Intro
Thank you for visiting my web site. My name is Peter Vanvliet. I live in Houston, Texas. My main hobby is model railroading, and that is the purpose of
this web site; to showcase the work I have done over the years. I started off in the 1970s modeling in N-scale (1:160), and switched to S-scale (1:64)
in July 2008.
I have had a personal web site up since January 1994, and since August 1999, this web site has been focused on the hobby of model railroading. My other
hobby is woodworking, so you will find some topics about that on this site as well. Additionally, I also play the bass guitar and go bike riding.
The photo on the right is of me doing some switching work on my previous S-scale layout. You can contact me at "peter @ fourthray dot com".
About This Web Site's Menu
The "Home Page" button takes you back to the main entry page of this web site, a.k.a. "home page".
The "PRR Chartiers Branch" button takes you to pages that contain all the prototype research information I have aggregated so far about the branch line
that I model.
"The Layout" button takes you to the pages of my actual, current model railroad.
The "Articles" button is where I document topics that aren't directly related to the construction of my current layout.
The "My Library" button takes you to pages listing all the books and magazines I have in my personal library.
The "About" button takes you to this page, which gives you some of my background and how I got into this hobby.
The "Site Map" button provides a listing of every page (excluding the individual Library pages) on this web site.
Getting Started in the Hobby
My inspiration for model railroading started with my parents occasionally taking us to
Madurodam in The Hague, The Netherlands. A snapshot photo taken by my Dad in the late-1980s
shows my Mom and myself on the right-hand side of the photo. Madurodam is a 1:25-scale model of most major features of Holland. There is lots of action
and animation. The "streets" have been enlarged for full-size humans, but you walk right through the towns. I remember in one area, you walk under the
train; that was always my favorite "rail-fanning" spot. Ships running in the canals with real water was another big attraction for me, as were the
moving automobiles and airplanes. Here's a good video I found on YouTube.
If you ever go to Holland, be sure to take a day to visit this park.
The small town where we lived was a major tourist attraction during the summers ("Keukenhof").
During those peak times, passenger trains would stop at our little station. The rest of the year they just flew by. From time to time I would ride my
bike to the station and watch the trains.
When I was a young teenager, my parents got me an N-scale Fleischmann train set. Space was in limited supply, so all I had was a 2'x4' piece of particle
board upon which I placed my slowly-growing layout.
Returning Back to the Hobby
When I re-entered the hobby in 1999, I got back into N-scale, and also immediately adopted DCC as my preferred control system. Local modeler, Frank Wyatt,
was instrumental in that decision, as he was using that system for his N-scale layout. Several years later, I helped Frank
tear down his N-scale layout (yes, that's me in the first photo), and
rebuild a very nice HO-scale layout
(more info). I built the new benchwork in individual sections so that the layout
could, theoretically, be moved. I also did most of the wiring work. Frank did the track design, track installation, and scenery and most of the structures.
Frank was also instrumental in getting me involved in the Northwest Crossing club in Houston, which, at the time, had Z-, N-, and HO-scale divisions. I was
in the N-scale division. I eventually became the club's Librarian and webmaster. We participated in all the local train shows. I learned a lot about what
it takes to set up train show layouts. I enjoyed the shows, but I didn't like the internal politics, so I left the club in 2002.
Switching Scales
When I switched to S-scale in 2008, I was contacted by Bob Werre (a well-known model layout photographer) to join the Houston S Gaugers. I really liked
the relaxed feel of the group. Membership requirements are very strict: just show up! After joining the club, I took on the "job" of webmaster and we
created our Houston S Gaugers web site. The club has a modular S-scale layout (code 100
rail, see photo), doing several shows each year. I left the club in 2018, because I was simply running out of hours in the day. Doing train shows takes
a lot of time to prepare for, do the set-up, running the trains during the show, tear-down, and clean-up afterwards. Doing a weekend-long show involves
me working on it from Thursday through Monday. That's 5 days. And that is ignoring the tiredness and recovery of such a labor-intensive activity. While
I loved doing the shows and I really enjoy the group of guys and gals we have in the club, the amount of time the shows take, being self-employed, and
then having to catch up on everything else in life after them, just became too much for me. I still maintain the club's web site.
When I switched scales in 2008 (see the photo, comparing the larger S-scale car to the identical smaller N-scale car), I also joined the national
organization dedicated to supporting S-scale in all of its flavors, the National Association of S Gaugers (NASG). In December 2011 I was contacted by
then-members of the NASG's board to consider taking over the position of webmaster for the NASG web
site. I accepted the challenge. Although it does take some of my time away from model railroading, I enjoy maintaining the site and find it very
rewarding work.
Since I model the Pennsylvania Railroad, needless to say, I am a dues-paying member of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
I'm a Big Fan of Battery-powered Engines
In 2012, I decided to drop my Digitrax DCC system in favor of battery-powered locomotives. This opened up a whole new avenue to explore, and I will never
go back to track-powered trains. There is quite a bit of information about that on my web site, so be sure to look for that in the "Articles" section. I
chose the Neil Stanton's S-CAB system, but there are other systems out there that are also geared toward battery-powered locomotives. If you model in
HO-scale or larger, you should check into this new technology. It removed a lot of frustration factors for me about this hobby.
Published Author
I have written over 40 published articles in such magazines as the 1:64 Modeling Guide, the NASG's The Dispatch, and The S Scale
Resource. You can see the list of articles on this page.
My Company
Professionally, I have been employed as a software engineer since 1990, starting as a consultant for a consulting firm (being hired out to a major oil company
and a local engineering firm creating Windows software applications for them), and since 2001 I have been operating
Fourth Ray Software as my full-time venture. Fourth Ray Software is a commercial software development
and publishing company. You can visit the web site to see if there are any software products that you might like. All my software is targeted at the average
Windows computer user.
In addition to maintaining this web site and my business' web site, I have also consulted in the development of other web sites, and I am currently the
webmaster for these web sites (in parentheses I list what type of site it is, and what I do for it):
Awards
During the 2011 National Association of S Gaugers' annual convention in California, I received the "Josh Seltzer" award for this web site you are now
viewing. You can read all about the award on the NASG web site, but
briefly, it is awarded to those who use their web site to promote S-scale modeling.
During the 2012 NASG Convention in Tennessee, I received the "Josh Seltzer" award for the work I had done on the
NASG web site.
Both are shown hanging on the wall in my office.
At the 2012 Convention, I also received the first-ever Trustee's Award, also for
the NASG web site.
At the 2018 Convention, I received another Trustee's Award for the work I've
been doing for the NASG web site.
At the 2022 Convention, I was honored to receive the Bernie Thomas Memorial
Award, which is the highest honor the NASG offers its members, and carries with it a life-time membership.
About This Web Site
Here are some facts about this web site itself.
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This web site contains a lot of articles. All opinions expressed are purely based on my own personal experience. I don't proclaim to be an expert in
any of the topics that I discuss on this site; I am just sharing what I've learned. None of the products mentioned are sponsored promotions; they are
ones that I have bought and used (successfully, or otherwise), and might give you an idea of where to start. I also don't mind sharing my "failures",
as both my "future self" and others might learn from my mistakes.
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I do not use Google's "free" service to track visitors on this web site. Many web sites do, because Google offers a free service to web site
owners that provides the web site owners with very personal information about your visits to their web sites, which, of course, Google uses to both
track your every move (on every web site so outfitted with their spying logic), and the ability to sell your behavioral data to their advertisers
(which is how Google makes their billions, which they then use to bully us and trample on our Constitutional freedoms directly and indirectly). I am
NOT willing to be a participant in that, so this site does not use Google's tracking. How do you know if a web site uses Google tracking? Watch
the statusbar at the bottom of your web browser as the web site is first being loaded; you will see many hits to "google.com" being reported by your
web browser. Alternatively, take a look at the source code of the web site, which will show the calls they make to google.com. If you have a minute,
read this page.
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My web site does not use cookies. "Cookies" are small data files that are stored on your computer by your web browser (if implemented by the
webmaster) to keep information about your visit to their web site. It might contain any data. Some of the data is harmless, but some may be used to
hold personally-identifiable information, or to track your behavior on their web site. In Europe they passed a law requiring web sites to notify the
visitor if they use cookies. That is why you see those annoying pop-ups on some sites that have European customers. It is stupid, because it is not
like you can turn them off! And, even if they let you turn the notification off, they would have to create a cookie to remember that setting for you!
So, your best defense is to set up your web browser to delete cookies and all temporary files when the web browser is closed.
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I have been politically-aware since my mid-teens; if you don't want to read about my political views, stop here! I am a legal immigrant who went
through the official process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, so I know what the process is like. While serious and intense, I believe it was
sufficient and valid. I do not believe that the policies need to be changed, and I firmly oppose allowing illegals into the country; that acts
nullifies and belittles the process that those of us who went through it legally had to go through. There are no needs to change the immigration
policies; the federal government just needs to have the balls to enforce the ones that are on the books already. I fully support deportation of those
who entered illegally, regardless of how long they have managed to stay here. I also support a Constitutional amendment that at least one of the
biological parents of a child should be a U.S. citizen before a child can become a U.S. citizen. This nonsense of illegally coming across the border to
give birth, just so that the child is an automatic U.S. citizen, and they can then use that "U.S. child" as the means by which the whole extended
family of that child can come into the country, is insane. No other country in the world supports this, so neither should we. Also, most countries
require that the person wanting to become a citizen of that country speaks that country's language. While the U.S. Constitution does not make English
the official language, coming to this country and refusing to learn our dominant language is just plain offensive to us U.S. citizens. I refuse to
learn another's language in my own country when that person is to damned lazy to bother learning ours.
President Donald J. Trump
A Perspective in Who He Is.
Help Our Fellow Americans In Need
Hurricane Helene Relief Fund.
If you are involved in a natural disaster absolutely stay away from any FEMA agent or FEMA camp. They are a roving band of armed gangs (see
this Hurricane Helene
report). The good military (those loyal to the U.S. Constitution) is currently in a civil war with the federal government (those who defy the U.S.
Constitution), as detailed in this report.
A true American!
This is what good-hearted billionaires do!
Verified by eye-witnesses, as posted on YouTube
Americans helping Americans. The federal government has shown its inability to act, therefore making itself useless, meaningless, and immaterial. Large swaths of the federal government should therefore be eliminated. Period.
How much more obvious can we make it that they, the federal government, are evil? A lot of people lost all of their possessions and some even family members and after decades of paying into the tax system, the corrupt government will only give them $750 (for which they have to apply and beg for, by the way!).
My Proposals For A Better Future
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Term limits on all senators and house-of-representatives (definitely at the federal level, but ideally also at the state level). Limited to 10 years,
or two terms, whichever is longer. It is supposed to be a service to fellow citizens, not a means by which one can get wealthy and become corrupt.
It provides new blood, new ideas, and these individuals will be more likely to vote according to their constituents' desires, rather than to whatever
the perverted party-line is, or what evil corporations pay them to vote for (a.k.a. "lobbying").
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A once-in-a-life-time, "term limit" on all unelected government bureacrats of 10 years. The current state of the United States is that the permanent
bureaucracy runs the government, and our elected representatives have little say-so over them. Most, if not all, cannot be fired, for example. If the
bureaucrats don't like the current administration, they simply stonewall until the next administration comes in. This is what happened during Trump's
first term as President. This is what leads to voter-apathy, because it doesn't matter who we elect, the bureaucracy decides what actually happens, and
we have no control over them. This is definitely not what the Founding Fathers intended.
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The federal government should not be involved in or manage anything that the individual states can handle. This includes education, healthcare services,
arts, etc. So the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services should be eliminated entirely. The states can handle these,
and it sets up competition between the states, making each of them do their best, so as to draw more citizens to move to their state instead. That is
how the Constitution is set up, i.e. the states compete with each other, thereby the average citizen gets the best service or product possible, and
he/she has the freedom to move to another state if they like that one better than their current one. A centralized government system prevents both of
these, and leads to massive corruption, as evil corporations only need to buy off the people that run those departments at the federal level. If the
states ran these, then these evil corporations would have to buy off all of the leaders in all of the states' departments to accomplish the same thing.
Much harder to do.
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The concept of "lobbying" should be outlawed for corporations. Members of Congress serve their people, not nebulous corporations. Only individuals who
actually reside in the area that the member of Congress represents are allowed to "lobby" their representative. Lobbying should not be an underhanded
way of making politicians wealthy, a.k.a. bribery. This would, for example, prevent pharmaceutical companies from lobbying any number of members in
Congress to force the passage and approval of their evil drug, because they can't lobby any member of Congress, and only individuals (e.g. an employee
of that company) can approach his/her representative if they live in the same district the representative represents. So, an employee of a company in
Oregon cannot lobby a Texas representative, for example.
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After a person has served honorably in the U.S. military, and especially if he or she has seen active service, the U.S. federal government must provide
a life-long monthly check, adjusted for inflation, to cover their reasonable cost of owning an average home. The check is only directly available to
the service member, and not to his or her spouse, except in the case of a service member's death while on active duty, in which case the legal spouse
will become the sole recipient of said life-long monthly checks. The monthly check is not transferable to anyone else, including children. We must
honor, respect, and support our active military personnel, directly (many end up in divorce, where they tend to lose everything, hence the spousal
restriction; the service member should continue to receive the check after a divorce, not his or her ex-spouse). These monthly checks must not be
taxable to the service member.
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We must gradually, safely, and methodically, withdraw from the many military bases we have around the world, and close them one by one. Start with the
ones in "friendly" nations, such as in Europe. We do not have the authority to be the world's police force.
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We must immediately stop all aid to other countries. Period. If a nation needs our help, they have to petition us, make a good case for their cause to
the American people, and we must vote (perhaps through our representatives) whether or not we will offer them temporary aid. The aid has a fixed
amount associated with it and it has a fixed expiration date.
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We must remove, renege, terminate, and close all treaties we have with other nations where we promised to protect them militarily should they be attacked.
If they need help, they can petition the American people for help, and we must vote (perhaps through our representatives) whether or not we will offer
them temporary support or military force. The aid is to have clearly delineated boundaries and deadlines, and it must be on a limited basis. No
more "guaranteed" income from us tax-payers to other nations, while we struggle to make ends meet.
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No U.S. government agency can be allowed to overthrow another nation's leader, commit or support a coup, or implement a regime-change. The only
exception is when the U.S. has officially and formally declared war against a nation. The reason for why the Ukraine nonsense is even going on is
because Obama didn't like the leader that the Ukranians democratically elected (because he was pro-Russia), and so he had his goons in the CIA
overthrow him, replaced him with another, which turned out to be a corrupt person, so they overthrew him and installed the fully-controllable actor
Zelenskyy (yes, he was a professional actor before he "became the president"). If the dictator Obama hadn't done that, Russia and Ukraine would have
been able to co-exist peacefully, and hundreds of thousands of Ukranian men would still be alive today, and we wouldn't have sent billions of our money
to support the Nazi dictator Zelenskyy.
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NATO must be permanently banned and dismantled. It is a Soviet-related cold-war relic, and it serves no purpose today other than for some companies
and evil politicians to make excuses for starting yet another unwanted and made-up war somewhere.
Just Some Thoughts
Until Trump is restored back into the Presidency, voted-in for the third time (!), these memes will remain on this page. We must restore the United States
of America back to its former glory, or else, there is no hope for much of anything.
Just be aware that Kamala Harris is a Marxist communist. Here's the proof. She,
Biden, and Obama want to turn this nation into a China-style communist country, with the ultimate long-term goal of handing control of the U.S. over to the
United Nations. Once America falls, the rest of the world falls, too. Just let that sink in for a while, if this is new to you. And now, thanks to the
"governor" of California, in that state you no longer have the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights
(see here, well-documented in a parody, making light of a very serious situation).
She has total and complete incompetence (see here; they had to hand-edit and
over-dub the "interview" because she was so embarrassingly incompetent and incapable of participating in an interview; why? because, should she be elected,
like Biden, she will not be the decision-maker; she is purely the public face of the "Deep State" apparatus.).
Who is Kamala Harris?
(see second page --->)
(<--- see first page)
Student-loan-forgiveness is nothing but a round-about way of getting taxpayers to pay for higher education, which was the step that Venezuela took in 2007. And, it is my opinion that, should kamala be installed, we will have the same here in the U.S.; nothing else matters if communists, fascists, and/or totalitarians run the country, we'll have no freedom.