a ModelersLife

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those great model railroad clubs that don't own their own building or eventually the owner of a private home that houses club passes away?? The most common answer is nothing and so was the case with the Southern Pacific Model Railway club in Rocky Hill, New Jersey. Except in this case a successful TV who also happens to be a lifelong model railroader deci...

It's a return visit to White Rose Hobbies, in York, Pennsylvania. Only this time we're talking with the non-model railroad partner get Thomas who apparently is in charge of ordering paint. We still haven't gotten around to talking about some their great stories from the days of working on the Norfolk Southern but with White Rose agreeing to be the full-time sponsor of the podcast, we'll look forwa...

While it might seem to the naked eye that the preservation of America's railroads from the past is sporadic at best, we here at the AML Nation would argue that it's exactly the opposite. Recently, we had the chance to talk with Bryan Lalevee from the Norfolk and Western Business Car 300 Preservation Society an enthusiastic group of volunteers that's already completed the restoration of one beautif...

Have you ever stumbled across a website and an hour later realized you're still looking at it because of how much material was available?? That's what happened to us at the ole' AML World Headquarters in downtown Busted Knuckle, Kentucky. Surfin' the internet we stumbled across "Hawkins Rails" one of the most comprehensive railfanning websites you'll ever find. Whether it's mainline railroading or...

On this podcast, we welcome back Ralph Renzetti a.k.a. "The Mudfather." The Evel Overlord had lots of questions about paint, glues and everything else that's needed to build an award-winning model. There's plenty of discussion on the mixing of paints, which ones are best suited for each individual application and lots more. Ralph Renzetti as well-known among his peers as an expert modeler and extr...

RPM Meets have created a community for sharing information and experiences about and around the hobby of model railroading, what others are doing in the hobby, why they're doing and what each individual is trying to accomplish. There are many RPM events throughout the country. Some are national conferences like the Chicagoland or St. Louis events, while others are one or two-day local meets with a...

Details, details, details, with today's HO and N-scale locomotive manufactures delivering engines with just about every detail you can imagine, we here at the old AML headquarters have discovered someone that's producing even more details for every facet of your layout, including locomotives and rolling stock. Chris Wallace is like almost everyone else in the hobby having been a model railroader f...

One of the great things about this hobby of model railroading is that it's always there when you need it, like a faithful companion, whether you choose to work on your current project every day, once a week or just a few times a month, it's always there ready for the next adventure. Our next guest, Wally Swaitly is typical of folks who revisit the hobby after years or perhaps even decades away, wh...

Here at the ole' AML Nation's world headquarters in downtown Busted Knuckle, Kentucky… It seems increasingly evident to us that RPM meets are becoming more and more popular with each passing year. On this podcast, we talk with Jerry Britton and Matthew Hurst about the second edition of the Central Pennsylvania Short Lines RPM. There's going to be plenty to do on Friday with layout visits in States...

Imagine the excitement of having your model railroad appear on the cover of the hobby's premier magazine for the first time?? That's exactly what happened to Mike Hauk When his Susquehanna and New York, Railroad appeared on the cover of the May issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. This HO scale railroad is based on a short line located in the central Pennsylvania mountains, north of Williamsport and...

After a lifetime of serving a higher calling and a lifelong obsession with model railroading, it was time for our next guest to buy a basement with a house on top of it. Robin Montenay spent most of his life with the Lutheran Church and without a permanent site to build a model railroad. What he ended with is a spectacular shelf layout called the "Barchester" that appeared on the cover of the 2024...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if two guys with beards that worked for the Norfolk Southern joined forces to create a destination hobby shop in York, Pennsylvania?? The same question occurred to us and after an exhaustive search we stumbled across Ryan and Tom who just so happened to own White Rose Hobbies, a full-line hobby shop located at 4401 W Market St. in York, PA. Ryan has been a...

Until recently, most model railroading products were imported from countries like China, Germany, or Japan under a specific harmonized tariff schedule. The tariffs were typically low and often duty-free under most trade agreements. For many imports valued under $800 shipments could often enter the country duty-free But all that's changed so we here at the ole' AML Network decided it was time to fi...

Getting started in model railroading   can be an overwhelming experience, with questions like what scale to choose, who makes the best products, do I need to be a skilled carpenter, will there be a need for a vast knowledge in electronics?? The questions are endless and in today's world of social media the places to find answers can be almost as confusing. But being a woman in model railroading ca...

Our next guest may not be well known in the world of model railroading but he's the son of Larry Wolfe, AMA Hall of Fame member and world-renowned RC jet pioneer. Chris Wolfe grew up in the back room of Jet hanger Hobbies while being exposed to all aspects of the radio control hobby. His passion for the hobby started at an early age when he began building plastic models, by age eleven he was flyin...

Getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus isn't as simple as it might sound, things have changed, prices are different, tools are better, the models run so much more smoothly, and the AML Nation is now here to help.  On this episode, we talk with Bill Ford who's always been a Model Railroader, but took time off for to pursue his career in punk rock and becoming an licensed electrician. Bill...

Turns out there's other hobbies besides model railroading, who knew??... So here at the ole' World Headquarters in downtown Busted Knuckle, Kentucky have decided that for the second decade of "a ModelersLife" we're going to occasionally explore life outside this great hobby of ours. The hobby of wargaming has been growing in popularity over the last several decades, and we decided to strike up a c...

It's always fun when we talk to somebody for the very first time and on this episode, we head to the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to talk with David Lund an avid model railroader, brand new dad of beautiful twin girls, son of a full-time railroader and a man that understands the finer things about hotdogs. If you're interested in anything other than model railroads as David has been for most of hi...

One of the great things about this hobby of model railroading is the ability to meet people from all walks of life and while we've talked with Andy Zimmerman before, it's always interesting to start the discussion talking about life on an aircraft carrier and around the world.   But after that, there was plenty of talk about T-Trak, the evolution of Kato Precision Railroad Models, advancements in...

It's part two of the Joe Desmond chronicles, and in this episode we discover some very cool 3-D printed pick-up truck models at Showcase Miniatures, from the original Mad About Cars series.   There's also a great discussion and some excellent instruction on how to paint these particular models while Joe introduces us to the Army Painter series of paints and supplies. Joe also tells us how he learn...

It's been a while since we checked in with our friend Joe Desmond, an N- Scale modeler with a passion for the hobby, Conrail and connecting with other hobbyists through social media. There's a great discussion about the pros and cons of spending valuable modeling time making YouTube videos versus working on the layout. Joe has for some years now publicized his Central Jersey Conrail layout on TikT...

We've interviewed so many folks over the last decade sometimes it's hard to remember who we've missed over the last little while, but thanks to the modeler simply known as "Kelly," we've once again teamed up with one of the most prolific and imaginative folks we've ever met on our travels throughout the model railroad world. Smokin' Joe D'Amato has for over two decades been a key element in the de...

On this episode of who has the Evel Overlord managed to lure into the studio, the story about three guys who've taken it upon themselves to move the Savannah RPM to a new location is revealed, continuing a tradition in the great state of Georgia, and making it bigger and better than ever. Paul Spilman, Stephen Floyd, and Ken Preston have taken it upon themselves to keep the tradition of what many...

It's that time of year again, the best train show in all of North America (and maybe the world) is just a few days away, and has become our yearly tradition, John Sacerdote the show Director has stopped by the AML World Headquarters in Busted Knuckle, Kentucky to tell us all the latest news that'll get us so excited we won't be able to sleep until the doors open. The Amherst Railway Society's Rail...

It's an all new "All-Star Variety Hour" without much variety. We've got just one guest for this show and Daniel Banks is just starting his initial term as the Superintendent of the Central Indiana Division after serving three years as train master. When he's not busy trying to make the NMEA grow he can be found pursuing his favorite favorite parts of the hobby, building and operations.  Dan has re...