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Site
Info & Updates 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: 12-May-2004 Site's
rebuilding complete including a new server (aloofhosting.com [closed]). 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 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 06-May-2005 The
TrainPixs Network moves to TrainWeb.org
— an affiliate of TrainWeb.com 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 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
29-Aug-2005 Hurricane
Katrina Strikes the Gulf Coast, including my father's house. Check out 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 11-Sep-2006 I
finally have the coding done. You may not notice it at first,
though as the days If
you have any ideas for the TrainPixs Network to have on the site's logo,
please 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 19-Mar-2007 The
TrainPixs Network has received the Web Gem Award from
TrainNet.org 06-Apr-2007 Site
reaches over 8,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!! 21-Jul-2007 Site
reaches over 10,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!! 14-Nov-2007 Site
reaches over 12,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!! 23-Feb-2008 While
railfanning at the LaPlata, Mo. Depot, Nathan ran into "The Amazing"
Chris 05-Jun-2008 Site
reaches over 15,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!! 10-Dec-2008 We
have added an
our logo to next to the URL address in your browser, while on 09-Jan-2009 We
add a new feature to the website; railfan videos shot and produced by
the 02-Apr-2009 Site
reaches over 20,000 unique* hits since 30-May-2005!!! About
the Creator & Webmaster of the TrainPixs Network: 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.
The Birth of the TrainPixs NetworkThe 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.
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.
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.)
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!!! |
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07-Jul-2005 To
Our Friends Across the Atlantic Ocean:
Nathan
S. Chidester
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.
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. 
