How it started

When I was approaching retirement for the second time I knew I didn't want to play golf. Touring the country in a Winnebago didn't sound appealing either. because my Government career and private sector job both required frequent travel and I did so much of it.  I wanted to spend  time with the Grandkids to make up for all the birthdays, holidays and special events I missed with my daughters when they were growing up while I was gone on fire assignments, searches for missing/overdue hikers and various other emergency management operations.  But what to do during the times when I wasn't with Logan or the Santa Barbara offspring was the question.

I thought about working as a part-time conductor on the Disneyland Railroad but those choice positions aren't easy to come by so for the past several years I've been working on my own backyard railroad empire and indoor overhead layout that circles the living room. The kids call it GrandpaLand and Jennifer insisted that I describe all the trains I've been collecting in detail on this blog site that she initiated for me. At first I was hesitant to use social media, "People could care less what I eat for breakfast" was my excuse. But then I learned there are Facebook groups with members who operate, swap and sell large scale railroad models and have similar interests in watching trains run 'round 'n 'round while consuming REALLY GOOD beer.  I have friends in Australia and all over the country who actively participate in this hobby and they all recommend that an inventory record be kept for various reasons hence the purpose of this blog.