Author: Al Turnbull

By Burr Stewart

This Saturday, August 22, 10:00am to noon, will feature another pair of local area layout tours on Zoom, sponsored by the NMRA’s PNR 4th Division. The first is a tour of Al Lowe’s N scale modules, set up in his garage, featuring some amazing N scale scenery craftsmanship. The second is Greg Wright’s 1:32 (3/8” scale on HO track) north central Washington freelanced Consolidated Republic Mining Company layout, by looking closely a the six mines and two mills served by this unique model railroad, that he scratch built.  After each 30 minute presentation there will be 15 minutes for Q&A. Here is the Zoom information you need to watch it:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87624697618?pwd=dnF6L3Y4L2QyTHhHWVZpL1ZmTHI4Zz09

Meeting ID: 876 2469 7618
Passcode: 272952

Announcing the Eastside Virtual Get Together Clinic to be held on THURSDAY, August 20, 2020 at 7:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time

Hello, everyone!  I’m happy to announce our next Eastside Clinic will be held virtually on ZOOM next Thursday, 08/20, starting at 7:00 PM (We have switched back to Thursdays by popular demand!).  Since our clinics are virtual these days, I would like to extend an invitation to the entire 4^th Division and encourage you to join our Clinic next Thursday.  You’ll meet some of the other modelers here in the Puget Sound area and see some of the outstanding model work that is being done.  The log in info for the clinic is below.  So be sure and save the date for the August Eastside Clinic next Thursday, 08/20 at 7 PM!

Topic: August Eastside Clinic Zoom Meeting

Time: Aug 20, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86859299442?pwd=YVJ3SU8xV2h2MUtwZ0NzNU53WjJLdz09

Meeting ID: 868 5929 9442
Passcode: 909838

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Meeting ID: 868 5929 9442
Passcode: 909838

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdkPF48Ufd

Our virtual Clinic this month is titled “Scenery- Making It Work for You and Your Layout” and will be presented by David Yadock.  David is a very talented local MMR modeler.  The clinic will examine scenery planning and execution specifically on David’s Dry Gulch & Western Railroad.  It will look at scenery base materials and some various techniques used to create realistic scenes that can be applied to your layout.  There will be information for the novice to the expert model railroader.

After the Clinic, we will have some time for other folks to show off their latest model work in our “Show and Brag” segment.  The Clinic will wrap up with some administrative comments.

Alex Brikoff, 08/14/2020    

by Burr Stewart

The next 4DPNR Virtual Layout Tour will be shown immediately following the bi-monthly board meeting this coming Saturday morning, August 8.
The Board meeting will start at 10:00am, and the layout tour will follow it, at approximately 11am.
All members are welcome to observe the board meeting.
This week’s layout tour will be Greg Price’s HO Matheson & Western RR. His freelanced railroad is based in the Northwest. It’s 1953 and Greg will take you on a ride on the morning freight thru the cities and towns he has created. You’ll travel along the waterfront in Port Farley, then thru Stephenson, a small farming community. Then the big climb begins into the mountains. Great vistas with many bridges will highlight the climb to Cloverdale. Home to many businesses, including Diamond Brewing. Continuing the climb you’ll pass thru the mining town of Doyle before entering the city of Matheson.
It’ll be a great trip! 

To join this meeting, here is the Zoom info:
Topic: 4D PNR Board mtg & Greg Price layout tour

Time: Aug 8, 2020 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83009972278?pwd=NnMzUWlQSGgyUXJnRnNkUWRwVlp4Zz09

Meeting ID: 830 0997 2278
Passcode: 486837

Be sure to check out the latest offerings.

This Saturday, July 25, 10:00am to noon, will feature another pair of local area layout tours on Zoom, sponsored by the NMRA’s PNR 4th Division. The first is a tour of Russ Segner’s Sn3 layout, looking at 9 specific scenes that he has created and detailed around his layout. The second is Ray Wheeler’s outdoor Fn3 layout with a bunch of eye-level footage taken with GoPro cameras mounted on tripods. After each 30 minute presentation there will be 15 minutes for Q&A. Here is the Zoom information you need to watch it:

Topic: 4D PNR Layout Tours

Time: Jul 25, 2020 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89761792543?pwd=MXg5dDQwcE1raEN1eDNVelRoNlRvQT09

Meeting ID: 897 6179 2543

Passcode: 872682

By Roy Cutler

It’s with deep regret that I am reporting the death of my good friend and railroad buddy, Doug Walters.

Doug and I had over 30 years of fun and fellowship together, as we shared many of the same interests and much time together. In all that time together, I don’t think Doug ever met a person that he didn’t like. I never once heard him say a bad word about anyone.  

Doug had numerous friends in the model railroad community and participated as an operator and advisor on many layouts throughout the Puget Sound. But the layout that he was most influential on is the Olympic Northern, in my basement.

The ONRR is truly as much Doug’s layout as mine. Not only did he develop the operating system, but he worked hard to make every op session enjoyable for the participants. He was always concerned about the “play value” that each operator would experience and took copious notes during op sessions so that he could increase the “play value” per session for next time. 

When Doug was diagnosed with glioblastoma, he told doctors not to tell him how long they thought he had, as he preferred to live each day to the fullest. That really exemplified the Doug I knew; always getting the most out of every experience. 

I definitely miss my close friend, Doug, and I know that many others, that knew him, miss him as much as I do. Just a few weeks ago, Doug committed his life to the Lord, Jesus Christ, so I know that I will see him again. And what a happy reunion that will be! Until then may the glory of the Lord shine upon you and our friend Doug. 

By David Yadock

Dry Gulch & Western – A Photo Series Part 4

Continuing along with this series about the Dry Gulch & Western I’ll explain one of the scenery techniques I used for the layout.  I decided early on to use some “old school” techniques.  Due to the size of the layout and various cost considerations I used the tried and true method of chicken wire and plaster.  I started with a rough frame using dimensional pine boards.  That created the contours of the mountains.  I then covered the wood framework with chicken wire to further form the shapes of the mountains.  After that was done, I draped plaster-soaked Crown C-fold paper towels to the wire.  Some of that work was difficult to accomplish since many of the mountains are very vertical.  Once that plasterwork was done, I added more plaster to cover the paper towels.  This added more strength and texture to the mountains.  The plaster I used was standard Hydrocal plaster.  The one issue I encountered was that it is very quick drying and would usually set within about 20 minutes.  So, the plaster work had to be done in small batches.  I would speed up the entire process by using multiple aluminum turkey roasting pans to mix the small batches of plaster.  These are inexpensive and very flexible.  The flexibility of the pan allowed for easy cleaning.  They were also large enough to allow the paper towels to be dipped into the thin plaster.  I used around 8 pans at a time and by the time I got to using the 8th pan the plaster in the first pan was completely dry and could be cleaned out just by flexing the sides of the pan.  I could usually do about 15-20 batches in an evening!  By the way, there was around 900 pounds of plaster used for the mountains.  Now, lets see some more of the layout.

Photo 16 gives you a view of the aisle that you just walked down in the previous photo set.  Allentown is on the right of the aisle and Newport is on the left.  This photo gives a really nice shot of the Newport yard and the shipping basin tracks.  It also shows the small control panel for Allentown on the right.

Photo 17 shows the small wooded bridge on the way to Gornitzka Crossing.  It is a Campbell kit.  At Gornitzka Crossing you will find a sawmill operation (only the log off-loading and finished lumber loading areas are on the layout), a stockyard, and a meat processing plant.  As mentioned earlier in this series there is a bi-level station fashioned after John Allen’s station at Corsa/Cross Junction.  My station copies the same station naming idea by having the lower station named Gornitzka Crossing and the upper part of the station named Hunter’s Glen.  The blue building in the photo is Scole’s Hideout, a speakeasy of sorts.  The tall timber trees in the center of the photo are constructed using Jack Work’s method of making trees.  Each tree takes about 2 hours to construct.  To the right of those trees is the Ellison main yard.  The hill and forest functions as a view block.

Photo 18 shows a more expansive view of Gornitzka Crossing.  Some of the scenery in this area was originally on Paul Scole’s layout.  I was able to salvage some of it and place it on my layout.  That was very challenging.  The tracks on the left are the mainline to the town of Dry Gulch.  The wooden tunnel portal on the left allows a narrow-gauge line to join up with the standard gauge mainline.

Photo 19 gives a better view of the narrow-gauge tunnel portal and the mountainous scenery to come.  Yes, the mountain on the left is another view block.  If you look closely you will be able to see the town of Alpine at the top of the photo.

Photo 20 gives a more panorama view of the overall scene.  We are almost ready to enter Dry Gulch; it is on the bottom left out of view.  This photo shows yet another forest of tall timber trees.  You can also see a hint of one of my largest bridges in the distance on the extreme left.  The mountain in this photo completely hides the town of Alpine that resides against the upper back wall of the layout.

Next time we will enter Dry Gulch, the namesake town of the layout.  There will be even more views of the mountains and some of the many bridges that traverse them.

Announcing the Eastside Virtual Get Together Clinic to be held on THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 at 7:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time

Hello, everyone! 

Yes, the Eastside Get Together Clinic is alive and well during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.  Although for the time being (and that may be a while), the Eastside Clinic has become the Eastside Virtual Get Together Clinic.  Our next virtual Clinic will be held using ZOOM next Thursday, 07/16, (We have switched back to Thursdays by popular demand!).  One of the benefits of virtual clinics and meetings is that the barriers of geographic distances (and traffic woes) are removed.  All you need is a computer and an internet connection!  So I would like to extend an invitation to the entire 4^th Division and encourage you to join our Clinic next Thursday, meet some of the modelers here in the area and see some of the outstanding model work that is being done in this area.  The log in info for the clinic will be published in the Grab Iron a couple of days before.  So be sure and keep an eye out for the log in announcement in the Grab Iron.

Our virtual Clinic this month is titled “Modeling Lighting on a Modern Era Layout” and will be presented by Larry Sloan.  Larry is a very talented local modeler that is in the early stages of building a new layout.  He will talk about products and the techniques that he has used for layout lighting, building and street lighting.

The Zoom meeting will open 30 minutes in advance of the meeting for folks to visit.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88155574617?pwd=Rm01a1RhaGNralJnWWVZcVkvbmRDZz09
Meeting ID: 881 5557 4617
Password: 831769

After the Clinic, we will have some time for other folks to show off their latest model work in our “Show and Brag” segment.  The Clinic will wrap up with some administrative comments and quick announcement  about our future virtual Clinics. 

Alex Brikoff, 07/10/2020    

With the current issues with a virus running around and so many affected, the hackers and scammers come out in force.

I received a note supposedly from one of our officers asking for Gift Cards to support our health care workers and first responders.

I also have received notices from other groups and NMRA regions that they have been seeing requests going out from their group. Watch out for these.

Keep your (computer) antivirus up to date and use caution with any suspicious email.

Be careful and stay safe.

Hoping we can get back to having activities soon,
Al Turnbull

There will be a Tacoma/Puyallup area Model Railroad tour on
Saturday and Sunday April 18 & 19, 2020, from 9:00am – 4:00pm.
There will be multiple layouts which will be open to Model Railroad fans. Some will be open Saturday only, others on Sunday only.

Maps to, and descriptions of, each of the layouts will be available starting at 8:00 am on the 18th, at Rob’s Trains and Hobbies. He will be opening his store early and will be offering a 10% discount to those requesting a tour map.

This is a great opportunity to see some excellent modeling in all stages of completion, and save on your hobby needs!

Rob’s Trains and Hobbies
5423 South Tacoma Way
Tacoma, WA 98409
253-472-7732