Chuck Davis’ love affair with trains could actually be called a “family affair.” Chuck’s paternal grandfather worked for the Lehigh Valley Railroad as a “car knocker” (one that taps or knocks the wheels of a railroad car to check their soundness : a person that checks the running gear of a train). With his grandfather leading the way, a young Chuck remembers riding in a switcher and getting to, “ring the bell.”
After high school, Chuck attended King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, PA) where his Lionel train collection was kept in the attic. From King’s College, Chuck joined the Navy as an enlisted sailor before accepting a commission as an intelligence officer. Chuck retired as a Commander after 27 years of service.
Chuck started with O-gauge, but switched to HO as his children were growing up. Having been born in Wilkes-Barre PA, it was only natural for him to follow the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The Lehigh Valley RR was created in 1846 to haul Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal. A frequent contributor to Railroad Model Craftsman with over 20 articles, he is a member of the NMRA’s “Tidewater Division” and completed his requirements for Master Model Railroader in 2006. His Lehigh Valley Wyoming Division layout was featured in Great Model Railroads 2015.
Since his retirement from the Navy in 1992, Chuck became a high school math teacher and now runs a home tutoring business. With his wife Kathy, a registered nurse and a coal miner’s daughter, call Norfolk Virginia home.
