{"id":2,"date":"2008-11-26T01:52:49","date_gmt":"2008-11-26T09:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2012-02-06T22:12:47","modified_gmt":"2012-02-07T06:12:47","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This website serves two purposes: a journal of the construction of my model railroad and a means to share my extensive collection of GN, NP and other &#8220;fallen flag&#8221; photos.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">About Me<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I have been a model railroader since my parents bought me a train set for Christmas around my 6th birthday. My Grandfather and dad helped build my first layout in the basement shortly thereafter. I built three more layouts before I left home and then drifted away from the hobby but kept on dreaming building that next layout. Eventually we moved to San Diego where we have no basements. I let that thwart my desire to build a layout for a number of years until I got the bug again in 2002 as I ran across an old article in a Lynn Wescott book from many years ago that described building a layout in a garage on a hoist.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I am an IT Manager at a San Diego high tech manufacturer. In business today we tend to only write what fits with five other sentences on a Powerpoint slide. This website let&#8217;s me practice actual writing which you will probably agree needs some work. My wife and I have two grown boys who never caught the train bug but have their own passions. Perhaps grandkids will someday enjoy &#8220;playing with trains.&#8221; Hint, hint&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">You can make contact with me through this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/?page_id=26\">page<\/a>.<\/p><div\n\tclass=\"ngg-galleryoverview ngg-ajax-pagination-none\"\n\tid=\"ngg-gallery-9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb-1\">\n\n    \t<div class=\"slideshowlink\">\n        <a href='https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/about\/nggallery\/slideshow'>[Show as slideshow]<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<!-- Thumbnails -->\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-0\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image001.jpg\"\n               title=\"\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image001.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image001.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"38\"\n               data-title=\"Ah... those were the days. Hanging around passenger car graveyards with my girfriend. Who could as for more?\"\n               data-description=\"\"\n               data-image-slug=\"ah-those-were-the-days-hanging-around-passenger-car-graveyards-with-my-girfriend-who-could-as-for-more\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"Ah... those were the days. Hanging around passenger car graveyards with my girfriend. Who could as for more?\"\n                    alt=\"Ah... those were the days. Hanging around passenger car graveyards with my girfriend. Who could as for more?\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image001.jpg\"\n                    width=\"158\"\n                    height=\"248\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-1\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image002.jpg\"\n               title=\"\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image002.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image002.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"39\"\n               data-title=\"I think this was layout number two. It did not go too far but I built is all by myself. This is probably around 1975 in our basement in Fridley, MN.\"\n               data-description=\"\"\n               data-image-slug=\"i-think-this-was-layout-number-two-it-did-not-go-too-far-but-i-built-is-all-by-myself-this-is-probably-around-1975-in-our-basement-in-fridley-mn\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"I think this was layout number two. It did not go too far but I built is all by myself. This is probably around 1975 in our basement in Fridley, MN.\"\n                    alt=\"I think this was layout number two. It did not go too far but I built is all by myself. This is probably around 1975 in our basement in Fridley, MN.\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image002.jpg\"\n                    width=\"248\"\n                    height=\"157\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-2\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image003.jpg\"\n               title=\"\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image003.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image003.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"40\"\n               data-title=\"Here is my fourth layout. My one and only attempt at N gauge. I liked how much scenery you could fit in a small space but the cars and structures were too small to scratch build or paint. I gave it away to a co-worker.\"\n               data-description=\"\"\n               data-image-slug=\"here-is-my-fourth-layout-my-one-and-only-attempt-at-n-gauge-i-liked-how-much-scenery-you-could-fit-in-a-small-space-but-the-cars-and-structures-were-too-small-to-scratch-build-or-paint-i-gave-it-aw\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"Here is my fourth layout. My one and only attempt at N gauge. I liked how much scenery you could fit in a small space but the cars and structures were too small to scratch build or paint. I gave it away to a co-worker.\"\n                    alt=\"Here is my fourth layout. My one and only attempt at N gauge. I liked how much scenery you could fit in a small space but the cars and structures were too small to scratch build or paint. I gave it away to a co-worker.\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image003.jpg\"\n                    width=\"248\"\n                    height=\"157\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-3\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image004.jpg\"\n               title=\"Burlington Northern frieght in the early1970s in Fridley, MN over Rice Creek.\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image004.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image004.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"41\"\n               data-title=\"The Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines ran within eyeshot of my backyard.\"\n               data-description=\"Burlington Northern frieght in the early1970s in Fridley, MN over Rice Creek.\"\n               data-image-slug=\"the-great-northern-and-northern-pacific-lines-ran-within-eyeshot-of-my-backyard\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"The Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines ran within eyeshot of my backyard.\"\n                    alt=\"The Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines ran within eyeshot of my backyard.\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image004.jpg\"\n                    width=\"248\"\n                    height=\"156\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-4\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image005.jpg\"\n               title=\"I think this is Hinckley, MN.\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image005.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image005.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"42\"\n               data-title=\"Look closely in the middle. There is my 5\\&#039; 1\/2 wife (the same one who hung out in passenger cars) holding a 2\\&#039; size board.\"\n               data-description=\"I think this is Hinckley, MN.\"\n               data-image-slug=\"look-closely-in-the-middle-there-is-my-5-12-wife-the-same-one-who-hung-out-in-passenger-cars-holding-a-2-size-board\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"Look closely in the middle. There is my 5\\&#039; 1\/2 wife (the same one who hung out in passenger cars) holding a 2\\&#039; size board.\"\n                    alt=\"Look closely in the middle. There is my 5\\&#039; 1\/2 wife (the same one who hung out in passenger cars) holding a 2\\&#039; size board.\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image005.jpg\"\n                    width=\"248\"\n                    height=\"156\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-5\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image006.jpg\"\n               title=\"This is Midvale Creek bridge just south of the East Glacier, MT GN station.\"\n               data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/image006.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image006.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"43\"\n               data-title=\"Even one of my boys got called into service to hold the marker board on a diversion through Montana. The expression resemble his mother from 20 years earlier.\"\n               data-description=\"This is Midvale Creek bridge just south of the East Glacier, MT GN station.\"\n               data-image-slug=\"even-one-of-my-boys-got-called-into-service-to-hold-the-marker-board-on-a-diversion-through-montana-the-expression-resemble-his-mother-from-20-years-earlier\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"9a8e7b2fbb9d2f9c332381d89bb7b3fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"Even one of my boys got called into service to hold the marker board on a diversion through Montana. The expression resemble his mother from 20 years earlier.\"\n                    alt=\"Even one of my boys got called into service to hold the marker board on a diversion through Montana. The expression resemble his mother from 20 years earlier.\"\n                    src=\"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/railroading-runs-in-the-family\/thumbs\/thumbs_image006.jpg\"\n                    width=\"248\"\n                    height=\"164\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\n\t\t<!-- Pagination -->\n\t<div class='ngg-clear'><\/div>\t<\/div>\n<h2>Website Technical Details<\/h2>\n<p>GreatNorthernFan.com content is managed using WordPress so technically it is a blog. The template is based upon <a href=\"http:\/\/themehybrid.com\/themes\/structure\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Tadlock&#8217;s Hybrid Structure <\/a>theme stylized to my theme. Hybrid is a great resource for nice designs that are easy to extend without becoming a coder and support is available for a small annual fee. I am using BlueHost for my provider and have been very pleased with their support and tools.<br \/>\nThe images are managed using Alex Boelinger&#8217;s NextGenWordpress gallery system. The tool integrates another great add-in, Highslide, which produces the slick image effects when you click on thumbnails.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This website serves two purposes: a journal of the construction of my model railroad and a means to share my extensive collection of GN, NP and other &#8220;fallen flag&#8221; photos. About Me I have been a model railroader since my parents bought me a train set for Christmas around my 6th birthday. My Grandfather and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1122,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/1122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatnorthernfan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}