I am launching a new train show that will be at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma, WA February 12th and 13th of 2022. I am serving as the show coordinator and want to get the word out on the street.
Clubs and vendors I want to hear from you. Please contact me and let me know if you are interested in participating.
Railroad Swap Meet & Train Show Saturday & Sunday February 12 & 13, 2022 Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma, WA Saturday 9am – 4pm Sunday 10am – 3pm Admission: $5.00 Children under 12 free with paid adult Lots of free parking, food concession, operating train layouts.
Train Club Info and Vendor Info Set up is Friday from 9am-6pm Saturday set up 7am – 9am 32 Elma/McCleary Road, Elma, WA 98541
Camping Spots available at $20 per night (no Septic) Motels: Stay Beyond, Elma 360-482-6868 Guest House, Montesano 360-249-4429
All of you that were able to see my Zoom layout tour on September 11th will know what this update is all about. I will go over some of the subtle changes that are in and around the Potter Flats/Raade Springs area. Some more scenery was added along the mainline. Trees were planted and Raade Springs was completed. That scene was finally joined in with all the other areas. The last piece of the puzzle is the Dry Gulch access hatch, you may see it hovering up in the air in some of these photos. That access hatch has been a slow work in progress but once completed it will allow the scenery to be finished off in the Dry Gulch peninsula area.
Photo 34 shows what Raade Springs, and the surrounding area looked like prior to adding scenery. I only had a small station placed in the town. The branch line that serviced Raade Springs was never really operational and most of the track was buried in tunnels. This was not good for operational capabilities, so this area was never fully developed. A remedy for the buried track was needed if I was to apply scenery to the entire area. The track to Raade Springs was relocated and now most of the track is no longer in tunnels.
Photo 34
Photo 35 is a nice view looking down the mainline that also serves as a branch line to Raade Springs. Potter Flats is on the left while Raade Springs is toward the right. The large yellow barn-like building on the right is a coal pocket that is accessible via the town of Wapwallopen on the branch line. A nice stand of trees has been planted to act as a view block.
Photo 35
Photo 36 Raade Springs is a small hamlet served by the branch line. It has two mining operations. The Cantby mine and the Higotta mine are both located on one side of the town. The Higotta mine ore bin is placed on the combination branch line and siding. This siding leads directly into Dry Gulch through a short tunnel just out of the picture by the ore bin. This becomes a dual-purpose track for either branch line or siding use during operating sessions.
Photo 36
Since Raade Springs is placed on a very narrow strip of real estate I cantilevered three structures so that they hang off a short cliff. This allowed me to place the buildings in front of a small road. The rest of the area was built up and many wooden retaining walls are placed in the area. This gives the location a mining town charm. You can see the main support for the Dry Gulch access hatch just above the ore bin.
Photo 37 Here you can see how small an area Raade Springs occupies. To the right is Higotta mine and its ore bin. In the photo at the top right is Cantby mine. To the left of A. Oster supplies is the vertical support for the Dry Gulch access hatch.
Photo 37
Photo 38 Cantby mine is next to Higotta mine and features a forest the was logged off years ago to supply wood for the mine. Opportunistic trees have taken over where the forest was cleared.
Photo 38
Photo 39 Give a clear view of Higotta mine with Cantby mine in the background. You can also see the many wooden retaining walls placed in the area. Floating in the top left portion of the photo is the Dry Gulch access hatch! This hatch gives me complete access to Potter Flats, Raade Springs, a good portion of Wapwallopen, and the backside of Dry Gulch.
Photo 39
Photo 40 shows the other side of Higotta mine. The little green building in the center bottom of the photo is Woody’s Gun shop named in memory of Woody Matthews, longtime member of the 4D. That covers this area of the layout.
Photo 40
Next time we will finally have a look at Dry Gulch and all the changes that have occurred over the past few months. This entire area of the layout has been akin to assembling a large puzzle. There have been many “mini” scenes needing to be tied together. The last piece of the puzzle is Dry Gulch and its scenery. Most of Dry Gulch’s scenery had to be put on hold till all the other scenery was in place.
The Northern Pacific steam engine number 924 is operating next weekend the 6th and 7th of November 2021. https://trainmuseum.org/ This will be the engine’s first time operating since the boiler certification was fully approved, and pulling a passenger train. This is an excellent opportunity for steam rail-fanning.
The train leaves North Bend station Saturday and Sunday at 10:30, 12:30, and 2:30. Station stops in Snoqualmie depart at 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00. Trains usually arrive 10 minutes before departure. Switching the passenger train will be at the “Train Shed” museum on Stone Quarry Road, between 8:30 and 10:00am. ( There’s free parking there, too. ) If it’s as cold out as it was yesterday morning, when you could see your breath all morning, the steam and exhaust pictures should be dramatic.
The best places I’ve found for action shots would be along-side Hwy 202 between Snoqualmie and the traffic circle ( near the Hwy 18 intersection ), or at the highway crossing on W North Bend Way, east of the Casino. The truss bridge over the river ought to be good, too, but I haven’t scoped out a location there. It would be best to snap the westbound train, so smoke is going the “correct” way ( not backing up ). Of course, audio recording would work either direction.
If you have in mind to ride the train, get your tickets soon. ( You can purchase tickets directly on-line at the museum web site. See link above. Bring your vaccination card, or a copy. ) Regular diesel trains have sold out for the past several weekends, and they expect the steam train will sell out quickly. Seating in the open-door baggage compartment of the combine car is popular – unfortunately, it is at the rear of the consist.
Unfortunately, cab rides are pretty much out of the question. Last time the steam engine ran in August, the cab was packed with a 3-person steam engine crew PLUS a 3-person diesel crew “in training” to run the steam engine. It looked almost like one of those little clown cars in the circus. Or the Keystone Cops on their way to “the scene of the crime”.
If you’re there on Saturday, stop by the Snoqualmie Depot and say Hi. I’ll be the guy doing his George Carlin “Mister Conductor” imitation. “And remember this is Mr. Conductor talking, I know what I’m talking about!” ( Probably the only time. )
The Maple Valley train show was started some twenty years ago by fellow Hi-Railer Henry Holwedell. Henry is long gone now but we like to attend this show in his memory. The show is a small community fundraiser located in a gymnasium, the Gracie Hansen Community Center. There obviously was no show last year due to the COVID and it was uncertain if there would be one this year. I was fearful that if there were no show this year it may be too difficult to resurrect further downstream. Not to worry though, the show went ahead.
The show consisted of eight layouts; two group O gauge layouts, the Hi-Railer’s and Pierce County Lionel group; a Marklin HO group; a live steam group; a LEGO group and three individual presentations including a suitcase Z gauge display. Set-up on Friday went quite well in spite of access only through one door. We, the Hi-Railer’s, were up and running by 3.30 PM, a record for the location for us.
Saturday morning dawned at 7 AM where we were to do further development to the ex-Sam modules. Sam Hayden passed away three years ago and we managed to retain three of his modules and six of his accessories. Over the last two years we incorporated the accessories into the modules, added wiring, power supplies and button controls on the public side. Now we were to add the 1/43rd scale vehicles and people to add life to the scene. Thanks to the efforts of Ed Pennington, Dan Peters and Gordon Sandell who donated a plethora of material, the scene became alive with still action and a veritable traffic jam of vehicles.
The show opened at 10 AM and immediately a steady stream of people came in, not crowds. Masks were the order of the day and full compliance was observed without any complaint. There were many families with children, all very well behaved. The Sam modules gathered quite a lot of attention which was gratifying. Over the two days some 520 paying visitors came to the show which was considered a success. A typical show there would garner anything from 400 to over 600 over the weekend depending on weather and sports events.
A BIG personal thank you to Jack Klapwyk, Ed Pennington, Dan Peters and Gordon Sandell who did the set up, running both days and the teardown at the end. Without them we could not have participated.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a train show but they are coming back. The Lynden train show was the first out of the blocks, for this area at least on October 2nd and 3rd. The venue is a large modern (nice even floor) agricultural hall and both of our Hi-Rail and HO modular groups attended with layouts. There was more space between layouts and more space between vendors with some usual displays and vendors being absent. All the same, the atmosphere was very nice even though all in attendance, both public, vendors and train groups were required to wear face masks at all times inside the building. All were very compliant which was very gratifying.
The public came in considerable numbers with a sizable contingent of children. Maybe the attendance was down a bit in prior year’s but it is hard to tell with the more open spaces.
I did contact the organizers after the show for their perspective and here’s their response:
“Yes, you are correct, a major event like Covid changes things. Attendance was down some from two years ago when we last had the show, but not horribly and several vendors told us they did very well so it looks like those who did come were in a buying mood. Also some exhibitors dropped out for various reasons, but then we added a couple new ones so it kind of balanced out. Actually it was good for Covid protocols to have the aisles a little wider and a few more open spaces, Glad you guys came and hope to see you next year when the situation is (hopefully) more normal. Cheers. Gordon”
From the Hi-Railer’s perspective the public, both adults and children, kept their hands off the trains and layout, more so than in the past which was gratifying. A considerable number of children spent their day circling the layout keeping pace with their favorite train. I bet they slept well that night. The only downside we had was dealing with the effects of having train modules sit unused for so long and being stored in a trailer summer and winter. As with the prototype railroads, the Hi-Railer’s run our trains on steel tracks and like the prototype the rails rust when not used. Much elbow grease was spent with a Scotchbrite derusting the track. Oh for environmentally controlled storage! Overall the Hi-Railer’s at least had a good showing and a good time. We look forward to the show next year.
The Maple Valley train show started by Henry Holwedell, a local resident and NMRA member, has run continuously for over 20 years, except in 2020. Henry is long gone and we need to keep this show moving if not in his memory. The show is quite small with about 10 layouts located in the Gracie Hansen Center, a gymnasium located in Ravensdale.
Volunteers Needed
The organizer, Steve Hiester has requested us to help and provide 2 or 3 volunteers for the event this year as follows:
Friday 10/15 – Provide security in keeping the public out (usually not a problem) during set up, helping participants find their location on the site map and assisting the one man participants unload their vehicle.
Saturday and Sunday 10/16 & 17 – Maybe collect donations at the door; count the public entering the show; assure public safety that electrical cords etc. remain taped to the floor.
Sunday 10/17 – After closing, provide security in keeping the public out of the building and assist where required in getting the participants and their displays out of the building and loaded in their vehicles.
Please volunteer to help one day; two days or three, every bit helps.
My personal thanks to everybody who provided feedback to the previous article about the “working steam engine” on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, at the Northwest Railway Museum. And especially to those whom I spoke with at the Snoqualmie Railroad Days festival over the weekend. Just my personal opinion, but we cannot have too many working steam engines here in Washington state. As modelers, preserving railroad history is what we do all the time.
Because of a scheduling conflict, there were too many authorized steam crew members on Saturday and not enough on Sunday. So there were no photo run-by’s on Sunday. But the good news is, those extra crew members have made themselves available for continued operation through the fall. Problems with the tender water tank have been fixed, but there is still work needed on the air brake system before Northern Pacific number 924 is certified for passenger train operation.
So, if you missed it this past weekend, you still can see our “working steam engine” in operation this fall. Plans are for the Northwest Railway Museum to continue brake testing, and photo run-by’s, on the first Saturday in October ( October 2nd ) and November ( November 6th ). As always, it’s smart to call the museum first at (425) 888-3030, or check the web site at https://trainmuseum.org.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to run a prototype steam engine, the museum is always looking for volunteers. Steam engine crew members must be certified to run the diesel train first, and then go through additional training on the steam engine. But heck, our grandpa’s and uncles did it, why can’t we? For more information, contact Emily Boersma, Volunteer & Program Coordinator, at Emily@TrainMuseum.org or 425-888-3030 x 7203 or 425-772-8870. You can tell your grand-kids you ran a steam train “back in the day”.
There are still a few of us around, who remember when “locomotive” was synonymous with “steam engine”. Big, noisy, smelly, labor-intensive, and almost alive. A machine with all the working parts on the outside, where you can see and hear them.
We used to be able to see working steam engines in our part of the country. But one by one, they’ve fallen by the wayside. The logging demonstration at the Tacoma zoo – gone. The Royal Hudson passenger excursion to Whistler – gone. The Lake Whatcom line – replaced by a short little speeder ride. The Mt Rainier Scenic excursion line in Elbe – still closed and up for sale ( while their current owner the Durango & Silverton tries to avert bankruptcy ). The Tolt River Railroad ( 2 ft narrow gauge ) at Remlinger Farms – gone. The steam engine at the Chehalis and Centralia Railroad – gone.
All is not lost. There is one last steam engine still running in our area. Starting in 2014, the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie restored Northern Pacific steam engine number 924 to operation. At the same time, they converted it to run on wood instead of coal, so it could continue running while compliant with current environmental regulations.
Even when we’re not in the middle of an epidemic crisis, this piece of living history only operates 3 times a year : on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Snoqualmie Railroad Days.
Snoqualmie Railroad Days, the 140-year-old town’s historic and cultural festival, will be moved from the third weekend in August to the fourth weekend this year, as life starts to return to normal. What does that mean? The number 924 will be in operation this coming weekend! That’s right. Steam engine 924 will be running on August 28th and 29th, 2021.
This is your chance to see a real steam engine running under its own power. It will not be powering the passenger excursion trains ( which are still diesel powered ). But, it will be providing “steam demonstration runs” ( as in, photo run-by’s ) all weekend. Parking is free.
You may have one or more steam locomotives on your layout. Maybe a vintage Lionel tinplate model. Maybe a rare brass import. Maybe a modern model with DCC and a state-of-the-art sound system. Now is your chance to renew the inspiration you had when you got that steam model in the first place.
