It’s one of those great opportunities where we have the privilege of meeting a valued friend of a podcast regular. Believe it or not, our very own Chris Wehman, (videographer extraordinaire) does indeed have many friends and in this case, we get to meet one of his valuable operators and someone that’s become a big help operating the Norfolk Southern Heartland Division in N-Scale. 

Nick Kolankiewicz as it turns out met Chris just a few short years ago and has become a treasured member of the crew as well as helping Chris with various duties such as installing decoders and making the sound of each locomotive as accurate as possible, which is not necessarily that easy when it comes to N-Scale. This is a great podcast and a great opportunity to meet one of the younger members of this great hobby.

Blair Kooistra is a well-known railfan and railroad photographer whose work and life revolve around trains and railroading — not just as a hobby but also professionally and creatively and documenting rail operations through images. He’s shared thousands of train photos online, especially on Flickr where his photostream includes rail action from classic lines like the Fort Worth & Western.

Recently after retiring from the railroad, he set-off on a thirty-seven-day road trip to photograph railroading and visit with friends and several model railroads. Originally a photojournalist, Blair turned his lens toward trains early in life and has published many of his railroad photos in magazines. He later became a railroad dispatcher based in Texas, which kept him close to the day-to-day workings of real railroads. This a great podcast and one we’re sure you’ll enjoy!!

Central Georgia RPM is an annual gathering where model railroad enthusiasts of all ability levels (from beginners to seasoned builders) come together to display their scale models, share skills, and learn from one another. For those who don’t know. RPM stands for Railroad Prototype Modelers and is organized as a friendly, community-focused event where modelers exhibit their work, talk techniques, and swap insights.

This year’s meet is in Macon, Georgia on March 27–28, 2026 at Lundy Chapel Church in Macon. The meet moved from Savannah, where a similar RPM event ran from 1999 until 2023, and now continues that tradition in the Central Georgia region. In short, this RPM is a celebration of model railroading and is a weekend event for enthusiasts to connect, display their craft, and dive deeper into the art and technique of realistic model railroads. Enjoy!!