Article and photos by Ken Liesse
On September 15, JJ Johnston opened the 2011-12 Eastside Clinic season with introductions of VIPs, MMRs, and guests and welcomed everyone back to Bellevue. Many exciting things have happened over the summer. JJ was proud to announce that his wife, Pat, had won First Prize and Grand Champion in the doll house competition at this year’s Western Washington State Fair in Puyallup. (I saw the doll house — it’s very nice.) Frank Dekker pointed out that JJ’s layout graces the cover of this month’s Railroad Model Craftsman (autographed copies were available as door prizes) with an article written and photographed by 4D member Paul Scoles.
JJ Johnston & Russ Segner prepare for the clinic
Frank also reminded everyone that it is not too early to start thinking about the Pacific Science Center Show in January and that everyone should be considering volunteering for the show. The PSC committee is also looking for new ideas for the show, especially in the areas of children’s activities and other hands-on events. Email Frank your ideas at rekkedrails@juno.com.
Di Voss was looking for volunteers to help with the NMRA Conformance & Standards Group, assessing decoders to see if they meet NMRA protocols. By now he should have the one or two volunteers he was looking for.
Other announcements for the good of the order included Bob Beise’s reminder of the Lynden Train Show coming up October 1st and 2nd; Russ Segner’s announcement of the grand opening of the Northwest Railway Museum Train Shed; and Ed Liesse’s commentary on the upcoming Joint PNR-PCR Convention to be held in Medford, OR next May 2-5.
David Yadock won Model of the Month with this station.
The Model of the Month contest had several very good and varied entries this month. Jim Sabol brought a couple of wall pieces for his O scale Tacoma Union Station that he was building with the help of Kyle Davis, a student at Washington State University. Bob Beise showed off a #6 double-slip switch that he built with Fast Track jigs — in only four hours. Ron Cole presented a 1:32 scale 70-ton 40′ flat car for which he had built all the masters. Ron plans on making several more cars from these masters. Stu Rogers displayed an N Scale Architect lumber mill, which requires that the builder supply his own instructions as the ones in the kit are inadequate. The winner of the contest was David Yadock, who brought in the combination station seen at left. The station is a Campbell kit with details and interior lighting added as well as a good dose of weathering. Nicely done, David.
Our presentation for the evening was given by Russ Segner. Russ gave an overview of some of the highlights of the recently completed Narrow Gauge Convention in Hickory, NC (attended by several 4D members). He then talked about next year’s convention, which will be held in Bellevue, although the brochures tout the convention as being in Seattle. (We won’t hold that against the committee; whoever heard of Bellevue, WA?) It is shaping up to be a great convention. Russ reminds everyone that you don’t need to be narrow minded to enjoy the Narrow Gauge convention. Registration for the convention, to be held at Meydenbauer Center, is $110. There will be a special trip to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad as an $80 additional fare. Several of our area’s famous layouts will be open for tours and there will be a ton of clinics given by well-known national and international model railroaders. Visit www.Seattle2012.com for more details.
Next month’s clinic will feature Glenn Farley, although the topic of his clinic is yet to be determined. You’ll want to drop by though, as Glenn’s clinics are always informative and entertaining. See you next month.
