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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Ken Liesse just posted this. Ken speaks for all of us in our appreciation of Gene Swanson
“It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my friend, Gene Swanson, MMR last Friday in Tacoma, WA. Gene was a fixture in 4D/PNR and had just won the President’s Award from the NMRA in June of this year. Gene ran the Tacoma Clinic for over two decades and was instrumental in building the popularity of that meeting. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers and built several of the structures on the layout, mostly from scratch. Gene preferred to work in wood, but would “stoop” to plastic on occasion when necessary.
My own association with Gene began when I started attending the Tacoma Clinic. Gene’s welcoming nature brought me into the group and made me feel at home. His layout was the first I assessed for MMR and I was very happy to be on hand when he was awarded this honor. He also invited me to help out with a traveling museum exhibit, which culminated with me doing the figures and animals for a traveling display depicting how the railroads tamed the west that visited several museums around the country.
Ever a high school sports fan, Gene was very encouraging to my son, who was a budding high school sports photographer when they met. They formed a friendship of their own, and Gene ended up commissioning my son to do a photo book of Gene’s layout, which ended up with four separate printings.
I am aware of several who are building dioramas for display at the Boeing Swap Meet November 9. There is still time to get one ready. Rules are simple:
12″ by 24″
Railroad theme
Any scale
Give it a try to show off some of your skills and challenge others to get those kits out of their boxes and built.
Questions? Contact me at 206 200 2211. Russ Segner
The Puget Sound HOn3 Modular Group is underway with the first two modules being constructed. The theme for those two modules is the Newcastle coal mine-to-Lake Washington connection. These are being built by Russ Segner and John Paschal. Interfacing modules may have other themes as determined by their builders.
Matching track locations for other modules have yet to be determined and may take some coordination. Russ and John have taken the lead on the module design, so the general specification may be strongly, yet not finally determined by their efforts.
A proposed specification, subject to close scrutiny, slings and arrows, is available upon request from the undersigned.
As Interim focal and contact, I can collect comments from all interested parties at:
The National Model Railroad Association Fourth
Division of the Pacific Northwest Region (4d PNR NMRA) Eastside Get Together
Clinic for October was held Thursday evening at the Redmond Community Center,
Alex Brikoff presiding. The gathering was brought to order and the
program began at 7:15 PM. At that time, notable attendees were introduced
and upcoming events of interest were announced.
The Grab-Iron newsletter will furnish event times, schedules and other
event details.
For the model of the month, Chris Cooney showed several HO scale buildings to be used on his HOn3 layout.
Chris Cooney’s model of the month winner
Syd Schofield had a photo of #478, the narrow-gauge steam locomotive, one of three ALCO K-28 type on the Durango and Silverton railroad, the prototype of an On3 model he showed earlier this year. Bob Rorabaugh showed a model tree typical of the massive trees brought down in the early lumber harvest in the Sierras and Cascades.
Syd Schofield’s photo of the ALCO K-28 on the Durango and Silverton railroad
George Chambers presented pictures and stories of his summer trip on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, and the Alaska Railroad.
Bob Stafford showed pictures of his recent Union Pacific 4014 “Big Boy” 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive excursion from Cheyenne, where it was restored, to Ogden for the 150th Trans-Continental railroad Golden Spike anniversary. There was a huge gathering along the entire way and massive attendance at the Promontory Point Historical Site.
First choice door prize selection model of the
month and photo of the month. The remainder were dispersed by the usual
drawing method, manned by Anton Faulk.
C. J. Turner was kind enough to once again
provide our refreshments.
