$3 hotbox - ncr-nmra.orgcentral director and ncr member dave thornton who was selected by the ......

THE HotBox THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION, NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION

VOL. 51, NO. 3 AUTUMN 2010

2010 NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS FINAL CONVENTION NEWS!!

RAILFANNING- Division 6 NCX-Convention Layouts

NEW- HISTORY LESSON

HOW TO- FINAL on TOOLS

PLUS- Layout planning, Timetable, Division News & more!

$3

HotBox Editorial Barry Hensel, Editor

HI !! Yes, it's time for another HotBox issue and that means I've been working very hard to stay on track and on time. I hope it worked! The NMRA National convention has just wrapped up and I would guess it was a great one, since it was held in the birthplace of our hobby - Milwaukee! The NMRA, Walther's, Kalmbach… all started right there within blocks of each other. The foundation of our hobby - cool! But now that the National is over, it's time to turn your attention to the NCR Regional convention - the NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS. Yes, this is a somewhat, biased promotion and mention of what should be a great… make that what will be a great event. I hope we can count you among the participants! For all the latest convention info, please check out the pages later in this issue! So far the summer has been pretty warm, which means the basement, where most of our layouts are located, is very cool! I hope you have gotten some model railroading done this summer. Lots of news for this issue, so I'll quit rambling and let you start reading…. Thanks for reading… Barry

MODEL RAILROADING IS FUN!

HOT NMRA NEWS! NCR NEWS

We've received news that huge Congratulations are in order to NMRA-Central Director and NCR member Dave Thornton who was selected by the Board of Directors to be one of two new Vice Presidents at their recent BOD meeting held during July at the NMRA Milwaukee Convention. Upon receipt of the resignation of former Vice President Allen Pollack, the BOD opted to divide the office of the vice president into two separate positions, one VP for administrate duties and the other, Bill Kaufman, for Special Projects. One cannot think of a better person to take on this position and to help our hobby move forward and into the future! CONGRATULATIONS Dave!!

HOTBOX CORRECTIONS NCR "OOPS"….

Always striving to be correct is something we will do with the HotBox. But, we are human and mistakes can/will happen. Please forgive us, these are NOT intentional! Corrections for the May 2010 edition of the HotBox are- * Oh-oh… we have no notes of any corrections for the last issue!!

FRONT COVER PICTURES- NCX logo, Div 6 layouts of Jay Qualman, John Wissinger, Bill Rubarth, Zinser’s tools part 3, NMRA 75th logo REAR COVER PICTURES- NCX logo, Div 6 layouts of Dewey Norton, Bob Polasky; NYC publicity photo

2 the HotBox AUTUMN 2010

The HotBoxAutumn, 2010

Vol. 51, No. 3

EDITORBarry Hensel

43642 Lotus Dr

Canton, MI 48188

734-397-5182

[email protected]

Editorial Advisers

Jack Watson Dave McMullian

Tim Fisher

Proof Readers

Marge Hensel John Beres

Marty LaForte

The HotBox is published quarterly by the

North Central Region of the National

Model Railroad Association. Publication

dates are-

SPRING, Feb 1 SUMMER, May 1

FALL, Aug 1 WINTER, Nov 1

The HotBox is available online at-

www.ncr-nmra.org

All material, articles and advertising must

be submitted to the Editor. All material

should be electronic, preferably MicroSoft

Word or Powerpoint. Pictures should be

in Jpeg format and color. Material can be

emailed or sent via US Mail on cd-rom.

Materials will not be returned, unless

return postage and envelope are

included. Material submission deadline is

FIVE weeks before publication date.

Business ads- business card size,

$20 per issue, multiple sizes possible

Hobby Shop ads- FREE business card

ad for exchange of web links

Train Show ads- 1/2 page $20 for one

issue, $40 for two issues; full page $30

for one issue; $50 two issues.

Pike ads- $15 small, $30 double and

$60 quad for a 3 year period!

NCR Division Event ads- FREE

To pay for any ad space... send your

payment to the Editor. All checks/money

orders need to be made out to "The North

Central Region, NMRA"

Send address corrections to the

Registrar- Marty LaForte

44370 N. Umberland Cir

Canton, MI 48187

[email protected]

Feel free to contact the Editor via email,

with any comments, questions or

corrections.

The HotBoxAutumn, 2010

Vol. 51, No. 3

EDITORBarry Hensel

43642 Lotus Dr

Canton, MI 48188

734-397-5182

[email protected]

Editorial Advisers

Jack Watson Dave McMullian

Tim Fisher

Proof Readers

Marge Hensel John Beres

Marty LaForte

The HotBox is published quarterly by the

North Central Region of the National

Model Railroad Association. Publication

dates are-

SPRING, Feb 1 SUMMER, May 1

FALL, Aug 1 WINTER, Nov 1

The HotBox is available online at-

www.ncr-nmra.org

All material, articles and advertising must

be submitted to the Editor. All material

should be electronic, preferably MicroSoft

Word or Powerpoint. Pictures should be

in Jpeg format and color. Material can be

emailed or sent via US Mail on cd-rom.

Materials will not be returned, unless

return postage and envelope are

included. Material submission deadline is

FIVE weeks before publication date.

Business ads- business card size,

$20 per issue, multiple sizes possible

Hobby Shop ads- FREE business card

ad for exchange of web links

Train Show ads- 1/2 page $20 for one

issue, $40 for two issues; full page $30

for one issue; $50 two issues.

Pike ads- $15 small, $30 double and

$60 quad for a 3 year period!

NCR Division Event ads- FREE

To pay for any ad space... send your

payment to the Editor. All checks/money

orders need to be made out to "The North

Central Region, NMRA"

Send address corrections to the

Registrar- Marty LaForte

44370 N. Umberland Cir

Canton, MI 48187

[email protected]

Feel free to contact the Editor via email,

with any comments, questions or

corrections.

NCR - NORTH CENTRAL REGION BOARD MEMBERS & DIVISION LEADERS

President Jack Watson 586-598-7407 [email protected] Vice-President Dave McMullian 419-878-4888 [email protected] Secretary Larry Wolohon, MMR 734-454-4816 [email protected] Treasurer Dean Pyers 586-979-7319 [email protected] Registrar Marty LaForte 734-459-5173 [email protected] Directors Chuck White 260-760-1666 [email protected] Bill Neale 248-477-7875 [email protected] Tim Fisher 313-881-2607 [email protected]

Resident Agent Uwe Thormaehlen 586-949-1878 [email protected] NMRA Director Dave Thornton 248-879-6806 [email protected] Model Contests Joel Goldberg 248-514-3207 [email protected] Photo Contests Dan Lewis, MMR 248-852-7239 [email protected] Achievement Program Larry Wolohon, MMR 734-454-4816 [email protected]

Division One Fred E Lux 734-856-6489 [email protected] Division Three Dick Moessner 260-637-7609 [email protected] Division Four Skip Luyk 616-363-3453 [email protected] Division Five John Hartmann 517-694-8925 [email protected] Division Six Glenn Joppich 734-464-6004 [email protected] Division Eight Jerry Shanek 248-321-6097 [email protected] Division Nine David Simmons 734-662-9807 [email protected] Division Ten Donald Harbin 810-238-0703 [email protected]

RAILROADING "WHAT THE ???" NCR HUMOR

AUTUMN 2010 the HotBox 3

Ahhhh… I think I took a wrong turn officer! The real story is that the truck driver decided he would try a short-cut to avoid traffic. The driver had only had his license about a week.

PRESIDENTS OBSERVATION by Jack Watson

General question: How is it that ninety days can fit into a time slot of only sixty days??? I swear it has not been but about two months, since I had to write a “Presidents Observation” Column, for the HotBox! Where IS all the time going? I suppose the old saying still applies, that “time flies when your having fun”, and model railroading is certainly fun!!! Well it’s recognition time again! Members who have attained a HIGH level of achievement, and have been awarded certificates attesting to their accomplishment by the National Model Railroad Association. All of these folks are working toward the ultimate goal, of becoming Master Model Railroaders! This issue we want to recognize; John Bussard for the category, Master Builder – Structures, Joel Goldberg, the category of Master Builder – Cars, and Saul Kalbfield and Mike Sutinen both in the category of Model Railroad Engineer – Electrical! Congratulations gentlemen and a very large WELL DONE!!! Now for some shameless promotion. You do realize that the “2010 North Central Express” is quietly sneaking up on us all? Here comes your opportunity to take part in another terrific Regional Convention! Located at an extremely access able

site, The Marriott Hotel, at the Laurel Park Mall in Livonia, Michigan, (I-275 and Six Mile Roads), it is very easy to get yourself there! Many different activities are available for your participation! You choose what you would like to do or try; you can spend some time at Operating Sessions, there are Model and Photography Contests, Tons of Workshops (Clinics) available, lots of layouts to visit, there are Prototype Tours, Silent Auctions for Fundraisers, and an all you can eat Pancake – Awards Breakfast on Sunday!!! More possibilities than you can shake a stick at, but you have to participate in order to take advantage of what is available!! If you do not avail yourself to the opportunities, you can neither learn much, nor have much great companionship, and the best of all, FUN!!! As they say, “try it, you’ll like it!!! Hope to see YOU there!!!!! Remember comments are always welcome, feel free to contact me, anytime 586-598-7407 or [email protected]

RAILROADING "WHAT THE ???" NCR HUMOR

Bridge closed to road traffic for purposes of routine maintenance .....................


THE

JACK

WATSON

NCR

RAILFANNING DIV 6 NCR GOES TRACKSIDE


On the next three pages are some of the near 40 layouts that will be available for tours at the NCX - North Central Express convention! Top to bottom- HO scale traction on Howard Andrews layout Mainline action on the PRR HO scale of Bill Neale Railroading in the mountains on the Sn3 layout of Dan Kempf Big time railroading on the very large O scale Chi-Town Station layout (that bridge is over 6' tall!)



NYC and Gibraltar railroad of Milt Moore in HO scale A busy scene on the HO scale Copper Valley layout of Jim Zinser Mountain action on the PRR-B&O HO scale layout of Jim Tilley A heavy drag on the N scale layout of Ken Chick



Steam and diesel action on the N scale Pere Marquette layout of Ed Beamish

A Reading switcher working the steel plant on the Reading Lines HO scale layout of Barry Hensel Traction meets mainline on the Redford Model RR Club HO scale layout

Michigan Southern action on Norm Logan's HO scale layout

We hope these "sneak-peak" pictures will entice you to attend the NCX - North Central Express convention. It's coming very soon - are you registered yet? Read the latest details on NCX in a few more pages!

YARN LIMITS by Dave Thornton NCR HUMOR

I’ve often said that model railroading’s motto should be “Gee, that never happened before!” A couple of weeks ago, I heard a story that proves that would be an appropriate motto for our hobby. It seems as though one of my club’s members had built a really nice caboose model, with a full interior and working interior lights and markers. To ensure the best possible pick up for the lights, all of the wheels were equipped with pick up wipers and all four wheels on each side were connected with a bus wire. The lighting circuit took power from the two bus wires to work the lights. The trial run of the caboose was at a public open house. Everything was working fine until Murphy’s Law struck. The locomotive pulling the train to which the caboose was trailing stalled for some reason. The caboose just happened to be straddling a block boundary. The engineer running the train turned up the power all the way, trying to get the train to start rolling again. Meanwhile, the dispatcher, not realizing that the caboose was on the block boundary, set the trailing block for another throttle. The engineer using that throttle had his throttle set to go the opposite direction and turned all the way up. Being that the railroad was O scale, the throttles were each capable of delivering 20 plus volts and 10 amps. Suddenly, each of the bus wires had 40 plus volts between the ends and up to 10 amps running down the bus wires. For those of you who are not electrical wizards, that’s over 400 watts in each bus wire. The caboose quickly burst into flames as the bus wires became red hot from the high current. Fortunately, the layout did not catch on fire, but the caboose was toast, with scorch marks running out of every window. This was definitely not what the builder of the caboose had in mind when he installed the lighting. Once again, Murphy’s Law strikes when you least expect it.

DCC and sound decoders have really added a new dimension to model railroading. Now you can hear the prime mover start up, throttle up, ring the bell, blow the horn, hear the air compressor cycle, and so on. Recently, to my dismay, I found that a sound decoder can sometimes deliver a lot more effect that anticipated. During an open house at the club, we had a 46 car coal drag pulled by a pair of F-7 A units running over the layout. This being an O scale train, it was about 45 feet long, including locomotives and weighed in the vicinity of 60 pounds. As the train was slowly working its way up the winding 1½% grade, the sound decoder was really doing its thing as you could plainly hear the chant of an EMD 567 prime mover in run 8. The train slowly came to a stop and would not move, even though the sound decoder continued to make run 8 sounds. I went over by the train to see why the locomotive had stalled. As I approached the stalled locomotives, there was a very loud bang, kind of like a fire cracker going off, followed by a large cloud of dense, gray smoke pouring out of the lead A unit. The smoke was so dense that it did some weathering on the locomotive body. I quickly lifted the locomotive off of the rails, worried that there might be a fire inside. Much to my relief, there was no fire, but there was a lot of white paper looking material splattered all over the inside of the locomotive and the ruptured metal shell of a capacitor fell out. A capacitor on the motor decoder had actually exploded. I had no idea that a motor decoder could also make explosion noises, visual after effects, and weather a locomotive at the same time. Unfortunately, they can only do that one time. The decoder has been returned to the manufacturer, who shall remain unnamed, and will be repaired. Once again, I can say, “Gee, that never happened before!”

YOUR article could be appearing RIGHT HERE!! Please consider writing an article for a future issue of the HotBox!! Fame, Fortune (not really) and points

toward your MMR await you when you write a HotBox article!


RAILROAD HISTORY by Don Watson NCR HISTORY

This is the first of many Railroad History lessons and stories that were a staple of Division 6 meetings for many years. Division 6 member Don Watson, gave these lessons nearly every month and they always entertained and informed us. Don passed away a few years ago at the age of 90, but his lessons have been saved, scanned electronically and we are now allowed to share these with everyone in the NCR. We plan to present a "Lesson" in every issue of the HotBox and some may take two issues due to their length. We have enough lessons to last many years! We hope that you will enjoy these as much as the members of Division 6 did, for all of those many years! Thanks Don for your lessons and stories. Thanks to Don's wife and family, for saving these for us!! EDITOR

THE LATEST TRAIN ON RECORD During the week prior to this meeting, two things happened to me that caused me to choose tonight's story. All during the week I had been following via TV the progress of Hurricane Gilbert. A week ago tonight, Gilbert struck the Texas coastline. That same day I received a post card from Bill Miller stating that he would not be ready by tonight to give his bit of railroad history. That meant it was time for me to come up with a story. Again, I listened to more words about Gilbert and wondered if there might be a railroad story related to a hurricane. There is such a story. In 1900, a short line railroad, known as The Gulf & Interstate ran two mixed trains a day between Beaumont and Port Bolivar, Texas. The morning train ran from Beaumont to Port Bolivar and the evening train ran the reverse route. The distance between the two cities is 71 rail miles. The same motive power and passenger equipment was used in both directions, but being a mixed train, the freight equipment varied each trip. (a mixed train is one that carries both passengers and freight) At 7am the morning of Sept. 8th 1900, Train #1 of the Gulf & Interstate (later to become part of the Santa Fe) left Beaumont for Port Bolivar, where it was due at 11am. Now a four hour schedule for a 71 mile trip is not a speed run, but remember, this is 1900 and a mixed train. The Gulf & Interstate is the only form of transportation between these two cities, so the mixed train stops at every station to

pick-up and discharge passengers and probably stops at most every siding to pick-up or drop-off freight. The weather was miserable when the train left Beaumont, but Beaumont is 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. There was no National Weather Service in 1900, so neither the railroad, the train crew or the passengers were aware that the full force of a hurricane was to strike Galveston (just across the bay from Port Bolivar) on that day. After leaving Gilchrist, the mixed train fought its way along a narrow (4-5 miles wide and 20 miles long) peninsula towards Port Bolivar. Some 11 miles outside of Port Bolivar, a gigantic wave broke over the peninsula and swept the baggage car some 500 feet off of the right-of-way! The rest of the train remained engulfed in sand and debris. The crew and passengers decided that this was not a good day for a railfan excursion and fought their way back to the mainland on the basis of everyman for himself. After the hurricane, The G&I's finances were in little better shape than its morning train. Thirty miles of track were gone and it's morning train remained immersed in the sand on the peninsula for 3 years, while the citizens of Beaumont and Galveston raised $20,000 to restore the railroad and it's train. The line was rebuilt, the engine fired up and the train returned to Beaumont for repairs including a fresh coat of paint and new cushions for the coaches. On the next run, the railroad management offered to honor any tickets that had been punched 3 years before, but not picked up at the end of the run. Several hardy and venture-some souls showed up for the run and Train #1 got to Port Bolivar at 11am on the morning of September 24, 1903 - a total of 3 years, 16 days and 10 minutes late! Probably an all time record. One irrepressible passenger who had expected to find breakfast waiting for him at the end of the original run, stamped into his favorite Port Bolivar restaurant, screaming, "God damn it, aren’t those 3 minute eggs done yet?" By 1916, the Gulf & Interstate had become part of the Santa Fe and Train #1 became #241, but was still operating daily between Beaumont and Port Bolivar. Don Watson Sept. 23, 1988


HotBox NEWS "BETWEEN THE RAILS" NCR INFORMATION

Here is where your news items, rumors, and gossip of just about anything in the Model Railroading hobby can be reported. Whatever it is, send it to us and we'll let everyone else know!

BTR#1- Steam Excursions Returning To Norfolk Southern Railroad - From Railpace Magazine STEAM TO RETURN TO NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILS: Norfolk Southern Corporation is in negotiations with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with regard to the operation of a limited schedule of steam locomotive event appearances and passenger excursions beginning later this year. "21st Century Steam” would highlight milestones in rail history and provide an opportunity for audiences to learn about today’s safe and service-oriented freight railroads. The program would feature three venerable coal-powered steam locomotives: Southern Railway 4501, Southern Railway 630 and Tennessee Valley Railroad 610. “This is the right time for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails,” said CEO Wick Moorman. “We have a fascinating history, and we have a compelling message about how today’s railroads support jobs, competition, and the economy. It is a forward-looking message that resonates with people everywhere.” “21st Century Steam can help introduce historic and modern railroading to a broad new audience of supporters,” said TVRM President Tim Andrews. “We are pleased to be developing this relationship with Norfolk Southern for the purpose of preserving and interpreting the steam age, and of bringing today’s railroad closer to people young and old, in communities large and small.” Exhibit dates, ticketing, and other details will be announced later. Later this year, Norfolk Southern and TVRM plan to launch a web site in support of the program. Correspondence can be addressed to [email protected]. (NS - posted 6/30)

BTR#2- I'm new here but would like to take a moment to invite you to preview the first Trainfest EXPRESS, a free newsletter for all model railroaders and enthusiasts. http://trainfest.com/TrainfestExpressNewsletter.html You will find 20-pages packed with craftsmanship, creativity, history and "behind the scenes" look at intricately-detailed layouts, people, products and manufacturers. You can sign up to receive this free monthly newsletter at www.trainfest.com. Ruth Johnson, Editor, Trainfest EXPRESS, [email protected]

BTR#3- I have participated in many model train shows since Oct. 1990, in the geographic area of your Regions. I have put in a shop [go to _ToolmanBIllyCarr's YouTube channel for an overview] in Shipshewana , In. at the Shipshewana Flea Market. It is a scaled down version of my commercial shows, 385 sq. ft. vs 600 sq. ft. I would like to, some how, let the club members associated with you know that I am in the area. I have been here 6 wks. The people I have spoken with are from Indiana and the adjoining states, Wisc. and Iowa . Driving 2 to 5 hours is the norm for the most of them. Most people I have talked with come down 2 or 3 times a year. It is big, 900 plus vendors and ULTRA Clean . More of a bazaar than a flea mkt. I have my own separate bldg. [290] and we are open on Tues. and Weds. weekly thru October. Go to Shipshewana Flea Market web site for all of the family oriented activities. You can reach me via e-mail [email protected] or cell 817-313-9555 I am staying the summer at the Shipshewana Camp Grds. Bought me a bicycle, so that, I can ride along with the horse and buggy crowd, dodging MANURE. HA! I will be at the IPMS Natl in Phoenix in August. I am in booth 290. By presenting their NMRA Membership Card, they will receive a 10% disc. on total purchase. If you can see to helping me I will give door prizes at your next regional cont. as my way of thanking you. Thank you, Billy Carr The Tool Man BTR#4- Subject: Video of the NTS. There is a brief video from the National Train Show on YouTube. A few good modular railroads, some models and the crowds. Finish with a plug for 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIhjo4Hc0U DISCLAIMER!!- While we will try to verify most stories, the HotBox, HotBox Editor, NCR Board of Directors, its agents and representatives will not/can not be held responsible for mis-information presented in this column!


mailto:[email protected]

http://trainfest.com/TrainfestExpressNewsletter.html

http://www.trainfest.com/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIhjo4Hc0U

NCR TIMETABLE NCR DIVISION meetings NCR INFORMATION

Division One (Toledo and Ohio area) Meets at Collingwood Presbyterian Church, 2108 Collingwood Blvd. at Floyd Street, near downtown Toledo. Division One is a 100% NMRA membership organization. www.divisiononencr.com

Division Three (Fort Wayne, Indiana and western Ohio area) Meets on the second Tuesday of the month year-round at the Community Christian Reformed Church 3434 Lahmeyer Road, Fort Wayne IN. (0.7 mi south of Stellhorn Road.) Meetings begin at 7:00 PM. www.hoosierdiv3nmra.org

Division Four (Grand Rapids and western Michigan area) Meets quarterly with other special events thrown in. For additional information contact Skip Luyk, 616-363-3453 or [email protected]

Division Five (Lansing and mid-lower Michigan area) Meets at 1pm, on the SECOND Saturday of each month in the basement of the Capital Area District Library, at the corner of South Capital and Kalamazoo Streets, Lansing. www.div5.ncr-nmra.org

Division Six (Wayne County, Michigan) Meets at 7:30pm, on the THIRD Friday of each month at the Livonia Senior Center, 15218 Farmington Road, one mile north of the I-96 Jefferies Freeway, Livonia. www.div6-ncr-nmra.com

Division Seven (mid-upper Michigan area) Division Seven is currently inactive. Any Volunteers??

Division Eight (Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair Counties) Meets at 7:00pm, on the THIRD Thursday of each month at Troy Christian Chapel, 400 East Long Lake Road, between Rochester and Livernois Roads, Troy. www.div8.ncr-nmra.org

Division Nine (Washtenaw County) Meets at 2:30pm, on the FIRST Sunday of each month except for July and August, at Keller/Williams Reality, 2144 South State Street, North of Briarwood Mall towards downtown, Ann Arbor. Use upper level entrance to the building, look for NMRA sign at reception desk. www.div9.ncr-nmra.org

Division Ten (Flint and Saginaw area) Meets at 7:30pm, on the THIRD Tuesday of the month at Woodside Church, 1509 East Court Street Flint. www.ncr_division10.tripod.com

OTHER GROUPS meeting in the NCR AREA There are over 60 different model and proto-type groups within the Michigan area of NCR. They can be found at www.michiganrailroads.com

REGISTER FOR NCX ONLINE USING YOUR CREDIT CARD!!

YOU should join and attend your local NMRA – NCR – Division meetings and activities! Get the most out of our hobby – participate often!!


http://www.divisiononencr.com/

http://www.hoosierdiv3nmra.org/


http://www.div5.ncr-nmra.org/

http://www.div6-ncr-nmra.com/



NMRA & NORTH CENTRAL REGION NEWS NCR INFO

NMRA NEW LOGO!

Welcome to the new NMRA logo... and in many ways, the new NMRA. On its face this wheel-on-rail symbol represents the oldest of the NMRA’s objectives: interoperability. Yet, it also represents the future. It’s a symbol of our willingness to keep pace with the changes all around us. Changes in our world, in our lives, in our hobby. While it honors the achievements of the past 75 years, it commits us to the continuation of those achievements in the next 75. Most important, our new logo is a symbol of the NMRA’s commitment to you. As your wants and needs evolve, so will we, with expanded content on our website, easier accessibility to the information in our Library, and programs designed to position us well for another seven-and-a-half decades. “NMRA” now replaces “National Model Railroad Association” and becomes our brand, just as “NFL,” “AARP,” and “CBS” have become brands in their respective fields. We’ve even renamed our magazine “NMRA Magazine” to further reinforce that brand. And our website, www.nmra.org, will become “your portal to more fun in scale model railroading.” So as we move into tomorrow, think of our new NMRA logo as a symbol of our promise to you – and our promises to each other – that we’ll all keep the hobby of scale model railroading alive, vibrant… and ready for the future.

NMRA WEBSITE UPDATE I have some pretty exciting news! As you've read, the NMRA will be "beefing up" its website with additional content, thanks to funding from The Diamond Club. Part of that new content will be a "Members Only" area. I can't tell you everything members will find in that area, but I can tell you one thing that may be there: articles from your newsletters. Every-other month, Division Business Car columnist Jim Zinser mentions articles he finds in the newsletters you send him. Maybe he'll talk about a function at a Division, or a how-to article, or any number of things that attract his interest.

Until now, NMRA members had to scour your Division or Region website to read the whole article... if it was posted there. Not any more! In late July (planned opening of Members Only area), we'll be posting the articles that Jim mentions in his column. In fact, we'll even be posting articles that appeared in Jim's columns in the last 6 months. If we use an article that appears in your newsletter, we'll give your author and photographer full credit, and will mention that it came from your newsletter. It'll be a great, handy way for members from coast to coast to instantly see the full article that Jim was referring to. -Gerry Leone, NMRA Communications Director

NCR-Div 6 Obituaries Former Division 6 member, N Scale enthusiast and Hobby Dealer Stephen "Stevie" Mack died June 23rd at the age of 88. Years ago he was very active at Division 6 and was always seen selling hobby items at all the popular shows. He was a great guy and a super modeler. Steve scratch built the most amazing models in N scale and was always willing to share ideas and skills. Other recent NCR losses are- George Blyton, Alma; James Smith, Ludington; Duane Thompson, Oakland; Michael Phillips, Troy. Our deepest sympathies to all of the friends and families from all NCR members.

NMRA PRESS RELEASE EXTRA X2011 WEST National Model Railroad Association Convention Sacramento - July 3-9, 2011 Jack Burgess, Publicity Chairman EXTRA 2011 WEST NMRA CONVENTION The 2011 NMRA Convention in Sacramento is being billed as the "Unconventional Convention," and one of the reasons is that the registration fee is only $99! But, that low $99 rate will be available only until September 1, 2010, at which time it will definitely increase. Register now to take advantage of this low rate at the Convention’s website - www.x2011west.org


http://www.nmra.org/

Division Six of the NCR- North Central Region of the NMRA- National Model Railroad Association presents-

NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS 2010

A MODEL RAILROAD WEEKEND CONVENTION!

THURSDAY - FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY

OCTOBER 21-22-23-24, 2010 LIVONIA, MICHIGAN, USA

WELCOME to the NCR Model Railroad Convention, NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS 2010! The convention is being hosted by DIVISION SIX, located in the western Detroit metro area. We are planning a great weekend of model and prototype railroading, just for YOU! Please read through this flyer-application for all of the important information you need to help you to decide to attend this event. As you’ll soon read, we’re concentrating on having fun and learning all about model railroading! All you need to do is fill out the registration page, send it in with your registration fees and you’ll be part of one of the greatest model railroad events in Michigan! OR visit us online and register there using your credit card and PayPal services! Come and join us for the MAXIMUM model railroad FUN, all in one weekend!

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE- * Operation sessions available Thursday, Friday, Saturday * FREE bag of model railroad “stuff” first 200 registered * Extra Best in Show and Participants Choice Contest Awards * All-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast on Sunday morning * Keynote speaker, Jack Ellis of Bar Mills Products on Sunday morning * Special event HO & N scale billboards on sale * 15+ Workshops on Friday and Saturday * 20+ model layouts to visit * Prototype tours available on Friday * Door Prizes awarded Friday and Saturday * NMRA Model and Photo contests * Silent Auction Fund-Raisers! * Limited special event shirts on sale * Special DAY PASS entry available! * Online Registration available, see website! * Event site- Livonia Marriott, Laurel Park Mall * EVERYONE welcome to attend!

For more information or questions answered, contact - Barry Hensel 734-397-5182 (5pm-10pm) email- [email protected], Glenn Joppich 734-464-6004 (5pm-10pm) email- [email protected] and visit our web pages at- www.div6-ncr-nmra.com


Open to ALL model railroaders! You do not have to be a NCR or NMRA member to attend!

Dick Harden's C&NW

Joe Bliss's Allegany Central


NCX FINAL PRE-EVENT NEWS NCR SPECIAL REPORT

Here's your last UPDATE on this years NCR convention, the NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS!

Are you registered yet? Over 70 of your fellow model railroaders are and we have room for as many as possible, that want to attend. Please remember, we are making it EASY for you to register with two great items- you can register online on our website by using your credit card and our late price increase is a very short 3 weeks before the event. Thus you can take advantage of our lower price for a longer time!

Speaking of registration, do you know someone who is a model railroader "newbie"? It's hard to get someone new involved in the hobby, but we have that covered for you as well. The NCX "DAY-PASS" is designed for those who are getting back into the hobby, or are new to our hobby. By purchasing a DAY PASS entry, they get to experience most of the fun and information of our event at a lower cost and time involved. The DAY PASS is just that - a pass to Saturday of our event that includes as many clinics as they wish to attend and 6 great layout tours that we will pick. We choose these tours in order to show the new hobbyist all aspects of layout building and several different scales, giving them a well rounded experience. While the DAY PASS was designed for the "newbie", anyone can use it, just remember you ARE restricted to only Saturday, only 6 layouts of our choice, no door prizes and no goodie bag. You can vote in the model contest and attend the Sunday morning Breakfast (additional cost).

We are working hard to get as many proto-type tours as possible. As of this issue, we have 2 industries to tour, twice each and another on tap near ready to go! Plus we're still working with 1 or 2 others. That could equal up to 8 tours for Friday, during the day! Our confirmed tours are the Triple-Crown facility in Allen Park/Melvindale. Here we will see a train taken apart and the second tour will see one put together! Our second confirmed tour is Bay Logistics. This company ships GM engine assemblies from the engine assembly plant in Romulus, by rail to the car assembly plants. Here, we'll see how boxcars are opened, loaded and closed for shipping. We are 95% confirmed for tours of a local Sunoco oil/gas distribution center. And our last possibility is an auto rack loading facility! Why, maybe we'll even come up with more!

Operating Sessions will take place starting on Thursday night and could last all weekend. It is up to the layout owners on when they want to schedule operations, versus a regular layout tour. We have 6-10 layouts that will be open for operation, sometime over the weekend. We hope that you will be able to take advantage of one of these sessions.

Our clinic schedule is 90% confirmed and includes many great subjects - scenery, LED lighting, using computer photoshop for details and backgrounds, estate planning, virtual railroading, and our own sponsored series - Model Railroading 101! Presenters include Jim Six, Jim Sacco, Jack Ellis, John Bussard, Rad Jones and more! Clinics will run Friday evening and again on Saturday morning and early afternoon. We may have one or two clinics that will require an additional cost, as these will be make/take type of clinics.

Let's take a quick look at the Model Railroading 101 series - this is a series of 20 minute mini-clinics that will cover all aspects of building a model railroad layout. Starting with planning a layout, to benchwork, track layout, backdrop painting, electrical systems, scenery and finally operations. We're covering it all and our own Div 6 members will be presenting this series. While this is designed for the model railroader "newbie", you just never know what new tips you may also discover.

Proto-type tours, ops sessions and additional cost clinics will all have limits on how many can attend. A sign-up form will be mailed to everyone that has already registered and those that will register, right up until the last week before the convention. Here, you will fill out your choices and times, then mail that back to us. Selections will be on a first-received, first go basis. These forms and a cover letter of all the latest NCX information- the "Acceptance Letter Package" will be mailed to registered persons starting September 1. If you are registered - watch your mail!

Our layout tours are pretty well set, we have close to 40 layouts ready for you to tour! How many will you get to visit? Many of these layouts are NEW from our last convention in 2002. If you attended that great event, then you need to register and attend again to see all of these updated and new layouts! At near 40 layouts, that is almost a NCR record for layouts during a convention! more -->


NCX FINAL PRE-EVENT NEWS NCR SPECIAL REPORT

Our convention book will be the size of standard paper and we'll have 2 layouts per page, giving you a nice large map to get you to these layouts. Plus, we'll have an over-all map of layout locations AND some "area" maps of layouts! Yes indeed, we're going to "map you" so much! The layouts have been "grouped" into areas, which we hope will help you see how many are in a certain area and thus get you to as many layouts as possible.

NMRA contests, you bet we have those at NCX too! The full range of photo and model contests and categories will be on hand in our contest room. Plus, we encourage everyone to visit the contest room, not only to see the great entries, but to vote on your favorites. NCX will be giving away extra "Peoples Choice" awards!

Door prizes will be awarded by lucky draw of your registration number and will be YOUR choice of prize! We'll also have 2 Silent Auctions of more great model railroad stuff! One will take place on Friday and the other on Saturday. The money raised will be donated to the Steam Railroading

Institute in Owosso for the refurbishment and upgrading of their museum model railroad.

Lastly, let us remind you of our great Sunday Awards-Wrap-up Breakfast! Held right at the hotel, it's an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast that also includes bacon, fruit and beverage! All that for ONLY $12 per person!! Everyone is welcome to attend! Besides handing out contest awards and NMRA Achievement Awards, we'll have a great talk from Jack Ellis of Bar Mills Models, our keynote speaker!

Go to www.div6-ncr-nmra.com and click on the NCX logo! We have a great website that will give you all the information you need to know! The hotel information is there, layout photos are there, clinic plans/schedule is there, and so much more! And you can still register online using your credit card! It just can't get any easier than that! This has been the LATEST, GREATEST and FINAL NCX news, until you register and get our Acceptance Letter Package! See you at the North Central Express!!

NCX EVENT SCHEDULE NCR SPECIAL REPORT

Here is the known schedule for the NCX - North Central Express convention, taking place on October 21-24, 2010. This schedule will most likely change, but it's the latest information we have at the time of this printing. THURSDAY, Oct 21 5pm-?? Operating sessions on several layouts FRIDAY, Oct 22 7:30am-9pm Registration open at the HQ hotel, Registration room 8am-9pm NCR Contest Room open to register models and photos and for viewing 9am-4pm various proto-type tours 12 noon- ?? various layouts open for tour and operating sessions 10am-7pm Silent Auction #1 10am-7pm door prizes awarded 7pm-11pm clinics at the HQ hotel SATURDAY, Oct 23 7:30am-11am Registration open at the HQ hotel, Registration room 8am-1pm NCR Contest Room open to register models and photos and for viewing and voting! 8am-3pm clinics at the HQ hotel 8am-11am Silent Auction #2 8am-11am door prizes awarded 12 noon- ?? various layouts open for tour and operating sessions 11am-1pm NCR Board meeting 1pm-3pm NCR Contest judging (room closed during this time) 3pm-5pm NCR Contest room opened for viewing and model pick-up SUNDAY, Oct 24 9am-11am All you can eat Pancake Breakfast with Guest speaker Jack Ellis and contest awards and more! 12noon- 5pm various layouts open for tour and operating sessions


NCR DIVISION HAPPENINGS NCR INFORMATION

Division Ten (Flint and Saginaw area) Some familiar faces have been showing up lately at the meetings after being absent for a long time which is very nice! You guys know who you are, and in our small group ya can't hide! We don't meet in August which is good as most of our members will be volunteering out at Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad. The Mid Michigan Railway Historical Society will have their HO layout operating for a very busy schedule of Railfan Days and Thomas The Tank Engine, for which most of our members will be out there running trains. Division 10 Superintendent, Don Harbin was in Milwaukee for the NMRA 75th Convention and took home a Third Place Award in the Favorite Train Popular Vote category. His Victory Train consisted of 25 flat car loads of WWII vintage military equipment, jeeps, trucks, artillery and more with some NYC motive power. It is currently on display at Riders Hobby Shop in Flint. We hope to make some layout tours in the fall to get the model railroad fever growing again in Division 10. Hope to see some more 'new' faces also. (submitted by Don Harbin, Superintendent)

Division Nine (Ann Arbor area) Division 9 is very active. (submitted by: John Wissinger, Div. 9 Clerk)

Division Eight (Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair Counties) Division Eight continues its string of strong meeting participation in 2010! During the quarter participants have enjoyed clinics on: 1. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Operations in the 1950’s by Bill Gawthrop and Dave Thornton (April) 2. The Brass Model Business by George Kohs (May) 3. Freight Cars Not of Your Favorite Prototype – Why You Need Them by Larry Wolohon (June). Division 8 and other NMRA members were treated to a layout tour in June featuring, Jack Watson’s Boston & Maine, Connecticut River Line (HO), and the Gratiot Valley Railroad’s Club (HO) Layout. (submitted by Bill Gawthrop)

Division Seven (mid-upper Michigan area) Division 7 is currently inactive. Any Volunteers?? Dave Comer with Whistle Stop Hobbies in Harbor Springs is interested in hearing from you if you are in upper Michigan! Phone is 231-526-9024. Whistle Stop Hobbies 275 East Main, Harbor Springs, MI 49740

Division Six (Wayne County, Detroit area) Our Division meets every month, year round! While our great NCX planning Team continues it's hard work, we're also planning for our annual fall MODEL RAILROAD SHOW & WORKSHOP which will be the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28th. It's a great event that promotes our hobby and helps teach the art of model railroading! We are a dues free division and welcome everyone! Our monthly meetings are still interesting, informative and fun. (submitted by Barry Hensel, Newsletter Editor)

Division Five (Lansing and mid-lower Michigan area) Division 5 is working on the NCR 2011 convention. (submitted by- Mark Cowles, Div. 5 Clerk)

Division Four (Grand Rapids and west Michigan area) The Grand Rapids Model Railroad Historical Society is working on the 2012 NMRA National convention. (submitted by-Skip Luyk, Superintendent)

Division Three (Fort Wayne, Indiana and western Ohio area) Division 3 has moved its monthly meetings to Community Christian Reformed Church, 3434 Lahymeyer Rd., Ft Wayne, IN. (2nd Tuesday of month, 7 PM) After taking a holiday in July, meetings resume in August. Featured will be "Making background trees" by Rick Van Laar. Unless you model the middle of the desert, no layout has too many trees. Come and learn another way to make them. The Div3 picnic has been set for the Sunday after Labor Day. (submitted by- Dick Moessner, Superintendent NMRA NCR Div 3)

Division One (Toledo, Ohio area) Division One has nothing new to report! (submitted by- John Roth, Division One Informer)

REMEMBER!!! We need YOU as a "DIVISION INFORMER" so that everyone else knows what your Division is doing! We will need YOUR help for future issues of… the HotBox!


HOBBY SHOP & BUSINESS CORNER

YOUR BUSINESS ad could be here!! Low cost – lots of exposure!!


OTHER HOBBY SHOPS in the NCR- Great Lakes Hobby, Uitca, MI P&D Hobby, Frasier, MI Rainy Day Hobbies, Ferndale, MI First Place Hobbies, Bluffton, IN Riders Hobby, Ypsilanti, MI Phil's Hobby Shop, Fort Wayne, IN The Gladieux Train Depot, Oregon, OH Jackies's Trains & Gifts, Erie, MI Rider's Hobby, Taylor, MI Whistle Stop Hobby, St Clair Shores, MI Whistle Stop Hobbies, Harbor Springs, MI Please visit your local hobby shop!

TEMPORARILY CLOSED

HotBox PROTOTYPE PAGE NCR INFORMATION


Div 6 member Rich Mahaney took some great shots of a steel plant train - switcher and bottle cars, in April while he was in the downriver area after he had been on a job interview. He was stopped by plant security, but was not detained, even though he was in a dirt parking lot on their property, mistake was getting out of the car to get better photos. Some very interesting cars that are not seen often! Nice pictures Rich! NOTE: please!!, never go onto private or railroad property without permission! Editor

INTERESTING and USEFUL TOOLS by Jim Zinser, MMR NCR HOW TO

PART 3- Welcome to the final installment of “My Favorite Modeling Tools.” These are the ones you buy after you’ve got the basic stuff like XActo knives, NMRA track gauge or a Dremel tool. I’m sure you’ll find they make your model building easier and a lot more fun. Maybe you’ll find them useful too.

TONGUE DEPRESSORS/POPSICLE STICKS Use as paint stirrers, or to mix two-part substances such as epoxy glues or molding and water-making materials. AVAILABLE FROM: Most craft stores, such as Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics in 100-count quantities for just a couple of bucks.

BATTERY-POWERED PAINT MIXER Even better then tongue depressors to mix paint. Consists of a long shaft with a mixing blade on one end and a motor/battery compartment/handle on the other end. Just open the paint bottle, insert the mixing blade a flip the switch. AVAILABLE FROM: Some hobby shops and Micro-Mark mail order catalog.

AIRBRUSH PAINT FILTER Keeps paint "globs" from entering the siphon tube and clogging your airbrush. To use, simply slide the filter onto the siphon tube. Made by Badger and others. AVAILABLE FROM: Many hobby shops or the Micro-Mark mail-order catalog.

FIBERGLASS ERASER Use for weathering techniques involving scraping away layers of paint. Consists of fiberglass strands mounted in a plastic handle. The sharp ends of the strands are very effective at removing material. Caution! The glass fiber ends break off as you work. Avoid getting these tiny pieces on your fingers. They can get under your skin and become quite uncomfortable. Wear latex gloves. Also avoid rubbing your eyes while using this tool. Wear eye protection as well. AVAILABLE FROM: Art supply stores and some craft stores.

SOLDER SUCKER This tool consists of a small heat -resistant nozzle mounted to a large squeeze bulb. Its conventional use is to suck excess molten solder away from a joint while heat is being applied. As model railroaders do a lot of soldering, its intended use is definitely relevant to us. However it also serves as a jumbo substitute for the conventional eyedropper most of us use to apply the adhesive or matte’ medium solutions we use to glue down track ballast and other scenery materials. The bulb of the solder sucker holds lots more liquid that the eyedropper does, so you can do a lot more scenery without stopping for a refill. One tool, two uses. Not bad! AVAILABLE FROM: Electronic supply stores such as Radio Shack.

Well there you have it. I hope you’ve found this series of articles helpful. But maybe you’ve found some tools I haven’t covered. If so, why not share them? The hard-working Hotbox editor is waiting to hear from you! Meantime, go buy yourself some new tools!


MY NEW LAYOUT DESIGN by Glenn Joppich NCR LAYOUT DESIGN

Summertime! Man it's kind of tough getting down in the basement to work on the layout with all the great weather these days but I still manage to get some time down there and things are still progressing although a little more slowly than I would like. Electrical in the south yard is still not quite complete. It's complicated but it's not. Does that make sense?

The turntable is complete now. As I may have mentioned previously I am using an old Walther's 90' turntable. I bought it used and it had been assembled quite nicely by the previous owner. The pit is in good shape and the bridge turns freely. The only real problem I was having was transferring track power from the main bus to the rails on the bridge. The kit uses two copper wipers running over two brass bushings. From what I could guess, the wipers were not making good enough contact with the bushings for the DCC signal to consistently be read by the decoders. I played with it trying different bends and trying Wahl oil to help with the conductivity but nothing was really doing the trick. Then the light bulb when on... What if I bent the wipers in a curve so that there was more contact surface with the bushings? Well, that seems to have resolved the problem. For the time being, the turntable with an auto-reversing module and a DPDT switch will make a very economical alternative to a $300 pre-built one. The thing that is giving me the most trouble right now is the three-way turnout. It's not so much how to do it as it is how I want to do it. These turnouts can be confusing to operators to align properly. Operating on Ron King's layout he has them set up so that you push one of three buttons on his control panel and the switch lines up properly. He uses twin coil machines and he gave me a wiring

diagram of how his were wired. I don't care for twin coils because they are loud. I like Tortoise machines. The trouble with Tortoise machines is that they use constant power for their wiring. Twin coil machines use momentary power. The push buttons used with the twin coil are momentary. As far as I know, momentary switches will not work with Tortoise machines. I am thinking that I will have to make a compromise in this situation and use the twin coil machine. Speaking of compromise. I have started painting scenery on the backdrop. Last month I had a rare opportunity to examine two very different techniques for painting backdrops. To me painting backdrops is kinda scary. My mother is an artist but that gene seems to have not found it's way into me. Unfortunately she did teach me to have a very good eye when it comes to art. So I am a bit critical. And real critical of myself! And that is where compromise comes into the picture. Years back Larry Wright did a clinic on painting backdrops. Larry has an amazing layout and his backdrop blends exceptionally well into his scenery. He was asked by a group of modelers, that our Pocatello group exchange op sessions with from time to time, to do a hands on clinic for painting backdrops. He knew I was at that point so invited me to join them. We met at his house and he did a Power Point presentation on his computer. Larry's backdrop is complete so we went over to Dewey Norton's house to actually paint some of his backdrop. Larry's technique is more abstract and only uses half a dozen colors. By combining those colors you get a wide variation in the colors on the backdrop. The brush is dabbed and stippled into the colors and then onto the backdrop.



As in a lot of painting, it doesn't look all that great up close. But, if you get a few feet away it very effectively looks like a hillside in the distance. It doesn't take long to do a fairly decent stretch of the backdrop and I like the final effect. The other style of backdrop painting is a much more detailed approach. I went to 4 layout open houses about a week later. All four had had their backdrops at least partially painted by Norm Logan. These layouts were all in different stages of construction and one of them had even received the scenery award for the NMRA Achievement Program although I understand it was docked some points because the owner did not paint the backdrop himself. Norm has done clinics on backdrop painting and while his backdrops are still somewhat abstract they do include elements of realism such as houses, lakes, roads, people and even birds. The trees were much more realistic even including trunks and branches. It is pretty apparent that Norm is a practiced artist.

As you can see in the pictures I am using the first approach to painting my backdrop. It is my opinion that the backdrop is just an element of the scenery. And as implied by the name a "back" drop. It should be there but not be so obvious as to detract from the real stars of the show which, in my opinion, are the trains and the structures and to a lesser degree the scenery. As long as the backdrop conveys distance I believe that the level of detail is not terribly important. Besides, the further you are away from something the less detail you can discern. That leads us to talk about the scenery. Since my layout is based on the Manistee and Northeastern which ran in the northwest part of the lower peninsula the terrain is low rolling hills. In the late

1920's most of this areas' mature hardwood forest had been logged out. Adding to that, the area of my layout I am working on is the yard and engine terminal so the scenery in this area would be pretty much just dirt weeds and small scrub trees. The forests in this area would have been young softwood in this time period. So basically at the ends of the south yard area there will be young forest which will require me to build trees. Woo hoo!!! I love building trees (NOT!) On my last layout I used Woodland Scenic trees. I liked the pines I built but did not much care for the deciduous trees. Since that time I have learned some new techniques for making trees that provide much more satisfactory results. The first is by John Brussard. If you are not familiar with his technique I am sure you will get a chance to see it at the North Central Express convention where he will be doing a clinic on scenery. Basically he takes the Woodland Scenic tree armatures, glues different size cuttings from sisal rope to them, paints them with a dark brown camouflage color, then sprinkles ground cover over that. They look pretty decent to my eye. I am also making trees based on a technique developed by several local modelers including Ron King, Ken Osen and Mark Olstyn. This technique uses a dried flower currently available from Barry Hensel. The flowers are stripped into tree size pieces, those pieces are wired and glued together to form a trunk, The trunk is coated with modeling paste, That is painted a dark grayish brown along with the branches, and then the leaves are painted in a color appropriate for the season you are modeling, summer in my case, so a nice green. The technique produces a very light airy tree. They are labor intensive but for the type of scenery I want they are perfect. The nice thing about scenery is that once everything is ready it really does not take very long to install it. I don't have large hills or mountains to build. Small changes in elevation will be used as view blocks from one section to another but other than that my layout and scenery is pretty flat. So, in fact, the scenery will be one of the last things that gets done before the open house for the North Central Express convention. If you do stop by the house to visit you may even find some of the scenery still slightly damp. Prep work involves selecting the structures that will make up the scene.



This is not as easy as one may think. I have a number of buildings that are left over from the old layout and are being re-used on the new one. You would think it would be easy to choose but in reality since I developed the track plan first I am working with predetermined spaces and fitting buildings into them. It can be a bit challenging. The pictures this month show this process. I am getting there but right now buildings are moving into and out of the scene. So if you have been following this series and come to the convention you can have a look and see how much I moved things around or changed out when you get here. I am planning one more installment to the series as a wrap-up. It will have pictures from the open house. For now here's hoping I will see you then. Have fun!

NCR TIMETABLE EVENTS! NCR INFORMATION

NOTE- Events listed have been compiled from listings on www.trains.com, website for Model Railroader magazine. If you have an event you want listed, it’s FREE, but information must be submitted to the Editor at least 4 months in advance!

Starting April 17 – November 20- Saginaw Railway Museum - Saginaw Valley Railroad Historical Society 900 Maple St. PO Box 20454 Saginaw, MI 48602 989-790-7994 Open the First and Third Saturday of each month from 1pm-4pm. Closed holidays. Website- www.saginawrailwaymuseum.org

Sunday, Sept 19 - Toledo Train Show Lucas Co Fairgrnds, Maumee, Ohio 11am-4pm Parking- $3 Admission $5 - 12 & under FREE Contact Info- 517-264-5705

Saturday-Sunday Oct 2-3 - Grayling Historical Society Train Show and Swap 97 E. Michigan Ave. Grayling, MI 49738 10 am to 3 pm Train Show and Swap meet, model train layouts during the Grayling Harvest Festival. Tour the Crawford County Historical Museum complex in the restored Passenger Freight Depot which was built in 1882. Contact Info- Crawford County Historical Society P.O. Box 218 97 E. Michigan Ave. Grayling, MI 49738 989-348-2656 989-348-4461 Website- http://www.grayling-area.com/museum/

Sunday, Oct 4 - Trainorama 2010 Costick Community Center 28600 11 Mile Rd. Farmington Hills, MI 10am-4pm $5 per person, children under 12 free with paid adult Operating layouts, railfan films, model railroad and rail memorabilia show and sale. Presented by the Redford Model Railroad Club Contact Info- Pierre Willermet c/o Redford Model RR Club PO Box 40225 Redford, MI 48240 email- [email protected] or call 734-953-2546


http://www.trains.com/

http://www.grayling-area.com/museum/


NCR TIMETABLE EVENTS! NCR INFORMATION

Thursday – Sunday, October 21-24 - NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESS 2010 NCR Regional convention Times- varies per day Admission Fees- $25 to $65 A full weekend of model railroading activities – layout tours, clinics, model contests, OPS sessions, proto-type tours, Sunday Awards breakfast, goodie bags, door prizes, silent auctions Contact Info- Barry Hensel 734-397-5182 (5pm-10pm) email- [email protected] website- www.div6-ncr-nmra.org

Saturday, Oct 30 - Model Railroad Show & Swap Coliseum Bingo/Freedom Hall 911 W Washington Center Rd Fort Wayne, IN 46825 9am-2pm Adults $4.00, Families $6.00, Children 12 and under free Sponsored over 15 years by the Maumee Valley Railroad Club. Many large tables of model railroad, toy train/collectible, and railroadiana bargains! Space permitting, several operating layouts, and "Hands-On Trains Display" (for kids of all ages). Good food and plenty of free parking available. Handicap accessible. Contact Info- Maumee Valley Railroad Club, Chuck White 903 W Main St. #9 Van Wert, OH 45891 260-760-1666 email- [email protected]

Sunday, Nov 7 - Gratiot Valley Train Show & Sale Gibraltar Trade Center of Mt. Clemens 237 North River Road Mt. Clemens, MI 48043 10am-4pm Admission $6 - Children 12 & Under FREE - Discount Coupon on website Over 400 Dealer Tables; Door Prizes; Lots of Operating Layouts; Free Kids Raffle; Food & Refreshments Available; Free "How-To" Modeling Clinics Presented by Macomb Gratiot Valley Model Engineers Contact Info- Show Flyer, Dealer Info Package, Table Application available on Website, or call 586-468-4877 Website- http://www.gvrr.org

Sunday, Nov 21 - Lansing Model RR Club Train Show Michigan State University Pavilion 4301 Farm Lane East Lansing, MI 48824 10am-4pm This show is one of Michigan's largest train shows with over 500 tables of exhibits and dealers, 10 to 12 operating train layouts in all sizes from Z to G, and “how to” presentations. Watch web site for more information to be posted soon. Wheelchair Accessible Contact Info- Chuck Holman 616-522-9239 email- [email protected] Website- http://lmrc.org/trainshow/index.shtml

Sunday, Nov 28- NMRA-NCR-Div 6 Fall Model Railroad Show & Workshop Livonia Senior Center Five Mile and Farmington Rds Livonia, MI 11am-4pm $4 under 16 free! NOT a sale or swap meet!! Come and get your model railroading questions answered. See demonstrations on all facets of model railroading. Hourly raffles for prizes and model contests. Snacks-refreshments available. Website- www.div6-ncr-nmra.com

The Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso has announced several events for this Fall- Aug 21 & 22: One-hour Diesel excursions at the Howell Melon Festival, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the city of Howell, Michigan. Cost $17.50 for adults, $13 children Aug 28: Hobo Days at the Steam Railroading Institute. 7 1/2" gauge train rides, tours of the PM 1225 restoration, hobo-themed events. Sept 11: One-hour Diesel excursions at Hamburg Railroad Days. $25 adult NEW! JUST ANNOUNCED: Nickel Plate 765 returns to Michigan for two days of Fall Steam Excursions Oct 16: Alma to Cadillac, $125 Oct 23: Owosso to Alma, $99 Nov 26 - Dec 19th: North Pole Express, weekends Details for all events and ticketing available at www.michigansteamtrain.com or 989-725-9464.

Event listings are FREE!! email us your event information 30 days before our publication dates!



http://www.gvrr.org/


http://lmrc.org/

http://lmrc.org/trainshow/index.shtml

http://www.michigansteamtrain.com/

callto:+1989-725-9464

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South Oakland County

Model Railroad Club Hazel Park, MI

Meets Tues & Fri at 7:30pm New Members Welcome

Call Ron McCreight 248-879-0956

www.socmrrc.org

Permit Holder: National Model Railroad Association The North Central Region, c/o Uwe Thormaehlen 48266 Pheasant St. New Baltimore, MI 48047

in the next issue of HotBox –

MORE LAYOUT PHOTOS

MORE HOW-TO-DO ARTICLES

MORE INFORMATION

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