I don't recall how I stumbled onto your site a few days ago, but I am
delighted to have found you. I'm retired, livivg in Charlotte, N.C.
and have been a modelbuilder both professionally and as a hobby since
I quess around age 6 or 7. At age 8 I used to ride the Island Queen
in Cincinnati to the Coney Island amusement park up the Ohio River.
Naturally she was also my first attempt at building a sidewheeler! In
high school I worked For Alexander Scale Models part time, and the
owner, Bill Alexander had built an electric powered model of the
Betsy Ann. I was hooked! The next summer, four of us in the shop had
models ready. I built the 'Yukon" based on a small sternwheeler out
of Pittsburg named the "Klondike". We raced the bouts at an abandon
fish hatchery outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The next summer
there were eight of us, including a dentist that made a miniature set
set of deer antlers in solid gold in his dental lab to hang on the
pilot house of the winner of the next seasons July 4th races! When I
went away to college I gave Bill the "Yukon". Since then I've built
the "Idlewild", and the huge "Hudson" all electric powered. I've also
been lucky enough to have ridden on the "Natchez" and the "Julia
Belle Swain" out of Peoria,Ill. I now have several RC sets and 2 Sato
steam engines and am itching to build a steam powered sternwheeler. I
wish I had someone to race with! Bob
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