I am an artist, and a railfan. Naturally, this meant that there had to be a connection. I have always loved drawing trains, but by far, my favorite thing to do with my drawings was to draw my dream railroad. Someday, when I have the space, I want to turn it into a reality. It is very funny how it started. About 5 years ago, I took a trip with my family to Acadia national park, ME. Along the 6 hour drive, I stared out the window at the passing scenery. But when we got to Maine, WOW, there was just SOOOO much I wanted to go out and photograph. And every time we went near a track, I would take a good long look. It was Bliss. The only thing that could make it better was if I could have been able to stop and truly appreciate it. From that year onwards, we always set aside a week of the summer to visit Acadia National Park, and every year I gazed at those tracks with envy. Soon I got into drawing, and it wasn't long before the Otter Creek Rwy was born! Funny thing is, in many ways it is like Mike Confalone's Allagash Rwy. The idea was original, and so was the paint scheme. The otter creek adopted a black and cream/off white livery, which just never got old for me. I would keep on drawing ancient, lonely tracks with aged grimy ALCos hauling boxcars passing through the most desolate of places. I always wanted a model railway, but alas, I haven't got the resources previously mentioned. In the meantime, I enjoy writing it's history, and plotting it's route. Funny thing is, when I first found out about the AGR, featured in Model Railroad Planning (a MRR special issue) I couldn't believe it. I immediately thought "Hey, that looks just like the sort of stuff I wanted to do!". Mike's railroad has been a guide for me in thinking about what sort of a railroad the OCR is. It is loosely based off of a number of things, including the following: The Allagash Railway     The B&M Conn River line          The B&M East Deerfield Yard                Stuff I saw on my trip from Western Mass to Acadia National Park, ME          Miller's Falls, MA          Erving, MA              Northfeild, MA         Vernon, VT           Brattleboro, VT.            

My favorite conditions for Railfanning have always been gray skies in late fall and early spring. I have some pictures of my illustrations of the OCR for those interested. I can't show them up now due to not knowing where I last put them, but maybe next posting. The road isn't particularly realistic, but for a reason: this railroad LITERALLY is the stuff of dreams. These pictures are the result of a hard days daydreaming! I hope to have a railroad started sometime around 2022, but if I get the opportunity sooner, that's just fine! I've got Railfanning to keep me occupied in the meantime, plus drawing! :D (apologies if this doesn't really fit the category I posted it in, but I couldn't find a better one...)here's a picture of one of my favorite weather conditions for photography. Anyone else like this kind of weather?