When I was five they found me on the basement floor, coloring, cutting and folding typewriter paper into boxcars and engines. That Christmas, I found a new train table in the same basement location.

Trains have been somewhere in my life since then. Riding a bicycle through the hills of central Maryland, I studied the old roads, the cuts and fills, and how the roadbeds worked into the terrain. When I worked in technical theater, in school, and then professionally, I ran stage wiring with a confidence I learned under the layout. Dashing around Baltimore as a closed circuit video technician, I built control panels just like I’d built for my trains, and ran around the old track filled streets of the city. As the technical director of a solar and wind company, I designed solar controls and heat systems, with visions of boilers and superheaters foremost in my mind. As a carpenter, contractor, and ultimately homebuilder, I designed and built full-scale models of the tiny trackside structures my dad helped me put together when I was a kid.

As I moved into the world of computers, the models came back out. Tiny HO narrow gauge rails run on a shelf around my bedroom, through the wall and into the bathroom. Garden rails loop the front yard, with tunnels, trusses, and trestles. The recent offerings in O scale narrow gauge are the perfect size for the new sound systems, and they are the focus of my Berrett Hill Modules

Needing a break from the computer screen, I looked for a way to share my experience, I tripled the size of my cabinet shop, and now offer my skills and services to the modeling community with Berrett Hill Trains.

Through modeling I have gained great insights, opened new doors, and met many worthy folks who have added breadth and depth to my life. At least, so far...

Kevin Hunter

September 16, 2009