By Kurt Laidlaw
Click here to read a status update on my T&CC Railroad layout.
Kurt
Grab Iron Posts
4D Election – How To Vote
By Russ Segner
The 4th Division Board of Directors conducted an online meeting last Saturday using the application ZOOM. It was very successful with a number of participants in addition to the Board members. The minutes of the meeting will be posted on the 4D website soon. Because there were no additional nominations to fill the one Director position and the Superintendent position, the Board voted to close nominations and submit the names of Ed Ives for Director and Russ Segner as Superintendent to the membership.
One of the actions the Board took was to amend the Rules and Procedures Manual of the By-Laws that related to the conduct of the election. We have in the past done this with a mailed ballot. The Board has decided to handle this election and future elections by electronic ballot to the 399 members who have email addresses on file. A paper ballot will be mailed to the 34 members who do not have email addresses on file.
Jack Hamilton will be sending the electronic ballots via email – a “PNR Special Run” email – and Mike Slease will send the paper ballots as done in previous election.
The email ballots and written ballots will have instructions on how to vote and return your vote. Please respond quickly so you do not forget. We have had great participation in all our elections and I hope this new method will achieve even greater results.
Russ
Chuck Ricketts Fantasy Island Railroad – Part 2
Click here to read the second article on Chuck Ricketts Fantasy Island Railroad.
More News From Triple T
Article & Photos By Al Babinsky
Last year the Triple T acquired another unusual piece of rolling stock, a Wismar Railbus from the SVG (Sylter Verkehrsgesellschaft) Sylt Transportation Company. The SVG operated a Narrow Gage, Meter gage, rail road on the island of Sylt in Northern Germany. The railbus was originally purchased by the Kriegsmarine {Navy}for transportation of personnel and cargo to their bases in the North and South of the island. After WWII the railbus became property of the Sylter Inselbahn (Sylt Island RR) the fore runner of the SVG. It was in storage until steam operation ceased in the 50ties and operation began with railbuses. The Wismar railbus was powered with two Ford engines one on each end, they powered the axle on their end. During operations one of the engines suffered major damage and could not be repaired. Instead of scrapping the railbus the SVG removed the engine hood and all and replaced it with a Borgward truck engine and front end. The LGB model represents this particular railbus T 25 and the sound system also represents the different sound of the two engines. When changing directions, the proper engine starts and you can tell the difference in the sound. The accompanying photos shows the railbus after the replacement with the Borgward front end, you can see the difference in the hood and the radiators. The photo of the camouflaged version during operation of the Kriegsmarine as apparent by the uniforms. This particular bus was number 22 and had a trailer number 14. The bar that you see hanging under the front end was the coupling bar for the trailer. I believe the person standing in front of the door was the conductor/driver of the bus and a civilian. You can see the writing in the white band says Sylter Inselbahn to give the appearance of a civilian operation, the fact was that the military had control before and during the war. The personnel of the railroad before the takeover stayed on during the war and afterwards the state took over and then turned it over to private hands.
Ford front end 
Borgward front end 
Al
Tacoma Clinic Helping the Community
By Kevin Klettke
The 4th Division of the Pacific Northwest Region’s Tacoma Clinic is proud to support the local community with our yearly contribution to the Emergency Food Network. For the ninth consecutive year, at our November 2019 clinic, the members presented a check to Michelle Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of EFN for $1,300. This brings our nine-year total to $12,360.
Our efforts are spear headed by member Leo Scafturon, who came up with the idea to give back to our community during the 2010 floods that brought so much local damage and hardship to so many, particularly in the Chehalis and Centralia areas. After presenting the idea to the members, and then leader Gene Swanson, the motion was passed. Every month since, the can has been passed around at each clinic to collect donations from our generous membership.
Food insecurity impacts people of all backgrounds, including the working poor, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness. Now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the food bank network which EFN supports is even more important.
In a letter to the Tacoma Clinic membership, Director Douglas wrote, “On behalf of those who need it most, we thank you for helping us distribute more than one million pounds of food each month. We cannot do this alone; your generosity is greatly appreciated.”
Kevin
Tacoma Clinic Host
Triple T Rail Road
Article & Photos By Al Babinsky
While in quarantine I have been working on the railroad and want to share some photos. A new addition arrived at the TTT, it is a LGB model 2080D. If you not familiar with the designation D after the model number it means Dampf (steam). I decided to install a sound decoder and fan driven smoke generator. My original choice was a Zimo decoder but found out that there was extra cost involved for the sound so I checked with ESU and they had the proper sound to install and ordered the decoder and their smoke generator. The installation involved removing the control board and connecting the wiring for the lights and motor to the decoder, installing the smoke generator and two speakers. There was no soldering involved since the decoder had terminal strips. After installation the decoder was programmed with the ESU Lokprogrammer the main change was to program the chuff to the wheel rotation.
A little background on the real locomotive that the model is based on. The locomotive is a 2-6-2T, the German designation is 1-C-1 2ht. the 2ht means it carries 2 tons of coal, the letter h means high pressure steam and the t means tender locomotive. In 1938 the Reichsbahn decided to build a series of narrow gage locomotives of different wheel configuration that would have interchangeable parts. The first locomotive that was built was BR 99 6001 which is the 2-6-2T and it was the only one built because the contract was canceled due to the gearing up for war production. The BR99 6001 is still in operation on the HSB Selketahlbahn in the Harz Mountains. There are YouTube videos of this locomotive running in the winter scenery last year.
There are two photos one of the above model sitting at the station for passenger loading and the other is of the Uintah Railway #51, a 2-6-6-2T, coming out of tunnel #2 on the lower level.
Al
Election of Director and Superintendent
By Russ Segner
The report of the Nominating Committee is that Ed Ives has been nominated to another term as Director and Russ Segner has agreed to run for another term. Since there were no other nominations, an informal survey of the current Board supports the idea of not following the required formal sending of ballots by mail to membership. This will save about $500.
At the Board meeting on the 18th, we will open the meeting online using Zoom to receive any further nominations. If however, no further nominations are made, the Board will discuss a formal motion to forego the mailed paper ballot this election cycle. So, if you want to make a nomination on the 18th, be ready to join the meeting via the internet. The link to the Zoom meeting will be sent in a Grab Iron email, so keep an eye on your email. You can also contact me for the meeting link.
Russ Segner, 4D Superintendent
russseg@gmail.com 206 200 2211
From the Bunker
By Russ Segner
The current COVD-19 crisis has certainly altered the way we interact at work and home. It is also forcing some changes in our hobby. We can’t run to the hobby shop or craft store for supplies and we can’t get together to work on or operate our layouts with others. Of course, our health is the most important thing right now. But there are some things we can do together anyway.
Many of us are using social media such as Skype and Zoom to share things over the internet. That’s the way our Board will conduct business for the next few meetings. It is also a way we can better communicate throughout the 4th Division. Distance and traffic have become big impediments to our clinics and train shows. So, we are exploring ways to do clinics over the internet. So, check your email frequently.
Our next Board meeting was scheduled for April 18 at 10 AM . We intend to use the application Zoom to conduct that meeting online. It worked well in a test run Saturday. The neat thing about this is that many of our members who want to participate can do so. Many of you already use this in your workplace. The link to the Zoom meeting will be sent in a Grab Iron email, so keep an eye on your email. You can also contact me for the meeting link. russseg@gmail.com
Invitees will be organized in a waiting room and the moderator of the meeting will invite you in. That way we can control participation to members only. You will be able to ask questions and view any documents or exhibits we are discussing.
If you have questions, please email me or call me at 206 200 2211.
Russ
Chuck Ricketts Fantasy Island Railroad
Nothing To Do?
Article & Photos By Greg Price
Thought I’d share my most recent “stay at home“ project. This is a standard DPM building with my own touches. Painted with spray paint followed by joint compound colored w/ gray acrylic paint. Then acrylic paint was used to paint window frames and corbels and lintels. I then weathered it with alcohol & India ink and Bragdon’s weathering powders. I made a sales showroom out of styrene as well as numerous washers, dryers, stoves and refrigerators. I then lit it with surface mount LED’s. I also used BarMills signs mounted on wire.
All in all a nice project for my city of Matheson!
Greg Price
Matheson & Western RR