Grab Iron Posts

I went to my first national model railroad convention in 1991. It was here in Bellevue. I had started an HO layout of Tennessee Pass and knew several local modelers I had met through a couple of local hobby shops and an occasional visit to the 4th Division clinic on Beacon Hill. But I did not know a lot of model railroaders.

That convention changed my whole approach to the hobby. It was a National Narrow Gauge Convention, but the emphasis was on great model building and interesting and impressive layouts. The models were beautifully built and detailed, the clinics were extremely helpful in improving my model building. I learned a lot about many railroads I had never heard of, and I met a lot of great modelers from all over the country and many from outside the US.

I now have a closet full of shirts from many conventions all over the US. And I have a closet full of unbuilt kits and shelves full of books and magazines. Best of all, I have a layout that runs and is fun to share with many who come over to operate.

This September, many of you will take advantage of the upcoming National Narrow Gauge Convention in Tacoma. You will meet and learn from some of the best modelers from across the world and you can see firsthand the latest in model kits and supplies from national vendors. Finally, you will have access to many fine area wide layouts seldom open to those of us who do not know the owner of the layout.

The convention is at the Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma September 1 through 4. The next one will be in Denver and then in Pittsburg. So, here is your last chance for a long while to have all this so handy in your area. There will be over 30 clinics and over 25 local layouts featuring many scales and prototypes. Details of the clinics and layouts are on the website and in the files section of the NNG.groups.io site.
There will also be several large modular layouts in the Atrium and vendor room at the hotel. These include the Hangman Creek Logging in On3, the Arizona Mudhens in Hon3and the Monson Sheepscot River Railroad in Maine In On30.

Take advantage of this fine opportunity.
Visit the Convention website for full details at 2022 National Narrow Gauge Convention (seattlenngc.com)

HO rolling stock and engines FREE
I have been contacted by a family in Port Townsend who would like to donate to someone who would use the equipment. It is a nice collection of cars appropriate for northwest railroads. There are two diesel locomotives and one articulated steamer. All are in excellent condition.

They are available at the home on Becket Point near Port Townsend but can be brought into Kirkland by special arrangement. If you are interested, please contact me at 206 200 2211 or by email at
russseg@gmail.com

Russ Segner

Your 4D Board of Directors will meet Saturday afternoon, June 11, at 2:00 PM via Zoom. As always, all members are welcome at all board meetings.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348980762?pwd=KzYrK1JEVjdKd1dmZERyTUlJTm8vUT09
Meeting ID: 833 4898 0762
Passcode: 998623

Todd Von Stup moved to Seattle just a few years ago and is now avidly constructing a double-deck N scale layout based on the Montana Rail Link. For the presentation tomorrow (June 11, 10am PST), our last Zoom layout tour until the fall, Todd will show us his layout plans and progress to date. As usual, the meeting will open at 9:30, and his presentation will start at 10:00am PST. Here is the Zoom info:

Topic: 4dPNR June Layout Tour – Todd Von Stup
Time: Jun 11, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89699848127?pwd=OVpMWmhmK3hQekxHUk9GS0lpcEtJUT09

Meeting ID: 896 9984 8127
Passcode: 149005
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+12532158782,,89699848127# US (Tacoma)
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Al Lowe

The results of our recent election are in and, not surprisingly, both of the unopposed candidates won – unanimously! Congratulations to Bill Messecar and Ed Ives who will begin their two-year terms on September 1.

Election data:

407 emails were sent out. 42 paper ballots were mailed to members without an email address on file. We received 96 votes; 90 electronically and 6 via postal mail. Bill Messecar received 94 votes, with 2 abstentions. Ed Ives received 93 votes, with 3 abstentions. There were zero write-in votes.

If you’re calculating, that’s 96 responses out of 449 ballots for a 21% response rate. Not bad, considering they ran unopposed.

Respectfully submitted by your election committee: Dan Kellogg, Burr Stewart and Al Lowe.

Al Lowe

Even if you didn’t preregister, we still want to see you at the 2022 4D Spring Meet! There will be some great clinics, our Annual Meeting, the results of the election, and more. So come anyway. Complete details here – but don’t try to register. You’re too late. Just show up!

And when you come to Everett, don’t come empty-handed — bring a model with you! Any model that began life as a kit. No scratchbuilt. No paperwork. All we need is the name of the kit, your model’s name, and your name. That’s it.

There will be no judging, no ranking, no trophies – just the joy of sharing your hard work with others who appreciate it!