From the Midwest to the West Coast, Bill Reif found contentment in a fulfilling hobby when he “laid his tracks” in Colorado.Reif was born in Great Bend, Kan., in 1937 and spent most of his childhood there before he and his family moved to Santa Paula, Calif. In 1955, Reif graduated from Santa Paula Union High School.When he was 15 years old, Reif met the woman who would one day become his wife. However, at the time their age difference was somewhat of an obstacle. “On our first date, she was 13 years old, and Nina said she couldn’t go out with me because her parents didn’t know me,” he said. “And it was love at first sight. I was just overwhelmed by her.” So, he got up the courage to go to her parents’ home and introduce himself. After a long conversation, Nina’s parents gave their approval.Reif attended Ventura Junior College, but wasn’t sure what he wanted to do and eventually dropped out and joined the Air Force. Stationed at George AFB in Victorville, Calif., he was only 100 miles from Santa Paula where Nina was finishing high school. Reif said Nina’s parents would not let her get married until she finished college. “We got married seven days after she graduated,” he said.In 1960, Reif finished his Air Force tour and returned to Ventura Junior College for one semester before discovering his wife was pregnant. “I decided I should go out and get a job, and I started working at Westinghouse as an electronic technician,” he said. It wasn’t long before Reif moved up the ladder and became a manufacturing manager. He stayed 10 years before joining Radiant Energy Systems.Reif worked for many companies over the years as a production manager. After a layoff from Litton Data Systems in 1985, Reif and his wife decided they would look for a place to retire. “We got a couple of these books where you go through and pick out the things you like to do and then at the end they give you a number,” he said. “And then you look in the back of the book where they list all these cities.” After the Reifs’ number matched Colorado Springs, they decided to take a summer vacation in the Springs. Two months later, he was offered a job with a “nice bonus” as a quality engineer at Litton’s Colorado Springs office.In 1996, he retired from Litton. But it only lasted a couple of months when a friend hired him as a quality engineer for Electronic Technical Associates. There, Reif worked on satellite contracts, including the Hubble telescope. “Before it went up, the astronauts came over and we got to meet all of them,” he said. A year and half later, Reif decided to retire – for good.In July 2002, the Reifs moved from the Gleneagle area to Falcon.When Reif was 8 or 9 years old, he said, he got his first Lionel model railroad for Christmas. “We put it on a board, and I painted it green,” he said. “I dyed some sawdust to make grass, and my mother saved the coffee grounds to make dirt.” Reif said that his interest in model railroads reoccurred after he got married. “When I was in the service, we were downtown and went into a hobby store, and they had an observation car from Santa Fe – big long silver thing and I said, ‘You know I think I will try to build that.”‘ His railroad then grew, piece by piece until he had a complete train.He and his son built a large N gauge railroad in their garage. Switching from N gauge model railroads to HO, Reif built a couple of models before building the one he currently houses in his basement in Falcon. “People not associated with railroads say, ‘When is it going to be done?'” he said. “It’s never going to be done because I don’t have any plans for every finishing it.”He said he tends to build his models in four stages – planning; building the table, tracks and topography as well as testing the tracks; adding buildings and streets; and then “super detailing.””That is the part you never finish,” he said. “Super detailing” includes everything from putting a dog in the front yard, a bird in a tree or an electrical meter on the side of a house, Reif said. “You actually get to where when you take a picture you find it very difficult to say that that’s not real. Once you do that, then you’ve got it.”Reif has experienced a variety of reasons people become model railroad enthusiasts. There are those who are more interested in building specific railroad lines down to a specific section of track. “They say, ‘OK, we’re going to do it from this town to this town and we’re going to put in all the stockyards,'” Reif said. “And they will go out and take pictures and then make little miniatures of whatever they are scaling.”Reif considers himself a casual model railroader. “My railroad is a freelance railroad,” he said. “It’s my railroad; I’ll build it the way I want to.”A little more on Bill ReifIn your opinion, what is the best thing about Colorado?I like the people. They are open and friendly. I found the people in California were vain and they all think they are psychologists. I also like the seasons here – not too traumatic weather-wise.Whom do you admire?Colin Powell. I like his dedication to public service, and I find him to be inspirational and a great leader.What is one of your favorite memories?The first time I met my wife. It was love at first sight. I look at her and melt. We will be married 48 years this coming February. She’s a keeper!Who is your favorite author?Clive Cussler. He writes action novels.Reif encourages those interested in model railroads who would like to start a club to contact him at 488-9276.
