William Petryk grew up in Bald Eagle, Minnesota two blocks from the Northern Pacific Railroad's "Skally Line" between St. Paul and Duluth. He was familiar with the NP's Bald Eagle depot which in the 1950's and 1960's was leased to the local community as a clubhouse. After college and military service he moved to Auburn, Washington, where the proximity of the Auburn freight yard revived his interest in the Northern Pacific. He is a member of the Northern Pacific Railroad Historical Society.
Oscar Ethan Peterson Dec. 22, 1941- July 9, 2012. Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Dec. 22, 1941, to Ruth (Rosolack) Peterson and Maj. Ethan Peterson. He was raised in Eau Claire, WI and graduated from Eau Claire's Memorial High School and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. A Telecommunications Engineer for over 40 years, his career encompassed the full range of telephone technology from party lines and operator switchboards in rural Wisconsin to fiber optics in California's Silicon Valley. He was an active member of the Tacoma Historical Society, the Great Northern Railroad Historical Society, and the Tacoma Northwestern Model Railroad where he was President.
Daniel R. Perkins was born in South Bend, Washington to Paul and Eva Ford Perkins. He worked for the Burlington Northern, later in real estate investing. He moved to Eugene, Oregon and married Betty Brown in 1980.
Jim Pendley has worked for the Union Pacific Railroad and then as a locomotive engineer for the Burlinton Northern Santa Fe Railway. He is a model railroad enthusiast living in Ellensburg, Washington.
Howard’s lifetime passion for trains and photography began at an early age when his father took him to the Illinois Central Railroad Station to see locomotives and to take photos with his Donald Duck camera. In 1959, during college, he worked one summer on a Great Northern (GN) surfacing gang in Minneapolis. Later he worked on the Illinois Central and the Milwaukee Road. After his military service he worked for the GN as a leverman, as ticket-seller in the Minneapolis depot; and as a brakeman out of Willmar. His railroad career continued into the Burlington Northern (BN), from which he retired. It also led to photographing steam locomotives throughout the US, Central and South America. He developed, printed, and sold many of his black and white photos. He also wrote articles to accompany them which were published in trade magazines such as TRAINS.