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Innovative Model Works and the NASG present A New Kit -CONCRETE CURTAIN-WALL BUILDING

(the "Brick Building" Kit)

end- 8"

Sample pilaster/column moldings

We've been waiting a long time for this kit, and we'll have to wait alittle more, PBL, the injection-molding firm, discovered last Octoberthat they needed to make a larger mold base in order toaccommodate not only the largest part for this kit, but also large partsfor their other new products. By the time you see this ad (February2005), this work will have been completed, but "running" the parts willstill need to be done. So, stay with us - Please!!

Price: $75 ($65 to NASG members), plus shipping ($5 for one kit, $2 for eachadditional kit),

Order yours now!

Quantity

Brick Building Kits

price each (NASGmembers $65, others $75) Totals

PA residents add sales tax (6%) per kitShipping ($5 first kit, $2 each addl. kit)

Order total: $Fill in, clip or copy, and mail with check or money order (payable to "NASG Inc.") to;

name NASG Brick Buildingaddress c/o John Foley

city,state/pmv. 164 W. Railroad St.postal code/country Pottsville, PA 17901-1126

NASG Number:

NASG DISPATCHOfficial Publication of the

National Association of S Gangers

The NASG DISPATCH welcomes art,photographs, letters, articles and other Sgauge/scale related materials con-tributed by the membership. Send allsuch materials to the editor.

Jeff Madden438 Bron Derw Ct.Wales, WI 53183

262-968-3729nasgdispatch@hotmail.com

NASG membership runs from Julythrough June, including all Dispatchissues for the membership year, irre-spective of enrollment date. All applica-tions, renewals and membership ques-tions should be directed to:

TEMPORARILY!!NASG Treasurer,

Michael Shea, 488 Stonewood Ave.,

Rochester, NY 14616 -3623Phone: 585-865-4978

email: mikeshea@frontiernet.net

Reproduction in whole or in part is pro-hibited without permission of theNASG, Inc.

The Dispatch - ISSN 10457178 is pub-lished bimonthly by MI Printing, 100AChurch St., Millersburg, PA 17061.Email: T. Chuck Garman:tcgmip@epix.net

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 year,$20.00 which includes membership inthe NASG. All subscriptions payable inU.S. funds. Postage is paid atMillersburg, PA. Printed in the USA. Allrights reserved. Postmaster: Sendaddress change to Mike Shea at addressabove. i^ S

'COVER: Dualing AF 2-8-2s ori"Carl Tuveson's hi-rail layout.Photo by Carl. Colorful"Curve Beer" reefer is theAltoona NASG convention car.Also shown is the 2005 SSpree Ivory Soap car.

ORDERBOARD

Volume XXIX Number 1

February, 2005

Brick Building Order Form 2

President's Message, NASG News, 4Jeff's Junction and Railmail 5

New Products Report 6

On Conventions Dick Karnes 8

Altoona Convention Update 9-13

Meet an S Ganger, Stan Furmanak . .Bill Fraley 14-15

AF Mikado Review Carl Tuveson 16

S-Pikes 18-19

Its Great in Dayton Thomas Hartrum 20

Pullman Ad 22

Club Sandwich Dave Pool 23-27

Tomalco Track Review Sam Powell 28

Straight & Narrow Dave Heine 30

Extra Board 32

S Calendar 33

NASG Website: http://www.nasg.org

NASG Website Director Michael Greene: mgreene@cedarlane.com\

/STAFFJeff Madden -EditorTerry Madden Graphics EditorKent Singer Contributing EditorJeff Madden New Products EditorDavid Pool - Club EditorTed Larson Module CornerDavid Heine Narrow Gauge EditorBob Werre -Staff PhotographerJeff Madden Advertising ManagerBob Jackson Editor EmeritusDavid Dewey Amer. Flyer EditorBill Fraley Contributing Editor..

The DEADLINES for articles are the 1 st of February, April, June, August, October, December, forissues dated April, June, August, October, December, February, respectively.

/ NOTICE TO READERS: All warranties and claims made by advertisers in the DISPATCH are the \e responsibility of the advertiser. The NASG reserves the right to refuse any advertising material I

which it feels is not reputable. The selection and/or use of the products or services and the applica-V tion or results obtained from these advertisers is the sole responsibility of the reader. I

ADVERTISING RATES: Inquire regarding B&W or color rates. For additional information, contact the NASG DISPATCH Advertising Manager.

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE....

As spring approaches and winter begins to release itsicy grip, we begin to see signs of growth. Life edgesforward little by little. It's the same sort of thingwhen I think of S and look for signs of growth. Thereis definitely something going on in S. OK, it's not ahuge groundswell, but I think that we're growing.Since the hobby overall seems to be shrinking, beforesomeone thinks that almost 4 years of beingPresident has gotten to my sanity, I'll try to offersome proof.

One can look to the varied and plentiful, and I mightadd, successful, new products that keep coming.Even though Lionel has had its share of litigationproblems and has fired a bunch of executives, theyhave announced another ambitious schedule of newreleases for 2005. This is headed by the Mikado,which according to most indications is a rousingsales success. For a long-long time they held off pro-ducing any steam at all let alone a completely newengine, but all of a sudden we have a brand new oneand a re-release of the Dockside loco. I feel that thesuccess of others has convinced them that we aregrowing and that it would be sound marketing to getinto the competition.

One of the best examples of healthy competition isK-Line. They have marketed the old Marx line as Sscale and it's been highly successful. Why? The costof the cars has been very low. Sales have no doubtbeen encouraging. Now they're also bringing outlow cost steam and have announced whole train setsfor under $200. This plugs up a vital gap.Inexpensive train sets will now be available toyoungsters who outgrew "Thomas" and are ready forthe next step in model trains. I say gap because wealready have very nice higher end train sets. For a

long time S had no train sets and now we're going tohave lots of sets in every price range.

This may seem minor, but I noticed that AmericanModels is starting to provide their locomotives forsome of the "lesser" railroads. This is important,because in a very limited market, catering to thelargest class one railroads like PRR or NYC is thebest way to market items like locomotives. A matur-ing and growing S market can make runs of thesmaller prototypes successful. The items I notedinclude a Pere Marquette Pacific and an FMTrainmaster decorated for the Wabash. The second-ary roads are great to model. My personal favoritesinclude the RF&P and the L&N.

S has finally been getting more modern prototypes.This is important for overall growth because many ofthe younger model railroaders identify with modernequipment.

S Scale America is making intermodal cars and con-tainers. Their Evans box car is a winner. BTS hasbeen announcing new TOFC cars and Kaslo shops isworking on grain cars. American Models alreadymakes such things as modern 50' box cars, PS-2's,intermodal equipment and Amtrak superliners.

There are others signs like the growth of the Yahoochat groups and interest shown in S in other HOdominated chat groups, but you get the picture.Everywhere I look, I see positive signs of growth.Even our beloved NASG has recently gained about180 new members. A lot of people have stuck theirnecks out and worked hard for this growth and we'llall stand to benefit from a healthy and growing S. Ican't wait to see what's coming by next spring.

NASG President Roy Hoffman

NASG NEWSGood News: Now would be a good time to share somegood news. The NASG has recently gained about 180new members. This is due largely to several things -the hard work put in by our promotions committee,our local clubs presence at train shows and meets,more aggressive advertising, etc. But, perhaps thebiggest reason is the work that acting membershipchairman Stan Furmanak and Treasurer Mike Sheahave put in, making the whole membership processmore painless and streamlined. We were used to manycomplaints coming and membership cancellations, butthey have virtually ceased making my life and othersa whole lot easier. So Leslie (new member), welcomeaboard and enjoy the ride.

Roy Hoffman

You can ride the park railroad train at Lakemont Parkin Altoona at the convention.

RAIL MAILRe: NASG Lionel 1992 NKP flat: I just received theDecember 2004 Dispatch and the list on page 30 ofthe NASG Flyer cars caught my eye. Upon checkingthe ones I own, all was fine until I checked my 1992#48479 NKP flat/with trailer. Mine was received with-out a trailer. When I originally received it, I never gave

the lack of a trailer a thought. Could someone (Doug)verify if it actually came with a trailer - otherwise thelist needs corrected. Of course, if a trailer was includ-ed, I'd love to get one if available. You can call meanytime.- Robert Johnson Robert is a member, so if anyonecan help him in this regard please look him up andgive him a call. I assume Doug Peck might be themost helpful in this regard. - ed.

Continued on page 34

JeffsJunction

mFreelancing and Promoting S...

There's always some chatter about prototype model-ers fleeing S, or whining if they stay. They moan thatthere is a lack of enough locos and rolling stock pro-duced in their favorite road, especially ready-to-run,but including brass and kits. Some sealers and hi-railers alike are guilty of this.

Really this is nothing new to those already in S.Many modelers will change their major scale some-time during their lifetime anyway, often more thanonce. We need not fret losing an occasional S gaugerover to the HO, N or O scales. As an example, I hada couple of friends back in West Virginia who werein N and HO forever and have just switched over toO hi-rail, most likely for the variety, RTR and easierto handle reasons. Others go from bigger to smallerfor the variety of prototype available, layout space,cost, etc.

Wow, you say, why the heck are we in S? Well, youknow why, and yes, many of us are hi-railers or tin-platers too. Regardless, we need to keep promoting Sfor its benefits over the smaller scales or those largerthan S. We do need to be upfront about the limita-tions of S when recruiting to our scale. We need toalways be aware and state the strengths of S - andthese be: size, detail that can be seen, reliable opera-tion, friendly association, and steadily improvingquantity and quality of products. S scale narrowgauge will sell itself, but standard gauge is a bittougher to sell to a non-S scale.

Becoming the Dispatch editor in 1993 naturallygoaded me into beginning to model in S scale eventhough saddled with 20 plus unpacked boxes of HOin my basement after a move half-way across thecountry. The timing of the early '90s must have been

just right for me as I was starting to wear bi-focalsand hit the big upsurge in S product availablility.

I gradually began selling off HO to buy S, and at thesame time decided on downsizing my layout aspira-tions (large with HO) to a more manageable scopeeasily accomplished in S (see my layout stories). Acouple of other decisions regarding layout size andtheme also permitted me to readily accept S. One wasthat I desired an around-the-wall layout which wasquite feasible in the new house, and the other wasconvincing myself to model a freelance branchlinefeeding a prototype (B&O) loop of mainline.

At first I was a bit frustrated with this decisionbecause of the lack of much prototype or at leastpainted and lettered items for the B&O. 1 knew thefreelance portion wouldn't be a problem even back in'93 with the availability of Rex (Putt Trains), a fewbrass steam offerings, AM GP9s and RS-3s that Icould use for branch power. Thus a fortuitous tradefor an Overland USRA mike (B&O had them) andthe acquisition of a couple of undecorated GP9s andan RS3 for the branchline got me going. Now, ofcourse, I'm in heaven with the current 1 st generationdiesel offerings in B&O and the upcoming SHS 2-8-0. So as I state in my layout articles and here, nowI'm in pretty good shape as far as rolling stock andmotive power to accomplish my theme goals. Yes, Ihave moved into the "I prefer RTR loco and rollingstock realm" so I can concentrate more on layoutconstruction, structure building and track laying -and yes, track laying will be mostly hand-laid flextrack and completed turnouts.

With the current status of S products we have thetools to sell the scale (gauge) even more so than inthe '90s. Even Lionel has jumped on the bandwagonwith the USRA light 2-8-2 which is receiving com-pliments and is prototype for many roads. But sincewe are still not overwhelmed with prototype choicesas are HO, N and O we do have to be realistic andsuggest a little freelance mix along with the proto-type. Besides this slight drawback the selling points

Continued on page 21

NEW PRODUCTS REPORTBy Jeff Madden

AMERICAN MODELS (248-437-6800, www.americanmod-els.com)The ad on the back cover of lastissue surprised even me. Yes, AMis releasing the long heavyweightCafe cars at $59.95 each to matchthe NASG cars. Neat.

BTS (www.btsrr.com - moving toWV) has some new items in theworks. The Sn3 EBT tank car#116 is coming. It will have a ure-thane frame and rolled brass tank.Only 25 cars will be made - RTR.Price tba. Another future project ismoving along - the PRR smallengines. These are the H8-H9-H10 2-8-Os, 4-4-2 and 4-6-0. The2-8-Os will be tried first. One hun-dred $150 deposits are necessaryby Sept 1, 2005 to get this projectunderway. Construction will besimilar to the Ma & Pa locos.Price tba.

Mentioned previously are two Ma& Pa projects. The 1905 2-8-0 issceduled for fall 2005 delivery.Also, the the Ma & Pa (PRR) bob-ber caboose is moving along aswell. Prices tba.

LIONEL LLC (www.lionel.com)Lionel's first '05 AF catalog PRRPAs, passenger cars, the 2-8-2 inUP and SR schemes, bay windowcabooses, GP9s, various freightcars, and a 770 baggage unloader.Here's the list: PRR (Tuscan) PApassenger set - 2 A units and 4 pas-senger cars $679.99; extra passen-ger car 2-pack, $129.99; PA B unitwith Railsounds, $159.99. Newbay window cabooses, $52.99 -Southern, SP, UP; also wide-visioncupola caboose, DM&IR. Newwill be SD9s (actually GP9s with asix-wheel track) in DM&IR andSP, each $259.99. The 2-8-2 willbe available in UP (black) andSouthern (green) for $629.99 each.These include Railsounds.

Freight cars at $52.99 include SFboxcar, D&H pipe load gondola,B&O flat with girder, DM&IR 2-bay hopper, REA flat with 2 piggy-back trailers, Protex 3-bay tankcar. There are two freight carswith a bit higher retail - UPS flatwith two trailers and Pillsbury sin-gle-dome tank - $52.99 each.Also, a UP boom car will be$52.99; a UP crane car, $52.99.New release operating cars includePRR auto dump coal car, $74.99(first time reissue); MOW search-light car, $74.99; NYC walkingbrakeman car, $74.99. The #770Loading Platform and car will bereissued for $149.99. .

PINE CANYON SCALEMODEL (www.pinecanyon-models.com) has a Toxic Terminalbrick warehouse. This will be aresin kit like their usual ones.Details with the building kitinclude loading dock, 2 clumps of55-gallon drums, water tower, 6vent turbines, 2 heat vents, 2 elec-tric meters, rain drains, woodenladders, 2 access stairs, junk detailcasting and full color signs. $75until March 27, then $89.Footprint: 15 x 6-1/8 x 6 incheshigh. The loading dock will add 1 -1/2 inches to the depth.

RIVER RAISIN ( www.riverrais-inmodels.com - 248-366-9621)The brass C&O 2-6-6-2 project ismoving ahead. These are the H-4and H-6 versions with Vanderbilttenders. A $500 dollar deposit isrequired for pre-production at aslightly lower price. Final post-production price of $2,499 for thepainted version and $2,399 for theunpainted version. These locosshould be able to handle even 29"radius curves. Added featuresinclude lit marker lights and num-berboards, and they will be DCCready. In real life these locos oper-ated until the mid-'50s on the

C&O which had 76 H-4s and 45H-4s.

Also via Overland, RR will even-tually offer brass 4 axle EMDmodels of the GP59, 60, 60M and60B. These were produced fromthe mid-'80s to mid-'90s . Roadnames will be EMD Demonstrator,NS, ATSF (war bonnet), BNSF,CSX, D&RGW, SP and UP. Theywill be limited to 150 pieces.Pricing tba.

Pine Canyon Toxic Warehouse

BTS EBT tank car and PRR 2-8-0

Lcncept rr.cde;

FEATURES:

NKftbodyand ribbed routimo'tor illuminaiionDk'-casl uidal (rucksMctil frame

1/-I"

Above and left are some of Lionel's new AF offer-ings. The SD9s on page 6 are basically GP9s withfaux 6-wheel trucks. New road names coming forthe 2-8-2 include UP (shown) and green Southern.

CJ8.O Mallet ProjectAdded features on She C£O H-4 arid H-6 project wtil be lit markerlights, numSerfjcards and an models will come DCC ready- This isyour opportunity to get a 2-6-6-2 tocorrotive that is planned (ooperate on 29T radius. Oder yours now ]n factory painied andlettered, factory painted or%, or unpointed. This project is a go andouf order distribution vjrli be fl^cc ™th the builder soon.

River Raisin will becoming out with thesetwo versions of theC&O mallet.

I'm on my way to Altoona and theHorseshoe Curve for the NASGConvention. How about you?

To answer your questions:

I . What goes on at the con-ventions?

There are tours -- prototype aswell as layouts. Example proto-type tours: Railroad museums,mines, tourist railroads, fan trips.One of the most interesting that Ican recall: Tour of the New YorkCity subway shops (NewBrunswick NASG Convention,1988).

There are clinics. These are usu-ally an hour each, on a wide vari-ety of topics, by experts in theirfields: weathering, turnout-build-ing, DCC, AF collecting, scenery,kitbashing, etc., etc.

There is always one large hall (ormore, depending on hall size)devoted to a combination of dis-play layouts and vendor tables.Vendor tables are a mix of manu-facturers and importers (about50%), retailers (about 20%), usedAF dealers (about 20%), individu-als selling equipment fromdeceased members' estates (about5%), and other miscellaneousbooths (about 5%).

There is always a model contest(for four different skill levels) anda photo contest.

There is always a banquet, atwhich NASG award winners areannounced and introduced.

8

There is always an auction afterthe banquet.

There is always a GeneralMembership meeting, hosted bythe NASG Board of Trustees.

There are usually door prizes,items ranging from a few dollars invalue to hundreds.

People meet old friends andmake new ones.

And you find out who's about tomanufacture what.

2. What kind of stuff do youfind at conventions that youcannot get anywhereelse, such as eBay?

This is an easy one. You have atemporary fantasy-land, likeBrigadoon (but yearly instead ofevery century or so), which is thelargest, most completely-stocked Sgauge hobby shop in the world.You can find bargains, and you canfind current stuff at current prices.You can see and fondle stuff beforeyou commit.

3. How was the priorAltoona convention?

I was there, so I can tell you whatI saw/liked. The Altoona peopledid pretty much everything in myanswer to #1. In addition, it wasneat going out to Horseshoe Curvewith four other guys to do train-watching.

We also went to the other side ofthe mountain to watch trainsemerge from the Gallitzin Tunnel(or was it the sister tunnel whosename I can't remember?). Wethought a steam loco was about toemerge, judging by the blacksmoke. But it turned out to be aGE unit with a blown turbocharg-er. I had lunch with Bill Lane at aChinese restaurant, and took in atour of the Conrail shops. And Iset off a door alarm outside a rest-room in a local restaurant — madeKent Singer forget he had to pee!Oh, yes — There was a local poweroutage one evening, so aboutseven of us piled into DaveJasper's van and headed south untilwe found a restaurant with elec-tricity.

4. How important is it to goif you are serious about Sbut have never been to aNASG convention before?

Important? I don't know. In thegrand scheme of things, modeltrains take a back seat to lots ofstuff, no matter how serious amodeler one is. But I haveattended all but one since 1985,and I'm always refreshed, alwaysfired up, andalways (over)stocked with new (orold) acquisitionswhen I come home.

Dick Karnes, Executive VP

S CLIMBS THE ALLEGHENIESNASG Annual Convention 2005

Tentative Schedule July 25 through July 30

Monday, July 25:6 p.m. Registration opens6:30 p.m. Layout setup available10:00 p.m. Activities closed10:15 p.m. Late Night Social

Tuesday, July 26:6:30 a.m. Hospitality room opens7:00 a.m. Registration opens7:30 a.m. Mostly Rail Tour leaves - GallitzenTunnels, Cassandra Overlook, Southern AlleghenyMuseum of Art, Paul Gaermier's HO layout, TheMeadow's Frozen Custard. Websites to check:www.westsylvania.com/cfm/attractions; www.train-web.org/pghrailfan/cassandra.html.8:00 a.m. Mostly non-rail tour departsCathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, SouthernAllegheny's Museum of Art, Baker's Mansion, TheWall That Heals (1/2 replica of Vietnam VeteransMemorial), Mishler Theatre, and The Meadow'sFrozen Custard. Websites to check: www.westsylva-nia.com/cfm/attractions.

9:30 a.m. Registration closed1:00 p.m. Registration opens3:00-3:30 p.m. Busses return from tours4:00 p.m. S/Sn3 Prototype Modelers MPSMSpecial Interest Group4:30 p.m. NASG Model Contest RegistrationOpens5:30 p.m.5:30 p.m.ner7:00 p.m. Layout Tour departs - Calvin Flaugh'sAF, Don Gobel's O gauge.7:00 p.m. Registration opens8:00 p.m. Clinic (TBD)9:00 p.m. Registration closed10:00 p.m. All activities closed10:15 p.m. Late night social

Wednesday, July 27:6:30 a.m. Hospitality Room opens7:00 a.m. Registration opens7:30 a.m. Rail Tour to East Broad Top leaves -authentic eastern steam-powered narrow gauge rail-road. Check www.febt.org/ebt.html. Includes steamride and 3-mile trolley ride at the Rockhill TrolleyMuseum. Check www.rockhilltrolley.org. Tour maybe open to public as well. See previous Dispatch arti-

Registration ClosesDisplay Room closes (layouts) for din-

HORSESHOE CURVENATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

Tfie Rides ,:& Slide"'

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cles.11:30 a.m.1:00 p.m.3:30 p.m.3:45 p.m.

Registration closes for lunchRegistration opensBus returns from EBT tourDealer display room opens for "dealer

setup" - No sales today.4:00 p.m. Clinic - Creating Inexpensive struc-tures in S by Henry Streilein.

NASG Model Contest registration

Manufacturers' Meeting - invitation

Registration closedNASG Model Contest registration

4:15 p.m.opens4:30 p.m.only.5:30 p.m.6:00 p.m.closes.6:30 p.m. Ice Breaker Party at Lakemont Park.Check www.lakemontparkfun.com. Park is the 8tholdest amusement park in the world. It was founded in1894 by the Altoona & Logan Valley Electric RailwayCompany. The park has over 30 rides and attractionsincluding the Island Waterpark, Spins n1 Grins,Kiddieland, Skyliner roller coaster and more.Lakemont Park is the home of the "world's oldestrollercoaster" called Leap the Dips originally built in1902. You many even have an opportunity to operatethe park train. Food will include BBQ chicken, rolls,salad, baked beans and seasonal fruit.10: p.m. All activities closed.10:00 p.m. Late night social

Thursday, July 28:6:30 a.m. Hospitality room opens7:00 a.m. Registration opens7:30 a.m. Bus leaves for non-rail tour - ProudMary cruise on Raystown Lake and the Swigert AutoMuseum. The Proud Mary is a 62 foot Mississippi-style paddle wheeler. Lunch will be on board. The carmuseum includes many early classic antique cars.Check websites:www.americanroads.net/raystownlakeA.htm andwww.swigartmuseum.com.8:00 a.m. Rail Tour departs - Railroaders'Memorial Museum, Horseshoe Curve, AlleghenyPortage Railroad and Canal Basin Park. This is mostlikely the premier rail tour of the convention. TheRailroaders' Memorial Museum in Altoona is a stateof the art museum that celebrates the lives and workof the people who built, maintained and operated thePennsylvania Railroad and its successors. HorseshoeCurve needs no introduction I'm sure. The AlleghenyPortage Railroad was the first railroad constructedover the Alleghenies. This inclined plane railroadoperated between 1834 and 1854. The Canal BasinPark preserves the character of a canal era town.Check these websites: www.railroadcity.com/muse-um.htm, www.railroadcity.com/curve.htm,w w w . n p s . g o v / a l p o / ,www.hollidaysburg.org/canal.html.

10

11:30 a.m. Registration closed for lunch1:00 p.m. Registration opens3:30 p.m. Tours return3:45 p.m. Dealer/display room opens (Salestoday)4:00 p.m. EOT Meeting4:00 p.m. Pre-view model contest entries5:00 p.m. Layout Tour leaves - AAMR O scaleand HO scale layouts and AMTMA club layouts -Rockway Building. The Altoona Association ofModel Railroaders have a combination O and HO lay-out with hand-laid track and scenery. The Alto ModelTrain Museum Association has two O gauge, one Sgauge and one HO layout at the location.5:30 p.m. Activities in hotel closed for dinner7:00 p.m. Hotel activities (dealer room, etc.)reopens7:15 p.m. Clinic - Modeling Milk in S by EdLoizeaux. Includes modeling milk trains and specificmilk cars.7:30 p.m. Woman's Fashion Show & EnglishStyle Tea: The ladies will love this. A show andexplanation of how women's fashion and design havechanged over history, especially during the 18th and19th centuries. The English style tea will be arrangedby Dorothy Vinglas, one of our members and a nativeof Great Britain.8:30 p.m. Clinic - Building a layout by EdLoizeaux. This will be an audience participation clin-ic whereby folks with questions and concerns can askEd how he did this or that on his large S scale layout- recently featured in Great Model Railroads. Topicswill include scale, hi-rail and AF.9:00 p.m. Registration closed9:30 p.m. Exhibit room closes10:00 p.m. Hall closed.

Friday, July 29:6:30 a.m. Hospitality room opens7:00 a.m. Registration opens7:30 a.m. Mostly Johnstown Rail Tour departs -Johnstown Incline Plane, Flood Museum, JohnstownAmerica Corp., Henry Streilein's American Flyer lay-out and collection. You can ride this incline planeopened in 1891 to provide transportation up YoderHill on a 70.0 percent grade. The Flood Museumexplores the history of the 1899 flood which killedover 2,200 people. Johnstown America makes alu-minum railcars, mostly hoppers. It's the largest plantin North America that does that. Henry Steilein has alarge AF layout and collection to see. Websites:www.johnstownpa.com, www.johnstownamerica.com.11:00 a.m. Registration closes for lunch1:00 p.m. Registration opens3:30 p.m. Bus returns from Johnstown tour3:45 p.m. Exhibit Room opens4:00 p.m. Model Contest Room opens5:00 p.m. Layout Tour departs - Gary Claar's O

Railroaders' Memorial Museum:

This will be on part of Thursday's rail tour. Themuseum was once one of the many shop buildingsthat filled Altoona during the heyday of the indus-trial revolution. It was formerly the MasterMechanics Shop. The museum is a state of the artmuseum that celebrates the lives and work of thepeople who built, maintained and operated thePennsylvania Railroad and its successors. TheRailroaders Memorial Museum is filled with stories.They reach out to you as you enter the lobby andsee the life-sized replica of a K-4 locomotive. Asyou travel through the museum, virtual ralroadersshare their lives and stories with you, allowing youto relive the days when railroads were the trans-portation giants. If you take this tour you will alsovisit Horseshoe Curve, the Allegheny PortageRailroad and the Canal Basin Park. If you can'tmake the tour, then the Museum can be attendedduring other times.

BOSOM BUDDIES TOBUSTLES

Women's Fashions 1770 to 1900

While styles of clothing have changedmany times since the first fig leaf, someaspects of design are repeated from timeto time. Life styles, political events,artistic trends, social status, and famouspersons have all influenced men's andwomen's clothing throughout thecenturies. 18th and 19th centuryAmerican fashions were inspired by thecreations of French designers for the"better sort."

Women's silhouettes changed dramat-ically in these 130 years. How did womenget to be all those shapes? The secret is inthe foundation garments and this showwill reveal them aU!

11

The Juniata Locomotive Shop should proove a popu-lar tour. 1995 photo by Jeff Madden

The Everett Railroad tour runs on an old Pennsybranch line south of Altoona.

gauge model layout with a Horseshoe Curve. RodYoung's O gauge layout has at least 15 trains and/ortrolleys running at the same time. Greg Saylor's Ogauge layout is under construction.5:30 p.m. Registration closes for dinner5:30 p.m. Exhibit room closes for dinner7:00 p.m. Registration and Exhibit room opens7:00 p.m. Model Contest room closed for judg-ing7:15 p.m. Clinic - Staging yards to enhance yourlayout by Terry Harrison. Open discussion, bringyour plans.9:00 p.m. Registration closed9:30 p.m. Exhibit room closes10:00 p.m. Room closed.

Saturday, July 30:

6:30 a.m. Hospitality Room opens7:00 a.m. Registration opens7:30 a.m. Rail Tour bus departs to NorfolkSouthern Juniata Shops. This historical locomotiveshop tour was extremely popular during the '95 con-vention. Historically, the shops began in 1866 as amachine shop and graduated to a locomotive shop in1904. The last steam loco shopped there was a PRRTl in 1946. Check out www.jim-frizzell.com/junia-ta_locomotive_shop_2001 .htm.9:45 a.m. Juniata Shop tour returns.10:00 a.m. Exhibit room opens10:00 a.m. Rail tour bus departs for EverettRailroad/Roaring Spring Tour. The Everett RailroadCo. is a class III common carrier that goes south fromHollidaysburg to various central Pennsylvania ruralcommunities. Check out: www.trainweb.org/horse-shoecurve-nrhs/excursions.htm.2:00 p.m. Exhibit Room Tear down.2:30 p.m. Bus returns from Everett/RoaringSpring excursion.3:30 p.m. NASG Annual Business Meeting -open to all.6:00 p.m.7:00 p.m.9:00 p.m.10:15 p.m.

Happy HourNASG BanquetAuction with Jamie BothwellModel pickup

Sunday, July 31:Getaway day orAll-Gauge swap meet

At left is a view and statistics regarding the JohnstownIncline Plane. It is one of the few operating ones sur-viving in the country and will be on a Friday Tour - oryou can catch it on your own.

Chapter III -THIS TIME IT'S S

By Jeff Madden

Building a Roster:By having settled on a basic theme fora layout, it was much easier to buildup a roster of locomotives and rollingstock. Since I found things moreexpensive per unit in S than HO, thiswas definitely the way to go. I couldbe selective on purchasing things tar-geted to my goal of a West Virginiabranchline and a B&O secondarymain. I also decided early on torestrict my roster to late '50s transitionera (how novel). This is what I grewup with, and 1 love steam, so the late'50s it was. Since the B&O had steamup until the late '50s and the BC&Ghad steam into the '60s my schemeseemed to be a perfect fit. Again, theBC&G was transformed into a free-lance branch for my purposes.

Since I had a general idea back in '94about my then future layout plans, myfirst S locomotive purchases fit inwith what I'm working on now.Actually they were trades. I tradedsome Lionel trains for two AM scaleGP9s which that will become B&Owith 1st generation diesel paintschemes. Then I swapped two HObrass engines for an Overland USRA2-8-2, which also will becomeBaltimore & Ohio. Both the GP9sand 2-8-2s were common power onthe B&O Elk River lines. Other steamwhich will see service on the B&Oare an Overland USRA Pacific, anAM Pacific, and (coming) an SHSE27 2-8-0. Besides the geeps, otherB&O diesels on my roster include anSW9 and F3 A&B from SHS and anAlco FA & FB set and a pair of E8Asfrom AM. Actual power dedicated tothe branch will be an RS3 and a RexDockside (mine switcher). The B&Opower is pretty well set, but I hope toadd a Rex Mogul, an AM Baldwinswitcher and a Shay to branch power.The E27 will probably serve as leasedpower for the branch, or maybe I'll geta second 2-8-0 down the road.

For cabeese, I already have a brassB&O wagontop and an AM bay win-dow I plan on kitbashing to an I-17. I

also have an AM wood caboose and aSteam Depot kit - both of which willbe lettered for the freelance Elk &Gauley. In the future I hope toacquire a couple of B&O wood stylecabooses, one for the B&O and onefor the branch.

Freight cars for the Elk & Gauleybranch will consist mostly of 20 plushoppers for the mine runs, several flatcars for logs, plus a few miscella-neous cars. The B&O line will hostthe usual mix of other freight carsthat would be appropriate on generalfreights. Passenger cars for the B&Olines will be B&O heavyweights. Onthe Elk & Gauley only a car or twowill be used to serve the population inthe logging and mine areas. A doodle-bug and/or railbus is a future possibil-ities for the E&G as well.

Accumulated Rolling StockRoster:Steam Locomotives: 4SHS 2-8-0 will make 5Diesel Locomotives: 10 -Two E8 A units are really excess tomy scheme.Box cars: 40Stock: 1Covered Hopper: 7Tank Cars 8Hopper: 29Express Reefer: 1Gondola: 6Reefer: 2 7(too many, but I like them) Rotate onlayoutFlat cars: 6Caboose: 5Passenger 20 (too many, but Ilike them) 6 smoothside cars (for E8s)will only see occasional layout use.

Rolling stock not needed in actuallayout operation may be rotated onand off the layout or utilized for trainson club modular layouts.

Leftover HO items kept for use in S1. Scrap plastic and wood2. Leftover plastic kit parts - mostlylarge brick walls, large windows,details, etc.3. Larger bridge piers4. Code 100 rail joiners5. Some actual HO kits - Revellenginehouse, printing plant and bak-

ery (still available through other man-ufacturers. A Life-Like freight depot.Heljan Tombstone courthouse,Walthers Powerplant (2), WalthersHO 2-track truss bridge to use forhighway bridge.6. Some large HO semaphores7. Some powerpacks, wiring andsome switch machines.

S Structures Accumulated with apurpose:1. Many LVM kits2. Some BTS, Banta, Pine Canyon,Twin Whistle, Allegheny Models, ex.kits.3. RTR MTH farmhouses4. Ertl auction barn and generalstore (will be modified some)5. Walthers O buildings to kitbash toS: Brookhill Creameiy, Feed Mill,Auto Dealer.6. Lionel concrete coaling station.7. Plasticville to be modified slight-ly: Frosty Bar, Gas Station, Diner.8. DSL Shops building fronts plusone building. These will be workedinto a "Main Street".

Track and Turnouts:1. Many sections of code 100 flex-track - Shinohara, Tomalco (old andnew).2. Various #4.5, 6 and 8 turnouts byShinohara, Tomalco and White Oak.3. I kept most of my HO CabooseIndustries ground throws for use onmost turnouts4. I have a few Tortoise machines incase I need them.

Roadbed:1. Cork, Vinyl and Homabed mix

Miscellaneous:1. Vehicles - Racing Champion,Johnny Lightning, Ertl, Winross,AHL, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Corgi,etc.2. Details3. Figures

Electrical:1. To start will probably use somebasic MRC and Troller packs left overfrom HO days. DCC down the road.I kept some toggles, wire and terminalstrips which will probably see use inthe beginning.

13

Meet an S GaugerBy Bill Fraley

Stan Furmanak

Our NASG President recentlywrote...."Now would be a good time toshare some good news. The NASGhas recently gained about 180 newmembers. This is due largely toseveral factors. The hard work putin by our promotions committeeand our local clubs at train showsand meets, and more aggressiveadvertising, etc.

But, perhaps the biggest reason isthe work that acting membershipchairman Stan Furmanak andTreasurer Mike Shea have put in,making the whole membershipprocess more painless and stream-lined. We were used to many com-plaints coming in and membershipcancellations, but they have virtu-ally ceased making my life andothers a whole lot easier."

So you may have asked who is thisnewcomer Stan Furmanak? So, asI pal around with Stan, who livesnearby, I thought I'd try and fillyou in...

Stan has been a librarian for over20 years with the last 11 yearsbeing a systems or computerlibrarian at Lebanon ValleyCollege in Annville, Pa. [He man-ages online databases and writescode for the college website.] Stanholds the following degrees, B. A.,University of Scranton, 1978;M.A., the Catholic University ofAmerica, 1982; M.L.S., SouthernConnecticut State University,1984.

Last year, Stan agreed to temporar-ily take over the NASGMembership Database, organizeand upgrade it. I am sure you cannow see and enjoy the fruits of allhis labor.

Stan is quite a "Task-Meister" inother areas too! When Stan was a

very young person, he wanted tobe a cabinetmaker. However, afterdeveloping a form of arthritis atage 12, a physical job like a cabi-netmaker was out of the questionand he ended up as an English Litmajor in college. [Editor's, Gulp!]He also played the accordion, gui-tar and tin whistle, but when hisrapid advancing arthritis madeplaying those instruments impossi-ble, he discovered the hammereddulcimer. The beauty of this instru-ment along with his love for Celticand folk music gave him theimpulse to do a little woodworkingand he built his own dulcimer.While he claims not be an impre-sario on the dulcimer, it is a defi-nite form of therapeutic relaxationas well as a good way to exercisehis hands and fingers.

Stan was a widower for 14 tears

when in 2001, he remarried andwent from living alone with 2 catsto an instant family with threeolder kids, I grandson, 5 cats and avery, very special wife. Linda doesnot understand my recent obses-sion with model railroading butshe supports anything I do. Livingin a railroad rich area in CentralPennsylvania, there are manyopportunities like Steamtown,Strasburg, Enola, etc. and sheenjoys these visits especially if anice dinner is on the agenda.

Stan's father bought an AmericanFlyer set for Stan's older brother,John, back in the 1950's. Stan'sfather died in 1958 and, while hehas no memory of him, perhaps AFserved as a way for Stan to connectto him.

In the 1960's Stan's younger broth-er, Bob, and he added to the origi-nal set and began an 8' x 16' layout.They worked on this until 1974went we dismantled the layout,boxed up the AF stuff and went offto college.

Back in the 1980's Stan bought afew American models items on awhim when he discovered them ina Hobby Shop, but did not domuch with them at that time. In2001 Stan discovered S HelperService and became aware of allthe "S"tuff that was now available.So he decided to give model rail-roading another try, start fromscratch and model S strictly inscale.

Brother Bob, who has also joinedthe NASG went the other way, isinto American Flyer collecting andis considering building a high raillayout of his own.

Stan is presently using Code 100NS track, Code 110 Wheel sets,Kadee # 5 couplers - although Hesaid he needs to take a closer lookat the new SHS "Kadee Style" cou-plers. Presently, he has a 8' X 30"module that he has built so as toexercise practicing hand layingtrack, building turnouts, etc.

14

Stan said that growing up directlyacross from the Philadelphia sub-division of the B & O and being acat lover, he decided to plan aChessie /B&O/ layout circ 1978based on the Cumberland, MD. toRockwood, Pa. Keystone subdivi-sion also known as the Sand PatchGrade.

The first part of Stan's layout, stillon his drawing board, will be a 24"X 18" "EL" that will model theWest yard in Cumberland, theWest End or Grafton junction, andthe west end of the town ofCumberland. If Stan can get this,much done this summer he'll thenmove into the adjoining room overthe Sand Patch summit to the townof Rockwood and the S&D junc-tion.

Unlike working on a computer allday, what Stan likes most aboutmodel railroading is the actualbuilding of something you canlook at, that you can hold in yourhands and to Stan, it gives himgreat satisfaction of achievement.Another plus is the friends youmake in S, either though his mem-bership in the Lehigh Valley SGaugers club or by virtue of hisparticipation in some of the Yahoo"S" Groups. Stan is anxiouslywaiting for the 2005 AltoonaNASG convention, his first.

In conclusion, Stan loves buildingmodels, being a book lover and alibrarian. He loves to research andto build prototypically accuratemodels, or at least to add a fewdetails here and there, to enhancethe looks of a ready to run model.

Some of Stan's work isshown here. Stan buildsfor others. Box car isTrainstuff kit. Wood tankcar was built for EdLoizeaux.Below: Stan with someLVSG members by hismodule. Photos by BillFraley

15

American Flyer's MikadoA review by Carl Tuveson

My two new AF Mikados...It's been a long time coming but they are finally hereafter decades of waiting. American Flyer has a newfleet of steam locos. Lionel has done a great job engi-neering the new American Flyer Mikado. No loco isperfect and there are some minor compromises butoverall it is a very impressive engine. We will notattempt to do a rivet counter review here. In my opin-ion the finish and level of detail is fabulous.Conventional mode of operation requires a 9 volt bat-tery in the tender for Rail Sounds to work at lowervoltages.

Smoke unit operation is marginal in conventionalmode due to the lower track voltage. A sleuth smokeunit is used due to the limited space in the engine andit will not really get smoking until track voltage isabout 12 volts. I suggest trying A-Normal-1's smokefluid if running in conventional as it will smoke atlower heat or mix it with Lionel's Smoke fluid.

In the TMCC command mode of operation it had goodresponse and no signal problems. It performed asexpected with all features. The smoke unit providedcopious amounts of smoke in command mode.

The battery could be optional in command mode sincethe track power is usually above 12 volts and It had noloss of power that disturbed the Rail Sounds on mylayout.

Good points.:- Magnetic hatches for controls make changes easy.- Attention to Detail and finish was top notch.- Power pickup is on drivers and trailing truck. I expe-rienced no stalling on my American Models turnouts.- Absolutely terrific sounds. Whistle, bell, brakesounds, steam chuffing modulated according to labor,blow down etc. and Crew Talk if desired- Full lighting including marker lights, backup light,cab light.- Adequate pulling power of 12 ounces.Manual explains operating features and options.

Short Comings:- Gearing is a bit fast for my taste.- Smoke unit is a sleuth type due to electronics spaceneeded and will need more frequent refilling than oldAF smoke units.- Flanges are available in High Rail only.- Pilot truck may need washer added to prevent climb-ing on some turnouts (see below *).

. - Detail parts such as bell etc can be knocked off butthat is the price you pay for such great detail. Not anengine for the kids to play with but that goes with outsaying.- The coal casting in the tender could have been a bitcrisper.

Electronics:The wireless tether allows the engine to be run with-out the tender if you want. Look Ma no wires!

The tender hatch for the Rail Sounds controls is heldin place with a couple of small magnets. Works nice-ly. Lots of stuff in the tender so the battery replace-ment takes a bit of care not to pinch wiring when plac-ing shell on frame. If using a battery you should besure to do an engine shut down (Auxl+ 5 ) to conservethe battery at the end of the running session

Don't try this at home but I thought I would save youthe trouble so you can see what is crammed inside theengine. It uses a stock receiver on a newly designeddriver board. There is no extra room left. This enginewas designed around the electronics.

Here is the large can motor with it's flywheel. Thegearbox is on the left. This is the Receiver end of theelectronics. You really need to add TMCC to your lay-out and have a ball with this loco. The smoke box alsohas a magnetic latch to expose the smoke on/offswitch. These hatches are a very nice feature. Therun/program (or lockout in conventional mode) switchis in the cab and easy to get to. The wireless tetherbetween the engine and the tender is another greatitem.

The cab also has two crew members and lighting.

16

* I had some problems with the pilot truck riding upin my American Models turnouts and discovered thatLionel used a flathead screw to attach the pilot to theframe. This allowed the pilot the ability to run askew.By adding a small washer on the flathead screw itmakes the pilot track better and not twist vertically asmuch. The washer has to be small enough to fit in therecess in the pilot's hole. The screw appears to be a

1mm and could be replaced with a binder head screwinstead of using a washer to achieve the same result.

In conclusion, It is a winner. I look forward to moreof these great engines in the future. For more infor-mation on TMCC in "S" gauge see the link:http://www.tuveson.eom/TMCC/s gauge and_tmcc.htmon my web site.

Above - Henry Strellein's American Flyer Layout - on tour Friday at theAltoona convention. Below - One of the portable layouts that will be ondisplay during the convention

Above: American Hi-Rail Zephyr photo sent by Gregg Mummert of the Western New York club.Below: NYC 4-8-4 Niagara crosses a large canyon on Ed Loizeaux's layout. The gorgeous deck truss bridge wasscratchbuilt by Don Ledger from 6,0000 individual pieces of styrene. Bottom photo by Larry Hanlon

™mt , Pfcr AVS^S

It's Great in Dayton in2005 "

By Thomas C. HartrumPhotos by the author

When I read Rusty Westermeier'sarticle on building wooden cratesin the May 2004 issue of SGaugian, it brought back memo-ries of the first Spring S Spree thatwas hosted by the Miami Valley SGangers (MVSG) in 1999. A bigpart of organizing a show is deal-ing with the railroad car to beoffered. We wanted somethingunique and at the same time some-thing related to the Dayton area, asthis would be the first Spree host-ed here. Without a doubt one ofthe biggest features in Dayton isWright-Patterson Air Force Base.And one of the frequently dis-cussed urban myths about the baseis the alleged existence of a hangerin which the space aliens' remainsfrom Roswell, NM are stored.From this evolved our first Spreecar, a U.S. Army flatcar carrying acrate labeled "From: Roswell, NM.To: Wright-Patterson AFB."

THE CRATES: As with all Spreecars, we contracted with an SGauge manufacturer to provide theactual product. However, thequestion arose as to where to getthe crates. We considered an avail-able laser-cut kit, but decided thatit would add too much to the costof the car. It was decided "we canbuild the crates ourselves," but the"we" turned out to be mostly"me." We had contracted for a runof 150 cars, so to be safe we decid-ed to build 175 crates.

Construction was fairly straightforward. The crate is built arounda solid wood core cut from a 2x4.For this part I had help from a clubmember with a table saw. Thesides, ends, and top were then cov-ered with scribed siding, and eachof the five exposed sides wasframed with individual strip wood.Our local hobby shop dealer wascurious to know what I was build-

ing when I ordered all this wood! Ithen set up a production line in mybasement to cut and assemble thewood. I first made some fixturesfor clamping and gluing to helpwith so many crates. I borrowed aNorthwest Shortline "Chopper" tocut the strip wood. I have sincebought my own; this is a must-have tool! Since I could not glueand clamp all 175 crates at once, Iadopted a one-man assembly lineprocess wherein I would cutenough wood to fill all my clamp-ing jigs, then while those were set-ting up I'd cut the next set.

If you do the math, for 175 cratesthere were 350 sides, 350 ends,and 175 tops for a total of 875 sur-faces cut from scribed wood. Eachside required four pieces of stripwood, a total of 3500 pieces. Thisresulted in 4375 surfaces to beglued and clamped! Needless tosay, I did not finish this work inone day (nor in seven days!)Believe me, I began to think "we"had made a mistake in followingthis approach.

Fortunately the car manufacturerwas willing to stain and letter theraw crates. After all the work, theresults were definitely worth it.All of the cars were sold by the endof the show.

PROMOTION: Prior to the actu-al Spree we set our club layout upat several shows, and of courseactively promoted the Spree. Weactually built three new moduleson which we put some hangers andairplanes and displayed the proto-type car. One of our club membersfound some plastic space aliensthat were just the right size to beadded to our display. Suddenly Iwas building crates again. (By thistime I was dreaming about cratesat night.) First I built a hollowcrate using the scribed wood,except the top was built of individ-ual boards. Then a hole was bro-ken through the top and an alieninserted, sticking through the hole.The second hollow crate was com-pletely built of individual boards,

with a small space intentionallyleft between them. Then a blink-ing light was hidden in the crate,creating an eerie glow through thecracks. These crates were added toour display. I often wondered howmany purchasers of our car wenthome and tried to open the crate toget the alien out!

S SPREE 2005: It's hard tobelieve that this all occurred sixyears ago, and May 20 and 21 of2005 we will be hosting our third SSpree. This year we are offering aProcter and Gamble Ivory Soapcar. You can see the prototype andfind ordering and registrationinformation at http://www.tram-web.org/mvsg. Although a crate isnot appropriate for a boxcar, Icame up with this really neat ideato create individual bars of soap bycutting up styrene strips on myChopper.

WRAPUP: Whatever happened tothose extra crates from the firstSpree? As you can see in thephoto, Dayton Box and Cratebecame a major industry on mylayout. Since I came to Dayton in1975, its motto has been "It's Greatin Dayton," hence the industrymotto "It's Crate in Dayton."(Sorry, but you know how modelrailroad humor goes.) At least forS Gauge it will be Great in Daytonin 2005 when you attend the Spree.Hope to see you there. Now if youwill excuse me, I think I haveabout a million bars of soap tomake!

20

FLASHBACK! Frank Titmanworks on the S Gauge Heraldin this 1978 photo.

Jeff's Jet. cont. from page 5

of S are: 1. The "Goldilocks" size. 2. The growingnumber of prototype offerings. 3. Fellowship. 4.Operational reliability. 5. Manageable home layouts,rather than "maintenance headache" larger layouts insmaller scales. 6. We have the option (as do Osealers) of promoting tinplate, hi-rail or scale, thuswe can promote to different interest levels at thesame time.

One other promotional technique is to promote S tothose in other scales so they become multi-gaugers.We should welcome an O or HO gauger into an S

club for example. They shortly may become inter-ested in club activities including buying some itemsto run. Many other-gaugers may want to test thewaters. A fellow with a large HO layout may want tobuild a separate Sn3 layout. Many other-gaugersmight want to participate in a round-robin situationwith those with S layouts. We could encourage twolevels of layouts - you know an HO mainline with anS branch on a different level.

We should recruit any way we can, but with honesty.If nothing else, we can just grin them to death!

:RSf/ &-.Thought I'd forget about diners by now? Nope, the convention is heading east again so here's a few possible eat-ing stops on your way to and from Altoona - remember these may or may not be open, but at least they're prob-ables. Off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Somerset there's the Summit Diner. On Rt. 22 coming from Pittsburgh isDick's Diner in Murraysville and Dean's Diner in Blairsville. In Ebensburg (not far from Altoona) is the Hi-WayDiner on High St. If you're coming from up north there's the Wellsboro diner , Rts 6 and 287 (don't miss it). There'sone called Baby's Diner in State College (not sure about that one). Johnstown lists a couple too. Photo is froman early '90s convention, probably by Bob Werre.

21

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22

"Where We Make Tasty Sandwiches Of Your Club News"

THE CLUB SANDWICHBy Dave Pool

The Bristol S Gaugers (BSG)met for their Sept. meeting atthe home of the president,

Tommy Robichaud, in Fitchburg,MA. Nineteen members attendedand enjoyed operation on the host'slayout. Helen Lenart, VP. of theclub won a raffle at the meeting (aSHS reefer) as sponsored by thehost. After the meeting, a groupof eight attending went out to din-ner together. The November meet-ing was held at the BedfordBoomers Show, in Bedford, MA.On Nov. 6-7. A room was reservedfor the club and they held theirmeeting there. They had a chanceto meet one of the New EnglandPatriots cheerleaders, April, andreceived a signed calendar.

The season's holiday party washeld at the home of Michael andDeane Green, and the club set uptheir modular layout at the NMRAHUB Show, on December 11-12,in Marlborough, MA. They alsoset up and operated their layout atthe Greenburg Show on Dec. 18 &19 in Wilmington, MA. The BSGplanned to set up and operate theirlayout at the Big E Show, held onJan. 29/30, 2005 sponsored by theAmherst Railway Society. Thisshow is probably the largest trainshow in the east, and attracts manyvisitors with two large buildings,and many operating layouts. DougPeck edit's the club newsletter, theBristoliner, and coordinates theclub activities with the members.A recent issue of the newsletterincluded an article describingHowie Waelder, who passed awaythis past Fall. Howie was a fire-man during the steam era of theLong Island RR. He was remem-bered for his "out on the road" sto-ries, about RR activities.

The Canadian S ScaleQuarterly (CSSQ) is edited

by Manfred Lesser, in London,

Ontario, for the members andfriends of S gauge in Canada.Letters, product reviews, prototypeinfo., layout plans, coming events,and descriptions of constructionprojects are sought from the mem-bers to include in the newsletterissues. Alex Binkley in Ottawa,Ont. collects the submissions fromthe members and organizes thematerial with Manfred to producethe newsletter. Monthly editorsare sought for the issues of thenewsletters, so any member canvolunteer to assemble the newslet-ter.

Ken Garber wrote an article on theNASG 2004 Convention todescribe the events and activitiesthat he enjoyed. Ken visited hissister who was having a birthdayabout the same time as the conven-tion in Arlington Heights.,IL. Kentook his wife and mother to visithis sister while he attended theconvention. Denis Fortier, presi-dent of the S Canada group pro-posed a re-organization of theclub, to be called S-Canada, andoutlined several goals and objec-tives that the group should provideto members. Charles Hicks col-lects the club dues, and attendedthe NASG 2004 convention. Hewrote an e-mail letter describingthe activities that he enjoyed at theconvention.

The Conn. S Gaugers (CSG)displayed their modular layout

at the Ram Band Cheshire HighSchool Train show in November.Steve Kutash, VP. coordinates thelayout set up and operation. Theclub members met at the home ofLarry Morton, in Hurley, N.Y. onJan. 15, 2005. The CSG will againset up their modular layout at theCheshire High School SpringTrain show on March 3. MemberBill Seader will host the club meet-ing on February 25, in Carmel,

N.Y. The club members plan toattend and set up their layout at theHousatonic Railway Club Show tobe held on March 10. This clubhas a fine HO club layout that wasin the basement of the FairfieldTown library and had to be takendown and removed because ofbuilding renovations that areunderway. Craig O'Connell ablyedits the club newsletter, and BillFuhrman is president of the club.Your column editor is treasurer ofthe club, which was started by thelate Bill Krause, over 20 years ago.Member Pieter Roos wrote an arti-cle that appeared in the recentissue of the club newsletterdescribing Military Rail Loads,and their modeling in S scale.Sources of various military loadssuitable for S were described in thearticle.

The Western N.Y. S ScaleAssoc. (WNYSSA) held their

holiday party at the Old Red Millrestaurant in December. Ten mem-bers, their spouses, and friendsattended the event. Bill Barrendonated a "Boy's RR Club" AF boxcar for a door prize, and NorineMorath won the raffle. All attend-ing had a good time. GreggMummert hosted the club mem-bers for a meeting in January at hishome. Among those attendingwere Bob Thon, a visitor, who is amember of the TTOS. Gregg'sChristmas layout was in operation,and an American Hi-RailBurlington Zephyr was operated.

The WNYSSA will be highlightedby NASG member Roy Hoffmanin his column S Curves to be pub-lished in the February issue of theModel RR News. The club isscheduled to set up and operatetheir layout at the Jan. 29 TTOSTrain Show to be held at theMcKinley Park Inn, Blaisdell, N.Y.The Rochester S (RASG) club hasinvited the WNYSSA to bringtheir straight modules to a trainshow to be held at the BataviaDowns on April 3. The club willhold their February meeting at thePegasus Restaurant, Hamburg,

23

N.Y. Gregg Mummert coordinatesthe club activities and distributesthe newsletter via e-mail.

The South Jersey S Gangers(SJSG) had their annual New

Years Eve Day trip to Strasburg,PA. The trip included visits to thetrain attractions in the Strasburgarea, including the Penn. RailwayMuseum, TCA Museum, theStrasburg RR and station.Members attending the field tripmet at the Country House Diner,Woodbury, N.J. from where theycar pooled. Rick Wark held aplay-trains meeting at his home onJan 14. Rick is a military enthusi-ast, and has military models on hislayout, and at least one full sizeArmy vehicle (retired). The clubholds meetings at the StratfordSenior Center on a monthly basisin addition to the play-trainsevents and special field trips thatthe club organizes John Aaronwas scheduled to present anaudio/video seminar on subways atthe February meeting of the club.

The Neshaminy Valley AFClub (NVAFC) held a meeting

at the home of Mike Ramsey inDecember. Those attending madeplans to visit the layout of BobBoard, in Lancaster, PA., and someshops in the area of the layout.The January meeting of the clubwas held at the home of Jim &Susan Duffy on Jan. 14. MikeSmith, a club member, spent partof an evening in the hospital withexcruciating pain from a kidneystone. Jerry Hillier helped Mikethrough the ordeal and broughthim to the December club meeting.

The North Penn S Guagers(NPSG) met at the home of

Alex & Mary Larkin for theirJanuary meeting. The club set uptheir layout at the FrederickMennonite Home in earlyNovember. This was a publicservice activity for the club to pro-vide an interesting day for the res-idents of the Home. On SundayDec. 5, the club members set upand operated their layout at the

East Greenville Christmas Paradeevent, next to Santa. The layoutwas not as large as the club often-times sets up, measuring 8 ft. x 20ft. The club displayed a large lay-out at the Wissahickon PublicLibrary, in Blue Bell, PA. The lay-out was operated for two days andmeasured 28 ft. x 32 ft. The clublayout is set up with wood mem-bers approx. 1 x 2 inches stainedand finished installed perpindicu-lar to the face of the layout. Theends of these members have holesdrilled in them and a rope isthreaded though to provide astand-off for the visitors and keepthem away from the edge of thelayout. Photos in the NPSGnewsletter show the layout on dis-play with visitors enjoying the lay-out. The horizontal stand-offs areinstalled on the corner modules,and the rope is threaded around thecorner to provide protection com-pletely around the layout. A fabricskirt is installed around the bottomof the layout modules to providean esthetic appearance. GlennRitter is Corresponding Secretaryand edits the club newsletter andcoordinates the club activities.

The Baltimore Area AF Club(BAAFC) held their January

meeting at the home of WendellHoover, in Walkersville, MD. Theclub held their annual holiday cel-ebration at Bullock's FamilyRestaurant, in Westminster, MD.in December. Approx. 40 clubmembers and some friends andwives attended. John King wastrhe guest speaker at the event.The featured speaker gave a talkon the Western Maryland RR fromthe late 1960 to 1970 period. Thepresentation included slides ofengines, rolling stock, stations,industrial sidings, track work, andother RR related subjects. TheBAAFC planned to set up andoperate their layout at the GreatScale & All American Hi-Rail &Collectors Train Show to be heldin Timonium, MD on Feb. 5 & 6.Ron Kolb coordinates the clubactivities and ably edits thenewsletter.

The Southeastern Michigan SGaugers (SMSG) met at the

home of Earl Carlson, in Oxford,MI for their December meeting.The club has just purchased for thetransportation of their display lay-out a new trailer. It was ordered byJerry Poniatowski and picked up inElkhart, IN. by Bob Pardington.Bob reported to the club membersthat it tows "like it wasn't there".Member Bill Murray's son Jerry isa student at John Glenn HighSchool, where the trailer wasbrought to have racks fitted in thewood shop. The work will be doneafter classes as time permits.Layout modules are being ballast-ed and finished, and will be goingto Sig Fleischmann's for wiring inthe next few months. They willinclude styrofoam scenery whencompleted. The SMSG met at thehome of Tom Hess in Northville,MI for their January meeting. Tomhas a hi-rail layout in his base-ment, and a collection of AF trainson display. The club plans to setup and display a layout at theforthcoming Downriver ModelRailroaders Train Show, at theSouthgate Civic Center on Feb. 6,and at the Ann Arbor Train Showat the Saline High School onFebruary 19/20. Dale Baker isPresident; Sig Fleischmann,Treasurer; Jerry Poniatowski,Secretary and newsletter editor;and Tom Hawley and Ken Garberserve as Members-at-Large.

The Northern Ohio S Sealers(NOSS) held their Holiday

Party at the home of George andSteffi Ricketts in Westlake, OH. inDecember. Jack and SharonSudimak will hold the Januarymeeting of the club on Jan. 30 attheir home in Medina, OH. OnMonday Jan. 27, the S scale com-munity lost a member with theuntimely death of Dave McKay.Dave suffered a heart attack onDec. 20, and was in the ClevelandClinic when he passed away. Hewas known for his train photogra-phy, and authored a book aboutCleveland trains titled Trackside in

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Cleveland with Dave McKay .The book is due to be released onApril 1, 2005. Gary Ippolito iscollecting dues for the NOSS.

Rose and Ken Mauck hosted theCentral Ohio S Gaugers

(COSG) for their January meetingat their home in Pataskala, OH. Adistinguishing landmark for theMauck home is an Amish buggy inthe front yard. His train room fea-tures about 100 feet of overheadsingle AF track as well as a layouton which six or seven trains can beoperated at the same time. Thelayout is 6 ft. x 14 ft. and is about75 % scenicked.. The club plans toset up and operate their layout atthe GATS Train Show to be held atthe Ohio Exposition Center,Columbus, OH on Feb. 12/13.Larry & Janet Robertson will hostthe February club meeting at theirhome in Upper Arlington, OH.Larry recently took Amtrak fromChicago to Arkansas and back, viaNew Orleans to Chicago. He willpresent a slide show of photostaken on the trip. Mike andCarolyn McPherson are scheduledto hold the March club meeting attheir home in Upper Sandusky,OH. on March 20.

The COSG layout will be setupand operated at the GoldenBuckeye Train Show on April 16in the Lausche Building, AlanEvans ably edit's the club newslet-ter and a recent issue has a verymoving article describing Alan'sfriendship with Dale Williamson,who recently passed away. Dalewas deaf, and Alan describes theactivities that he enjoyed withDale, and how club members cele-brated Dale's birthdays which fre-quently occurred on the COSGmeeting dates. In the article Alanpays tribute to Dale, and expressesappreciation for how Dale was afriend and helped him to under-stand that being deaf is no handi-cap when it comes to enjoyingtrains, both real and models.

Chicago Assoc. of SGaugers (CASG) held their

first meeting of the new year at St.Paul Lutheran School, MelrosePark, IL on Friday Jan. 21.Members and friends gather atseven p.m.. to socialize and makedeals about trains and plans, andthe meeting starts at 8:00 p.m..Joel Lebovitz organized a party forthe club members in December tocommemorate their 35 th anniver-sary. Joel obtained a decoratedcake with diesel loco and passen-ger train on the cake and thewords: "Happy 35 thAnniversary CASG". The cakewas delicious and members attend-ing had a great time. The NMRAwill host it's Spring Show, HighWheeler '05 on March 5/6 and theclub will help set up and operatetheir layout.

The club will also set up and oper-ate a layout at the All AmericanRR Show, to be held on March 19as sponsored by the NMRADuPage Division. The CASG willhost the Fall S Fest-2006, and theclub members are planning theevent. The Tinley ParkConvention Center has beenbooked for the event, which washeld at the same location when theclub hosted the Fest in 2002. TheCenter has a 17,000 square foottrading room, 5,300 sq. ft. layoutroom, a lobby area and two frontrooms for the office and contestand meeting rooms for hospitalityand clinics. There are no less thaneleven committees to plan andcany out the operations of theFest. Club members Joe Craig andRoy Plotnick have worked on newlayout modules that will featureAF operating accessories.

The Cuyahoga Valley SGaugers (CVSG) held their

holiday party on Dec. 12 at thePufferbelly Restaurant, Kent, OH.President Lee McCarty coordinat-ed the event and a good time washad by all attending. Member JimZborowski held the January clubmeeting at his home in Medina,OH. The club is an active one withthree separate layouts that they setup and display at various train

shows and other events. Last yearfor the first time they set up a lay-out at a Boy Scout Jamboree wherethe scouts could witness S gaugetrains in action. The layoutsinclude a scale one also with someSn3 track age, a hi-rail layout, anda tinplate layout with AF acces-sories. The club set up the Hi-raillayout at the Walnut CreekNursing Home in November, theHi-rail and tinplate layouts at thefamily Christmas Festival inIndependence, OH. On Dec. 4,and on Dec. 19 to the Parma HighSchool Train Show. The tinplatelayout is stored in a trailer fortransportation to a site where it canbe set up and operated. The trailerleaked and there is rust on some ofthe track, so repairs were to bemade at Lee's loft, where the lay-out could be set up and workedupon. The club is looking to eitherrepair the trailer they have orreplace it with a more serviceableone. Joe Jansky edited a recentclub newsletter, and GeneRominski is Secretary of the club.

r~phe Miami Valley S Gaugers1 (MVSG) met at the store of

Chris Burger, Elizabeth StationToy Train, in Dayton, OH. On Jan2. After viewing the display lay-outs at the store, the members metat Chris's home to enjoy a carry-indish supper. Members wererequested to bring a food dishwhich could be enjoyed by thoseattending the meeting. The clubrecently welcomed new membersAl Friedman of Dayton, OH., andRichard Williams of Medway, OH.A group of club members attendedthe All S Gauge Train Swap Meetheld in Carmel, IN., and theIndiana Train Museum. The muse-um has full sized f-3 diesel,switchers, and Henry Flagler's per-sonal observation car among otherfull sized RR cars and equipment.The only bad part of the trip was acollision of Tony Garza's Pontiacmini-van with a seven point buckon 1-75 near Piqua, OH. TheMVSG brought and set up theirlayout in Eaton, OH. from mid-Dec., 2004 until Jan. 8, 2005 The

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club is organizing and sponsoringthe Spring S Spree, in Dayton, OH.on May 20/21. Plans are beingmade to pull everything togetherso that the event is a successfulone. The Spree will be held at theHoliday Inn, Dayton Mall, and thechairman for the event is DennyWhite. Tony Garza,Corresponding Secretaiy for theclub filled in for the Secretary bytaking minutes of the Decembermeeting.

The Badgerland S Gaugers(BSG) held their December

meeting at the home of Kim & JeffYoung, at their home inMenomenee Falls, WI. Twentyone members attended the meet-ing, including Jeff Madden, V.P. ofthe club and editor of the Dispatchmagazine. Jeff conducted themeeting in lieu of the absence ofDave Smukowski, President of theclub. Steve Lunde made a reporton the Fall S Fest as sponsored bythe club. Steve also suggested thatthe club members have informalget togethers at members homes torun trains, trade ideas, work on thelayout, or discuss ideas that themembers are interested in. The gettogethers would not include ameeting, buffet, or formal work ofthe BSG, but would be just for fun.This sounds like a good idea, andsimilar to the Play Trains meetingsthat the SJSG club has from timeto time. Steve Lunde agreed toplan the first fun night of the BSG.

Dick Kloes coordinates the clubTrain Trade Show events now heldat the Knights of Columbus Hall,Greenfield, WI The events are tobe held monthly in January thruApril for the forthcoming Springyear. The meet held in Decemberwas one of the most successful thatthe club has ever held, accordingto the report of Dick. The club hasplaced ads with radio stationsWRIT and WOKY advertising theBSG swap meets. The swap meetsinclude a variety of displays thatshould draw public attendees tothe events. These include an AFparts dealer knowledgeable in

parts for the Gilbert trains, PaulRembas, repairer of trains whogives advise and can make simplerepairs on the spot, various dealersof American Models and S HelperService trains, and new and old AFdealers with trains for sale, andother RR related dealers. DaveSmukowski has been setting up anAF layout at the swap meets in thelounge area. A different layout isset up from meet to meet.Members of the club were request-ed to help set up and take down thelayout to give the president of theclub a hand. Dick Kloes waselected as Director of the club, oneof four such positions. RonSchlicht serves as modular LayoutCommittee Chairman for the club.Ron is Secretary/Editor of the cluband ably edits the newsletter.Jeffrey Young is Treasurer. TheJanuary club meeting was held onJan 23 (after the swap meet) in theKnights of Columbus Hall, WestAllis, WI.

The AF S Gaugers of the St.Louis Area (AFSGSLA) were

hosted by Norm and lone Pilarskiat their home in Ballwin, MO. Forthe club's holiday party. Spouses ,significant others, or whoeverwere invited to the event. BarryDolan coordinated the set up andoperation of the club layout at theWorld's Greatest Hobby on Tourshow at the America's Center,downtown St. Louis, MO. OnJanuary 8/9. The layout was 12ft.X 28 ft. long, and Metrolink trainservice was available to access theAmerica's Center. On Jan. 15, theFamous Barr Department Storelayout was closed down andpacked for storage. This S gaugelayout has been set up and operat-ing in the Department store win-dow at Christmas time for pastyears. The club constructed andmonitors the operation, set up, andtake down of the layout. MemberMarc Brab is scheduled to host theFebruary meeting with help fromBarry Dolan. Marc will hold themeeting at his home in Florissant,MO. on Feb. 4. The AFSGSLAplans to set up and operate their

layout at the Dupo Train Show onFeb. 13, and Barry Dolan is coor-dinating the set up and operations.Gary Mueller edits the clubnewsletter, and Moe Berk coordi-nates the club activities.

The S Train Rails the officialnewsletter publication of the

Inland Empire S Gaugers Assoc.of the Pacific Northwest (IES-GAPN). The club members met inDecember to work on their layout.They planned to meet again onJanuary 8 to continue work on thelayout. The January meeting ofthe club was held at the Coeur d'Alene Casino, Worley, ID. for theirannual holiday party. The clubreserved the Aripa Room for theirbanquet. Wives friends and chil-dren were all welcomed, and a giftexchange was made, both for themembers and a separate one for theladies attending. The club is sell-ing their 35 th anniversary box carsmade by American Models. Thecars have hi-rail trucks, and JonKettner is coordinating the sale ofthe cars. Jon ably edits the clubnewsletter, and coordinates theclub activities. A recent issue ofthe newsletter included ads fromthe members who wish to sell orpurchase train items.

The Rocky MountainHiRailers (RMHR) met in

mid-January at the ChileDevelopment Center, Boise, ID.To work on their layout, theLookout Junction. Placement andlighting of the accessory structureson the layout was the task of themeeting. The club will celebratetheir tenth anniversary on June 7,2005. The December meeting ofthe club was held at their newhome, arranged by Shane Jibben,through his company, North ByNorthwest Productions. The meet-ing included a pot luck supper attheir new home, an evening enjoy-ing each others company, andtrains in operation on the LookoutJunction. The RMHR received athank you from the NASG Boardof Trustees for bringing and oper-ating their layout at the NMRA

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National Convention. The layoutgave a good showing for ourfavorite trains at the national clubconvention. John Eichmann editsthe club newsletters and coordi-nates the club activities.

Bay Area S Sealers1 (BASS) met on Jan. 1 5 at the

home of Vic Cherven, Sr. in ValleySprings, CA. On the same day inthe early afternoon the membersadjourned to Vic. Jr's home about ablock away for a business meetingand light refreshments. Both fam-ilies will pull up track and move tonorthern Idaho in the Spring.Barney Daehler edits the clubnewsletter and Lee Johnson coor-dinates the club activities. Leewrites a column in the newsletterthat describes new S products andthe status of some of the olderones. Bill Roberts coordinates theclub modular set ups. A recentnewsletter explained that S HelperService received two of the engi-neering samples of their 2-8-0steam locomotive, and ran them onthe SHS display layout at theWorld's Greatest Hobby Show inEdison, N.J. One of the locomo-tives was tested at the StationLayout of Citigroup Corp. in NewYork City. This layout featuresHO, S and O gauge trains, and wasconstructed by Clarke DunhamStudios, a professional layout con-struction firm.

Your column editor wishes tothank those clubs and individu-als that submit information onthe activities and events youattend and organize. Please sendnewsletters and information forthe column to David Pool, 11Bittersweet Trail, Wilton, CT.,06897-3902 or e-mail atndpool@juno.com.

Above - Bob Morrison's Rock Island RS-3 is shown passing through a ruralscene on the Hoosier S Gangers' new S-Wlod 8' x 16' layout at the firstannual Indianapolis S Show back in November of 2004. The 2005 2ndannual event will take place Saturday Nov. 5th so as not to conflict with theFall S Fest which will be later in November in the Beloit, Wisconsin area.

Above - Attendees at theIndianapolis S Show were host-ed to a pre-meet tour of therestored Monon depot by TomRumer, historian for the CarmelClay Historical Society. Picturedleft to right are Tom Rumer,Dave Johnson (Carmel, IN), AlAskerberg (Columbus, IN), BobMorrison (Columbus, IN), JoeHiestand (Mt. Clements, IN) andJerry Schnur (Indianapolis).Right - David Clendenin ofPlainfield, IN, puts the finaltouches on his Vendor table.Photos by Charles Malinowski

TOMALCO TRACK SYSTEMA Review by Sam Powell

The scale component of S gaugehas grown to the point where trackmight be the single most neededitem for the market today. S gaugehas certainly, for better or forworse, outgrown it's craftsmanonly image, and can now boast awide range of ready-to- run equip-ment made to quality undreamedof in years past. Yet when I walkinto the hobby shop, it is the widerange of inexpensive R-T-R trackcomponents in HO that make merealize that to be a scale that cantruly develop a mass appeal, itmust be easier to build a layout inS than it is today. When a new-comer to the hobby of model rail-roading asks for advice about get-ting started, and wants to see mylayout, in the past I have felt regretwhen informing them most of thePenn Creek Valley's track was builtby hand. I have seen the cloudsstart to drift over the entire thing intheir mind.

Larry Morton has resurecected theold Tomalco flex track, and addeda full line of turnouts and cross-ings. The Tomalco system of Sscale track, while not truly R-T-Rin the sense that Snap Switches, orAtlas Custom Line are in HO, goesa long way towards making S scaleaccessible to the average hobbiest.The turnouts are ready to install,hook up, and run, with only mini-mal fussing. All track, andturnouts are available in code 100,code 83, and code 70 rail, in both-silver and weathered.

The flex track is a continuation ofthe old Tomalco line introduced bySwede Norlin years ago to compli-ment his Sn3 track.. It comes in36" lengths, with nickel silver rail,left either shiny or weatheredchemicaly. It has delrin ties withcast in grain pattern, tie plates, andspikes on every tie. There are 120ties per section and scale out to 9"long, and 8" X 6" in cross section.The ties are joined together under

the rail with longitudinal delrinconnectors that alternate left andright sides.

The track is a little tricky to curve,but once the curve is set, it staysnicely while you spike it in place. Iused a wooden radius template toform my curved sections around. Ifound it usefull to go back andeven out the ties several times as Iwas perfecting the curve. Iinstalled wooden ties at the jointsin the sections. This allowed me tospike the rails into more precisealignment than flex track typicallyallows, and it gave me place to sol-der feeder wires without worryingabout melting the ties. Thisarrangement also allows me tostagger the rail joints a little, thusmaking it a little easier to keep thekinks out at the connectionsbetween sections. After it is spikedin place, I then go back and evenout the ties, trying to keep them asparallel as possible. I finish off theinstallation with ballast glueddown with thinned Elmer's glue,and the track ends up being firmlyheld.

I have found over the years, it iswise to leave a small gap at the railjoints when laying rail in the sum-mer. The layout road bed alwaysshrinks in the winter, and will kinkthe rails as the distance betweenrail joints shrinks. This force isstrong enough to break plasticspikes, or pull the track off align-ment if it is not glued down. A gapof about 1/16" should take care ofall the expansion contractionissues on your benchwork. For thisreason, I do not solder the railjoints. I put a separate feeder wirefor each rail section.

The turnouts in the line are quitebeautifully done. The rails are veiyaccurately gauged and aligned. Allthe ties from a single turnout arelaser cut from a solid block ofwood. The ties on my samples

measured .111" deep, and .115 "wide which scales out to a roughly6" X 7" in S scale. The ties are cut8'6" long at the single track end ofthe turnout, which makes themmatch the Tomalco flex track nice-ly. The rails are glued to the switchblock, which makes them some-what fragile until they are spikedinto place. One section of tie mate-rial broke away from the railswhile I was handling it for review,and installation. I did not considerthis to be problem, but offer it as awarning.

It is recommended that you spikethe rails down after installing theturnout to the road bed with glue. Ifound that the glue itself causes thelaser-cut tiesrtip to begin to warpup as the moisture from the glue isabsorbed by the wood ties. It isessential that you get some spikesin the switch right away to keep itflat as the glue dries. Also I foundthat before these laser cut ties areglued down and ballasted, they aremore prone to splitting than stan-dard pine ties. I had no problemswith splitting when just one spikeper tie was used, but when I spikedboth sides of the rail down, theends of the ties wanted to split. Forthis reasonb, in my preliminaryspiking, while the glue is still wet,I recommend spreading the spikesout, and not spiking two per tieuntil the glue has dried and the bal-last is applied.

There is one design feature which Ichose to modify when installingthese turnouts. Tomalco's designhas a solid throwbar soldereddirectly to both points, thus creat-ing a rigid angle between thethrowbar and the point tip. Thisarrangment causes stress in thejoint as the points are thrown fromside to side, and keeps the pointfrom finding it's ideal nestingplace against the stock rail in somecases. To create more flexibility atthe point/throwbar connection, Icut a section of the throw bar outof the center, and hinge bothremaining tabs to a single throw-bar with 0-80 machine screws. You

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must not use a dremel tool to cutthe throw bar. The resulting heatwill break the solder joint loose. Irecommend a jewlers saw instead.If you do not have a jewelers saw,then you will have to temporarilyremove a few ties from the sur-rounding area, and cut the throwbar with a razor saw. I recommendleaving the original throw barintact while drilling both holesthat hinge the remaining point tabsto the new throw bar to maintainthe original gauging of the pointrails. I make my throw bars fromplixiglass, available at the Plastrucselection in the hobby shop. DanVandermause has a clever solutionfor hinging turnout throw bars thatuses Plastruc ABS channel of thecorrect size. ABS is easier to workthan plexiglass, but is not suffi-ciently rigid to hold threads underrepeated stress. To make it strongenough to sustain the pressure,Dan glues a 0-80 nut under theABS throw bar in the recess of thechannel.. This approach does notrequire owning an 0-80 tap.

Turnouts are offered in sizes rang-ing from number 4 to number 10with only 7 and 9 absent, as well ascurved turnouts ranging from 28"to 45" on the inner radius, and 40"to 60" on the outer radius. Youshould be able to find somethingfor every need in your track plan.Larry also offers a selection of

cross overs, three way turnouts,and a double slip switch.. TheTomalco Track product brochurehas illustrations of examples oftheir entire line except the doubleslip switch, so perhaps the doubleslips were not in production at thetime the brocure was produced. Adouble slip looks like a broadangle crossover but with the addi-ton of movable points that allowthe train to take either the throughroute or diverge to the cross track.

In summary, this track line is awonderfull addition to the S world.I feel I can recommend it whole-heartedly, and that it's existencemakes S a much more inviting andrewarding scale for potential newconverts. Thank you Tomalco.

Sam Powell

Some comments from another:I've been playing around this weekwith my first shipment of the brandnew Tomalco Code 70 standardgauge flex track, just receivedfromLarry Morton (owner of Tomalco).It is very nice stuff. Code 70 isexactly the correct height to repli-cate 70- to 75-pound-per-yard railin S-scale, so those of us who arestruggling to model the late 19thor early 20th century steam era inS finally have some excellenttrack, without having to hand-layeverything.

The new Tomalco Code 70 flextrack has very nice tie and spike-headdetail, and is stiff enough to hold aradius by itself after beingbent to a curve, which makes iteasy to lay. Trucks equipped withNWSL Code 88 semi-fmescalewheels roll over the track and castplastic spikeheads with no prob-lems, as would be expected. But Iwaspleased and a bit surprised to findthat even some old Ace archbartrucks, still equipped with theirstock plastic wheels with oversizeflanges, also performed perfectlyover the track, without the flangeshitting the spikeheads. Larry hasbeen very gracious and patient inanswering all the questions I haveemailed him about his new code 70products.

I also have some of the first soon-to-be-released Code 70 #6 turnoutson order from Tomalco, and afterseeing how nice the new flex trackcame out, I am eagerly lookingforward to receiving the matchingturnouts. I'll try to post a briefreport once I have been able totest them out.

Ron Stanulevich

NOTE: Website is:www.tomalcotrack. com

Code TO

CoAvailable tn 3 Foot Flextrack

& Un-Weathered Code

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The Straight & NarrowBy David L. Heine

News and Reviews on the Narrow Gauge Front

Building Laser-Cut Kits

This is not just a narrow gaugeonly topic, but it does seem thatthere are more kits of buildingsalong the Rio Grande Southernthan any other railroad, or at leastbuildings per mile of railroad. Inthis article I will offer some of mytips and techniques I use in build-ing these types of kits and hopethat some of you may find some-thing useful. If you have your ownspecial techniques, let us know.

Laser-cut structure kits are avail-able from several manufacturers inS. Even in our "minority" scale wehave kits ranging from a majorindustry building along the tracksto the humble, but necessary, out-house. Most of these kits are basi-cally wood, but may contain partsfrom cardstock, styrene, metal andresin castings, paper shingles, andeven plaster castings. The majoradvantage of these kits versus tra-ditional craftsman kits is thateverything is measured and cut outfor you by the laser. Most I haveassembled are well designed andeverything fits together with onlyminor fussing. This saves consid-erable time and effort in assem-bling the kit and only standardmodeling tools are required. Thelaser can even be used to put indetails like nail holes or be used todrill a hole so you don't need to doit yourself. By taking your timeand understanding the steps, thekits can be assembled into finelooking models.

Most of the laser-cut pieces arestill fastened to the carrier sheetsby one or two small areas that mustbe cut. There will usually be some"drop-outs" or pieces completelycut out such as windows. Do notbe afraid, these are not parts. If it

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has been cut out completely it isintentional. Some parts such aswindow sashes, trim pieces, orroof shingles are on adhesive-backed sheets. Do not remove thepaper backing off the adhesive sideuntil you are ready to fasten it inplace. This is especially true forsmall pieces such as window sash-es. I usually use an Exacto knifewith the common #11 blades, butothers use scalpels and razorblades. I buy the blades by boxesof 100 and toss them when theybecome dull.

Sanding - Yes you must still sandpieces. My most used tool for thisis the plain old sanding stick.These are cheap when purchased atthe local pharmacy as finger nailfiles. You can also cut them downif you need to get into a smallspace. No, you do not need to sandall the brown off the edges wherethe laser burnt the wood.However, the amount of sanding isdependent on the wood finishing.Many times I can get away withjust a quick pass, even when stain-ing the wood. Of course, if thepart is supposed to represent newraw wood; you will have to com-pletely sand the brown edge away.

You can also use the standard tech-niques for distressing wood. Thisincludes adding heavier grainingby dragging the teeth of a finerazor saw along the grain of thewood. Knots and other distressingcan be scribed into the wood. Howmuch of this you do depends onwhat you are building and whatstate of repair it is supposed to rep-resent.

Painting and Staining -1 usuallypaint the wooden pieces beforethey are removed from the carriersheets. I may be old fashioned, but

I still prefer non-water-basedpaints for wood, so I use the oldmodeler's standby, Floquil. I knowit formula has been changed overthe years, but it is still my favoritepaint for wood. It can be thinnedfor use as a stain. One advantageof using non-water-based paints isit eliminates any warping prob-lems. One big advantage of pre-painting parts is that it makes iteasier if you want trim or windowsashes in contrasting colors.

My favorite method of stainingwood is using artists makers. Twobrands I have used are BerolPrismacolor and Pantone (byLetraset). These can be purchasedat a local artist supply store, whichis a good place to visit for all sortsof modeling goodies. There arealso some mail order/internetstores such as Dick Blick. The col-ors I find most useful are warmgray and French grey, which arebrown/grey colors and cool grey,which is greyer. The markers willhave the color name and an inten-sity number or percentage onthem. The higher the intensityvalue percentage or number on themarker, the darker the shade of thatcolor. I use 60% or 6 the most, butother values are used, so if you aretrying these out, you may want totry several. You only need theones with broad nubs for stainingwood. Like all staining, unlessyou are sure of the color, start lightand add additional coats if needed.One big advantage of the markersis that you can use the wood assoon as you stain it. I have usedthis method on stripwood for yearsand if I need another piece, I juststain it with a marker and I'm readyto go. These markers are made inall sorts of colors, but I mostly justuse them to represent unpaintedwood using the various grey col-ors.

Of course, if you like other stain-ing techniques, such as using blackand/or brown shoe dye diluted inalcohol or using commercial woodstain, these techniques work and Ihave used them in the past. For

me, it's less mess and easier just touse a marker most of the time.However, using shoe dye is one ofthe cheapest effective stains.

Glue - For gluing wood to wood orwood to cardstock I use Titebondwood glue, which is an aliphaticresin (yellow) glue. I put a dollopon a piece of waxed paper andapply it to the joint with a tooth-pick. I find it sets up fast enoughthat I can keep working steadilywhen used in small amounts. Anyexcess can be cleaned up with adamp paper towel before it dries. Igenerally use medium viscosityCA glue for the mixed materialjoints. Silicon sealer can be usedfor some of the more difficultjoints like installing corrugatedsiding over a cardstock roof. Ithink we all eventually have ourfavorite glues. I have some friendsthat seem to use Duco cementalmost exclusively.

Weathering - Every modeler hashis favorite weathering techniques.My first is the old standby of a fewdrops of India ink in alcohol. Ihave a brush that I use only for thispurpose. I find that this reallyhelps bring out some of the detailbecause the ink settles intogrooves, nail holes and distressmarks.

My personal second favoriteweather technique is using pastelartist chalks. These come in manycolors, but I seem to use the rust,grey, and black colors the most.These just need to be scraped intoa powder form and then streakedand/or scrubbed into the buildingwith brushes. Again, I have somebrushes I just use for chalk appli-cation. The best results seem to bewhen I use several colors, but notcompletely mixed. I do not nor-mally spray any fixative onto thechalks after they are installed.Structures normally are not han-

dled so I don't have a problem withthem getting messed. However, itis not much work to add and blendsome more chalk if needed.

Also, don't be afraid to do littlethings like "breaking" windowglazing. If I want window glazingto look dirty, I will give it a quickspray of Tester's dullcoat. Bymasking an area before sprayingthe dullcoat, that area is cleanwhen the masking is removed.

The most important tip is to not beafraid to try building one of thesekits. They are no more difficult ingeneral than building a plastic kit.Even though some of the largerkits have many parts, you still onlyadd them one piece at a time, sothey just take more time. If youhave some of your own ideas ortechniques, let us Jeff or I know.As always, feel free to write if themood strikes. - Dave Heinedavesn3@rcn.com

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EXTRA BOARDPASSENGER CAR ORIGINThe original proposal (for passen-ger cars AM does now) called for 4heavyweight passenger cars - aPRR P70 coach, a NYC coach andthe 12-1 and 10-2 Pullman sleep-ers. I was collecting drawings andgetting ready to send a packagewith all of the information off toRon Bashista. This was the firstweek of January 1991 and therewas a jewelry convention in NewYork City. Josh and Barb Seltzerwere in town for the conventionand stopped by our house where Ishared with him my thoughts forthis important new project. Beingthat Josh was a big NYC fan, I wassurprised by his remarks about thechances for success of my idea. Hethought the best way to get hisproject off the ground would be tohave a series of cars, some ofwhich could negotiate the AFcurved track and switches. None ofthe cars that we had considered fitthis criteria. When we approachedAmerican Models in the early '90swith the 8 passenger cars for ourproject, the two coaches werereplaced with five 70' cars - a NYCRPO and baggage, CRRof NJcombine, coach and observation(Blue Comet). To complete the set(besides the long Pullmans men-tioned above) we needed some-where for our S scale passengers toeat. I had drawings, photos andother items on the CRRof NJ cafecar "Giacobini" that was used onthe Blue Comet. And, that is wherethe diner came from, (the 3rd longcar which was just reissued byAM).

Don Thompson, SHS.

S IN NON-S PUBLICATIONS- Dec. '04 RMJ - Review ofSHSF7

„,„ Mainline Modeler - BillLane article on detailing PRR F7s- Dec. '04 CTT - AF boxcar arti-cle on the 900 series by J. J.Krempecke and Roger Carp.

Jan. '05 CTT - 6-page featureon Carl Giambrone's Flyer layout

by Roger Carp- Feb. '05 CTT - Wayne Beachyarticle on Another Way to Unloada Hopper. This is a neat how-to.Plus, a 1-pager on AF 970Seaboard operating brakeman car.- Mar. '05 CTT - AF Bill boardarticle by Ted Hamler and reviewof Lionel AF Baldwin dieselswitcher.

WELCOME ABOARDWe're going to try to list newmembers from time to time. Here'sa list dating back to fall 2004:John Aaron - Marlton, NJ -SJSGPaul Addison - Edmond, OKBrian Banta - Edinburgh, IN

Hoosier S SealersEd BenderLeslie Bowman - Holly, MINelson Bowman - Troy, OH

Miami Valley SGJoe Cordaro - Rochester, NYLarry Covey - Longmeadow, MAJohn Dalton - Fremont, CAJim DeLay - Cedar Rapids, IAMichael Dunion - Victorville, CAEd Eckert - Milpitas, CABrian Empanges - Minneap., MNChip Essex - Hastings, NEJames Fewlass - Beaufort, SCBill Flitcraft - Monroeville, NJRobert Furmanak - Cochranville,

PAChristopher Gabriel - NY, NYCharles GildehausFrank Giraldi - Westbrookville,

NYBernard Gustin - Westerville, OHWalter Harris - Broken Arrow, OKDan Harman - Overland Park, KSDave Highfield - Westminster, MDAlan Johnson - Pittsburgh, PADonald Kniezan - Mataire, LAJerry Lebo - Johnstown, PADaryl LundRichard Mack - Freeport, ILMari McLean - Pataskala, OHJames McMorrow - Jefferson, MD

Bait. Area AF ClubKen Mcnelly - Virginia Beach, VA

ACSGGeorge MillikenArchie Mills - Yorba Linda, CAWayne Mitchell - Havelock, NC

ACSGCarson Morgan - Fairmont, WVWalt Mumie SJSG

Henry Naert - Shawnee, KSWilliam Nagle - Columbia, PAAngelo Nista - West Haven, CTMichael O'Connor - Williston, VT

Shelburne MuseumPaul Overmyer - Livonia, MI

SEMSGWilliam PapajDominic Patrissi - Wallingford,

CTRoger Paul - Fresno, CAThomas Petronio - Middlefield,

OHRichard Russell - Boulder, COPhilip Shukda - Hershey, PAFarley Snow - Birmingham, ALWalter Still - Dover, DEDaniel Stitt -TerryStone - Martins Ferry, OHRobert Stout - Allegany, NYChuck Sullivan - Tampa, FLBruce TheveninDeWayne Tomasek - Duluth, MNJames Vantine - Kane, PAReginald Wagner - Clarendon

Hills, PAThomas Walker - Orbisonia, PADonald Webster - Derby, NY

BRAKE SETSEd Loizeaux wrote to Grandt Lineas to the availability of S scale ABbrake set #4057. Grandt Linereplied that the dies wouldn't workany more, so only brake wheels areavailable. Bob Werre replied in anemail that he believes that the partsor similar ones might be availablefrom PRS/Gold Coast. Of course,there are brass ones available fromBTS, etc.

S-TIPSKDs on Des Plaines Gondolas: Ispent the earlier part of the weekphotographing several of DesPlaines' gondolas, and I installedKDs on some of the cars. There iswhat appears to be a continuousmetal sheet between the woodfloor and the outside plastic floor.Therefore, there is not much 'meat'for the coupler screws to grab. Itried to drill into the metal sheetbut it must be hard steel and didn'tdrill very well. Because I used theKadee coupler, I used their screwsafter cutting them off a bit.

32

Although the plastic floor is thin,the coupler seems to hold wellenough. I have the Milwaukee pee-a-boo car and one other conven-tional version (CNW) and am veryhappy with their weight and over-all appearance.

Bob Werre

More on Des Plaine's Cars:: Iinstalled Kadee-style couplers(SHS brown #1295) on S-ScaleAmerica composite gondola and a10,000 gallon tank car. First, thetank car: This car (Roma Wine)has two pins molded to the frame,for a Kadee 802 to slide on. It turnsout the 1295 holes are slightlysmaller than the 802. I believe the802 used 0-48 self tapping screws;the 1295 uses smaller non-self tap-ping screws. I used a .063 to bit todrill out the 1295. I worked it afew times until the bit slid throughpretty easily. I was then able topush the 1295 onto the pins ok.The 1295 is a bit thicker that the802 so the pins don't come flushwith the bottom of the 1295 theway they do with the 802. The cou-plers stay on and line up with thegauge about the same as the 802.Next the gondola: I took off the AFcompatible couplers and did notreplace the spacer. The screws thathold the trucks are still able toscrew down all the way withoutbottoming. There's a hint of a holewhere the floor of the car needs tobe drilled for the coupler. Thediameter of the screws suppliedwith the 1295s is .057", so I used a.046" #56 bit. I drilled down to themetal plate in the floor of the car.The screws with the 1295 are short

so they didn't bottom out (BobWerre used 802 with longer screws- so he trimmed the screws short).If they loosen up over time I'll justuse a drop of CA. With the cou-plers mounted without shims, andthe trucks back on without a spac-er (there is a washer that wasalready installed with the AF cou-plers - I left it in place). The cou-plers lined up well with the gauge.- Bill Clark

LAST RUNJohn Bennett of Old OrchardBeach, ME passed away on Feb. 3.John was a Flyer purist, who had abeautiful ACG layout that was thefocal point of our Maine S Gaugersmeetings at his home. Friendsurged him to do a video for TMProductions. I was lucky enough tosee the pre-production copy of thisfilm; it was very entertaining andfeatured a lot of vintage Flyer andACG accessories. He will bemissed at our meetings and ourheart-felt sympathy goes out to hisfamily. He was an NASG andMSG member.- Tom Stoltz

NASG COPY SERVICENote that the Copy Service is now in the hands of Dick Karneswho is in charge of the Russell M. Mobley Memorial Library.Copies of articles from back issues of the NASG Dispatch andother publications we have permission to copy are available fromDick per his instructions in the Library ad. We want to thankKent Singer for handling the Copy Service for many years.

Kent still is available to work up any Short & Easy articles youwant to send his way.Kent can be reached at 6516 Georgian Way, Columbus, GA31909. email: k_singer@knology.net

S-CALENDAR

March 20, 2005: ConnecticutEastern Railroad Museum Trainand Die Cast Show. Windham HS,355 High St., 10 a.m - 3 p.m.Admissions - Joe Sokol 860-872-2240 or joseph_sokol@msn.com.

May 20, 21, 2005: Spring SSpree. Dayton, Ohio. Holiday InnDayton Mall - 937-434-8030.spree Chairman: Denny White -9 3 7 - 4 2 6 - 3 6 1 6 ,dwhite@woh.rr.com.

June 18-26, 2005: TCA NationalConvention. Seattle-TacomaWashington.

June 23-26, 2005: NMRA RMRConvention. Holiday Inn ofCheyenne, Cheyenne, WY - 307-638-4466. Robert Sherwood 307-638-8535, www.shermanhillmr-c c. org/rmr_conv.

July 3-11, 2005: NMRA NationalConvention and Train Show.Cincinnati, OH.

July 26-30, 2005: NASG AnnualConvention, Altoona, PA -Hosted by Alto Model TrainMuseum Assoc., Ramada InnAltoona, (814)-946-1631 forreservations. Info (814) 224-5414. www.amtma.org.

Aug. 2-6, 2006: NASG AnnualConvention. Pontiac, Michigan(northern Detroit area), DetailsTEA.

Bids Open for NASG AnnualConventions — 2007 and beyond.Contact Lee Johnson, 2472 LariatLn., Walnut Creek, CA 94596-6635 - 925-943-1590 - email:leemax@jps.net

33

Railmail cont. from page 5

Looking for club and other things:I'm looking for an AF club in theSan Diego area. Is there a phonenumber for the Toy Train Barn inArgyle, WI? (608-966-1464 BuckGutnrie). I would like to see videosof many of the AF layouts I see inthe magazines. I want to congratu-late Lionel for the recent AF offer-ings including the new steamer. Ihave suggested to them they pro-duce smoke cartridges and track inthe Gilbert tradition plus somestock cars.

Michael Moore, Calif.

Free-Mo modular layouts:Brought up on the internet somecomments by John Degncin: I justlike the fact that you don't have tothink in a circle...or an oval...asyou do with traditional modularstandards. It does away with thepointlessness of running yourtrains in an endless loop, allowingmodule builders to build a moduleof any shape, ending at any angle,branching off in as many direc-tions as the builder chooses, and soon. It does away with the need to

crawl inside an oval of benchworkto operate the trains, effectivelyallowing the operators to walkunhindered around the full lengthof the assembly and be moreinvolved with what's going on.- John Degnan

Some thought this meant theNASG S-MOD standards preclud-ed doing Free-mo, but here's aresponse from Lee Johnson: 1don't see anything in the NASG S-MOD standards that would pre-vent you from meeting any of theabove criteria. Since the NMRAmodule standards are based on theNASG S-MOD, then this holdstrue for the NMRA modules also.By the way, the NMRA modulestandards do not make skyboards(backdrops) a requirement. Theyare optional to the module builder.The fact that many of the modularlayouts are configured in a circle isbased on the way people decidedto set them up, not a requirementof the module standards.- Lee Johnson How to createFree-mo S modules might make aninteresting Module Corner for theDispatch - ed.

Thanks NASG:: I think that you(NASG and those involved)should be praised for your effortsin bringing these Pullmans (long)back to life so to speak. I havebeen in S scale for only four years,but when I first arrived, the lack ofeasily accessible and affordablefull-length heavyweights was verynoticeable. I know that certainindividuals and the NASG put a lotof effort into making these avail-able again. You all should be laud-ed, even if AM sells them downthe road for less, because if youhadn't taken this step, the moldsmost likely would still be on theshelf. So, because of the NASG,they're back and S scale can standproud that we don't have to pay E-Bay prices for an AM full-lengthPullman. Oh yeah, I almost forgot,even CNR colours.- cheers Andy Malette - yes, andAM is adding the long Cafe cars tothe mix to match the NASG colors.More road names on the long carsdown the road by AM with or with-out NASG help would be nice. - ed.

Phil Kosin's solution to a lift bridge. Phil is a member of theCASG and the NASG.

34

Yes, Flyerfest on the floor wasalive and well over the New Year'sholidays of '04/'05 at the home ofMike Schafer in Lee, Illinois.Again, it was friendship, fun, andFlyer smoke and choo choo for acouple of days. Photo by DaveIngles

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Tomalco Track can supply you with quality nickel-silver, code 83 andcode 100 flextrack, standard turnouts from #4 to #10, wye, double slip, 3-way, and curved in any radius along with crossings from 14 to 90degrees. Products can be weathered and made DCC ready if request-ed. All turnout and crossing products are mounted on stained wood ties.Separate tie kits are available for those who have an unmounted OldPullman or BK Enterprises turnout you wish to use.

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Russell M. Mcblcv MemorialLibrary

Manazlne Resources3/16 "S"cale RailroadingEssence - the NMRA "S" SIG

newsletter, 1985-1988Mainline Modeler (1980-1997)Model Railroader (19374961)NASd DispatchS Gauge HeraldS GaugianS/Sn3 Modeling GuideSn3 Modeler

Need an article? Need anarticle search?

Wf'II FIND » AND SfWfirow A ««w on am rot/

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Russell M. Moblcy Memorial LibrarjDick Karnes, Librarian

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nasglibfary@earthlink.net

Thanks to this month's donors:Eric Reis, Tom Lennon

35

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