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Upcoming Clinic – Eastside Get Together, Thursday 12/19

Written by Anton Faulk
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By Alex Brikoff

The December 2019 Eastside Get Together Clinic will have its monthly meeting on December 19, 2019.

The Clinic will meet at the:
Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village
6505 176TH AVE NE, Rm. 202
REDMOND WA 98052-4930

Doors open at 7:00 PM and meeting starts promptly at 7:15 PM

We will begin by mentioning any noteworthy, upcoming model railroad and railfan events in the area.  We will also have our Model of the Month and Rail Photo of the Month contest.  This year, our “Mini Clinic Event” in March 2020, will be done a bit differently.  This month, we will be voting as a group to select four Mini-Clinic topics from the list of topics we put together last month. The winners will be announced at the end of this month’s clinic. 

We will be having our annual Christmas “Dirty Santa Gift Exchange” this month.  Everyone is asked to bring a small gift to participate.  It is requested that the gift be inexpensive (less than $10 – $15 value) and gift wrapped with ONLY the scale marked on it if necessary (no names).

We will have refreshments and snacks available as always.  The winners of the contests will have first choice of gifts from the “Dirty Santa Gift Table”.

See you there!!

**Clinic Change Next Month**

Also, please note that starting in January, the Redmond Eastside Get Together Clinic will be moving to the third WEDNESDAY instead the third THURSDAY.  This will be our new meeting day until the end of the clinic year in June.  I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but we didn’t have much say in the matter.

Alex Brikoff

Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic

MOHAI SUCCESS

Written by Russ Segner
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Article & Photos By Russ Segner

Thanksgiving weekend was a great success led by Ed Ives for the second year. Three of our modular groups: 4D-Ntrak, HO, Hi-Railers and several additional small layouts and displays participated. The feedback from MOHAI staff has been very positive and we expect an even better event next year.

Here are some shots of the activities:

  • On30 switching puzzle
  • HO module
  • NTrak
  • On30 layout
  • Wooden Trains
  • Wooden Trains
  • Hi-Rail
  • HO kids layout
  • Operation Life Saver
  • Bob Stafford N scale
  • Dan Kellogg N scale layout
  • NTrak
  • NTrak
  • NTrak
  • NTrak

Coming up next weekend on Friday December 20, many of the same groups will be at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma for 11 days. This is a great show and I encourage you to go and attend to support this effort. The displays are very well done and it is a chance for all of our 4D members to share time together.

Russ

Model Train Show, News

Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinic November Meeting Show and Tell and DCC Night

Written by Rich Blake
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Article and Photos by Rich Thom

Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 26 to the November meeting, first reviewing the upcoming calendar.  Dec 11th will feature our annual Wassail, a tradition dating back at least a dozen years, with all invited to bring a (finger-food) potluck dish to share.  The pre-clinic dinner at Alfy’s in Oak Harbor is annulled for this meeting only, and the starting time for the Wassail is 6:30 pm.  For the January get-together (Jan 8th), modelers are invited to bring their latest models for detailed discussion of how they created them, and having their models judged (if they wish) for NMRA Achievement Awards.

Fig 1 – Jon Bentz Describes Progress on his Railroad

Several clinic members have layouts in progress including Jon Bentz (Fig 1), who described the status of his Rio Como Railroad.  Filling the better part of a 14’ x 39’ room, the On30 pike re-uses many of Jon’s scratch buildings on all-new benchwork.  A car float operation is featured.  Helping Jon with the construction among others is Cliff Aaker and Alan Murray; Alan, for example, is building the overpass (Fig 2)—a work in progress—for a spot on Jon’s layout.

Fig 2 – Alan Murray’s Overpass (In Progress)
Fig 3 – Ted Becker’s Banta Kit

Ted Becker brought in a model for display (Fig 3), a Banta Modelworks HO-scale “Crick Hollow Hardware and Miners Supply.”  Ted has thoroughly re-purposed the structure and varied the details.

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News

Clinic Report – East Side Get Together – November 2019

Written by Anton Faulk
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Article & Photos By Syd Schofield

The NMRA/PNR Fourth Division Redmond Clinic for November was held Thursday evening at the Redmond Community Center, Alex Brikoff presiding.  The gathering was brought to order at 7:15 PM.  Notable attendees were introduced and upcoming events of interest were announced.  The Grab-Iron newsletter will furnish schedule and content particulars.

***PLEASE NOTE:

One important announcement was regarding the day change of the Eastside Clinic.  Beginning in JANUARY 2020, the Eastside Clinic will be held on the 3rd WEDNESDAY of every month at least until June.  The meeting room and start time will remain the same.

Model of the Month was by Dan Kellog.  He showed an HO scale diorama of the Chittiden Locks railroad bridge that will be used on his layout.  John Paschal showed three photos of steam locomotives at the East Broad Top Railroad repository/storage facility for Photo(s) of the Month. 

Model of the Month – Dan Kellog’s diorama of BNSF bridge no. 4
Photo of the Month – John Paschal’s photos of East Broad Top Railroad repository

The evening’s clinic was by Russ Segner.  He presented an excellent clinic on the basics of model railroad scenery.  He discussed scenery design and considerations of technique based on his Sn3 home layout.

“Basic Scenery Techniques: Theory and Practice” presented by Russ Segner

The winners of the Model of the Month and Photo of the Month were the first to select from many great door prizes that were available that evening.  The remainder were dispersed with the usual blind jar drawings, manned by Anton Faulk.

C. J. Turner was kind enough to once again provide our refreshments.

The December gathering will be the yearly tradition “Dirty Santa” gift exchange.  Everyone is encouraged to bring a railroad-related, identified by scale (if applicable) and unidentified on the wrapper.  The random pick drawing is for these items of approximately $10 in value.  The somewhat complicated and resultant, occasionally gentle chiding process will be explained at the meeting.  Side negotiations for redistribution are permitted.  

The meeting concluded by 9:15.

Syd Schofield

Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic

Maple Valley Show

Written by Anton Faulk
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By Russ Segner

Several of our 4D Modular Groups recently participated in the Maple Valley Train Show. Thanks to John Schmidt of Covington for sharing a video he made while at the Maple Valley Show. Here is the video:

This is an example of what will be seen at the upcoming show at MOHAI over Thanksgiving weekend. Our Hi-Rail, HO and N-Trak groups will be there. Tom Stevenson will have his wooden “Brio” like trains and several small displays will also be there. If you are not already involved with one of our modular groups, here is a chance to get involved and run some trains.

We will be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Let me or Ed Ives know if you will join in and help. How about a four hour shift?

Russ – 206 200 2211 russseg@gmail.com
Ed Ives – 425 391 3313 gresley7@gmail.com

Model Train Show

Upcoming Clinic – Eastside Get Together, Thursday 11/21

Written by Anton Faulk
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By Alex Brikoff

The November 2019 Eastside Get Together Clinic will have its monthly meeting on November 21, 2019.

The Clinic will meet at the:
Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village
6505 176TH AVE NE, Rm. 202
REDMOND WA 98052-4930

Doors open at 7:00 PM and meeting starts promptly at 7:15 PM

Besides bringing everyone up to date on the noteworthy model railroad and railfan events coming up, we’ll also be announcing some major changes coming to our clinic after the first of the year. You’ll definitely want to make note of those changes! We’ll also have our Model of the Month contest and Rail Photo of the Month contest. So, please bring your models and photos for the contests! Winners will have first choice of many fine items from our Door Prize table.

This month’s clinic will be presented by Russ Segner and will be the first of our new “Back to Basics Clinic Series”. Russ’ clinic will be entitled “Basic Scenery Techniques: Theory and Practice”. Russ will present his thoughts and ideas about basic scenery techniques which will include “geo-forming” hills, rock cliffs, creeks and other water features followed by how he installs ground cover, ballasting, shrubs and trees. He will then actually demonstrate these ideas and techniques on a small module that he has been working on.

We will have refreshments and snacks available as always. We’ll also have a great selection of Door Prizes to give away at the end of the clinic.

See you there!!

Alex Brikoff

Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic

Continued Generosity of Spirit at the Tacoma Clinic

Written by Anton Faulk
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By Kurt Laidlaw

For the ninth year in a row the Tacoma Clinic donated to the Emergency Food Network at the November meeting. Leo Scafturon, who has run the donation program from its beginning, presented a check for $1,300.00 to the Executive Director. That equals 6,500 meals for Pierce County residents in need.

Emergency Food Network provides 13.9 million pounds of healthy, nutritious food annually to 76 food pantries, meal sites, and shelters for distribution to families and individuals in need. There are 1.3 million visits to food pantries and meal sites in Pierce County each year – and 56% of these visits are children and seniors! Emergency Food Network makes sure these hungry families and individuals receive the nutritious food they need to stay healthy.

Thank you to all the participants at the Tacoma Clinic for your continued generosity.

Kurt Laidlaw
President, Pacific Northwest Region, NMRA

Tacoma Clinic

MOHAI Volunteers

Written by Anton Faulk
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By Ed Ives

I have learnt over the years that things just do not happen without volunteers, be it the PTA, Boy Scouts, junior Baseball or commercial operations such as Boeing. They, Boeing, need volunteers in order to conduct the evacuation testing and certification of a new airplane. So for us, the 4th Division, we must have volunteers to man the events such as the Spring Meet, the Science Center show, the MOHAI show and others or they just DO NOT happen.

We need your help at the MOHAI show during the Thanksgiving weekend with the equivalent of a minimum of six persons all day for each day of the three day show. So far I have but three volunteers for part of one day each. Part of a day volunteering is great but I need a lot more of you doing just that.

So what would a volunteer be asked to do?

We have a number of owner operator displays where the operator will need some relief from time to time during the day. You could be attending temporarily to the BRIO display or the switching display or running a train on a small seasonal display. You will be selling nothing, just keeping trains off the floor and engaging in light hearted conversation with the public.

Volunteer by writing to Ed Ives Gresley7@gmail.com

Model Train Show, News

Dioramas

Written by Russ Segner
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Please bring your dioramas to the Boeing Swap Meet.  If they are not fully detailed, that’s ok. You will be able to take them home and can continue to work on them before the Science Center Show in January.

Please bring a 3×5 card telling something about it and your contact information. We will need to look at them by noon and you will be able to take them back by 2pm. I will have tables in the Gymnasium where they can be displayed.

Thanks for your efforts and thank you for sharing.

Russ
206 200 2211

News

The Anacortes and Fidalgo Model Railroad Club Open House This Weekend

Written by Rich Blake
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The Anacortes and Fidalgo Model Railroad Club will host what may be their last open house this weekend November 2nd and 3rd  from 10am to 4pm each day.  The layout is located in the basement at 419 Q Ave. in the beautiful seaside historic town of Anacortes west of Mount Vernon off HWY 20.

Look for this sign off Q street in Anacortes, the layout is in the basement around the backside of the house in the photo.

The club has been at this location since 1994 starting with a 500 square foot area and about 10 members.   Over the last 25 years the club has enjoyed a long and interesting pursuit of building and operating a detailed layout depicting many of the historic railroad features in and around Anacortes, Fidalgo Island and the Skagit Valley.

Scratchbuilt and operating model of the Swinomish Channel swing bridge which is still in use today by the BNSF serving the March Point refinery. You can see the distinctive prototype bridge along HWY 20 on the way to Anacortes.
Waterfront scene depicting the busy Anacortes port terminus of the Great Northern Railroad.

A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into the layout and it shows in the many finely constructed structures and scenery details.  The layout now occupies the full 1000 square feet available however the club must unfortunately move out within the next year.

Entryway to the basement layout features a re-creation of the La Conner arch span bridge that connects Fidalgo Island to the mainland on what is now Reservation Road.

Hopefully the club can find a new location to host their layout and equipment in the near future. Many members of the club are local PNR 4d NMRA members and regular attendees of both the Mount Vernon and the Skagit Valley and Whidbey NMRA Clinics.

A recent GoSkagit article about the layout is here

History of Anacortes and the local railroads is here

Map location of the club layout is here

News