a ModelersLife

The NMRA Achievement Program also known as the "AP" is a guide to help you master the many crafts and skills necessary in the hobby of model railroading. As you get more proficient in of each of the skills, you can through various means have your work judged by others and if certain standards are met, will be issued a certificate acknowledging your achievement and work towards becoming a Master Model Railroader.

Getting involved in the AP program is incredibly easy and recently a good friend of the AML Nation was announced as the new chairman of the Achievement Program. Ray Persing, a lifelong model railroader and all-round good guy stepped up to the plate to take over this important role from his predecessor Frank Koch who'd held the position for many years. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Just like that old bean casserole that you found in the back of the freezer from your Aunt Mildred at Thanksgiving four years ago, or the twenty bucks you find in an old pair of jeans, this version of the "Kelly Questions" has aged like a fine wine.

Emory Lehman III is a locomotive engineer for the BNSF and a longtime member of the AML Nation. After stopping by to remind us we'd forgotten about his attempt at the hobby's most hard-hitting collection of questions, he tries on the tin-foil hat. There's also a brief discussion about an upcoming showcase on the Iron City N-Scalers Facebook page. It's a fun podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Hey "yinz," this is a really good podcast but unless you understand Pittsburgh slang you might not understand it all. Fortunately while our next guest is a lifelong resident of the area where three rivers converge to create the once hallowed ground known as "Three Rivers Stadium," home to the "Immaculate Reception." Ron Bohin is an avid O-Scale three rail modeler who graduated from school qualified to be aircraft mechanic, which of course explains how he ended up working for U.S. Steel and eventually became a locomotive engineer.

Then after that successful career, it was time to move on to the Port Authority of Allegheny County, now known as Pittsburgh Regional Transit. They needed signal maintainers and when Ron submitted his resume it seemed as though, no one else could be better qualified. If you're as confused as we are, it's time to fire up the Motorola and give a listen to this podcast, it's actually pretty good!!

Once again, it's time for another great discussion with "Uncle" Dave, so warm up the Motorola, get comfortable with a warm cup of cocoa as we settle in for a "Fireside Chat" with one of the hobby's most interesting personalities. There's lots to talk about and even some friendly fire as "Uncle" Dave takes exception with some of the Evel Overlord's opinions about the NMRA

Plus, we pay homage to one of the great model railroaders of the modern era, Paul Dolkos whose contribution to the hobby has been extensive over the last fifty years. It's a great podcast and one we're sure enjoy.

Have ever wanted to see one of the best model railroads in the world, one that will take your breath away, one that seems so real it could easily be used a movie set. Well after an exhaustive search by our crack investigative reporters here at the ole' AML Network, we've discovered just such a model railroad not from Detroit or as we like to refer to… HockeyTown U.S.A.

One of the greatest assets of this hobby is the ability to express oneself artistically, while still be able to enjoy so much more and our next guest Norm Charbonneau has managed to squeeze every last ounce out of what this hobby has to offer. His YouTube channel about his 3-Rail O Gauge layout is full of beautiful scenes of glamorous Pennsy steamers running through magnificent scenery plus tons of how-to's about all sorts of interesting projects. This is a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

T-Trak is one of the easiest ways for any individual to get started in the hobby of model railroading. Building a small one-foot square module can easily help speed up the learning process of building a layout of any size, plus there's numerous groups to join where you can join with others to create sizeable layouts to run your favorite equipment.

One of the most prolific T-Trak modelers is Andy Zimmerman who when he's not busy being head of the Standards and Conformance Department for the NMRA has built dozens of modules strictly for the enjoyment of participating. Now he's here to tell us all about the T-Trak world record attempt at the NMRA's national convention coming up in 2026 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Model railroading, or railway modeling, in Switzerland is alive and well, with many of the country's hobbyists focusing on North American prototypes. We first met our guest several years ago as he was wrapping up a career as a locomotive engineer and beginning a new career as a police officer.

Our guest Robin Felder is a big fan of Norfolk Southern Railroad and brass locomotives in general, plus weathering HO scale equipment for himself and others is what keeps him busy when he's not in training to become one of Switzerland's finest. There's also a philosophical discussion about the hobby and where it's headed plus information about the local hobby scene. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

Answering ViewerMail is one of our favorites here at the ole' AML studios, whether it's pro or con, it's a chance to connect with your audience, hear their thoughts, and engage in meaningful dialogue, even when the feedback is critical. Recently John Doehring the Eastern of representative the NMRA's board of directors took exception to some our views about the way the organization is being run and sent us a very thoughtful and insightful email stating his concerns.

This is a special edition of ViewerMail with John and some of the regular AML crew to discuss some of those concerns. It's a great podcast with plenty of back and forth, in fact the discussion was so interesting we only managed to get halfway through and invited John back for a second episode. It's a great podcast and one I'm sure you'll enjoy!!

What happens when you take two guys who are excited about the hobby of model railroading, add some raw talent with electronics and over the top details?? You get John McGuire of Garden State Modelworks LLC and Scott Lupia of KV Models with his specialty, etched detail parts.

Aside from yelling at people across the aisle from their booth at the Springfield Train Show it's been a very successful union between these two friends. Scotts foray into the world of 3-D printing, has also created some new possibilities for his friend John, and we discover some new ways of doing business in the model railroad industry. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy.

Go west young man, these were the words that our next guest followed, leaving behind a beautiful model railroad that had been started in his parent's mid-western basement. After spending several years refining his weathering techniques our next guest is thinking about the next great layout.

With law school successfully behind him, we decided here at the ole' AML Network it was time to catch up with John Cafarelli and find out what he's been up to. It's a great podcast with some weathering techniques. Suggestions of other, YouTube channels to watch and plenty of interesting conversation.