I've been a model railroader since I was about seven (I've liked trains since I was three) and got several HO scale Varney pieces through a Kix cereal box top offer. I had a railroad (on a 4x8) in my bedroom up until I went into the Army in 1966. When I got out of the Army in 1970, I was still facing three more years at Philadelphia College of Art, pursuing a degree in Industrial Design.  Jobs at a number of consultant design offices followed and then a couple of corporate position ... more money, more responsibblity.  Several aborted attempts at building something to run my now growing collection of freight cars and brass camelbacks followed, with several 6'-0" x 2'-6" sections of layout with hand-laid track salvaged from a couple of those attempts to show for it

It was mostly too much work responsibility, too much family responsibbilty and not nearly enough time, not enough space, but enough dollars to continue to acquire the things I felt I needed to carry off the building of a believeable free-lanced prototype railroad called the Lehigh Susquehanna & Western.

I am now retired. That translates into lots of time, probably enough space to build a rather abbreviated version of what I originally had planned ... and I'm really happy now that I bought all that stuff in the early years! I've unpacked 56 book boxes that said LS&W on the outside - including two very heavy ones which were labelled "strata" (my ex-wife would never have stood for moving a couple of boxes of rocks, that were destined to yield rubber molds, back and forth across the country - they were very, very heavy!) and have rediscovered some cool stuff! I have surveyed the living/family room in my newly-rented house and drawn it up to scale. I am now in the process of developing a track plan. In the meantime, I'm spending my evenings finishing up the several production lines of freight cars I had going 17 tears ago, building a few structures  and enjoying the whole process! When I have something to show the world, I will proudly post some photos! Until then ... model railroading is FUN ... STILL!

BiL