By Rich Thom
Twenty-four modelers gathered in Oak Harbor for the Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinic’s February meeting, including guests Jan Clarke (spouse of locomotive-rebuilding wizard Dave); Dale Bearden, from our “sister” Mt. Vernon Clinic; and—all the way from Olympia—well-known 4th-Division modelers Greg Wright and Jim Younkins. Clinic Chair Rich Blake congratulated member Mark Malmkar for earning his NMRA MMR (no. 604) joining Jack Tingstad and other MMR’s in our area. Program Chair Susan Gonzales appealed to all that she needs ideas for future clinics. Susan added that our private visit to the Lake Whatcom Railway, in Wickersham, WA, has been delayed slightly due to downed trees on the property, but is now targeted for Saturday, May 19th. Both our clinic group and Mt. Vernon’s are invited, and the railroad won’t be open to the public during our visit.
Golden Grab Iron Service Awardee – Al Frasch
Jim Younkins (left) presents Al Frasch with the Golden Grab-Iron Award for 2017.
As most everyone around the 4th Division (and beyond) knows by now, Whidbey Island’s own Al Frasch has decided to move to a warmer clime (near Tucson, AZ). Al has done much to put Whidbey “on the map” so to speak, and due largely to his networking and writing skills (for example, his newsletter for the SV&W clinic), has helped our clinic, and the spun-off Mt. Vernon clinic, grow into a vibrant pair of groups with regular combined attendance of over forty modelers. Al also spearheaded the movement towards “ops” in our area, personally forging layout owner and op session relationships from Sequim to Olympia and most everywhere in between, as well as the entire West Coast and British Columbia, too; he also serves as an official in the OpSig organization. In recognition of this and more, Al was presented the NMRA 4th Division Golden Grab Iron Service Award.
Al Frasch’s N-Scale Pilchuck Division of the BNSF.
Al’s championing of ops in the region was “by example”: his n-scale Pilchuck Division of the BNSF is widely-known. The shot above shows just one detail of the double-level railroad, which models the Seattle-to-Vancouver B.C. main line, with New Westminster (lower level) and Stanwood above on the upper level. (edit: See Model Railroad Hobbyist Issue 17 July 2011 for a full on-line article of this great layout). If your reporter has his numbers right, Al has hosted over 50 op sessions since the Pilchuck Division began, which translates to somewhere north of 750 or more happy crew members over the years. On a personal note, your reporter loved dispatching this railroad—and will miss it. Thanks, Al, for all those fun hours, but the half-mile long coal train won’t be missed. After Soundrail 2018 (next month), the Pilchuck Division will be dismantled and rolling stock, some buildings and track moved to Arizona where a new railroad will appear—knowing Al’s pace—in a few months.
Former Golden Grab Iron recipients, Jim Younkins, Ted Becker and Greg Wright presenting Al Frasch with the 2017 Golden Grab Iron award.
These guys have driven a long way from the mainland to honor Al: Jim Younkins, left; and Ted Becker and Greg Wright, right. Jim pointed out in his remarks that among the many mutual ops arrangements, Al started WOW (Weekend on Whidbey) where, for several years running, Olympia-area folks have traveled north once a year to crew on island layouts.
Ted’s Potpourri
Ted Becker digs into his “Tub of Tricks”
Ted Becker followed with the evening’s program, “Potpourri,” alternatively Ted’s “Tub of Tricks” and various other catchy titles. The idea: Show “stuff” very useful for our hobby but not from the train store (such as that remains) or even on-line model railroad suppliers. The items in Ted’s tub are from craft, fabric and tool stores—even Dollar Tree—with emphasis on “cheap.” Not “inexpensive” Ted emphasized, just plain old cheap.
Ted has presented this clinic elsewhere, and it may be coming soon to yours, so this reporter won’t spoil the fun by listing all the items—and Ted passes out a list for you to take with you. Ted pulled about one hundred items out of his tub, such as, in above, a make-up brush. (Buy your own, don’t “borrow.”) Ted said his clinic was a success if each of us picked up at least one fresh idea for a cheap modeling aid. With that criterion, your reporter was overwhelmed, taking away dozens of ideas, from gun swabs (superior to Q-tips) to Dappen dishes to a Japanese saw (“Bear Saw”) cutting on the pull-stroke. Presented with much dry humor, a very useful clinic indeed.
