Its’ ”Part Two” of the NERPM (excuse me) interviews direct to you from downtown Springfield, Massachusetts home each January to the big Amherst Society’s model railroad show held at the Eastern Exposition grounds and each June modelers gather together at the NERPM meet in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts to celebrate model railroading in a different way. With various activities such as clinics covering topics like weathering techniques, scratch building, layout design, historical research, and some hands-on instructional workshops. 

In this episode of the NERPM Chronicles, you will hear from such great modelers as Jim Homoki who discusses recent events on his Penn Central layout, Rob Hinkle fills us in on what’s up at the Operations Special Interest Group, Luis Segarra talks about being part of the show crew. Dave Oppedisano discusses starting his dream layout featuring his love of BNSF and Ted DiIorio tells about his hands on instructional weathering clinic that’s always a hit at any show he attends. It’s a fun podcast we’re sure you’ll enjoy!! 

Modeling the New Haven Railroad in the mid-1950s can be an exciting and historically accurate project. The New Haven Railroad, officially known as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H), was a prominent railroad company that served the New England region of the United States during that era.

Our next guest is recreating as much of the New Haven Railroad as possible on three levels, with a track plan scaled down from the prototype, while enjoying the process and letting his creativity fill in the blanks. For Bill Chapin modeling the New Haven Railroad in the mid-1950s allows him to recreate a fascinating era in railroading history and bring it to life for the rest of us to enjoy!!

Railroad Prototype Modelers meets, (RPM) are an excellent way to connect with other model railroaders who share a passion for realism, exchange ideas and discuss techniques. There’s a wide variety of detailed locomotives, rolling stock, structures that closely replicate real-world railroads, time periods, and geographic regions with precise attention to detail.

This podcast features interviews with attendees David Yale, Jim ”the Hammer” Lincoln and Rapido’s own John Frantz. Overall, attending railroad prototype modelers meets can be an enriching experience for model railroaders. It allows you to immerse yourself in the world of prototype modeling, learn from experts, discover new techniques, and forge connections with like-minded individuals who are as passionate about the hobby as you are.

Allen Keller is a name that everyone in model railroading, young or old should recognize as a contributor to the hobby through his video series ”Great Model Railroads.” Travelling all around the lower forty eight over three decades to visit and record some of the best builders and their railroads.

Allen’s Bluff City Southern also a great model railroad in it’s own right, is alive and well today set in the area around Memphis in 1950 when cotton was king, operating throughout the Mid-South providing interchanges in the Memphis area with the IC, Frisco, L&N, Southern and the Missouri Pacific. This is a great podcast discussing some of the most interesting layouts and thier owners from the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. Enjoy!!

The Northeast/New England RPM Meet has been growing and growing over the past twenty years until it became one of the go to meets in the country. RPM Meets are all over the country and they truly began as simply someplace to display models finished or otherwise, meet old and new friends, learn some new techniques and leave by the end of the weekend enthused as ever about the hobby.  

The NERPM is not an exclusive group of super modelers, they are regular folks' like you and me. Some may be more talented than others, but most aspire to be better, to produce more realistic looking models and share ideas. Dave Owens and his band of merry men encourage modelers of all abilities to share what they accomplished so far: Finished or otherwise, completed or in-progress. There is no judgment, no one telling you that you are wrong, just good camaraderie. This is a great podcast that we’re sure you’ll enjoy!! 

It's always fun to welcome a newcomer to the AML Studios in downtown, Busted Knuckle, Kentucky and this week our guest travelled all the way from North Carolina. Marcus is a veteran in the world of N-Scale and his beautiful layout the Charleston, Roanoke & Eastern Railway set in the late 80's/early 90's when there was still a lot of variety on the Class One railroads and operations from that era were what kept the country moving.  

When our wandering reporter Nick Santo stopped by for a visit, we knew that there was much more to learn about the layout and the owner. Overall, Marcus's combination of interests in N-scale model railroading, his work at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, and his affinity for the Norfolk Southern Railroad showcases a deep passion for railways and a dedication to preserving and promoting their legacy. 

It’s coming, like kids at Christmas or standing rail-side waiting for Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” the anticipation for this year’s NMRA National convention in Dallas, Texas continues to build. Model railroad enthusiasts are passionate about their hobby, and conventions are a chance to share that passion with others, talk about their layouts, share modeling techniques and show off their latest creations.

Chris Atkins and Riley Triggs stop by the AML studios to give us an update on all the exciting events taking place at the Supercharged Highspeed, Texas Express !! There’s plenty of great layouts, prototype tours, clinics and of course the chance to get your very 3D image thanks to Bernard Hellen at MiniPrints. Be prepared for surprises, whether it's a creative new design, a new locomotive release, structure kit or unexpected celebrity sighting, you just never know what you might see at the NMRA National convention.

What happens when a prospective member calls up and asks for advice??...

We say leave a message and we’ll get back to you, or we gather together some of the greatest minds in all of AML Nation to answer the call. Last week’s guest Bradd Williamson had fallen asleep in the studio while trying to decide whether or not to join the NMRA, so it only seemed natural to make a podcast out of it.

Bradd was trying to decide if joining the NMRA was worth the money and answered his own question as the night went on. He really wanted to attend a local NMRA regional convention with his buddies and in a final effort to get the ball rolling the “Queso Cowboy” stepped up to the plate and offered a challenge. If Bradd joined Tom Jacobs said he’d follow suit and before the show was over the NMRA had two brand new members added to their ever-growing membership list!!

Members of the AML Nation come in all shapes and sizes from all corners of the globe, with this episode of “a ModelersLife,” we meet one of the Iron City N-Scalers, a group of friendly fellows brought together by some other fellow, who’s name we can’t recall at this time. Bradd Williamson was destined to be a lone wolf modeler, until one day he decided to find out if model railroading had a presence on the internet.

A high school physics teacher from the Jersey Shore has had a passion for model railroading as long as he can remember, quite content to live out his life alone in railroading while the hobby slowly died away. Then one day this creature called social media reared its head and Bradd discovered a whole world of modelers just waiting to become close friends and help him set out on all sorts of exciting adventures!! Grab yourself a big bowl of shredded standardized tests, a tall cool class of Newtonian fluid and enjoy!!

After a quick chat at Springfield, Jason Shron expressed an interest to come back on the podcast and talk about what’s the landscape of the hobby post pandemic, what the future holds and the importance of pre-orders.  Running a successful model railroad manufacturing company based in Canada, or any other country for that matter, requires a strong business plan, good communication with suppliers, a solid understanding of the market with a commitment to quality and customer service.

There’s also a discussion about Jason’s deep commitment to his faith, working on his layout, “Canadian National’s Kingston Sub,” spending more time with his family, Rapido in the United Kingdom and of course one of the latest offerings from Rapido… The GE 44-Tonner. This is an interesting chat with lots of twists and turns, so grab a big bowl of shredded N-95 masks, a tall cool glass of fish fry oil and enjoy!!