I was in grade school when a neighbor gave me a box of old Model Railroaders, Railroad Model Craftsman and the long gone Model Trains. Living in rural Oregon, photographs of John Allen’s Gore and Daphetid and construction articles by Jack Work looked like home. PFM was importing shays which I had seen rusting in the woods. I was hooked.
After Viet Nam, I stayed in the Army. I was a lone wolf modeler. Free time was scarce and the constant moves of the military made layout construction impractical. I made small starts but knowing little about track laying or how to power turnouts, none were successful.
My final military assignment was in Northern Virginia. We bought a home and now I had a layout room. I had lots of structures and caught onto scenery pretty quickly. The layout looked good but ran poorly. I decided to meet model railroaders with skills I didn’t have by joining the Prince William County Model Railroad Club. It was a wise move. Bob Rodriquez introduced me to DCC. The late George Hughes taught me how to install decoders and along with Monroe Stewart (MMR #220) taught me track laying. Earning my last certificate, Cars, was a test of my modeling skills. I had never scratchbuilt a car conforming to the NMRA standard that 90% of the pieces must be fabricated from basic materials like strip wood and scribed siding. After three years of false starts and slow building, combined with my wife Victoria’s gentle prodding, I finally got it done. The work to become a MMR added several skills to my model railroading trick bag. Better yet, it was fun.
Matt is an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.