You are browsing archives for
I was reviewing the offerings at the 2014 Bay Area Maker Faire and came across this little jewel. They appear to be limited to trolleys and small electric locos from California. Who knows, they may expand or may be able to offer custom one-offs in the future: Grizzly Peak Model Trains, 3d Printed N-Scale Model Electric Trains, http://grizzlypeakmodeltrains.com/, http://makerfaire.com/makers/grizzly-peak-3d-printed-model-trains/.
It is with great sadness that we must announce the passing of Jim FitzGerald, an early pioneer, President and newsletter editor of NTRAK.
For 40 years, Jim FitzGerald ensured that every other month, NTRAK members received their newsletter with updates on Ntrak standards, activities, events and organizational notices as well as news and information about N scale in general. For many years, Jim FitzGerald was a coordinator for the NTRAK layout at the National Train Show, the public event of the NMRA national convention and that is how many people had a chance to meet him, face-to-face. Jim worked with his wife Lee to help get T-Trak going as an alternative modular standard and today T-Trak continues to grow and thrive as it is used at shows as well as for home layouts.
When Jim first started with NTRAK, N scale was in its infancy and a very small part of model railroading. It was through NTRAK layouts that model railroading and specifically N scale was introduced to the public at shopping malls, hospital and museum shows as well as at train shows. It was NTRAK that took model railroading from the private basement to the pubic venue and it was Jim FitzGerald who helped guide, organize, publicize and encourage the NTRAK clubs that sprung up across the country.
Jim will be sorely missed by all.
There will be a meeting of the 4D Board of Directors on Saturday, April 20th, 1:00 at Mitzel’s in Kent, WA. If you have any items you would like to have added to the agenda, please email either me or Jean Melvin before next Wednesday, April 17.
This is also the 4D’s annual budget meeting, so if you have any items you would like to have discussed for the budget, please let us know.
Note: this is a change from the originally planned date of April 27.
Note repaired email links. Doug.
Just a reminder, all candidate statements from anyone who wants to nominate themselves for the 4D Board need to have such statements in to Nominations Chair, Ed Liesse (eeliesse@aol.com) by this Saturday, March 30. We hope to have the ballots in the mail by the end of next week.
As a reminder, there are three positions open: the Assistant Superintendent and two Directors. With the passing of the new bylaws and policy manual last year, we no longer vote for Directors in individual positions. The top two vote getters will be the winners.
Here is a smattering of the fine work presented by the members of the 4th Division at the Spring Meet.
[nggallery id=8]
I did not have enough time to get to all the layouts but here’s an example of what the members of the 4th Division offered. Those who did not make the layout tours missed a great show.
[nggallery id=7]
Here are a few photos from the drop dead gorgeous dioramas seen in the contest room.
Three select images from the Lone Pine and Tonopah Railroad.
Three select images from the Yosemite Valley Railroad by Jack Burgess.
To the Grab Iron’s readers:
The Grab Iron is only as good as the articles submitted for publication. The Grab Iron needs to know about events in a timely manner, with an article and/or images. Time-sensitive events should be published at least a month early so folks can plan.
Please let us know if there are news-worthy happenings in the railroad industry, prototypes, model railroading, etc., by submitting an article to 4dpnr@allowe.com. If we don’t get an article, we can’t publish the news.
The bits of news we hear about, we publish. But with no paid reporter position, we depend on you the members of the PNR 4th Division to help us gather and disseminate the news. Our contact information is on the 4D website.
I am working on a feature for the blog that will allow us to create a “month-in-review” PDF file that anyone could download and print, but it has been problematic at best. If you can help on this effort, please contact us!