Mike Ostertag “Tag”
I’ve been in model railroading since I was 5 years old. My father worked for the Milwaukee Road in the 1970’s and 80’s, and would bring home Athearn models for me from a hobby shop in Milwaukee. Because of this, the Milwaukee Road is my favorite railroad to model. Throughout my modeling career I have mainly modeled in HO Scale. However around 2016 I made the switch to S Scale and loved it. Being in S scale has challenged me to become a better modeler. I know model my own fictional railroad called the Farlin Terminal.
Aside from modeling, I am also on the board of directors for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association. There I hold the title of Superintendent of the Superior Division. I am responsible for helping coordinate information regarding the line between North Milwaukee, WI and Ontonagon, MI. This includes my hometown of Green Bay, WI. I am also a member of the Green Bay and Western Historical Society.
I also get to play with the 1:1 scale railroads. I work as a locomotive engineer for the Canadian National out of Green Bay/Manitowoc, WI. I began my career in the railroad with the Green Bay and Western in 1992 as a brakeman. Following the takeover of the GBW by the Wisconsin Central Ltd. in 1993, I became a conductor and in 1996 I went to engineer school and continued to run engines after the CN takeover in 2001.
Andy Dorsch
Andy started his interest in trains at very young age. His childhood home was next to a set of railroad tracks that the Chicago and Northwestern Railway operated in the early 1980’s. Everytime Andy heard the engineer blow the horn for the grade crossing he’d run out the back door of his house and chase the train down the property line until the train slowly lumbered out of sight! His father bought him a Tyco Train Set in 1990 – the SantaFe 72. It was the ubiquitous trainset that most kids started out with. It had a Santa Fe locomotive in the “War Bonnet” paint scheme, 4 cars and loop of steel segmented track. Andy played with the trainset until he and his dad expanded the loop and added couple of switches and nailed the track down to a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Then the rest is history…
Fast forward to today and Andy is still playing with trains. He is currently in construction of his 2nd rendition of the Mascoutin Valley Railroad. A freelance railroad set in north central Wisconsin. He loves spending his time creating detailed models and perfecting his scenery techniques. And now he gets to share that love for model railroading with you all via this podcast!
Second Section Podcast 