WELCOME — GENERAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THIS SITE
Welcome to “hosam.com.” The word “hosam” is “HO Sam,” and “HO Sam” was Sherry Arthur McCall, known to railroad enthusiasts, both prototype and model, across the United States as Sam, a nickname he acquired in the U.S. Navy. Sam called it “The College of Railroad Knowledge for Model Railroaders.” Before Sam passed away in 2003, he asked his friend Henry Estes to keep this website running. Henry faithfully maintained it for many years, and when Henry too passed away, the site was entrusted to David Bott, a fellow modeler, who continues to maintain it in memory of both Sam and Henry. It is presented to you without pop-ups or subscription fees. If you have comments or questions, please e-mail the site.
To navigate this site click on the links here on the Welcome page, or the links on the Main Menu column at the left, or use the search engine above. Type in what you are looking for and the answer will be returned in a new window. To return to the Welcome page, close the new window.
This site was developed to assist those seeking both prototype and modeling information. The emphasis is on the railroads that operated in the Southeastern USA. As defined here, these are the states of Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia. Basically this is the area that is south of Ohio and Pennsylvania and east of the Mississippi River.
The time period covered, approximately 1941–82, is based on the period from when these roads first dieselized until most of them were merged into others. There is some information on steam and electrics. Each manufacturer of diesels is covered in greater detail. Basic information about rolling stock with AAR designations is included.
Detailed information about painting your own models, using airbrushes, paints, fillers, paint schemes, paint strippers and decaling are features of this site.
This information when combined with good, preferably dated, pictures will result in a well built model that will match the original.
To complement the railroads of the Southeast, a list of industries has been compiled. For those who desire further information about operations and industries, the Railway-Ops SIG is recommended. [Yahoo Groups was shut down in December 2020 and this link is no longer active.]
Information has been gathered from books, pamphlets, instruction manuals, magazines, letters and e-mails from many knowledgeable people.
If you really have some time on your hands, take a look at my humor. For those who like a bit of music, select from some contemporary tunes.
New information is always welcome. If you have information to offer, please e-mail me. You will be credited as the source and this information will be of use to other modelers.
Some of the information on this web site has been derived from talk-lists with knowledgeable subscribers who can supply additional information.
Some of these talk-lists are:
The Southeastern Model Railroader Forum is an independent talk-list devoted to Southeastern Railroads. Click on SMRF to subscribe.
The Diesel Modelers Mailing List is an independent talk-list. To subscribe send an e-mail to the list. Nothing in the body is required.
The Freightcars List is an independent talk-list. To subscribe send an e-mail to the list. Nothing in the body is required. [This address may no longer be active.]
There are many talk-lists on Yahoo Groups. [Yahoo Groups was shut down in December 2020 and is no longer active.]
For pictures of diesels of many roads see Fallen Flags and Other Railroad Photos by George Elwood. This list is maintained by donations and is free for all to use.
For web pictures of diesels of the Seaboard Air Line, Norfolk Southern (original), and Seaboard Coast Line, e-mail Warren Calloway.
I hope you find this web site both useful and satisfying.
Some of the model photos are courtesy of Dan's Train Depot, an eBay seller in Florida who has lots of Southeastern models as well as older kits.