Error message

Deprecated function: implode(): Passing glue string after array is deprecated. Swap the parameters in drupal_get_feeds() (line 394 of /home1/riptrack/public_html/dev/includes/common.inc).

About and FAQs

What is this site?

The Rip Track is a personal website where I, the webmaster, will post information about model railroading and railroad history.

So where's the content?

As new material is added to the site, it appears on the main page as a new story. Previously posted content is available through the tabs and menus. Documents that describe how to accomplish a task in model railroading are listed in "Howtos". There are a lot of headings in there that have no content in them yet; they are place holders for future content. You may notice that the content is added apparently at random in this outline; that's because it is. As I write and upload documents, I will add them into the outline so they are published under the appropriate headings. I find that I write best when I do it in a sort of "free association mode", so the next topic to be posted will be whatever I feel like writing about. Eventually, I hope to have all of the topic headings filled in such that the sections can be viewed as a dead tree version (a book), organized by topic and where they fall in building a model railroad.

Sean Lamb at Galesburg Railroad Days
The website's author and admin, Sean Lamb, in a locomotive cab at Galesburg Railroad Days.

Who are you anyway?

My name is Sean Lamb, I'm a model railroader. You may have seen one of my clinics at an NMRA national convention recently (one I did on scratchbuilding techniques at the St. Paul convention in 1999 was videotaped and is available for checkout from the NMRA library in Chattanooga). I've served on the Board of Directors for the NMRA's South Central Wisconsin Division for many of the years that I've been a member, and I'm currently the division's Achievement Program chairman. I have served in the past as the division's model contest chairman, clinic chairman and webmaster. I am very active with the Capitol City "N"Gineers NTrak modular layout club; I exhibit with the club at about 7 shows per year around Wisconsin and northern Illinois. I'm also in the process of building my home layout based on the Milwaukee Road between Portage and LaCrosse, Wisconsin, set in 1984. Many of the photos that I have planned to add to this site will feature scenes and under-construction views of this layout. Who knows, you may even see it in one of the magazines at some time. I am also an administrator on the English language edition of Wikipedia where I am the lead editor for the Trains Portal.

Why are you doing this?

Why not? This website gives me a chance to give back to the model railroading community without setting specific deadlines or making the information available only to those who are able to attend one of my clinics. I can put the information out to a global audience, and get feedback on it, and still keep an interest in the hobby.