A brief Introduction

Hello everyone! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you all. It's funny because I've been actively railfanning my entire life, especially most recently when I got my own wheels but In all these years however I have yet to encounter an H.A.P.T. member. That is until last week. My story beings many years ago with my youngest fondest memories include driving through Waterville yard or Rigby. My Father had many contacts in the railroad and was always cruising through yards with my mother, sister and myself. One of my earliest memories is a Maine Central U18B in the Waterville deadline. The only Maine Central unit I would ever see. But anyways back to my life, I grew up in North Yarmouth on Sligo road. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the road because it crosses both the Brunswick branch, the back road and comes very close to the SLR/CN to Portland. It was a good youth being able to run up the road to the overpass and watch trains cruise by. This youth however did not last because in 1998 I moved to Oxford Hills. However this didn't diminish my railfanning a bit. In fact it grew much more. In the summer of 98 I lived in Bethel on mainstreet with my grandmother. This same year the SLR and CN signed in on a dedicated intermodal train. These trains were powered by any sort of CN power that ran across Canada. I remember seeing SD's cruise by the new station at 7 or 8 at night. The move to Oxford Hills brought the SLR into my life. I also met the great Sid Gordon. Sid and my Father would hang out quite a bit and model trains together or go railfanning. Now for a bit of fast forwarding to my senior year of High School. After Football ended and Track was done I decided it was time to stretch my legs and embark on my own railfan adventures. Danville junction was the place of choice. I spent many a hot summers day in Danville when I wasn't working at the New Balance Factory Store (Rt. 26 in Oxford) where I still work today. The Summer had some great catches and was the beginning of an even better fall. The fall of 07 was my first year at the University of Maine at Orono. Studying Communications and Business, I started down my path towards higher education. Of course I couldn't resist but go to Northern Maine Junction. So to yet again fast forward here I am back in the Hills for a summer working at New Balance and watching trains. Like I said I'm surprised I haven't met any H.A.P.T. members before but now that I have met both Brad and Billy I am glad to have met these guys! I am also glad to say that I will be hanging out with these guys a lot more down the road! I look forward to posting my findings to you all and I really enjoy the work that is already produced here!

My name is Charles Hastings and I am an 18 year old Rail Fanatic.

(PS I also do Microsoft Train Simulator work!)