Grab Iron Posts

One of our 4D MMRs has passed away. Chuck Ricketts left us on Aug 6th at Harborview Hospital. His balance had been deteriorating for the last year, and a fall resulting in a severe head trauma took him from us. I will miss his friendship and sharing of all things related to model construction and in particular the railroad hobby. His imagination, hobby expertise and enthusiasm to get everyone involved in operations created fine comradery. His Sherwood, Shelton & Sarazen (S. S. & S.) included a unique feature at the time, a movable barge “floating” traffic between Oyster Bay and South Seattle, a separate location and operating system.

Thanks to the efforts of Roger Nulton and Dale Kreutzer, the S. S. & S. is in the Oct 2020 issue of the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette. Bruce Petrarca MMR #574, one of Chuck’s Arizona friends, has created a Vemio, vimeo.com/536949514 about Chuck’s S. S. & S. that I thought clever. Chuck sold the house in Lacey with railroad intact. Or perhaps from a modeler’s perspective sold the railroad with the house intact.

Never giving up model railroading, the Baja Sienna was his next railroad in Tumwater. You’ve seen various articles and YouTube presentation about this one. My perspective, with a laugh, is the materials used were largely gathered at the local foam recycler’s dumpster. Once again after reaching the operation stage, this layout was carved up and sold to a Seattle railroad modeler. Chuck moved again, staying in Tumwater and had, in the planning stage, a shelf layout in the works for the new garage. With a sigh, I say goodbye to Chuck who was an exceptional friend to me, the Olympia model railroaders and the whole Puget Sound model railroading community.

A Celebration of Life will be announced to take place in Olympia at a presently unknown date. Chuck’s partner, Janet Spencer, will appreciate emailed condolences at janetinbastrop@gmail.com. She looks forward to meeting all of you at his Celebration of Life.
Submitted by Jim Elder

JJ Johnston was one of our Fourth Division leaders for many years. He was a fine model builder and friend to many in the Fourth Division.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, August 12 at 2PM. The service will be at:
1st Presbyterian Church of Bellevue
1717 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA

I have been asked to speak about his involvement with us in the Fourth Division. Please call me with any special memories of JJ.
Russ 206 200 2211

Article & Photos By Gordon Sandell

When the Bellingham Railway Museum closed a few years ago, among the items that the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie acquired was a Lionel O gauge layout, which sat unused for some time.

Over the last few years, the 4-D O Gauge Hi-Railers Modular Group (with a modest financial contribution from 4-D) has been helping the Museum get it back into running order. Members of the Group have got all three tracks operational, repaired some of the locomotives and rolling stock that came with the layout, and restored many of the accessories to running order, although sadly it has since suffered from an attack of vandalism.

Members of the Group have also supported the Museum by running the layout on days when the layout is operating. The layout is mostly used by the Museum in conjunction with the Days Out with Thomas that they run several times a year, and Group Members have also provided suitable Lionel “Thomas the Tank Engine” locomotives and cars to run on those occasions.

For the Days Out with Thomas, the train, with Thomas at the front (and a diesel locomotive at the rear), leaves the Snoqualmie Depot, and arrives at the Museum a few minutes later. The families can then go through a number of Thomas-related activities (of which the layout is one), and then return on the next train to the Snoqualmie Depot.

As you can see in the pictures, we had quite a few interested children. Many of them were very knowledgeable about the Thomas stories, and could recognize the locomotives and cars by name. Hopefully some proportion of them will go on to run Thomas models and eventually become railroad modelers. Maybe there are even a few future MMRs amongst them!

Gordon

We will resume in August on the 17th.

Russ

Here is the information on JJ. The Celebration of his life will be August 12 in Bellevue. I will post again Early August.

Russ

AUG
12
Celebration Of Life
Saturday, August 12, 2023
2:00PM – 3:00PM
1st Presbyterian Church of Bellevue
1717 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004

This is a reminder that this month’s Eastside Clinic will feature an opportunity to share our memories of JJ Johnston. I will share some pictures of JJ in railfanning and some memories of time together with him. I am sure many of us have things to share.

Doug Oldenburg will be posting the link to the meeting soon to all on our list. If you are not on the list and want to be included, contact Doug at douglas.oldenburg@yahoo.com

Russ Segner

We meet again online June 15 at 7PM.

Our meeting will feature A discussion on benchwork ideas and practices designed to encourage us all to build better and more quickly. Bring your experiences and suggestions to share, including some photos.

We will start, however with “A time to remember JJ Johnston, one of our best”. Take some time to remember and relate to us some of your memories of JJ. The family has not yet announced plans for a formal Celebration of JJ. That information will be shared as soon as it is available.

If you are not on our list to receive the link to the meeting, contact me at russseg@gmail.com.

Russ

Dan Peters

Just a reminder to you, that the annual meeting of the Hi-Railers will take place on Saturday June 17th, 2023. For this special event, all NMRA members are also invited, to participate in the Special Event Steam Train Ride to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Northern Pacific. Northern Pacific steam engine 924 only runs three to five weekends a year, and we have scheduled our event to take part in this rare treat.

The Northern Pacific calls itself the second transcontinental railroad, and the first Northern transcontinental. It started service to Tacoma in 1873 using borrowed tracks through Oregon, but it didn’t complete its own main line until 1883.

Steam engine Northern Pacific 924 was built in 1899, for work on the waterfront yard in Duluth MN. It later moved to the Puget Sound area, where it worked the yards around Tacoma and Seattle until 1923. Sold to Inland Empire Paper Co, it continued working until retired in 1960. After rusting away in a park, it was completely restored from 2015 to 2021 by Northwest Railway Museum, where it now serves as “The Pride Of The Fleet.”

Our special excursion has some special rules, so that we can enjoy the sights and sounds of a Steam Engine in action, while the Northwest Railway Museum does not offer “reserved seating” on their trains.

We will depart from the station at the Railway History Center (RHC) yard on Stone Quarry Road at 10:00 a.m. This station is not on the public timetable, only the employee timetable; but it will permit us to take our seats in SP&S coach 213 right behind the steam engine, before the public boards at North Bend. There is no ticket agent at the RHC station, so it is imperative that you buy your ticket in advance at the trainmuseum.org web site. ( Refer to the “Grab Iron” post of April 18th.) Print out your ticket in advance or save it to your phone, the train conductor will “punch your ticket” when you board.

There is parking in the lot adjacent to the yard tracks. Overflow parking is on the shoulder on the north side of Stone Quarry Road – the shoulder is narrow, so take care not to obstruct traffic – or in front of the landscaping business to the west of the yard – they’re closed on Saturday, but still don’t block their driveways.

Remember from the 19th Century, when “the trains run on time?” Don’t be late. There’s plenty to see before departure. The engine crew starts firing up the steam engine at 6:30 a.m., and starts switching the passenger train around 9:00. Remember “Safety First” — keep off the tracks, keep your eyes open, and watch your kids. Our train ride will conclude around 11:35, followed by our picnic in the picnic grove, extended tours of the Train Shed Museum building, a short business meeting, train watching, and photography of steam run-bys until 5:00 p.m. There is no food service nearby the museum, so bring your lunch. As usual on railroad property, Rule G is in effect.

A final word to anybody who feels the urge to run, build, or work on “real” trains. The museum is always looking for volunteers, both on the train crew and the Restoration Workshop. Contact Emily B, the volunteer coordinator, for information or to sign up at Emily@TrainMuseum.org or 425-888-3030x7203