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The 4th Division was well represented with several of our members presenting clinics. The Annual PNR membership meeting was very well attended and many of our members plan to attend next year’s PNR convention at Salmon Arm.
The following are just some of the comments of our local membership who attended:
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The 2015-2016 4th Division (PNR, NMRA) model railroading season is under way and I anticipate another good year of clinics, train shows, layout tours, meets, and conventions. If you haven’t attended one of the many excellent clinics in this Division I highly recommend them – the presenters are skilled modelers and most of the clinics have at least one (if not more) MMR (Master Model Railroader) attending. More information on 4D clinics is available here.
Every month I add new (or re-newed) 4D members to the Grab Iron subscriber list. If you are seeing a Grab Iron post (or e-mail notification) for the first time: Welcome!
The September 2015 Westside Clinic is Tuesday the 8th (today).
Last month’s clinic was interesting. We had only five 4th Division modelers. Jack Hamilton pulled a clinic out of his back pocket and put it back in for presentation.
Jack took over the meeting and updated us on what was going on in the PNR and NMRA. He encouraged us to attend the PNR and NMRA membership meetings. He talked about several NMRA initiatives: partnering with Scenic Railroads to provide NMRA members discounts; hobby shops giving NMRA members discounts; and changing the way manufactures can certify their products in compliance with NMRA Standards. He also touched briefly on Revisions to the NMRA By-Laws and Executive Handbook.
Editors note: Welcome to the seventh article of a series on narrow gauge by Syd Schofield. The previous article is available by clicking here, or by filtering with the category “Narrow Gauge”. Syd welcomes discussions and feedback, which can be made by clicking on the comment link at the bottom of the post.
Well into the Machine Age, when cast iron foundries and machine shops were as common as weaving mills and breweries, the narrow gauge locomotives had many folks involved in their creation and development. The wheel arrangements were many and varied, not so much for pulling power and speed as for the capability of the rail and support systems. The smallest possible wheel arrangement (prior to the imaginary Smokey Stover Fire Chief car or the modern gyro-stabilized Segway) was the 0-4-0 and the 2-2-2, the middle number(s) being the number of driving wheels, capable of pulling only minimal consists (in the later years the 2-2-2 served as the power plant configuration for VIP and inspection cars) lightly rolling on small rail and primitive roadbed. The largest was the 2-8-2 and the 2-6-6-2 that required significant infrastructure but could pull dozens of car consists.
Our antique Steam Train makes a special Holiday Run on September 5th, 6th, & 7th.
The Northwest Railway Museum pays tribute to America’s workers this Labor Day with a special weekday steam train run of the Museum’s antique train on Monday, September 7th. This is in addition to the railroad’s usual weekend steam train schedule. The Northwest Railway Museum offers scenic train excursions through the Cascade foothills of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley, including a ride past the top of Snoqualmie Falls and a splendid view of the valley below.
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We will be getting the 2015 – 2016 SV&W clinic season going with a discussion of a real railroad, the DuPont Dynamite Narrow Gauge Railway, named as such because it hauled … wait for it … dynamite! Russ Segner, our 4th Division Superintendent, will come up to Oak Harbor to discuss the railway and how one could use it as a prototype for a model railroad layout. Should be very enlightening!
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4DPNR Superintendent Russ Segner presented MMR Certificate #562 at Chuck’s recent layout open house in Olympia. Congratulations, Chuck!
Chuck’s railroad is the Sherwood, Shelton, & Sarazen Railway set in the early 1900’s on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. It occupies two downstairs rooms (11 X 20 ft. and 13.5 X 13.5 ft.) with staging in the Operators Lounge and Dispatch Office. Read More
I have many magazines that need a new home. Some are boxed by years, but many are loose. I’m happy to give these away to interested individuals but they would also be good for distributing to visitors at train shows and events. The magazines include Lionel, Model Builder, Model Railroader (from early 40’s), some miscellaneous foreign magazines, Live Steam, and Garden Railways.
Contact me at jreid61@gmail.com.
Editors note: Welcome to the sixth article of a series on narrow gauge by Syd Schofield. The previous article is available by clicking here, or by filtering with the category “Narrow Gauge”. Syd welcomes discussions and feedback, which can be made by clicking on the comment link at the bottom of the post.
Most of the narrow gauge railroads were driven by the advantages of scale. The ability to negotiate tighter curves, smaller tunnels and bridges, narrower roadbed preparation and shorter ties were the chief advantages for narrow gauge lines over standard gauge railroads and became the chief reasons for being. The disadvantages of the accompanying smaller equipment were compensated by longer trains and more frequent service. However, in some remote regions, sparsely populated by industries and humanity, the cheaper infrastructure became the sole advantage as volumes to be transported were thin.
The next 4th Division Board of Directors meeting is Saturday August 15th, 11:30 am, at Mitzel’s in Kent, Washington. As always, all 4D members are invited to attend.