Hiya!

I'm a collector and operator of trains of many gauges, but pre-war tinplate is my first love.  I have a 14 by 9 O-27 permanent layout, but I also build 2 seasonal layouts each year.  The first is a 4 by 6 O-31 and Flyer S-Gauge on the floor in my bedroom.  In the spring and summer months it's Thai themed but in the fall and winter it's all Plasticville and Christmas.  The second is a G-Scale and Standard Gauge 15 by 5 1/2 layout that I set up around the family Christmas tree each November.  The majority of the structures on that layout are paper models I've built to recreate classic villas, stations and bungalows proportionate to the trains.  I also have small collections of scale O, N, HO and even a few trains of "unknown" scale.

I like to acquire rusty old trains that nobody seems to want and then I strip, sand, prime, paint and polish them to like new condition, often in custom color schemes.  I'm also interrested in building a permanent standard gauge layout based on the great "Scenic Railway" designs of Lionel from the 20's and 30's.

Why "Penny Trains"?  Well, I took a page from Lionel history and used my middle name!