This page is here to give those people interested, an idea of who I am.
After growing in Bellingham Washington I joined the Army in 1950 and did my time on the front lines, in the forgotten war, Korea.
The day after returning from Korea on February 21, 1952, I met Sandy, and we went on our first date that same day. We dated every day during my 30 day leave and on February 29th at a drive in theatre, she proposed to me.
Now I had been tipped off by my Aunt about girls proposing on Leap Year and the old saying was that if I refused I had to buy her a new dress. I said yes and her jaw dropped to her chest. We got married on October 29th, just two days before my 20th birthday. She was 17. Statistics indicate our marriage wouldn’t last but we are celebrating our 50th anniversary this October 29, 2002. We have 3 children and a foster daughter who are arranging a celebration for us.
In 1954 I went to Railroad Telegraphy School in Seattle and graduated at the top of my class. We moved to Dunsmuir, California where I worked for the SP as a telegrapher. In 1962, I saw the handwriting on the wall when the railroad started installing CTC. I took a course in TV and radio repair and opened up shop in my garage. I was still working for the SP but saw the bumping of individuals heading my way.
When I was bumped to Redding California I knew my time was short and so looked around and found an appliance store that needed a TV repair shop. I started my own business and paid rent. We thought things were pretty good when suddenly the appliance store went bankrupt. There we were with a business, some large bills and no store to work out of. I said to heck with it and hired out as a technician for various TV shops.
Meanwhile Sandy started training to be a nurse. We moved to Woodland, California where Sandy got a job in the hospital. I had various jobs including custodian for schools, building rafters for mobile homes, service and warehouse manager for Coffee Systems and as a foreman at a trailer manufacturing business.
Then Sandy and I attended a school for Hotel / Motel management and went on to manage motels from Bakersfield, California; to Reno, Nevada; to Portland, Oregon. The last 10 years we managed a motel in San Fransico. That was rough as Sandy’s heath deteriorated. We retired in September 1998 when she was taken to the hospital by ambulance, code3. Happily she has recovered to a degree allowing us some enjoyment from life.
I started my first model railroad (HO) in 1960 and it was half completed when we moved. I started and N gauge layout in one of the bedrooms in the house we bought but when one of the kids came back, it went. I started another layout a couple of years ago as a learning project. It had lots of derailments and scenery mistakes but served its purpose in helping me gain experience.
I have a drawn a track plan and started construction on a new layout.

Dick Anderson