Article and photos by Ken Liesse
35 members and guests were on hand for the Eastside Clinic held Thursday night, February 17. JJ Johnston kicked off the evening with announcements, including that of the stolen equipment from the Monroe train show (see details in another section of the Grab Iron). He also announced that Bob Beise has earned AP certificates in Civil, Electrical and Volunteer. Only four more and Bob will earn his Master Model Railroader.
Frank Dekker mentioned that 4D was in possession of several concrete pier blocks that had previously been used at the Pacific Science Center show. The blocks have brackets to hold 2x4s and are now surplus. Anyone having use for such blocks should contact Frank.
Jim Sabol let everyone know that there will be several opportunities to see mainline steam action in the northwest this summer, with the National Railroad Historical Society convention being in Tacoma. In addition, the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway should be firing up Baldwin #70 this coming week. If the engine passes her boiler certification, she will be part of the triple-header run at the railway in May.
Roger Ferris brought five cases of the Mart for member perusal, and mentioned that member Al Robinson (who attends the Shoreline clinic) would be selling off his collection of brass engines and other equipment for health reasons. Anyone wishing to learn more about this sale should contact Roger at railfun@frontier.com.
We had two entries in the Model of the Month contest.
CJ Turner's Model of the Month winner.
First place went to CJ Turner for a model that Di Voss brought in! The model was a Bar Mills kit to which CJ had added an extensive interior, including billiards tables and shooters. CJ had built the model for Di, hence Di bringing it in to show. The other entry was from Rob Jones, who brought an extensive collection of N-scale equipment, some of which Rob had just purchased at the Monroe show. George Chambers also brought in a collection of old model railroad catalogs for folks to see.
Di Voss announced that a proposal is being put before the NMRA BOD to possibly have the 2015 or 2016 national convention on a cruise down the west coast. Details of the trip are still being fleshed out, but the cruise would probably leave from either Seattle or Vancouver (meeting the international port of call rule) sail to San Diego, possibly stopping in Portland and San Francisco. If anyone has any ideas on this proposal or would possibly like to help put it on, please contact Di.
Ed Liesse reminded us that this year’s NMRA convention is being held in Sacramento, CA, July 3-10. This is a good opportunity to visit a national if you’ve never been before as it won’t be out this way again for another four years.
After the break, Jim Easley gave a presentation on the garden railroad he helped build at the Emerald Heights Retirement Community in Redmond. Jim and his wife are residents of the community, and Jim wanted to build an outdoor layout around the duplex in which they live. After approaching the management at Emerald Heights, it was decided that this should become a community project with a central place for the new railroad. Jim agreed to head up the project and held his first meeting, thinking he would get a handful of his fellow retirees to help out. Turns out fifty couples showed up for that first meeting! Committees were assigned, plans were drawn up (including a neat little profile model of the area where the layout would be built) and construction commenced. During the planning stage, it was decided that the group would model the Seattle & Lake Shore, since it ran through Redmond. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) was used for the sub-roadbed, with all LGB track. Even a shed was built to protect the equipment and make it easier for the “engineers” to get at their equipment (no bending). All in all, Jim estimated that over 250 residents of the community took part in the building of the railroad. This included folks who were interested in construction, planning, gardening, and even a guy who bricked up the lone tunnel in the plan. At the end of construction, the CEO of the community presided over a “Gold Spike Ceremony,” and officially opened the railroad.
Emerald Heights is an extremely active community, and their in-house TV station made a documentary on the process of building the railroad. Jim presented this documentary to us at Eastside, and everyone was in awe of what the community has accomplished. Jim is also now working on the layout he wanted in the first place, which will be a replica of Swiss railroading, a subject dear to Jim’s heart.
At this time, we do not have a program lined up for the March meeting, but rest assured JJ will come up with something. If you would like volunteer to give a clinic, contact JJ (jj@jtwice.com). He’ll be more than happy to sign you up. Additional photos from the clinic can be viewed at https://picasaweb.google.com/ken.liesse/EastsideClinic21711#
