Al elevated this hobby to a whole new outlook when he launched his business 25 years ago. All we had were plastic shake the box kits of a prototype that were painted in various roadnames whether that road bought the car or not. Protypes models were Ambroid or Quality Craft wood kits. Models were still toy like with operating ice hatches and doors.
Al created a new interest in this hobby beyond the locomotive. We learned about the classes of freight cars on the ATSF, B&O and others. I recently took all the kit's instructions from models I'd built and put them in a binder for future reference - they are still fun to read after 25 years! Thankfully I have a stash of Westerfield kits socked away for future additions to the layout and can continue to enjoy building them.
Al and Patricia - wishing all the best with retirement and your future elevated RR.
