| Clinician | Biography |
| Alex Belida, MMR | Alex Belida, a retired journalist, is editor/publisher of the Potomac Flyer, the Potomac Division’s bimonthly newsletter, and an active contributor to other model railroad publications, including the MER’s The Local. He has served on the board of directors of the Potomac Division. He became Master Model Railroader #685 in 2021 and added the Motive Power certificate in June 2023. |
| Paul Cappelloni | Paul Cappelloni has been active in model railroading and railroad preservation for over 30 years. He is the former president of both the Erie Lackawanna Railroad Historical Society and the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society, now TOYX. He has presented clinics at the Valley Forge RPM meetings, ELRRHS, and DLWRH&TS events. Prior to moving back to Pennsylvania in 1998, he was an active member of the North Shore Model Railroad Club in Wakefield, MA. In 2006 his Bangor & Portland Branch layout was featured in Model Railroading magazine as part of the build up to the NMRA national convention held in Philadelphia that year. |
| DC Cebula | Credentials • Instigator and eventually co-founder of the American Civil War Rail Road Historical Society • Group owner and lead moderator, of the ACWRRHS at [email protected] (previously on Yahoo groups) • Photographer, presenter/clinician, and author on American Civil War railroad topics • Produced and published calendars for the ACWRRHS • Collector and preservationist of ACWRR artifacts • Builder & owner of the HO-scale Delaware Central Rail Road and Navigation Company • Co-builder and main troublemaker on Thom Radice’s HO-scale “north branch” of the Western & Atlantic Railroad • Publisher of a blog on the HO-scale DCRR & Navigation Company at delawarecentralrailroad.blogspot.com (Delaware Central Rail Road and Navigation Company: 2023) Background • Grandfather had worked for Pittsburgh & West Virginia RR out of Avella, PA • As a boy, my grandfather took me to look down at trains switching the yards far below in Holiday’s Cove, Weirton, WV • Scale trains around Christmas tree and in attic as boy. Modeled HO-scale model buildings • Collected Civil War trading cards while others collected baseball trading cards in the 1960s • Worked on a track gang for C&NW in early 1970s • Returned to hobby in late 1970s to operate trains around Christmas tree…. Some might say things got out of hand. |
| Ralph S. DeBlasi | Ralph has been modeling for 55 years and is a historian of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. He loves doing clinics and has presented countless over the years at various regional conventions. |
| Mike Dettinger | TBD |
| Jack Dziadul, MMR | Jack Dziadul, MMR is the owner of Ipswich Hobbies, a craftsman kit manufacturer, and a long-time NMRA member who has presented numerous clinics on various model railroad topics at national and Mid-Eastern Region conventions. Jack has held elected and appointed positions in the MER and the Carolina Piedmont Division; presently serving as MER Clinics Coordinator, proofreader for The Local, and on the MER Nominating Committee. Jack is also the editor of Modelers Notes of the Boston and Maine Railroad Historical Society. |
| Adam Eyring | Adam Eyring is a long-time model railroader since getting a Tyco set in the 1970s. Currently he focuses on modeling trolleys with the East Penn Traction Club, but has done HO-scale railroading with a modular club in the Philly area. |
| Kevin Feeney | TBD |
| Gerald Futej | As the grandson of anthracite coal miners, I began model railroading in HO scale about 1954. Encouraged by construction articles in Model Railroader and restrained by a lack of discretionary disposable income, I gradually honed my scratch building skills. As a licensed professional engineer, I spent the last 30 years of my career as a consulting engineer, specializing in material handling systems for manufacturing facilities, and industrial accident investigations nationwide. Since 2005, I have researched, authored, and self published, six soft-cover monograph books documenting the history and development of various aspects of Cass, WV; its logging and lumber industry, its railroad, its locomotives, and its residents. |
| Earl Hackett | I was born on West 16th street in Wilmington, Delaware, not far from the B&O station. Northbound trains would often slip on the grade approaching the station and ;my mom would pack me up and run down to the station where I would see this smoke and steam belching thing pounding the ground coming directly at me. To this day I can’t shake the feeling of dread or excitement when a steam loco approaches. My grandfather and uncle were both engineers on the PRR, so I guess I’m from a railroading family, although I became a chemist. I’ve been a model railroader for almost 70 years now. |
| Todd Herman | Originally from Lancaster, PA, Todd lives in Falls Church, VA. He’s a fan of all of the anthracite lines, especially the cement haulers, and models the Lehigh & New England Railroad’s Catasauqua Branch and its connections circa the mid-1950s in HO scale. |
| Jim Herzog | I live in Mertztown, PA with my wife Gerri. We raised two children and have two grandkids. I have been retired for two years after 47 years in fabrication/manufacturing. When not working on the layout or attending an op session, we can be found at the grandkids events or riding our bikes on a rail trail. |
| Paul Hobbs | Paul Hobbs has attended and helped at NMRA Conventions for many years. He enjoys railroad research, operations, and developing clinics on topics not previously covered. He has written many articles for the historical society of his favorite railroads. |
| Ron Hoess | Ron Hoess is a prototype model railroader whose layout, recently featured in MRP 2023, depicts the Pennsylvania Railroad in North Philadelphia circa 1958. The layout combines both his interests in the PRR and the Philadelphia industries that the railroad served. To achieve a realistic depiction of the city all the structures on the layout are scratchbuilt. |
| Mike Junod | TBD |
| Nick Kalis | Nick’s love of railroading started in 1958 when New York’s Daily News published his photograph with Manhattan’s last operating trolley. At age nine, a Lionel set under the Christmas Tree followed. Residing in Virginia, he has earned three NMRA AP awards; delivered clinics; attended two NMRA and one narrow gauge national convention, and served as his division’s layout tour coordinator. Railroad Model Craftsman’s September 2007 front cover featured Nick’s LIRR Lower Montauk Branch. Later, a Narrow Gauge Downunder cover featured Nick’s current project, his Fn3 Oahu Sugar Company. His HO Sunnyside Yard was the first of three layouts he has opened for his division. His byline has appeared in the PRRT&HS Keystone, NMRA Magazine, MER Local, and Potomac Flyer. |
| Ernie Little, MMR | Ernie is the superintendent, webmaster, and ZOOM platform master of the Potomac Division and a 1974 graduate of Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Building Construction. Ernie earned his Master Model Railroader designation in October 2019 and has assisted with Achievement Program evaluations within his division. He has an HO scale Norfolk Southern Connector Railroad which is still a work in progress and as a part of this he became interested in the use of JMRI Decoder Pro and construction of the various electrical-, scenery-, and locomotive-related items you find on a model railroad. Ernie is a retired Battalion Chief from the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue where he had a career of 38 years, and lives in Manassas, Virginia with his wife, Joyce. |
| Alan Mende | I’ve been a model railroader for as long as I can remember. My first HO set was one bought for a little money and a bunch of Kix box tops (I still have it) back in the 1950s. I graduated to a Mantua 0-4-0 and a couple of freight cars on a 4×6 piece of plywood in our cellar. I now model the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1953.
I’ve been publishing articles in Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, Railmodel Journal, and the NMRA Magazine since 1985. I have completed five of seven categories toward my NMRA Master Model Railroader: Author, Volunteer, Motive Power, Cars, and Structures. |
| Rich Newmiller, MMR | Rich is a seasoned model railroader with 35+ years of experience in the hobby. He has developed over a dozen clinics with topics that reflect his interest in scratch building structures, cars, scenery, and open loads which have been presented to audiences at NMRA divisional, regional, and national meetings. His modeling skills have earned him three “Best-in-Show” awards in judged contests. His medium-sized HO layout includes 491 feet of track, 30 rail-served industries and 104 car spots. The longest trains (100+ cars) are mixed freight with distributed power units (DPU). |
| Thom Radice | – Co-founder of the American Civil War Historical Society – Co-founder of the [email protected] – Director NJ Division – President of the Garden State Model RR Club in Wall NJ – My father introduced me to Lionel Trains at one 1.5 years old. – My grandfather told stories about civil war veterans he met at 6 years old. – A trip to Gettysburg at 12 sealed the deal. Currently Thom hosts a monthly virtual meet with the civil war railroading group, runs operating sessions on his home layout and continues to be obsessed with researching and modeling this era. |
| Ramon Rhodes | Ramon has been a model railroader for 61 years, starting off with the customary Lionel and Marx O-gauge train sets and transitioning to HO in 1969. He is the recipient of numerous awards and ribbons for his modeling skills, and delights in mentoring younger modelers. His interests include prototype modeling and operations, as well as weathering rolling stock. He began as a Santa Fe modeler, but transition to BNSF in 2000. Currently, he is designing and working on a large basement layout featuring the current Norfolk Southern mainline between Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi. He served two terms on the Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society’s board of directors and also with the East Coast Santa Fe Modelers. He’s traveled extensively across the country railfanning and has spoken at numerous events regarding railroad history. |
| Mike Shylanski | Maryland resident and MER Chesapeake Division member Mike Shylanski loves the Baltimore and Ohio and Chessie System Railroads. He has been both an HO and N scale modeler. He is a member of an HO modular layout club and he enjoys running trains at public gatherings. He has written articles for several railroad historical societies and the NMRA, and he gives clinics, mostly on freight cars, at railroad prototype modeler meets, NMRA gatherings, and railroad-themed conventions. |
| John Sokash | John Sokash has been a lifelong model railroader and train watcher, having grown up in anthracite coal country next to the Wilkes Barre Connecting Railroad which was co-owned by the Delaware & Hudson and the Pennsylvania. Having a scientific, mechanical, and educational background, plus being an amateur railroad historian, he has presented numerous clinics for MER regional conventions and his own CPD13 group. He was held CPD offices of superintendent and assistant superintendent. He is also been a 25-year member of the National Railway Historical Society. |
| Bob Sprague | Bob Sprague has been a model railroader since he was 5 days old, when he received a train set from an overeager grandfather. After modeling the ’70s-era Chessie System in HO, he abruptly switched in 2016 to the steam era Ma & Pa RR and is currently working on a three-level reproduction in the basement of his home in Baltimore. A noted layout designer, Bob has had 14 plans published in Model Railroader and operates a side business called Bob’s Track Plans. |
| Glyn Thomas, MMR | Glyn is a board member and AP Chair for the New Jersey Division. He earned MMR number 632 in 2018. He originated from England and has been modeling most of his life, starting with British and European prototypes. He switched to US modeling following his move here 25 years ago. US modeling projects have included a basement-size layout based on Central Railroad of New Jersey’s Lehigh and Susquehanna Division, which is currently being rebuilt following a move, and a small layout based on the Minnesota Commercial’s Hennepin Branch. He has had photos and articles published in Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, and NMRA Magazine. He lives in Titusville, NJ, with his wife and has two adult sons who live nearby. |
| Joe Walters, MMR |
Having grown up in Northeast Philly, and now living in Bear, Delaware, his career consisted of experience in the mechanical departments at the Reading Railroad, Conrail, and Amtrak. Over a 32-year period he has held jobs as a car inspector, car repairman, foreman, general foreman, manager, and assistant superintendent. Joe is a prolific modeler, having given a multitude of clinics on scratchbuilding cars both at the division and regional level. He earned his MMR within two years of joining the NMRA. He served as assistant registrar in the 2019 MER convention and currently serves as the superintencent of the Philadelphia Division. |
| Fred Willis | Fred Willis is life member of the NMRA and a member of the New Jersey Division. New England railroads, particularly in Maine in 1900, are his primary prototype interest. His primary modeling activities are scratch building structures and cars and researching the history of small railroads and locomotive designs. |