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Joint PNR/PCR Convention Early-Bird Ends Soon!

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ed Liesse (PNR) & Jim Providenza (PCR), Convention Co-Chairs

This is the last week for Early Bird registration for SIskiyou Summit 2012, the joint PNR – PCR Regional Convention which will be held in Medford, OR, May 2-5, 2012. The Early Bird registration special rate of $45 is available only through November 30, 2011. Starting December 1st, the full-fare registration increases to $55. You can register online, reserve a hotel room, and check out early information on clinics and tours at http://www.pcrnmra.org/conv2012/

Convention or Meet

JJ Johnston wins Golden Grab Iron Award

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Gay Liesse, Photo by Russ Segner

The Golden Grab Iron Service Award is given each year to a member of the 4th Division, Pacific Northwest Region, National Model Railroad Association, who exemplifies service to the organization. For 2011 the selection committee, composed of the immediate past three honorees, chose JJ Johnston for his many contributions to the hobby, the NMRA, and especially the 4th Division of PNR.

Congratulations, JJ!

JJ Johnston, Ed Liesse & Walt Huston

JJ was honored with the presentation of an engraved plaque and framed certificate at the November 17 Eastside Clinic. In addition, JJ received the traveling plaque listing him and past award winners, which he’ll keep for a year before passing it on to the 2012 winner.

JJ’s service to 4D includes his years of leadership of the Eastside Clinic, securing their meeting space at the Foursquare Church in Bellevue, assisting with the Pacific Science Center Shows, and opening his layout to fellow modelers and other visitors.

An accomplished modeler and envied owner of the Puget Sound Iron Goat Railway, which was recently featured by Paul Scoles in Railroad Model Craftsman, JJ’s accomplishments include helping to establish a link between the local Division and the Pacific Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie. Though he models in HO scale, JJ’s interest in narrow gauge railroading has led him to serve in the planning for the 2012 national narrow gauge convention to be held in Bellevue.

Ed Liesse, 2009 honoree, presented the 2011 Golden Grab Iron Service Award in the absence of committee chair Gay Liesse, 2008 winner. Gay is recovering from back surgery and was unable to attend. Walt Huston, PNR president who took home the prize in 2010 and served as the third member of the selection committee, participated in the presentation.

The full text of the citation read during the presentation is below.

The Golden Grab Iron Service Award is presented each year to a member of the 4th Division, Pacific Northwest region, National Model Railroad Association, who exemplifies service to the organization. The selection committee consists of the past three honorees, who put their heads together to consider recommendations for the newest member of this elite group.

Gay Liesse, winner of the 2008 Golden Grab Iron, regrets that she is unable to be here tonight to present the award, but recuperating from extensive spinal fusion surgery is taking longer and is more debilitating than she had anticipated and she felt the evening would be too exhausting. Ed Liesse, 2009 recipient, is taking over Gay’s duties for the evening. Walt Huston, honoree for 2010, rounds out the committee.

Because you’ll recognize the 2011 winner of the Golden Grab Iron Award almost immediately, we’ll cut to the chase and invite JJ Johnston to join us while we detail his life story. To say that he has enjoyed unique experiences over the years would be the understatement of this year.

A native of Seattle, son of a dentist and a registered nurse, JJ attended Harvard School, a military academy in Los Angeles and still maintains contact with some of his classmates. He zipped across the country for the first time to attend the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  His high school career wasn’t exactly academically impressive, but he made up for average grades by being active in swimming, high-board diving, basketball and serving as editor of the student newspaper, head of the rally committee and performing in the lead role in his school’s dramatic endeavor his senior year.

In college, JJ was part of the swim team, joined Zeta Psi national fraternity and played soccer. He had the opportunity to meet author William Faulkner and visited Cuba at the time Fidel Castro was a revolutionary fighting a guerilla war against the Batista government. With the draft in effect, JJ joined the U.S. Army after college, serving at various American bases before adventuring into the professional soccer world while stationed in Landstuhl, Germany. He defended the goal for the Sportverein Hermersberg before returning home. Forty years later JJ and Patt had the thrill of a return visit to Hermersberg for a gala reunion celebration with townspeople and soccer players, some of whom were even old enough to remember his soccer days.

JJ’s next step was a position as Director of Alumni and Public Relations at his former high school, working on fund-raising for the private education sector and developing his skills in writing, graphic design, and photography as editor of the school’s alumni magazine. After experimenting with a few other fields dealing with people, JJ earned his license and joined Windermere Real Estate in Bellevue in 1985.

There he met Patt Sellen, already an established, top producing agent, and courted his future bride. They were married during Seafair weekend and JJ still believes that Patt arranged the Blue Angel flyover – close enough for them to see the pilots’ faces – following the wedding ceremony. Patt’s four children, a daughter and three sons, quickly became JJ’s family. After almost 18 years with Windermere, JJ and Patt opened their RE/MAX Northwest Realtors office. Many local model railroaders have acquired their layout space through the efforts of JJ and his now-retired office manager, Sandy Finn.

But what about that model railroading, you say. How did the well-known Puget Sound Iron Goat Railway come to be? Most of us have seen JJ’s layout with its Woody Winter paintings simulating a ticket office, a log cabin, trees, forest animals and other hidden delights. This “fantasy wing” has provided entertaining viewing for countless visitors.

JJ truly is a Johnny-come-lately as far as model railroading is concerned. He’d had the requisite plywood Lionel layout as a child but didn’t get involved in the hobby until 1993 after a chance visit to a hobby shop with a friend. Intrigued by scenery early on, JJ bought a kit, built it, and was hooked. He became a close friend of GAZETTE author Bob Christopherson, who played a major role in the development of the Iron Goat Railway. This first layout was begun in 1996. After only six years under construction, JJ’s layout was featured by Paul Scoles in the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette.

Always a “people person,” JJ soon became involved with the local model railroad organizations, serving two terms as a Director of the 4th Division, PNR, helping with the Pacific Science Center Show, and coordinating the monthly Eastside Clinic meetings here at his church. The Pacific Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie has become a favorite “cause” of many local modelers (not to mention residents), and JJ can take credit for helping create a relationship between the museum and 4th Division of PNR. Though he models in HO, JJ is immersed in the idea of Narrow Gauge modeling and is part of the organizing committee for next year’s national Narrow Gauge Convention in Bellevue.

In addition to being a familiar face to most 4D members, JJ is active in community and church affairs and has been nominated for several other service awards from other groups over the years. We are proud to recognize the talented modeler, JJ Johnston, as the recipient of the PNR 4th Division’s 2011 Golden Grab Iron Service Award.

Achievement Program, Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic, Grab-Iron, News

November NMRA InfoNet News

Written by Al Lowe
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Gerry Leone, NMRA Communications Director

The Winter NMRA Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday-Thursday, February 8–9, 2012, at 9:00 AM. All NMRA members are welcome to attend the open portions of this meeting. To save money, it will again be held at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas. The NMRA Budget and Operations meetings, which are not open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, February 7 at the same location. The Board expects a packed agenda. Details will be posted soon afterwards.

Several members have asked about the current content of the NMRA’s “Members-Only” section of the website, http://www.nmra.org/member. Here’s some of what you’ll find when you log on:

  • Division and Region newsletter article reprints that Jim Zinser mentions in his Division Business Car/NMRA@Home column in NMRA Magazine. All previously mentioned articles also remain there; it’s a great resource to learn new tips and techniques.
  • NMRA Magazine Classics, scans of truly classic articles from bygone issues of Scale Rails and The Bulletin. Our goal is to post at least one article from every issue of the magazine. You’ll be surprised to learn how many are already online. The articles may be a few years old, but if you haven’t read them (or have forgotten them), they’re as fresh as today.
    • 2011 NMRA Calendar Screensaver, another inspiring addition to your computer.
    • 2011 NMRA Calendar Photos also suitable for computer wallpaper, complete with a brief description by the photographer of how they took their shot.
    • Promotional Materials useful for Divisions and Regions. The NMRA Logo is available in a variety of formats and sizes. PDFs of the NMRA Member Benefits Chart and New-Member Solicitation Brochure, and the New-Member Sign-Up Sheet. National Model Railroad Month materials, including National Model Railroad Month logos in various sizes and graphic formats, and a Word document: “A guide to promoting National Model Railroad Month,” which can be a handy reference whenever you want to promote your Region or Division.

Remember: the Grand Rapids convention is fast approaching! There are two great convention videos posted on the Grand Rails2012 website, www.gr2012.org. Members who register before November 30 get first dibs on hotel reservations, tour reservations, and merchandise. The Furniture City Flyers Club is nearly sold out, so if you want to experience dessert at sunset on Mirror Lake, you’ll need to get your registration in now. Register at http://www.gr2012.org/register.htm.

News

Tacoma Open House Tour a Big Success

Written by Al Lowe
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Walt Huston

On behalf of those who opened their layouts to celebrate National Model Railroad Month, I want to thank the members of the 4th Division and their friends and family members who came out to see our work/fun. Attendance at all the layouts was excellent. Visitors left with their many questions answered (all truthfully, I’m sure). There were hours of enjoyable conversation. Thanks again for taking the time to visit us.

Please note: Phil Harry lost a Pocket Digicam at one of the layouts. If you found it, please contact Phil at 253-514-8465.

Thanks again to everyone for a successful day!

Layout Tour, Tacoma Clinic, Tacoma N Scalers Clinic

Holiday Snow Train to Leavenworth

Written by Al Lowe
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Al Lowe

Each Saturday in December, Alki Tours is offering the only daylight rail tour to Leavenworth, a quaint “Bavarian Village” in the Cascade Mountains. On each departure, eight hundred passengers board the train at King Street Station, Edmonds Station, or in Everett. The train winds through the Snohomish Valley and then ascends majestic Steven’s Pass. Along the way passengers enjoy a catered continental breakfast and onboard entertainment including strolling musicians, commentators, magicians and, of course, Santa! Near the 4,000 foot summit, the train transits the Cascade Tunnel — the second longest rail tunnel in North America. At approximately 12:30 pm, the train rolls to a stop in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is dressed to the hilt for the holidays with chestnuts roasting on open fires, carolers strolling streets, food booths, sleigh rides, local crafts, outdoor entertainment and more. At dusk, everyone gathers to sing “Silent Night” and witnesses the grand tree lighting as it transforms the village into a magical holiday wonderland!

Afterwards, passengers reboard the train for a cozy trip home. A catered dinner is served on the return trip and the entertainment continues.

This trip sells out every year, so don’t delay! For reservations and information: call Alki Tours at 206-935-6848 or www.alkitours.com. The price is $149.00 adult and $139.00 for children for standard seating. Price includes round-trip train transportation, continental breakfast, catered dinner, and loads of entertainment.

News

November Tacoma Clinic Report

Written by Al Babinsky
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by Al Babinsky / Photos by Al Babinsky

MMR Gene Swanson opened the November clinic as he usually does when Veterans Day is near. He called for a show of hands of WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars. He then thanked all members of the services and ended with a moment of silence for all the fallen vets. We had a great turnout for this month’s clinic, a total of 52 attendees including one newcomer.

Leo introduced a guest, Helen McGovern from the Emergency Food Network. The clinic members collected money to be given to a food network and decided to give the collected funds to the Emergency Food Network. Helen was presented with a check of $700 and the coffee fund added $100.00. Helen told us what the Network does and how the food is distributed to the different agencies.

November being National Model Railroad month, Walt Houston organized a layout tour for this occasion which is to be held on November 19th. (See article in the Digital Grab Iron.) The TNW announced their Swap meet for next year and of course the BEMRRC had their Swap Meet on Saturday the 12th in the Kent Commons. The Great Train Expo is scheduled for November 19th and 20th at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

What’s new at the Hobby Shop was presented by Tacoma Trains and included a variety of goodies from Athearn, Micro-trains, Walthers, Lionel, and LGB. In the Bring and Brag (Model of the Month) section, entries included a scratchbuilt bridge; a portion of a lumber mill; a brass Victorian house kit; a set of ore cars and caboose decaled by Diane Kraus; a scratchbuilt Spar tavern and store with fully-detailed interior which is to become part of the old Tacoma scene on the PMRE layout at the History Museum; a Western Scale Models 1:20.3 kit of a 4 block saw mill log carriage; and a kit-bashed model of a US Army mortuary car. The Bring and Brag winner was Scott Taylor with the Spar Tavern and Store.

The clinic, presented by Jim Murrey, was named “Sarge Comes Home,” the story of how the fallen were brought home  on special mortuary trains. The cars were converted Pullman hospital cars modified with a baggage door to allow the caskets to be loaded. The train was under constant guard from the time the ship was unloaded until its arrival at its destination. The kit-bashed mortuary car was part of the clinic. A great clinic, very informative and in keeping with Veterans Day.

Next month’s clinic will be December 8th. Dirty Santa will be there as usual, along with goodies. Bring a wrapped gift of around $15, marked as to what scale. We’ll be at the usual place, the Pierce County Library Admin. Bldg., 112th and Waller Road.

Hope to see you all there.

Kit bashed US Army Mortuary car

Kit bashed US Army Mortuary car

Model of the Month Winner Scott Taylor's Spar Tavern and Store

Model of the Month Winner Scott Taylor’s Spar Tavern and Store

Lumber mill

Lumber mill

Scratch built bridge

Scratch built bridge

Ore cars and caboose decaled by Diane Kraus

Ore cars and caboose decaled by Diane Kraus

Plate girder bridge

Plate girder bridge

Western Scale Models 1:20.3 kit of a 4 block saw mill log carriage

Western Scale Models 1:20.3 kit of a 4 block saw mill log carriage

Brass Victorian House

Brass Victorian House

Tacoma Clinic

Train A Child

Written by Al Lowe
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Chuck Ricketts, The SS & S in Olympia WA

Seventy-five years ago this Christmas, I received an electric train for my birthday at Christmas. Now, seventy-five years later, I’m still “playing with trains.” I don’t believe I’m the only one who got started in this great hobby by receiving a train set.

Before I left Arizona to move to the 4th Division in 2007, a couple of friends and I started donating a train at Christmas. The second year, we called it “Train A Kid.” Later we renamed it “Train A Child”.

I still carry on that tradition and I am making a plea for you to join me. “Train A Child” yourself this holiday season. Whether it’s your child, a relative, neighbor’s child or you donate a train to some charity, it doesn’t matter. Spend a little or spend a lot, depending on your circumstances. “Thomas” toy trains are advertised at under $10.00.

Help build this hobby we love and make a world a little brighter this holiday season. Join me and “Train A Child!” Happy Holidays,

Articles

Eastside Get-Together Gets 2-for-1

Written by Ken Liesse
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Article and photos by Ken Liesse

(Author’s note: My apologies for this report being so tardy. Apparently, I hit the Preview button when I thought I was hitting the Publish button.)

At the regular get-together on October 20th, the Eastside Get-Together was treated to a 2-for-1 clinic by noted local modeler Glenn Farley. Glenn showed us how to make coal loads using actual coal as well as showing us how to add lights to our locomotives. For the coal loads, start by measuring the opening on whatever car is going to receive the load. Then cut a piece of foam (Glenn used white, but pink or blue would work as well) the size of the opening and give it the contours of the coal load.

PVC End Cap Sifters

Older cars would have distinct piles of coal in the load as the car would have been spotted under a tipple for each dump; modern cars would have a neater, even appearance as they continuously move under a flood loader. After the foam has been shaped, paint it black with acrylics and dust it with Woodland Scenics coal for a base. Glenn prefers to use real coal for the actual load. Since he models the Colorado-New Mexico area, he brought some coal that had been “liberated” from that area. Put the coal in a plastic bag to scale it for the load (read: pulverize with a hammer). Glenn recommends using two or three layers of bags in case any of them break during the process.  Drill holes in the bottom of PVC pipe end caps to use as sifters – the holes should be no bigger than the largest lump of coal you want in your load. Sift the pounded coal, paint the base with Dullcote and pour on the coal. Allow the load to dry, then add stand-offs of the proper height to the car. This allows the load to be removed without ruining the appearance of the empty car.

For the second part of the clinic, Glenn described how he modifies MV lenses for use in his locomotives, giving them a uniform appearance. Start by making a dimple in the back of the MV lens (which are getting harder to find, unfortunately) and drill out the back with a bit the same diameter as your light bulb. Test fit the bulb and use CA to adhere it to the ends. Run the leads where they need to go and voila! Headlights. Glenn also modifies this approach for special circumstances as well, gluing the bulb perpendicular to the plane of the headlight to make it easier to run the wires.  This works well on short headlight fixtures that would not leave any room to run wires out the back. Finally, Glenn showed us a commercial that was made for the upcoming 2012 Narrow Gauge Convention.

This, of course, was all preceded by the usual business of the clinic. JJ opened by pointing out all the MMRs in attendance as well as the 4D and PNR staff on hand. We then held a moment of silence for Bobj Berger’s father, who passed away a few days before. Our thoughts go out to Bobj and his family.

Your superintendent (that would be me) made sure everyone knew about the upcoming increase in NMRA dues and encouraged folks who could do so to prepay their dues before the end of the year. Also, don’t forget to send in your survey from the NMRA Magazineon the possibility of a cruise for the NMRA 2016 convention. These are being collected by Di Voss.

Di announced that the NMRA now has new standards and new track gauges. The new gauges are more era specific and come in Old, Classic, and Modern. Russ Segner brought in photos from projects in Dupont and Snoqualmie on which he is currently working. Russ is always looking for more volunteers who would like to try their hand at modeling in 12″:1′ scale (the real deal). He also pointed out that Ken Larson, a modeler who lives across the Sound in Winslow, is featured in this year’s Great Model Railroads.

Roger Ferris, in addition to bringing the Mart, stated that he had duplicate books from his own collection with which he was parting.  Contact Roger for the details. Ed Liesse finished the announcements with a reminder to everyone about the Joint PCR-PNR Convention being held in Medford, OR next May 2-5. After resolving issues with the convention website, the committee decided to extend the early-bird pricing to the end of November, so if you haven’t signed up yet, do so before the end of the month and get the discounted price. Visit the website at http://www.pcrnmra.org/conv2012/

Model of the Month

There were five entries in the Model of the Month contest, which was won by David Yadock for his water tower. Congratulations, David.

Next month’s clinic will be on November 17th, with the topic to be determined. We will start collecting for our annual donation to the church, which provides us with the space to hold our meetings every month. The collection will go to the church’s outreach program to help those in need within the church community to have a Christmas.

Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic

November is DCC Month at Seattle-North / Next Meeting is Nov 3

Written by Jeff Moorman
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By Jeff Moorman

Our next meeting is Thursday, November 3. Time and place are at the end of this piece.

Jim B in his role as chief cook and bottle washer of Sound & Northwestern LLC brought along the box for the company’s next kit. It is a GN Standard Portable Depot and should be available next month through the Great Northern Historical Society. Apparently the railroad pre-built these in their carpentry shop, loaded them on flatcars, and delivered them wherever they needed a small town deport.

As promised we assembled the first T-Trak “layout” using only models built by Seattle-North regulars. Dennis T and yours truly supplied the trackage, which ended up more of an oval with a branch line than a simple loop.

Rob J showed some N gauge cabeese and a lovely Hiawatha set in that scale. Dennis T had an HO “Piker” he built from an old Walthers kit. Wow, that brought back a bunch of memories. But the stars of show & tell were three Canadian prototype HO diesels brought by Greg, who was attending the clinic for the first time. Nice work, Greg, and we hope you’ll be back.

Rob's N Hiawatha

N T-TRAK Module

Greg's Diesels

We started an informal discussion of Digital Command Control (DCC) to sort of judge everyone’s knowledge of the subject. And we got a range of feedback. A couple of folks were experienced in applying custom settings to locomotives and a couple could hardly spell DCC. So, when we start learning about DCC in earnest, we’ll make sure we start at the beginning.

Speaking of the beginning, when was the first product sold to allow remote (non-wired) control of electric trains? Well, according to Kalmbach’s book DCC Made Easy by Lionel Strang, that would be sometime in the 1940’s. That is when Lionel came out with a two-channel, frequency control system that allowed you to change the direction of the train.

Our exploration of DCC will get more formal in November when Di Voss will be on hand as our expert clinician. And we’ll see is anyone can top those HO diesels that showed up for last meeting’s show and tell.

We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175th and 185th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. You can no longer make cross-traffic turns on Aurora, so you need to be going southbound (so you can make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location).

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, except July and August. However, in June we usually do a tour. For regular meetings enter the lower level of the church from the parking lot at the rear. Doors open around 7:00 PM, announcements at 7:15, and the program starts about 7:30. Hope to see you there or at least sometime on down the line.

The next meeting is November 3 and the one after that is December 1.

 

Seattle-North Clinic

Upcoming Events

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ken Liesse

As we head towards the end of October, I’d like to remind everyone that November is National Model Railroad Month. But why wait for railroad related events? Here are a few of the things coming up, starting this coming weekend.

This year, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. To celebrate, Amtrak has put together a special commemorative train with displays of Amtrak’s history. The train is appearing at King Street Station in Seattle this coming weekend (October 22-23), and will be open to the public from 10 to 4 each day. It will then move to Portland for display the following weekend. These are the only two stops the train is making in the Pacific Northwest (a slap in the face to a lot of places that have supported Amtrak over the years, but it is what it is).

The second weekend of November, the Boeing Employee’s Model Railroad Club will be putting on their annual show at the Kent Commons (corner of 4th and James in Kent). Hours for the show will be 9:30-4:00. This is always a great show and over the years has grown to take up most of the Commons. There’s usually a line to get in, so plan on arriving early to get the best deals.

November 18th is Take a Model Train to Work Day. This has turned into an annual event where model railroaders are encouraged to take a model or two to work to let their co-workers know what they do for a hobby. Some have even gone as far as taking small layouts to their workplaces to really let people see what they do with their free time. This is a great opportunity to share our hobby with others and maybe even get some more people interested in model railroading.

As mentioned previously here (thanks Walt Huston), November 19th is the day for the Tacoma Layout Tours (see previous article). There are a whole bunch of neat layouts on this tour and it will be well worth your time to stop by and visit as many as you can.

Once you’re done touring layouts, stop by the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The Great Train Expo is in town again, and there will be several modular layouts on display as well as more opportunities to lighten your wallet. The show runs Saturday & Sunday (November 19 & 20th), 10-4 both days.

In addition, don’t forget the monthly clinics that 4D sponsors throughout the division. There are several great clinics coming up next month, so you won’t want to miss the one nearest you.

News, Superintendent’s Message