Dave Yaddock MMR and Gary Jordan MMR kick off this fall’s modeling season for the fourth division with tours of their layouts on Zoom, on Saturday September 11 at 10:00am. As usual, the meeting will open about 9:30 for casual conversation, and then their layout tours will begin at 10am and approximately 10:45am. The Zoom info for attending the meeting will be posted in the Grab-Iron a few days before the meeting.
Dave’s HO layout has been featured in a series of Grab-Iron posts in recent months, and is called the “Dry Gulch and Western”. Gary’s layout is in O scale, and features interchanges between standard gauge, 3-foot gauge and 30 inch gauge trains, and he models the Gilpin Tram in the Colorado Rockies. Gary’s presentation will focus on how he had configured his layout for virtual operations during Covid times.
The Arduino sessions are starting up again. A dozen people have shown interest by subscribing to the IO Group set up for these sessions so I am going forward with them. Subscribe to the group at: https://groups.io/g/MR-Duino. Most communication concerning the sessions will be conducted via that group. Links to the sessions will still be posted here in the GrabIron.
The first session of the new season will be held Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 4:00pm via Zoom. Topic this session will primarily a discussion of what topics to cover in the future.
4dpnrOrganizer MountVernon is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Arduino Session, Sept. 7, 2021 Time: Sep 7, 2021 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
The website for the Seattle 2022 National Narrow Gauge Convention, to be held in Tacoma, WA next September 1-4, is now live at seattlenngc.com. If you haven’t done so already, take a look. We plan to have a very full program of layouts, vendors and clinics. The 4th Division is participating in a big way.
I am the Clinics Coordinator. So here is a chance for you to present a clinic on a national stage. Not a narrow gauge modeler? Well, structures, trees, people and water work for any gauge and some of our members here are outstanding modelers.
Are you interested in presenting a clinic? Please let me know. I am available to chat online most anytime to answer any questions.
My personal thanks to everybody who provided feedback to the previous article about the “working steam engine” on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, at the Northwest Railway Museum. And especially to those whom I spoke with at the Snoqualmie Railroad Days festival over the weekend. Just my personal opinion, but we cannot have too many working steam engines here in Washington state. As modelers, preserving railroad history is what we do all the time.
Because of a scheduling conflict, there were too many authorized steam crew members on Saturday and not enough on Sunday. So there were no photo run-by’s on Sunday. But the good news is, those extra crew members have made themselves available for continued operation through the fall. Problems with the tender water tank have been fixed, but there is still work needed on the air brake system before Northern Pacific number 924 is certified for passenger train operation.
So, if you missed it this past weekend, you still can see our “working steam engine” in operation this fall. Plans are for the Northwest Railway Museum to continue brake testing, and photo run-by’s, on the first Saturday in October ( October 2nd ) and November ( November 6th ). As always, it’s smart to call the museum first at (425) 888-3030, or check the web site at https://trainmuseum.org.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to run a prototype steam engine, the museum is always looking for volunteers. Steam engine crew members must be certified to run the diesel train first, and then go through additional training on the steam engine. But heck, our grandpa’s and uncles did it, why can’t we? For more information, contact Emily Boersma, Volunteer & Program Coordinator, at Emily@TrainMuseum.org or 425-888-3030 x 7203 or 425-772-8870. You can tell your grand-kids you ran a steam train “back in the day”.
We will have an online session this Saturday at 1000 to discuss how to make our meetings better. We will talk about how to prepare a presentation and how to present it.
Even if you are already comfortable with presenting, join us to share your experience. We also want suggestions on future topics for clinics and general meetings.
This meeting is for all members, not just leadership, so get involved and share your ideas and experience.
Zoom will be with us for some time, so let’s do our best to communicate with each other and the public.
Russ
Here is the link to the meeting:
Russell Segner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: 4D Zoom Planning Time: Sep 4, 2021 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 825 1635 9187 Passcode: 891509 One tap mobile +12532158782,,82516359187#,,,,891509# US (Tacoma) +16699006833,,82516359187#,,,,891509# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 825 1635 9187 Passcode: 891509 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kP7JzOMh0
One of the cool things about chairing this clinic is that it’s the first Thursday of the month, which means we sometimes get to do the “new” things FIRST, like having the first ever virtual clinic during COVID for the 4th Division.
But one of worst thing about chairing this clinic is that it is the FIRST Thursday of the month, especially when that Thursday falls on the 1st or 2nd. I swear it ALWAYS creeps up on me.
Please join me this Thursday, September 2, for the next Virtual North End Clinic at 7pm. As Russ Segner’s recent Grab Iron post said, it looks like we will continue to have virtual clinics for some time, so we will be meeting over Zoom.
This month’s topic is one we typically have every September: What I Did (Train Related) This Summer.
Some of us were fortunate enough to get a bit of traveling in before the Delta surge hit, while others continued to sequester themselves at home and work on their layouts. Regardless of where you spent July and August, if you did something train-related, bring your photos and/or projects to share with the group virtually.
We will also chat about the upcoming train show season and share the latest news we know about them.
Here’s the link to the Zoom meeting:
Topic: North Seattle Virtual Clinic – September ’21 Time: Sep 2, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
It seems that Zoom meetings will continue for some time, which means our clinics and many meetings will be virtual for months to come. That’s not necessarily bad news since many of us have been able to better share with others across the entire Fourth Division. After all, traffic and weather have become great impediments to face to face meetings.
We will hold a Zoom meeting this coming Saturday, September 4, at 10:00 AM. We will discuss the many issues involved such as training leaders and members in how to be as effective as possible. Join us to learn the mechanics of Zoom, how to best run meetings, and how to prepare and present on Zoom.
Please join to share what you have learned and what you want to see added or changed. Please join and participate even though you may not have joined any of our other presentations.
The link to the meeting will be posted this Thursday.
There are still a few of us around, who remember when “locomotive” was synonymous with “steam engine”. Big, noisy, smelly, labor-intensive, and almost alive. A machine with all the working parts on the outside, where you can see and hear them.
We used to be able to see working steam engines in our part of the country. But one by one, they’ve fallen by the wayside. The logging demonstration at the Tacoma zoo – gone. The Royal Hudson passenger excursion to Whistler – gone. The Lake Whatcom line – replaced by a short little speeder ride. The Mt Rainier Scenic excursion line in Elbe – still closed and up for sale ( while their current owner the Durango & Silverton tries to avert bankruptcy ). The Tolt River Railroad ( 2 ft narrow gauge ) at Remlinger Farms – gone. The steam engine at the Chehalis and Centralia Railroad – gone.
All is not lost. There is one last steam engine still running in our area. Starting in 2014, the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie restored Northern Pacific steam engine number 924 to operation. At the same time, they converted it to run on wood instead of coal, so it could continue running while compliant with current environmental regulations.
Even when we’re not in the middle of an epidemic crisis, this piece of living history only operates 3 times a year : on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Snoqualmie Railroad Days.
Snoqualmie Railroad Days, the 140-year-old town’s historic and cultural festival, will be moved from the third weekend in August to the fourth weekend this year, as life starts to return to normal. What does that mean? The number 924 will be in operation this coming weekend! That’s right. Steam engine 924 will be running on August 28th and 29th, 2021.
This is your chance to see a real steam engine running under its own power. It will not be powering the passenger excursion trains ( which are still diesel powered ). But, it will be providing “steam demonstration runs” ( as in, photo run-by’s ) all weekend. Parking is free.
You may have one or more steam locomotives on your layout. Maybe a vintage Lionel tinplate model. Maybe a rare brass import. Maybe a modern model with DCC and a state-of-the-art sound system. Now is your chance to renew the inspiration you had when you got that steam model in the first place.
The series of Arduino sessions that were a spinoff of the introduction to Arduino clinic I presented earlier this year took a break for the summer. Your input is needed to determine if the Arduino sessions will resume and if so, what form will they take. The following questions need to be answered:
How many people will participate? Especially asking questions.
FYI, on August 18 at 4:00pm I will be presenting an Introduction to Arduino and how I have been using them on the New Tracks Modeling show. If you are interested search for New Tracks Modeling and sign up for their emails or, if you email me Wednesday before the show I will email you the Zoom link.
One of my favorite locations is the steep, narrow gulch that is next to Alpine on the layout. This is my attempt to copy the famous French Gulch scene that was on the Gorre & Daphetid. A swift moving river with several cascading waterfalls provides plenty of visual interest to this gulch. Just like John Allen’s layout all four levels of the mainline traverse this area. This creates an excellent photographic location, but also created a very difficult scene to complete. Like with other areas of my layout there are lots of things going on in a very small amount of space. Six bridges, 4 tunnel portals, and a major water feature all had to be carefully planned and executed.
Photo 28 is probably very familiar since it was used in my last update but gives a very good view of the gulch in its infancy. It also shows how I attached some of my rock castings. I usually “glue” them in place with simple expanding foam, I then cover the exposed foam with joint compound. Once the joint compound is dry, I then paint it with earth colors. Later on, I blend the colors with other paints and ground cover. I used to use primarily lacquer-based paints but have switched to more water-based paints. Yes, there are 6 bridges at this location. One is on the left, 4 are in the center of the photo, and the last is a small wooden trestle just past the oil rig.
Photo 28
Photo 29 is taken from the Dry Gulch access hatch. This view normally can’t be seen from any aisles. The photo shows just how close the various towns are on the layout. At the top right is Alpine, just to the right of the oil rig in the center of the photo is Potter Flats, and down at the bottom left is the town of Raade Springs. The raised elevation of land that Raade Springs sits on completely hides Potter Flats from the front of the layout. Using these types of scenery dividers helps with making the towns seem further apart from each other. You can also see the completed rock castings and how they have been blended into the rest of the scenery.
Photo 29
Photo 30 gives you a close-up view of the bridges and the Conoco oil operation at Potter Flats. It also shows how little space Potter Flats occupies! Lots of tall timber trees surround the gulch giving it a wilderness atmosphere. I made those trees following Jack Work’s method of using tapered wooden dowels. Dyed asparagus fern “branches” are then glued into tiny holes drilled into the dowel.
Photo 30
Photo 31 is an “action shot” of a freight train crossing the steel trestle while Shay #9 pulls an empty log train over the wooden bridge. The wooden bridge is scratchbuilt and carries my dual gauge line.
Photo 31
Photo 32 gives you an idea of the vertical separation of the tracks on the mainline. Those little locomotives have some steep mountain terrain to climb! This follows John Allen’s idea of using the same scenery on some of the sections of his layout for the mainline tracks. Stacked multi-deck shelf layouts with divided scenery limits a photographer’s ability to produce dramatic photos. John Allen’s method allows for continuous scenery between the levels to create photos with depth.
Photo 32
Photo 33 has the Dry Gulch & Westerns lone diesel in the photo. I guess the engineer in Shay #9 decided to take a break since the locomotive hasn’t moved since the last photo! When compared to photo 28, this photo gives you a good example of how the addition of rock castings, trees, and ground cover can change a scene. Note how this photo really doesn’t need a backdrop, the layout, due to its depth, becomes the backdrop for this photo.
Photo 33
Next time we will take a second look at Potter Flats and the use of the mainline as part of the branch line. I will also show you the completed scenery in that area. There have been several subtle changes made in that location, so it warrants a second look.
