All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm
September 8, 2023
The Model Railroad Industry Division of the Hobby Manufacturers Association inducted its newest Hall of Fame member and recognized the 2023 Bobbye Hall Award winner in August at the NMRA National Train Show.
Michael N. Dunham of Kadee Quality Products Co. is the 52nd member inducted into the Hall of Fame. Amherst Railway Society’s John Sacerdote took home the Bobbye Hall Award. The awards were presented at the MRID’s breakfast before the final day of the show, which concluded the NMRA National Convention in Grapevine, TX.
MRID president Steve Olson introduced the winners.
Kadee’s Michael Dunham, right, holds or is named in more than a dozen model railroad patents, including Kadee’s “whisker” centering system. – Tim Blackwell/Cowcatcher Magazine
Dunham, who was nominated for the Hall of Fame in 2022, holds or is named in more than 12 model railroad patents, including for Kadee’s “whisker” centering system, remote uncoupling operation and two-piece trucks.
“He is a great inventor and developer of many new machines utilized in the manufacturing process of products from Kadee and is highly respected amongst those he works with,” Kadee president and general manager Alan Vezzani said. “With his innovative designs and choice of materials, he has really set Kadee apart from many of the other manufacturers of all American-made products. His integrity, dedication and relentless desire to keep improving products is second to none.”
Dunham has worked over 30 years in the model railroad industry and is Kadee’s plant engineer.
Sacerdote, the face of the nonprofit Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show, is the 16th recipient of the Bobbye Hall Award, which recognizes an individual or organization for service in the model railroad industry. Established in 2008, it is given annually in memory of the late owner of Hall’s Hobby House in Dallas. She served the industry in many capacities during a long career.
The Railroad Hobby Show is one of the industry’s largest and attracted well over 20,000 each year before the pandemic. The show has given over $850,000 in grants and donations to local charities and railway societies on behalf of the Amherst Railway Society.
In addition, Sacerdote is leading Amherst’s latest mentoring effort, Kids on Track, a program that encourages children to take the throttle and run trains at an annual model train show in Springfield, MA.
Sacerdote, the 16th recipient of the award, could not be present to accept it but said in a statement, “I accept this award with a great deal of humility and thanks, loving this hobby and hoping that I can live up to Bobbye Hall’s legacy and what she has done for model railroading and this fantastic hobby.”
MRID vice president Tim Blackwell accepted the award on Sacerdote’s behalf.
MRID, a division of the Hobby Manufacturers Association, promotes public awareness of model railroading by those actively engaged in the model railroad industry. It also works to promote and advance hobby programs through the industry and others.
The first class of the Hall of Fame was induced in 1985 and included 13 members. Among them are Irvin R. Athearn, Joshua Lionel Cowan, Alfred C. Gilbert, Gordon Varney and William K. Walthers.
Last year’s inductee was Larry Price of Youth in Model Railroading.
