I have been model railroading for just a little over 3 years and Missouri Pacific is my favorite road name followed by Santa Fe.

When I was little we lived in Veterans housing, about 30 yards from the Mo. Pacific tracks. Those steam locomotives and newer diesels, were a part of everyday life.

I saw them everyday and heard them every night. When I would visit my grandpa, he would take me to a local shopping area, and we would have to cross a railroad track. The crossing gates were operated manually by the man in the signal shack.

At the time, I thought that he had the best job in the world. I also had a uncle that had a terrific H.O. layout and I promised myself that someday I would build one too. Half a century later, after taking my eldest grandson to a GATS show, he held me to my promise. N scale was my choice because of the economy of space it allows.

Change-over era, steam to diesel, would be my choice. My favorite part of the hobby is landscaping. My home layout is a fictional Missouri town I call Silver Falls, along route 66. Local industries include coal mining, a quarry and a small chemical plant. My track configuration is not representational of the actual MO-PAC lines that ran through my neighborhood. Three of the business structures are however, as close to the original buildings as I could remember them. These buildings were located at the Bates St. crossing and so I decided to add the "Bates Motel and mansion" just for laughs.

My first module was inspired by a trip to Wisconsin. The lighthouses and Kettle Moraine glacial deposits were the bass for this module.

March 7, 2001