That's Life

You know how you plan things & life comes along & hits you out of nowhere & you have to regroup, make some decisions, & carry on.

Well, I'm at the point (again) in my personal life.

I'm not going to get into things that are private, but just to say, I've had a second health scare in 6 years & it will require me to go on a path that will take away a lot of my free time. So, I'm going to put a pause on this page for a little while.

How long? I'm not sure.

I'm pretty strong person & I'll be good (don't you worry about that). I'll come back & revisit this blog after I go through my journey as I reassess stuff.

I'm keeping my PRR Milton Branch page going on Facebook & on Blogger (the work on that layout will take a lot less of my time), so visit that as I'm dealing with "stuff."

Keep your heads up folks & carry on!

Memorial Day 2026

We celebrate Memorial Day to honor U.S. military members who have died in combat. Please remember those who gave it all for their brother & country.

M and D 22 at East New Market

Here is a photo of Maryland & Delaware RS-1 #22 at East New Market, MD 1980 by Richard Jahn.

Maryland & Delaware RS-1 #22 at East New Market, MD 1980 by Richard Jahn

Have Not Posted in Awhile

Funny, I just noticed I have not posted anything since December 2025. Life can sure get busy. I'll make sure I post something in April 2026.

Merry Christmas 2025 and Happy New Year 2026

Merry Christmas 2025 & Happy New Year 2026! The photo is a PRR advertisement entitled "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (the) Pennsylvania Railroad," date unknown.

Happy Labor Day 2025

Happy Labor Day 2025! This is from the PRR "Working Partners" by Jerome Rozen in 1946.

Number of Freight Cars vs. Layout Size

I just did a quick calculation for the number of freight cars vs. layout size. I'm coming up with 47 cars for the Cambridge Secondary Track layout.

You can do the same if you look at Joe Daniel Fugate's article from the October 2014 Model Railroad Hobbyist:

October 2014 Model Railroad Hobbyist

Paul Scot August's The Mondovi Line

Another great layout to look at is Paul Scot August's The Mondovi Line in HO Scale.

You can find his YouTube channel here:

The Mondovi Line

Happy 4th of July 2025!

Happy 4th of July!

Ringing Out Liberty N.C. Wyeth 1929, PRR collection

Mental Health & Model Railroading with Dan Dossa

Around The Layout Podcast & Ray Arnott Jr. hit another one out of the park with Episode #168 "Mental Health & Model Railroading with Dan Dossa." Listen to it here: 

Around the Layout Episode 168

Matt Forcum and his Metaline Falls Model Railroad

Here's a page I follow on Instagram: Matt Forcum's MFRailroad (Metaline Falls) model railroad:

MFRailroad

He also has a great YouTube page:

MFRailroad on YouTube

Tom Johnson's Cass County Railroad

If you haven't done so, check out the model railroad artist at the Tom Johnson's Cass County Railroad. You can find it on Facebook here:

Tom Johnson's Cass County RR

SoCal Scale Models

Another model railroader I follow on YouTube is SoCal Model Railroad. Look at Rick's page here:

SoCal Scale Models

His Corgi Benjamin is adorable too!

Around The Layout Podcast

Another suggestion from me: if you haven't done so already, go & sign-up & listen to Ray Arnott, Jr.'s Around The Layout podcast. You can find it here:

Around The Layout

There's also a fan page on Facebook:

Friends of the Around The Layout Podcast

Go listen!

The Words "Just" and "Only"

Lance Mindheim's Perspective article in the December 2024 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman Magazine is EXACTLY why I created this page. I do have the space to build a medium-sized model railroad, but I don't have the time thanks to work & family. Of course, the real railroad takes A LOT of my time & the rest of the time is devoted to my family, so modeling time is very, very limited. Take a look at this article & see if you might be in the same situation(s).

RMC December 2024 Perspective Article

Boomer Diorama

I want to mention one of the great modelers I follow (& suggest you follow it too) is Boomer Diorama | River Road on YouTube. Here's a link to his work:

Boomer Diorama | River Road

He does some fantastic scratch building. I also fall in line with his thoughts on modeling, in general.

From what I can tell, Boomer is only on YouTube (no other social media - I can't blame him for that).

DuPont Seaford, DE in 1939

I love this shot of the DuPont Company's plant in Seaford, DE on the Cambridge Secondary Track in 1939 - right after they opened shared by the Seaford Delaware, a look back in time page. Take a look at not all of those automobiles, but their makes & models!

DuPont plant in Seaford, DE in 1939, unknown photographer, Seaford Delaware, a look back in time collection

Happy Labor Day!

 Happy Labor Day everyone!

"Right here...Half of All the Nations Industrial Workers" from the PRR in 1948.

Work Keeps Expanding

Mid-August 2024, the railroad I work for (Delmarva Central Railroad, part of Carload Express) put in official notice with the Surface Transportation Board that we plan on purchasing part of the Maryland & Delaware Railroad & making part of the Delmarva Central Railroad. There's future plans to purchase the remaining M&D & making it a separate railroad within the Carload Express family.

So I started my railroad career (in July 1984) on the Delaware Coast Line Railroad. Delmarva Central took over both the Georgetown-Lewes & the Ellendale-Milton lines on January 1, 2019.

Now in 2024, we taking over part of the M&D Snow Hill Line & (eventually) one of the railroad lines I model - the Cambridge Line (Seaford - Cambridge). I don't know what the future brings for the line west of Hurlock, MD, but I think the future is looking bright for the former M&D lines.

The notice to the STB was filed August 20, 2024, to acquire part of the MDDE Snow Hill Line & here's the link to the STB:

STB 2024 Filings Page

Happy 4th of July!

 Happy 4th of July! The PRR advertisement is "Ringing Out Liberty" by N.C. Wyeth in 1929.

"Ringing Out Liberty" PRR Advertisement by N.C. Wyeth in 1929