In the middle 1970's I was a trackman for the Boston & Maine RR out of the East Deerfield yards and help
maintain the track between the town of Hadley and as far to the north as White River Vt. I have always loved rail roads and that love seems to continue to the present day. I rode my first train back in the early 60's and it was on a train that was called Steam Town and as I remember we boarded it in Keene NH at the news stand and rode it north to the town of Bellows Falls and then returned to Keene and the engine that pulled the train consist was a Steam Loco. Well fast forward to the middle 70's and I spent a spring summer and fall digging out switches and replacing rail and ties when that was not to be done I rode the rail in a dump truck set up with the wheels that enabled it to ride the rail so it was both rail and pavement enabled kind of a neat way to continue my education. Fast forward a few years and I was friends with a fellow who had a lot of track and many parts for a railroad that was assembled at the Springfield MA train show he also had a train set up in his basement that was amazing it was on two levels with a helix up to the second level and as I remember he had a pusher train come out of a side track to help the train make it to the top then removed it from the consist and back down thru the helix to the side track and wait till the next train went up and needed help making the top.Up to this time I have never had my own train set up I have had a healthy set of trains and still look forward to having my first full running train set and not just something that sets in the box or displays cases around the house or shop. Again fast forward to 2000 on May 15 I was driving a tractor trailer hauling two fully loaded trailers at a weight of 135,000 and I do not know where my brain was but I started to pull onto a crossing and at that time I found out that two object may not occupy the same space at the same time and I was hit in the drivers door thank god the train was only going they said about 18 miles an hour so it totaled the tractor that I was driving and did almost nothing to the Loco that was leading the consist Well it took me two weeks in the hospital and then a year to be able to have my license returned to me and my ability to drive again returned. I know watch out for crossings that have no cross bucks or warning of any kind lights or falling cross arms .... so is the life but I hold no less love for the rail road I still love the sight of a full consist hauling for all it is worth and doing it on time or near to it.So now in my sheltered life of retirement I am a grad dad and have a 3 year old who loves trains as much as I do and I gold pan living in the Dakota's there is a lot of that also .... I do woodworking so I think with what I have for equipment in the shop I should have an easy time putting up a something that he will have to pass on to his own children .... I know a bit long winded but I look forward to being a very active member but in the take and the give of what is involved in Model Railroading.