Milwaukee, WI – Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is pleased to introduce the winners of the firm’s 2022 Model Railroad Scholarships, Kinzer Hurt and Michael Newman. Both are students at Clemson University; Kinzer is currently in his third year of Landscape Architecture studies, while Michael will be pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Now in its second year, the scholarship program recognizes how skills and interests developed while building a model railroad lead to a lifetime of learning, awarding $2500.00 to two students pursuing a two- or four-year degree in fields related to science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM).
Kinzer began his first railroad in middle school, and is currently working on two HO Scale layouts, a 200-square-foot double-deck layout known as the Blue Ridge Southern, and a 20-square-foot shelf-type layout based on Florida’s First Coast Railroad. He credits his interest and academic success to the many hours spent researching landscapes to re-create authentic scenes in miniature. Following graduation, he plans to extend his studies to urban planning, with an emphasis on transportation and post-industrial site restoration.
First becoming active in the hobby at age 10 with a smaller 4 x 6″ layout, Michael began work on a new design in 2019 that covers 13 x 5′. This second layout quickly became a hands-on way to apply STEAM principles from his high school engineering courses, giving him the confidence to take on more complex projects, as well as the artistic side of the hobby.
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is the leading supplier of model railroad products in North America. Founded in Milwaukee in 1932 by William K. (Bill) Walthers, and now in its fourth generation of family ownership, the firm is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company supplies hobby shops at home and abroad with thousands of products from hundreds of different suppliers.
