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Burien Clinic – June 28

Written by Russ Segner
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Russ Segner

HOn3, HOn3, HOn3

Have you looked at Hon3 lately? This scale was a longtime favorite of model railroaders who were challenged by space too small. The growth of HO and advent of N and On30 has pushed Hon3 into the background. Now, with the introduction of Blackstone Models, good flex track and tiny electronics, Hon3 is enjoying a resurgence.

Jim Vail was a great model builder in Hon3 and his Glenwood & Black Creek railroad became one of the very best layouts. Jim filled his large layout in Santa Cruz with hundreds of fine structures and trackage that made operation a real joy.

We will look at some of his work in videos and photographs. I am lucky that I was able to visit his layout twice, once just a few years ago. And now, I have three pieces of rolling stock from his layout now being dismantled following his death early this year.

Come and see what he built and shared with us in visits to the layout  and through the hundreds of articles he wrote over the years, particularly in the Short Line and Narrow Gauge Gazette.

Thursday June 28, Pacific Northwest Railroad Archives in Burien, 425 SW 153rd St

Doors open at 7:00 and program begins at 7:30.

Burien Clinic, Narrow Gauge

The Footplate for June 2018

Written by Al Lowe
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Russ Segner, 4D Superintendent

Chuck Ricketts at the Spring Meet

Summer is here – put away the umbrellas and galoshes! It’s time to get outdoors and do some railfanning, ride a train, or visit one of our historic rail sites. I’m heading for Colorado again to ride the Cumbres & Toltec. Some are heading to Train Mountain in Oregon, others may head to Sacramento to the California Railroad Museum. Some will stay local and take the kids or grandkids to visit Thomas at Snoqualmie. In any event, get out there and check out some new rail location.

Make & Take Clinic

June has been a very busy month. The PNR meetings in Portland drew many of us to Jantzen Beach for some great clinics and layout visits. It was a chance to meet many of our fellow modelers from all over the Northwest. Jim Fugate, publisher of Model Railroader Hobbyist, was there demonstrating LokSound decoders and a really nifty control unit that emulates the control stand of the modern diesel engine.

The Pacific Northwest Region is one of the very best and most active regions in the entire NMRA. Your own Fourth Division is strong and very active. We just completed our Spring Meet in Redmond which was well organized and executed by Al Lowe and clinicians Alex Brikoff, Larry Sloan, Byron Osborn, MMR Bill Messecar, MMR Didrik Voss, MMR Max Maginness and MMR Chuck Ricketts. MMR Jack Hamilton, conducted a well-received Make and Take clinic building wood trestles. Make a point to attend in 2019!

Your Fourth Division is beginning a major effort to establish additional modular groups, at least one for HOn3 and possibly a Free-Mo HO group. Another group will begin building museum-quality dioramas to display at shows.

So, you have all summer to experience real trains, locally or around the world. Take lots of pictures and come back this fall prepared to share and perhaps present a clinic on what you have modeled or experienced. As a favorite beer commercial says: “One life right, don’t blow it. Mahalo!”

Convention or Meet, Superintendent’s Message

June 2018 Eastside Get Together Clinic – Redmond

Written by Al Turnbull
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by Alex Brikoff

The June 2018 Eastside Get Together Clinic will meet on June 21, 2018. This will be our last clinic before summer break! We will start up again in September.

As always, the Clinic is 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 for the summer months ahead. We will also have our Model of the Month contest and Rail Photo of the Month contest. So, please bring your best 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 “Railways in Brisbane” and presented by John Morrison. In his clinic, he will be discussing Australia’s three primary gauge railway problem, the history of this, and what’s being done to alleviate it. He will also describe the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane commuter rail systems, including some of their history and how dual gauge is handled in Melbourne and Brisbane’s main terminals. This promises to be a very interesting clinic.

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.

Have a great summer and see you here again in September!

Eastside Get-Together (Redmond) Clinic

Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinic Rides the 1:1 Scale Lake Whatcom Railway

Written by Rich Blake
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By Susan Gonzales

 

SV&W Crew along with several guests enjoying a nice spring day at the Lake Whatcom Railway near Bellingham, WA.

The regular May meeting of the Skagit Valley and Whidbey Model Railroad club was not held at its regular meeting place but on a train in the foothills of Whatcom County. We had a delicious lunch at Bob’s Burgers & Brews just off I-5 on Cook Road prior to our departure time. All 23 of us were able to order and eat in record time.

We made our way to the Wickersham parking lot off Highway 9 where we purchased our tickets for a special ride on the Lake Whatcom Railway. While waiting for our other attendees, we were allowed to wander through the shed that holds a steam engine and other cars. We boarded the train being pulled by a diesel and began our trip.  Lovely ride through heavily wooded areas, the sun was out and we had entertainment in person of Ben the Banjo Man.  We sang along to old folk songs and railroad songs. In between songs, Frank, the owner of Lake Whatcom Railway Inc., told stories of the railroad. We went through a tunnel made out of culvert material. The end of the ride was beautiful Mirror Lake. We backed down the track to return to our point of departure.

#1070 an NP Class L-9 0-6-0 sitting in the storage shed awaiting boiler work.

A handcar was brought out for those hardy souls who wanted to try their hand at pumping some iron down the track.  It was very entertaining for those of us watching. We had a great afternoon outing and the rain held off till we were done.

(This little excursion railroad sits along HWY 9 north of Sedro Woolley and east of Bellingham near the shores of Lake Whatcom. The township of Wickersham was once a whistle stop for the Northern Pacific on it’s way to Sumas and was a connection point for the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railroad. Find out more about the Lake Whatcom Railway by clicking here. ed.)

Skagit Valley and Whidbey Island Clinic

North End Clinic Annual Tour of Homes, June 2018

Written by Al Turnbull
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by Lisa Murray

On June 7, the North End Clinic will once again host a layout tour. Each year the group organizes a tour of model train layouts in local homes so that members can see real life applications of the modeling ideas presented at 4D NRMA clinics.

This year we will be visiting two professionally designed HO layouts, as well as a professionally designed N scale layout. Also we will visit a vintage train collection that focuses on pre-war tinplate standard and O gauge trains which can run simultaneously on custom 5-rail track.

The tour is open to active NMRA members and their guests and will run from 7 to 10pm on Thursday, June 7, 2018.

The tour will start at the Edmonds Historical Museum (www.historicedmonds.org) which is located at 118 5th Avenue North in Edmonds, WA. All of the homes on the tour are in the Edmonds area.

Members will check in at the museum to receive a map and directions to the different homes on the tour. They will also be able to visit the permanent train display at the museum and meet the museum volunteers who keep the layout operational and open to the public.

Because the layouts on the tour are in private residences, we ask, out of respect for the people opening their homes to fellow modelers, that members limit the number of guests that they bring. We also encourage you to carpool if you can, as parking may be limited at some of the locations.

Also, for those members with limited mobility, please be aware that walking up and down stairs is required to access one of the layouts.

A big thank you to Bobj Berger for organizing this year’s model layout tour.

Please contact Lisa Murray at 206.310.6778 or mattinata@outlook.com if you have questions or need additional information.

Layout Tour

2018 Spring Meet on Saturday June 9th

Written by Russ Segner
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Russ Segner

The 4th Division’s 2018 Spring Meet will be held at the Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village (formerly Lake Washington Institute of Technology), 6505 176th Avenue NE, Redmond on Saturday, June 9th.

The Spring Meet web site is 4dSpringMeet.com, which includes an online registration page and venue details. The cost is a measly $20 for NMRA members. If you register by Tuesday May 29, you’ll get a free box lunch. You can register at the door, but you’ll probably not get a box lunch. Non-NMRA members are still welcome; if you haven’t been a member for a while, you join the national for a six-month “trial membership” for another $20.

There will be at least two simultaneous clinics, plus a Make & Take session. Click here for complete details.

Convention or Meet

Murphy’s Law

Written by Dale Kraus
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Dale Kraus

Murphy’s Law of Railfanning, No.22:  Any once-in-a-lifetime photograph taken quickly will have a pole, signal, or sign in front of the subject.

Corollary No.3:  The older or rarer the subject the more likely  Law 22 will apply.

Hence:

 

Articles

Burien Clinic – May 24, 2018

Written by Russ Segner
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Russ Segner

The Burien Clinic will meet this coming Thursday at The Pacific Northwest Railroad Archives in Burien. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM.

David Yadock will lead a program about helpful hints for structures, easy to make bridge abutments, and layout scenery. Dave’s large HO layout features many interesting scenes inspired by John Allen and he has incorporated many clever solutions to separate scenes and bring focus to his many fine bridge structures.

Location:  425 SW 153rd St, Burien

Burien Clinic