By David Maynard

Author  Bio I started "playing with trains" when I was about four or five, my first set was a Lionel set but even at that age it looked too toylike for me.

I started "playing with trains" when I was about four or five, my first set was a Lionel set but even at that age it looked too toylike for me. So for Christmas I asked for and received an HO train set and soon started adding on to it, it was all Tyco. When I was 9 I moved to Tacoma with my dad and my trains got packed away.

After 3 more moves, the last one back to my mom in Pittsburgh where I started, I wanted to get back into trains. Because we now lived in a small apartment, and because so much of my train stuff had been lost or broken along the way I went into N gauge. After being frustrated with N gauge for a number of years I quit trains and went into plastic airplanes (1:48 and 1:72). In 1995 at the age of 27 we bought a house but it too was too small for a railroad so I stayed with the airplanes.

Then I discovered G gauge and the more I learned the more I liked. In the spring of 2003 I dug up part of the backyard and built my railroad, because I like small trains I built a shortline narrow gauge railroad freelanced from a railroad that existed a few miles, and a century, from here.

I work (to buy trains) as a photcopier and facisimilie repair tech. Traveling around SW Pa I get to visit a lot of hobby shops and have an opportunity to see and photograph a lot of buildings. I have always enjoyed working with my hands and it gives me such a feeling of accomplishment to build something and say "that's mine". I am always willing to learn and this is the perfect hobby for that.

Home made Switches

On your article on building switches, is what your reffering to Hardi-Board, the composite cement like board use in bathrooms for ceremic tiles or do you mean the dense paper like material I used to call "Homosote" many times used as exterior siding? Secondly the glue you used to attach the ties to the Hardi-board. Thanks, Ralph

Ralph D'Amelio - 04/27/2008 - 06:26

ACI

Dave, I live in Canonsburg. I worked on the original ACI test site. It was just outside McDonald. Westinghouse Air Brake, in Swisvale designed a competing system that used a black and white sign and worked much better. I am a member of The Pittsburgh Garden Railway society. We maintain a "G" gauge layout at the new Children's Hospital. We also had one at the old hospital. If we could get together I could tell you the complete story Ed

Ed Celento - 10/06/2010 - 09:47

Top of Page