By Dave Marecek

Author  Bio Dave has been involved in Model Railroading starting at the age of 5 with a Lionel O set . My dad built a foldout layout in the rec room wall which became my first railroad empire.

Dave currently resides in Victoria BC. He is married to Lori and has 2 teenage sons. Since graduating University, the family has lived in 13 cities across Canada and in Europe as every opportunity was taken to enjoy new experiences and cultures. Dave is currently a COO of an IT Consulting firm. Lori is a teacher and both boys are in high school.

Dave has been involved in Model Railroading starting at the age of 5 with a Lionel O set . My dad built a foldout layout in the rec room wall which became my first railroad empire. In high school I traded O for HO and built a post merger BN layout at our summer house with a focus on building a layout through predetermined scenery. When I went off to university, I traded the HO for N scale due to space limitations (university dorm room). I joined the Cantrak club in Calgary who helped me evolve my modelling skills. Over the next 25 year we moved frequently so the Nscale layout evolved into a very portable layout that could withstand moving companies.

Over the years I evolved to more prototypical modelling with a focus on operations and the goal of replicating operations through mountainous areas.. The last N scale layout was permanent and was a replica of the CPR between Creston BC and Trail BC in 1965 built for prototypical operations in the Kootenays. This was sold in its entirety(25- 8 ft modules) when we moved in 2004 to Victoria, BC where there were no basements.

As part of the move, after lengthy negotiations with Lori, I received right of way to the entire backyard for raised gardens less a grassy area for the dog which was my introduction to Garden Railroading. The move was over a year and since the raised gardens are more permanent than an indoor layout, I spent a year with Trainz SW building an operational plan that would fit the space and provide a challenging operational plan that could last many years. The result (version 20) was the Lone Firr Railroad which is modelled on the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway in 1910.

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