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PSC Show A Great Success – Thank You To All The Volunteers

Written by Anton Faulk
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Article & Photos By Russ Segner

The Pacific Science Center Show last weekend was a great success.  It was attended by 13,948 paid visitors and was our largest crowd in seven years.  The credit for this belongs to the following groups and individuals:

Lisa Murray handled much of the organizing of volunteers and paperwork needed to keep things running. This was in addition to her being an active participant with the HO modular group.  Her son, Aidan, was also there as an operator. Lisa also chairs the Seattle North Clinic.

The staff at Pacific Science Center was excellent and were able to respond quickly to some of the last minute adjustments that always occur with such a large show.

The 4D Hi-Railers, led by Ed Ives, were set up right inside the Denny Way entrance with a 14’ x 20‘ configuration. Club participants included:

Wayne Grinnell
Ed Ives
Jack Klapwyk
Woody Mathews
Ed Pennington
Dan Peters
Gordon Sandell

  • 4D Hi-Railers

The 4D N-Trak layout, led by Al Lowe, was set up in the Ackerley building. Per Al: “We staged an 1,800 square foot layout, which was set up in the allotted four hours and removed from the building in 61 minutes. Between which, we ran dozens of trains, did a lot of switching, and discussed model railroading with hundreds of guests. All in all, yet another good showing for our club, the Division, and the NMRA.” Participants included:

Neill Clift
Stephen Clift
Dave Cook
Mike Donnelly
Thomas Dye
Edwin Hill
Kyle Ilk
Kurt Laidlaw
Al Lowe
Dennis Terpstra
Bud Thompson
Cole van Gerpen

  • 4D N-TRAK Group

The 4D HO Modular group,led by Mike Slease, was also set up in the Ackerly building with a 24’ x  28’ layout. The layout featured its well-known video camera car, which drew a large crowd around the TV monitor.  Members participating included:

Gordon Crawford
Norm Curtis
Bruce Davis
Lou Davis
Paul Fischler
Brian Pickering
James Monroe
Aidan Murray
Ian Murray
Lisa Murray
Joel Scott
Mike Slease
Larry Sloan
Rob Staples

Thirteen other individual displays were involved in the show:

  • A Northwest Railway Museum booth was set up by Emily Boersma. She was assisted by several volunteers: Peggy Barchi, Jim Hale, Pete Kirchgessner, Michael Ledingham, Dennis Snook, and Harry T.
  • Bill Harper brought his interactive HO switching puzzle which challenged visitors (and volunteers) both young and old.
  • Mike Pettruzzelli had two operating N scale layouts on display.  He was assisted by Jeff Weinstock and Caleb Wright.
  • Al Turnbull had two displays—one the kids could operate and one that clearly demonstrated the construction involved in building a module.
  • Operation Lifesaver had an info booth manned by volunteers Weylin Doyle, Carol Kachadoorian, Alan Nelson, Brian Sims, Mike Turcott, and Martin Young throughout the weekend.
  • Bob Stafford brought his N scale industrial layout depicting some of the switching involved at Boeing in Everett. His interactive display drew quite a crowd.
  • Russ Segner’s On30 display was also popular with little operators and had visitors queued up waiting their turns all day.
  • The 4D/PNR/NMRA Booth was manned by John Owens.  He almost ran out of magazines and literature.
  • Baby Gramps was there along with Doreen to display his intricate and fanciful dioramas. They were assisted by Kevin Buster and Frances Wolfe.
  • Dan Kellogg had an excellent display and demonstration of techniques in modeling water features.
  • Kurt Laidlaw demonstrated the construction of an N scale module complete with track work and wiring.
  • Larry Sloan built and demonstrated a very effective display demonstrating the application of DCC systems.
  • The vendor, Ravensburger, brought loads of Brio and wooden trains for the little ones to explore throughout the busy weekend.
  • Dan Kellogg demonstrated water modelling techniques throughout the weekend. The example on the right was made with glue, water, toilet paper, paints, and clear gloss.
  • Kurt Laidlaw demonstrated the construction of an N scale module, complete with track work and wiring
  • Larry Sloan brought an interactive DCC display
  • Bob Stafford’s N scale industrial layout, depicting some of the switching at the Boeing plant in Everett, was popular with young and old
  • Bill Harper brought his always popular HO switching puzzle
  • Al Turnbull had two displays—one the kids could operate and one that clearly demonstrated the construction in building a module
  • Mike Pettruzzelli’s N-scale layout
  • ON30 layout for small operators
  • Operation Lifesaver works to reduce the likelihood of collisions between people/vehicles and trains through rail safety education
  • Northwest Railway Museum

Several volunteers helped in the loading in Friday night and loading out Monday evening.  They also assisted the many exhibitors with rest and lunch breaks. Volunteers included:

Dave Enger
Anton Faulk
Fred Hamilton
Eldon Jacobson
Aidan Murray
Ian Murray
Paul OldenKamp
Burr Stewart
John Thompson
Dave Woodrell
David Yadock

All in all, it was an extremely successful event.

Russ

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Hi-Railers Report, HO Modular Group, Model Train Show, News, Northwest Railway Museum

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Written by Al Lowe
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Russ Segner

The Fourth Division celebrated November, which is National Model Railroad Month, with the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) over Thanksgiving weekend. Three of our modular groups had a great weekend: Hi-Railers, HO and NTRAK participated, along with a small On30 demonstration module.  Attendance at MOHAI was way up and we received many positive comments from the public and MOHAI staff.

A BIG “Thank you” to those who set up and operated for three full days:

Hi-Railers: Sam Hayden, Gordon Sandell, Ed Ives, Woody Mathews, Dan Peters, Craig Ives, Marc Sachnoff, Mark Elster, Christoff Elster, Dave Enger, David Yadock

HO: Brian Pickering, Larry Sloan, Rob Staples, Aidan Murray, Lisa Murray, Ian Murray, James Monroe , Lou Davis , Bruce Davis., Mike Slease

4dNTRAK: Al Lowe, Dave Cook, Dennis Terpstra, Doug Bulger, Kurt Laidlaw, Mike Donnelly, Neil Clift, Peter Clift

On30: Russ Segner, Dan Kellogg, Robin Peel

MOHAI Memories

Click on any photo to enlarge

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Hi-Railers Report, HO Modular Group, Superintendent’s Message

August Eastside Layout Tour Changed to Sunday, Aug 28th

Written by Russ Segner
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Russ Segner

The Eastside Layout Tour has been changed to Sunday, August 28th (from Saturday Aug 27th)

Two of the layouts originally scheduled for the Eastside layout tour in August have had to cancel. (Mike O’Connell’s mother passed away suddenly and the service is scheduled for the 27th; my wife, Susan, will be recovering from major back surgery the week of the 27th.)

The great news is that we will have two very special layouts open to 4D members and guests on Sunday, August 28th. Steve Depolo invites you to tour his Sn3 Alaska Pacific Rwy in Woodinville. The theme is “Mining in Alaska”.

This is a very large layout with all trackwork finished and scenery almost complete. Steve has scratch built many large mining structures and two complete waterfront scenes. All locomotives have sound decoders and are controlled by NCE. This layout will inspire you.

Al Lowe is one of our NTrak leaders and will show us how he uses his modules in a home layout. When not setting up at local shows, Al has several of his modules organized as a layout in his Bellevue home. These modules are highly detailed. Al has a very creative way of setting them up in his garage.

Both layouts will be open from 1 PM to 5 PM. For addresses and directions, email me at russseg@gmail.com and I will send maps and contact information.

Note – there will be another Eastside layout tour in October in the Renton and Maple Valley areas.

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Burien Clinic, Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic, Layout Tour

Portland Meet ‘N March, Saturday, March 28

Written by Al Lowe
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Al Lowe

The annual N scale Meet ‘N March swap meet will be held Saturday, March 28 in Portland, Oregon at the Valley Catholic High School, at the intersection of TV Hwy. and Murray Blvd., in Beaverton (on the west side of Portland). The show will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. and will feature three N scale layouts, vendors selling N scale model railroad products, and clinics for intermediate to advanced modelers.

If you attended in the past and thought the old warehouse where it was held was too cold, it has been moved to a school (with actual heat).

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Convention or Meet, Tacoma N Scalers Clinic, , , , ,

4D PNR Modular Groups Displaying at United Northwest Club’s Model Train Show & Marketplace

Written by Bob Stafford
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Bob Stafford

The 4th Division, Pacific Northwest Region, National Model Railroad Association will be participating at the United Northwest Club’s 24th Annual Model Train Show and Marketplace Saturday, February 28th and Sunday March 1st. The show is held at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The show offers over 50,000 square feet of family fun! Over 250 vender and swap tables. View over 20 layouts of several different scales. Modeling clinics will be offered on both days. Doors open at 10 AM both days. For more information visit http://www.unwclub.org/unwshow.html.

Division-sponsored groups that will be present are The 4th Division HO Modular Group, 4th Division Hi-Rail O Gauge Modular Group, 4dNTRAK Modular Group, and The 4th Division OmNi-Rail Modular Group. The division will also have a membership booth.

The 4th Division HO Modular Group consists of about 20 active members with about 50 modules, a staging yard, and 6 corners. They get together monthly for breakfast. The group sets up its modular layout at about 8 to 9 events annually for charity, community service, 4th Division events, and fundraisers. For more information visit http://www.4dho.com.

The 4th Division Hi-Rail O Gauge Modular Group consists of about 18 members who collect anything from ancient Marx or Ives tinplate to the modern die-cast Lionel and MTH trains of today. The layout is O gauge, 3 rail. Boy do they run trains on it! The Hi-Rail Group has 24 modules, 4 corner modules and 4 yard modules, and the number is growing to build large displays with lots of moving trains. The current capacity of the layout is 4 long moving trains and 3 trolley cars. The group meets periodically as needed for breakfast and to conduct business meetings. The Hi-Rail Group attends 8 to 9 shows a year in the Puget Sound region, from Lynden, Washington to the North, to Portland, Oregon to the South. For more information contact Ed Ives at gresley7@gmail.com.

The 4dNTRAK Modular Group has been displaying modules and running trains for thirteen years. The group started out with four corner modules supplied by the 4th Division. Members have built more than 50 additional modules in the years since. The layout includes a new spectacular yard built in 2013 with 120+ turnouts and the capacity to handle many prototype-length trains! For more information, visit http://www.4dntrak.org.

The fourth and newest 4D PNR sponsored modular group is the OmNi-Rail Modular Group. The group has been running trains now for a bit over 2 years. The 4D PNR financed the construction of the four corner modules. The nine members of the group have built over 20 additional modules for public display layouts. The OmNi-Rail name is to represent “All Encompassing” for N Scale modular design. The intention is to bring NTRAK, Free-moN, and Bent Track to one club, so the design incorporates the best of each. It is also designed to accept older modules from these different disciplines with minor modifications. The design uses a dog-bone linear base design with no bridge tracks and power pole connections. There is also a one track branch line called the OmNi-Branch. The sky is the limit on different module designs. For more information go to http://omni-rail.net.

4D PNR HO Modular Group Layout on display.

4D PNR HO Modular Group Layout on display.

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Grab-Iron, Hi-Railers Report, HO Modular Group, Model Train Show, OmNi-Rail

Want to Operate on a 4,000 sq ft Layout?

Written by Al Lowe
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Thomas Dye

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

The 4D’s NTRAK group is joining with the Mt. Rainier N Scale club to create a 76’x54′ combined modular layout at the Great Train Expo this weekend, November 16-17, in Puyallup. Besides each club’s NTRAK loop with circling trains to entertain visitors, we will also run operations. Saturday we’ll run full operations, complete with car cards. Sunday will be light ops, with freight movement along routes to and from yards.

If you’d like to run with us, even for an hour, email me to reserve a time. We’ll have plenty of modules, locos and rolling stock, but if you have a Digitrax throttle (of almost any type), bring it. If you’d enjoy running your own N scale equipment, bring it, too (locos must be equipped for DCC).

Even if you just want to loop a train, come and join us. We’ve got a lot of open track and rolling stock that needs moving!

See you Saturday?

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Model Train Show

x2011 NTRAK/oNeTRAK Layout

Written by Al Lowe
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Al Lowe

The video begins with an overview (literally!) from a height of about 10 feet of the entire, 80×80 space — the largest area of any layout at the show. Doug Bulger & I represented the 4th Division with 27 modules, which only took us 8 hours to set up and 4 more to tear down.

All in all, lots of fun was had… once Doug solved a myriad of layout gremlins, none of which were 4D!

if you have the bandwidth, be sure to watch in high definition by clicking on the resolution number in the lower-right corner of the video and full screen by clicking the square to its right. (This tip applies to most YouTube videos these days.)

 

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Convention or Meet

Tacoma Northwestern Show a Hit

Written by Al Lowe
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Al Lowe

The Tacoma Northwestern Model Railroaders held a successful first year show and swap meet May 14 – 15, at Freighthouse Square in Tacoma. Several modular railroads attended, including the 4dNTRAK Group. Sound Transit had a Sounder there with its cab car open. A few lucky souls even got into the locomotive (and convinced the engineer to “wind ‘er up!”) The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad provided steam train rides on the hour to 72nd Street and back. Over $3,200 was raised for the Tacoma food bank.

On behalf of the 4dNTRAK Group, I would like to thank TNW for providing us with a wonderful place to run trains during what’s usually a slow spring for train shows. And what better place to host a show than beside working prototypes? Not to mention all the wonderful, non-franchise food places right in the building.

Photos by Ken Liesse are posted here.

And photos by William M. Kajdzik are posted here.

4dNTRAK Modular Group, Model Train Show