Tracks and field: Carl Officer's train rides over hill and dale.As the mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 31,542. , Carl Officer governs a population of approximately 31,542. As a minister and funeral director, he's offered blessings and read last rites for some of those same people. When he finds free time, he takes on another commanding role--master conductor of his model railroad railroad or railway, form of transportation most commonly consisting of steel rails, called tracks, on which freight cars, passenger cars, and other rolling stock are drawn by one locomotive or more. collection. Officer's electronic construction, on which he's spent over $100,000 expanding, takes up the entire circumference of his basement. He actually crafts the tracks himself, constructing scenes that offer agricultural, urban, and military settings. Interest in the hobby began around age 8, when his father bought him a train set. Even his dad played with the set once or twice: "Myself and singer Phil Perry Phil Perry (born in East St. Louis, IL on January 12, 1952) is an R&B musician and a former member of The Montclairs. The Montclairs left Paula and disbanded in 1975. Perry later teamed with Richard Sanlin in a duo that had a short stay at Capitol in 1980. (another East St. Louis native) would get to watch our elders enjoy what they couldn't have as a Child." By the time Officer hit his teens, his studies at a military high school became his focus. As an adult, his concentration became politics. His interest in trains was rekindled, however, by his father's death in 1989. "It was therapy for me," Officer recalls. "I went to the lumberyard one night and just began building. It reconnected such a happy part of my life with my father." Today, the train tracks in the basement are where he returns in the face of challenges. "It's a milk-and-cookies moment. I don't have to worry about who's sick, who's dying, who wants anything. I can just be a kid again." Getting Started The National Model Railroad Association in Chattanooga, Tennessee “Chattanooga” redirects here. For other uses, see Chattanooga (disambiguation). Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee (after Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville), and the seat of Hamilton CountyGR6 , provides information and advice for model train enthusiasts. Ben Pearlman, their director of membership services, offers the following tips: * ORDER THE WALTHER'S GUIDE, Walther's (www.walthers.com) is the largest wholesale distributor of model railroads rail·road n. 1. A road composed of parallel steel rails supported by ties and providing a track for locomotive-drawn trains or other wheeled vehicles. 2. in the country. * CHOOSE AN APPROPRIATE SET. Types range from those designed to fit in small quarters to outdoor versions. Starter sets run from less than one hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Look at best value, which isn't always based on the lowest price. For example, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Pearlman, nickel nickel, metallic chemical element; symbol Ni; at. no. 28; at. wt. 58.69; m.p. about 1,453°C;; b.p. about 2,732°C;; sp. gr. 8.902 at 25°C;; valence 0, +1, +2, +3, or +4. silver is the best for tracks, versus stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. or brass. * CONSIDER JOINING THE NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION. Annual dues are $45. Membership provides a number of services from exclusive product offers to how-to-clinics and model contests. Visit them at www.nmra.org. |
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