An Introduction....
Since as far back as I can remember railfanning and/or railroading has been a part of my life. After all my father, Michael Palmieri, is an avid railroad historian, noted photographer, published author and modeler. Because of this I was exposed to many aspects of the railroad industry and railfan hobby at a young age.
When I was very young, we had a small model railroad in a spare bedroom. My father had some freelanced railroads of his own so naturally I wanted the same. I came up with the name "Texas and Great Northern" not really knowing much else about what it was--other than I just thought it was a cool name for a railroad. A few locomotives followed painted in a blue-and-white scheme similar to Joe Loggans' Arkansas Valley scheme (also like Kalmbach's Milwaukee, Racine, and Troy scheme). My younger brother, Steven, was born when I was five and the railroad disappeared so the room could be used for its intended purpose. At that time the Texas and Great Northern name and concept became dormant.
Growing up in New Orleans, LA I was able to operate at the Crescent City Model Railroad Club (CCMRC) a number of times and during my high school years I was fortunate enough to be a regular operator on Lou Schultz' "Atticghany Subdivision" HO scale C&O model railroad. These experiences solidified my desire to have a railroad of my own someday...but what to model?
At the same time, I developed my interests as a railfan photographer. New Orleans was a rich environment for the hobby with nine railroads in close reach so there was always something to see and do and learn from. Of particular significance were several visits to Georgia Pacific's shortlines Ashley Drew and Northern as well as the Fordyce and Princeton out of Crossett Arkansas. Mr. Russell Tedder, president of these railroads, allowed his properties to host NRHS excursions and even allowed myself and friend Nick Huth to ride a regular freight train from Crossett, AR to Monroe, LA. Everything about Mr. Tedder's railroads was classy and the impression they left on me was never forgotten.
A High School and College summer ritual for me was to take a lengthy trip by rail with my uncle, Joseph Scorsone, to see America and its railroads. We would usually get an Amtrak two or three-zone-pass and then schedule a trip that would get the most mileage. This allowed me to see many parts of the country by rail. I was never anything less than awe-struck by the spectacle I witnessed every time I rode over the Santa Fe on the Amtrak Southwest Chief. The image cast in my brain, standing at the rear door of the rear Sleeping Car on the Southwest Chief operating at 90 MPH, was we overtook a 70 MPH Santa Fe intermodal Hot Shot is one that has shaped who I am as a railroader and railfan. These experiences on the Santa Fe made me think for a while that I would model the Santa Fe, and work for the Santa Fe.....
Fast Forward to my last year in college at the University of New Orleans. I had done contract work with local RailTex short line New Orleans and Lower Coast in train service and I was working as a management intern for Amtrak. I had made acquaintance with Illinois Central's Chief Mechanical Officer Jim Danielwicz who introduced me via a chance meeting on an E-Unit powered AAPRCO passenger special to the Director of Passenger Operations of the newly-formed BNSF Railway.
This introduction led me to a career with the BNSF that began as a new-hire train dispatcher in 1998 and has taken me full circle to Assistant Trainmaster in Fresno, CA; Terminal Trainmaster at Argentine Yard in Kansas City, KS; Division Trainmaster on the Texas Division at Gainesville, TX; Manager of Passenger Train Operations back at the NOC in Fort Worth, TX; and most recently to Terminal Manager at Lincoln, NE. For family reasons I resigned my exempt status at the end of February 2014 and exercised my dispatching seniority to move back to Fort Worth, TX. Currently I own the daylight Ravenna (Power River Division) dispatching position with Monday and Tuesday off.
I also have a wife and two children and am enjoying being back home. This site is something I have wanted to do for some time and I am looking forward to the journey. Hopefully this will keep me on-track to creating a world-class model railroad and provide you with some value as you look over the material.
Feel free visit my LinkedIn Profile for more information!
Happy Railroading!
Christopher M. Palmieri
When I was very young, we had a small model railroad in a spare bedroom. My father had some freelanced railroads of his own so naturally I wanted the same. I came up with the name "Texas and Great Northern" not really knowing much else about what it was--other than I just thought it was a cool name for a railroad. A few locomotives followed painted in a blue-and-white scheme similar to Joe Loggans' Arkansas Valley scheme (also like Kalmbach's Milwaukee, Racine, and Troy scheme). My younger brother, Steven, was born when I was five and the railroad disappeared so the room could be used for its intended purpose. At that time the Texas and Great Northern name and concept became dormant.
Growing up in New Orleans, LA I was able to operate at the Crescent City Model Railroad Club (CCMRC) a number of times and during my high school years I was fortunate enough to be a regular operator on Lou Schultz' "Atticghany Subdivision" HO scale C&O model railroad. These experiences solidified my desire to have a railroad of my own someday...but what to model?
At the same time, I developed my interests as a railfan photographer. New Orleans was a rich environment for the hobby with nine railroads in close reach so there was always something to see and do and learn from. Of particular significance were several visits to Georgia Pacific's shortlines Ashley Drew and Northern as well as the Fordyce and Princeton out of Crossett Arkansas. Mr. Russell Tedder, president of these railroads, allowed his properties to host NRHS excursions and even allowed myself and friend Nick Huth to ride a regular freight train from Crossett, AR to Monroe, LA. Everything about Mr. Tedder's railroads was classy and the impression they left on me was never forgotten.
A High School and College summer ritual for me was to take a lengthy trip by rail with my uncle, Joseph Scorsone, to see America and its railroads. We would usually get an Amtrak two or three-zone-pass and then schedule a trip that would get the most mileage. This allowed me to see many parts of the country by rail. I was never anything less than awe-struck by the spectacle I witnessed every time I rode over the Santa Fe on the Amtrak Southwest Chief. The image cast in my brain, standing at the rear door of the rear Sleeping Car on the Southwest Chief operating at 90 MPH, was we overtook a 70 MPH Santa Fe intermodal Hot Shot is one that has shaped who I am as a railroader and railfan. These experiences on the Santa Fe made me think for a while that I would model the Santa Fe, and work for the Santa Fe.....
Fast Forward to my last year in college at the University of New Orleans. I had done contract work with local RailTex short line New Orleans and Lower Coast in train service and I was working as a management intern for Amtrak. I had made acquaintance with Illinois Central's Chief Mechanical Officer Jim Danielwicz who introduced me via a chance meeting on an E-Unit powered AAPRCO passenger special to the Director of Passenger Operations of the newly-formed BNSF Railway.
This introduction led me to a career with the BNSF that began as a new-hire train dispatcher in 1998 and has taken me full circle to Assistant Trainmaster in Fresno, CA; Terminal Trainmaster at Argentine Yard in Kansas City, KS; Division Trainmaster on the Texas Division at Gainesville, TX; Manager of Passenger Train Operations back at the NOC in Fort Worth, TX; and most recently to Terminal Manager at Lincoln, NE. For family reasons I resigned my exempt status at the end of February 2014 and exercised my dispatching seniority to move back to Fort Worth, TX. Currently I own the daylight Ravenna (Power River Division) dispatching position with Monday and Tuesday off.
I also have a wife and two children and am enjoying being back home. This site is something I have wanted to do for some time and I am looking forward to the journey. Hopefully this will keep me on-track to creating a world-class model railroad and provide you with some value as you look over the material.
Feel free visit my LinkedIn Profile for more information!
Happy Railroading!
Christopher M. Palmieri
