Welcome back to the “Hobo”! Mark and his family are scheduled to visit us at the end of June from “down under” in Australia. We are anxiously awaiting his arrival and looking forward to all the excitement, camaraderie, and fresh new ideas Mark always brings with him. It is refreshing to get a different perspective on things, especially model railroading things, and Mark certainly is noted for his different perspective.
Mark has been in Australia for over ten years now and is firmly established as a citizen and resident there but his roots are back here in the good ‘ol USA. Hopefully, he can get to see many of the things that make this country so interesting and great and show his family the better side of America. There is much to offer for visitors and residents alike in nearly every nook and cranny of this great country. In our little nook we have a rich history of baseball with numerous teams which originated in New York to the Hall of Fame here in Cooperstown. To support this great sport over the years the railroad transported many of the fans from upstate areas to the city where the games were played. This continues even today with Amtrak being one of the best means of travel for convenience to the games in New York City. More often than not the close proximity of the train stations to desirable landmarks makes them the logical choice for getting to your destination. Besides the tourism industry, trains are also a mainstay of transportation for goods. It is one of the least expensive ways of shipping large quantities of goods over long distances available to industry today. This real life diversity makes modeling the railroad industry both challenging and exciting. It maintains a keen interest in the details of recreating a miniature world of travel and adventure for those involved in the hobby. This is where Mark’s outlook shines.
He finds the details many overlook and shines his own light on the obvious to the amazement of others. This introspection makes Mark’s models stand out over similar models where the details he incorporates are not found elsewhere. Mark’s willingness to share his observations and ideas with others makes him one of model railroading’s true giants. Mark is always ready to help in any way he can if you have a problem or idea that needs to be expanded. He often shares some of his ideas with FUNTRAK when he occasionally writes a column for Hobos Fire. FUNTRAK wishes Mark well and hopes he not only has a great time during his visit, but also gains some valuable insight to develop new ideas to incorporate into his own model railroading and further share some of these ideas with us in the future.
Brian
