I had the very good fortune of meeting Jim at his home and touring his amazing HO scale layout.  He was generous with his time.  He will be missed.
Jim Spencer

Jim was a dear and great friend of mine.  I will surely miss him....

For 23 years Jim was my Fine Scale Modeling Mentor and Friend. I can't image a Layout Tour, Open House, Westside Reunion, or Narrow Gauge Convention Without him. Long Time Santa Cruz  Historian,  and Model Maker extraordinaire. ...Rest in Peace my Friend...

JIm was an inspiration in so many ways.  His ability to get an interesting article out every month for so many years always amazed me.  And he shared his expertise from everything from things mechanical to scenery to structure building.  I always learned something from him.
I was lucky to have JIm as a friend and I miss him.

I have many great memories of the time spent with Jim and my other modeling friends at meetings, ops sessions, conventions, layout tours and just hanging out. Jim helped me in so many ways on my layout and with my modeling.  He was a great modeler and an inspiration to modelers everywhere. Rest in Peace Jim.

Farewell to a great guy, modeler and host. Thanks Jim for your wonderful gifts,

I meet Jim several decades ago. It was always amazing that he continually found space for another scene or track extension on his layout. During one visit, Jim showed me an HO rattlesnake which I could barely see. During my next visit, I knew where the snake was but still couldn't find it...it was scale size!

I was very fortunate to meet Jim when I was about 10 years old. He mentored my best friend and I in the art of model railroading for nearly 8 years. Jim's layout was where I learned model railroad operations for the first time and I can't thank Jim enough for letting us teenagers run on his railroad for the last few years. Rest in peace buddy.

Jim Vail,
What Craftsmanship & Artistry in his Modeling!
Prolific Author and Generous Host of his Time & Layout to show what could be done.
I am glad I took the opportunity to visit his layout to see what in person, that so many photos
barely could capture and describe. RIP Jim thank you!

I had the great honor of visiting Jim to view his amazing train layout twice, once as a child and then again as a young adult. Every day I drive to work and pass his house and always look for the train sign atop his mailbox. A great person and motivator for the hobby. Rest in peace!