George Barrett lived a wonderfully creative and productive life while also devoting much of his personal time to his community and family. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, George earned a BS degree in civil engineering in 1965 and upon graduation went to work for a heavy equipment dealer in Maine. At that time, he also joined the Army National Guard and served his country for seven years, specializing in military equipment operations. George worked selling heavy equipment throughout northern New England for 18 years while enjoying his hobby of building realistic and detailed models in his spare time.

George’s passion for model building resulted in many models which he built in his workshop adjacent to his residence in Cumberland, Maine. His entrepreneurial spirit coupled with his engineering skills eventually resulted in his founding Sheepscot Scale Products and he became well-known around the country for his detailed HO scale kits for model trains, structures, trucks, as well as vessels. Sheepscot Scale Products` kits are still available from Gandy Dancers Hobbies in Belmont, NH, and through its retailers. Besides building kits for the retail market, George built custom models and layouts for Hollywood and individual homeowners, too. He also worked with others to develop a Christmas village scene at the L.L.Bean store in Freeport.

For his personal pleasure, George built a large HO scale model railroad layout in his home`s basement and he often talked about the times he spent there with his children and grandchildren. George`s layout was set for the date of July 4, 1956 which created the need (“excuse”) for a Fourth of July parade on the layout where he could display many of his firetrucks and other vehicles The layout had a coastal theme including a rock quarry and lots of heavy construction equipment models, especially cranes, that he had become famous for. Several stone walls he made by stacking individual scale-sized “cut stones.”

George donated substantial personal time to several charitable causes. He worked to bring the Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum to Portland in 1993 and was on the Board of Directors of the Boothbay Railway Village for 25 years where he was keenly interested in its spectacular HO scale layout. The layout shows typical mid-20th century Maine cities and towns and is located in a replica of a Maine Central standard freight house. George donated several custom made models and features to the layout, too, including a model of the Freeport train station, an elaborate coal barge on the Portland waterfront, and a quarry representing the Dragon Cement facility in Thomaston, Maine. George built out of etched brass a 2.5 foot model of a crane for this area of the layout. He was part of a small team that included Matt Sharp and Art Fahey that organized the 27th National Narrow Gauge Convention held in Portland, Maine, in 2007. He helped Seacoast Division NMRA members by evaluating their models for the Achievement Program and opened his layout to touring during the inaugural season of the Division`s Maine Model Railroad Tour in 2015.

Model building by no means was his only interest. He was keenly interested in the transportation industry and served for over 15 years as the newsletter editor of the Antique Truck Historical Society Pinetree Chapter. He volunteered at the Owls Head Transportation Museum and the Maine Maritime Museum and he loved cruising on the coast of Maine. George enjoyed performing as well as listening to music and he was very active in his church.

George Barrett touched peoples` lives in many ways and he will always be remembered for his smile and gentle manner. He will be missed.