be an awful amount of work.” My response is, “It’s not work if it’s something you enjoy”. This hobby is engrossing since it requires some skills in carpentry, metallurgy, mechanics, electronics, painting, structure building, photography and historical research.
In my experience, there is a frequent link between an enthusiasm for trains and automobiles. My friends Al Collins, Brad Makaric, Jeff Millman, Craig Parry and Keith Stamper all share my lifetime fascination with these interests.
Have an interesting hobby? Tell us about it! It can be related to Porsche, or completely unrelated. Part of what makes our UCR family so interesting is the activities we get up to outside of our passion for Porsche. Send a description and a photo of your hobby and yourself – to editor@pcaucr.org
