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!”