Uncle Theo Jakob 1929-2007

My Grandfather's best friend.

Uncle Theo and the railbus

This is taken somewhere between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, during its test run.

Interior Shot of Railbus

Prototype Railbus VT 95

The photo is of the prototype; note the Germans have not lettered the engine... It is on a test run between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Uncle Theo Jakob (my Grandfather's best friend) was the railroad's purchasing agent for this train.

VT 95

This is another shot of the A&Y ten wheeler. I changed the headlight, bell and tender to look more prototypical. I also lettered the engine based upon photos of similar A&Y engines. I do not know if 952 was ever lettered for the A&Y, but I do know that they had 950 and 953. Engine 952 was known to have operated in and around Greensboro, so until there is a photo that says otherwise-- it is my railroad :)

Atlantic & Yadkin

The Atlantic & Yadkin was a Greensboro based railroad that ran through our community. I am planning on modeling the area from Greensboro to its terminus, Mount Airy. As such, I have started modifying engines to look more like the actual A&Y engines. Here is my first attempt at modifying a Bachmann ten wheeler to look like the A&Y.

911s on my train layout

What? 911s and Model Trains???

Yes, it is true, I love model railroading. This weekend was a great weekend-- I started by getting up at the crack of dawn to stand in line at a tag sale for the late Dr. John Couch of UNCG. There was a lot of talk, and a newspaper article about his estate. I was especially interested in his train collection and his railroad related book collection. My brother and I arrived before 5 am to get our place in line, and found to our surprise that we were 18th & 19th in line. By the time the final line formed at 7:30, we were bumped up to 16th & 17th in line. Unfortunately, when the doors opened at 9, the #2 person in line bought ALL of the train books. He got a screaming deal. I did end up buying a neat PRR pitcher, a railroad tie and iMac computer. Bruce did better, buying some Ben Owen Sr. pottery candlesticks as well as some paintings. I passed on a large Southern Railroad wall map, which was priced at $50. The guy behind me in the check out line bought the map after I rejected it. He got a good deal.

I also presented a short class at the High Point Library on model railroading. We had a good attendance and my fellow Carolina Model Railroader, John, delivered the portion on starter sets. There is an article in today's News & record High Point version about the class. There was also a spot on Fox 8 Saturday night. So far I have not seen either. You can learn more about our club at: http://www.www.carolinamodelrr.homestead.com/.

What a curve!

One of many hairpin curves and switch backs on this mountain road.

Mountain Roads

Here is the 911 in the mountains. I cannot remember the road, or even the state, but I believe it was just over the WV line in VA. The shot was taken Nov. 15, 2005.

1997 911 Targa

This is my 911 in front of the Natural Science Center's old Zoo Entrance. Known to Porsche geeks as a 993, they were manufactured between 1995 and 1998. There were only 1,112 Targas made. You can read more about 993s at http://www.993registry.org/