Douglas Edgar van Veelen is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering. He gets his interest in railroading and in history from his mother (Doris). Her family had 13 members work for the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors between 1910 and 1984. He has written several articles for hobby and professional publications including Live Steam Magazine and Modeltec Magazine. He has been on national professional conferences as a faculty member for the ATE & Instrumentation Conference and the Test Engineering Conference. Articles include Civil Engineering for Live Steam Railroads, Computerizing an Atlas 6” Lathe and Using In-Circuit Testers for Functional Testing. Books that he has published include “Civil Engineering for Outdoor Railroads Volume 1” and “The Gainesville Midland and Her Sister Short Lines.” Future books include “Civil Engineering for Outdoor Railroads Volume 2, Bridges and Tunnels”, several probable histories of short lines in Georgia including the Roswell Railroad, and a possible science fiction book currently being written as the muse visits him.