THE TEAM AT MOUNT VERNON SHOPS

JOHN FRANTZ OWNER, DESIGNER, MAUNFACTURER IVAN FRANTZ JR. R&D, MODELER, CONSULTANT BRUCE F. SMITH R&D, MODELER, CONSULTANT JEFF SPRINGER MANUFACTURER, MODELER, PRODUCT CONSULTANT

John, enjoying a brief moment in the cab of one of the steam engines on the Walt Disney World Railroad.

John was born in the late winter of 1984, and wasn't even a year old before he had his first train trip. It was on a special excursion riding the Maryland Midland along the PRR's old Frederick Branch. Although he can't remember, he rode behind N&W 611 when it was still under steam. John does distinctly remembers when PRR K4s came to York, PA in August of 1988. He kicks himself now when thinking about it, but the day his father had a chance to fire on a trip, he could have been in the cab, but was deathly scared of a big, loud, noisy engine.     Since receiving his Eagle Scout award, graduating High School and completing a two-year program at a local technical school with an Associates Degree in Architectural/Civil Drafting, he worked for a period of two years in Baltimore, Maryland at Custom Model Railroads and is still known as the "resident freelancer" for the company.  John currently is a survey technician for an engineering firm in Hunt Valley, MD and does consulting for various enterprises on a part-time basis.     His favorite railroads encompass those that served York County, as well as a few others. They would be the Pennsylvania Railroad, Western Maryland, Maryland & Pennsylvania, Reading, Penn Central, Conrail, and the Baltimore & Ohio. He regularly attends operating sessions in Eastern Pennsylvania and is a member of the Miniature Railroad Club of York and the NMRA. Also, John belongs to the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society and the Warrior Ridge Club of the Juniata Terminal Company.     Although he has no layout of his own, when he has time, he runs on his fathers free-lanced Northern Central/Frederick Branch layout in HO, the layout of the Railroad Club in York (HO) and at the home of friends in the area.. John enjoys modeling a picture and making the past come alive on a layout, with acurate buildings and surroundings.    John hopes to introduce prototypically correct buildings of the PRR and other roads, that have yet to be produced otherwise. Merging into the market with the YORK tower kit he's become known by doing "what hasn't been done before". He enjoys pushing the boundaries on modeling and knows that through proper application of the old sciences combined with those of new, something great can be acheived for future generations of modelers.

Favorite Links of the Team: Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society Jerry Britton's Keystone Crossings Custom Model Railroads National Model Railroad Association American Association of Private Railcar Owners Codorus Creek Railway

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