a ModelersLife

Imagine the excitement of having your model railroad appear on the cover of the hobby's premier magazine for the first time?? That's exactly what happened to Mike Hauk When his Susquehanna and New York, Railroad appeared on the cover of the May issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.

This HO scale railroad is based on a short line located in the central Pennsylvania mountains, north of Williamsport and along the West branch of the Susquehanna River. Mike first discovered this railroad while reading Tom Taber's series on logging railroads, while more inspiration came from the family hunting camp that wasn't far from an entire freight yard thick with woods after its abandonment years before. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy!!

After a lifetime of serving a higher calling and a lifelong obsession with model railroading, it was time for our next guest to buy a basement with a house on top of it. Robin Montenay spent most of his life with the Lutheran Church and without a permanent site to build a model railroad.

What he ended with is a spectacular shelf layout called the "Barchester" that appeared on the cover of the 2024 December issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Without ties to the church Robin has become a free to visit train shows and explore what the hobby has to offer other than through the pages of the most popular magazines. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if two guys with beards that worked for the Norfolk Southern joined forces to create a destination hobby shop in York, Pennsylvania?? The same question occurred to us and after an exhaustive search we stumbled across Ryan and Tom who just so happened to own White Rose Hobbies, a full-line hobby shop located at 4401 W Market St. in York, PA.

Ryan has been a life-long model railroader and Tom has been a life-long entrepreneur with a desire to be part of a successful business. Together they turned Ryan original dream of owning a prosperous model railroad store into a full-service hobby shop and e-commerce business that shows no signs of slowing down. This is a great story, so grab yourself a big bowl of shredded beard clippings, a tall cool glass of clipper oil and enjoy!!! www.whiterosehobbies.com

Until recently, most model railroading products were imported from countries like China, Germany, or Japan under a specific harmonized tariff schedule. The tariffs were typically low and often duty-free under most trade agreements. For many imports valued under $800 shipments could often enter the country duty-free

But all that's changed so we here at the ole' AML Network decided it was time to find out as much as we could about this new world by visiting our friends Tom and Ryan at White Rose Hobbies in York, Pennsylvania to try and get as much of the inside scoop as possible. We were surprised by some of the answers we got and came away with a little bit better understanding of what's happening in the world of importing model railroad products. It's a great podcast and one we're sure you'll enjoy.

Getting started in model railroading can be an overwhelming experience, with questions like what scale to choose, who makes the best products, do I need to be a skilled carpenter, will there be a need for a vast knowledge in electronics?? The questions are endless and in today's world of social media the places to find answers can be almost as confusing.

But being a woman in model railroading can be both a rewarding and unique experience, though it sometimes comes with challenges due to the hobby's historical male dominance. The good news is that the landscape is changing, with more women getting involved and making their mark. Our next guest Linda Eskin isn't afraid to take on a new adventure and decided to jump in with both feet. Join us we discover what the hobby looks like from the perspective of a complete beginner!!

Our next guest may not be well known in the world of model railroading but he's the son of Larry Wolfe, AMA Hall of Fame member and world-renowned RC jet pioneer. Chris Wolfe grew up in the back room of Jet hanger Hobbies while being exposed to all aspects of the radio control hobby.

His passion for the hobby started at an early age when he began building plastic models, by age eleven he was flying RC aircraft. Chris has built numerous award-winning competition scale aircraft and loves to build as much as he loves to fly. Sharing his knowledge and techniques he's developed and honed on his own can be found in his series of books available at: artofscalemodeling.com/bookorder

This is a great podcast, So grab yourself a big bowl of shredded ailerons, a tall cool glass of aviation fuel and enjoy!!

Getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus isn't as simple as it might sound, things have changed, prices are different, tools are better, the models run so much more smoothly, and the AML Nation is now here to help.

On this episode, we talk with Bill Ford who's always been a Model Railroader, but took time off for to pursue his career in punk rock and becoming an licensed electrician. Bill never actually lost his enthusiasm for the hobby but as with so many things, life got in the way and laying track was put on the back burner for a while. This is a great podcast about returning to a hobby that's seen significant changes over the last three decades. Enjoy!!

Turns out there's other hobbies besides model railroading, who knew??... So here at the ole' World Headquarters in downtown Busted Knuckle, Kentucky have decided that for the second decade of "a ModelersLife" we're going to occasionally explore life outside this great hobby of ours.

The hobby of wargaming has been growing in popularity over the last several decades, and we decided to strike up a conversation with someone that has an excellent website, a great YouTube channel, lots of tutorials and a personality that fits perfectly into the AML Nation. "Spikey Bits" a.k.a. Rob Baer was excited to talk to a couple of model railroaders and tell us all about his hobby of wargaming. So grab yourself a big bowl of shredded Blast Masters, a tall cool glass of air brush cleaner and enjoy!!

It's always fun when we talk to somebody for the very first time and on this episode, we head to the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to talk with David Lund an avid model railroader, brand new dad of beautiful twin girls, son of a full-time railroader and a man that understands the finer things about hotdogs.

If you're interested in anything other than model railroads as David has been for most of his life, this is a great discussion about plastic plane modeling and some of the crossover techniques that might be used when working on any model railroad. So grab yourself a big bowl of shredded wing-flaps, a tall cool glass of paint brush cleaner and enjoy!!

One of the great things about this hobby of model railroading is the ability to meet people from all walks of life and while we've talked with Andy Zimmerman before, it's always interesting to start the discussion talking about life on an aircraft carrier and around the world.

But after that, there was plenty of talk about T-Trak, the evolution of Kato Precision Railroad Models, advancements in DCC decoders over the years and some of the best model railroad benchwork money can buy. So grab yourself a big bowl of shredded locomotive wheels, a tall cool glass of warm sea water and enjoy!!