Linn Hanson Westcott  '31  was born July 13, 1913 In Los Angeles, California to Linnaeus Hunt and Regina (Hanson) Westcott.  His father died when Linn was five years old.

He attended Carleton College in Minnesota and married Harriet Kron in 1939 and had three children; Paul Arthur, Russell Linn, and Jane Westcott.

For over 46 years, Linn Westcott contributed to the hobby of model railroading.  He began in 1934 and contributed over 100 feature articles, many track plans and drawings, photographs and nearly 200 editorials.  Many of these were during his tenure of 16 years as the influential editor of the magazine, Model Railroader.  He also published eight short books and two booklets which sold more than two million copies total.

Westcott's "L-girder" technique of building strong and lightweight benchwork to support layouts is widely followed in the United States today, largely because of its flexibility and economy, as is his "hardshell" method of building landscapes.  Linn also pioneered a scenery finishing technique known as "zip texturing".

In 1996 Linn H. Westcott was given the honor of being elected to the "Pioneers of Model Railroading".