NEPHI — Harry Heil, who took a lifetime love of classic locomotives and built a rider-sized train set in his backyard, earned a winning entry last year in the “Metal My Way” contest, a competition across North America which showcases innovative and creative metal projects.

Heil was captivated by the Disney Backyard Railroad when he was about 10 years old in the mid-1950s. It sparked an early interest in trains and planted the seed of one day building one himself.

He dabbled on the project over the years and was met with various stops and starts during that time based on commitments to his job and family life. “It had been a nagging hobby of mine for many years,” said Heil. “It was always on a burner, but a back burner.”

When he retired in 2010, he was able to devote more time to the design. After working on the project off and on over parts of 38 years, Heil finally completed the steam locomotive in 2019, which included four adjoining cars and a Galloping Goose motorcar in the rear.

Because the homemade train set was such an impressive creation, it was the winning entry in the Automotive or Vehicle Projects category of the Metal My Way Contest last Sept. 2019.

The steam engine is based off a 1968 Danforth train and is about six feet long, measuring 18 inches high and 14 inches long. Heil designed each of the individual cars himself.

The train runs on 500 feet of track, which circles around his house in Nephi. The train set attracts a lot of attention from neighbors and others passing by, but Heil limits passengers on the locomotive to family members, often his grandchildren.

Metal Supermarkets, the world’s largest supplier of small-quantity metals, announced the winners of the sixth “Metal My Way” contest which showcased creative and innovative metal projects built across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The 2019 contest saw a record 1,596 submissions between July 1 and August 31. Contestants submitted photos or videos of their metal creations online through http://metalmyway.com/.

The individual category projects were graded based on complexity, scale, creativity, craftsmanship and quantity of metal used. Winners in each category received a Lincoln Electric 180 Amp Weld-Pak 180 HD MIG Wire Feed Welder.

“We are thrilled that the Metal My Way contest received a record number of entries with nearly 1,600 project submissions over two months,” said Stephen Schober, President and CEO of Metal Supermarkets, the title sponsor of the contest.

“The contest continues to be a fantastic opportunity for talented individuals and businesses to showcase their innovative metal projects. Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who submitted their work for this contest.”

In addition to Metal Supermarkets, the Metal My Way contest was also sponsored by OMAX, a manufacturer of abrasive waterjet systems, and Cosen Saws, one of the world’s leading bandsaw manufacturers.

The annual contest will be held again in 2020.

About Metal

Supermarkets

Metal Supermarkets (MS), known worldwide as The Convenience Stores for Metal, is the world’s largest small-quantity metal supplier with more than 90 brick-and-mortar stores across the US, Canada and United Kingdom.

MS sells a wide variety of metals including aluminum, hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, galvanized steel, tool steel, brass, bronze and copper.

In addition, MS offers value-added services such as production cutting, shearing, punching and more. MS staff are highly-specialized and will help to find the metals needed. As metal experts, MS has been providing quality customer service and products since 1985.

For more information, visit www.metalsupermarkets.com.

About OMAX

OMAX is a global leader in advanced abrasive waterjet systems, making it possible for virtually anyone to go as far as creating high-precision complex 3D parts on their machines.

With everything under one roof, OMAX provides customers with U.S. engineered and manufactured products and a company you can trust. OMAX helps thinkers redefining how concepts become reality.

For more information, visit www.omax.com.

About Cosen Saws

Cosen makes more than 140 models including vertical, horizontal, miter-cutting, NC & CNC automatic and customized bandsaws. Their diverse cutting abilities serve numerous industries such as construction, automobile, transportation, wind power generation and more.

For more information, visit www.cosensaws.com/metalmywayjan2020.