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Eastside Get-Together on Thursday, Steve Cox of Cascade Rail Supply is Guest Speaker

JJ Johnston

February the 19th, at 7:30pm (this Thursday), the doors will open for this month’s Eastside Get-Together, bringing the joy and happiness of model railroading to those fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend our glorious meeting. This month our presenter will be Steve Cox, owner of Cascade Rail Supply, makers of dimensioned Homasote roadbed. Steve will share prototype roadbed for modeling using a PowerPoint presentation and a large display of his product.

All the usual stuff including coffee and the ever popular selection of calorie-free donuts. Just kidding, we don’t have those (calorie-free donuts). We will have “Model of the Month” competition, things to buy and sell, a large number of VIP guests and great door prizes.

Speaking of door prizes, our Woodinville Inside Gateway Hobby Emporium and owner Steve Depolo, who has donated door prizes for years to our meetings, is offering his in-store 15×15 layout under construction for sale for $750 OBO. No, he’s not going away, he just needs more room for product for us to buy. See you in a couple of days.

For Eastside Get-Together location and other information, see the 4D Clinics page.

Operating Sessions on Tom Enloe’s Pacific Northwestern Railroad

Bob Stafford, Cliff Green

Tom Enloe is inviting anyone interested in operations to contact him to attend an operating session on his HO scale Pacific Northwestern Railroad. The PNW is a standard gauge railroad that fills a 28 ft by 42 ft room. The theme is a railroad operating from a Pacific Ocean seaport across a mountain range connecting with major railroads in the east. The railroad has extensive staging yards representing these connections. The layout has multiple yards, a seaport, large passenger station complex, and a 2% crossing of a mountain grade, all connected with a 400 foot long main line. The PNW connects with the Cherry Valley Railroad, a typical Pacific Northwest logging short line which is still under construction. Operation of the railroad is by timetable and train order.

Operating sessions are typically held on the second Saturday of each month. Sessions can be held with as few as eight operators or as many as sixteen, and twelve to fourteen is optimal.

Please contact Tom to be added to his e-mail list (which is his primary method of coordinating upcoming sessions) and for his street address. Tom can be contacted by e-mail at TomEnloe@aol.com or by phone at 425-788-1291.

Upcoming Events at the Northwest Railway Museum

Peggy Barchi, Marketing/Events Manager

2015 events at the Northwest Railway Museum include:

  • Excursion Season Begins, April 4: All aboard! Visit the Northwest Railway Museum for a unique living history train experience that has been a part of western Washington since 1957.
  • Mother’s Day Weekend, mothers ride free, May 9, 10: Celebrate mom this Mother’s Day with a scenic train excursion through the Cascade foothills. You and your mom will journey to the top of Snoqualmie Falls and enjoy the view of the valley below. The NRM invites mothers to enjoy a free ride aboard our antique train, when accompanied by a paying child – of any age.
  • Father’s Day Train Ride, fathers ride free, June 20, 21: The NRM invites children to treat their dads to a special train excursion aboard the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad this Father’s Day weekend, June 20-21. Fathers ride free when accompanied by their paying children – of any age! Enjoy views of the Cascade foothills, Snoqualmie Falls and the Snoqualmie Valley as you relax aboard the NRM’s antique coaches. Bring the whole family!
  • Day Out With Thomas, July 10, 11, 12, 18, 19: An amazing ride with Thomas the Tank Engine™!
  • Snoqualmie Railroad Days, August 14, 15, 16: The 77th Snoqualmie Railroad Days festival showcases Snoqualmie’s “Trains, Timber, Traditions” on August 14, 15, and 16, 2015! This year step back in time as the 125th anniversary of the historic Snoqualmie Depot is celebrated. Join the fun with a ride on a steam train as the Santa Cruz and Portland Cement locomotive #2 pulls the trains during the Railroad Days festival.
  • Labor Day Steam Train, September 5, 6, 7: The NRM 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 NRM 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.
  • Grandparents Grand Excursion, grandparents ride free, September 12, 13: Celebrate grandma and grandpa on National Grandparent’s Day, September 13! It’s the perfect weekend to take the grands for a ride aboard the NRM’s antique train. On both September 12 and 13, a grandparent rides free when accompanied by a paying grandchild – of any age! Listen to the stories and share the memories of your family members. Enjoy a day together and experience the scenic beauty of the Cascade foothills aboard the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad.
  • Halloween Train, everyone in costume saves $2, October 24, 25, and 31: Gather the family, suit up in your costumes and take part in the fall festivities at the Snoqualmie Depot. See the historic depot in autumn and ride on the Steam Train pulled by the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Co. #2 steam locomotive which was built in 1909. Watch an old-fashioned cider press in action and sip hot apple cider. Ride the Halloween Train October 24, 25 and 31. Halloween Train takes you on a scenic excursion through the Cascade foothills of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley aboard a vintage train. Receive $2 off when dressed in costume. Everyone dressed in full costume will receive a prize.

For general information click on the museum website at http://www.trainmuseum.org, e-mail at info@trainmuseum.org or call the museum at 425-888-3030. I can also be contacted at ext. 7203 or peggy@trainmuseum.org.

More information on Snoqualmie Railroad Days can be found at
http://www.railroaddays.com and additional information on Day Out With Thomas at http://www.thomas.trainmuseum.org.

Eastside Get-Together Clinic Report, January 15, 2015

Ed Liesse, Photos by Ed Liesse

JJ Johnston welcomed everyone to the first Eastside Get-Together for 2015 and, as is his custom, introduced the members of the 4th Division Board of Directors and the MMRs (Master Model Railroaders) in attendance. He then reported that we had collected $772 for our Christmas gift to the church and helped 4 members in need. The church minister also thanked us for our gift and further details of how the gift was utilized.

The announcements included Russ Segner (speaking for David Yadock, PSC show coordinator) and Bob Rorabaugh asking for additional PSC show volunteers (editors note: we had a successful PSC show this year, please see the previous Grab Iron article); Robin Peel mentioned that there were 130 people signed up to attend the upcoming Sn3 Symposium in April but there was room for more; Russ Segner as 4D Superintendent reported he had met with Stu Rogers about the 4D Video Library and will meet with several others to review what’s in stock and what tapes needed to be converted to CD/DVD’s; Russ also mentioned the 4D Board will be considering locations for a Spring Meet, possibly in May and will be looking for a location – Lynnwood, Everett, Mt. Vernon? He’s open to suggestions.

The “Model of the Month” had six entries this time:

Paul Pellegrino had a custom painted N scale Cascades Talgo train painted with original DuPont paint.

Paul Pellegrino Amtrak Cascades

Paul Pellegrino Amtrak Cascades

Paul Pellegrino Amtrak Cascades

Paul Pellegrino Amtrak Cascades

CJ Turner had the second of his buildings of Seattle, the original UPS Store where UPS got its start.

CJ Turner Original UPS Store

CJ Turner Original UPS Store

Mike Donnelley showed powdered rock that could be used for loads or other scenes around the layout.

Mike Donnelley Powdered Rock

Mike Donnelley Powdered Rock

George Chambers brought in an old style tank car built on a flat car modeled in brass (for display only).

George Chambers Brass Tank Car

George Chambers Brass Tank Car

Russ Segner lugged in his On30 module used for talks on Model Railroading at his local library (and also on display at the PSC show at the membership booth).

Russ Segner On30 Module

Russ Segner On30 Module

Sharon Ricketts displayed copies of photos from a book she had read and told a related story – after obtaining the copies from the book’s author she learned that he had lost the original pictures in a flood.

Sharon Ricketts Shows Photos From Book

Sharon Ricketts Shows Photos From Book

Sharon Ricketts Shows Photos From Book

Sharon Ricketts Shows Photos From Book

After our usual short break for refreshments, JJ introduced Dave Kreitler and his presentation of “Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards”.

Dave Kreitler presenting "Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards"

Dave Kreitler presenting “Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards”

Dave Kreitler and his presentation of "Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards"

Dave Kreitler and his presentation of “Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards”

Dave said that his inspiration for trying this technique came from seeing a video of “Coast Line Railroad” modeled by Troels Kirk of Sweden. The natural look of the colors on the layout led him to look further for information on Troels work. He found he was an artist and found several references to his work and his ‘realistic color’ techniques. Several pictures were shown depicting the work of the artist that demonstrated the naturalness of the colors in his paintings. One picture showed the sketch made of a lighthouse scene and then the finished model made from paper.
Dave then went on to identify the materials he used to make paper buildings. The basic materials he used were blank playing cards or blank flash cards, styrene and / or basswood and aluminum foil (roofing). The usual mix of normal modeling tools – X-Acto type knife with new, sharp blades, straight edge for trimming, measuring tools, etc., plus paints (he used acrylics), and adhesives (ACC and transfer tape). Additional tools he found useful were a paper trimmer that uses a knife on a track and a rotary cutting tool commonly used to cut fabric. He also provided sources for card stock.

The process he followed was to: color the paper; cut the wall backing; cut strips; attach strips to walls, assemble the building; add roofing; finish trimming. He showed the various steps though photos and passed around some examples. All of this was being done in N scale.

Dave Kreitler final slide from "Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards"

Dave Kreitler final slide from “Modeling with Paper and Playing Cards”

For more on the work of Troels Kirk, visit his website or Google him. For more information on Dave’s clinic, e-mail him at davek@northbendeng.com for a copy of the PowerPoint presentation.

CJ Turner was (again) the winner of the Model of the Month!

The next Eastside Get-Together will be on February 19. Our guest speaker will be Steve Cox of Cascade Rail Supply and his topic will be everything to do with Homasote roadbed, including many kinds of applications and products in multiple scales. For Eastside Get-Together location and other information, see 4D Clinics page.

Russ Segner Published in Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette

JJ Johnston

Congratulations to our 4th Division Superintendent Russ Segner who was recently published in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette. A recipient of the Golden Grab Iron Service Award in 2013, his featured story is about his Sn3 Coal Creek Lumber Company model railroad. His home layout represents a 1930’s freelance logging and mining branch set in the state of Washington. A major structure based on the prototype Sanger Lumber Company mill is scratch built as is his LRB Mines mineral bunker. His mythical interchange between the Denver & Rio Grande Western and the Coal Creek Lumber Company gives Russ a chance to show off his motive power including Shays, Climaxes, Heislers and some rod locomotives. Finished scenery and great photos by Russ and Dale Kreutzer highlight four pages and promote the upcoming 30th Annual Sn3 Symposium to be held locally in Bellevue from April 16-18. Russ will hold an open house of his railroad during the convention.

A Great Big “Thank You” To The PSC Show Volunteers

David Yadock
Jeff Moorman
Bobj Berger (the PSC Committee)
and Russ Segner (4D Superintendent on behalf of our entire Board)

This year’s Pacific Science Center Model Railroad show was very successful thanks to the many volunteers and all the exhibitors that made the show possible. This show is the premier fundraiser for the 4th Division (PNR, NMRA).

The public was happy to see the trains at the Center for their annual visit and almost 12,000 attended. Yes, the square footage for the model railroad show was a little smaller this year since we had to make way for the Pompeii exhibit but the smiles from all the people attending the show were just as big as in previous shows. As usual, this show is a crowd pleaser.

Here is a listing of all who we have been able to identify as participants at the recent Pacific Science Center Show. Many were there all three days for the full sessions. They ran trains, answered hundreds of questions, re-railed and repaired trains and generally represented the great hobby of model railroading to a very grateful public.

Thank these folks for all their hard work on behalf of our hobby. If you missed out, we will be planning next year’s show very soon. Join one of these fine groups to share your skills and interest – info on most can be found at the 4D Clinics page or the 4D Modules page.

General Volunteers

Don Melnick
Linda & Al Pellegrini
Bob Richard
Seamus Richard
Charles Gerton
Fred Hamilton
Fred Philbrook
Phil Gonzales
Dennis Murphy
Ed Liesse
Rod Olson
Cliff Green
Nathan Green
Michael Posner
Fritz Grant
Alex Grant

Omni-Rail

Dennis Terpstra
Jim Merriam
Marcee Merriam
Walt Scotson
Nolan Deardorf
Paul Pellegrino
Bobby Pellegrino

Northwest Rail Museum (Snoqualmie Museum)

Peggy Barchi
Mark Wilkerson
Dennis Snook
Larry Dalke
David Olix

Northwest Transportation Museum

Al Ramey
Ruth Ramey
Linda Smith
Lawrence Holliday

Operation Lifesaver

Bud Thompson
David Agee

Baby Gramps

Dorë
Baby Gramps
Val Jones

Mike Petrocelli’s Layout

Rod, Zindra, Josiah, Jed, Jaden, Julia, Jeranna Nelson

United Northwest

Keith Lyons
Jim Morgan
David Moses
Jamey Morrison
Gil Hermans
Wally Davis
Charlotte Morgan
Mason Morgan
Keith Lyons
Dave Montgomery
Shawn Newkirk
Tim Finley
Bruce Porter
Adam Phillips
David Phillips

4dNTRAK Group

AL Lowe
Doug Bulger
David Cook
Edwin Hill
Neill Clift
Peter Clift
Mike Donnelly
Scott Marshall
John Marshall
Kent Sullivan
Sean Sullivan

T-TRAK

Mateo Kuo
Malcolm Kuo
Steve Kuo
Jennette Kuo

wTrak

Annette Shephenson
Tom Stephenson
Emily Korson
Marra Holmes
Debra Limon
Kim Tepe
Steven McKay
Kelley Heavey
Dwight Vantuyl

Build-A-Dream

Walt Huston
Jack Hamilton
Bill Hupe
Steve Hauff
Gil Hermans

NMRA table

Bob Rorabaugh
Russ Segner
Rick Jillard
Robin Peel
Wendy Yadock

HO modular

Rob Staples
Thomas Johnson
Dave Ellis
Tom Barrett
Larry Sloan
Ross Tabor
Joel Scott
Norm Curtis
Paul Fischer
Mike Laughlin
Judy Laughlin
Donn Yeo
John Johnson
Alex Brikoff
Tina Brikoff
James Monroe
Nicholas Arnold
Peter Gulick

Playmobile

Quin Jones
Shauna Jones
Burton Jones

Hi-Rail

Sam Hayden
Ed Ives
Wayne Grinnell
Woody Matthews
Marc Sachnoff
Ed Pennington
Ray Francis
Cindy Francis

Committee folks

David Yadock
Jeff Moorman
BobJ Berger

A special thanks to Al Turnbull who was able to attend and display his Cascades & Western layout.

Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinic January Meeting, Weathering Techniques for Buildings

Article and Photos by Rich Thom

Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 27 members and one new attendee, John Ballay of Coupeville (who we hope will become one of our regulars) to the January program: “Weathering Techniques for Buildings”. Rich reviewed the calendar of upcoming events in the PNR and reminded everyone that, as the new year has arrived, it was a good time to renew NMRA memberships. There being no old or new business, things moved directly into the program.

All had been encouraged to bring a weathered (or possibly not) building to share. Modelers responded by bringing more than two dozen structures in all scales from “N” to “F”, so there were plenty of examples to discuss. Space limitations prevent showing all of them in this report.

Various buildings brought to the clinic for discussion

Fig 1 – Various buildings brought to the clinic for discussion.

Several members described their buildings and construction and weathering methods: Rich Blake, Jack Tingstad, Dick Haines, Terry Kandzor, Susan Gonzales, Al Frasch, Tom Hawkins, John Marshall, and John White. Some common techniques include:

  • Use real life: photographs, field trip sketches and notes, internet resources
  • Weather wood with razor saw or Micromark “stresser” to create grain
  • Stain wood with water or alcohol-based washes made from acrylics, india ink, or leather dyes, or use commercially available stains from Micromark, Builders-in-Scale and others
  • Focus on irregularity and repairs: for wood structures built board-by-board, stain boards individually, varying the intensity; put a few new, unpainted boards in an old planked wall; add boarded-up doors and windows, broken trim etc.
  • Use chalks for final weathering: Bragdon powders (which contain a binder and need not be fixed in place), Doc O’Brien’s, artists’ chalks from Michael’s
  • Instead of chalks apply dry pigments, available from art supply sources e.g. Dick Blick
  • Don’t forget roofs: missing shingles, rusted corrugated iron, moss, leaves, foliage
Jack Tingstad’s abandoned mine.

Fig 2 – Jack Tingstad’s abandoned mine, a scratch foreground model built board-by-board; note individually stained boards.

During his remarks, Jack Tingstad passed around copies of the Judges’ Score Sheet for NMRA Model Contests to make the point that weathering can make or break a model earning an achievement award or winning a contest. Of the five qualities of a model that are judged, the fourth, “Finish and Lettering”, which includes weathering and how it was achieved, can earn a maximum of 25 points (out of 125 total possible), which is more than Detail (20 points) or Scratchbuilding (15 points).

Tom Hawkins’ Builder’s Supply

Fig 3 – Tom Hawkins’ Builder’s Supply, another scratch foreground building constructed of pre-stained stripwood.

Terry Kandzor describes his scratch-built yard office/interlocking tower

Fig 4 – Terry Kandzor describes his scratch-built yard office/interlocking tower, featuring a boarded-up door for former stairway, broken trim under eaves, and other “needs repair” details.

Some less common methods:

  • Weathering boards: stain or paint as usual, apply turpentine, paint the board before it dries with acrylics, then apply tape and pull it off; when it works (it didn’t tonight!) the resulting worn paint appearance is great (Rich Blake)
  • Peeling paint: apply Grumbacher “Miskit” Liquid Frisket over first layer of paint in patches where you want the peeled paint effect; apply second coat of paint; then use an artist’s gum eraser to rub off the top layer and masking material (Jack Tingstad)
  • “Chalk Slag”: when weathering a building with chalks, place a large clean sheet of paper underneath the model to collect the residue; the co-mingling of colors creates a great weathering powder for general use (Dick Haines)
  • Water staining (literally!): drip small amounts of water, possibly with pigments added, vertically down sides of buildings, on roofs etc. (take care with paper-based or wood structures!) (Dick Haines)
Dick Haines’ well-weathered city block

Fig 5 – Dick Haines’ city block, a well-weathered hydrocal kit.

Susan Gonzales' city block

Fig 6 – Susan Gonzales’ city block, the same kit as Dick Haines’; her rendering includes peeled paint exposing bricks underneath and other fine weathering techniques.

Finally, for those who like to let natural processes do the work for them, Tom Hawkins reminded everyone that just leaving a building on the layout for a few years is very effective. (We assume he wasn’t kidding.) Or as John Marshall suggested, build a garden railway. John brought two 1:20.3 buildings from his Coupeville railroad. One, a German plastic model, has been outside for 20 years and looked it. The second, of wood, is brought indoors over the winter but, protected by wood preservative, is outdoors the rest of the year, and was convincingly weathered, too. Whatever works!

Thanks to all participants, and Event Coordinators Rich Blake and Susan Gonzales, for a great clinic on improving the appearance and realism of our structures.

PSC Model Railroad Show Today through Monday, Welcome to New Members

Cliff Green, Grab Iron Editor

If you haven’t made plans to attend the Pacific Science Center Model Railroad show here in Seattle, now’s the time! As noted on the 4th Division PSC web page, the show is Saturday January 17 (today) through Monday January 19 (MLK weekend).

I also want to extend a welcome to the new 4th Division members (or those that have renewed their NMRA membership). I add new members to the Grab Iron e-mail distribution list on a monthly basis. Please e-mail me at cliffg@codewrangler.net if you would like to be removed from the Grab Iron distribution list, or have feedback you’d like to make.

There are many helpful clinics and members across the 4th Division (which includes Alaska). I encourage everyone to take advantage of the skill sharing and fellowship available (it’s the main reason I belong to the NMRA). More information can be found on the 4D Clinics Page.

Dave Kreitler To Speak At Eastside Get-Together

JJ Johnston

Dave Kreitler Speaks

Yes, you’re hearing it here and it’s big news. The Eastside Get-Together has once again pulled off an amazing feat of obtaining one of the world’s greatest modelers to present at our monthly meeting on Thursday, January 15th at 7:30 pm. We are expecting standing room only (SRO) so come early to get a seat and a donut. We have absolutely no idea what Dave is going to present although based on his international reputation, it will be informative, motivating, electrifying plus there will be great handouts. It has been quoted “Nobody does it like Dave!” Please cancel any other meetings and attend this once in a lifetime opportunity to hear Dave speak.

Plus we’ll have all the usual stuff like “Model of the Month”, door prizes, stuff to buy or sell, free coffee and donuts with donations. Of course we’re having fun with Dave’s introduction, but you seriously don’t want to miss his clinic as he always delivers something special. Happy New Year.

Ralph Oxhandler Passes

Nathan Oxhandler

Ralph Oxhandler (my father) passed away on Jan 6, 2015. He was a 4th Division member in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

Ralph performed publicity functions for the 1972 Seattle NMRA Convention under the name “P. C. Shay”. He also performed publicity for the 1973 Atlanta Convention under the name “The General”.

He attended most of the clinics at Loyal Heights Field House and the Burien Hobby Center. During his time in the Pacific Northwest Region (PNR) of the NMRA he modeled primarily in HO scale but also worked in N, Z and Large Scale. Shay’s were his big thing, having bought one of the first two truck models that Pacific Fast Mail (PFM) imported and was the first to buy the Pacific Coast Shay when they were released. He enjoyed going to the Cass Scenic Railroad many times over the years.

Ralph joined the NMRA while we lived in the Baltimore, MD area with a date of January 1952 and over the years was a member of the PNR, PSR, SSR, LSR, and MER regions.

No services are planned. If people wish they may make a donation to the NMRA in his name. E-mail can be sent to me at nathan@gvtc.com.