My name is Bill Schneider. I was born in New York in 1963 and lived on Long Island until I was 11 when we moved overseas, first to Libya, then to England where I graduated high school at TASIS England. My family then moved back to Connecticut for a few years after which my parents moved on to Abu Dhabi then Saudi Arabia before my father retired and moved back to Connecticut to settle down (!?). Living and traveling overseas was a life shaping experience and afforded me the valuable chance to travel through most of Europe and the Middle East and exposed me to many varied cultures and viewpoints. I attended Syracuse University and the Pennsylvania School of the Arts where I studied Architecture, Graphic Design and Commercial Art.

I've been a railroad enthusiast all my life. My model railroading experiences started with a large Lionel layout when I was young. I switched to HO when we moved overseas and except for a short foray into N have stayed in HO modeling since. In addition to the O&W and other anthracite roads I also have strong interests in the Pennsylvania RR and British railroads, particularly the early 1980's British Rail scene (wonder why...) and the Great Western Railway.

Though my training is in graphic arts, I have been working in the hobby industry since 1981. My first job was as a hobby store clerk, then manager at Branchville Hobbies in Ridgefield, CT. I then worked for two years in the sales department of Hobby Stores Distributing (HSD), a major hobby distributor, before opening my own store in 1987. After the store closed in 1992, I went back to work for HSD in the advertising department. Starting in 1995, I was put in charge of R&D for Branchline Trains where I still work today.

A friend once told me he was going to buy me two T-shirts – one that said “Still Plays with Trains” and the other “Still Pays with Cars”! During the warmer months I can spend a lot of time working on my 1973 Mustang convertible - another expensive hobby left over from my bachelor days! In fact I’ve always been interested in just about any form of transportation and also have interests in vintage aircraft, famous ships, canals, you name it.

 

 

In addition to my interest in transportation I am also I am on the board of directors of the Haddam Historical Society http://www.haddamhistory.org/) and also enjoy cooking, wine, food and travel.

My long-suffering wife Theresa and I live in a 1890 vintage farmhouse on two acres in central Connecticut with our two daughters, Kayleigh and Laura, and four cats.