Life has its issues when you're a custom builder: a mostly tongue in cheek photo essay.

Please note: No person, groups, or organizations represented herein are actually meant to be cast in a bad light--it's roundhouse humor.

When you work as a locomotive mechanic you have to get used to seeing things like this at work every day.

You have to put up with travel to far away steam museums where the many inconveniences include waiting for someone like 1385 to get out of the way so you can park.

Then, instead of letting you photograph and measure in peace, they make you ride the high iron.

Or if the crew is too lazy to make the next run, they put you to work.

It can be hard to decide what to examine first, choices, choices!

Naturally, you have to teach rail safety to the kids who may mistake equipment for a playground.

My daughter has a thing for cabooses and observation car platforms.

Everyone knows good rail photography is majestic action shots of on coming trains. At the risk of sounding strange, I should tell you that for a builder, the following are good photography. They record what you really need to know.

You can't even head for home from a supplier's without getting stuck at a grade crossing, only to be set upon by some steamer you didn't know was in the area.

I might as well take those boring detail shots. Often I can't get a good action shot anyway because of all the rail fans who get in the way.

Photo essay continued on page two.