Meet the Artisans
Frank Palmer was born in New Jersey where his grandfather worked for the Erie RR as a switchman. At the age of thirteen he moved to Ft. Lauderdale where he lived near the Florida East Coast Railway tracks so trains were common place in his experience.
His started with his trusty Lionel 027 trains until migrating to HO and G-scale layouts. Frank built an HO layout in the garage of his home and a G-scale layout in the garden behind the home. In 2001 he and his wife moved to Hudson, FL where he joined the Tampa Bay Garden Railroad Club.
Frank is a founding member of the Sundance Central Modular Railroad and continues to be a contributing member to the railroad and the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling.
His started with his trusty Lionel 027 trains until migrating to HO and G-scale layouts. Frank built an HO layout in the garage of his home and a G-scale layout in the garden behind the home. In 2001 he and his wife moved to Hudson, FL where he joined the Tampa Bay Garden Railroad Club.
Frank is a founding member of the Sundance Central Modular Railroad and continues to be a contributing member to the railroad and the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling.
Richard Schmitt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the age of 8 his dad bought him a Lionel 027 train set and he setup his first train layout. Later, he was introduced to large scale trains that could operate in the garden and joined the Tampa Bay Garden Railroad Club. There he met Jim Hopes, Gary Nichols, Keith Wolf, Frank Palmer and the late Dale Mackeown.
Richard became interested in building and kit-bashing, when Frank approached him about building a point-to-point layout that they could take to the various train shows. The idea of a point to point quickly turned into an offset oval layout with two main lines and the Sundance Central Modular Railroad was born in January 2004 for our first local train show in the area.
Richard has built numerous buildings that appear on the Sundance Central and he continues to contribute with additional buildings and details. He is presently working on an Ice House Facility for the yard area and he also builds dioramas for family members.
Richard became interested in building and kit-bashing, when Frank approached him about building a point-to-point layout that they could take to the various train shows. The idea of a point to point quickly turned into an offset oval layout with two main lines and the Sundance Central Modular Railroad was born in January 2004 for our first local train show in the area.
Richard has built numerous buildings that appear on the Sundance Central and he continues to contribute with additional buildings and details. He is presently working on an Ice House Facility for the yard area and he also builds dioramas for family members.
Keith Wolfe has been an active railroad enthusiast at a young age and was introduced into the world of model
trains by his grandfather's yard switching job.
A long time member of the Florida Garden Railway Society and webmaster for several local Garden Railway clubs, he became a regular fixture at several gatherings throughout the state. Through this venture, he became involved with the other founding members of the Sundance Central.
Keith works in the IT world which has contributed to some of the Photography and Video work for the Sundance Central and Suncoast Center DVD's as well as their website. He has worked directly on most of the electrical lighting, wiring, sound & animation work on the displays.
A long time member of the Florida Garden Railway Society and webmaster for several local Garden Railway clubs, he became a regular fixture at several gatherings throughout the state. Through this venture, he became involved with the other founding members of the Sundance Central.
Keith works in the IT world which has contributed to some of the Photography and Video work for the Sundance Central and Suncoast Center DVD's as well as their website. He has worked directly on most of the electrical lighting, wiring, sound & animation work on the displays.
Jim Hopes grew up along the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline in Canton, Ohio. This early exposure to trains, along with an uncle who was a model railroader, caused him to adopt the model railroading "habit" by age nine. Jim has modeled in O27, HO, 1:29 in the garden, 1:20:3, and simultaneously back to HO again
It was through the Tampa Bay Garden Railroad Club that he met the founding members of the Sundance Central Modular Layout. He has a natural eye for color and texture, and recently has become known for his innovative methods in making deciduous trees and vines in any scale, regularly conducting clinics on the topics.
You can see Jim's work on the Sundance Central, the Silverton Central, and a number of other layouts in the Tampa Bay area. He is also a member of several HO ops groups that meet regularly. Additionally, Jim is building a switching layout in HO that extends out over his large U-shaped desk.
It was through the Tampa Bay Garden Railroad Club that he met the founding members of the Sundance Central Modular Layout. He has a natural eye for color and texture, and recently has become known for his innovative methods in making deciduous trees and vines in any scale, regularly conducting clinics on the topics.
You can see Jim's work on the Sundance Central, the Silverton Central, and a number of other layouts in the Tampa Bay area. He is also a member of several HO ops groups that meet regularly. Additionally, Jim is building a switching layout in HO that extends out over his large U-shaped desk.
Dave started building military models as a youngster. At the age of 25, his interest in model railroad related modeling began with structures, dioramas and figure painting. Dave has won numerous awards in many local and national modeling contests and has traveled the country giving how- to clinics on all facets of scale model building.
Dave joined the Sundance Central in 2006 when the railroad had its basic track plan complete, but was still in need of structures, scenery and detailing.
Dave established the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling in 2008 to provide a permanent home for the Sundance Central and to house his ever growing collection of scale models from around the world.
Dave joined the Sundance Central in 2006 when the railroad had its basic track plan complete, but was still in need of structures, scenery and detailing.
Dave established the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling in 2008 to provide a permanent home for the Sundance Central and to house his ever growing collection of scale models from around the world.
Jon Addison developed a love for trains when he received a Lionel train set. His passion for trains led him to become president of the Art club in high school. In 1994, he went to a train show in Florida and joined an HO train club for scratch built structures. In 1996 he started his own module group called the Silverton Central working in the gauge of Sn3 and on display at the Suncoast Center.
Later Jon went on to win numerous awards at national train shows such as, Best Module Group, Best Module, Best in S Scale, Best in Show…etc. He has given hundreds of clinics through the years on everything from scenery to realistic water. His scenery work now appears on many layouts throughout the Tampa Bay Area as well as other parts of the country. He has worked in the scales of N, HO, Sn3, On30, & 120.3. He is a member of the Sundance Central.
Later Jon went on to win numerous awards at national train shows such as, Best Module Group, Best Module, Best in S Scale, Best in Show…etc. He has given hundreds of clinics through the years on everything from scenery to realistic water. His scenery work now appears on many layouts throughout the Tampa Bay Area as well as other parts of the country. He has worked in the scales of N, HO, Sn3, On30, & 120.3. He is a member of the Sundance Central.
Tim Godfrey got his first train set at the age of 8 for Christmas and his lifelong love of railroads began.
He became involved in the Sundance Central about six years ago. His focus is buildings and vehicles and learning everyday weathering techniques from my friends. He is also interested in military modeling, music and cooking as well as his family. He has a wife of 36 years, Kathy and a son that is going to graduate from Florida State in Finance and Data Analytics.
NOTE: Tim passed away unexpectedly early in 2021 but his legacy will certainly live on at the Suncoast Center.
He became involved in the Sundance Central about six years ago. His focus is buildings and vehicles and learning everyday weathering techniques from my friends. He is also interested in military modeling, music and cooking as well as his family. He has a wife of 36 years, Kathy and a son that is going to graduate from Florida State in Finance and Data Analytics.
NOTE: Tim passed away unexpectedly early in 2021 but his legacy will certainly live on at the Suncoast Center.