John Olson, a popular Model Railroader magazine author and photographer from the 1970s through the 1990s, died on Dec. 28, 2025. He was 78 years old. His first MR article, “A day at Mule Shoes Meadows,” appeared in the May 1976 issue. John is perhaps best known for his nine-part project railroad series on the […]
Bob Brown, Editor of Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, passed away on Feb. 1, 2026. He was 93 years old. Bob traced his interest in the hobby to the October 1944 issue of Model Railroader magazine, which he spotted on a newsstand. During his formative years he had an O gauge American Flyer train […]
Longtime Trainfest executive director John Tews passed away on Oct. 10, 2024. He was 81 years old. John, a resident of Milwaukee suburb Sussex, Wis., since the mid-1960s, was a project manager for Wisconsin Electric for 35 years, retiring in 2006. His HO scale Timber River Ry. was featured in the January 1985, November 1992, […]
Paul J. Dolkos, a longtime contributor to the pages of Model Railroader magazine and its annuals and special issues, passed away on August 9, 2024. Paul became interested in trains and model railroading as a teenager. His second hobby was photography. Paul’s first MR cover photo, a scene on the Severna Park Model Railroad Club’s […]
Dennis E. Storzek, co-founder of Accurail Inc., died on April 21, 2024. Dennis was born in 1951 and became a model railroader in 1959 when he received a Lionel train set. His first freight car scratchbuild was a flatcar, which was better work than most adults of the time produced. Dennis joined the Illinois Railway […]
Kirk Reddie, Editor and Publisher of N Scale Railroading magazine, passed away on April 8, 2024. Kirk grew up and resided in Shoreline, Wash. When he was 4 years old, he received an American Flyer train set. His modeling focus shifted to HO scale when he was in eighth grade. In 1975 Kirk switched to […]
Jim Hediger, a member of the Model Railroader staff from 1972 to 2015, passed away on February 9, 2024 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Early years Jim was born in Chicago to Norm and Elenore Hediger. While in the Windy City, his father worked for the Grand Trunk Western. When Jim was 13, his family moved to […]
Robert (Bob) Hundman, founder of Hundman Publishing Inc., died on April 22, 2023. He was 88 years old. Robert’s work appeared in the pages of the hobby press for nearly 50 years. His earliest published drawing, a Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range class M-4 2-8-8-4, was in the March 1958 issue of Model Railroader. Robert’s […]
LaVerne F. (Vern) Bleifuss, former art director for Model Railroader magazine, died on March 1, 2023. He was 87 years old. LaVerne was born April 30, 1935 in the village of Summit, Wis. After graduation from Oconomowoc High School, he attended the Layton School of Art, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree. Following his honorable […]
Malcolm Furlow, noted model railroader and artist, died in early March from the effects of long COVID. He was 77 years old. Though Malcolm had an American Flyer train set as a child, he didn’t become interested in model railroading until later in life. Malcolm attended the University of Texas to pursue an art degree. […]
If you read our online News & Products for the week of February 20, 2023, you saw an announcement for the Micro-Trains Line Co. N scale Department of Defense (DODX) flatcar with “mystery balloon” load. The model was made in response to the balloon that was shot down by an F-22 off the South Carolina […]
Plaid FX flexible acrylic paint. Last week my wife needed to make a stop by the local Hobby Lobby to get some supplies for her classroom. While my wife and daughter were busy shopping, my son and I walked through the rest of the store. I’m always on the lookout for potential modeling products, and […]
