I’ve been busy with a few things, making some progress on some projects too, but have not posted an article in a little while. With one news item of particular note: my book was reviewed in the January 2026 issue of The Train Collectors Quarterly. A very much appreciated review! It’s below, and I have just a few book updates to add below.

Updates?

There are some book updates here and there in the site, in particular I’d mention the article on Kingsbridge Scale Model Shop as a very significant update, as is this look at Limco.

I have a copy of the book that I keep a running list of updates in. The review prompted me to take a look. The vast majority of my notes relate to minor grammatical or spelling issues. There are only two of any significance not previously mentioned in the site.

One I was wondering in a recent article was who had the Belline? Turns out I have a note in my book that the builder was an individual named Larry Bell. I don’t know any more beyond that, but it explains the name of his road.

The more significant update relates to Commander Edward Semple Moale, featured on page 301 and following. If (or whenever) I update the book into a second edition, there is more I want to say about his military career.

In the book I state that he served in the navy for 37 years. That is not really correct. He had a 37 year military career, yes. But not all in the navy. What I have as a draft of an update is this:

A student at West Point in the same class as Eisenhower and Bradley, he retired from the navy after 37 years of service in the military.

If you think about that you might go hmmm, went to West Point, retired from the navy? It seems that immediately after his time at West Point he served in the merchant marine, and actually served in multiple branches over his long career, retiring from the navy. I had it all plotted out but then was like I don’t need to elaborate all that out.

Also of note, his father, Edward Moale Jr., was a Lieutenant in the navy, and a ship was named for him, the USS Moale! It was in service from 1944-73. Our OO Moale had quite a connection to the Navy.

And I need to get to work

In any event, as mentioned in the review, I do have some article ideas and need to get back to them — although it will probably be the summer before I have time to really get to writing. For now, I’m making progress on the Diesel project I’ve been posting about, and I’m working to move some cars through the paint shop as I have a batch of decals from a new source! More on those things soon.