Happy 13th Birthday TrainBoard

Folks,

This week marks 13 years since TrainBoard launched. We've had some really good times here and more are to come. A lot of great friendships have been formed and together we have made a difference in furthering our interests throughout the Internet. As well, we have a lot of things planned for the future. More special run projects are planned and we have other ideas brewing to enhance your experience here.

I would like to thank all of the members who spend time here helping other people by answering questions and providing encouragement for people that are new to model railroading and railfanning, as well as all of the folks who post great photos and other information of interest.

I would like to thank all of the staff members who spend countless hours working behind the scenes to make this place work right. For those of you that have never been involved in something like this, there is more to it than you think. There are a few staff members that really go the extra mile also and without mentioning names, I would like to thank those folks as well. Note also that quite a few staff members joined in March 2000, so we have some great longevity with our staff.

I would also like to thank each and every one of you that have subscribed to TrainBoard through financial support. As almost all of you know, we try to offer as many enhancements as possible to those who subscribe. The money that you folks contribute through these subscriptions has helped us survive and we thank you with all sincerity. Every person who helps support the site, even through the $2 or $5 monthly donations, pays the way of several people.

We plan on changing servers again this year to a larger and more powerful server so more subscriptions will be needed. I know people will come through.

Also, a thank you to our advertisers. TrainBoard is a partnership between customers and providers - meaning both manufacturers and retailers. Without these fine folks who make and sell the things we like, we would not be able to have all of these great things that we enjoy so much.

I would also like to remember some great friends who have gone on from this world:

• My personal friend Kenny Lord who was retired from the Santa Fe in Kansas and passed away from cancer in 2006. Kenny was one of the people who originally inspired this site. I doubt that TrainBoard would have existed without him. He was a member here and enjoyed the site, although he never made a post.
• Our good friend Jim Harrawood from Utah was a TrainBoard administrator who worked tirelessly to help improve and grow the site during the first few years. Jim also died of cancer in 2006 and the night he passed away he was trying to get in touch with me but I was not available. That will always bother me and I hope to see him on the other side someday to make up for that.
• No one will ever forget Wayne Wilson, a Kansas native who lived in Texas, a staff member who breathed a kind of life into this site that will always be missed. Wayne had a magnetic personality and he loved people. He would help someone with model railroad advice at any turn and never failed to entertain in the process. Wayne left us in 2010. Wayne wanted no one to fall through the cracks or to be left behind. If he ever talked to you or communicated with you in any way he would remember your name and follow up to make sure you got the information you needed.
• Another long-time staff member that we remember is Peirce Behrendt from Connecticut who had been here since the beginning. Peirce was one of the nicest men you would ever meet and unfortunately passed away from cancer in 2009.
• In 2004 another staff member we lost was Gil Abar from California. Gil also suffered a long battle with cancer and another great wealth of knowledge was lost when he passed.
• None of us will ever forget Ed Murphy. Ed was from Newfoundland and immigrated to Mexico and was a long time TrainBoard staff member. We lost Ed less than one year ago and we will miss him greatly. Ed posted many interesting photographs to the site.
• Wolfgang Dudler was a long-time staff member from Germany who battled cancer, losing his battle this past August. Wolfgang was a talented HO modeler and we still have many of his photographs to enjoy and remember him by.
• An early staff member on TrainBoard was Robin Matthysen. Robin immigrated to Canada from South Africa and passed away in 2005.
• Although he was never a staff member, Johnny Trains was a staple of TrainBoard in the three years that he was here. Johnny was a New Yorker through and through and although I never met him personally I could tell that he was a super person. Johnny died unexpectedly in 2004 just short of his 47th birthday.
• Other TrainBoard members that we want to remember are Don Malm, Dick Anderson, John Adney, Paul Templar, and Greg Mahlkov. We've lost other members but these folks come to mind.

Again, Happy 13th Birthday to TrainBoard (which is all of us that are here) and cheers to the future.

Charlie

 

Happy birthday Trainboard! It has been, and still is a privilege to work for the betterment of this "club".

A classy act, Charlie ... remembering those who have passed on. Thank you.

 

Good to remember those who have gone to the Great Train Yard in the Sky; great to be here 13 years later! I have been here a while too.
High greens for another 13!

 

Very touching to again read some the names of our late friends. Sure wish they were here right now. Without them, this site wouldn't be anywhere near as good as today.

 

Happy Birthday Trainboard.
And a salute to those members who have gone on ahead to the next station.

 

Wow - it seems like we just celebrated 10 years and here it is three years later. Happy 13th, TrainBoard!!

-Mike

 

A super Happy Birthday to the greatest railroad forum anywhere! Here's to the next 13yrs and beyond!

 

Wow those names of those who passed brought a rush of memories. I have been an administrator since the start and have much fun and have made many friends along the way.

I have met a number in person and have fond memories of Flash Blackman visiting and operating my layout on several occasions.

I did drop out of the scene for a while but now drawn back into the hobby and it has reinvigorated my interest especially at a to e when I am going through some Professional challenges in my career.

It's the members that continually post who really need the thanks because without them we would not have last the 13 years especially as technology changes to more mobile devices and different platforms. If come one said to me 13 years ago I would be posting from a device while I am commuting on a train I would have laughed.

What will be next?

Happy 13th TrInboard and wishing many more years to come

 

Wow. It seams like it was just yesterday, two of my N scale friends told me of this new model railroad forum called "Trainboard" In some ways, March of 2000 seems like yesterday and in other ways it seems like a totally different life time. Thanks for the memories of our brothers Charlie, we miss them.

​High Greens to another 13 years!