News Update: US Army 250th Anniversary and New Location for the D-Day Exhibit

 US Army 250th Anniversary

I am steadily working on the Engine House and Machine shop. I have the windows built and am now adding the exterior planks. I hope to debut the model at the US Army 250th Anniversary Celebration at Joint Base Langley- Eustis on June 13th, 2025.  I will also have other civil war railroad models on display. 

The event is open to the public. You can find more information here.  The Military Railroad Society will be there with prototype and model train exhibits. The Army will have tours of their water vessels, other equipment of display, and lots of things for kids to do. 

Come check it out. 

D-Day Exhibit at 1st Infantry Division Museum 

The D-Day Exhibit with the dioramas we built, Keith Rooco's artwork and his collection of artifacts are now on exhibit at the First Division Museum in Wheaton, IL You can find more information at the link below.

https://www.fdmuseum.org/exhibit/d-day-omaha-beach/

Sharing the Word on Civil War Railroad Modeling

 

I donned my ACW Generals uniform to present my talk at Leesyylvania State Park

It was a busy week for sharing the word of Civil War era model railroading.

It started last week when my son and his family were in town for the holidays and a conference. On two evenings we ran trains for the entertainment of my granddaughter, Ruka, and her parents. She seemed to be fascinated with the trains despite just turning one year old on Monday. 

The visitors continued on Friday when Jack Brown, his wife and their friend John Carroll visited the Aquia Line as part of a weekend trip to the Washington, DC area. It was Jack and John's second visit but the first for his wife. We had a nice visit.

On Saturday morning I presented a talk on Railroads of the Civil War to a group of 15 people at the Leesylvania State Park visitor center. The visitor center has a nice museum with lots of information about the history of the land that comprises the park. It was a pleasant surprise as I did not know that there was a museum there. 

 I learned from their exhibits that the Union gunboat Jacob Bell was involved in a small skirmish at Freestone Point. It remained in the Potomac River for much of the war. It would be a good candidate for a model of one of the gunboats that protected Aquia Landing. It was about 141 feet long, so not too big. Perhaps I will replace the Passaic with the Jacob Bell.

On Sunday I hosted an open house for the Aquia Line Railroad. I had 25 people sign the guest list. Five of the guests completed the scavenger hunt check list. I think that was popular with the wives as they all tried it. One couple stayed the whole afternoon looking for every last item.  

Thanks to Bill Mosteller and John Steitz who ran the trains during the open house. 

Alicia made cookies, which appeared to be a bit hit as none were left at the end of the day. Bill also brought some cookies.

Artist Preservation Group Exhibition at Gettysburg, PA 18-20 August

The Artist Preservation Group will be conducting an American Civil War themed miniature art exhibition in conjunction with with the National Parks Service and the Gettysburg Foundation at the Gettysburg Visitor Center on 18 through 20 August.  I believe there will be over 60 artists exhibiting work. Most will be military miniatures, but I plan to bring some civil war era model trains and ships along with some dioramas too.

The event actually kicks off on Thursday with a figure painting class, but that is already sold out. The exhibit will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday as long as the visitor's center is open.  Sunday morning there will be a guided terrain walk retracing the steps of Pickett's Charge.

The Artist Preservation Group is a gathering of like-minded historical artists whose mission is to generate capital through fundraising and donations in order to aide in the preservation and restoration of threatened historical sites and/or artifacts. They are committed to using artistic talents to actively support historical sites as they continue their dedication to the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of events that shaped history. For more information about APG see,  https://artistpreservationgroup.com/

Grand Tour of the South East U.S.

Battle damaged Fort Pulaski, GA

 I am on the tail end of a nearly three week-long road trip across the southeast of the US.

The trip started with an automated phone call from AMTRAK on Tuesday evening telling me that the Autotrain I was supposed to take the next day was cancelled due to equipment problems and would not be rescheduled. I had planned to take AMTRAK Autotrain to Florida for the start of a 3 week-long road trip. AMTRAK leaves Lorton, VA late in the afternoon and arrives in Florida the next day. I had a roomette reserved as well as a spot for my car. I was looking forward to a relaxing trip. Oh well, that was not to be.

Fortunately, I was nearly all packed when I got the call, so I got up early Wednesday and drove south. I arrived in South Carolina before my scheduled train would have.  I spent the sunset hours at Santee Nature Preserve.  I stayed in a hotel in Savannah, GA later that night.

Lighthouse at Tybee Island, GA

Battle damaged gun at Ft Pulaski

The next morning, I got up early to catch sunrise at Tybee Island. Alas, there were almost no shore birds around for me to photograph. After a few hours on the beach, I headed to Fort Pulaski, GA. I had not been there for more than 20 years. I toured the fort and hiked around the grounds.  I departed at lunch time, stopped in Savannah to take some pictures of the harbor, and arrived at my brother's house in Melbourne, Florida in the late afternoon.

On Friday, my brother and I prepared our models for the IPMS JAXCON show. I brought the large Star Power 1/35th scale tank factory diorama with me since we will be donating it to the Valiant Air Museum in Titusville, FL after JAXCON. JAXCON would be its last public show (but that changed - see below.)  I also brought a few of my other models to exhibit.

This diorama was best in show at IPMS JAXCON

We arrived at JAXCON on Saturday morning and got everything registered and placed on display.  Then we had a chance to socialize and look at the some of the 425 models on display. Later than afternoon, I was shocked to learn than my diorama, "The Very Vortex of Hell," received a gold medal, was selected as best diorama, and was awarded Best in Show. My other models also received awards with my tugboat and "Natural 20" diorama receiving silver medals, while my "Corinthian Hoplite" bust received a gold medal and best figure in show.  I was floored by the results as there were many excellent models on display. 

This was the largest of the alligators I spotted- about 8 ft long

Anhinga in flight at Viera Wildlife Preserve

Back in Melbourne on Sunday, Rob and I worked on a new diorama we plan to take to the IPMS National Meet in Texas next summer. Jennifer also hosted us for a combined 134th birthday (Rob and I are twins.) I also visited another nature preserve in Viera, Florida that was teeming with wildlife including alligators, snakes, and hundreds of birds, many of which I had not seen before. 

We also had a chance to visit Rick Bellanger's HO/HOn3 layout. It is coming along nicely since our last visit. He works very quickly.

Thursday, we packed our models again for a trip to the Atlanta Figure and Armored Modeling and Preservation Society (AMPS) joint show in Atlanta. At JAXCON we meet the president of the AMPS south and he suggested that we bring Star Power to the AMPS show next weekend in Atlanta. We agreed.  So, we packed up Star Power for one more last trip. Every time you move a large model like this risks damage. This would definitely be the last show for it. 

Some of Lebron's Vietnam dioramas

We first stopped at Columbus, GA to visit the Naval Museum of the Civil War. Rob and I were joined by Dan Pierce and Piere Feltault. After dinner, visited Lebron Mathews HO scale model train layout. It was great to see Lebron and his wife Patty again. Lebron has a wonderful HO train layout. Plus, in his office he has a collection of dioramas he built depicting incidents he experienced in Vietnam. Based on these well-done models, one can assume that he had an action-packed time in Vietnam. 

Dan examining the Jadgpanzer V

Friday morning, we had a special opportunity to visit the US Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Fort Benning, GA. That collection is in new facility where the US Army consolidated many of its historic armor vehicles from various forts and bases. The collection is not yet open to the public, but the AMPS arranged a special visit. The new facility is huge with at least 100 and probably more (I forgot to count) historic tanks and vehicles on display. The vehicles are indoors, which will help them last longer compared to the being left outside as many were in their previous display locations. Some highlights included several WWI tanks, German Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II with cutaway armor to reveal their interiors, a complete line up of US post war heavy tanks, and many other experimental and in some cases odd ball vehicles like the T28 assualt gun, Twister and MBT 70. Also, they had examples of the German WW2 Jadgpanzer V and a Jadgtiger in other bays awaiting preservation. It was a great morning for armor historians and enthusiasts. 

An overview of part of the tank collection building

It looks like Airborne School hasn't changed much
since we went in the 1970s.

Rob and I stopped by the US Army Airborne School to reminisce about our times at jump school in the 1970s. It was refreshing to see so many polite and fit young people at the school.  Then we visited the National Infantry Museum. It is one of the better military museums filled with all kinds of interesting exhibits and artifacts. 

We arrived in Atlanta after a stop at the studio of one of Rob's friends who makes pottery for bonsai trees. Then we checked into the Atlanta Figure and AMPS Show. This show was not as large as JAXCON but did include some excellent models on display. Again, it was fun to meet some new and old friends. I met well-known figure modeler Doug Cohen who had a fantastic diorama of Thundermug, a naval B-24, on display. I was surprised to learn that his father-in-law is James Harper, also a well-known P48 O scale modeler. Small world.

Doug Cohen's Thundermug diorama was a top
award winner

On Sunday we attended the brief awards ceremony. I received a gold medal for the tugboat, a silver for the Hoplite bust and bronze for the other dioramas.  

It is interesting to compare the varied results between the two shows. It makes you realize that the awards process is highly subjective, and one shouldn't get too worked up over it, but it is nice to receive recognition. Furthermore, the AMPS judges leave feedback on what they saw when they examined a model, which can be helpful in improving your skills. 

That wraps up the model related aspects of the road trip. Four museums, three nature preserves, two train layouts, two model shows and one fort.  Now, it's on to Alabama and Kentucky to visit with my children and their families including my two new granddaughters. I'll be back in Alexandria soon to get back to work on the Aquia Line. There has been some interesting work going on for the layout while I was gone, but I will update you about that later.

Footnote, Rob delivered the Star Power diorama to the Valiant Air Museum on Wednesday. They were very happy to receive it.

Norm Daniels, commander of the Valiant Air Museum,
examines the Star Power diorama.

The diorama outside the museum

Back in the Saddle

Snow covered San Georgino Mountain stands behind Joshua Tree National Park

 We are back from a week long trip to Palm Springs., CA to spend time with family. The timing of our trip was perfect as we missed a nasty spell of cold and bad weather back home. Luckily our house survived the cold snap with no apparent damage.

We didn't do much train watching out there. Alicia and I did hike several canyons including two on tribal land, two on Joshua Tree National Park, and the Coachella Oasis that sits directly on top of the San Andreas Fault. 

A lucky person gets a ride in a P-51

A highlight of the trip for me was the visit to Palm Springs Air Museum. They have a fine collection of WW2 and later aircraft. Many of them can still fly. They offer rides in some. On the day we visited we saw a P-51 Mustang in the Tuskeegee Airman Red Tail livery take two lucky, (and wealthy - the cost is about $2000 for a 15 minute ride) patrons for rides (one at a time.)

This large scale cutaway of the USS Rasher is one of the
models produced by the  husband-wife team team.
Note the smaller scale models in the background. 

They have a nice ship model collection in their hanger devoted to naval aviation. They have about 6 large scale ship models. Most of them were built by a husband and wife team. 

They also have an extensive collection of smaller scale ships model. A docent told me that they were built by a single individual. When he passed away, his wife wanted to put them in a good will shop. However, a museum volunteer heard about them and managed to get them donated to the museum. They built a nice large display case to exhibit them. I enjoyed looking at them in great detail. For more images of the museum please see my facebook page.

A composite of several photos from them trip showing the F-104G from the Pal Springs Air Museum flying over Keys Peak at Joshua Tree National Park.

Phainopepla- a desert bird that eats mistletoe seeds.

I got a few good bird photos too. I spotted 19 more birds for my life list. Most of them are not native to the east coast.  

All in all it was a fun trip, but I am glad to be home and out of the dry,
dusty desert. 

Ann's Hummingbird, another west coast only species

Sergeant Santa at Fort Eustis

Photo of the MRS Volunteers in period uniforms with Sgt Santa.  Photo by the MRS.

Sgt Santa spreading the cheer. It's not a secret that this Santa 
is also a model railroader and member of the Chesapeake Bay
& Western Model Railroad Club

Chris Williams and I traveled to Newport News this weekend to participate in Operation Sergeant Santa. Chris is a former colleague of mine from my days at CBO. He is also a railfan and model railroader. He likes taking old British OO scale locomotives and rebuilding them to run on his small layout. His interest in British trains stems from his growing up in Northern England. But he has lived in the US for 35 years now and is also a rabid US railfan. Chris provided the British ROD 2-8-0 locomotive that I used in the WWI chapter in my book, "Model Railroads Go to War." 

Chris (l) and Eric(r) riding in the
 power car at the head end

We were invited to participate in Operation Sergeant Santa by Eric Payne. Eric and his dad, George, own and operate the Catalpa Falls Group LLC. They aim to make the Broadway Limited experience available again through the renovation and restoration of former Broadway Limited Pullman cars. They have a set of railcars that are wonderfully restored and can be used in charters and excursions. Last month I rode the car Catalpa Falls with Eric and his dad from NYC to Washington, DC. The cars are now at Fort Eustis to participate in Operation Sergeant Santa as part of the Military Railroad Society fund raising campaign.  The MRS is raising funds for restoration of USATC 5002, a Porter S100 class 0-6-0 tank engine. 

In addition to raising funds, the MRS will be volunteering to help restore some of the historic passenger cars while they are parked at Fort Eustis.  So its a symbiotic relationship as the MRS gets use of the cars for fund raising and training while the cars get secure storage and some restoration.

Chris and I packed a lot into the weekend. We started off with stops at Doswell and Ashland to do some rail fanning. Since it was a Friday, the Buckingham Branch was busy doing maintenance on  equipment.

Then we caught a northbound Regional AMTRAK making a station stop at Ashland. 

Next we went to the Mariners Museum in Newport News. That is one of my favorite museums. They reconfigured the exhibits since my last visit 10 years ago. There is now a large portion of the museum devoted to the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack). I really enjoyed walking through the full-scale dioramas they have constructed, especially the replica of the interior of the Monitor. Fun fact, the Monitor was the first ship to ever have a flushing toilet. 

They have an amazing collection of artifacts that were recovered from the sunken wreckage of the Monitor. Some of those artifacts were remains of sailors that died in the sinking. Alas, they have been unable to identify the remains precisely. 

One of the interesting artifacts was a reconstructed uniform that had to be painstakingly restored from scattered fragments. 

There are several components of the Monitor still under going preservation. The gun tubes have be soaking in a de-chlorination bath for over 20 years now! That process removes the chlorine from the saltwater that was absorbed by the iron so that the iron will not continue to corrode. They are hopeful that end of the preservation bath is in sight as some parts, such the anchor and engine, are already out of the preservation bath and will be put on display.

Roman cargo transport circa 1st Century AD

After touring the rest of the museum, including the spectacular ship models, we took a walk around the Mariner's Lake via the Noland Trail. We spotted several birds including 4 more for my life list.

Horseshoe Curve on Ed's layout

Later that night we visited Ed Rappe's and Jim Taverna's large O scale layouts. Ed models the PRR Horseshoe Curve region of the Middle Division and a coal branch, while Jim models the PRR Northern Central Division near Northumberland and its branches.  Both layouts are massive. They run long, impressive trains. It really is mind boggling.

This is just half of Northumberland
Yard on Jim's layout

The next morning we made a quick trip to visit Fort Monroe. It is no longer a military base. The fort is part of the US National Parks System while the State of Virginia and City of Hampton also have exhibits and displays to see. 

The fort is the largest masonry fort built in the US. It is hard to picture how large it is until you visit. It remained in Union hands through out the civil war. Many former slaves fled through Fort Monroe to freedom.  It is chock full of interesting exhibits.

The fort had the first 15-inch Rodman gun that was named after President Lincoln. It was used to shell rebel positions across the river. It's my favorite civil war artillery piece. 
 

The former president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, was imprisoned there for a while, but he never went to trial for treason.   We didn't have time to visit the museum and see his cell.

Next we arrived at Ft Eustis as guests of the SGT Santa. Sergeant Major Snyder escorted us on base where we met with several folks from the MRS including my friends Billy Grimes and SFC Michael Spoor.  Sometimes, it's a very small world.

Billy Grimes and Chris in the power car

Billy was one of the volunteers that were dressed in 1960s era Army uniforms to reenact the time period where the vintage passenger cars were in service (see lead photo.) 

Mike was activated as a reservist to help support the weekend activities. He also had a chance to take some great photos of the restored cars being pulled by a US Army GP-10 (see last photo.)

Chris and I did two rides on the cars around the 8 mile loop of track at Fort Eustis. It was fun to see the railfans shooting pictures of the trains as they rolled across picturesque Fort Eustis. There were hundreds of US Army soldiers and their families riding the train and enjoying some holiday cheer.

After our second ride on the train, Chris and I stopped at the US Army Transportation Museum. The building was closed but we were able to see the outdoor exhibits that are now under protective roofs. The US Army had some really unusual equipment over the years.

USATC S160 Class Steam engine at the museum 

It was just a hoot to be part of the event. Everyone seemed to have a great time and hopefully they raised a good amount of money toward the restoration of the steam engine. Perhaps next year  they will have it pulling the Sergeant Santa train!

The GP10 that pulled the train. Photo by Michael Spoor

Visit to Freedom House Museum

The model I built is displayed with a key to the structures 

Alicia examining the model

 Alicia and I stopped by the Freedom House Museum in Alexandria today. It opened a few months ago, but  this was our first chance to visit. 

The museum has 3 floors open for exhibit. The exhibits are quite interesting as they tell the history of black Americans in Alexandria from the slave era to today.

The museum exhibits and the interior of the building are nicely done. However, Andrew, one of the docents, told me that the building will need major structural renovation. So they are not at the final configuration. Thus, the basement that was once a graphic depiction of the slave jail is not open. But the rest of the museum is worth a visit now.

There were several exhibits that caught my eye. First, the large picture behind the model I built is a photo of USCT soldiers that were wounded, some at the Battle of the Crater. They were at the L’Ouverture Hospital and Barracks, a Union military hospital for African American soldiers as well as escaped slaves  and freed slaves during the Civil War.  That hospital was adjacent to the house that houses the museum. They have identified each person in the picture and provided a short biography of them in the little booklet you see by the window. 

One of the side projects I have for the Aquia Line is to get a list of some the people that the USMRR Construction Corps hired. Many of the were former slaves.  

One of several galleries

In one of the upstairs gallery they have an exhibit of paintings of various free African Americans in Alexandria. One depicted a man who owned a grocery, the first free black to have a business in Alexandria. Alas, I did not write down his name, but I will next time I visit. 

They had an interesting graphic that traced the number of freed black people that lived in Alexandria. There were up to 30 percent in 1810 if I read the chart correctly.  That was more than I would have guessed

I also saw a photograph of a sugar mill that was once in Alexandria on N Washington Street. The mill had several slaves working there, including some young boys. I don't think I ever saw that photo before.

Mid-West Wanderings Part 1

View from Turkey Spur Overlook at Grandview Park

 

Amtrak Cardinal at Clifton Forge

My trip began with rain in Virginia, but by the time I was in the mountains of West Virginia the weather was glorious.

I stopped at Clifton Forge, VA to eat lunch. I was just in time to see the Amtrak Cardinal arrive. Then I stopped at Grandview State Park to take a break and do some hiking. I got some spectacular photos with the lead one probably my favorite.

I arrived in Lexington, KY at my son and Daughter-in-law's house where they surprised me with news that I was going to be a grand pa for a second time! So exciting.

Interior of the half dome at Cincinnati Union Terminal

The Alkem Scale Models pig?

The next morning I met John Burchnall, my host for the weekend, at the American Sign Museum for a weekend tour of sights and layouts in the Cincinnati area. We also visited the Cincinnati Union Terminal where we did some railfanning. Next we visited EnterTrainment.

One of the early rail scenes at EnterTrainment

These model buildings are nearly 8 feet tall

EnterTrainment is a spectacular indoor G scale model railroad. It is about 25,000 square feet. The venue also has a railroad museum, hobby shop and a fun house for kids and adults. While we were there we got the VIP treatment with a backstage tour. We also got to meet Je'rod Cherry, a former NFL defensive back with New England Patriots. He was doing working with Don Oeters, the owner of EnterTrainment, on some charity work.

Jerry Strangarity (l) and John Burchnall (r) at Jerry's layout

A detailed scene on Jerry's Layout

The next day we visited Jerry Strangarity's highly detailed Reading Railroad HO Scale layout, Jerry is a master builder of models and telescopes. The images show some examples of his fantastic work.

Coal Breaker scene on Jerry's layout

In the afternoon, I presented a talk on waterfront terminals and operations to the Cincy Division. They had a great audio visual set up. The talk was simultaneously broadcast on Zoom. They must have enjoyed it because they invited me back for another talk next year.

Chase and Muziki taking the Porsche to work
while I stay at the house to do projects

I returned to Lexington where Chase and Mizuki had prepared a smoked pork loin on their smoker. Then we roasted S'mores at the fire pit while we watched the Luna eclipse.

The next morning the kids took the Porsche to work, while I stayed home and did home improvement projects on their house.

The trip continues with a visit to Indianapolis for another NMRA event.