Another year has come and gone since we last talked to hero Smokin' Joe D'Amato. For those of you who don't know Joe's been a true friend of the podcast since before dinosaurs were born, along with his trusty sidekick, the modeller simply known as "Kelly," he's regaled with all sorts of interesting stories and never been afraid to share his knowledge of the hobby.

But's there's been some pretty big changes in Joe's life with the purchase of Micro Trains by the Atlas Model Railroad Company located in Newark, New Jersey. However, the folks at Atlas obviously know talent when the see it and made sure he'd stay on to continue the great tradition and quality that Micro trains is known for. He's been involved with design, production, and community outreach for decades and stopped by to give the inside scoop on this new chapter in his life. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Once again, it's time to chat with John Sacerdote the long time show director of the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show featuring many of today's most popular manufacturers, fabulous layouts, railroad history, photography, art, books, videos, vendors and a whole bunch more stuff for everyone to see and enjoy!!

John has been overseeing the show for almost twenty-five years and still enjoys meeting as many of the exhibitors and show goers as possible. Adult admission is eighteen dollars per day with children under the of fifteen enter free when accompanied by an adult. Maps and exhibitor lists are downloadable in advance from the show website which is strongly recommended. If you're passionate about model railroads, prototype railroads, or just want to see some of the most ambitious layouts in North America, this show is a must. Enjoy!!

Springfield is just days away which means it's time for our favorite hobby shop owners, Ryan and Tom to load up the trailer, gas up the truck and head north from York, Pennsylvania to the biggest model railroad show of the year!! This year they've got six tables some really cool estate stuff, a whole lot of paint to sell and very little help.

It's gonna be a challenging year for the boys because they decided to go it alone with any help from the shop staff. Tom has decided to go with very little preparation so when you stop by their both be patient and tell them Lionel said to hurry up. Grab yourself a big bowl of shredded purchase receipts, a tall cool glass of tap water from the restroom in the Better Living Center and enjoy!!

It's another first-time guest and this time it's a Norfolk Southern modeler with lots of talent and ambition, two qualities the crew here at the ole' AML Headquarters in downtown Busted Knuckle are desperately lacking. Baxter Barnes could be referred to as the new generation of model railroader armed with plenty of knowledge and the skill required to build a model railroad anyone could be proud of.

When not working in the aerospace industry you can find our next guest working on his current layout the Cedartown District of the Norfolk Southern which is representative of the railroading he grew up around. Baxter has great ideas and skills but isn't afraid to admit that a lot of his expertise can be attributed to Pelle Soeborg's books such as "Done in a Day." This is a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Based on this our latest cover photo, you may think were concentrating on the lovely little town of Ellicottville, New York, a village in Cattaraugus County about fifty miles south of Buffalo in the Allegheny mountains region. It's a pretty little town, right out of a Norman Rockwell painting and well known for its festivals, skiing and fall foliage.

But as we close the year of 2025, we've also discovered that the owner of one of our favorite model railroad manufacturers, JL Innovative, a popular brand with creative concepts, is owned by one of Ellicottville's most vocal distracters. Known to the kindhearted people of this little piece of paradise as, "that Costello guy." It's an interesting tale of one man's dislike of giraffes and a sleepy little town not far from the Pennsylvania state line. Enjoy!!

Once again, it's time for our first annual "Christmas Quiz," which, based on the response from the listeners could also be called our last annual "Christmas Quiz." We gathered together a crack staff, the best of the best, from the AML Nation's, vast and sometimes suspect, talent pool.

We even brought in a special mystery guest who lives just twenty miles from the picturesque town of Ellicottville, New York. Chris Costello and his brother operate JL Innovative in a sprawling manufacturing facility just a few feet north of the Pennsylvania state line. So grab yourself a big bowl of shredded wrapping paper, a tall cool glass last year's egg nog and enjoy!!

It's part two of a vision for the new world with John Doehring and Riley Triggs. In its continuing quest to continue the NMRA's standing as the largest and best organization in model railroading, we invited two of it loveliest, handsomest and finest volunteers to help us understand what's in store for the future of the NMRA.

Rebranding is at the forefront and some of the goals include, appealing to younger audiences by actively working to engage younger hobbyists. Also as with many organizations today, promoting diversity within the hobby is seen as a key element for further growth and success. But wait, there's more… Part of the rebranding includes a stronger online presence, with updated websites, social media, and digital platforms to connect with hobbyists. The future looks bright and this a great episode to understand the future of this great organization!!

The Sipping & Switching Society is a modular-railroading group associated with HO-scale railroading and our next guest has a lot of knowledge about the society and we decided he was the one to talk with. The Society is originally based in North Carolina but there also versions in the Ohio Valley and Cincinnati areas.

With a well-defined "module standard," distinguishing it from other modular approaches the are modules typically 30″ wide and often built in 2-foot length increments but this can vary. Construction uses a "waffle-style" framework to make modules lightweight but stiff enough for transport and repeated assembly.

There's alignment pins/holes to ensure that the track ends match up exactly, typical track arrangement is two mainline tracks close to the "public" side plus an inside track for switching/yard operations. The result: very fast setup and teardown compared to less standardized modular systems. It's a very informative podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

The National Model Railroad Association has been working on a new branding strategy and long-term vision for the future of model railroading, particularly through their Vision 2035 initiative and we here at the ole' ModelersLife world headquarters thought this topic required a more intense investigation and flew in the NMRA's Publications Manager Riley Triggs and Eastern Director John Doehring.

The NMRA has been updating its image to reflect a more current era of the hobby, making model railroading more appealing to a broader audience. The new branding is part of a broader effort to rejuvenate the organization, to stay relevant in an increasingly digital and interactive world. This is great discussion and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

The fun part of any hobby is meeting interesting folks with a variety of different talents and Wayman Humphrey is no different. An American artist known for his unique, vibrant approach to many different forms of art, blending geometric shapes, bold colors, and dynamic compositions, that explore both structure and spontaneity.

While not as widely known in mainstream art circles as some of his contemporaries, Humphrey's work is respected for its originality and emotional depth, but more importantly for the listeners of this podcast, Wayman discovered the magic of model railroading just a few short years ago and hobby is far better off with him as a participant. This is a great podcast about a very interesting individual that we're sure you'll enjoy!!