About NKP Layout Services for Design, Planning, Building and Maintenance by NKP Creative Services, Inc.

Who is NKP?

My name is Stan Sweatt and I am the principal and president of NKP Creative Services, Inc. I created my business NKP in 1984. Originally the primary product has been professional advertising and graphic arts, but recently I have added the service of assisting others in building model railroads. Although NKP is my company, I have many skillful friends available to assist us.

The Early Days

Many of us started our hobby careers like I did with a Christmas Lionel O gauge set. I added track to my set every week out of saved lunch money. I had my whole attic room floor to use so I would set up a new empire as soon as I tired of the previous arrangement. Many of my friends had trains, too. Some had Dads that nailed their track to a board, some seemed to enjoy adding those delightful operating accessories and scenery or just running trains. Nobody could afford to collect engines and rolling stock much so we concentrated on scenery, trackplans and operations.

Maturing In The Hobby

Later I discovered an older copy of Model Railroader which had the story of John Allen building his first layout and I was hooked. It was now HO gauge with a Dockside switcher but I soon found out horn-hook couplers didn't work well. I have built the G&D plan with some variations 3 times. Soon I met a friend who was building the Frisco Lines #79 out of 101 Trackplans with added layover yards underneath. Now we had smooth-running Athearn diesels, Kadee uncouplers and Variac powerpacks wired for cab-control that made railroading operation fun! I read just about everything in print about the hobby and stay current.

Layout Builder

After several more layouts of my own and involvement in several other men's layouts, I built my latest effort, a double-decker with card-order operation. This had to be abandoned due to a change of homes. In the interim I joined the Los Angeles Model Railroad Society, a club hosting a large operational layout featuring regular operations, (plug) new members welcome (click here). Soon a new layout will arise but right now I'm content with the club and my DigitraxSuper chief test track at home.

Why NKP?

I've established the NKP Layout Services division of my business because I have come to realize several things:
• I've always loved model railroading
• I have a well-rounded skill- set in all aspects of the hobby
• I get great enjoyment from helping others enjoy model railroading
• I enjoy planning and building model railroads
• I wish to do this for the last working third of my career.