Author: Jeff Moorman

By Jeff Moorman

Next Clinic:

Our next clinic will be this Thursday, May 7. Our clinician will be Dave Honan, a Civil Railroad Engineer. You may remember Dave from last year when he came to talk about some of the 12 inch to the foot railroad projects he had worked on.

This time it will be a two-part presentation. The first will take a look at the Steam Program at the Northwest Railway Museum, featuring operations with SCPC No. 2 and also the early restoration work on NP 924.

The second part will be a short multimedia show on urban rail transit.

We also intend to do a short preview of the June tour (see below).

The church continues its remodeling effort. We will not know what room we will be in until after this is posted. So, just come in the main door and we’ll have someone direct you.

Prior Clinic:

Last month we showed the first cut video of Dr. Scott Campbell’s layout, done by none other than Scott himself. The home and layout have since been sold and Scott has moved away, but it was a real treat for those who had previously seen it in person.

Scott called his railroad “The Great Burlington Northern” and it was full of scenes of the Pacific Northwest. Many of the places were instantly recognizable and some represented places related to Scott’s life. Almost everything on the layout had a story and hearing Scott relate those stories was very interesting.

Only Michael P brought a completed name tag to the last meeting. For those who picked up a name tag blank at either of the last two meetings, don’t forget to wear it and show everyone what a marvelous job of decorating you did.

A Few Words About the June Clinic:

Thanks to the efforts of Bobj Berger we will not have a regular clinic in June. Instead we will participate in a North End Train Room Tour. We will have the opportunity to see four locations, none of which have ever been open to the public before. And two of these will likely never be open again, since they are for sale.

Here is how it will work. We’ll provide you the address of the first stop (either at the next clinic meeting or via a later Grab Iron blurb). Once there, we’ll provide the addresses to the other three locations. All locations are in the Edmonds / Lake Forest Park area.

The start time is 7:00PM on June 4. Carpooling is highly encouraged, since these are all residences without special parking facilities. And hopefully, if we do not run over any lawns or irritate too many neighbors, we’ll get future opportunities to visit more of these never-before-seen train rooms.

Oh, and if you see Bobj, don’t forget to thank him for setting this all up.

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. From the parking lot go up the steps to the main entrance.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is May 7. The last meeting of the clinic year will be a specially arranged North End Train Room Tour on June 4. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

Next Clinic:

Our next clinic meeting is this Thursday, March 5. The topic will be exploring how to put some interest into running on very small layouts. So, if you are tired of going in circles (or back and forth a couple of feet, or swapping the same couple of cars through the same turnout), this may be for you.

Note that the church where we hold our clinics continues its extensive remodeling. Our temporary third floor room is not going to be available this week so when you show up, prepare to be flexible.

Prior Clinic:

Last month the planned video on the building of a local layout was a no-show. Instead we watched an entertaining video on UP Challenger 3985.

“Show and Tell” had Dennis T showing one of his N scale T-TRAK modules. This was a town scene with many of the buildings named after family members. Dennis explained that most of the buildings and rolling stock had been acquired over time via the Seattle-North “Mart.”

Dennis T T-Trak Module pic 1

Dennis T T-Trak Module pic 2

Dennis T T-Trak Module pic 3

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. From the parking lot go up the steps to the main entrance.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is March 5. And the one after that is April 2. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

Next Clinic:

Our next clinic meeting is this Thursday, February 5. The topic will be a new video about a layout built by Dr. Scott Campbell. This layout was on one of our special tours a few years back and contains many recognizable scenes from around Washington State. I’ve been told it will show how some of them were done.

Note that the church has started some extensive remodeling. The meeting room we used for the past few clinics will not be available for some months. We are temporarily moving up to the third floor. Please see more specific instructions in the “Directions” section below.

Prior Clinic:

Remember, there was no clinic in January. Our December clinician was Mike Bjork who gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Washington and Idaho Railway (WIR), from the perspective of both a former employee and a consulting engineer providing design and construction services. Mike works as a civil engineer and a transit engineer here in Seattle.

Mike’s presentation took us on a tour of the tracks and operations of the Washington and Idaho Railway. The WIR is a modern shortline that operates along the central eastern border of our state. It runs from a BNSF connection in Marshall (just southwest of Spokane) to Palouse with connections to both Harvard and Moscow Idaho. It happens to run right past Mike’s alma mater, WSU.

The railway started in 2006 on trackage of varied heritage. Originally it was mostly NP (I think). It generally hauls agricultural and lumber goods. Mike had several entertaining stories about the WIR’s motive power. There is WIR #20, a GP30M, and WIR #316, a GP16. But perhaps the most interesting is MRLX #2304, a FP9A, in a pseudo Southern Pacific paint scheme. To make it even more interesting consider that #2304 is an ex-VIA locomotive and there is still some French labelling of controls, etc. inside the cab.

Mike’s presentation was very educational and interesting. On top of all that he is a talented photographer. If you want a little flavor of what Mike talked about, go online to RailPictures.net and search for photos of FP9s by Mike Bjork. In fact, search for anything by Mike Bjork. I am sure you will be pleased.

“Show and Tell” had Chris F displaying more of his ongoing HO passenger car project. Although this time it was more about motive power and how swap meet bargains may not turn out as good as you think they will.

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings go up the steps to the main entrance.

The next few meetings we will be meeting in the Adult Sunday School room. Once inside the main lobby, take the stairs (or elevator) to the third floor.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is February 5. And the one after that is March 5. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

Hope you are all enjoying the Holidays. You may have noticed that the first Thursday of next month is New Year’s Day.

Sorry. I know this comes as a disappointment to some who cancelled New Year’s Eve party plans in order to be well rested for the clinic, but we will not be meeting on the first.

Thursday, February 5 is our next scheduled clinic date. I’ll post a reminder with more details as that date approaches.

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. Go up the steps to the main entrance. We meet in the Fireside Room which is immediately to the left inside the door.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Meeting dates for the rest of the current clinic season are scheduled for the first Thursday of February, March, April, and May 2015. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman, photos by Jeff Moorman

Next Clinic:

Thursday (December 4) is our next clinic meeting. Mike Bjork will present a PowerPoint on the Washington and Idaho Railway (WIR), from the perspective of both a former employee and a consulting engineer providing design and construction services. This railroad is a contemporary shortline and you can probably guess in which two states it operates.

Prior Clinic:

Our clinician last time was our own Dennis T who showed us how to use a smart phone as a wireless DDC throttle. But, it is not as simple as just whipping out your phone and taking over control of someone’s locomotive.

First you need some trains to run and a place to run them. Dennis provided this by setting up a little 6½’ by 2½’ T-TRAK oval in N scale.

Second you need the layout to be operated by DCC. Dennis uses a Digitrax system, but others would work provided they can be interfaced to a PC running JMRI software. I know this can also be done with NCE systems and there may be others.

That computer interface to your DCC system is the next requirement. This is not the simple interface needed to program decoders, but rather a connection to the Digitrax LocalNet. Dennis used the Digitrax PR3 USB interface which also has a LocalNet connection.

Fourth that interface needs to be connected to a PC running JMRI software. Next that computer needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi network as does your smartphone.

And, finally, your smartphone needs to be running a JMRI compatible throttle app. Dennis used the WiThrottle Lite app. This is the free version of WiThrottle, and it runs on iPhones and iPods. There is a similar app called Engine Driver for Android devices.

Note that the wireless capability for this set-up utilizes a Wi-Fi network, not the phone’s Bluetooth or cell connection.

WiThrottle Lite has the basic controls, but you’ll need its commercial version for complex consisting. In some respects for new operators sliding your finger on the screen to change the throttle settings is more intuitive than a thumbwheel or speed buttons found on many DCC throttles.

Let’s face it – buying a smartphone in order to have a wireless throttle might be an expensive proposition. But if you already have the phone, and may only occasionally need a wireless throttle or throttles (like when the gang comes over for a little switching every other month) this may be just the ticket. Plus, there are ‘cool factor’ points to be won by pulling out your phone and running a train.

So, let’s review. In order to control a model railroad locomotive from your smartphone you need:

• A smartphone with a JMRI-compatible throttle app
• A wireless computer network, which supports a connection to both your smartphone and your computer
• JMRI software running on the computer
• An interface between the computer and your DCC system
• A DCC system connected to a model RR layout
• A DCC-equipped locomotive on the layout

It sounds complex, but you probably already have most of the components. It is mostly just a matter of hooking them all together.

Several attendees had previously downloaded a throttle app (or did so during the clinic) and all were all able to run locos via the infrastructure Dennis had set up.

T-TRAK Layout 1 of 2

T-TRAK Layout 2 of 2

DCC Control Unit and PC Interface

More of the PC to DCC set up

Show and tell started with a follow-on discussion about DCC in general and then about T-TRAK modules. Plus, Chris F had some more of his ongoing HO passenger car project to show us.

Chris’ Passenger Cars 2 of 2

Chris’ Passenger Cars 1 of 2

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings go up the steps to the main entrance. We meet in the Fireside Room which is immediately to the left inside the door.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is December 4. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

This Thursday (November 6) is our next clinic meeting and the clinic topic will be using your smart phone as a wireless DCC throttle. Our own Dennis T. will be the presenter. If you have an iPhone and want to try this out at the meeting, download an app called WiThrottle Lite before you get here. It is free! There are similar apps for Android phones, but I cannot speak to their being compatible with exactly what will be demonstrated.

And, speaking of apps, why don’t you bring along your favorite railroad-related smart phone app and show us all? Since we never got to modelling tips last month, I’ll use that prize to award whoever shows us the niftiest app.

Thanks to all that came to last month’s clinic. Sorry about the cramped quarters in the library. It was a surprise to me as well. I was assured that that was temporary for October only. It was good to see some folks back who had recently been subsidizing the local health care industry.

By all accounts it was a good clinic, but we never got around to covering some of the things planned. Special attendees included Michael Highsmith, the new Pacific Northwest Region President (who also still wears the hat of Fourth Division Assistant Superintendent) and Bob Rorabaugh, the new Fourth Division Membership Chair.

Some informative and lively discussion ensued. There seemed to be a consensus that (like it or not – and model railroaders seem to be mostly “not” people), the world is changing, the hobby is changing, and the NMRA needs to change to remain viable.

There wasn’t so much agreement on just what those NMRA changes should be. But, history shows the NMRA can change, although it can be a slow and convoluted process.  For example, I can remember the days when every other editorial in a model railroading publication seemed to bemoan the fact that plastic kits would mean the end of “craftsmanship” in the hobby.

Today’s issues seem to be printing parts, getting young people interested in the hobby, and virtual modeling. If you have ideas along those lines, Mike and Bob would love to hear them.

Show and Tell had some interesting items. Dennis T brought an eclectic mix of one BN HO snowplow, one private road HO doodlebug, one N scale GN doodlebug, a Z scale locomotive, and a kit you can buy that lets you build the base structure of a T-TRAK module. Tom K had pieces of a 1952 American Flyer starter set someone had bought as a present for his Dad.

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings go up the steps to the main entrance. We meet in the Fireside Room which is immediately to the left inside the door.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is November 6. The one after that will be December 4. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

This Thursday (October 2) it is time to kick off the 2014-15 clinic season in North Seattle. We will still be meeting at the same place, but in a different room. Please review the “Directions” section below.

Bring along your tales of what you did (railroad-wise) this summer, any projects you’d like to share for Show & Tell, and one modelling tip. Hopefully it will be a tip we haven’t heard before, but regardless, there will be a prize for the best one we hear.

Our last regular meeting was back in May. And if you missed that you missed a classic Bobj presentation. As you may know Bobj seems to collect everything, including different brands of toilet paper and full size fire engines. Most of his collections are railroad related which he shares with us from time to time.

Bobj brought along what he claimed was a little less than half of his railroad hat collection. He then proceeded to tell a story (or two, or three) about each one. All were fascinating. Look at the included photos. Make up a story about any hat you see and it probably will not be half as good as the tale Bobj told.

Bobj’s Hats 1

Bobj’s Hats 2

Thanks, Bobj, for sharing.

Directions: We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings go up the steps to the main entrance. We meet in the Fireside room which is immediately to the left inside the door.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September – June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next regular evening meeting is October 2. The one after that will be November 6. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

By Jeff Moorman

Hope you all had a good summer. For a couple of reasons we will forego our September meeting this year and start up the clinic season on October 2, 2014.

Unfortunately this summer we lost our long time liaison with the church. It has taken some time to reach a new understanding of our meeting needs. We’ll still be meeting the first Thursday of the month, but will be moving up to the main floor. In fact, please check the meeting notices carefully for the next several months. We may need to make further temporary changes to accommodate some scheduled renovations in the building.

Also, traffic and travel is expected to be cumbersome throughout the Seattle area on September 4 due to the Seahawk’s home opener.

We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175^th and 185^th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings go up the steps to the  entrance and go to the Fireside room which is immediately to the left inside the door.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, usually September through June. However in June we often do something different, so there may be no “regular” meeting. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember that there is no meeting this September. The next regular evening meeting is October 2. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.