By Roger Johnson
Don’t forget the Eastside Layout Tour this coming Sunday. This is an opportunity to see the layouts of the Boeing Employees’ Model Railroad Club, Al Lowe and Steve Depolo. For further information, click here.
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Category: Layout Tour
Model railroad layout tour
August 28 Eastside Layout Tour – BEMRRC Layout Added
Russ Segner
We are pleased to announce that the Boeing Employees Model Railroad Club has agreed to have their layout open on Sunday August 28th from 10 AM to 3 PM. The address is 425 SW 153th St. in Burien (same building as the Pacific NW RR archive).
This is an addition to open houses at Al Lowe’s and Steve Depolo’s – click here to view the previous Grab Iron post with additional details.
Make a full day of it. Start with the Boeing Club in Burien (open 10 AM to 3 PM) and then head to Bellevue and Woodinville (layouts open from 1 PM to 5 PM). This is a great opportunity to see three excellent approaches to model railroading. For addresses and directions, email me at russseg@gmail.com and I will send maps and contact information.
August Eastside Layout Tour Changed to Sunday, Aug 28th
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.
Eastside Layout Tour – Save The Date – August 28
Russ Segner
(Editors note – the original dates on this post were for Aug 27. It is now changed to the 28th, and only two layouts will be shown in August, and up to six others will be shown in October.)
Save the Date – August 28, 2016!
Two layouts will be shown on Sunday, August 28, in Woodinville and Bellevue.
Eastside Layout Tour Proposal
Russ Segner
Many of us visited layouts open in Olympia on April 30th. So far, several groupings of layouts throughout the region are open on weekends during the year, but there is no such opportunity on the Eastside (East of Lake Washington). These open houses are usually Saturdays from 1 to 5.
I am proposing a layout tour in the Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Renton, Maple Valley, Kent, Auburn, and other close by areas for a weekend in mid July.
If you have a layout you would be willing to open to members sometime this summer and are located in one of these areas, please contact me at 452-228-7327 or by email at russseg@gmail.com.
13th Annual Olympia Model Railroad Layout Tour Saturday, April 30th
Scott Buckley
This is a reminder that the 13th annual Olympia Model Railroad Layout Tour will be held on Saturday, April 30th. The following layouts will be on the tour this year:
- Jim Younkins’ N scale Mud Bay & Southern Railway
- Greg Wright’s 1:32 scale Consolidated Republic Mining Co
- Brian Ferris’s HO scale Port Townsend & Southern
- Scott Buckley’s HO scale Tehama Valley Railroad
- Chuck Ricketts’ On30 scale Sherwood, Shelton and Sarazen
- Dave Rakestraw’s HO scale PNW mainline and logging layout
- Robert Grove’s HO scale Rawlins, Lincoln, and Greeley Railway
- Dean Cody’s N scale KD&S Railroad
- The Olympic Model Railroad Society’s HO scale Olympic Mountain Rail System
- Ryan Bates’ HO scale McCloud River Railroad
- Scott Groff’s On30 Quevic Valley Railway (new to the tour this year)
Cloud City and Western Annual Open House
Rich Blake
This weekend Nov 28th and 29th marks the 15th public open house of Jack Tingstad’s “Cloud City and Western” HO scale layout in Coupeville on beautiful Whidbey Island. This event has been a local favorite every weekend after Thanksgiving and can also be a great opportunity for local 4D modelers to stop by and have a visit.
Class C Shay crossing the high trestle at Cloud City.
Miners awaiting the work train at Tennessee Pass Station. Small scenes like this are all over the highly detailed Cloud City and Western.
Over the years Jack’s HO scale layout has received regional and national recognition. It has appeared twice in Railroad Model Craftsman and the May 2011 issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist. Jack has also been recognized for his excellence in scenery, structures, rolling stock and electrical wiring through several NMRA AP Certificates. The layout has been featured on National Convention tours and is frequently operated among local operators. During national OPSIG events such as Sound Rail the CC&W is part of some of the best operating layouts in the Northwest hosting operators from all over the country.
Have a JAM Breakfast on Thursday, July 2nd
David Yadock
Thursday, July 2nd marks the birthday of John Allen. He constructed the famous Gorre and Daphetid Railroad (pronounced “gory & defeated”). It was a true model railroading marvel. The Gorre & Daphetid Yahoo group usually celebrates with a JAM (John Allen Memorial) breakfast. John Allen was a real pioneer in model railroading. Just like Frank Ellison, Whit Towers, and many others, he promoted many of the things we now take for granted in our model railroading hobby. So help celebrate his birthday by having a hearty breakfast!
Paul Scoles Layout on PBS Tracks Ahead
Cliff Green
According to a reliable source (Russ! As forwarded to him from Fred …) Paul Scoles’ Sn3 scale Pelican Bay & Railway Navigation Company layout will be featured on the Tracks Ahead program on PBS Channel 8 (Seattle area – 108 hi-def on many of the cable channels) at 8:30 am this morning (June 7, 2015). Yes, this is late notice, so you may be able to catch it on a re-broadcast.
Layouts Announced For 4th Div 2015 Spring Meet
Russ Segner, 4D Superintendent
Editor’s note: Bob Stafford’s layout has replaced David Yadock’s layout for the Sunday tour.
You’re going to want to see the layouts chosen for this year’s Spring Meet! Some have never been shown before, while others are masterworks that you have seen in magazines.
This year, you’ll get to see these layouts – but only if you register for the Spring Meet. The Spring Meet clinics are on Saturday June 6 and the layout tours are on June 7. Descriptions and maps will be available at the conclusion of the clinic sessions on Saturday. Full details are here. Register now!
The layouts are:
- JJ Johnston’s Puget Sound Iron Goat Railway, HO scale, a mythical GN layout set in 1939 with many structures
- Burr Stewart’s merged GN, NP, Q and SP&S in the 70’s, HO scale, a big layout designed for operation
- Bill Messecar’s ATSF Operation in the LA Division, HO scale, a 1950’s era layout with blocks of reefers handling citrus
- Di Voss’ Everett and Monte Cristo Rwy, HO scale, a historical representation of 1895-1910 line hauling gold to the mill in Everett
- Bob Stafford’s Memories Branch Line, HO scale, an operations oriented layout based on the many branches of the Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and Lehigh Valley railroads in Northampton County Pennsylvania
- Boeing Employees Model Railroad Club’s Seattle and North Cascades Railway, HO scale, a bridge route connecting the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest
- Ron Hopkins’ Moclips & Beck’s Creek, On30 scale, a layout featuring many prize winning scratch built logging, lumber and shingles structures
- Russ Segner’s Coal Creek Lumber Co, Sn3 scale, a Northwest logging layout with lots of scratch built structures and geared locomotives
- Bill Scheef’s Wind River Railway, Sn3 scale, a layout with excellent logging scenes and an operating incline
- Steve Depolo’s Alaska Pacific Railway & Terminal Co, Sn3 scale, a layout featuring Alaska scenes with steep grades between mines and wharfs
- Michael Dziubinski’s Northwestern Pacific (Southern Pacific), N scale, a layout based on the Northwestern Pacific in August of 1953
Additional info is listed here and more layout details will be added over the next few weeks.
The theme of the Spring Meet is: “How and why we build our layouts.”
Our clinics this year are designed to give insights and ideas on building layouts. Lots of questions will be addressed such as “How big do I build?”, “What era and prototype do I use for ideas?”, “What about operations?” and “Do I build alone or with others in a group or club?”
Eight great clinics will be offered:
- An Example of a Prototype Layout
- Making Tracks on your Layout (Fast Tracks hands on clinic)
- Making Tracks to a Prototype
- Freelancing
- Making Tracks to a Large Layout
- Modules
- Trackside Details and Weathering
- Bridge Design and Construction
Additional clinic details are here.
We have several MMR’s presenting who will share their experiences and what inspires them in the hobby. So, come with your questions. Meet and share ideas with model railroaders from across the Fourth Division.
Lunch is provided on Saturday. At lunch, we will have our annual meeting. Several awards, including The Golden Grab Iron Award will be presented. We will also get an introduction to our new website and Grab Iron communications. So, plan to attend. Register by mail or online, but do it before May 31 to guarantee your seat and lunch.
The registration is $25 for NMRA members if registered online or by mail before May 31st or $35 at the door for those not pre-registered. Lunch is included. For online registration and additional details visit http://wnrr.net/4dspringmeet/. A printable poster can be found at http://wnrr.net/4dspringmeet/SpringMeetPoster.pdf.
Please contact Russ Segner at russseg@gmail.com or 425-228-7327 for more information.