Dale Kraus
Photo: Larry’s Truck and Electric
Typical model railroader: Can’t decide on a prototype and has way too many locomotives!
Grab Iron Posts
2012 Olympia Model Railroad Layout Tour Scheduled
Scott Buckley
Be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, April 14th, for the Ninth Annual Olympia Model Railroad Layout Tour.
There will be at least eight layouts representing various scale and gauge combinations, including N, HO, On30 and 3/8n20. Jim Younkins’ N scale Mud Bay & Southern and Greg Wright’s 3/8n20 Consolidated Republic Mining Railroad have been featured in national publications. Most of the layouts are in various stages of construction, which will give visitors an opportunity to see each builder’s construction methods.
As with previous years, a few layouts will be open early and a few will stay open late, giving visitors the opportunity to see as many layouts as possible.
We hope that you will take the opportunity to visit our layouts. There aren’t many chances to see these many layouts at one time without spending the money to attend a convention.
Additional information, including how to request a tour map, will be provided soon. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, please contact me, Scott Buckley, sbuckley54@comcast.net.
Eastside Get Together Canceled
By JJ Johnston
Our meeting scheduled for tomorrow, January 19th of the Eastside Get Together has been cancelled due to weather reports of more storms and potentially unsafe driving conditions. The Inside Gateway is also closed so I am unable to get door prizes and I know that’s a big reason you all come. Just kidding.
Mark your calendars now for February 16 as we will have a clinic presented by someone no one has seen before and it’s one of those
“can’t miss clinics” so watch for our announcements. We will re-schedule Ron Cole for a future clinic too. Be safe. JJ
NMRA InfoNet News for January
Gerry Leone, NMRA Communications Director
The Kalmbach Library’s immensely popular The Postwar Freight Car Fleet book has sold out.
The Grand Rails 2012 Convention still has space left for modular layouts at the National Train Show. If you want to show the world what you’ve done, contact Tom Draper, Chairman of the National Train Show, at either tcdraider@aol.com, or call 602-953-1681.
More Grand Rails 2012 news: They have great things planned for non-rails: a cooking demo that will make attendees think they’re watching a stand-up comedian do a cooking show; great entertainment at the luncheon in one of the most beautiful ballrooms in the country; even a ride on a dune schooner to see the 1,100 acre Saugatuck Dunes! Send your non-rail to www.gr2012.org for details.
Repeats From Recent Months
This year registration for Grand Rails 2012 will be handled in a new way: instead of the large registration package inserted into NMRA Magazine, the full package can be downloaded from www.gr2012.org. Those who prefer printed paper can send their request, name and address to: GR 2012 Registrar, 4165 Costa NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525.
NMRA Elections. The official ballot was prepared by the National Nominating Committee according to the procedures laid out in the Regulations and the Executive Handbook (available at www.nmra.org). It will appear as an insert in the center of the February issue of NMRA Magazine, which will be mailed to all voting members. Ballots must be postmarked by April 10, 2012 and received at NMRA headquarters by April 15, 2012.
These jobs and candidates will appear on the ballot:
President
Charles W. Getz, IV, HLM
Vice President – Administration
Howard Goodwin
Clark Kooning, MMR
Dave Thornton
Vice President – Special Projects
Bill Kaufman
James “Lump” Lupfer
At-Large North American Director
Mike Brestel
Miles Hale, MMR
Eastern District Director
John Roberts, MMR, HLM
Pacific District Director
Mike Bartlett
Kelly Loyd
Rob Peterson
Tacoma Clinic
By Al Babinsky, Photos by Al Babinsky
MMR Gene Swanson opened the clinic and wished all a Happy New Year. There were 49 attendees and no newcomers. Several announcements were made about the Science Center Show this weekend and that the PNR nominations committee is looking for volunteers. Dave Fausette, the nominating committee chair, is seeking nominees for both President and Vice-President. 4D Superintendent Ken Liesse is also seeking nominees for positions in the 4th Division. Jim Sabol who suggested that whoever stopped at Tacoma Trains put some money in a can in order to purchase a train set or two for a needy child. Bill Deutscher from Tacoma Trains reported that $165 was collected and the money spent to give sets to several children. They received two thank you letters, which were read at the clinic.
What’s New at the Hobby Shop was presented by Bill Deutscher with many new items from a wide variety of manufacturers.
In the Model of the Month category we had a number of entries: Dale Kraus with a mostly scratchbuilt sanding tower and coaling facility; Tony Dell a works in progress Milwaukee Road Bridge near Avery, ID; Walt Huston with two entries a HO scale scratchbuilt tree and 4 N scale bulkhead flat cars, 3 with load and 1 empty; Jim Sabol with two O scale passenger cars by Atlas; and Kurt Laidlaw with an N scale winter scene layout built to wrap around a stove pipe. The Model of the Month winner was Kurt Laidlaw with his winter scene layout.
We were also treated with tip on how to make a no-glue box for storing rolling stock and other things made from recycled cereal boxes.
This month clinic on mines and mining was presented by Duane Damgaard. He put together a slide show from photos he had taken on trips some 30 years ago along with some archival photos of mines, mining equipment, mining rail equipment, and structures.
Next month’s clinic on February 9th will be freight yard design by Jim Sabol, and will be at our usual place in the Pierce County Library Bldg. at the corner of 112th St. and Waller Rd. We hope to see you there and bring a newcomer, friend, spouse or significant other and find out what’s going on.
Model of the Month winner Kurt Laidlaw with his winter scene layout
Tony Dell’s bridge near Avery, ID with photo of the actual bridge
Walt Houston’s HO scratch built tree
Help Still Needed for PSC Show This Weekend
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.
Traffic Alert for This Weekend’s PSC Show
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:
SR 520 will be closed this weekend. WaDOT Story here.
And the Mercer Street exits from I-5 will also be closed this weekend. Story here. Please take these closures into account as your plan your visit to the show.
Woodlands Scenics Fire
Al Lowe
By now you’ve probably heard that Woodland Scenics suffered a severe fire at their facility in Linn Creek, MO. Here are some news stories with videos about the fire:
http://bit.ly/xC3oja
http://bit.ly/zUBWf4
Today we learned the extent of the damage direct from Woodland Scenics:
As you may have heard we have experienced a fire here at Woodland Scenics and there is good news and bad news. The good news is that no one was hurt during the fire or evacuation process. The bad news is that it took out a couple of our manufacturing buildings. However, and fortunately, there is more good news than bad.
We encompass multiple buildings that are spread out all over the town of Linn Creek. We only lost two of those buildings and those two contained just a small portion of our manufacturing facilities. Our shipping department, warehouse and corporate offices were spared any damage, as were most of our manufacturing buildings, so it is business as usual.
Thanks for all your concerns.
Respectfully,
Gale Cousins
Director of Sales & Customer Service
Woodland Scenics
WSHM Train Festival a Success
Al Lowe / Photos by Bill Kajdzik
The Washington State History Museum’s 16th Annual Model Train Festival was held from December 26th through January 1st and had record attendance. Several groups from the 4D were represented.
Bill Kajdzik was kind enough to share his photos with us. To see them, click here and use the small triangles below the photos to navigate.
DCC Demystified
Dale G. Kraus
Decoding Sound Decoders
Model railroad sound has come a long, long way. When I was a young boy, I remember “sound” as being the wheezing air whistle of my Lionel set and the thunder of cast wheels on tubular track. I was always a little jealous of my best friend, who had a “Flyer” set that went chuff-chuff down the track, one chuff per wheel revolution. That was pretty much it until the introduction of PFM’s sound system in the mid ’60s and digitally-recorded sound boards in the following decade.
Then came the DCC revolution and the advancement of microprocessers and mini-EEPROMs. Hey! Presto! High quality, realistic sound that will fit into N scale locomotives. Just buy an appropriately sized sound decoder, drop it into your loco, set the address and you’re ready to go!
Well, almost.
Fresh from the package, all decoders, including sound ones, are set to “default” parameters. Some of these must be tweaked to get the most realistic sound performance out of your locomotive. In this article we will deal with diesel loco sound only — steam is a different animal. The CV’s (Configuration Variables) that should be altered to attain really convincing sound are:
- CV2 Starting voltage: For convincing sound, set this CV low enough that the loco does not start until the throttle has been advanced a few steps.
- CV3 Acceleration: Set to a value around 8-10. This will allow the loco to increase speed gradually. If the loco still accelerates too fast increase the CV value. These two actions will allow the prime mover sound to “rev up” before the locomotive begins to move.
- CV5 Max speed: Most model locos are capable of running way too fast. As a starting point, set this CV to half of the maximum setting. This will slow down the loco and allow the throttle notching effect to perform more realistically
- CV6 Mid-range speed: Set to 50% of CV5.
- Sound Volume: The CV used for this varies with the decoder manufacturer. See your decoder manual (you did save the manual, right?). Turn this down dramatically. You should not be able to hear the loco a scale mile away! This has three advantages. First, the loud sound, while “Wow, gee whiz!” at first, can quickly become annoying. Second, if you are running more than one loco, the resulting cacophony detracts from the enjoyment of listening to the loco you are running. Third, high sound volume overdrives the small speakers we must use, distorting the resulting sound.
After you have performed the above five tasks, you can go back into the programming mode and tweak other sounds. With many sound decoders you can set the volumes of the bell, whistle, dynamic brakes, etc. See the CV table in you decoder manual. (Which you did not throw out, right?) Doing these five steps will make your loco sound as good as it looks.