06/22/2025
(Reposting again here, so these photos & stories can be enjoyed publicly!)
When I was about 6 years old, my dad (Jim Willis) and I went to the local hobby shop there in Barstow and bought a couple of HO Scale locomotives; two Southern Pacific units with the "bloody nose" paint scheme in use by the actual railroad at that time, which was one of our favorites. Our little hobby went from a novelty at first, to a full-scale hobby next and eventually into complete ridiculousness. By the time I turned 8, we were taking trips every chance we got to "go see" whatever we could possibly check out, take photos and notes, then come home and try to recreate the world as we saw and experienced it. At least the really cool stuff anyway!
Flash forward from those early days-- I recall once being held up for HOURS in customs upon returning from a railfanning/model hunting trip to British Columbia. We got "detained" there because we had several MOVING BOXES full of model trains that we had purchased during our travels North of the border! (The border patrol guys eventually decided we were absolutely nuts, but mostly harmless, so they let us back into the USA. Whew.)
These photos are (sadly some of the only ones ever taken) of a 900 SQ FT HO Scale train layout my dad and I built at his house back home in the Mojave Desert, California. The pics don't do it justice, but it's the best I've got. I will always, always, always remember the excitement, the effort, the research and creativity Dad and I put into this place. So many great memories were made here and I feel this shaped the "adult" I became, in an important and very unique way. Thanks Dad. I love you. 💜💙
