"USERPROFILE" from all of us regulars

Kenny S Ericson (EMail: ) from Huddinge Sweden on Sep 20 1998, 22:21

asked: "USERPROFILE" from all of us regulars
John asked for a userprofile from us. OK GOOD idea and here is my entry.
Kenny S Ericson: 53 years young, married and have an 8 year son.
Huddinge Sweden: just 5 minutes walk south of Stockholm city limits.
Job: Senior systems programmer with the Swedish state Ry's
Train interests: almost anything on rails, Ry books, collecting models (today the only model railway in the house is my sons Märklin layout.
Special interests: US logging, tramways/streetcars, promoting NMRA.
Other interests: collecting model cars, Swedish tramway museum, insects, food (including beer and wine).

Steve Margeson (EMail:[email protected]) from Richmond, Virginia USA on Sep 21 1998, 0:33

responded: OK, here's mine:
Age - 51; married; 3 sons, 2 grandchildren, 1 cat
Job: Systems Analyst - Commonwealth (state) of Virginia - Child Support
Enforcement
Train interests: German, Era III-IV. Layout - four 4'x8' tables, arranged in a
square; double mainline. Rolling stock Roco/Fleischmann
Other interests: Stamp collecting (Germany); history, oriental cooking; internet chatting

Jay Vollstedt (EMail:[email protected]) from Boynton Beach, Florida USA on Sep 21 1998, 5:23

responded: Here we go....
Age - 33, Married 7 years, 1 son (Matthias, 3.5 years old),
1 daughter due in October (Kerstin, -1 month old!)
Job: Project Leader (Software Engineer) - Sensormatic Electronics Corp.
Train Interests: German (Bavaria), Epoch IV-V, mainly electrics.
Layout - In progress. N Scale. "L" shaped (3' X 10', plus 2' X 5') model of
Murnau Bahnhof with plans to expand the Murnau-Oberammergau line once
I get a REAL train room!
Other Interests: Basketball, following Iowa Hawkeye sports teams and
good (is there any other kind!?!?) Bavarian Beer! Andechs, in particular!

John Menges (EMail:[email protected]) from Elkhart, Indiana on Sep 21 1998, 7:02

responded: You know, these need to to under a seperate page entitled "Userprofiles", they won't do a lot of good here...

John Menges-23 years old, never been married but hope to someday
Elkhart, Indiana -100 miles east of Chicago, a place I know much better because I'm a native Illinoisan from Union Pacific territory

Job: nothing. A lazy Generation X'er. Hope to be a railroader or talk-show host

Train interests-DB-AG, DRG, SBB, RENFE, Union Pacific, New York Central, Nickel Plate Road, Illinois Central, National of Mexico

Layout-single track branchline, DB-AG north Bavaria, HO scale

Other interests-girls, beer, and submachineguns

Martin Silz (EMail:[email protected]) from Nettetal / Germany on Sep 21 1998, 8:39

responded: Regular visitors might know some details on me, but here is a short "compression":
Martin Silz, 31 years old, living in the small village Baal south of Mönchengladbach in the very Western part of Germany.
Job: systems consultant, have a look at the company's homepage www.zuendel.de (in German), in former times I studied physics.
Railways: Märklinist (DC ! on Märklin tracks), (re)building locos and waggons, mainly epoch 3 with extensions in epoch (1,) 2 and 4
In former times active member of the Modelleisenbahn Club Essen und Umgebung eV, showing their layout.
Layout: One old one at my parents' home.
One single track layout in my living room running from one cupboard to the other, no scenery, more intended for testing purposes.
Just started to build a modular layout according to NEM standards. I am looking for people to share experiences on modules and joining my modules with other people's.

Georg Zimmermann (EMail:[email protected]) from Bielefeld on Sep 21 1998, 10:16

responded: Georg Zimmermann. Age: 30. Not married, no children.
Living in Bielefeld (city of 325.000 people in the northwest of Germany); originally from the Mönchengladbach area (west of Germany).
Profession: Studied lawyer. Scientific assistant at the law faculty of Bielefeld university + civil servant in the lawyers training scheme of Nordrhein-Westfalen state (for anyone who could describe it more precisely, I didn´t know better words to describe what a "Rechtsreferendar" is).
Railway interest: Merely prototypical; I stopped doing model railroading more than a decade ago. Merely interested in european railways. Interested in political questions about traffic problems of any kind. Due to my profession, I´m also a little bit into legal affairs around railway operations. Especially interested in railroad pricing and in aspects of planning traffic and timetables. Member of 2 different societies coping with traffic issues (PRO BAHN and Verkehrsclub Deutschland).
Other interests: Football (=Soccer) (Borussia Mönchengladbach!); member of a voluntary fire fighting unit.

Andy Hayter (EMail:[email protected]) from Mainz on Sep 21 1998, 10:29

responded: Age:47, married and on secondment from the Uk to Germany. Theoretical return to Uk March 99, but I eypect to be here for some time longer. Living in Limburgerhof just South of Ludwigshafen.
Job: Senior Project Manager - Operations (ie. logistics)

Layouts (mine and my wife's) have a look at the separate question on layouts where they are listed. To update: the small layout is now completed and was successfully exhibited in August. I can now return to my main project.

One advantage of living in Germany is that the house has a large and comfortable cellar which allows me to leave my 3mx9m layout errected. This would be even better if it were at the "running" stage.

Main Interests: Railways in General especially those of France (SNCF 1950s and 60s and 90s. and PLM - Paris Lyon Mediterranean c. 1930-1937 - the last few years). Also LNER (UK pre-nationalistion company).

Other Interests: Food and drink and Potholing (Spelunking for you guys in the US) - bit of a conflict there.

Wolfgang Krause (EMail:[email protected]) from Nufringen on Sep 21 1998, 12:21

responded: Its lunch-time in Germany, time for those who use the company's server to surf.

And that's me: 41 years old, married, no children (AFAIK). Living 30 km southwest from Stuttgart near the places where the last Westgerman Railbusses are crawling around. Master degree in physics, working as electronic-engeneer (Software) for a car-manufactorer.

Interests in anything running on rails, mainly prototypical, since the last years of regular Westgerman steam. Special interests in "old stuff" that will vanish soon (Schienenbusse, old railroad facilities as they still can be found in East-Germany) or that have vanished already (traces of abandoned lines).

Not very much interests in live-steam special-trains (exception: if they are very good ones) or museum-trains, because it is hardly the "real stuff" as I have seen it in the seventies here or in the eighties in the former GDR.

Own layout (Roco, H0) planned for a long time, some buildings are finished, some Viessmann-Signals I couldn't resist to buy and the rest will be finished maybe soon maybe after retirement, who knows? Don't rush me.

Other interests cooking, taking photos ( of railroads...), member of a voluntary ambulance brigade (trained as paramedic for the emergency-train for the high-speed-track Stuttgart-Mannheim ).

I am riding to my workingplace by S-Bahn every day (55 min oneway), I can watch the line Stuttgart - Singen from my house, under my office-window there is an industrial-track, .. I never realised how much railroads are involved in my life.

Special offer: If anyone is going to visit the South-West of Germany and needs a guide to the railroads, just drop a mail.

Pierre Birgé (EMail:[email protected]) from Nogent sur Oise, France on Sep 21 1998, 12:41

responded: Age: 42, married, 2 children ages 8 and 5.

I grew up in a multicultural English / French environment which must have been a big influence because it's transferred to the next generation (my wife is English and my children spoke English before they spoke French). Being bilingual is a big asset and when it was time to learn a language in school I chose German. We live in the Picardie area of France, about 50 Km north of Paris.

My training is in logistics and I've spent the last 14 years in container leasing. Prior to that I worked for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme, in the railway division.
The container leasing company I used to work for (Genstar, part of GE) recently combined forces with Sea Containers. The result was that Sea Containers people moved into our offices and the Paris offices of the Sea Containers VSOE Orient Express are now only five metres away from my desk, strange things happen.

My interests: model railways started when I was about five (Hornby Acho BB 16009 which still runs); that led to real railways, which led to travel and photography; student days meant long holidays and with train trips to Scandinavia, Eastern and South Eastern Europe and the near East.
Now much of my spare time is used up by the kids, the garden, and trying to improve the house, consequently the basement HO scale "mini-Europe" is still only in the project stage.
I'm a member of the "Wagons-Lits society" which is a group of people who contribute and read a newsletter on luxury trains, dining and sleeping cars (Wagons-Lits or other).

I first discovered John's website by doing a word search on "Röwa" earlier this year, and came across the Röwa catalogue pages. It's a valuable website and a real asset.

John Bruce (EMail:) from Los Angeles on Sep 21 1998, 14:22

responded: Age 50, married, 1 indoor cat, 1 poodle, 3 outdoor cats. Live near Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. Work for a major US software firm as a traveling systems consultant. Travel extensively over US west of Chicago, try to see rail high spots everywhere.

Grew up in New Jersey and Washington DC, worked summers in Southeast, college in New England, so have much first-hand experience and interest in all regions of US and all prototypes. Large layout is featured in John's layout section; it has results of 30 + years of building and collecting.

First saw European triains in 1968 during "Wanderjahr"; went back in summer og 1971 and spent much tiime chasing steam in Germany, Austria, France, and Italy. Have been back to Europe as tourist twice in 1990s, plan return to Italy in a year or so. Like European model trains, but finding bargains is tough.

Johannes Wittmann (EMail:[email protected]) from Munich, Germany on Sep 21 1998, 15:43

responded: Johannes Wittmann: age 31, married, one daughter (3 years old; train fan, too)
Munich, Germany: capital of Bavaria; Do I have to explain during Oktoberfest time?
Job: Scientific assistant at the Technical University of Munich, department of chemical engineering, working on the field of biotechnology.
Railway interest: rather prototypical, eras I+II, nowadays especially European, non-German steam locos, old German electrics, all types of coaches and wagons and Bavarian railways in general. Member of the DGEG. Collector of era II Reichsbahn H0-models (DC), unfortunately (due to lack of space) no layout.
My railway interest has two origins: 1st: My grandfather worked as a boilermaker in the AW Ingolstadt, where nearly all classes of Bavarian steam locos were maintained. Maybe got the virus by mother's milk, or the obsession is fixed in my genetic code. 2nd: Grew up near the Munich-Nuremberg line via Ingolstadt and had a wonderful look on those fabulous old electrics like E17, E18, E44, E94, which operated the trains there, from my children's room.
Other interests: soccer (active: our department's team, passive: 1860 München), general history, politics, cooking ...
Found John's site on my first day of internet access one and a half years ago, being hooked on it today.

Riccardo Giangualano (EMail:[email protected]) from Roma, Italy on Sep 21 1998, 21:25

responded: Age 35, married, a 3 years old son. Job: insurance employee (I've noticed
that many people here work in the IT, this means that informatic
alphabetization is not too widespread yet).
Train interest: Well, since I switched to N scale my preferred trains were German,
specially steam and early electrics.
I started with Fleischmann then acquired also Roco, Trix and Arnold engines.
I'm not into DRG, I prefer DB so I'm staying within era III-IV;
lately I've got interested in American trains, and I've put together a small collection
of Rivarossi steamers and Lifelike-Kato-Atlas diesels... all these engines are running
on a small yet-to-be-finished layout of ~1mt.x 2mt.
First love was Italian H0, and sometimes I find myself buying a car or two,
even an electric loco lately (an E444 Lima with the famous G motor :), that I
like to detail, bring up-to-date and generally fiddling with... hate to say
that, but there are many things you could do to an H0 engine that you couldn't
to an N one...
Other interests (when I find the time, I'd need 36 hours days):
Computers tech (learned English reading tech.books), stamps collecting,
photographs, animated films (Japanese ones like Miyazaki, also Spielberg latest
and Wallace and Groomit :) and bycicles...
Found John site's a day that I searched something about German Railways ;)

Jens Wulf (EMail:[email protected]) from NJ, USA on Sep 22 1998, 1:59

responded: Age 30, not married. Native Hamburger (ups, German). Live since Oct. 97 in North New Jersey about 10 miles north of Princeton and about 2 miles west of the Amtrak (& NJ-Transit) Northeastcorridor. Job: software engineer for Photon Technology International. (There we go again: IT, Electrical Engineer Software)
Dropped English classes in school as early as possible! The logical result is only partly fixed now!

widespread train interest (with jumping around):
- Swiss, Austrian and German Narrow gauge; was planned before moved to NJ, visited the prototypes in Switzerland. Some engines and cars from Bemo, Liliput(-Dolischo) and Roco
- DB, DR (GDR), DBAG and some SBB/CFF/FFS Epoch IV and V; last layout scrapped before moved to NJ, based on Märklin (3 rail) but mostly Roco and some Brawa, Gützold, Fleischmann, Liliput, Lima, Piko and Sachsenmodelle)
- any kind of engineer/driver confusion devices (a sorry, RR-signals. Ever tried to translate DR HI aspects into NORAC aspects and vice versa?)
- currently added US freight and commuter RR. I had a plan for a 2-rail layout 18' by 12' in shelf format (around the walls with a depth of 1' to 2.5' max) which needs some modification! Mostly Athearn (High speed train: RDC with rubberband transmission which is absoluty quit!) and some Atlas, IHC, Proto2000, Spectrum, Walthers)
- digital train control; with Märklin Motorola since about 10 years; since 5 months with NMRA DCC; plan to move both worlds together!

other interest:
- travelling (mainly Switzerland)
- movies
- checking the latest creation in Triumph, The Brewery in Princeton
- table tennis and badminton
- bycicle
- 19'th and early 20'th century art
- technique and transportion museums

Found 'German Railways' via NMRA (member!) link list and found also a quite active US part which makes up a quite enjoyable mix!

D.K. "Doug" Howard (EMail:[email protected]) from Brookings, Oregon, USA on Sep 22 1998, 2:22

responded: Well, here we go...age56, a widower for four years now. Don't remember when I WASN'T interested in train of all kinds. Given a Marx 0-27 "Commodore Vanderbilt" set for Christmas when I was six. Received a Lionel 6110 0-27 set two years later. Converted to HO in 1957; at various times, tinkered with O, S,and N, but always came back to HO. Became interested in non-American railroads while in the Air Force. Purchased my first non-US item, a Piko DR diesel from the original Amro Ltd, and added to it by corresponding with a modeller in Czechoslovakia. Regrettably, in a moment of stupidity, I traded all of it for some LGB. Current interests in US are SP&S;, BN, BNSF, but my big passion at present is starting work in my living room(!)on a small Czarist-era
Russian railroad, using a pair of "Ovechkas" for power, along with some Konka cars, and later, some of the new Rollhouse brand, as they come out.
Occupation: Retired from the US Air Force in 1980, now work as a telephone operator/receptionist in a local facility. Hope to retire permanently between
July 2000 and December 2002.

Sebastian Fernandez (EMail:[email protected]) from Santiago, Chile on Sep 22 1998, 4:18

responded: Age: 18
Job: I am a student in Saint George's High School in Santiago and this is my last year! I plan to study Mechanic Engineering.

Train interests: DB epochs III-IV, SNCF epoch III-IV, SBB-CFF III- IV. Currently building my layout.

Special interests: Intercity trains of Epoch IV, Steam locos, collecting my father's Fleischmann trains of the 60's.

Other interests: Music (I play the flute), Lego Technic, Bycicle, Golf, reading & cars (especially Citroën-I love the suspension-both in real and in model)

Harry Sminia (EMail:[email protected]) from Rolde, NL on Sep 22 1998, 8:32

responded: I am an assistent professor at the Faculty of Management & Organization, University of Groningen in the Netherlands, age 35, married, one dog. I like railways (model & real life) for as long as I can remember. I have a room full of trains with a layout which is generic for DB era III and IV. Apart from that, I like to travel, take pictures of landscapes with my camera, listen to music in a comfy chair, general DIY, a bit of gardening (I am quite boring, actually). Apart from German railways, I am also fascinated by British railways and US railroads.

Ruud van den Breevaart (EMail:[email protected]) from Spijkenisse, Netherlands on Sep 22 1998, 13:02

responded: Age 33, married, one daughter (4) and one son (2).
I am living in Spijkenisse and working as a computer systems manager for a shipping and forwarding agency in the port of Rotterdam.
I am interested in all sorts of transport, but trains, both prototype and models, have my main interest, particularly NS (Dutch railways), DB and Swiss narrow gauge.
At this moment I am building a small German layout, epoch III-IV. Because I have a lack of space small layouts interest me much more rather than the bigger ones.
The rest of my spare time is spent on studying psychology, reading a good book now and then and my family.

I have found this site last April. It turned out to be a tremendous source of information and has been no. 1 on my favorites list since then.

Jan Frelin (EMail:[email protected]) from Stockholm, Sweden on Sep 22 1998, 18:55

responded: Age: 33 (well, almost 34...) living together with Marie and 7 cats (I wonder if there's a connection between cat's and model railwys??)
Job: Operations researcher for the Swedish Defence Research Establishment, mostly dealing with simulation. Almost got a degree in Computer Engineering...
Railways: Swedish narrow and standard gauge, Epoch I+II mostly. Also interested in British, US and German railways. Keen modeler, with a special interest in building coaches. Quite impressed with the British 'finescale' movement, I regurily read US and British MR mags and sometimes German, too. That's probably typical of people in the smaller countries, I suppose. A member of the Scalefour Society, The Swedish Narrow Gauge Society (Smalspårsfrämjandet) and a local narrow gauge club, MjK Trefoten. Also pushing for the adoption of P87, finescale standards for H0 (ask me about it!)
My interest in railwys was fostered by my father; I'm a second generation MR builder...
Other hobbies: History (I do medieval re-enactment) and war-gaming. Food, beer and WINE!

Frank Forsten (EMail:[email protected]) from Duisburg, GERMANY on Sep 23 1998, 9:30

responded: 35 years old, married, two little girls (3 years / 3 month).
After studiying Physics, I joint the IT business as well and earn my MR budget as project manager for e-commerce projects (EDI/EDIFACT, Internet, Security,...) with Thyssen Informatik in Krefeld.
Born in Cologne, I live in Duisburg, western edge of the Ruhrgebiet. Awful lots of trackage and industry here, which I like to explore in real and to re-create as model. A intermediate layout (see trackplan section) DB era III-IV. Heavy interest in US RRing and MRing since I bought my 1st Model Railroader copy 4 years ago.
Donno how I found that site, but I visit "Germay Railways" and "Dilbert Zone" every morning when I'm at the office (part of my boot procedure ...)

Dave Pryor (EMail:[email protected]) from San Francisco Bay Area, California USA on Sep 23 1998, 17:53

responded: I'm Dave Pryor age 50. I'm a CPA with a practice near San Francisco. I have four grown children, and an adopted niece. I began an interest in model railroading in 1981 when I built two rail Atlas layout for my twin sons. This layout used brass track, and was totally unsatisfactory. I was also disappointed in the quality of the reasonably priced American equipment of the times.

I saw a Marklin display layout that ran flawlessly about a year after the completion of the above layout, and was struck with the reliablity and operability of the rolling stock. I was a little put off by the third rail (I hadn't yet seen K-Track) but took the plunge anyway. I gave the other layout away, and the rest as they say is history....

I'm now into the Marklin digital system, and have been totally happy with Marklin. I must admit, that had I known about European quality two-rail at the time I left the American scene, my e-mail address might be Mr Roco!!

I have an extensive collection of rolling stock(well over a thousand pieces), and had a home layout between 1984-1993. I now belong to a module group of the European Train Enthusiasts. We have a great time. One of my primary motives to be in this group is the chance to run prototypically long trains, which is difficult to do on most of our small home layouts. My areas of interest are primarily German, but I have some Swiss and French rolling stock and engines. I like all eras, and on the modules we run everything, sometimes all mixed up!!

The hobby has been a great source of enjoyment for me in that I count most of my best friendships as being hobby related friendships.

I certainly appreciate the efforts of those who maintain lists such as these.

Yevgeny Kushnir (EMail:[email protected]) from Philadelphia, PA USA on Sep 24 1998, 4:33

responded: Looks like I'm the youngest here:
Age: 17
Occupation: High school student in the middle of college application
Status: Single (what else?)
From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Interests: post-1945 European standard gauge - especially electric locos; have a keen interest in the railroads of the former USSR (CIS) - hope to scratchbuilt one of the electrics one day.
Dreams: Sometime in the future, a tunnel-bridge connecting New York-Lisbon, Portugal is built, with a few stops on the Azores. This allows high-speed electrified passenger service (at about 200 mph it will take about 15 hours) between Europe and the U.S. Freight service is extensive, too, as it is much faster than by ship and more flexible than by airplane. I hope to build this by using either three 6'x4'" or "8'4'" boards. The middle one would have a backdrop in the middle and serve as the Atlantic Ocean. The other two would be Europe and U.S. The layout would be in HO scale and would allow a mixture of U.S. and European equipment. Anybody have an opinion on this??

Christoph Perleth (EMail:[email protected]) from Munich on Sep 24 1998, 12:28

responded: Meanwhile I am a regular visitor so that´s my profil:

40 years old, married, 2 daughters, who are also railway fans calling our car "stinky puff puff". if you like, you can look at a picture of me ;-). We live in a small terraced house in a tiny village about 25 km west of Munich.

I work as a sort of senior researcher or assistent professor at Munich University, Institute of Educational Psychology on a time limited contract. So I have to look for a new job in the near future. I´m doing research in children and young people with special educational needs (mentally retarded on the one side, highly gifted or experts on the other side). Our institute trains future school stuff (teachers, psychologists, councellors), my job is especially the training of future teachers for special schools in psychology and psychological diagnostics. I started my university career doing all computer things and statistics in a big research project (I studied psychology and mathematics), so again some IT! If you understand German you can look at my internet page for some more information.

My interest for railways results from the fact that I travel more and more as much as possible by train. My anger about the DB and German traffic politics somehow increased my interests in railways. Unfortunately, no time for political engagement left at the moment.
I also like museum trains, above all steam trains, especially together with my children. Be ashured: If you ask children what a locomotive is, nearly all tell you something about smoke and steam... and nothing about current collectors! For me, steam locomotives and their transport possibilities mark very much the begin of modern times.

I got a small H0 layout (Trix-Express) when I was 5 years old, which I now reanimated. I stopped model railroad activities when I was a teenager. But before I liked playing with my layout very much and as my daughter wished to have a model railway last christmas I was delighted ;-) . This was the begin of my model raiway renaissance. Stimulated by the sites and ideas of John, Moritz Gretzschel and Greg Procter, I now plan a sort of modular layout with on the floor possibilities that connect model and toy aspects (see track plan book) and allows a shift to a model layout on the long run. I found John´s site searching for information on the BR 98.8 (Bavarian Gtl 4/4). I´m especially intersted in (Bav.) branchline services.

Other spare time activities: Family, reading (including all sorts of detective stories), handicraft (making toys, now also parts for model railroad), all sort of museums, concerts, theater and films (well the latter 3 before the children were born...), playing music (piano, one-man-band and other, amateurish), taking photos, I also dream of some sailing activities.

Lassi Luukkanen (EMail:[email protected]) from Naantali, Finland on Sep 24 1998, 17:51

responded: Interesting reading, I would type my own lines here if I would have time, but instead for anyone interested to know what else I do beside German railways, just look up from:

http://www.dlc.fi/~lassiluu/indexeng.htm

check the page title "Home", if I remembered it right

P.S. My Photo CD is just ready, so the new pictures will come on my site soon!
Including shots made with Robert Brütting in Bavaria

Lassi

Georg Feddern (EMail:[email protected]) from Kiel, Germany on Sep 24 1998, 18:38

responded: Think I'm regular enough, so here's mine:
Age 35 (too soon), married since two years, but convinced to will be muchmuch longer, no children - but 2 indoor cats, that's trouble enough - for me at least.
Living in Kiel in the 'very' northern part of Germany, the 'land between the seas' - and between the wind directions.
I have no layout nor rolling stock, but I'm member of a small model railroad club and our home is 30m across the yard.
My railway interests are mainly historic protoypical, the early Era II until 1933. I'm always searching for literature about this period.
And YES, I earn my money for it as - software developer!

Sith Sastrasinh (EMail:[email protected]) from New Jersey, U.S.A. on Sep 25 1998, 4:13

responded: I am (almost) 50, with one wife (I'm not allowed to add anything here) and one son (9). We live in northern New Jersey, within a commuting distance to New York City. I am a doctor and a biomedical researcher. I have been interested in railways as long as I remember. I became a German Railway fan when I received a Märklin train set from my parents in 1955. I have chosen a Brio and an LGB train set for my son instead. I am most interested in the operation of DB during the late 1950s and in history of German railways up to that time. My other interests are reading (history and detective stories), listening to music and architecture.

Reiner Boltersdorf (EMail:[email protected]) from Cologne, Germany on Sep 25 1998, 8:27

responded: Although I haven't been a major participant in any of the discussion forums you can definetely count me in as a regular:
Age 34, married, 1 son (3), no cats nor dogs.
We have just moved house and are now living some 20 mls north of Cologne and I am working as an MBA for a car manufacturer.
My interests in railroading were kind of reinstated when I got Fleischmann train set presented back in 1994. Must say though that my father had been working for the Deutsche Bundesbahn for more than 43 years, hence I recon that's where it all started. My interests are currently focussed on present day prototype but also on DB history in general.
I currently don't have a layout but continue to collect DC rolling stock, mainly Fleischmann and Roco.

Walid Khier (EMail:[email protected]) from Germany on Sep 25 1998, 12:45

responded: I am a 33 old mechanical engineer, specialised in automotive engineering. Currently, I am a research assistance and Ph.D. student at Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen. The topic of my work is computational investigation of side wind effects on high speed trains. I expect to obtain my degree by the end of the year, what next ? nothing clear yet.

I was born in Cairo (i.e. Egyptian), there I grew up and had my education till the M.Sc. Marital status : single officially and practically, and it seems it is not going to change.

Generally, I am interested in all motorised, wheeled transportation means, with less interests in combat vehicles and motorbicycles. Also, I am fan of every highly detailed miniatur model, especially wooden sail ships, these ones, however, are for deeper pockets than mine.

My interests in trains started as a child, I was always told I learned to say 'train' before I could say 'mother' and 'father'. Much to my delightment was to watch DMUs and regional trains hauled by old american diesels (GM I think) passing by through a nearby station. Visiting my grand parents was always the happiest event because it included a trip by the train. The most fascination was the mechanical control of the signals and switches.

Regarding MRR, I am in the 2 rail DC team. Visitors of this site have certainly noticed this. Although it may appear I am an anti Maerklinest this is not the true. Simply I dropped Maerklin because my interests in Era II which Maerklin does not cover throughly as they do with Era III. From time time I get strong N fever, some other times large scale fever. I am swinging between 0 an 1. Luckely, their prices keep me in the HO lane.

I found this site by internet search under 'German Railway'. Here I learned a lot about prototype and models, especially through AC/DC wars. Therefore, I find them in a way useful discussions (John will not like this I know).

Charles Spencer (EMail:[email protected]) from Ottawa, Canada on Sep 25 1998, 23:04

responded: I'm a nearly 45 year old manager of currency (bank notes) and payments systems at the Bank of Canada, which is Canada's central bank (like the Bank of England, Bundesbank or Schweizerische Nationalbank). And no, I have no free samples. I'm seriously dating a geologist from the Isle of Man who is very supportive of my railway interests and has even offered to be responsible for scenery in my eventual permanent layout, but who forbids me to collect engine numbers! (So the rock cuts at least will be geologically correct.) No children yet, but godson 13 and nephews 7, 6 and 4 provide some excuse to play. Alas my niece shows no interest at all. My great-grandfather was General Superintendent, Eastern Division of the Canadian Pacific Railway at the turn of the century until he drank himself to death; he also had a hand in the CPR's famous spiral tunnels.

I live in an old house in the capital, Ottawa; when I've finished renovating, the basement will become a railway domain which ignores the existence of the Atlantic Ocean.

My first train set was a Tri-ang silver and red transcontinental set, which I still have, in more or less operating order. About a third of my collection is North American, mostly Canadian, but I lived in Germany for a number of years as a child and my first love is European and especially German trains. During fairly frequent trips to Europe I always try to travel by train and rarely come home without having raided the local model shops.

The appeal is more aesthetic than technological; I'm no expert on signalling, procedures etc. but I know what I like - elegance, detail, operating quality. My general--but not hard and fast--rule is that I have to have ridden on a train or at least seen it in order to buy it; of course this gives me latitude to model the whole of Western and Central Europe as far back as Era 3! However, I get the greatest charge out of mountain mainlines and highspeed trains. This leads me to a modest concentration on Swiss patterns (SBB&BLS;) and south-western Germany (DR, DB, DBAG) on the one hand, and TGV/HST (DBAG, SNCF, AVE, BR, JRR) on the other. Doesn't sound very focussed, does it? But who cares.

By the time I realized there was a choice, I was already embedded in DC HO (and now with my aging eyes I couldn't see N-gauge anyway). My last two test layouts have operated on block systems; most of my recent European acquisitions have been digital-ready ROCO and some time I will take the plunge into DCC. Track so far has been Atlas code 100 (cheap and flexible) and Peco points (reliable).

When not thinking trains, I follow Formula 1 motor racing, perform early choral music, watch British drama on TV, ski or race our group-owned 30-foot sailboat.

Nick Lawford (EMail:[email protected]) from Luton UK / Dublin IE on Sep 28 1998, 10:18

responded: Interested in modern traction, diesel and electric, but not steam other than the engineering aspect. No interest in modelling other than collecting the odd one where have big interest in the real thing.
Current European rail interests - all things ZSR, Slovakia, CD, Czech, CKD, Skoda, CSD etc especially 749/751/752, 775/776, 781; all CCCP built M62 type like DR 120, CD/ZSR 781, MAV M62, PKP ST44 etc; also rate Norway highly, DBAG classes 215/216/218 etc; DBAG 120 150 151 155; also any UK built export type.
Favourite all time diesel loco BR class 35 "Hymek" with the Maybach MD870 engine by far the best noise there is. Possibly favourite all time electric loco is DB 120 having travelled with all 60 production locos and four of the five prototypes.
Other UK rail interests winding down due to the fragmentisation and mass sprinterisation of the former BR. Past interests were BR classes 25 33 50 and 81-85. Main present interest anything third rail on the Southern Electric.
Maintain Southern Electric Group web site at
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/southernelectric.
Also building own web site based on some of the things above but it is not ready yet.
39, working for large German multi-national electrical/electronics concern as a telecomms system analyst. Currently based in Dublin IE and with girlfriend in Brussels do much shuttling UK IE BE. Previously based in Sao Paulo Brasil, with other periods in Mexico DF Mexico, Brussels Belgium, and Muenchen Germany.
Other interests civil airliners [airbuses rule !], F1 races [McLaren rules !!] and do NOT support "die wunderkid".

rogier donker (EMail:[email protected]) from Fairbanks,IN. USA on May 1 2000, 19:11

responded: Yo!John "et.al" this is the best idea you've had yet! It is very nice to be able to learn something about others this way! Don't know whether I qualify as a "regular",but here's my two cent biography:
I'm a 58 year young artist/potter/cabinetmaker. Came to the US (by myself)when I was 18, with three suitcases and a fifty dollar bill. Worked my way through college (Indiana University) and became a "famous" artist. Met my wife Ellen at IU (she's a goldsmith) and we have one son,Elias.He's twenty and a NationalMerit Scholar, still in college. Twenty years ago, Ellen and I left the "ratrace" and moved from Indianpolis to the "boonies" in southwestern Indiana. Right on the banks of the Wabash River in a little community called Riverview. We own most of it and the locals refer to me as the mayor,hah!
My interest in RR started when Elias was little,built him a small lay out,he lost interest but Dad was bitten by the RR bug.....:-) So I have this extra building with a nice trainroom, 12x28ft,where I run all kinds of rolling stock. No particular theme or road,just fun! My latest project was to fully illuminate
Mehano's "Thaly" and install passengers in it. Nifty,that eight foot long train!
I really enjoy this page John,found it quite accidently about a year ago,but I have been "hooked" ever since and check it at least once a day! :-)

Nigel Nichols (EMail:[email protected]) from New Zealand on May 2 2000, 7:18

responded: I'm 35, married(second time) with two daughters from first marriage.
I work for the milk industry as a scheduler for setting up the runs for the Milk Tankers to collect the milk from the farms.

I prefer World Mix music like Deep Forest, Enigma etc

I also manufacture auto racing steering wheels and pedal controls for PC racing simulators and sell them on the net. So busy with that I don't have time to start a new layout. But I've been doing some planning.

Model railways of Germany and planning layout based on Lindern north of Aachen

Other interests are Nissan Skylines. Own a 1990 R32 GTS 5 speed manual version but would really like a R32 GTR twin turbo version. Currently $30,000 NZ so out of reach.

Model Railways web site
http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/lakewood/dbrail.htm

Race Control web Site
http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/lakewood/Redline2.htm

Take Care
Nigel Nichols

Tibor Weidner (EMail:[email protected]ilfans.org) from Aachen, Germany on May 9 2000, 10:58

responded: I'm 29 (30 is waiting...) and have been "playing with trains" since the age of ten. Me and my younger brother got the old Märklin stuff from my Dad and some new material. As there were no trains near our house and we did not use trains every day the interest was only in models. I have been interested in prototype about 10 years, so I have not that knowledge like others but I'm using the internet to get more information. At that time I changed from Märklin to DC (I could not find those little things in the middle of the rails :-) (' and what about those big things between the cars!? ' ;-), but not yet to DCC.

After school and military service I choose to study civil engineering in Aachen (west of Cologne) and specialised on the traffic sector (street, railway and city planning). After my studies I was offered a job at the university of Aachen to do a research on train delays. This is for 3 to 5 years and I hope that I will finish with "Doktor-Ingenieur" (Dr.-Ing.). I'm married and we have one little daughter (13 months).

In prototype and model I'm interested especially in goods wagons/freight cars, their loads and their operation. I haven't enough room and no special idea for a layout yet (perhaps Westerwald or Lindern-Heinsberg), so I collect things in a bookshelf. My interest is mainly era III in the early to mid sixties.

Best wishes
Tibor

Brendan Kelly (EMail:[email protected]) from Wellington, New Zealand on May 11 2000, 8:32

responded: For the record.

I am 39 years old. Married 1 year, child free by choice. 2 spoiled cats, the elder of whom is 16.5 years old. Have just bought a house bout 10 kms from central Wellington. It overlooks the North Island Main Line, and I travel to work by train

Career wise. I have been a government employee for about 5 years, currently leading a project on IT security (sorry another IT person). Previous careers include accountant and farmer.

Modelling interest DB in 1972, modelling the Bregtalbahn in the Black Forest, as a DB branch line as if it was built to the original 1864 proposal. It runs parallel to the Swartzwaldbahn, but slightly to the south. Lots of research, and quite a bit of imagineering.

Very happy marklin modeller for about 15 years. Prior to that I was modelling Union Pacific. I still have a keen interest in UP, SP, D&RGW; and B&O.;

favorite locos, BR 50 KAB. Now you see why I am a happy Marklin modeller.

Other interests. I own a 1986 Harley Davidson Softtail Custom and enjoy almost anything to do with motorcycles. Music, wide range, Country (not country and Western) but modern country. Anyone out there know about Greg Brown, modern Celtic, Jazz (Holly Cole, Oscar Petersen, and Art pepper real favorites) Classical (Beethoven piano is my favorite).

I like curry and doner kebabs and I am curently finishing a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Economic History, with minors in political philosophy and Greek classics

Tahts about it

Cheers

Brendan

Brendan Kelly (EMail:[email protected]) from Wellington, New Zealand on May 11 2000, 22:46

responded: I forgot the beer

favorite beer - James Boag's Premium Lager from Tasmania. Sorry northern hemisphere folk. Quite enjoy a Stella Artois or Heineken as well.

B

Greg Mashiah (EMail:[email protected]) from Brunswick Heads, NSW, Australia on May 13 2000, 5:28

responded: An advantage of the newer style of discussion forum is that you find some old threads. I guess I ask enough questions to be called a regular. For the record, I'm 29, single (but probably not forever!) and have been interested in trains as long as I can remember. I am a civil/environmental engineer working mainly in natural resource environmental mamangement and (thankfully) have nothing to do with IT. My only work connection with railways is the the Murwillumbah branch line runs past the office, so I can see the Northern Rivers Railroad 421 classes (a GM locomotive with a classic "F" nose profile) from work!
I am interested in Australian and German railways. My interest in Australian railways is historical, and I have helped edit several railway history books for the ARHS. My interest in German railways started when I was 9 and my uncle bought an N scale BR38 while visiting Germany. No layout as yet, but have acquired a collection of German N scale locomotives and rolling stock for use when that day arrives. With more Australia "N" now available, I may have to build two layouts...

Klaas Zondervan (EMail:[email protected]) from Middelburg, Netherlands on May 13 2000, 19:05

responded: Here's my contribution to the "userprofile"
Age:53, married, 4 children, 1 granddaughter, 1 cat, 1 dog (animals belong to my wife). Started my career in modelrailways at age 11 with a Triang trainset. Never quit modelling since then. Always stuck to H0 scale, DC system. Specialties: building in P-87, selfbuilding of turnouts (because most manufacturers seem not to know what a real turnout looks like).
Other hobbies: photography, electronics (both related to railways of course).
Member of the "Modelspoorvereniging Zeeland". For our modular clublayout I designed an electronic block protection system. Also write articles for "Rail Magazine".
To earn a living I work for the local utility company as an electrical engineer in metering(electricity, gas and water).

Valentino Bozinovski (EMail:[email protected]) from Gostivar, Makedonija on May 14 2000, 4:52

responded: Hi

I am 31 (32 on 30th of october), maried 6.5 years, no kids. I work as a computer programmer (bussines applications in "Clipper" mostly ).

My late grandfather worked on Yougoslav Railways so I was in contact with railways very early. The house where I live is near an industrial spur and the railway station is 200-300 m from my house. As a child I always liked to play with trains. In october 1977 I saw an article in newspaper on how to build a layout. Then my parents buyed me my first "Mehano" train the same year, an Santa Fe GP-18 (nice H0 scale model) and two europeanlike passenger cars (vee...eery toylike, 18 cm long). 15 years ago i have abandoned the hobby. In 1997 I saw some layouts on Internet and was re-beaten by the MRR bug.

My interests are former Eastern Europeean railways i.e. CSD, MAV, BDZ especially DR, SNCF, in era III - IV , 1968 - 1978. I don't like models of modern trains such as TGV or ICE, although I admire the prototypes.

In the early years I have built several small 2x1m layouts, with paper mountains and cardboard structures. I would like to build a "real layout" possibly on DR theme.

Greetings
TINO

Mario Esteves (EMail:[email protected]) from Porto - Portugal on May 26 2000, 10:59

responded: Nice idea ! So here it goes my profile :

I'm 33, have a University degree on Law and I was intended to be a Lawyer, But life does so many turns that I become an happy Bank employed in the most large Bank group in Portugal.(I'm the technical consultor and advisor of the General Director, so my jod deals with numbers, not with law ;-)
I'm married with Luisa (from 7 months now) who kindly tolerates my hoobie, no kids, no cats and no dogs (yet..)
We leave in Maia, near Oporto at North and have a room for my train Layout (5.70m X 3.30 m)in the basement.
I become stucked with model trains in 1990 when I saw an N layout in a Hobbie shop in Oporto. From now on, I started collecting N scale DRG models, until the day I found Model Railroad magazine. (Man.., this magazine does real damage in anyone budget). From that day, I start collecting american HO models (only Santa Fe in 70's).Then I realize the potential of HO detailing, bought some HO roco steam engines (epoche III only)and I'm in the very bad phase of indecision about German HO, American HO and what to do with tons of beautifull N DRG rolling Stock that in my layout (to be..) room who would make a nice empire.
Any help ? May be I should pay a visit to the nearest shrink...

My other interest are :
Painting oil pictures ( I have a brand new house to fill with pictures)
Painting Verlinden figures
Make photography (I love my Nikon F70 and what we can do with Cokin filters)
Travel (mostly USA, but I promissed myself that this year I'll go to Bavaria)
Cinema

The terrible mistake of my life : Never learned german...

Gustavo Villa (EMail:[email protected]) from Viña del Mar, Chile on May 26 2000, 20:07

responded: Age:27, this is my last year of Bussines Administration at college.
single, maybe the next year I will get married with Sharon, my girlfrind.
I was born in Argentina,then I moved to Chile 12 years ago.
My train history: I started with Marklin 5 years ago (I was a member of the UK Marklin club), two years ago I`m changed from Marklin to DC. Now I`m planing my future DCC layout.
Model theme: Swiss and German border H0 to Swiss narrow gauge (RHB).Era II and III.
I also have a Modern era N scale American small Layout (Union Pacific).
Other hobbies: F1 and general Car racings (RENAULT and CITROEN fan), Mountain biking, Hi fi, computers, Travels.
Member of the "V Region Train Restoration Group".
Now I`m planing to learn German but it`s very, very dificult.
Greetings.

Ali Koriche (EMail:[email protected]) from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia on May 26 2000, 22:06

responded: French, Born in Paris 54 years ago. Married three times, divorced the same. About five children, the first one Frederic being my pride: He's got a PHD in Artificial Intelligence and was a member of the team who designed Deep Blue, the Silicone monster who beat Kasparov.

Educated as a Mechanical Engineer, I left France the day I could carry a suitcase. Visited 51 countries, worked in 35 to-date... Spent the best part of my working life on oil drilling rigs and production platforms until I became a senior Project Manager for subsea production systems. This took me to Asia in 1991 and I have now settled down (?). I live in Surabaya, 30 minutes flight from Bali, tough life.. I partly own a small company, specialized in turnkey contracts in many different fields, from golf courses to industries and recently forestry.

My interests are mainly DRG 1924-1937 and my dream layout, the station of Probstzella, summer 1937, started 20 years ago and is still in the design phase... I never stayed long enough in one place to have the time to build it. My previous layouts were basically for testing purposes, both in DC and AC digital.

My other interests are the Opera and my latest (AFAIK) child: Arabella-Thallula (Arabella from the Richard Strauss Opera and Thallula, which means mountain-running-water in old Javanese), she is only 22 months old and speaks Indonesian better than me.

Living 13,000 kilometers away from Thueringia, my rare trips to Europe usually take the form of a pilgrimage, so I praise John probably more than the average regular as his site brings me a unique opportunity to feel like my railway friends are just next door.

Cheers,
Ali.

Rupert Langham (EMail:[email protected]) from London, UK on May 26 2000, 22:42

responded: Date of Birth: 2.8.63
Place of birth: Belfast
Current place of residence: London
Married: 27.5.1989 to Karen
Children: Ben born 24.12.90, Jack born 13.10.93 and number 3 due 8.10.2000
BTW on 6.1.87 I broke my neck in a diving accident in Australia, or to be exact I am a C6 tetraplegic or quadraplegic. This means I broke the sixth vertebrae down starting from the base of my skull. Actually I broke the fifth vertebrae but that's just a technicality.
Work: Head of IT for a medium sized UK charity.
Interests: Railways DB 50's and 60's (No idea why), Tottenham Hotspurs, History and Current affairs.
Model railways, dream of a N empire controlled by DCC. At the moment this means buying stock occasionally but still no layout :-(

Rupert

Andrew Mattock (EMail:[email protected]) from Prague, Czech Republic on May 27 2000, 13:14

responded: OK Here goes

41 years old & single, which is just as well because my job (Senior consultant with IT consultancy Mason Communications, Manchester) means I don't settle anywhere for long... currently in Prague on secondment but the observant among you will have noticed I've also been in the UK in Edinburgh, Horsham & Newbury over the last 12 months!

Originally from South Yorkshire & grew up thinking that all railways had wires above them as the LNER EM1s and EM2s were about a mile away from my parents' home at Wath-On-Dearne..

Railway interests: Started off like most people in the UK with Tri-ang/Hornby but sold my collection of 26 locos at 14 and bought two Fleischmann models second hand with the proceeds and have stayed with German HO ever since. Was quite interested in the LNER (Grandfather was an engine driver there) especially the Garratt, which my grandfather used to drive, the electrics and the "C*ck 'O' the North"... German railways; mainly models (I collect all eras, mainly Roco & Liliput, some Fleischmann, Trix, other stuff) I have a particular fascination for th 1'Es.. especially the 50's... also have a small collection of other European stuff & am currently tracking down Czech prototypes... including 555.108, which was one of the BR50's left here after the war. Also enjoy photography, and I visit the Rhein Valley regularly to photograph the railways. Member of Crawley Model Railay society for many years (one of the best in the UK in my opinion; (http://www.tri-us.demon.co.uk/). Mainly a collector but also interested in layout design & construction; expertise in track laying, signalling, electronics & DCC, and have also built a couple of Weinert kits (No surprises that one is the Crosti 50-40!

Stefan Unholz (EMail:[email protected]) from Winterthur, Switzerland on May 27 2000, 14:00

responded: Age: 47
Birthplace: London/England
Place of residence: Winterthur (birthplace of many SBB locos)
Married: yes
Children: definitely none
Cats: officially only one, but a few more also eat and sleep with us
Work: lawyer (sorry, too late to change that now ;-))
MRR interests: H0 gauge following Swiss prototypes, 3-rail AC
Infected with the MRR virus since: ca. 1955, when my father bought me a Marklin RET 800 (Re 4/4 I)
Other interests: trolleybuses, photography, listening to music, etc.
Computer: Mac, what else? (no flames, please...)
Homepage: http://homepage.swissonline.ch/unholz

Tim Hale (EMail:[email protected]) from Dorset, UK on May 27 2000, 18:25

responded: In at the deep end.

48 years and singlish. Current preocupation with railways started in the pushchair and has continued ever since. The interest in German HO should be blamed on a certain Roy Wood of Roy Wood Models, Wimborne (Does anybody remember him?)

I have built a couple of EpochI layouts which appeared in Continental Modeller and was very active in the mid-80's within the German Railway Society leaving to found and run the AlteZeitGruppe in 1992. This small internet-based group looks after the interests of steam era modellers.

Currently building a different sort of layout based on DB in the early 50's. I retain close contact with specialist finescale groups and with the new layout, I hope to demonstrate the benefits of finer standards can bring to the average modeller. In the short term future, it is hoped to revitalise the name of the AlteZeitGruppe.

Alan Crance (EMail:[email protected]) from Calgary, Can. on May 27 2000, 23:01

responded: I'm now a regular too, so here goes. I'm a retired tech and service manager for a business machine company. Married to Beatrice, have one son, Colin, who lives in Ottawa. No cats, but have a cross bred beagle,Taffy.My father was a locomotive engineer for the C.N. in Winnipeg, so I have been involved with trains all my life. I used to model C.N., but got hooked on European when the local hobby shop manager offered me seven Roco DB red and beige passenger cars for the princely sum of nine dollars each. I had never seen Roco euuipment before and was very impressed. Like Topsy, it just grew from there. I needed to know a little bit about what I was modelling. so I subscribed to Eisenbahn Magazin. I couldn't read it, so I took a nightschool course in German. It is funny where this hobby will lead a person. The magazine comes out once a month and it takes me three months to read one, so I'll be up to the 1985 issues soon. My layout is era 4 DB, loosely based on the Rhine-Mosel area. It is app. 400 sq. ft. and has about 150 ft. of double track main line. Scenery is well along. I have mostly Roco, some Fleischmann and Klein equipment. Control is by Selectrix, and I have a home designed diode matrix route control through the main station area. Switch machines are Tortoise. I am very pleased to have found this web site, and to consider myself one of the gang. Alan

Emil Brad (EMail:[email protected]) from Toronto, Canada on May 28 2000, 5:26

responded: Canadian born in Romania ( yes in Transilvania .....Dracula County ).
In Canada from 1992 after a 2 years stay in Germany in Harz /Bad lauterberg ( still DampfLoks there ).
45 Years old , married , 2 kids. Alex 19 years old and going to college this year - Tourism & Travel and Bianca 17 years old , due to university in 2 years -International Law .
Field Service Engineer with MicroAge/Waterloo for Toronto area, to Canada Trust, London Life, Mutual/Clarica, Cooperators and Economical. ( WIN NT )
One cat, Mister Rusty ( english ginger ) and the only fan of the hobby in the family. His preferences: Rheingold set with a BR 18 lok , which seems to interst him a lot.
Started the hobby when I was 10 years old with Piko .
My interests are mainly DRG era 2 in HO. Rolling stock from Roco, Fleischmann, Liliput.
Going digital from the last 3 weeks with a Lenz digital system 2, "an train" to install digital decoders in my loks. Just finished to install a Lenz FX 104 decoder in a BR17/Roco and a Lenz FX 131 in a Liliput BR 18.
Currently planning a layout with the main station of Baden -Baden around 1925/1935
Emil

Kenny S Ericson (EMail:[email protected]) from Huddinge Sweden on May 28 2000, 23:23

responded: Hello you all!
I had no idea that when I started this "discussion" that it would become much used. I think its a privilage to "get to know you" this way. Since this thread might live longer I have to update a few things from my first entry.
Not longer so young:
Borne 1945 july 7
Still married but the son (borne 1990 july 26) has become an auto fan. He can identiyfy most things running on rubber wheels (including a few odd SETRA busses).
Still no layout (exept small Märklin built for Patrik) but I'm planning for a layout in the basement.
Still active in 1:1 scale at the Malmköping tramway museum.

Geoff Money (EMail:[email protected]) from Winnipeg on May 29 2000, 12:20

responded: I was born in Montreal in 1939 so this probably puts me in the "old buzzard " category. My parents came from England and I had relatives in Bosham, Sussex. Most of my travel on British trains was on the third rail Southern region in the late 1960s. I am ex- air force and I was based in Lahr, Germany. I have had many sad efforts in the hobby before I got my act together but I had German N before I went into HO. I have had five layout articles published and I hope to see more realism on my side of The Pond. I am single and my snoring is not too bad but I get headaches.

Ralf Kramosch (EMail:[email protected]) from Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 29 2000, 18:28

responded: I was born in Montreal in '63, which makes me just old enough to remember when the dollar was US$1.25 and DM 5.00. I got my start by way of a Triang Hornby OO set, which is why I like the alco RS-3. This train set was expanded over the years to include HO scale equipment which gradually pushed out the OO stuff, which I still have. Having parents of German origin, there was always a Maerklin catalog around the house, and friends had Maerklin train sets. I was always familiar with the look of European equipment, and have probably ridden on more European trains than Canadian ones, if you don't count the commuter train.

I have a defacto spouse, no kids, and am a wage slave programmer for a computer telephony company, which cuts into my model railroading.

I have two layouts in two scales in three pieces. The two HO switching layouts will eventually be joined. The first part is almost twenty years old and has handlaid track. The second is a portable station/yard scene, designed to use up some old track and equipment and just have fun. They are based on nothing in particular but lean towards CN in Quebec in 1964.

A couple of years ago I started in Gauge 1, German prototype, and discovered this great web site. The layout is set in northern Germany around 1954.

Steve Magee (EMail:[email protected]) from Newcastle, NSW, Australia on Jun 9 2000, 15:58

responded: And my 2 zloty worth... :)

53 years old, married, 3 children - 1 girl 29, 2 boys 27 and 21, none of them remotely interested in trains. (I am a failure!). Retired due to ill health, previously worked for a large number of years for our Social Service organisation, now called Centrelink.

Ended up in US HO scale after modelling (?) damn near everything else. Layout is 24' x 14' (too late at night to convert that to metrics) in a garden shed - thank you, Australian climate - based on SP prototype in the 1970's. DCC (Lenz) with 3-aspect interlock signalling (local group of friends design). Latest cataclysm to hit layout was Bachmann's 2-8-0 which is forcing me to consider a time shift (Dr Who, where are you) not only back to 30's era and steam, but a change in prototype to a road I have long held a sneaking interest in - PRR. Have purchased Bachmann, Bowser and Sunset PRR loco's to see - but I am also designing and building a layout based on the C&O; for a friend, and I have seen double-heading Fujiyama Alleghenies equipped with Soundtraxx decoders and 40 to 50 hoppers. It's so blasted hard!!!

Other interest are our Whippet (dog), music esp opera, home theatre, the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team and anything to do with motoring, Holdens in particular. I drive a 1999 Holden Commodore VT Series 2 S-pack with the supercharged engine. I suffer uncontrollable anguish if a Ford wins a round of the V8 Supercars series!

Horst Nowy (EMail:[email protected]) from Alliance, Nebraska on Jun 10 2000, 0:53

responded: I'm 48 years old, 1 wife, 1 cat.

Electrical engineer, testing and commissioning of electrical rail vehicles of all kinds since 24 years for Siemens, Germany. Since 18 years doing this in foreign countries, favorites are South Africa and USA. "Lived" for several years on diesel-electric locomotives F69PHAC, SD60MAC and SD70MAC. Since 6 years maintaining the 3-phase-AC equipment of nearly 800 SD70MAC's "at the end of the world" in Alliance, Nebraska.
I'm one of the lucky guys whose job and hobby are identical. I don't know if I'm working all the time or if I never work and am just enjoying my hobby all the time but still get paid for it. My other hobbies are video taping, photographing, travelling, electronics and computers (all railroad related, of cause). Would like to do model railroading, but can't really do it since I have to move often. Just collecting models (all gauges, mostly H0) and waiting for retirement to fulfill my model railroading dreams. Presently experimenting with H0 outdoor layout and DCC.

Petr Barchanek (EMail:[email protected]) from Prague, CZ on Jun 12 2000, 13:44

responded: Age 21, single
Student of traffic engeneering in Prague, hope to work in a technical museum.
Hobbyes: CSD, era II + III, repairing and driving engines, steam traffic.
Layout: TT, preparig to build a larger one, strictly CSD in III. era.
Other hobbies: Horse ridding, flying, airplane models, techincal museums.

Clinton Ross (EMail:[email protected]) from Boston, US on Jun 13 2000, 15:09

responded: Ex-motorcycle racer, ex-acolyte, ex-psychologist, ex-skydiver, professor emeritus, ex-husband, ex-city planner, ex-commercial real estate developer, ex-minister, ex-budding-author.

Now a short-attention-span watcher of the passing parade and rapt enthusiast of red-and-black Epoch III DR steam engines, round-roofed two-axle vans and kesselwagen mit bremserhausen with grand delusions of maintaining a three-road empire within a living basement that has declared otherwise.

Lionel HO TT N LGB Gauge 3 HO
Toddler youth teen adult father mid-life free.

Delighted to know you one and all!

Rogier Donker (EMail:wordlrailfans.org) from US on Jun 15 2000, 3:12

responded: Yo! Clinton! YOU'RE NUTS! :-) But I love you baby!Are we perchance a Lord Buckley fan too?
HRR
Rogier!

Andrew van Steenis (EMail:[email protected]) from The Hague, UK on Jun 16 2000, 11:45

responded: 42 years old, married, aircraft security team-leader Schiphol Airport.
Railway interests:
Modern BR OO gauge
CSX/Chessie System/Familiy Lines HO gauge
Railway photography NS/DB/SNCB/BR and anywhere I might be!
At the moment I am detailing a modular layout of a small BR diesel depot named "Lowlands".
When this is to my satifaction I plan to build something for my growing collection of US HO collection.

Other interests:
Golf
Flying for a virtual airline
Playstation games
Reading

avs

Bernhard Slaap (EMail:[email protected]) from Groningen, NL on Jun 16 2000, 14:32

responded: Well, I have not contributed much here, but I have been an avid reader for about a year... Hope this is enough to qualify...

I am 36 years old, happily married and my son Daan, 10 months old, is a Marklin fan already! I have a tiny showcase in our living room and he always waves to the locos when he sees them...
When I am not working for the University of Groningen, Dept of Psychiatry as a researcher I try to find some time for my hobby. As I have no permanent layout (house too small) this means designing trackplans (for in the next house), reading about German steamers and diesel locomotives, dreaming about next aquisitions and occasionally playing with my trains on an oval in the livingroom, preferably when it is raining...
I like German Era III and IV stuff and have only steamers and diesel locos. Maybe I will go digital, but I am still in doubt...

Greg.Procter (EMail:[email protected]) from Christchurch, NZ on Jun 21 2000, 0:59

responded: I'm 50 years old, married for 29 years, two children, dog and two cats.
Disabled since 1976. Ex production planner. Traditional paid employment
and I parted coompany in 1985/6.
Currently I do chronic pain counselling, computer upgrades, model repairs etc.

Modelling is DRG/Wuerttemberg of 1922-32 with a small layout
under construction since 19mumble mumble and an industrial module
which began about 20 years ago and gets rebuilt every few years.

I also collect older HO, especially Trix Express.
I build some of my own models but some of the latest products
are going beyond what I can do.

Greg.P.

Ali Koriche (EMail:[email protected]) from Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug 28 2000, 2:45

responded: Hi folks,
This may not be the place for this type of message, but I found it easier than trying to send everyone an e-mail.
I moved from Surabaya to Jakarta and my new address is:
Ali Koriche
Apartment 301
Apartemen [Indonesian spelling] Kuningan
Jalan Setiabudi Utara
Jakarta Selatan 12920 Indonesia
Tel. +62-(0)21-526 0260
+62-(0)21-522 8510 / 11
Fax +62-(0)21-526 0285
Mobile +62(0)816 1119292
e-mail [email protected]bs88.com

Happy railway modelling to all
Cheers,
Ali

Lutz Müller (EMail:[email protected]) from LA, CA, USA on Aug 28 2000, 5:34

responded: Alright, then here I go:

36 years, in a relationship for 9 years now, 2 cats.
Got the bug from my brother who had a Maerklin Layout, though
I only remember seeing it on old black and white pictures.
Didn't stop me from playing with this train stuff and getting
yelled at.
Had to make the tough decision wether I wanted HO, N or Z
scale when I was, I think, 12. Went for N scale (Fleischmann
since Arnold didn't have the detachable turnout motors yet).
Fast forward through various unfinished layouts.
Stopped with the hobby after I started studying and through
my first job in Paris. Picked it up again when I moved to
New York City, into an equally small 1 bedroom.
Started building a layout which took up half the bedroom,
L-shaped, 8feet x 4feet (tells you something about the size of
the bedroom) cleverly put it on caster wheels, so I could
fold up the bed, remove all the boxes underneath the train
set and roll it out to access it from all sides.
Discovered the beauty of the internet and that anything
I order over the internet in Germany is a) already cheaper
than in a store b) even cheaper since they deduct 16% VAT
c) a dollar is almost 2 DM.
Train stuff buying frenzy ensued.
I am interested in and collect N-scale Ep.III/IV MOW vehicles.
Also try to get my hands on other countries MOW, one day
I'll have the time to reletter them with DB markings....

Moved to LA, more space, no need to put a layout on caster
wheels.
Started building a layout in U-shape, 2feet width of each
leg, 14feet long, 8 feet the connecting leg.
Abandoned easy-to-use-but-doesn't-look-very-good Fleischmann
track for Peco looks-great-but-more-work Code 55.
Took me 9 months to have a train run around in circles.
Unhealthy long work weeks.
Oh yeah, like almost everybody else here I am an IT person,
except I made my living with making pretty pictures for
commercials and movies.
Thank you for your attention, you can wake up now ;-)
Lutz

Peter Alte (EMail:[email protected]) from Lehel on Aug 28 2000, 9:26

responded: Ali,
Your email address is not accepting mail.

Roger Marsh (EMail:[email protected]) from Brisbane, Australia on Nov 5 2000, 4:43 GMT

responded: Since I have been asking so many questions I thought I ought to throw in my two bobs worth on this profile as well. I am 30, married (6 years), with a daughter (2 years) and a son (2 and 1/2 weeks). By profession I am a Pastor, having earned to customary array of academics for that field. I am also interested in Military history, aeroplanes, and poetry. My main past-time in modelling apart from trains is scratch-building 19th century warships. My main form of exercise is boxing, which I have been doing for 18-years now.

I became interested in railways at the instigation of my wife, after expressing frustration at the limited scope of static modelling. I now have wuite broad railway interests, and apart from the railways of my own country, I am also interested in those of Britain and Germany. I plan to build another British layout before launching into the world of modelling the DB in epoch III. I was drawn to German railways by the excellence of the models, making the urge to super-detail less. After scratch-building warships, gaining additional sources for insane detailing loses its appeal. That said, one of my friends calls me the Fine Scale Freak!!

I have enjoyed the interaction on this site very much, and would like to meet you all some day.

Rupert Langham (EMail:[email protected]) from London, UK on Nov 5 2000, 10:01 GMT

responded: Userprofile update:

In my orginal submission I wrote
Children: Ben born 24.12.90, Jack born 13.10.93 and number 3 due 8.10.2000

should now read

Children: Ben born 24.12.90, Jack born 13.10.93 and Freja born 21.10.2000

(Freja weighed 9lb 11oz/4.390kg)

Rupert

Steve Magee (EMail:[email protected]) from Newcastle, Australia on Nov 5 2000, 10:39 GMT

responded: Rupert! Congratulations!! Can you send fine Dutch or Cuban cigars to the visitors to World Railfans yet? :)

Welcome to the world of trains Freja - has Dad bought you your first train yet?

Steve

Kurt Möller (EMail:) from Stockholm on Nov 5 2000, 11:11 GMT

responded: Great, Rupert! A young lady scaling in at 4.4 kilos will have to have at least a Big Boy...

As you already know, FREJA is an old Nordic name, Lord knows how old... Also, the Swedish State Rys. 0-6-0 freight engine # 85, built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester in 1866, was named FREJA, too. Want a photo of it? It MAY be available! If so, let´s hope it is an old one - some of these engines lost their nameplates before they were scrapped... /Kurt

Lolke Bijlsma (EMail:[email protected]) from Lisle, IL USA on Nov 5 2000, 17:10 GMT

responded: After reading all the interesting profiles I thought that I should add mine.
My name is Lolke Bijlsma, born in the Netherlands in 1969. Infected by
the train virus in the middle seventies when I got my first Lima train
set. First started collecting/modelling Dutch railways from the
1978 to 1981 era (epoche LHB (my initials) as it was called by some of
my friends). Switched to Norwegian railways in 1994/1995. Since 1996 I'm
building a modular layout with Dombås as prototype (small town in Norway).
My website at http://www.enteract.com/~lbijlsma
has more details.
Moved to the USA in 1998, because the layout is modular I could move it
and continue working on it after the move.
Have a great interest in GM/EMD locomotives, especially the so-called
NoHABs and have create a couple of website dedicated to it. So my
website link a couple of lines above.
For the rest I'm living together with Ella, we have no kids.

Steve Skinner (EMail:[email protected]) from Buckinghamshire on Dec 21 2000, 1:12 GMT

responded: Hi all, I am the trainman!
Born within sight and sound of the old British Railways LTSR division in 1961 (I lay in bed and heard the Shunting at the local station), I got my first train set when I reached 7! Hornby Dublo 3 rail!
Skip the next few years, I retired from the Railway(Driver, Western region)in 1995,and turned my work interest to tending an estate garden(26 acres).
I live with my ladyfriend Jeni of ten years and our cat in a tied cottage. we are DINKs as Jeni is the Housekeeper of the manor.
My current layout resides in an old squashcourt on the estate. It is freelance and is home to German and American trains(not at the same time!). I use Digitrax Chief DCC control and my main angle is operation.
I have great interest in corresponding with fellow modellers here and on other sites as well as hosting "my little club". I am section leader HO at the local club and get involved with the cyder belt division of the NMRA(British Region).
Thanks to John for such a wonderful site!

otto dijkstra (EMail:[email protected]) from NL on Dec 26 2000, 11:18 GMT

responded: Hi, all.
Here we go.
I'm 54, five children (4 girls and 1 boy (who deceased 14 years ago)) and a granddaughter. I'm married for the second time. My first wife deceased 25 years ago. I live in a small town north of Zwolle and that's in the northern part of the Netherlands.

The hobby:
I loved trains before i was born... because my grandfather was stationmaster in Arnhem from 1912-1924.

I started in 1957 with a Maerklinset wherein de famous DB 23 and three "Schuerzenwagen". In 1963 I switched to 2 rail DC and AC (!). Nowadays I've everything (N, H0, 0, IIm (=G/LGB)) because i've been an editor Miniatuurbanen (dutch version), Railhobby, Modelkroniek, Railmagazine and now i'm writing some articles for Op de Rails (On railways) or other magazines.
I'm member of Fremo, the Wagons-Lits society (as Pierre), webmaster of the Dutch Modelrailway Federation (www.nmf.nl) and chairman of the Technical Committee (NMF/MOROP) in the Netherlands. I've been a dieselloc-driver on the VSM (a touristicline near Apeldoorn which operates with a great lot of german steamlocos). I was member of the board of the dutch Tramway Organisation (TS) and was one of the guys who started building an operation Tramwayline in the Dutch Openair Museum (heritage) at Arnhem (as i was there member of the board too).
I'm specially interested in the CIWL, Mitropa, DSG, the railways in Eastern-Europe before 1918 (KPStEV and KKStB), the Hedjaz-Railway, and of course all dutch rail- and tramways. I've a great lot of photographs and all the drawings of the CIWL from 1905 upto now, cause i was the heir of Mr. Wendelaar his archive.

My occupation has nothing to do with railways, as i'm an automationofficer and doing some things with internet and management information systems.

Regards Otto

Michael Froemmel (EMail:[email protected]) from Hannover, Germany on Jan 11 2001, 8:59 GMT

responded: Hi all,

Born 1970, not married, no kids, cats or dogs (indeed I had a rabbit named "Max" years ago). Born in Rheydt (today part of Mönchengladbach), I am now working and living (at least for some days a week) in Hannover (Anyone else here from Hannover?). University degree in Economics, now working on my doctoral thesis.
Railway interests: Wurttembergian railways, German railways between 1949 and 1959 (1956 if possible).
Layout: Take a look at John's railway plan book, or for some pics at http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ny8h-ky/db-page/e-layout1.htm

Well, I think that's all.

Michael

John Udics (EMail:[email protected]) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on Jan 17 2001, 15:15 GMT

responded: Born on February 11, 1948, I’ll be 53 next month. (I’m not married. I’m a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, and am Dean of the clergy of the Philadelphia Deanery.) I am the son of a New York Central sheetmetal worker and pipefitter. My uncle George, who worked for the Cleveland Union Terminal, gave me his 027 Lionel freight set and Dad got me a Santa Fe Chief set before I was 10. Dad got me a ride in the cab of a steam engine at the NYC Roundhouse, where he worked. Railroading is in my blood. Mr Gross, our next door neighbor, had an HO layout on the floor of the attic – it was a DB or DRG 130 locomotive with bright red wheels and some 2 axle passenger cars – that was the European RR bug bite. In high school I traded in the O gauge Chief for some HO Fleischmann – a DB 01 Pacific, and tinplate DB baggage, DB passenger car and SNCF passenger car. Since I was studying French in school already, when the SNCF bug bit, it already had fuel.

After college, I went to Geneva, Switzerland, for a graduate degree, and did field work in Illzach, a suburb of Mulhouse in Alsace, and the final refinement was in place. The Alsace-Lorraine and Region 1 SNCF bug…

I collected HO from college on – lots of Roco, Jouef, Liliput, Piko, and some Fleischmann, Marklin, and Lima… a little bit of everything. I centered on Era III, but pushed forward for Era IV fancy passenger livery, and pushed back to Era II for the EST and A-L. I have a collection of beer cars and other refrigerator cars. I also wanted to have a model train car from every European railroad. My collection is quite large now, but since I moved around a lot, I have never had a layout.

Before diabetes ruins my eyesight completely, I plan to build a layout, perhaps this year – freelance, but situated in Alsace – perhaps shelf layout around the walls perhaps with a station similar to Morez in the Juras (with maybe a narrow gauge line like the Nyon-St Cergue-Morez connecting to it) on an island in the center of the room. I’d like to have a section where there’s a brewery and beer warehouse to show off the beer cars. I’d like to have a double track mainline so I can have the A-L/CIWL Edelweiss running in one direction and the DRG/Mitropa Rheingold running in the opposite direction. And I’d like the scenery to be not too chronologically specific so I can also run some era II trains and some era IV (not at the same time, of course). International express trains and international ‘omnibus’ trains for workers as ran through Alsace fascinate me, and I plan to create a few of my own - expresses to Eastern Europe (CSD, MAV), to the North (DSB, NSB, SJ) and all over Europe, but with Mulhouse as the hub.

I take my hat off to Jean Buchmann, Pierre Birge and Jacques Le Plat – people I’d very much like to meet some day.

I’m ethnically Russian and Ukrainian, (my grandparents are from Austro-Hungary – those villages are now in Czechoslovakia and Poland) though I am proud to say that I was born in beautiful Ohio. I now live near Philadelphia. I speak English, French, Japanese and Russian. I enjoy music (folk and classical with especially large collections of marches and musical settings of the Mass and other religious music), reading (mysteries and science fiction), photography and cooking.

I subscribe to AMFI (Amicale des Modelistes Ferroviaires Independants). I am a member of the SNCF Society when I remember to pay my dues and have enough money to do it. I joined the ETE (European Train Enthusiasts) with hopes of creating a Philadelphia chapter, but there aren’t enough of us this far East in Pennsylvania, it would seem.

Macintosh forever!

Hans Boldt (EMail:[email protected]) from Toronto, Canada on Jan 18 2001, 23:00 GMT

responded: Born 1957, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Interested in trains since before I remember. First train set: Lionel. Second set: H0. First serious layout: N-Scale, Epoch II Germany, started in 1991. Second layout: H0, Epoch I Prussia, currently under construction.

Other information: Graduated 1980 from Queen's University in Kingston with a BSc in Computer Science. Married 1994. No kids, two cats. Resident of Toronto since 1981. Occupation: Software developer.

Less important interests: Photography, genealogy, computers.

Dave Howell (EMail:[email protected]) from Plaistow, London on Jan 19 2001, 13:36 GMT

responded: The most accurate description of me is, "short, fat and forty(ish) although in a few years the description will have to be amended to fifty(ish). It is unlikely that the two other parameters will change.

I am married with one 16 year old daughter and a varying number of tropical fish. I work for the UK government in radio communications. I have lived all of my live in various parts of east London.

Model railways have been my main hobby as far back as I can remember (which on a bad day is only yesterday). My layouts are normally extremely small to fit into my compact (minute) house. After many years of modelling the Great Western Railway and the Welsh pre-grouping companies I have had an eight year spell of American modelling. Despite an excursion into the Central Pacific Railroad of the 1890s, I have concentrated on the the New York Central of the 1960s in N gauge and the Pennsylvania Railroad of the 1950s in HO.

Two of my layouts have already appeared in Model Trains International magazine with a third imminent, along with an article on the Harlem Transfer Company. I also wrote the recent article published by the magazine on the Barking & District MRS's O gauge layout "Cyfarthfa". Those who have seen my writings will know that I usually try to inject some humour and I am currently writing a comical novel, and have been doing so for the past three years.

I have been into modelling German railways for just over a year now so consider myself very much a new boy (boy? - who am I kidding?) My interest is in both Epochs I and II and intend building a layout set in the Prussian Rhineland when I have collected enough information. I have almost finished building a small harbour layout set around Cuxhaven with the railway serving to replenish an S boat.

Interests outside of railways include history in general, American indians, the American Civil War, motor racing (in younger and thinner days I spent ten years as a fire marshal), military modelling and writing. I have been instructed by my daughter to add "women" to the list of my interests.

Dave

Georg Helms (EMail:[email protected]) from Erligheim, Germany on Jan 20 2001, 13:30 GMT

responded: As I have been using this forum for quite a while now (it`s the main usage of my computer, as it seems), I feel like I should make myself known a little.
Born in 1955 in Braunschweig, I moved to Southwest Germany in 1982, where I ended up in the village of Erligheim, between Ludwigsburg and Heilbronn ( north of Stuttgart). In the eighties I spend over three years in Muncie, Indiana (not the end of the world, but you could see it from there - at least there was Norfolk & Western and Conrail).
I`m married, we have two sons(13 and 11, no interest in trains), and since last July, there is Arthos, the Parson Jack Russel Terrier. He of course has also no interest in trains, but is steeling most of my hobby time.
My railroad interests are focussed (but not limited to) on German, American and British trains, my modeling scale is HO with a little HOe,009,HOn3 thrown in for variety. I´m a member of the British 1:87 Scale Society, but never tried to join a club (didn´t like the majority of people there - they didn´t seem to have fun).
There is a fiddleyard operating in my basement, and a small piece of smalltown America (2.7 x .6m), set in the 50s, is under construction. When it will be operating, a German regional (not DB) railway yard with canal port and lots of Industry is planned, set around 1990.
So, when I feel like playing Germany, America will be a staging yard (and the fiddle yard too, of course), and vice versa. And when I like to run my Orient Express or the Bavarian branchline mixed, I just let it run. That´s my idea of having fun, besides superdetailing my freight car fleet(s) and my locomotives !

arabella murphy (EMail:[email protected]) from ireland on Feb 8 2001, 11:10 GMT

responded: hey
e-mail me sometime id love to talk more on this subject

Janne Petersson (EMail:[email protected]) from Lund, Sweden on Feb 14 2001, 1:26 GMT

responded: I feel I haven´t contributed much to this forum, the only thing I've done is to ask a few rather stupid questions about which sleeping-cars that are to be found in which train. But here is some personal info about me.
Age: 24
Place of residence: Lund (in the Scania/Skåne province in southern Sweden, approx. 16 kms / 9.9 miles north of Malmö)
Status: Engaged
Work: I'm a University student (Lund University, of course). For several years I studied theology (my particular interest is church history, especially Swedish church history covering the 18th and 19th centuries with ethnological perspective) and at the moment I study ethnology. Earlier I studied theology at the University of Gothenburg (where I've also studied an extremely restricted amount of palaeography).
Other interests: I work as bartender in one of the student societies (Swedish: nation) in Lund. Being one of the head bartenders there I also like to experiment with drinks, cocktails and different liquors. I also love to go to the balls arranged by the student societies but since these are rather expensive it doesn´t happen as often as I´d like...
My interest in railways has followed me (with some pauses) through almost my whole life. One of my first memories concerning trains is when my mother and I travelled in a sleeping-car. Nowadays, among my main interests you find night-trains and restaurant cars (unfortunately we don´t have so many of these in Sweden). Among my favourites when I travel by train in Europe are German InterCity trains and all EuroCity trains, and, of course, almost all kinds of sleeping-cars (my favourites are the MU, the ÖBB WLAB33s and the DBAG WLABmh 174). I am a member of SJK (Swedish Railway Club) and sometimes I write in their www discussion forum.
Unfortunately I don´t have an own model railroad. Perhaps this is much because I live in a small student flat (or whatever it´s called in English).

Andy Hayter (EMail:) from Mainz on Feb 14 2001, 7:34 GMT

responded: Hi Janne, a former mentor once told me that "there is no such thing as a stupid question - there are only stupid answers." Andy

Bob Mackay (EMail:[email protected]) from Cambs.UK on Apr 9 2001, 16:39 GMT

responded: Retired, over 75 but not sure by how much, married almost 50 years, one son, three grandaughters. First train set 1929 Japanese tinplate, short lived, spring broke on Boxing Day. Hornby Dublo (clockwork) when it first came out. Flattened by inconsiderate bomb aimer Mersyside 1941. RAF 1943-1948.... OO, O, GWR, LMS,layouts in the fifties and sixties(Loft location).

1972 Salzburg completely "Knocked out " by first sight of Roco,Fleischmann,Lilliput,Faller,Volmer,Kibri,Pola etc. etc.
all in one big shop window. Never recovered! Ho layouts 28'x8' in loft cab controlled (never again the wiring was like spaghetti under the table), Moved from South Wales to Cambridge five years ago layout in garage, moved again last June to bungalow, layout 6mx2m in lean-to shed behined double garage still only half finished because of discovering great bunch of guys on Raifans Org. (wife says "your addicted to that computer"). Seriously, I would never have been able to research my present layout before I got connected. Has increased my enjoyment of our hobby 200%

That's all folks!

Bob

John Jesson (EMail:[email protected]) from Croydon, UK on Apr 9 2001, 21:40 GMT

responded: 54 years old and happily single. No kids that I know of. Have been a confirmed railway enthusiast, model and prototype, since I was 4, when I was given a Hornby "O" gauge clockwork train set. This later changed to Hornby-Dublo "OO" 3-rail, then to 2-rail when H-D started to make it.
Interests went through early BR steam/diesel era, with ex-LMS and GWR steam locos, to pre-grouping all-steam (still LMS/GWR). I didn't leave these shores until I had started work, then I was introduced to Europe by a work colleague and was immediately "hooked".
The DB in the late '60's became my main interest, but with a healthy interest also in the main line railways of Switzerland. Over the years, the era has shifted back so that I now model German/Swiss railways in the 50's and early '60's. I have stayed faithful to "HO" throughout (although there is a Bachmann "G" scale Shay decorating my lounge).
To earn the money to pay for my indulgences, I work for South West Trains as a Control Manager, and am pleased to say I like my work very much.
Other interests are photography and walking, and I usually manage to combine all interests at least once a year. Over the years, I have walked the Gotthard route throughout from Erstfeld to Giornico, which has given me many happy hours.
I do not have a layout at the moment, as the space where it will be is taken up with a group project of a portable (sort of) German layout that might even get finished this year. (It has to be finished - it is promised for an exhibition in Germany at the end of November!)
I'm a member of the German Railway Society, Swiss Railways Society and the Model Railway Club.

Martin Silz (EMail:[email protected]) from Essen / Germany on May 23 2001, 14:57 GMT

responded: Update of my entry of the Sep 21 1998, 8:39:

I am about to leave Baal and move to Essen because I joined a new company last January. You might have a look at the company's homepage: Viterra Energy Services.

Unfortunately my "single track layout in my living room" is going to die due to my movement to a new flat. R.I.P.
But there is a plan to build a new bigger layout. Have a look at the Jaunary edition 1982 of the eisenbahnmagazin.

Francisco García Ríos (EMail:[email protected]) from Albacete, Spain. on May 23 2001, 19:32 GMT

responded: Well, after a few interventions in the forum, I believe that it is already time to present me to all the fellow railway modellers. Although I am blond with clear skin and blue eyes, I`m Spanish. All my friends call me Paco (a very common Spanish diminutive from "Francisco", my real name), I am 35 years old, married since five years ago, and with a little daughter two years old; she is so active that sometimes I think that I have twins:-).
I am History teacher in a High School in my city. I love trains since chilhood, because I lived very near of my city Railway Station and I could see trains every day.
When I was 14, my father (an authentic railway fan, as my grandfather was train driver), helped (really disturbed:-))by my brother and me, built a HO layout and buy some HO RENFE trains (Ibertrén and Electrotrén) which I have yet. He gave to me also a British steam loco (a Lima LMS 0-6-0 4F Fowler Class) which was an enigma for me (I don`t knew anithing at all about British trains) until I asked in the forum requesting some info about it. So I arrived here and it was a pleasure to find as much wonderful people arranged to help me. Now, thanks to it, I will try to super detail my 4F Class and build a little British layout. I wish to thank specially to Bob and Dave, two splendid friends whose aid has been very valuable for me.
Like in my chilhood, now I live very near of the Train Station, where we go to take a walk and see the trains (Talgos and Alaris ET-490) frequently.
My miniature railway preferences are RENFE (like most spanish modellers), German steam locos and, of course, British LMS 4f Fowler Class;-). I have some N scale models, but I am mainly interested in HO.
This summer I will start (I hope) to build my new layout, a modular one, so I am afraid that I will ask many things in the forum yet.
Best regards always to all:

Paco (I hope that my english go in good progress;-))

Joerg Militzer (EMail:[email protected]) from Bochum, Germany on Jun 9 2001, 21:37 GMT

responded: Time to introduce myself here.
Born in 1967 at Frankfort/Main but grown up at Essen in the ruhrbasin. Studied Mining Engineering at Aachen University. Now working in the strata control group with a german mining-consultant.
Interests: Spending o lot of my time at Hespertalbahn, a historical railroad beneath the Ruhr river (formerly owned by Ruhrkohle / Poertingsiepen colliery - so i got interested in mining railways). Other ones: hearing Music from Louisiana, drinking beer, photographing and some more...

Joerg

Martin Silz (EMail:[email protected]) from Essen / Germany on Jun 29 2001, 12:41 GMT

responded: Jörg,

I did not know, that the Hespertalbahn runs BENEATH the Ruhr. AFAIK it is not an underground railway.

SCNR
Martin

Steve P (EMail:) from Dallas, TX on Jul 22 2001, 21:33 GMT

responded: Well, I guess that by now I'm a regular visitor to the site! I've been somewhat reluctant to post 'personal' details to a publicly accessible site, but given that many others have done it without evident ill-effect, I think that my fears are probably groundless. So here goes.

I'm 51, born in 1949 (same year as the GP7, I think) in London, England, quite recently married (for the 1st time), and have been based in the Dallas, TX area since early 1985, except for a 3-year job assignment in Cape Town, South Africa mid-1996 to mid-1999, where I met my lovely wife Marita, who is South African. Before the job transfer that brought me to Dallas, I was in New Zealand, which is really my 'home' country', my folks having emigrated there when I was about 2. That's where I went to school and all that kind of stuff. Like most kiwis, I did the big 'OE' (overseas experience) trip, in my case 4½ very fun years in London from mid-1976 to the end of 1980. My 'home city' is Auckland, although I haven't lived there since 1973.

No children (that I know of - a prudent disclaimer perhaps for someone who spent most of his adult life single) and none planned. One (American) cat, Brünnhilde, whose gentle disposition belies her name!

My interest in railways was really kindled when we moved to west Auckland at the end of 1958, when I was 9, to a house that was about 100 metres or so from the North Auckland railway line. In those days, the English Electric Df and Dg class diesels were legion on this route, and they captured my attention. In retrospect, I suspect that the fact that they were clearly related, but different, appealed to a mind that likes to analyze and classify! Also, there were all those wheels on the Df, with its 2-Co-Co-2 arrangement. In comparison the GM G12 Da class that also operated on the line were seen as square, ugly and noisy. The steam locos did not go completely unnoticed, and I rather liked the Wab class 4-6-4T, but I never got caught up in what might be called the 'romance of the beast'.

Combine a general leaning towards things technical and engineering, including engines, electricity and electronics with my specific railway interests, and it's but a short step to my pre-occupation with diesel and electric locomotive technology. The study of English Electric and other British diesel designs has always been on the agenda, and this backed into a study of the BR Modemisation Plan diesel fleet, and indeed of the Plan itself. On the electric traction side, the emergence of 50 Hz AC has been of particular interest. I didn't start to look at steam locomotive technology until the late 1960s, when I picked up one of E.S. Cox's books. This led to a study of the BR Standards, and then to the technical aspects of the final phase American steam locomotive development. The starting point here, from which I worked backwards, was the UP 'Big Boy' and 'Challenger' classes, which had previously attracted my attention in a general way, perhaps because they formed a homologous pair and had lots of wheels. I find though, that steam loco technology is best studied in its own context, in order that it not be overshadowed by the quantum leap (in engineering and operational terms) that came with modern traction.

Actual railway interest activities have waxed and waned over the years - during the 1980s and the 1990s, long working hours and much international business travel limited it to the acquisition of books. I regret that I didn't take more time out to study railway matters when I was in South Africa, although I did get to see the amazing Sishen-Saldanha 50 kV AC ore line. And I also rode an electric train 1.8 km underground in a gold mine. It gives 'underground railway' a whole new meaning. It was on a business trip to Namibia in April, 1999, that I got something of restart - the SAR class 32.000 GE U18C1 class leader is on display outside Windhoek station. I took lots of photos, including capturing the details of its 1-Co-Co-1 running gear, and made a mental note to actually do a study of GE export models, something I'd had in mind for a long time. Funnily enough, earlier that year, I had seen a SAR 4E class 1-Co+Co-1 electric loco; it was hauling the Spier opera train, and would you believe it, on a night when we elected to drive to the opera. It was at the Spier station as we drove into the parking lot, and Marita was the lucky recipient of a dissertation on the loco and its unusual wheel arrangement; just what she needed before a performance of 'Salome'.

Soon after getting back to Texas, I happened into this forum, as a result of which I am now pursuing too many railway subjects! (Perhaps there should be a health warning?) I'm also interested in many other aspects of transportation technology, including airliners, particularly the early jet age and the Boeing vs Douglas story. I've never been bitten by the modelling bug.

Beyond the technical, well, my musical tastes are very mainstream - pretty much all the way from Bach to Profokiev, with Beethoven and Schubert as favorites. However, Marita is an opera 'nut', so in the last few years I've learned a lot about Verdi, Wagner & co. Good food and good wine, enjoyed in good company with good conversation, is high on our list of leisure activities. On food, I'd place French cuisine, classical and country, at the top of the list, although with Italian and Japanese also very high. Both of us tend to recall the places we have visited on our travels by the meals we had there! On wines, well, in an ideal world one would having nothing more to do than sample the great Burgundies, white and red, accompanied by appropriate food, and preceded by a Champagne aperitif. Actuality, however, tends to be a lot different, and given that mundane matters like budget do supervene, I've found some real gems amongst the South African reds.

John Menges (EMail:[email protected]) from South bend, Indiana USA on Jul 28 2001, 18:47 GMT

responded: Well Steve, you are a well traveled, well-read man. An update on my bio: I've narrowed my interests to the UP, The DBAG and the Renfe. And, of course, I'm still the eternal college student and will be for 1.6 more years.

Bill Barkhauer (EMail:[email protected]) from Sparta, New Jersey USA on Aug 1 2001, 14:19 GMT

responded: Since I have now beeen using the site for at least a couple of years, I thought I would contribute some short biographical information to this distiguished body of literature:

Bill Barkhauer, 48 years old. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Resident of New Jersey for the past 20 years. Happily married to Charlotte (who is the Assistant Director of Nursing at a nearby 450 bed hospital)for 26 years. Three sons (age 23, 20 and 14). Also four cats and one poodle. Currently draining bank accounts at a rapid rate, as our older two sons are both in college :-). The 23 year old is studying computer science and the 20 year old is majoring in public relations.

I have a Bachelor's degree in History, with emphasis on 20th century Europe as well as a Master's degree in Public Administration. Professionally,I am the managing director of the Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, located about 30 miles west of New York City. The airport is one of the busiest general aviation reliever airports in North America, with about 275,000 aircraft operations annually, quite a few of them international. Our traffic consists mostly of business jet aircraft, helicopters and other privately owned aircraft-we do not have any scheduled commercial service.

I am very active in the American Association of Airport Executives, the professional association for our industry. Recently, I was elected national secretary/treasurer of AAAE, and three years from now will serve as the organization's chairman for a year. I must say that my interest in European and German railways makes me the subject of a good bit of ribbing and teasing from friends and professional colleagues, since it is rather unusual for an airport professional to also be a railway fanatic!

My interest in European railways began with my first visit to Europe (and my first Eurailpass) in 1986. I immediately realized what a tremendous asset the railways are to the various countries of Europe, and was particularly impressed with the efficiency and scope of the DB. I have also come to realize that the US has "missed the boat" by not allowing passenger railways to play a more significant role in our national transportation system, particularly in the regional/short-haul area. The huge size and spread-out nature of our country makes our transportation needs somewhat different than those of Europe, and causes us to rely much more on air travel. However, I do fear that our love affair with the automobile (and our relatrively cheap gasoline prices) has led us to rely far too much on highway travel, at the expense of efficient and quality rail transportation.

To varying degrees, my wife and all three of our sons share my love of railways, and they often accompany me on journeys to Europe, where I continue my ongoing exploration of European railways, ewspecially the DB. My goal is to someday travel every route mile of the DB. I keep careful records of the routes I have traveled in Germany, and estimate that I have now covered close to half of the total system.

Another dream I have is to some day drive a railway locomotive, if only for a kilomter or two. That way, I can then say I have operated each one of the main modes of transportation, since I drive a car, own a small boat, and have a pilot's license. The only thing missing on that list is driving a train! If anyone out there knows how I can someday accomplish this, please let me know.

Finally, I want to thank John for all the work and effort involved in operating this site. It is a wonderful tool for fans of European railways, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bill Barkhauer

Ch. Perleth (EMail:christoph.perleth) from Rostock, Baltic Sea on Aug 1 2001, 23:35 GMT

responded: Bill,
If you want to conduct a hinstorical steamer you can come to the narrow gauge lines between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn ("Molli": "http://www.molli-bahn.de/") or on the isle of Rügen ("Rasender Roland": "http://www.rasender-roland.de/")

Update of my own record: Since October 1999 I work in Rostock, in August 2000 I moved here with my family. Here I have a new room where I already started parts of the benchwork of my future layout. The next days I will order the track material so after vacancies I can start laying track.

My interests of collecting rolling stuff has a little enlarged: I also bought some rolling stuff which was used by MFFE (Mecklenburg Friedrich Franz Bahn) and on the railways in Rostock and Warnemünde (S-Bahn, goods traffic and similar).

Greetings from the Baltic Sea
Christoph

Andy Hayter (EMail:) from Mainz on Aug 2 2001, 6:58 GMT

responded: Bill, it's a long way to go - but if it's your lifetime ambition to drive a train, then you should contact one of the major UK preservation lines - most of whom do steam loco driving courses ( and possibly some do diesel as well.)

Know organisations that offer these in 2001/2002 are:
Nene Valley Railway
Severn Valley Railway
North York Moors Railway

above list given with apologies to the many others who must also offer this service/experience.

Kevin Brady (EMail:[email protected]) from Boston,Ma. on Aug 14 2001, 20:32 GMT

responded: Hi all,
Well after some arm 'twisting' for some members of this forum,I'll bore you with my story,...
Age 43.
Never married,but those days are coming to an end!
3 cats and a German Shepherd
Live in Beverly,Ma. birthplace of the US Navy
Work in boston,Ma. hub of the universe :-P
Train interests,anything that runs on rails,but passionate about the DB
steam in epoch 3
Memeber of the ETE,Märklin Insider(Germany),MML,Roco,Intellibox,Railroad&Co; mailing lists.I visit this site at least 3 times a day.I've learned more form this site in the last few years then I ever thought possible!
I got a Märklin starter set when I was 8 and have been hooked ever since.The 'lost' years (18-30) I spent raising hell,and also qualifying for the Olympic trials in the shot put,spent several years in the Scottish Highland Games,and major in theater arts in college,...
Got back into the hobby when I knew sitting around the TV just would not do for dotage,...pulled out the old Märklin set,yes it still runs,wandered on down to the local hobby shop,saw a Faller kit and that was it!
Getting a fixer-upper of a house did not allow me to build a layout,so I joined the local ETE and built two ETE modules,which skills came in handy as I began my first home layout last summer.Most of the help with this layout has come from the kind folks on this site,...

You can all wake up now,.....

Kevin.

Mark Austin (EMail:[email protected]) from London, UK on Aug 27 2001, 17:07 GMT

responded: Since I seem to be becoming a regular user of this site here goes.

Mark Austin, 50ish, bought up in Scotland, but have lived in the South-East for 25 years, for the past 5 years in South-West London. A teacher (of computing) in a Further Education college.

Model in 2mm scale, currently working on an end-to-end layout based on the GWR in South Wales in the late 1920's. Baseboards built, laying track at the moment.

I also have an interest in the Broad Gauge Railways of the GWR and its allies, and am reasearching the Vale of Neath Railway in Broad Gauge days (1848-1866) with a view to a layout, and am currently thinking about an American layout based on the DL&W;/Harlem Transfer car float yard in New York.

Member of the 2mm Scale Association, Welsh Railways Research Circle, The Broad Gauge Society and The Model Railway Club (in London).

Mark Austin

wilfried herter (EMail:[email protected]) from Rheinfelden/Baden-Germany on Aug 31 2001, 23:11 GMT

responded: Born 1955 in Ludwigsburg / Württemberg into a family without a car, we roamed the south german rails for many year during my childhood, at a time when steam locos were still running. Finding the” Neckar Valley” thread purely by chance got me hooked to the “worldrailfans” site. I'm a notorious model-railbug, too, since I've been given a Fleischmann battery train set for christmas 1958. In between I converted to Märklin, got stuck with the center pickup system but now changed the power supply to analogue DC for easier and cheaper conversion of locos of several makes, mainly of German prototype, but some Swiss, Austrian French and British stock including "Thomas & friends" is allowed, too. I am now living near Basel in the far south west corner of Germany, together with my wife (from Wales/Britain, which explains the interest to this little island) and a 6 year old son, who is following the footsteps of railway addiction. I do not have a very professional approach at all, but rather enjoy trains as a hobby, not matter whether the real thing, 1:87 or any other scale. Still believe that I can contribute to the site, as I have quite some experience in struggling with models, collected quite a range of journals and books, from which information might be handed on to the forum, and of course from my railway adventures over quite a couple of years.

Wilf

David Manders (EMail:[email protected]) from Camberley, Surrey, UK on Sep 2 2001, 18:35 GMT

responded: OK.
David Manders. 54. Single and likely to remain so.

30 year railway shir... sorry, Worker, at Farnborough, Aldershot, Heathrow rail desks, Reading, Farnborough (again), Euston and now, station announcer at Guildford. On leaving school, I joined the Blue Funnel line (BR35013!) for a few years of travelling to the Far East, and this enabled me to sample steam in Malaysia/Singapore, China, Japan, Ceylon and South Africa (after the closure of the Sewage Canal in '67).
I've travelled for steam to many countries, some of the more exotic being India, Pakistan, (Myanmar)Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Japan, Cuba, S.Africa, Rhodesia (as it still was), and several times the USA.
I collect European HO models, and at present have 93 locos. My intention is to build a Museum Depot layout based on Dresden Altstadt on the basis that this will mean that 'anything goes'!

Claims to fame: Featured in the East German Magdeburg paper 'Volkstimme' as I travelled on a special train organised by them, the only non-German.

Best announcement: "I regret that the train is being delayd due to a kangaroo on the line" (near Guildford). "I'm sorry, the report of a kangaroo was, of course, incorrect. It was, in fact, a Wallaby". (I heard the laugh from my office some way away.)

Yevgeny Kushnir (EMail:[email protected]) from Philadelphia, PA USA (formerly of Kiev, Ukraine) on Sep 3 2001, 7:08 GMT

responded: Let's see..posted mine on 9/24/1998 - time for an update:

Age: 20
Occupation: College Student at Drexel University (and no...unfortunately I don't match any of the 'American Pie' or 'Roadtrip' stereotypes, or I would have been to drunk at this time....:-). I'm working towards a BS in Finance and MIS..hope to work in the investment field.
Married: No, and I am single at the moment. Applications are welcome (females under 25 only!!!!)

Model Railroad Interests: If it has a body like the fuselage of a Concorde, but comes with wheels, has pantographs, and rides on rails....I like it!!
Besides that, I like almost everything that runs under wires and on rails. Among countries, the railways of CIS (Russia. Ukraine, etc.), Germany, Austria, and sometimes Italy are my favorites.

Other interests: Besides your usual youth interests (going out, nightclubs, etc) - airplanes (thinking about maybe going for a private pilot's license soon); travel (especially Europe), and, recently, photography.

John Kabesh (EMail:[email protected]) from Ottawa Canada on Sep 26 2001, 2:59 GMT

responded: Hello All

I am a (gasp) 42 years old with an interest in Epoche IV DB. I lived in Lahr Schwarzwald for 4 years in the '80s...hence my interest in Epoche IV. As I was about leave Germany in 1988 I saw a Flieschmann starter set in a shop window and thought "I can do that" Ten years and 3 moves later I took my children to a toy and train show where I saw the local Ntrak club set-up and thought "I can do that". So I went home and found that Starter set still in the original box. The rest is ... well you know. I am now member of the Local NTrak club in Ottawa.

I am building a small N scale layout at this time using Ntak modules. (a German scene of course) Between work, house, children, etc it is a slow process. There are very few "European fans" in my club (2) so I visit this web site to get my fix of DB info. Thank you to everyone who contributes. I do regret not learning German while I was in Germany so that I could read all of the great references that are available (sigh)

I was surprised to see the number of Canadians who reponded in this section. We could form a club...if this country of ours was not so darn big.


John Kabesh
in Ottawa

Phil Barker (EMail:[email protected]) from Beautiful Bulli, NSW on Oct 10 2001, 13:27 GMT

responded: Since discovering the site and being inspired by Bob's Neckartal thread, with Martin, Sith, Wilf, etc making notable contributions and since due to moves, holidays etc I have been quiet recently, it might be a good time to introduce myself....

Phil Barker, born Croydon 1952, grew up in Sussex - school at Steyning Grammar (est 1614), 2 A-levels 1970, University of Aston in Birmingham, BSc.PhD Chemistry currently Senior Research Scientist in Polymer Coatings, BHP Steel.

Interest in railways started very early, dad (in insurance) was a fan, we lived in Croydon until I was 7, he played sport for Lloyds and every Saturday we went from Croydon to Fairlop/Hainault(Central Line) by bus, Northern line, Central line (overground from Liverpool St to Stratford if running early to see the Jazz etc). After the game of whatever, we'd have tea, stop at Stratford spotting until the Hook Continental had passed, then go home. Dad used to boast that when I was four he could lose me anywhere on the tube system and I'd find my way home. At age 6 I even was on Stratford station and told dad in fading light that it didn't look like a Brit coming off the shed road, chimney too tall - it was Clan Stewart during it's time at Stratford. School took over for a while after we moved to Sussex, but starting secondary changed it all. A couple of mates were keen, and we spent a week every holiday with a 'Runabout ticket' which started at East Worthing Halt and went as far as Salisbury. Got all the last Southern steam, and in 1965/66 had rover tickets on Eastern, Western and Midland regions.

Modelling had started with a Tri-ang Britannia and 3 Pullmans, changed to TT gauge (Triang Prairie, BEC Standard 5MT, GEM (I think) 2251, pannier tank etc. Changed to N-gauge in 1967 withh affinity for DB prototype (got timetables and everything). Cycled 5 miles to Adur Models in Shoreham to pick up the very first Minitrix 01 class (actually the first N model to have full working valve gear). Had a nice layout. Sold it all in 1970 to pay for beer at Uni, gave up serious interest. PhD finiched in 77, Postdoc at University College London, U Vic (Canada) then came to Canberra 1981 to the Research School of Chem at Australian National University. Finished in 1983, went back to UK followed by a stint in Saudi Arabia (ARAMCO). Got married to a musician on Boxing Day 1984 in Dubai ('Diocese of Cyprus and the Near East' for you Clerical types!!). Recruited by German company in Karlsruhe so back to Europe 1985. 1986 got fed up walking past the model shops - went in and bought the Fleischmann AB starter set (Ep III, V100) bug bit again - collecting ever since. Recruited by BHP in 1988 been in Melbourne until 1995 (coal science) and Port Kembla (surface coatings degradation and weathering).

In the meantime, collecting stuff as and when now have about 23 locos and heaps of stock, mainly EpIII but unavoidable cross contamination with EpIV. Still got a great collection of English and German Railway literature (subscribed to EM until 1994) and everytime a colleague goes OS for work or vacation I get them to get current issues. Last purchase (ETS) was the Ep III 64 class from Fleischmann as Rupert and Bob know - probably the finest N-gauge proprietary ready-to-run model ever mass produced!!

One of the oldest dads in the world - first arrived at 40 (1992-Jennifer) second at 41 (Zoe) - they started happening in Australia, must be the weather or something.

Love tennis, play a pretty good standard singles comp against people up to 32 years my junior !! Love football, pathological KSC (Karlsruhe SC - 2.Bundesliga) supporter and Chelsea fan.

Secret double life as the 'Bulli Baritone' - taking up singing at 45, passing the AMEB exams (6th grade next year), perform quite regularly with a repertoire of Schubert, Brahms and Richard Strauss Lieder and 20th Century English composers (RVW, John Ireland, Finzi, Michael Head, Butterworth).

You'll all be asleep by now.

Thank you all for being you.

Phil

Cameron Smith (EMail:[email protected]) from Los Angeles on Nov 11 2001, 17:20 GMT

responded: I pop in every now and then to baffle you all with my amazing public displays of single-mindedness and ignorance, so it's only fair that you have some idea of who I am.

In brief: I'm 32 and at the moment spend my days doing product licensing and compliance work for a nutritional products and cosmetics firm. If we sell it anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, chances are I've had a look at the product first. I also occasionally take on freelance writing assignments--usually market research in securities, technology, or health care. I used to practice law as a litigator and hated it, and now I'm finishing my first novel in what free time there is these days. Law school, at least, furnished an opportunity to spend a month in Berlin, pretending to study German law at the Freie Universitaet while actually roaming the city.

I started in model railways with a Maerklin HO-scale set given to me for my second (!) Christmas, and after several years' 2-rail-DC fun with a couple of clubs and a partially completed PRR layout at home, I've taken up German railways again. Current focus is Era-I Prussian railways, although there is plenty of anachronistic equipment from other German eras taking up space here and there in my roster. For some reason, I can't resist express trains.

I just moved out to California a year ago and haven't settled into a permanent home yet, so there is no layout now, just tinkering with rolling stock and running it on weekend layouts to keep the motors clean--and enjoy some childlike amusment along the way. In the meantime I've begun parting with the older U.S.-prototype equipment, which is funding the acquisition of lots of Laenderbahn material.

My dog, a hound through and through, barks at my tank locomotives. No, I don't know why.

Other interests: inveterate football (American) fan. And once upon a time I was a halfway decent pianist; somewhere in storage is a box of old compositions--manuscripts just waiting for a family member to discover after my death. And discard.

Best regards to you all.

Ali Koriche (EMail:[email protected]) from Surabaya, East Jawa, Indonesia on Nov 12 2001, 13:34 GMT

responded: Hello there!
For those of you who thought you had finally got rid of me, I've got bad news: I am still alive and kicking. Reason for this long silence is the Dengue Fever a small moskito named Aedes Aegyptes gave me -free of charge- while I was visiting a project construction site earlier this year. This knocked me off the footplate and I am lucky I did not ended up being paralyzed, which is ususally the case when the virus gets to the spine cord (My Cortex was beyond repair long before that, so no danger of further degradation here) . I was off for several months and only recently resumed activities, slowly but steadily. I am back in Surabaya and quite busy with the new Airport project, as well as teaching Project Management to Siemens. I hope to be able to contribute again, I missed this more than I would ever have thought of. See you all soon and happy railway modelling...
PS. Please note my new e-mail address.
Cheers,
Ali.

Kevin Brady (EMail:[email protected]) from Beverly,Ma. on Nov 12 2001, 14:05 GMT

responded: Ali!
Welcome back my friend!

Sincerly,Kevin.

Brendan Kelly (EMail:[email protected]) from Wellington, New Zealand on Nov 12 2001, 18:38 GMT

responded: Indeed welcome back.

BK

Andy Hayter (EMail:) from Mainz on Nov 13 2001, 5:42 GMT

responded: Good to see you back

Tim (EMail:[email protected]) from UK on Nov 14 2001, 12:05 GMT

responded: Yippeeee! Ali is back, get well soon.


Tim

Dick Rowland (EMail:[email protected]) from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on Jan 10 2002, 7:38 GMT

responded:
I’ve been enjoying this superb site for nearly three years now so a formal introduction on this thread is well overdue!
My hometown is Mildenhall in Suffolk although we moved away in 1961 when I was thirteen. Mildenhall is roughly about thirty miles from Cambridge in the direction of Newmarket and Norwich. It used to be graced with a lovely old ex-Great Eastern Railway branch line which had it’s own small claim to fame in that the last 2-4-0 on British Railways was the branch locomotive. This class E4 numbered 62785 (ex GER T26) is now in York museum as No.490 beautiful in Royal Blue with black and red lining. I know it wasn’t like that when I knew it as a child. More a sort of disreputable dirty black/dark grey! Two coaches in dirty brown, one ex-LNER and the other a venerable GER survivor, looked after the comfort of the passengers!
I may have taken the train for granted at the time but I’d love a trip on it now!
Luckily a video is available as ‘Branchline byways’ from Transport Video Publishing, P.O.Box 229, Wheathampstead, Herts, U.K. AL4 8SD if anybody is interested.
Around 1960 a rail bus appeared for a while. I thought this was marvellous, especially travelling back home in a snowstorm looking out through the front windscreen. What a novelty that was then! Later still the track was totally renewed, DMUs ran for a while then the whole branch was closed in (I think) 1963!
Model railways kicked off with vague memories of Hornby clockwork ‘O’ gauge on the floor running around the legs of the dining table. These were Hornby No.1 0-40 tank engines. Much later my father told me that his brother David and he had old Hornby ‘O’ gauge before 1939 but it had gone for scrap during the war. Argh!!!!
My first loco was a Dublo three-rail ‘Duchess of Montrose’ when I was about five years old. Dad must have been flush as the next Christmas meant a Dublo 4MT 2-6-4T suburban passenger set in the pillowcase. I still remember what a glorious surprise that was! Both locos have survived although they were converted to 2-rail in the 1960s. You couldn’t get anything for 3-rail stuff then! Recently they’ve both been expertly renovated and are now on my fathers display shelves. The stock disappeared a long time ago.
In 1961 my father was posted to Wildenrath in Germany very close to the Dutch border near Roermond. He was in the British Royal Air Force: later on so was I!
Comparative prosperity followed. The first family car meant, sooner or later, a trip to the Moseltal and that is where I saw my first German steam locomotive. Oh boy, that started a love affair that is still with me today. Imagine a wide-eyed teenager in the back of a 1961 model Hillman Minx transfixed by a BR44 on a hopper train pacing us. I’ll never forget that great black monster roaring along in the mist. Of course I didn’t know the classes in those days. It was big, a 2-10-0 and it wasn’t hanging about with I regarded as a huge load. This wasn’t far from Cochem, which is still one of my favourite areas in Germany.
Returning to Britain in 1963, as an exercise in futility I was attempting to build a Great Western branch terminus (how original!) using hardboard as a baseboard and various bits of track including a scissors crossing held together with epoxy. This masterpiece actually worked for about six months!
A mutilated Dublo ‘Castle’, a Tri-ang ‘Lord of the Isles’ and a rough old semi-scale pannier tank were never really right as branch line motive power. I knew what I wanted, something like the ‘EM’ layout Portreath, but didn’t yet have the skill to build or the income to buy the stock I had in mind. The K’s kit for a GW Auto coach would have needed a couple of ‘Castles’ to haul it!
British steam was disappearing fast with the result that, over the next few years I got to know German steam probably better than British equivalents. Comparing the two, German steam seemed in better condition and more valued. More pride basically. That was my impression around the early 1970’s when I returned to Germany, this time serving in the RAF myself! For a couple of years I dropped model railways altogether. Electric model slot car racing; now that was a waste of time and money!
Joining the Royal air Force in 1969 I spent the next twenty-six years as an Electrical maintenance engineer allegedly fixing military aircraft large and small.
‘N’ gauge caught my eye. It’s as well to remember just how awful a lot of the commercially available ‘OO’ gauge was in those days. Collectors items, not for me I’m afraid!
My old fascination with German railways resurfaced. First a false start with some Lima bits then the Arnold BR01 in a shop window in Aachen in 1971. That was it!
Dad bought the Lok and I bought the passenger stock to run behind it. A few months later a Fleischmann ‘Coffee grinder’ BR50 and some wagons. I was hooked and the next few years saw various items from the different manufacturer arrive, be admired ran. These things actually worked as advertised and ‘OO’ became a distant memory.
(Until recently with Bachmann ‘N’ class Moguls and a Hornby ‘Merchant Navy!)
I still regret the travel chances to see more of the old steam days that I didn’t take. There always seemed to be something more important that needed doing. For the life of me I can’t now remember what those more important things must have been!
My parents were at AFCENT in the Netherlands at that time so trips to the Mosel and Rhein area became more frequent. I ‘bit the bullet’ in 1973 and toured around Rheine, Hamm, Bebra, Lichtenfels, Hof, Nürnberg and Lauda popping film as if there were no tomorrow. This was almost literally true as most of these locations lost their steam during the next year or two. I’d almost left it too late! I still treasure memories of a cab trip on 001-008-2 and a BR23 from Lauda.
‘Living in’ didn’t leave space for a layout. Dad and I started a layout, which lived in the garage, but eventually it was only worked on when I was home on leave.
After a while our, or rather my, ideas had changed and the monster was dismantled.
Meanwhile I still collected stock ready for the day when ‘the ultimate layout’ would somehow just happen.
Looking back I just wish I’d done so much more travelling on the prototype but we can all say that I suppose.
In 1976 I did something right for once. I got married! Margriet’s family exchanged quizzical looks when they heard of my hobby. However they soon got used to this when I pointed out that model railways were quite big in the Netherlands as well.
1980 saw me armed with a TouristKarte rambling around Central and South Germany mainly covering some museums and the old Elloks such as 144s and 118s. Years later they had largely gone the way of the steam that I’d loved so much. A while later even the blue/cream coaches, which I’d eventually gotten used to, had been replaced by ‘sweet wrapper’ colour schemes and the Deutsche Bundesbahn I knew had gone.
In my book Deutsche Bahn is a different kettle of fish all together.
Deutsche Bundesbahn set in the period loosely defined as from the early 1960s to about 1975 (or the end of steam). The location is part of the Moselbahn running from Koblenz to Trier.
Various half-built layouts appeared over the years in different bedrooms, garages and clubrooms as I moved around during my RAF service. For three years I was privileged to be associated with EACH, the Eisenbahn Amateur Club Herzogenrath, just north of Aachen. My layouts still took an age to reach anything near completion. Usually taking so long that my ideas would change, I rip the whole thing apart and eventually start again.
Ideally I want to model Cochem Bahnhof reasonably accurately (if a trifle compressed!).
In 1995 I put away a blue uniform and joined Bae Systems out here in Saudi Arabia. So far I’ve taken four years to not quite finish a small diesel/ellok Bw based on Mainz (inspired by an article in an old ERR).
More recently, John and Margot have virtually finished university so we’re moving back to the Netherlands. An attic at last! Cochem ‘should’ take shape during the next few years barring accidents.
My main railway interests at the moment: I’m still very much an ‘N’ gauger following the 1965-1975 West German scene around the Mosel/Eifel. I don’t subscribe to the old chestnut about ‘not needing the detail in ‘N’ because you can’t see it from a normal viewing distance’. To my mind that’s nonsense. I model ‘N’ because I’m never likely to have the room (or the cash!) to model what I want in any larger scale. I also like large radius curves and reasonably long trains. I still want all the detail that ‘HO’ models carry and see no reason why this shouldn’t be possible. The move towards finer wheel flanges and generally crisper detail is to be applauded. I weather my stock, worry about correct lettering for coaches and rolling stock, invest in Robert Kreye lettering sheets for locos and couldn’t care less about ‘collector value’.
Dick from the sands of the desert

Ruth Lewis (EMail:[email protected]) from London on Mar 12 2002, 17:49 GMT

responded: I have an old Hornby trainset (Passenger set No. 31). I wish to sell it. Any ideas? Thanks.

Simeon Trifonov (EMail:[email protected]) from Bulgaria on Mar 13 2002, 10:37 GMT

responded: I think I am regular visitor so:
Bulgarian,26 years old,not married,just finished my practice course in Russe police as detective.I have graduated St Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia/Law/ and that was a year ago.In 14 days i will be soldier for 6 months.
My interest in railroads dates back to 1982 when I used to play near the railroad close to the park,I am living.The first layout was a 1983 PIKO HO set and since i have been a keen PIKO fan.Near the block I live is the first bulgarian railstation/1866/-a km distance near the Danube.Therefore my interest in Bulgarian railroads got scientific basis for contacts with people working there were estabilished.now I build a humble site of the Museum and they help me in that.BDZ has nothing in their page.So go to www.geocities.com/simeontrifonov and find some info on the topic.
I have a 2.5 /2.5 layout.Mainly Piko products on it ,my Lamps and other polystirol products-handmade.I have not finished even 1/2 of the construction .
Interested in Bulgarian railroads before 1945,DRG and Industrial structures of the pre-war era.

Charles V. Weart (EMail:[email protected]) from Goodyear (Phoenix) Arizona on Mar 28 2002, 17:48 GMT

responded: Kevin Brady From the Marklin B & G group was nice enough to give this site address. Thank you, Kevin.
I am 65. I started as a fireman on steam locomotives in 1954. I retired in 1995 as a General Manager. I did not like retirement so I started my own consulting company. I have done 11 shortline startups. I inface with the Federal Railroad Administration on operating problems. I also am a Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers, the old name was road Foreman of Engines. I train engineers any where in the US. I have written a new set of Dispatcher rules for a class one carrier. I am very interested in train handling and operating practices for all railroads. My wife and I went to Europe in the summer of 2001. We rode all over 8 countries for 5 weeks. We then went to the Marklin museum and the bug bite. I have joined the ETE. I would like to have some contact with others from Europe concerning rules, operting practices, and air brake and train handling. I need help surfing this site as it appears to be very big. Any help will be apprecated.

Violin Rashev (EMail:[email protected]) from Bulgaria on May 7 2002, 14:41 GMT

responded: I wont plans for stam locomotive KPEV P8 model.This is my new Hobby.Who may help me?

Rajendra Aklekar (EMail:[email protected]) from Mumbai, India on Jun 20 2002, 4:43 GMT

responded: Profile

A Bombay-based (India) journalist, railway historian and an archivist, I have been independently involved with research of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (G.I.P.R), the pioneering railway in India, for the past two years and doing on-track field study along the railway¡¦s original route in Mumbai (Bombay).

As a part of my research, I have walked through the entire route, listed out heritage items (furniture, accessories, buildings and even rails and tracks) and noted down important old inscriptions etched on these railway heritage structures that tell the tale of the past. These findings have given me important leads to trace some unexplored historical aspects of the first railway in India.

I soon plan to compile my findings in a book.

My collection on GIP Railway comprises some central documents in the history of Indian railways, including a share certificate of the first railway company in India, copies of rare photographs of the early days of GIP Railway, Indian Railway maps of 1857 and 1881, key of an old bull-headed track of the GIP Railway (placed between the rail and the chair fixed on wooden sleepers) and lots more.

I am a member of several railway societies worldwide and also write on railway issues in several international railway publications and journals regularly.

Member:

„Ï Railway Archaeology Society, Oldham, United Kingdom.

„Ï Indian Steam Railway Society (ISRS), New Delhi, India.

„Ï Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society, Australia.

„Ï Indian Railway Fans Club Association (IRFCA).

„Ï Shakuntala Narrow Gauge Railway Society.

tigerli (EMail:) from Switzerland on Aug 24 2002, 0:25 GMT

responded: My profile is here:
tigerli

Peter Ellis (EMail:[email protected]) from London & Zagreb on Aug 25 2002, 21:32 GMT

responded: I'm 55 and married, currently living in London but originally from the NW of England. When I lived there, it was Lancashire, but these days it is all part of Liverpool's urban sprawl. The local lines were ex LMS/Ex L&Y; and school trips were to places like Horwich Works.

I originally trained as a Chartered Auctioneer & Estate Agent but moved in to selling surveying equipment, as the property market was bad when I qualified and I knew surveying. I followed this with various sales and technical sales jobs, up to Sales director, before moving to London to sell more surveying equipment, mainly in export markets.

Exports seemed to suit me and I became commercial manager of a Geneva based technical consultancy and then spent 20 years chasing around the world, primarily in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, dealing with new Hospitals and Universities for developing countries as well as dealing with UN agencies.

Latterly, I've moved in to IT and I am now in network support at a public housing organisation. Strange how so many of us here are around the same age, have travelled for business and are in IT !

Although I've lived with various girls over the years ranging from sharing a flat in Mayfair with three (don't ask), another who was my fiancee for six years and a Japanese girl for three, it was only last year that I finally got married. Ksenija is a Croatian lawyer and we met, following a journey on the old Austo-Hungarian line from Zagreb, where the Orient Express used to call, up to Graz, at the Graz Opera Ball. She is much younger than I am and her energy is revitalising. Their attitudes to my railway interests have generally been tolerant rather than co-operative. Hilary never did work out how we kept surprisingly coming across model railway shops in places like Hamburg when we were supposed to be taking in the sights !

My interest in Railways started with Triang stuff bought at Hattons in Liverpool when I was 13. The American loco and stock soon disappeared in favour of Triang TT GWR and I tried a little scratch building, stretching TriAng coaches to more acceptable lengths, before discovering girls at 14. Model Railways then took a back seat.

Thereafter I could never resist looking in model shops and eventually, whilst visiting a UN office in Vienna twenty years later, succombed to an armoured BR05. It was only one loco, wasn't it ? I was soon on a downward spiral as various other locos and coaches were accumulated and my initial choice of loco fixed my interest in wartime German railways.

I've been gradually moving everything down to Zagreb, where if I can find a job, I'm intending to move permanently. Ksenija and my 14yo stepdaughter, Sara, are already there. I've even discovered a model railway club there. It will be good to be in one place rather than shuttling constantly between the two.
I already go to some Rotary Club meetings there and I don't think I will be short of things to do.(Like learning Croatian !!) I'm hoping to actually start building a layout down there at last, as neither here nor my former Kensington flat ever had the space.

My interest in wartime railways has inevitably moved in to HO trams, busses, cars and trucks, as well as military vehicles and I collect models of these also.I also collect books and papers on all of them ! Actually, they are the heaviest thing to shift down there. Althought there is no real model shop that I've found in Croatia, Graz is not far away and there is still the internet !

Cheers

Peter

joseph leon (EMail:[email protected]) from INDIA on Sep 10 2002, 13:02 GMT

responded: I am from Southern India and would like to say that there R no one much interested to invite the General public to get more involved to the this hobby and be in a group of people who can share more and more ideas. such attempts will make thing see bettere in future..JOSEPH LEON .

joseph leon (EMail:[email protected]) from INDIA on Sep 10 2002, 13:03 GMT

responded: I am from Southern India and would like to say that there R no one much interested to invite the General public to get more involved to the this hobby and be in a group of people who can share more and more ideas. such attempts will make thing see bettere in future..JOSEPH LEON .

MIke Kelly (EMail:[email protected]) from Genis, France on Sep 10 2002, 16:58 GMT

responded: I was born in London in 1947 to an Irish father and an Italian mother, so I look on myself as a European. I started off things trainwise with a Triang Transcontinental (even at six I liked the exotic).
My early experiences of the real thing were standing on the platform of Stratford station in East London admiring the steam powered express trains to East Anglia. However, I was bitten by the continental bug in 1956 when my parents took me to Southern Italy by train. Steam locomotives at Calais, followed by Swiss and Italian electrics - I was hooked!
After a brief sojourn, discovering women, sports cars and the like I married in 1972 and got back to modeling.
My current H.O. layout is based on Neuffen in S.W.Germany, although like almost everyone else involved in this hobby, I have ended up with more stock than I know what to do with.
My wife and I retired (escaped) five years early from our employer a large American broker last Christmas and we have just bought a house in the Dordogne in France. Obviously an important / most important criteria was a train room and I have ended up with one 7 metres by 7 metres ( sadly, I still think in feet!). It is not that big by U.S. or Aussie standards I know, but massive to someone used to most English houses.
While we are convincing local artisans to convert / redecorate, my collection has stayed behind in situ in England. However once all the boring stuff is done, I get down to starting on my next layout (in between looking after 550 walnut trees - anyone like walnuts?)
The next project is going to be a CSD/DR (DDR) border crossing ( a trip already booked for next spring, to photograph and get some atmosphere), which will allow me to exercise my Gutzold diesels (I think brilliant) and my ever expanding CSD collection.
I find this forum informative, interesting and a joy to hear views from all around the world. Long may it continue.

Blair Nauman (EMail:[email protected]) from Christchurch, New Zealand on Oct 17 2002, 0:03 GMT

responded: I am possibly the southern most respondent. I am an electrical engineer with a family of 3 beautiful children and a very understanding wife. I am fortunate in that my hobby room is 13m X 7m and most of my evenings are spent "tinkering".
I have developed my own modular concept and am incorporating many motorised functions. Once completed there will be a single automated branchline, automated twin track express network, a minature railway, a comprehensive Faller car system with controlled intersections and last but not least, a Fairground with Ferris Wheel, Chairoplane and Bumpercars. I am 75% finished the two end modules and once complete I will begin the four modules inbetween. It will eventually be 12.4 m long by 0.7m wide.
Naturally the theme is Germany 1970-85 which allows scope for all sorts of trains.
I run mostly Fleischmann and Roco but I would like to hear from anyone that operates the Faller Car system or whether they know of a chatroom/forum on that subject.
This is a great way to interact with like minded individuals and I applaud the originators of this forum...Well done.

Jeffrey Smith (EMail:[email protected]) from Virginia, USA on Jan 31 2003, 17:42 GMT

responded: Age: 37, recently married, two stepdaughters: Sophia (7) & Isabella (3)
Job: Videoconferencing Network Manager
Location: Alexandria, Virginia near Mount Vernon about 15 miles outside Washington, DC. My office (in DC) is located right across the street from a railroad line going through DC. On any given day I can walk outside and see an Amtrak or VRE (Virginia Rail Express) passenger train or any number of CSX freight trains.

Train Interests: Fleischmann & Trix HO DC with two areas of interest. Epoch I – KPEV, KBayStsB & KWStE. Epoch III/IV – DB steam, diesel and electric. I have also collected a token amount of Fleischmann SNCF as well.
Layout: Still in the planning stages. My wife and I recently moved to a new home. I am currently assisting a good friend selling his very large collection. Ultimately I would like a layout that could be used for both of my areas of interest, but I don’t think that will ever work on a prototypical theme.
Other Interests: My wife and family, live music, NFL football, cooking Thai and Chinese cuisine, friends, Jack Daniels and almost any hefeweizen (not in any particular order).

History: Started off Lego trains when my family lived in France in the 1970s. Tyco was my first HO brand. Then in the mid-1970s, I was introduced to Fleischmann by my father when we lived in Spain. Sold Tyco a few years later and stuck primarily with Fleischmann for many years after that. Introduced to Trix in the late 1990s and now collect primarily Fleischmann and Trix. I also have a few Marklin (converted to DC) pieces and some Hamo. Over the years I did manage to collect some old 1960s US modeled Fleischmann. I desire to use these as display models only. Recently decided to stick to my areas of interest listed above.

Would love to have a layout that could prototypically incorporate both of my areas of interest. Knowing this is not possible, I am trying to design something special where I can run half of my collection at a time without having any S3/6s getting passed by a 103. I plan on using Fleischmann Profi track for my layout and have installed Profi couplers on almost everything that I own. I have been designing several layout options with the Fleischmann CD Profi track design program. A great alternative to the pencil and stencil method of many years ago.

I have a very strong desire to learn to read German. Have very little time with everything else going on to do so. I am always eager to meet other model railroad enthusiasts and peruse their collection. Especially fond of German trains and Fleischmann. Not a big fan of Epoch V DB (all red) nor the ICEs and Epoch 0 does little for me as well.

Thanks John for this site. Thanks Clinton for encouraging me to “just get out there”. And thanks to all of you who have provided very stimulating discussion, (way too much) information, and a lot of inspiration.

Charles Spencer (EMail:[email protected]*rldrailfans.org) from Ottawa, Canada on Feb 1 2003, 3:50 GMT

responded: Happy to report an update to my userprofile, in the form of a 8lb 12oz caboose for the family train, named Rowan. Great to have a boy, though not even a girl in this household would escape involvement with trains. At age 5 days, he's already had his first ride on Ottawa's O-train, a commuter line operating Talent 643s.

Regular modelling operations may experience slight delays, but good prospects for the future!

Charles

Dave Howell (EMail:[email protected]) from Plaistow on Feb 1 2003, 14:20 GMT

responded: Charles

Congratulations to you. When do you buy the first train set?

Dave

Bryan Benn (EMail:[email protected]) from West Malling, UK on Feb 1 2003, 16:21 GMT

responded: Congrats Charles. Hope mother and baby are doing fine.

I've got a spare stopwatch here for the young lad when the time is right. Would be nice to see someone else take up the hobby of timing steam hauled trains. If not he can use it to check on Michael Schumacher's lap times if he decides to follow one of your other interests!

Bryan B

Gustavo Villa (EMail:[email protected]) from Viña del Mar, Chile on Feb 14 2003, 23:53 GMT

responded: Dear Friends.

After two years searching for the site, finally I found it (thanks to Claudio).
Actually Im not in the hobbie with the madness I had two years ago, only I buy Loki magazine and some locomotives, just one or two per year, but in two months I get married and I will move to a house with a great garage to start all over again with my swiss layout proyect. So I plan to participate again as I used to.

Many greetings to all.

Gustavo

Sebastián Fernández (EMail:[email protected]) from Santiago, Chile on Feb 15 2003, 19:57 GMT

responded: Gustavo, que bueno saber de ti otra vez! (how nice to know something about you again!)

I'd thought you sold out your collection. Congratulations for your wedding! I think I may send you a Bemo catalogue as a present...though your bride may not enjoy it too much!

Always bear in mind there's Sebastian hans to help you out with your layout.

Un abrazo,

Sebastian

Sebastián Fernández (EMail:[email protected]) from Santiago, Chile on Feb 15 2003, 20:15 GMT

responded: Gustavo, I forgot to give you my MSN email: [email protected]

(I'd better say, that's for everyone on the forum whishing to have a chat with me)

I never use that email though: it's always full with spam rubbish. The one above given by my university is reliable and quick.

Hope to see you on MSN.

Sebastian

Sebastián Fernández (EMail:[email protected]) from Santiago, Chile on Feb 15 2003, 20:32 GMT

responded: OK, I'll follow Yevgeny's idea. Time for an update after my very old profile. (of September 1998!)

Age: 22
Occupation: Industrial Egineering Student at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile)

Model Railway interests: Mostly DB, but also SBB-CFF and SNCF. Transition time from Epoch III to IV- around 1970- I love that era beacuse of the traction posibilities- Steam, diesel, Electric, etc.
2 rail DC. No 3 rails on my track please!
Not into DCC. Can't afford it right now.

At the time I first wrote my profile I was starting to build my layout- now I had to stop, due to lack of space. But still love to do shunting in my ready to run but ugly, non landscaped layout.

Other interests: Music (mainly J.S. Bach, I play the flute and direct a wedding choir), reading, and cars. Citroën is my favorite marque. I drive a BX)

Gustavo Villa (EMail:[email protected]) from Viña del Mar, Chile on Feb 16 2003, 13:41 GMT

responded: My MSN, [email protected]

Nice to find you again Sebastian.

Greetings

Gustavo

Martin Silz (EMail:[email protected]) from Essen / Germany on Feb 18 2003, 7:51 GMT

responded: Another update (so to say to update my first entry):
I re-joined the Essen model railway club. Some of the regulars know why I left the club more than eight years ago. The reason why now vanished and so I decided to come back.
You may visit me in the well known layout coach. The dates, when there will be "action" in the coach, will be given soon on that web-site.

Roland Dorn (EMail:[email protected]) from Hamburg, Germany on May 15 2003, 15:33 GMT

responded: Hi there,

I stumbled across this place looking for some terminological advice concerning the term "spectacle plate" which I got stuck with in the context of a n English text on pipeline and piping systems. Being a translator by trade, I need to find the correct term in German for the translation of this text, and having read it in articles on locomotives, I figured you might be able to help me in a combined effort of German-English railroad expert cooperation. I'd really appreciate your assistance (and the rest of the German linguistic community, too, I guess), and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Regards,

Roland

spectacle plate (cab component)
The weatherboard or cab front in which the spectacle windows are situated.
Warrant: The Railway Dictionary, An A-Z of Railway Terminology, Alan A Jackson, Alan Sutton Publishing, 1996
Plural form: spectacle plates
CL Vehicles and vehicle components
BT cab component

spectacle plate (frame component)
The motion plate beneath the boiler of a steam locomotive through which the connecting rods pass.
Warrant: The Railway Dictionary, An A-Z of Railway Terminology, Alan A Jackson, Alan Sutton Publishing, 1996, 1997 Warrant: Great Western Railway Drawing Registers
Plural form: spectacle plates
CL Vehicles and vehicle components
BT

Barry Wideman (EMail:[email protected]) from Sherwood, AR, USA on May 24 2003, 4:55 GMT

responded: I'm 44 and married with 3 boys.

I live in Sherwood, Arkansas. That is located just north of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Job: Retired US Air Force C-130 Flight Engineer; Retired Fire Chief, Sherwood Volunter Fire Department; now working as a Road Freight Conductor on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Train interest: MoPac and Union Pacific

Lay-out: I just did some remodling so I had to tear out my lay-out. New lay-out is still in the planning phase.

Oter interests: Flying and rebulding old cars

John Oxlade (EMail:[email protected]) from Salfords, Surrey, UK on Jun 9 2003, 18:23 GMT

responded:

It is with a great deal of sadness that I have to report that Geoff Money passed away recently. Geoff had been a visitor and contributor to this site for at least 3 years (see his posting from May 2000 above) and his interaction with others here will be dearly missed. I have asked that our sympathies be passed on to his family. If you wish to contact his sister directly, her email address is [email protected]

Rogier Donker (EMail:[email protected]) from USA on Aug 5 2003, 1:42 GMT

responded: Ah shucks!
No wonder we had not heard from him lately...:-(
Rogier

Tim Hale (EMail:) from Dorset, UK on Sep 21 2003, 23:51 GMT

responded: Add to the above:

Other interests;

Riding, polishing, talking to, admiring, pay for my first H-D*, despite being made in the US, it is quite a subtle piece of art and replaces the beloved Ford Boss 428 (which, next week, is returning home with me to Detroit)

Tim

*At almost 51YO, it is about time too.

Brendan Kelly (EMail:[email protected]) from Wellington, New Zealand on Sep 22 2003, 2:17 GMT

responded: Tim emailed me with the news of his purchase of a fine American motorcycle.

Welcome aboard Tim, Harleys are great fun - and very easy to extract more horsepower from. Funnily enough they are great B road bikes and can be made to cover distance surprisingly quickly

I did suggest with my tongue very firmly in cheek that I would look forward next to welcoming him to the ranks of marklin modellers. He stopped replying after that. I apologise Tim, twas meant in jest ;-)

On the new toys front - while I have not been shopping lately my wife has just purchase a 1986 Porsche 924 S - equipped with roll cage, harness belts and race seats, and certified for both track and road. It should be good fun.

cheers

BK

Clinton Ross (EMail:[email protected]) from Boston, US on Sep 22 2003, 12:39 GMT

responded:

Funny enough, the 412EP chopper was trade-in for a red 430. Although one is still required to wear headphones in the front seats it is marvelous how the miles melt away.

Clinton (ding)

Paul Caswell (EMail:) from Birmingham, UK on Sep 22 2003, 18:50 GMT

responded: Well - I'm 45 years old (ie just old enough to remember British steam in service), with a lifelong interest in the Great Northern and London and North Eastern Railways.

My real railway interest began when my father built me a Kitmaster 'OO' gauge model of the GNR Stirling 8' Single 'No1' when I was 5 or so years old. Shortly afterwards, I collared my father's wonderful book of loco drawings 'Locomotives worth Modelling', which introduced me to such esoteric locomotives as the Webb Compounds on the LNWR, and some of those beautiful 4-4-0s from the LSWR.

However, even in that book I kept coming back to the Stirling Singles. After being taken to the 'old' York Railway Museum my eyes were opened to the Ivatt Atlantics of the GNR, and, of course, No4468 'Mallard'. From that point I was 'hooked' on East Coast traction. Shortly afterwards I rode behind the newly preserved No4498 'Sir Nigel Gresley', and saw 'Flying Scotsman' for the first time.

What always intrigued me was the different sound of the larger LNER engines in comparison with those of the other companies. Gradually the secret dawned - 3 cylinders. With recordings to guide me, I soon got to know the remarkable sounds of V2s whose valve gear needed attention,and the contrasting sound of the Pacifics in good order - six gloriously even beats to each wheel revolution.

What followed was obvious - the study of the work of Gresley in particular, and this is what I have been doing ever since. A true genius who was never afraid to experiment (just look at 'Humorist' in the 1930s!) and the ultra-high pressure 'hush-hush' 4-6-4 of the previous decade. Add to this a friendship with the great Andre Chapelon, resulting in such unique features in British practise as Kylala-Chapelon blastpipes, experimental feed-water heaters and the useage of poppet valves, and one can see how 'infectious' the interest easily became.


At the other extreme, such fascinating little engines as the Sentinel vertical boiler 0-4-0s and the steam railcars and we have the basis of a lifelong interest in one aspect of Railways in Britain which will always be special in my opinion.

Yours,

Paul.

Bryan Benn (EMail:[email protected]) from West Malling, UK on Sep 24 2003, 16:57 GMT

responded: I've been using WRF for around a year now, so I reckon it's time to put a profile of myself here.

I'm 55, and due to my love of Germany and it's bier and food, I have what my late father used to call, a "German Waistline". Except most German's I meet these days are slim!

I've been very happily married for over 30 years to Bobbie, my long suffering wife who trots along behind me on my steam trips, or waits at home while I rush off to Hamburg for a run behind 012 100-4! We have two daughters, Suzy and Tracy, both in their twenties who still live here. We obviously make it too comfortable, although they are fun to have around and can be good company when people drop in for dinner, as happened when Alan "Tigerli" Rees called in a few weeks ago. There are two cats as well, but kept out of sight most of the time Alan was here!

Steam locos, especially fast ones, have been my life. Right from the days when I was a babe in arms. I logged many fast steam runs in BR Southern Region days and was the youngest member of a crowd of fanatical timers who went to all sort of lengths to get fast runs with Merchant Navy, West Country and Battle of Britain pacifics in those last frantic years leading up to summer 1967. As the youngest I was always on the bottom of the list for footplate rides and one Monday night in 1967 was only sent up into the cab of 35003 "Royal Mail" with driver the late Fred Burridge because he had never been timed at more than the Southern speed limit of 85 mph. The rest as they say is history. Four nights that week Fred got a Merchant Navy over 100 mph on that train starting from Basingstoke, and on the fifth with a badly steaming West Country class only managed 98 mph! But on the first night of the week, the Monday, I was in the cab when 35003 reached 106 mph between Winchfield and Fleet. The highest properly authenticated speed by a Bullied. Needless to say I didn't get on the footplate again that week!

A flirtation with motor racing after BR steam ended delayed my first visit to Germany until 1971, when I fell in love with the country, it's people and the 01.10 three cylinder pacifics then working from Munster to Emden and Norddeich. A love affair that continues to this day, even though I still struggle dreadfully with the langauge.

Career wise I started out in British Rail as a Finance Trainee and eventually reached the very highest level, just short of being one of the 5 or 6 Executive Board Members. As my career developed I dropped my hobby interest in BR Railway operations to avoid conflicts of interest. An interest I have never regained even though my career sadly came to an abrupt and premature end after years of very heavy workloads and a somewhat too successful a time as Chief Internal Auditor saw a complete breakdown.

I've made videos about South African and East German narrow gauge steam, but the costs and pressures of that saw a change of direction in the late 1990s as I moved to producing a model for the first time, (Hermsdorf-Rehefeld, a recent thread has started to cover that). In 2000 I also returned to stopwatching German main line steam again. With some spectacular runs to record!

I am very slowly writing a book about more recent German Steam Locomotive Performance and have set up a web site covering the same subject. A site that has quite astonished me by the numbers of people who visit it.

And WRF has, over the past year, opened up a whole load of new horizons and friends, and helped considerably in re-motivating me when lack of confidence stopped me progressing "Hermsdorf-Rehefeld".

But my over-riding passion, (second only after my family), is German three cylinder pacifcs. And Bobbie would say that probably came first!

Bryan B

MALCOLM WILLIAMS (EMail:[email protected]) from Taranaki, New Zealand on Sep 28 2003, 0:12 GMT

responded: Does any GWR Steam era enthusiast out there have a really good track plan for oo in a 3mtr. x 4.6mtr. area. Most British Publications show trackplans for a much smaller area. Have made several layouts in the past but need some new ideas inserted in a tired brain.

All replies appreciated

Bryan Benn (EMail:[email protected]) from West Malling, UK on Sep 30 2003, 20:51 GMT

responded: I did rather leave out another great passion in my life when adding my User Profile above.

Pop Music. A subject that doesn't often get raised on WRF.

It all started back in the late 1950s, with elder brother and sister straining to hear Radio Luxemburg, complete with Horace Batchelor of Keynsham, (K..E..Y..N..S..H..A..M), Bristol with his magic pools winning formula, (anyone else remember him?).

Right from the early days up to the limited good stuff we get these days I've been a fan. But two words sum up my love of pop music.....maybe the best thing ever from over the pond....BUDDY HOLLY.....and his geatest record in my view? Not one of the famous hits, but "Crying, Waiting, Hoping..." Now I bet no one out there has ever heard that one!

I do like loud rock music as well as Buddy, maybe that's why I like the music from a German 01.10 so much. No surprise as my introduction to pop and rock was at the same time as I started to travel behind three cylinder Bulleid pacifics!

Bryan B

Alan Rees (EMail:tigerli) from Switzerland on Sep 30 2003, 22:36 GMT

responded: Bryan,
Only 2 days to go before I get to see the Rolling Stones live again. Satisfaction, Yeah !
Alan

Roger Marsh (EMail:) from Australia on Oct 1 2003, 0:40 GMT

responded: Pink Floyd. Enough said.

Kevin Brady (EMail:[email protected]) from Beverly,Ma. on Oct 1 2003, 2:32 GMT

responded: Hi all,
Not to get -=off=- topic,... Led Zeppelin.


Kevin(eeessshhh!)

Clinton Ross (EMail:[email protected]) from Boston, US on Oct 1 2003, 12:12 GMT

responded:

Boston was destined to suffer more than two decades of unskilled and boring concert performances when the Boston Symphony Orchestra engaged Ozawa. Only all-too-brief interuptions with the elderly-yet-dynamic Haitink came to town as principal guest conductor. As all things must pass, Ozawa has been removed

Dave Howell (EMail:[email protected]) from Isle of Dogs on Oct 1 2003, 13:06 GMT

responded: I guess I must have just about every available recording of Buddy Holly who was, in my mind, the true King of rock and roll. I am also a great fan of the Sun Record label where Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins among others found success. Personally I prefer Sonny Burgess, Charlie Feathers and Warren Smith.

Bryann, if you like heavy rock why not try a German band Rammstein. I have seen them live twice and they are great.

I suppose as I am on this page I could update some of my details. I now live (some of the time) with my mother and daughter on the Isle of Dogs or my girlfriend in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

My website is www.davesrailwayworld.com where you will find some of the layouts I have built in recent years, pictures of GWR items in presrvation and my collection of GWR (and it's constituents)paperwork, tickets etc. I tend to have very little time these days for model railways as the new love of my life plays in two bands (brass and woodwind rather than rock) and I get dragged around to those.

Clinton Ross (EMail:[email protected]) from Boston, US on Oct 1 2003, 13:07 GMT

responded:

Apologies to you, please. The above was assumed to be stricken using the "clear sheet" button as it was thought to be irrelevant to UserProfiles. Moreover, it is badly written. Again, sorry... while the opinion remains, the posting was clearly unintentional.

Clinton (early Tangerine Dream)

Jan Frelin (EMail:) from Bålsta, Sweden on Oct 1 2003, 15:30 GMT

responded: Rammstein rocks! Never seen them, though. Kind of in topic - they're German at least (very).

Gene Kruger (EMail:[email protected]) from Montreal on Oct 1 2003, 18:34 GMT

responded: Dave...2 things...1st I just had a look at your Bromley at Bow layout....I like it very much. Did you use the Ikea Moppe 3 drawer set to build your baseboards on?
2nd....You [email protected] email addy doesn't seem to work.
Cheers
Gene

Bryan Benn (EMail:[email protected]) from West Malling, UK on Oct 24 2003, 12:32 GMT

responded: As came up on another thread that I cannot find, a number of us also had/have a passing interest in aviation.

Well, with the rather weak link that I saw this wonderful aircraft, which retires from scheduled service today, a few times from the window of something slower while waiting to take off at Heathrow on a steam trip, I thought I would add a photo. I took this in the 80's. Using a twin lens Mamyaflex 6 x 6 camera, with both lenses poked through different parts of the security fencing at Heathrow, waiting for the aircraft to appear from behind a hanger at what I believe is it's take off speed of 250 mph! If the BOSS disaproves I shall no doubt get a good telling off at Swanley NG Expo tomorrow!

Bryan B

John Oxlade (EMail:[email protected]) from Salfords, Surrey, UK on Oct 24 2003, 12:38 GMT

responded: Me disapprove? Nah, I think it is a magnificent piece of engineering.

Dave Howell (EMail:[email protected]) from Isle of Dogs on Oct 28 2003, 7:27 GMT

responded: Gene, sorry I haven't come back sooner but I have only just seen this. Thank you for your comment about the layout. Yes, that is the Ikea unit I used. I have given my other e-mail address above.

John, why do you believe that Swanley NG EXpo is such good engineering?

Brian McDonnell (EMail:[email protected]) from Toronto on Oct 28 2003, 22:17 GMT

responded: Bryan - was it Horace Batchelor of Keynsham who gave the time by his H. Samuel Everright watch?

John - you are being very tolerant.

Charles Spencer (EMail:[email protected]*rldr*ilf*ns.org) from Ottawa, Canada on Oct 29 2003, 18:37 GMT

responded: It's not at all surprising that railfans will also admiring pinnacle engineering in other [transport] fields. As we heard all last week in the media, the Concorde retirement decision was a battle between emotion/pride and economics; eventually the "dismal science" won out.

My chief regret is that I didn't win the lottery in time to take a flight (my other regret is that I haven't won the lottery in time for anything).

And your photo is magnificent, Bryan, one of the best I've seen in all the coverage. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Charles

Tim Hale (EMail:) from Dorset, UK on Oct 29 2003, 19:43 GMT

responded: Just to think, it was a teacher in the US campaigning against Concorde that led to the cancellation of routes and consequently the airline orders that killed this thing of technical beauty. Not that they needed much persuading that it needed cancelling.

If it had been any other country's product, would it have received the same treatment, I think not?

Tim (Still got my Concorde cabin-luggage labels)

Herbert Fackeldey (EMail:[email protected]) from Aachen, Germany on Nov 5 2003, 19:17 GMT

responded: Hello all,

after taking the liberty to give some more or less useful answers and even asking questions myself, I think it is about time to give my "user profile". I'm a 45-year-old office clerk, not married, no children (none I know of, as they say), living in Aachen, Germany. This is Germany's westernmost town of any size an just a few kilometers from Belgium and the Netherlands, which makes railfanning (and living there) all the more interesting. There is a website on the railways of the region (www.vonderruhren.de).
I got interested in trains (the real ones and the small ones) in the early 70s, just in time to see the last years of steam on the DB and also quite some prewar electrics. I like everything with flanged wheels, but my main interest is European narrow gauge. I also do a little modelling in 0 scale metre gauge and write an occasional article from time to time.
While my haircut may resemble somewhat that of William Shakespeare in is later years, my command of Shakespeares language is far from perfect, and I apologize for every inconvenient this may cause (as well as for the inconvenients caused by my habit of talking before thinking!)

Best regards, Herbert

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