From Ted:

My background as a hobbyist started building plastic model airplanes at age seven. I had a basic train set before that, but it was not really modeling, just running trains as fast as possible (that 0-6-0 tank engine flew around the oval!) At about age twelve, I visited a train shop with my dad and with the exception of college and two years in New York City, I have been a model railroader ever since. My start in aircraft modeling is what has pushed me in the direction of prototype modeling - I had an airbrush at age ten and was weathering and decaling at the same time - things that the average aircraft modeler must do, but few model railroaders engage in, especially airbrushing and decaling.

My modeling interest is the New Haven Railroad in mid-October 1947. Unlike many of the well-known NH modelers, I have chosen not to model the Shoreline. My layout (a future project once my wife and I purchase a house) will be based on three areas of the New Haven: the Valley Line from Hartford to Saybrook. I'll be featuring this line down to Middletown, CT, passing through my hometown (growing up, not now) of Wethersfield, CT. This line, freight only in 1947, ran a daily freight with about 20-30 cars, usually led by a 2-6-0. The next focus of the layout will be the Hartford area and its yards. Finally, there will be a more diorama-based portion of the layout where trains run through scenes from Hartford to the western terminus of the railroad in Maybrook, NY - this will alow me to run my favorite NH locomotive, the 2-10-2.

The other great benefit of modeling the New Haven is the tremendous variety of freight equipment that ran on the NH rails. The NH was chronically cash-strapped and was more than willing to utilize the freight equipment of other roads. This was possible because so many loads terminated on the line while far fewer originated.

I primarily build resin kits with a heavy mix of the better styrene models.