In the News
New Senior Editor @ LSOL.com
Mar 30, 2005
By Jo Anne DeKeles
LSOL.com Customer Service Manager |
Author
Bio
It is the start of another new beginning for LSOL and we hope you will take the time to welcome Noel.
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Large Scale Online (LSOL.com) started in 1995 as a business dedicated to "G Scale Trains" with the name www.gscale.com. We began life as the "official site" for Garden Railways Magazine. We would premier the next issue and run the discussion groups. Over our ten years we have made countless friends and even had a few critics. Yet, as the industry has changed so has Large Scale Online. Our mission and purpose, though, has not changed. Our goal continues to be to bring you the latest news and information on what is happening in the world of Large Scale Garden Trains. It is to create a safe and friendly environment where you can talk about your passion: whether it is Large Scale, how to clean track, batteries or not, G Scale = 1/20.3, 1/22.5, 1/24, 1/29 or 1/32, Garden or Indoor, 10 foot rule or rivets, track height, weathered or new, steam or diesel, fun or prototype, or just running -- trains. You will find it all here. LSOL is not just Jon, Jo Anne and Bryan. Over the last 10 years we have had many people help us with our business. It really is Team LSOL. We fully understand that LSOL demonstrates the saying, "The sum of the parts are greater than the whole". Our authors' immense efforts have helped us understand and learn how to improve our railroads. We have also learned from the beginners who ask questions. Questions help us all to think about something in a new light or they reminds us how far we have come in our Large Scale journey. LSOL continues to grow and really is the finest site on the Internet for people who want to learn and share Large Scale Trains.  | With great pride we announce another big step in the evolution of LSOL.com. Noel Widdifield has agreed to come on board as the Senior Editor for Large Scale Online. We are very excited to have Noel join the LSOL team in a more formal position. He has been a major supporter of LSOL for several years and this new position gives him the opportunity to help us shape the content and direction of our publication. You can expect to see Noel more visibly at the Large Scale train shows and on line at LSOL.com. |
In his new position as Senior Editor, Noel will be responsible for shaping the content of LSOL articles by working with authors to encourage writing in areas of interest for LSOL's members. So if you were ever interested in being an author for LSOL it will be even easer to get started.
So who is this Noel guy? Noel is a long-time model railroader and has been involved with Large Scale trains for the past 14 years. A frequent contributor of articles to LSOL, Noel has a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Master's Degree in Counseling. He served twenty years in the U.S. Air Force, flying B-52's and SR-71's. Working in the defense, intelligence and space industry for Space Applications Corporation and for Northrop Grumman TASC for over twenty years, he retired in 2001 from Northrop Grumman TASC as the Executive Vice President. In 1974, he was named an Outstanding Alumni of Ball State University, a Sagamore of the Wabash in Indiana and an Admiral of the Nebraska Navy.  He began his love of trains at age one while in his father's arms and watching New York Central passenger trains pass by his home.  His father presented him with a American Flyer Pacific steam engine lettered for the New York Central at age five and he has owned model trains ever since. As a teenager, he switched from S to HO and built several layouts with his son, David, as the family moved around the country for Air Force assignments. In 1991, his wife, Ann, gave him an ARISTOCRAFT New York Central FA, which began his passion with Large Scale trains. Currently he has a large indoor Large Scale railroad modeled on the New York Central's Ohio Division set in September 1954 and a rapidly growing outdoor railroad modeling a narrow gauge railroad and interurban network set in the mid-1930's
Noel's love of trains is not limited to model trains. He has worked as a volunteer at the B&O Railroad museum and on the Cumbres & Toltec railroad. He has ridden trains all over Canada and the U.S., including one trip on the American European Express that ended in a train wreck that put that company out of business. He and his wife are on the waiting list on the American Orient Express for a trip this summer. He is currently a member of the New York Central System Historical Society, the B & O Railroad Museum, and Train Collectors of America. He is a Sustaining Member of the Central Electric Railfans' Association and a 2004 General Palmer Society Honorary Chairman and 2005 Palmer Society Major Shareholder of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. So why Noel? Well not only is he a "model railroader who models in Large Scale", he is fascinated with the wide array of how people enjoy Large Scale railroading. I know that he will provide articles that capture this variety of interests associated with the hobby today. Noel's has written over thirty articles for LSOL including product reviews, thought pieces on Large Scale, scratch building, kit bashing and "how to" articles. All are still available to LSOL members on-line. If you have time at one of the upcoming shows, stop by the LSOL booth and say, "Hi!" If he is not at the booth, you may find him talking with vendors to get you the latest news and information. He might be talking with local garden railroad club members or checking out a garden railroad to feature at LSOL. It is the start of another new beginning for LSOL, and we hope you will take the time to welcome Noel. Top of Page
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