Abstract:
Orice A. Ritch of Charlotte is one of the most active railroad hobbyists in the Southeast. The first model he built was a miniature of the Hudson 4-6-4 locomotive, which took him ten years and $600 to complete. The engine is six feet long and runs on a half-mile track on a twenty-acre lot. Ritch hosts monthly meetings, and people from all over the East Coast attend either to run their own live steam engines or simply to watch.