Big Dave Sommers with his son Andrew. Dave is an avid Chessie and C&O modeler and loves to switch Philly yard! Rumor has it that Dave can switch for 24 hours straight! No confirmed sightings as of yet. In the picture, Dave is giving his son advice " Go west young man!" Dave has just moved into a new home and will eventually build a new layout of the B&O's westend!

This is a picture of Big Mike Minatelli. Mike has helped me a ton with the layout. Including design and building. Mike is an avid Philadelphia Flyers fan and works for Brandywine Valley Railroad as a engineer. This is a picture of Mike in one of his favorite engines, RS32 #212. Mike is an avid Western Maryland modeler and loves Alco's.

Randy Broadwater is a real engineer on the CSX Philadelphia Subdivision! In this photo, Randy is on Q403, CP/D&H train that runs over the Philadelphia Sub. Rumors floating around Wilmington state that Randy will build a layout. Rumors, rumors...

Ellery Street started his railroad career with the PRR in 1957 and retired with Conrail in 1987. What can I say, this guy is a workhorse! or is that an iron horse?! *** I am sorry to report that Ellery passed away in December, 1999. Ellery was a good friend and he will surely be missed. He was 73 years old. Ellery touched my layout and he will always be there! *****

Jesse Cloud signed on in September of 1999. In a short 2 months, Jesse has helped immensely! Especially with the Brandywine Viaduct sceney. In Jesse's professional life, he is a world class furniture restorer. His middle name is Shellac! Jesse's other loves are LGB trains, his daughter Rowan and his wife Alycia!

Don Richard has helped with the layout since the beginning. Don is Asst. Manager of the Brandywine Valley RR - Southern Division. (Ex Delaware Valley) He is also a qualified engineer and helps out when they get busy running trains! Don also loves sailing. In this shot, Don has just set off his train in CSX's Wilsmere Yard and is heading east to get his pickup. Don is a PRR modeler, but secretly loves early Conrail!

John Lassahn is a good friend. John started his career on the PRR. He recently retired from Conrail after 31 years of service. His railroading career spanned the entires lives of Conrail and Penn Central. John retired in October of 1999, serving on a CSX Conrail integration customer service team in his final few months. John was well respected at Conrail for his knowledge of railroading and the Conrail system. Johns interests are train operations, model railroading, opera, and shipping. John has a 2 children and a wonderful wife Kathy.

This is one of my best friends, Mark Sakely. Mark is married to a wonderful woman, Dawn. They have 3 children and one of them works for CSX. In this picture, Mark(a B&O fanatic) is chasing a pristine B&O ACF covered hopper in 2003!

I had to show you the car. It was worth the run!