2019 May Paso Robles Magazine

Trains, Planes and Battleships
Local veteran Mike Fitzgerald toys with trains in a big way
When retired Navy Captain Mike
Fitzgerald received his first model
train, the world around him was in
the throes of chaos. The year was 1941, the place
was Pearl Harbor.
Fitzgerald’s father, William, served as Operations
Officer and had the weekend staff duty
on the USS Maryland (BB-46) on the infamous
day. William survived the attack on Pearl Harbor
and earned the Navy Medal of Commendation
for valorous actions. William served in both of
the Great Wars and when he retired from his
military career he held the rank of Rear Admiral.
William was stationed aboard the Colorado-class
battleship Maryland which survived
the Pearl Harbor attack. The USS Oklahoma
that sat outboard (farther from the dock) beside
the Maryland, capsized from being his by several
torpedo bombs.
The 429 souls stationed on the USS Oklahoma
lost their lives in the assault but a brave few
survived by jumping into the fuel-burning waters
50 feet below or traversed mooring lines to the
Maryland. Mike said that despite being sunk, the
ship continued to protect the Maryland with its
ruined hull due to the shallowness of the bay.
In the wake of the attack, Mike’s mother
Marjorie relocated the family to the other side
of the island where it was “safer.” Part of the
logic of moving the family, Mike explained, involved
the fact that the Japanese had failed to
destroy key naval facilities and could possibly
return to finish the job.
By Mark Diaz
“The Japanese. when they attacked. did a very
efficient job on the naval forces that were there,”
Mike explained, “but they did not go after the fuel
dumps and they did not go after the shipyard repair
facilities, both of which played a major part
in the U.S. getting offensively involved in the war.”
Marjorie also made the executive decision to
move up Christmas to help keep the 4-and-ahalf-year-old
Mike distracted from the turmoil.
Mike Fitzgerald has created a vast rail
system that surrounds the engineer.
The train set was a gift from his uncle and had
to be assembled under the cloak of darkness, not
only for a holiday surprise but also because of
the established mandatory blackouts. Civilians
were ordered to eliminate all forms of light to
help remove reference points for enemy bombers.
Mike said that he recalled seeing pictures taken
with “Santa’s elves” hiding beneath a blanket and
assembling the train set by flashlight.
Like his father, Mike devoted thirty years of
his life to the Navy that included command of
ships in the Mediterranean, Black and Baltic
Seas and the North Atlantic Ocean until finally
retiring in Paso Robles. With the nearly constant
relocating of the military life, Mike never
had the chance to put down roots and create the
elaborate train set he wanted. It took retirement
from the Navy to finally allow Mike the time
and space to create a dedicated train system. Residing
in Paso Robles, Mike began his teaching
career in San Luis Obispo’s Mission Preparatory
High School where he taught mathematics for
18 years. He dedicated a room roughly the size
of a two car garage by his estimates to construct
an intricate model train system.
“I couldn’t really make an elaborate layout like
I have here until I retired in ’89,” Mike said.
Mike named his railway the C, K and D after
his three sons — Chris, Kevin and David.
All three contributed to the development of the
system before leaving home. Kevin and Mike
created a model of the San Luis Obispo Mission
for a school project. They designed the building
to scale so they could put it in the train system.
As one can imagine there is a slew of ways and
methods of modeling. Scale/size typically range
from the smallest from Z (1:220/.25”) to the largest
G (1:25/1.75”) which comes with their own
standard of detail and emphases. Mike still works
in the scale he first received as a gift, O Gauge
(1:48/1.25) made popular by the manufacturer
Lionel. Originally Lionel trains were also foreshortened
to accommodate for the sharp turns
on their 3-rail track. Mike’s system is an O gauge
"High Rail” layout meaning that a true 1:48 scale
is always maintained. The differences between the
two systems are generally not noticeable until the
two styles are placed side-by-side.
Model train aficionados may like to know that
Mike is a High Railer and works on a 3-Track
system, but the casual observer is automatically
drawn to the vastness of Mike’s rail system. Instead
of the typical railway placed on plywood
that a person can walk around, Mike has created
a world that can surround the engineer. There are
buses, cars and boats all depicting their own era
and way of life as the toys trains move to each
destination, and yes, there is even a Starbucks.
He has also incorporated sound chips with his
system that helps with the immersion of the experience
and now with the digital age, he can run
the whole railway from his smartphone.
“It’s a hobby that’s never completed,” Mike
said. “There’s always something to do, more to
do and more fun to have.”
Sadly, Mike noted that playing with model
trains has fallen out of popularity. He says now
there are only a handful of stores in California
that are dedicated to model trains. Train shows
are still held, but Mike said that the majority of
attendees tend to be elderly. Even his boys, who
helped build the set with their father, have not
carried on with the tradition.
26 | The Story of Us May 2019