Hobbies

I have many interests in a variety of subjects. Collecting Ertyl trucks, a variety of computer games and growing plants are just a few of my hobbies. However, while I enjoy these activities, my primary hobby is trains. I don't collect railroad antiques, but mostly anything related to the railroad sparks my interest. The three categories I put the most time towards are train watching, train simulation and model railroading.

I am fortunate that I share my interest in trains with my father. Except for simulation, he and I are quite often together while rail fanning and always together when working on models. It is through him that my passion for the rails started and continues to grow with each passing year.

Train Watching
Watching trains, also known as rail fanning, is something that I like to try to do at least once a month, especially during the summer months. I am fortunate that my place of residence is located between the two largest Class I railroads in the United States. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) can be reached in about 45 minutes to an hour's drive south and the Union Pacific (UP) in a little over an hour's drive to the north.

My father and I, and mother on many occasions, have enjoyed many hours sitting beside the rails during over the years. Rail fanning along the BNSF, in Ottumwa, usually provides an average of 5-10 trains during a 4-5 hour session. When in Ottumwa, traffic usually consists of eastbound coal loads with returning westbound empties. Occasional intermodal and manifests can be seen, especially with activity on the Iowa Chicago and Eastern (ICE) that also runs through Ottumwa. Amtrak's California Zephyr runs on this portion of the BNSF and is seen in late evening and mid morning, when running on time.

When along the UP in Marshalltown, a variety of trains, and power, is more likely than along the BNSF. On an average 4-5 hour stay, it is not uncommon to see 20 or more trains, but 10-15 is more of the typical result. The Union Pacific, formerly Chicago and Northwestern in this area, runs a number of intermodal, coal, manifest and grain trains through northern Iowa. High priority Z trains are common as well as coal loads with two to three engines and 130 or more cars. The Des Moines turn, or the dumb dumb as it has been nicknamed, is usually seen around the noon hour.

For more Iowa train watching, refer to fellow railfan and friend Dick Tinder's site, Virtual Train Watching in Iowa. We have been known to get together on occasion and watch Iowa's trains. Also refer to the railroad's sites, both BNSF and UP keep up to date information.

Rail Simulator
I can be found on Microsoft's Train Simulator (MSTS) many hours most weeks. While I also do some Flight Simulator, MSTS is what I enjoy the most when it comes to simulators. I find that the included routes don't meet my expectations for realistic scenery and rail operations. Therefore I have expanded my simulated rails in southern California and western Montana with free routes from Train-Sim and routes from 3D Train Stuff and a few others.

On most of these routes, I have made a number of my own activities and continue to add to them. I use qstation and rail pictures for research of prototypical operations that are as close to real operations as possible.

Model Railroading
Unfortunately, this area receives the least amount of attention out of my railroad related hobbies. My father and I model in HO scale with models from a variety of manufacturers. I prefer modern equipment generally related to the BNSF railroad in the Midwest, although other lines are present.

The current state of our model layout is two complete single-track main lines with two small yards. Various structures in boxes and complete with little scenery applied to the finished area.

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