Atwell-Midwest Model Railroad
a ModelersLife
The name Stephen Attwell probably doesn’t really resonate very much with most model railroader, but it’s a name in the hobby that folks should take note of because Stephen is the owner of Midwest Model Railroad one of the finest model railroad stores in the lower forty-eight. Located in Independence, Missouri it’s a 15,000 square-foot store that’s similar to walking into the Home Depot of model railroad stores. Stephen started this business with his father in the basement of their home, not so many years ago and now are producing a highly detailed line of N-scale cars starting with a...
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Jon Stackpole Part Two
a ModelersLife
Jon Stackpole is everywhere these days promoting designing, overseeing construction of multiple products for Athearn while appearing in webcasts, manning show booths discussing upcoming projects with customers like the HO-Scale locomotive newest versions of the GE AC4400CW, EMD SW1500, and other Genesis-series models. He’s very excited about the Athearn Genesis Series a high-end model train line produced by Athearn. It’s designed for modelers who want very accurate, highly detailed locomotives and rolling stock compared with the company’s standard Ready-to-Roll models. The...
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Episode 281: Jon Stackpole
a ModelersLife
You’d think when the gang at “a ModelersLife” got the chance to talk with the lead product manager with Athearn we’d have all sorts of questions to ask. Well, you’d be wrong, Jon has travelled such an interesting road to where he is today, Athearn barely came up. Once we discovered his Dad owned “The Hobby Depot,” a small, well-known model train shop in Monroe, Wisconsin, we wanted to know more!! Often times in life the journey is more interesting than the destination as you’re about to find out with our next guest. Besides being a life-long model railroader Jon is also an...
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Springfield Interviews
a ModelersLife
Now that was the show, another year has come and gone at the Springfield train show and this one will be remembered as the great snowstorm of 2026. It was so anxiously anticipated that several vendors never even bothered to show up but those of us who did, had a great time in spite of all the problems created by the weather. It was truly historic, bringing widespread snow across the northern Plains and into New England, impacting travel at airports, railway stations, and of course on the highways and bywaysDespite all this, a very large crowd showed up on Saturday and enjoyed what there was...
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Springfield Report with Otto Vondrak
a ModelersLife
Well, the show is over, the vendors are gone, there’s no more tickets to be sold and the planning for next year’s Springfield show is already underway!! As always there was lots to see and do, from checking out different manufacturer’s new releases, fabulous layouts, renewing friendships and looking for deals on that one particular piece of rolling stock you need!! Our favorite magazine editor Otto Vondrak stopped by to give us his take on all there was to see and decipher how the hobby is fairing and where it might be headed. Otto has a wealth of knowledge about the hobby and when you...
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Episode 280: Nick Kolankiewicz
a ModelersLife
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...
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Episode 279: Blair Kooistra
a ModelersLife
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...
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Central Georgia RPM
a ModelersLife
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,...
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Smokin' Joe Returns
a ModelersLife
Another year has come and gone since we last talked to hero Smokin’ Joe D’Amato. For those of you who don’t know Joe’s been a true friend of the podcast since before dinosaurs were born, along with his trusty sidekick, the modeller simply known as “Kelly,” he’s regaled with all sorts of interesting stories and never been afraid to share his knowledge of the hobby. But’s there’s been some pretty big changes in Joe’s life with the purchase of Micro Trains by the Atlas Model Railroad Company located in Newark, New Jersey. However, the folks at Atlas obviously know talent when...
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Sacerdote and the Springfield Show
a ModelersLife
Once again, it’s time to chat with John Sacerdote the long time show director of the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show featuring many of today’s most popular manufacturers, fabulous layouts, railroad history, photography, art, books, videos, vendors and a whole bunch more stuff for everyone to see and enjoy!! John has been overseeing the show for almost twenty-five years and still enjoys meeting as many of the exhibitors and show goers as possible. Adult admission is eighteen dollars per day with children under the of fifteen enter free when accompanied by an adult. Maps and...
info_outlineIt’s time for another fabulous round of the Kelly Questions!! Each envelope has been hermetically sealed in the front pocket of Mike “the Spoon” Ostertag’s coveralls… No one… I repeat, no one has been given access to these questions until now.
Find out what happens when a drummer, waiter, guy that prepares taxes, teacher and lonesome devil is put to the test. So grab yourself a bowl of shredded tax returns, a tall glass of recycled table water and enjoy!!