Category: Model Train Show

Keith Sternberg

I’d like to invite all 4^th Division members to the annual Anacortes Antique Machinery Show this Saturday, September 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at 6th and Market, near the old Great Northern depot and the sternwheel steamer “W T Preston.”

Keith Sternberg’s model 4-6-0

There will be exhibits of steam power (both stationary and marine), antique tractors, model builders with engine models, and a handcar operating on the old Great Northern track along Market Street. I will have a temporary short-line railroad of 7-1/2″ gauge track alongside of the steamboat “W T Preston.” My coal-fired ten-wheeler will be in steam with a single-car train. There will be several steam launches on display, wood-fired and oil-fired boats of 18 – 25 foot length. The “W T Preston,” a fine old steamboat built for the Army Corps of Engineers in 1914, will be open for visitors. She has cylinders about 14″ bore and 6-foot stroke, and a locomotive-type boiler.

Admission to the show is free. Admission to board the “W T Preston” is $3.

I built the locomotive using castings from Allen Models. It is 9′ long overall and weighs about 600 pounds. The boiler is state-inspected and allowed 150 psi. Cylinders are 1-3/4″ bore and 3-1/4″ stroke. I often pull a passenger train at the Great Northern & Cascade Railway at Skykomish. I have fired with several types of coal, lately a mix of Pennsylvania anthracite and Utah bituminous. A full head of steam is easily maintained all day, no matter how heavy the load.

I hope you come by Saturday for some really large-scale model railroading!

David Yadock

Volunteers needed? You bet!

Yes, the Pacific Science Center Show is about two weeks away and we still need volunteers. This is a great way to help the model railroad community as well as helping promote a train show to the greater community of Seattle. As mentioned before, the show is Saturday, January 18 through Monday, January 20 (MLK weekend). We need your assistance on Friday for exhibitor set-up from 5 pm until 9 pm. On Saturday, the show opens at 8:30 and lasts till 6 pm. On Sunday and Monday, the show is from 9 am till 6 pm. After the show Monday, we will remove layouts until 9 pm.

Come join in on the fun. Parking is free for volunteers. There is free access to the PacificScienceCenter, so you can look at all the exhibits and check out Seattlelites in their natural habitat. (Be careful of the ones with moss growing on their backs.) See your fellow modelers struggle with dead sections of track! Be amazed at how slow locomotives move over dirty track! Learn that not all 4 legs of a module are of equal length, even though a tape measure says they are! Observe model railroad cars derail just like real ones!

If you want to help, email me at hi61izq@hotmail.com. Thank you!

David Yadock

Did that get your attention? If so, this is a formal invitation to come and be a part of the Pacific Science Center train show.

We need volunteers to assist all days the show is in operation. Yes, that includes Friday evening. Any or all help will be greatly appreciated. Friday night we need help with load in of the layouts, including door monitoring, guest check-in for badges, and parking check-in. Saturday and Sunday we need folks to help give some exhibitors bathroom and lunch breaks. Many layouts are a group effort but several layouts have only a single person for operation. I admire those folks that are single operators of layouts. Give them a break and come join in on the fun. Think of it, would you want to run a train layout for three days without a bathroom break?

During Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the Break Room needs to be monitored and help will be required for exhibitor Check-In. Monday will require even more help because all the layouts will need to be broken down and packed up that evening after the days show. The more people that we have helping out the easier it will be and the faster things will go!

There will be script to cover parking. I suggest carpooling just to make life a little easier.

The Pacific Science Center train show is the 4D’s greatest financial contributor. It is probably the most attended show in the Seattle area. Last year we had over 14,000 people come and see the trains run at the show. That is a tremendous amount of exposure to the general public. I bet we got more exposure to the public than Kim Kardashian or Miley Cyrus would get if they visited Seattle! (Well, okay, maybe not Miley…)

Anyway, don’t feel shy about volunteering. The PacificScienceCenter train show is a great way to get involved and be an active part of the NMRA. Contact me at hi61izq@hotmail.com or 425-226-7518 (evenings). Thank you.

Oh, yeah: the disclaimer:

*Jeff Moorman will provide Z-scale canned beer! (Z-scale can openers not provided.)

David Yadock

The Pacific Science Center Model Railroad show will be happening next January 18-20, 2014. It will be the 40^th anniversary of this event. Since this will be a very important anniversary year it has been suggested that a banquet be held. The banquet would be on Sunday evening following the closing of the show. The cost per person would be around $10-15. Since the banquet would be held at their facility we would be required to use one of their caterers.

At this time I would like to assess how many people would like to attend the banquet. If there is enough interest then we will have it at the Pacific Science Center. If there isn’t sufficient interest then we may need to re-think the plan and look for other options. We would need approximately 75 people in attendance. Please email me (David Yadock) at hi61izq@hotmail.com.

Thank you.

David J. Yadock

The Pacific Science Center Model Railroad show will be happening next January 18-20, 2014. It will be the 40^th anniversary of this event. Since this will be a very important anniversary year it has been suggested that a banquet be held. The banquet would be on Sunday evening following the closing of the show. The cost per person would be around $10-15. Since the banquet would be held at their facility we would be required to use one of their caterers. At this time I would like to assess how many people would like to attend the banquet. If there is enough interest then we will have it at the Pacific Science Center. If there isn’t sufficient interest then we may need to re-think the plan and look for other options. We would need approximately 75 people in attendance. Please email me and give me your opinion. Thank you.

Frank Dekker

Wanted: A few good men and women for PSC show helpers, Jan 18-21, 2013.

The 39th Model Train Show is at Pacific Science Center on January 19-21 (Saturday through Monday), with setup activity on Friday evening, January 18.

The 4D gets good compensation from PSC for the work done to plan and organize the show. We can use some more volunteers to help execute the plans. If you can help with any of these assignments, please contact Frank Dekker, rekkedrails@juno.com, 206-817-3049, with your availability.

We have parking support for our volunteers on Saturday, and for those who can’t find street parking on Sunday or Monday. We have on-site parking for our exhibiters and volunteers with limited mobility. We have a crew lounge with coffee, lemonade, hot-cocoa, donuts, and fresh fruit.

Friday evening:

1. need 2 more door monitors to open / close loading doors and ensure only the right people come in
2. need 1 person to help monitor parking in the Denny Way turnout during the early evening
3. may need 2 abled-bodied men to help 4D Hi-Rail move equipment into the building

Time needed varies, but we would like you on-site about 4:30. Most will be released by 7:30. Set-up ends at 9 PM.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday:

During the show, we could use 2-3 volunteers for an all-day shift, or for 10-2 and 2-6 shifts on each day. You will be rotating through several assignments: monitor crew lounge, give breaks to “solo” exhibiters, monitor “child-operated” layouts.

If you are some distance away (e.g. Tacoma, Skagit, Everett), consider forming carpool and commit to 1/2 day of help and have the other half to enjoy the show.

Monday evening:

Same needs as Friday, but the timing different. Show take-down starts at 6 PM, and actual movement through the doors will vary between 6 PM and 9 PM. Most helpers can be released by 8 PM.

Thank you for giving your support to the 4th Division by helping with this show support.

Frank Dekker

We still need a few more people to volunteer to help at the PSC Show this weekend, especially during show set-up.

Friday Evening: 1–2 able-bodied persons to help the 4D Hi-Rail group set up their layout.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, days: persons willing to promote the hobby and NMRA membership at the 4D Membership Booth.

Monday Evening: 1-2 able-bodied men to help the 4D Hi-Rail group dismantle and load trailers.

Monday Evening: 2 people to monitor doors as we pack up and move out.

If you can help in any of these, please contact me, Frank Dekker, to volunteer and get instructions: rekkedrails@juno.com, 206-817-3049.

Frank Dekker

Remember: the PSC show is this weekend at Pacific Science Center from 10AM to 6 PM, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.If you are planning to come as an exhibitor or as a spectator, you should know: there are road closures: