TrainWeb.org Facebook Page
the TrainPixs Network
 

Home
Photo Galleries
News & Info (incl. Hurricane Katrina info)
Safety and Legal Information
Equipment Information and Guides
Railfanning in Kansas City
TPNet Store and Publications Page
Links
Website Information and History
Website Awards recieved

Proud to support
Operation Lifesaver


 

Site Info & Updates
site updates | about the website/webmaster


15-Jun-1998   Website originally created and launched using www.freeservers.com.

28-Jul-1998   Website expands to three different sites for photo galleries.

02-Jan-1999   Website reaches 300 visitors to the site.

24-May-2000   Site moves to a new server.

Jun-2000      Photo galleries are presented in its own portion of the site.

15-Aug-2000   Website reaches over 1,000 visitors to the site.

14-Jun-2001   "TrainPixs Network presents: Train Calling Marks" is printed and is originally sold               at Destination Train Center, Lenexa, Kans. (though, sadly, the store has closed)

11-Sep-2001   A Day That ALL OF US Will Never Forget!

17-Jan-2004   Rebuilding & redesigning of the site begins. Things to be included in the new site:
                Equipment information a (possibly) analysts
                • Safety Information and Rights post-9/11
                • Maps with the Kansas City Metro & railfanning hotspots

12-May-2004   Site's rebuilding complete including a new server (aloofhosting.com [closed]).
              Site restarts the hit counter.

Summer-2004   New photo galleries are complete including UP3985's visit to Kansas City.

Summer-2004   Received the Golden Web Award for website design & content.

01-Nov-2004   Site moves to a new server (www.netrulon.com).

13-Nov-2004   The TrainPixs Network & "Let's Talk Trains" websites become linking friends.

18-Nov-2004   Nathan begins to be a "normal" guest on "Let's Talk Trains."

23-Nov-2004   NEW Flash® version of "Railfanning in Kansas City" completed.

12-Dec-2004   New counter is placed on the website. Site resets the hit counter.

19-Dec-2004   Site reaches over 170 hits in the first seven days of the new site.

30-Dec-2004   Site reaches over 200 hits!

08-Jan-2005   Site Info & Update page completed.

28-Jan-2005   Equipment Guide is opens with articles about cameras and how-to guides.

28-Jan-2005   New photos are uploaded, including photos from New Orleans, Gulfport, MS &               Biloxi, MS.

08-Feb-2005   The TrainPixs Network wins the Silver City Station Award!

10-Feb-2005   Site reaches over 400 hits since 12-Dec-2004!!!

16-Feb-2005   Site reaches over 500 hits since 12-Dec-2004 (66 days)!!!

01-Mar-2005   The "Equipment Guide" will be temporarily down, due to a new hard drive and               server errors. Pages will be back up as soon as we re-prepare them.

11-Mar-2005   Site reaches over 750 hits since 12-Dec-2004 (89 days)!!!

21-Mar-2005   Site reaches over 800 hits since 12-Dec-2004 (99 days)!!!

02-Apr-2005   Coat of Arms -- Pope John Paul II His Holiness Pope John Paul II [the Great] dies.

April 2005    A photo taken by the Webmaster, Nathan Chidester, of a streetcar line in New               Orleans, Louisiana, in the May issue of Railfan & Railroad.

18-Apr-2005   Coat of Arms -- Pope Benedict XVI HABAMUS PAPAM! His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

06-May-2005   The TrainPixs Network moves to TrainWeb.org — an affiliate of TrainWeb.com
              click here to visit TrainWeb.comThanks Richard H. for your help!!!

13-May-2005   Site reaches over 1,000 hits since 12-Dec-2004!!!

30-May-2005   Site reaches over 1,250 hits since 12-Dec-2004!!! We begin to use
              StatCounter.com, we reset the unique hit counter to zero (0).
              

21-Jun-2005   A "new look" to the site. (All pages are new centered instead of to the left.)

23-Jun-2005   New photos, including a random generator for index.html page, so that you will not
              get board with the same old image at the top. Click Here for the code (in *.txt).

07-Jul-2005   To Our Friends Across the Atlantic Ocean:
                  Our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their
                  families, of the cowardly attacks in London.

 

29-Aug-2005   Hurricane Katrina Strikes the Gulf Coast, including my father's house. Check out
              page dedicated to Hurricane Katrina.

23-Sep-2005   Site reaches over 1,000 hits since 30-May-2005!!!

06-Dec-2005   New version of the "Railfanning Kansas City" mapping system, BETA ver. 2.0

11-Dec-2005   New update of the "Railfanning Kansas City" mapping system, now including               an satellite images of each area. (BETA Version 2.1)

11-Feb-2006   Site reaches over 2,500 hits since 30-May-2005!!!

06-Sep-2006   Working on a new code to display the TrainPixs Network logos for the different
              holidays and dates.

11-Sep-2006   I finally have the coding done. You may not notice it at first, though as the days
              go by—any as you visit us—you will see the TrainPixs Network logo change with
              the different days. (ie. holidays)

              If you have any ideas for the TrainPixs Network to have on the site's logo, please
              e-mail me at: trainpixsnet@yahoo.com

16-Sep-2006   Site reaches over 5,000 hits since 30-May-2005!!!

06-Mar-2007   The TrainPixs Network has received the 2007 Bronze Web Award
              
from the World Wide Web Awards     2007 Bronze Web Award by the World Wide Web Awards

19-Mar-2007   The TrainPixs Network has received the Web Gem Award from TrainNet.org
              
2007 Bronze Web Award by the World Wide Web Awards

06-Apr-2007   Site reaches over 8,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

21-Jul-2007   Site reaches over 10,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

14-Nov-2007   Site reaches over 12,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

23-Feb-2008   While railfanning at the LaPlata, Mo. Depot, Nathan ran into "The Amazing" Chris
              Genzler (who has traveled over one-million miles on trains across all 50 States, as
              well as other countries), getting ready to board Amtrak Train #3 Southwest Chief
              to Los Angeles, Calif., after attending a dedication ceremony at The Depot Inn &
              Suites. Be sure to check out Chris' site HERE.
              

05-Jun-2008   Site reaches over 15,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

10-Dec-2008   We have added an our logo to next to the URL address in your browser, while on
              the TrainPixs Network's site!


              
Site reaches over 17,700 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

09-Jan-2009   We add a new feature to the website; railfan videos shot and produced by the
              webmaster, Nathan Chidester. Be sure to check out the video page!

02-Apr-2009   Site reaches over 20,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!!
                                      *each visitor is counted once per visit; does not count each page view.

top


About the Creator & Webmaster of the TrainPixs Network:
Nathan's Famly Crest. Nathan S. Chidester

Born in 1983, Nathan has always been interested in trains. His Grandfather (pictured in both pictures below)—on his mother's side—was a lifetime railroader, working as a switchman for the Burlington Route (CB&Q), working one day as a conductor for the UP, and was immediately hired and went up the seniority-chain as an engineer for the Norfolk Southern's [Wabash's] Moberly Division. For the NS, he ran between Moberly, Missouri and Kansas City until he retired with the highest seniority on the "Kansas City Subdivision," in 2002.

Nathan's grandfather's last ride as engineer (May 2002)

The Birth of the TrainPixs Network

The TrainPixs Network was created and is still maintained by Nathan Chidester [pronounced Chîd`æs`ter]. At age 12, Nathan was infatuated by trains; even at his parent's lake house at Lake of the Ozarks (in Missouri), Nathan started making a HO scale layout. During this time, Nathan wanted to find photos of different ideas/projects that he could either build or kitbash (building structures and other objects using pieces of other kits). Unfortunately, at this time—the "internet boom" was still in its infancy (this is when Nathan's family got their first CPU, with a 14.4K modem, and AOL® 1.0)—he was unable to find many pictures at one "dedicated" site.

This is when Nathan wanted to create a site, and/or a network, to bring together photos that could be used for modeling [model railroads] and also for a "new type of hobby." This is when Nathan started working on the website, it first started out—just as many other sites had started—very slowly and VERY amateur-like, with too many useless bells and whistles.

photo used in article for "For Keeps" photo of Nathan's mother, Nathan, and his Grandfather

The photo above is from an article that Nathan's mother wrote for "For Keeps" a magazine for Hallmark® Ornament Collectors. She wrote the article about how Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments™ and Lionel® are working together to create a railroad-related ornament; in-turn, reminding my mother of the stories and life as a daughter of an engineer.

Nathan umpiring high school baseball game. (Summer `04)As a special note, Nathan has had a member of his family working for a railroad since the building of the nation's first Transcontinental Railroad in 1859, and he dreams about working, possibly, as a trainmaster or public/media relations officer for a railroad.

Chidester played baseball until his career-ending injury to his right knee (tearing his LDL). He was a left handed (mid-relief/closing) pitcher. He played for St. Thomas Aquinas High School all four years and was given a scholarship to Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kans.

After an injury at Benedictine, he was given a chance to help the team in another way, being the behind-the-scenes, being the spokesmen and head of communications for the baseball team.

In Fall 2004, Nathan was named the Sports Information Assistant Director. With this, many responsibilities—including creating many press releases, press conferences, and collecting & providing statistics—were put upon his shoulders including a full class schedule including being the head webmaster of the eCircuit, Benedictine's online student newspaper.

Starting in Fall 2005, Nathan attended the School of Mass Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Administration. One day, Nathan hopes to become a play-by-play announcer for either a Major League Baseball team or a major sports network. Another possible career involving in sports on the professional level. (ie Sports Management, Sports Information [high school/college], etc.)

Nathan in front of UP1988, when on display at Union Station Kansas City, Mo.Beginning in August 2006, Nathan became a Residence Assistant in Vann Hall for the Department of Residence Life at USM. He assists the Hall Director and is overseeing 62 residents on his floor.

As of the May 2005 issue of Railfan & Railroad, Nathan had one of his photos printed in the "Along the Rails 2004" section. (pg. 38, top left)

Between semesters, while in college, Nathan umpired at Johnson County 3&2 Baseball Association, Inc. He was one of the youngest umpires to receive his State Certification (State of Kansas) for high school baseball.

In Summer 2007, Nathan was an intern with the Mobile BayBears, the Double-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, workings with the BayBears' Media Relations Department, including working a two-game series between the People's Republic of China and Team USA.

On December 14, 2007, Nathan received his Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Sports Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Currently, Nathan is working for Farmers Insurance Group®, as a Coverage Adjustor for personal auto lines at Farmers HelpPoint® in the Kansas City metro area.

Thanks for visiting the TrainPixs Network, enjoy this site!!!

top

 

Copyright © 1998-2013. TrainPixs Network. All rights reserved. All other photos have been used with permission and are property of its owner.

Last Updated: 16-Feb-2013

  Click Here! TrainPixs Network's Publications