RPO Newsbag
This is the Lowell Smith Signature Series and RailSmith blog, (or perhaps it's better called, ‘stories around the caboose stove’). Either way, bookmark this page for updates as they happen and check back regularly!
Oregon Trunk Fishing Trip
Last week I had the special opportunity to go fishing with my son, Jeremy. Life is busy, but given the chance to have a day with him, made me happy to take it! We love to fly fish, and rarely take the time to enjoy such a fun hobby, so off we headed to one…
Portland’s Meet N March
We had such a great time, last weekend, with all of our rail friends from all around the Northwest! Â Â Â We call this N Scale only swap event ‘Meet N March’. Â It was my grand daughter’s first N scale train meet! Â I think we’ve been having this meet for about 20 years. Â Once-in-awhile we’ve called…
The Great Locomotive Chase
Since I can remember, I have always had an interest in the American Civil War, and have been rather fascinated by many stories of the family hardships that the War Between the States caused. In 1992, I traveled to the NMRA convention in Columbus, OH. It was my first time ‘back east’ and since the…
Barb & Lowell’s next great rail adventure!
As you read in a prior blog post, we had an amazing train trip last summer when we chartered California Zephyr cars and headed across the country to attend the 2013 National N Scale Train Convention in Milwaukee WI. The trip was everything we wanted it to be, and as a vote of assuring confidence, many…
Train Show Season
Every year I go to several train shows and they are a blast. What is most enjoyable is meeting you at these shows and having time with my friends again. Our hobby is fascinating and continues to grow and evolve with new technology, ideas, and products. One of the best shows in the Northwest is…
An interview with Lowell
One of the benefits of having an amazingly talented daughter is connecting with her business associates at Propel Businessworks. Tim Griffin of Mission: Communicate helped Jamie with much of the technical aspects of my new website, and although he lives across the globe, he touches many companies in the world in the area of website…
Railroad Christmas Joy
I truly believe that this hobby is one of the greatest in the world. The spirit of camaraderie we share makes us a tight knit group. Some of the people that I consider to be my closest friends are my “brothers in rail”. They know my family and I have met many of theirs. I…
Walt Disney Family Museum Christmas 2013
Producing a Christmas themed car each year for The Walt Disney Family Museum, is so much fun! The museum is such a nice place to visit and tells the story of the great man, Walt Disney. His life’s story, success, and dreams are told with each display and image. There is so much to take…
Some sad Disney news
A nice day turned very sad when we heard of the passing of Diane Disney Miller, who is the daughter of Walt Disney and just an amazing woman. Here is the link to the information posted at The Walt Disney Family Museum. Â A dark cloud will be over the museum when we are there Saturday,…
Teaser: Preproduction ‘Tiger Stripe’ RS-3
It is just like Christmas when a production run arrives here! Â The moment of opening the box, and gazing for the first time, a train that was probably thought of years before and took at least a year to produce. It is very exciting for me and I hope you feel the same way. …