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I decaled and weathered this Penn Central SD45 and lent it to my friend Kyle (who took this photo) to enjoy for a while. He took this loco, along with his blue SD45, and some of his freight cars to another friend's railroad, that of Dave Weber.
This hobby is a lot more fun with good friends who can team up like this to share trains, railroad, tips, ideas, photos, etc.
I had a blast running my SPC 2-6-0 over the weekend. This loco has an RC system for the throttle, reverser, and whistle.
I was able to achieve a nice, steady, slow run and was quite happy to get a solid run in for an hour with just a few stops for water to be sure things were good in the boiler.
My new Darjeeling A Class 0-4-0T racked up the miles at the annual Aikenback steam-up in Scranton.
This loco was built by Roundhouse and came with factory-equipped radio control for the reverser and the throttle. It runs on butane for fuel.
Looking back over my photos, I think I should paint the wheels black to look better.
Nikon D850 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 @ f/5
Testing out my Roundhouse Sammie on my friend's elevated garden railroad. This 0-4-0T has an RC servo for the throttle. It does not have Radio Control for the forward/reverse action as this loco is equipped with a slip eccentric.
I was at the Cabin Fever Model Expo today and spotted this really cool RC model of the iconic truck from the movie Duel. I like the patina work done with the weathering, and that it all works as a scale model is wonderful.
Nikon D850 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4
This 2-4-2 is based on an Accucraft Ruby and has RC for the controls. Despite running without its tender, it drew attention at the 2026 Cabin Fever Expo.
These mods to the loco give it a more American feel.
Nikon D850 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 @ f/4.5
A lineup of Darjeeling locomotives on my garden railroad. I just got the Class 1, 0-4-0T on the left. It is a laser-cut kit from Bole Laser Craft that runs on an internal battery and uses a handheld remote control.
It joins class A, B, C, and D live steam locomotives from Round House Engineering. On the far right, also from Round House, is a battery-powered NDM-6 painted blue. The prototype NDM-6 is a diesel-powered, hydraulic locomotive.
The locos are positioned around my turntable, from oldest to newest design. Other than the Class 1 locomotive, all of the locomotives are gauge-adjustable to run on 32mm or 45mm track.
The real Darjeeling Himalayan Railway takes riders up into the mountains of Eastern India. The run is 55 miles (88km) long and takes 8+ hours to complete. It is a 2-foot-gauge narrow gauge railroad and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nikon D800 & Nikkor 24mm ƒ/1.8 @ ƒ/2.8
Other than the 16x9 crop, to emphasize the locos, this is SOOC.
Live Steam 0-4-0 made by Grover Devine steams through the rock-cut on my garden railroad.
This model is the reason I got into this hobby. I saw this locomotive in an article in Model Railroader magazine in the 1990s. Prior to that article, I thought G Scale stuff was all European-looking, but here was a man in California with not only American-looking models but a live steam locomotive, too.
I was hooked! Sadly, by the time I was done with college and could track down the man who wrote the article, he had passed away. But I kept going into the hobby. Building, weathering, photographing, and eventually, I found the person who would come to own this locomotive.
After a little chat, I was able to purchase the locomotive. The real locomotive I dreamed about so often was now mine. The craftsmanship is unbelievable. I thought it was gorgeous in the magazine, but now, studying it up close, I am blown away by what the original owner (Grover Devine) created.
This locomotive is perhaps my most cherished possession. I am working to build freight and passenger cars that befit such a special engine. I have also written an article for Live Steam magazine about my restoration of this locomotive and my work to build similar "tribute" models.
Being such a prized possession, I had to photograph it with a great lens, too. There are few lenses out there better than the Milvus 50mm. I love that lens, too.
NIkon D600 & 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss Milvus Distagon ZF.2 @ f/8
This hobby is a lot more fun with friends. I especially like finding friends who have different ideas, new solutions to problems, and fun ways to maximize the enjoyment of our hobby.
I visited my friend Dave Weber's railroad this weekend and it was the first time since the passing of his son, TJ. While the loss of TJ has hit the whole hobby, it was nice to see this tribute/memorial boxcar some friends made to honor TJ. I was able to capture this photo of Dave watching the train roll past.
I spent much of the afternoon at my friend's garden railroad and with the help of another friend at the throttle we got a nice pan short or two. My friend's railroad models the area near the Tehachapi loop and this freight is seen headed up some of the many grades on the railroad.
If only that AML GP-60 (the second loco) wasn't so new looking and the yellow wasn't so loud.
Two NS Dash 9s are on point for a freight train on my garden railroad. I love a pan shot, be it of a model or the real thing; I love to capture motion in a still frame.
Cell Phone Pic
On my friend Dave's garden railroad, one picturesque area is this valley with some bridges for the trains to pass from one side to the other.
This train happens to have a Penn Central SD45 leader that I decaled and weathered. In the background is a Penn Central patched boxcar that I also did with an interior of junk (old boxes and discarded wrapping). I was lending these items to another friend who brought them to run on Dave's railroad with some of his own stuff, too. I love this sort of cross-pollination we get in this hobby.
Nikon D610 with a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ f/10
An early Conrail freight led by a former Penn Central GP40 (patched for CR) rounds the curve at the highest section of my garden railroad.
Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4 @ f/9
My Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 4-6-2 Pacific is in action with a freight train. This shot is from last year (2025) at the annual Aikenback steam up in Scranton. We always meet at the Trolley Museum right at Steamtown.
This locomotive is a great puller with a good-sized boiler; it can make a solid 30-minute run pulling a long rake of wagons. The factory RC works perfectly.
In the next year or two, I am going to convert the boiler on this loco to a coal-fired boiler. And for this year's steam up (2026) I plan to run my Darjeeling A-Class 0-4-0 so stay tuned!
I caught this action on my friend's railroad out in Oley, PA. I grew up not too far from his house, but his railroad is set on the other side of the continent. This makes it seem as though we traveled very far to see SP trains in their natural habitat, plying the mountains of the West Coast.
Nikon D610 & Nikkor 24-120mm ƒ/4 @ ƒ/11
A Southern Pacific freight rolls into a tunnel on my friend's garden railroad.
Nikon D610 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 @ f/7.1
In the foreground is the loco I am making as a tribute to Grover's creation. The loco in the background is the original dream locomotive: Grover's 0-4-0.
Zeiss Milvus Distagon ZF.2 50mm f/1.4 @ f/16
1/6 scale (GI Joe / Barbie size) radio controlled Jeep. The original color scheme was military green, but I'm giving it a safari, or a 'Daktari', makeover.
I wanted to photograph some trains but it is just so hard with this fence around the parking lot and the sidings at the factory. Maybe I can sneak in somehow.
28mm AI f/2.8 @ f/22
I wanted to photograph some trains but it is just so hard with this fence around the parking lot and the sidings at the factory. Maybe I can sneak in somehow.
28mm AI f/2.8 @ f/22
I love DJI's NAZA flight controller, however, on their not-so-inexpensive motors, bullet quality was really poor. It almost cost me a crashed multicopter, eventually I just went ahead and replaced all bullet connectors