My name is Alan, live on east end of Long Island, NY. Retired for 5 yrs now and finally can really get back into the hobby. I say "back into the hobby" because I've been in & out since I was a teenager (Looong time ago). I'm into HO because my father, back in the 50's (yea, last century) owned a hobby shop in Brooklyn, NY and when he sold it sometime about '54-55 he kept a lot of engines, cars, kits, etc, pretty much all HO gauge. Believe it or not I have an unfinished layout here in my basement in NY, and a new one I started on the west coast (!) in a two-car garage in a house my wife & I bought several years ago on the north coast of Oregon which is to be our retirement home. Started the layout out there last winter when we spent Dec. & Jan. there, but didn't get back there tis winter. I'm from old school...still in DC with blocks; looking into DCC and hope to learn from some of you guys (and gals?) about switching over, or possibly dual system, since most of my old locos would be almost impossible to install decoders in. Well, that's it for now.
Good to meet you, Alan. Hope you and our other NE members survive the weekend excitement. Now, he asks, whereabouts? I spent a little of my growing up in W Hempstead, hence the curiosity. Enjoy!
Hi Alan, Welcome to the TrainBoard. I never owned a hobby shop, but I did build an HO layout in my folk's basement 60 years ago, about 40 miles north of your Dad's.
Welcome here, Alan. Wow, your dad ran a hobby shop in Brooklyn back in the '50's when I lived upstate and used to take the NY Central to see Dodger games in Brooklyn. Now I'm retired on the central Oregon coast, a very beautiful place. Where on the North coast is your retirement home? Ever visited the Oregon Coast Scenic RR in Garibaldi? :wideeyes:
Gearhart, Oregon Our house is in Gearhart, just 5 min, north of Seaside & 10 min. south of Astoria. We really love it. Never visited the Oregon Coast Scenic RR, but I'm sure I'll check it out. Where are you in Oregon? My son & his family live in Yamhill, near McMinville. Maybe we can meet sometime.
Let's plan on meeting. I live in Waldport, on the coast about halfway between CA and WA. If your son is near McMinnville, in my other life I worked for Lockheed Flight Test, and the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville has a few airplanes with my fingerprints on them, plus it is a fantastic museum. I would love to give you a tour.
