piedmont division t i m e t a b l e...model contest pages 4-6 rails to sails 2009 ser convention...

Piedmont Division Timetable April - June 2009 1

PIEDMONT DIVISION

T I M E T A B L E www.piedmont-div.org April - June 2009

Published for Members & Friends of the Piedmont Division

In Every Issue

Features DIVISION ACTIVITIES Charlie Crawford - Director of Operations

Tuesday April 14, 7:00-9:30 pm, PIEDMONT DIVISION MEETING Clinic: Tom Gordon presents Building & using CMRI. Tom tells us how run our layouts using computer control. Theme of the Month: “Open Loads:” Railroads transport all sorts of commodities in the open. Show what you’ve got. Show and Tell: Books, magazines photos or anything of interest to the group.

Sunday, April 19, 1 to 4 pm Home Layout Open Houses

Bill Robertson’s Southern Pacific, Mountain Park Division (HO) 114 East Lake Drive, Mountain Park (Roswell), GA 30075 ( 770) 594-8080

Doug Alexander’s Peachtree Division of the Southern Railway (HO) 2530 Bohler Road, Atlanta, GA 30327 (404) 355-3154

Tuesday, May 12, 7:00-9:30 pm, PIEDMONT DIVISION MEETING

Clinic: Scott Povlot presents Custom Prototype Decals. Our computer expert tell ho you can make your own decals. Theme of the Month: Custom Decorated Rolling Stock. Show and Tell: Books, magazines photos or anything of interest to the group.

Sunday, May 17, 1 to 4 pm Home Layout Open Houses

Tom Brennison’s New River Railway (HO) 465 Cedar Lane, Fayetteville, GA (770) 631-3080

Tom Bank’s North South Railroad (N) 8042 Autumn Woods Drive, Jonesboro, GA 30296 (770) 477-1480

Tuesday, June 9, 7:00-9:30 pm, PIEDMONT DIVISION MEETING

Clinic: Ben Bartlett presents Working with Styrene Edition Six. How to scratch build or kit bash with this versatile material. Theme of the Month: Styrene structures, kit, kitbashed or scratch built. Show and Tell: Books, magazines photos or anything of interest to the group.

Sunday, June 14, 1 to 4 pm Home Layout Open Houses

Jim Travis’ Jamestown & Turtle Creek Interchange (HO) 2299 Woodsfield Lane, Marietta, GA 30062 (770) 289-2020

Charlie Crawford’s Adirondack Division (HO) 3302 Casteel Road NE, Marietta, GA 30062 (770) 565-1845

Attention Hobby Dealers 2

2009 Model Train Show 4

Division Model Contest 6

From the Stacks 7

Doug Alexander’s Southern Railway, Peachtree Division 8

Achievement Program Update 8

Rails to Sails - 2009 SER Convention 9

Building Group Raffle Layouts 101, Article 2 11

Division Members Recognized for Service 12

UC&W Purchases Norfolk Southern 13

Model Train Show 14

From the Editor 2

Welcome New Members 2

Membership Information 2

A Blast from the Horn 3

The Membership Train 3

Ravings from the D.O. 7

Division Directory 15

Digital Command Control 101: Basic Decoder Installation. Email [email protected] for additional information. The last class sold out, so don't delay!

Saturday, June 6

First Presbyterian Church 198 Church Street, Marietta, GA 30060

9:00 am

2009 Model Train Show and Division Model Contest Pages 4-6

Rails to Sails 2009 SER Convention Pensacola, FL Page 9


The National Model Railroad Association is the largest organization devoted to the development, promotion, and enjoyment of the hobby of model railroading.

The NMRA was founded in 1935 in Mil-waukee, Wisconsin in order to provide a service to the hobby of model railroading!

The SER provides services to the members of the NMRA resident in our Region and the 15 Divisions which operate in our Region.

Don’t miss the next edition of the SouthErneR, the official publication of the SER!

From the EditorFrom the Editor Rick Coble NMRA National Elections and the Region Convention By now, you should have received your replacement ballot for the NMRA National election. The challenge with this election is determining where the candidates stand on issues that are important to you. There won't be a series of televised debates, no recorded phone messages, and no "news" stories on cable television.

How do decide who gets your vote? Turn to your friends in the Division. You may even find someone who knows the candidates and can fill in the blanks. And make sure that you vote.

Have you registered for Rails to Sails? Glen Hall and the Gulf Division crew have promised an outstanding convention, with clinics, prototype and layout tours, and a two-day train show.

If you haven't been to a region convention, why not start this year? Mem-phis was my first convention. I won't miss another.

Use the registration form on page 10 or visit the convention website for more information.

See you at the April meeting.

Welcome New Members!

Help welcome the following members to the Piedmont Division:

R Scott Bachelder Kennesaw James A Bohart, Sr Kennesaw Paul Brock Covington Lisa Coffman Dahlonega Robert A Coffman Dahlonega Julie Dewolf Covington George W Gerber Woodstock Louis J Gomes Dallas James Hamilton Cartersville Robert D Kelsey Alpharetta George M Masak Suwanee Steven A Massie Peachtree City Roger Morton Braselton John M Parrino Clayton Guy Ploeckelmann Tyrone Joe Sneddon Douglasville Robert W Stinson Woodstock James Wolfe Flowery Branch

Membership Information

If you would like to become a member of the Piedmont Division, please join us at our next meeting or contact:

David Gilly Piedmont Division Director of Personnel

2768 Horseshoe Knoll Lane NE Roswell, GA 30075

David can also be reached at 770-998-6524 or via email at [email protected]

A membership application is available on our web site:

www.piedmont-div.org

See you at the next meeting!

Attention Hobby Dealers

Support the Piedmont Pilgrimage and reach thousands of hobbyists.

Target your advertising to model railroaders through our flyer and internet site. Your advertisement will be distributed through:

• Direct Mailing • Train Shows • Retail Outlets • Layout Open Houses • Division Website

Your advertisement will be printed in our flyer and included on our website.

Over 4,800 individuals attended 68 layout open houses during 2008. The 2009 Pilgrimage will be even bigger! For rates and additional information contact:

Place Your Ads Early for Longer Exposure.

Bob McIntyre 404-217-3673 770-518-8932 [email protected]

Bill Zawacki 770-578-6412 [email protected]


A Blast From the Horn Division Superintendent Howard Goodwin

As we head into the second quarter of this year, I hope that all is well with you and yours. I hope you had an opportunity

to attend the Train Show in Marietta this year as a milestone has been reached. On a somewhat sad note, this year will be the final year the show will be at the Cobb Civic Center, who has served us well since the start of the millennium. It is now time to expand and move on. Where the Train Show will be located has not been finalized at this writing, but will be shortly after you read this. Our desire is to provide for one of the finest model railroad train shows in the Southeast, one that attracts visi-tors and vendors from across the country and thereby establish our loca-tion as one that becomes a “must see and do” every year. You may well be thinking “how will you be able to do this”. The answer is surprisingly simple, in a word, Experience. In our midst, we are blessed to have decades of train show experience, not only on our Division level, but on National level as well. With this experience comes the interaction with many vendors and modular railroad exhibits seen all over the country. In conversations with many of them, they all agree that it would be nice to come someplace “warmer” during the winter months to an area where model railroading and model railroaders flourish. I have been able to plant the seed with many of them and have them be thinking about Atlanta as an outstanding opportunity for them during this period. “Does this not pose a risk”, you may be asking? No venture ever entered into goes without some form of risk. The trick is to minimize it and try to cover all your bases. This is where your experience comes into play. The biggest question of all is profitability. No one can say how this will be affected early on. Moving to a bigger location involves extra cost to be sure. Moving to a bigger location also provides for a

more attractive venue not only for train show attendees, but vendors and exhibitors as well. Our success is predicated entirely on putting people thru the door. That is accomplished by creative advertising. Okay you say, what in the world do you mean by “creative adver-tising”? Simply stated, it is the best effective advertising done as cheaply as possible. One of the best is word of mouth. Whose mouth you ask? Yours! Yours and mine. It was once eluded to that the three fastest forms of communication were Telephone, Telegraph and Tell a Woman. Using this basic principle, you can help promote our show by telling people, family, friends and co-workers. While that alone does not guarantee a sellout show, it does make a difference that you have a hand in. With the wealth of advertising experience being brought to the table, you can be confident that we will use the most effective methods of advertising available to achieve our goal of creating the excitement to put people thru the door at our new Train Show location, no matter where it may be located. It will not be easy, but with the experience of the committee and enthusiasm of the staff and yourselves, we WILL be successful. It may not be as successful in the beginning, but we have a tremendous opportunity before us and I am confident, that as we have been in the past with every other project we have undertaken, we will prevail. I see only good things from this in the future. Come and share the Boards vision in this exciting venture to expand our future. With your help and the creativity and experience of the Commit-tee, we will take the Train Show to new heights. Not easily done, but as Tom Hanks put it in the movie “A League of their own” if it were easy, everyone would do it. Until next time, may all your signals be green.

Howard

A new President. A new economy. A new life style. Or is it really all new?

There is an old saying that goes something like this. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Is that where we are? Is that what we are doing? Certainly not in a history in my lifetime. But if you ever listened to stories from your parents or grandparents, then some of what is going on today in the world might sound familiar. The current situation is not one persons doing or one Administrations doing. It is the culmination of a slow process that takes years or dec-ades to fully mature and come to a melting point. I think of it like a volcano. It grows underground for years, decade, centuries. We see it growing, but it is slow and doesn’t really affect our day to day lives. Then one day it blows it top off. Anyone near it is hurt. The effect ripples out to more and more people. Then everyone asks why we did not do something earlier and starts pointing fingers and laying blame. But there is not a single person, party, race or administration that can be then entire cause of this. We all were comfortable and happy living next to the volcano. Until it blew up. Now we are on the path again that history has seen happen time and time again. But as history has shown us before, we will get by and once again be comfortable and happy. When, I cannot say. For our generation? Probably. For my children’s generation? I certainly hope

so. To get through this everyone must find his or her own path. But this path always involves family and friends sharing and helping each other. One of the things that define your family and friends are com-mon goals, needs, desires and common interest. Those interests can range from the very simple like your favorite flavor of ice cream to the more complex like political or religious views. Somewhere in between fall the all important things like hobbies. In my opinion hobbies can be the very basis of the bond between 2 or more people. This hobby gives you a common ground to stand on. It gives you things to talk about that everyone is interested in. It builds relationships that can last years if not a lifetime. That hobby can be anything. It can be collecting such as coins, stamps, spoons and the list goes on. Some people like to reenact Civil War battles. Others want to rebuild a car that they fell in love with long ago. For us, it is model railroading. We may have other hobbies as well. But model railroading is one of those hobbies that can be done in strict isolation if you want to or it can be done with as many people as you can fit in your basement. In troubling times like we have today, it is sometimes comforting to have your family and friends nearby. It gives you a distraction from the harsh reality of the world. It gives you a shoulder to lean or the opportunity to let someone lean on your shoulder. But whatever the reason, just having the company of good friends is one of life’s greatest pleasures. So invite your friends over to enjoy The Worlds Greatest Hobby. Have them bring one of their friends. Show them how much fun this hobby can be. Show them the bonds that can be formed when people work side by side with a

continued, page 15

The Membership Train David Gilly, Director of Personnel


2009 Model Train Show A Huge Success ! Joe Gelmini, Train Show Manager

Photos Courtesy of Ron Gough

Wow! We enjoyed another very successful model train show over the March 14-15 weekend. Some 2,800 model train enthusiasts came by to enjoy our efforts. While attendance did not meet last year’s record of 3,200 plus, it was a pleasant surprise given the current state of the economy. With all of us on tight belts these days, I really didn’t know what to expect in the way of attendance. Of course, Mother Nature was also very cooperative! Cool, rainy weather for both show days kept folks away from any tempting outdoor activities. The only complaints we heard had to do with parking difficulties. (If you came between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Saturday, you know what I’m talking about!) We sold more vendor tables than ever by moving the company store to an area previously used for public hospitality and by some careful placement of vendor tables. Believe me; we did not waste any space! While the final numbers are not all in, it is clear that the show will be very profitable for the Division. In addition to the full array of vendors, show attendees were treated to four display layouts. Returning clubs included Metro Atlanta N Scale, North Georgia Modurail (HO) and the North Georgia Lego Club. New this year was a very impressive and popular S scale display put on by the Atlantic Coast S Gaugers. The Division’s popular Lionel-based Kid’s Operating Layout pleased the toddler set once again. As usual, we were able to provide hourly door prizes, made possible by the many generous donations from our attending vendors. As many of you know, this year’s show was the last one we’ll run at the Cobb County Civic Center. Beginning with the 2010 show we will be changing venues to Cobb Galleria. At Galleria we will have more than twice the space we have at Cobb Civic Center, allowing room for more ven-dors (I had to turn down some 30 vendor table requests this year due to space limitations), more and bigger display layouts, and the ability to begin attracting major manufacturer display booths. Like an old shoe, Cobb Civic Center was really comfortable. I’ll miss its familiarity. But it’s time to grow this show into the premier train show in the southeast. Your train show committee looks forward to the challenge! I would need an entire issue of the Timetable to thank all the volunteers who help in making this show such a year-after-year success. We sim-ply could not do it without the energies and efforts of many, many people. The Trainshow Committee thanks all 65 members who stepped up to volunteer their time and energy. Special thanks to Ivan Jenkins for Vendor check-in duties, to David Gelmini for volunteer coordination, to Char-lie Crawford and Revis Butler for staffing the vendor hospitality room, to Howard Goodwin and Bill Zawacki for managing the Piedmont Company Store, and to Joe Nichols (senior and junior) for manning the model contest room. Also, a big thank you to George Bloodworth and Brian Glock for transporting and setting up the Kid’s Layout. My heartfelt personal thanks go to the members of the Trainshow Committee – Charlie Crawford, Rob Dodds, David Gelmini, Gary Jarabek, Scott Povlot, Randall Watson and Bill Zawacki. Thank you for your efforts throughout the year in making this show so successful.

Above. Stephen Leydon (L) and Guy Ploeckelmann. Right. The Kid's Operating Train Layout was a big hit with the younger crowd.


Raffle Layout Won by Alan Mole The raffle project this year was a gorgeous N scale layout spearheaded by Mike Devaney. Mike took a unique approach in both design and construction. The 8 x 10 layout was crafted from a single sheet of plywood by using a “yin and yang” cutting pattern. It was beautifully sceniced to represent an Appalachian coal hauler and featured loads of details and finished structures, a Digitrax Zephyr DCC system, an Atlas decoder-equipped SD24 and a fully functioning turntable. Mike also took a unique approach to the lay-out’s construction. Beginning September, 2008, Mike sponsored monthly hands-on clinics to build the layout. Sessions were open to anyone and covered every aspect of layout construction including design, benchwork, wiring, scenery and DCC. Excitement mounted as the 3:00 PM Sunday drawing neared and folks scrambled to get their last-second entries in the raffle box. The lucky winner was Alan Mole! Kind of astounding that out of nearly 1,500 tickets sold, one of our own Piedmont Division mem-bers was the winner. All in all, Alan had a pretty good week. March 10 he was awarded an AP certificate for scenery, March 14 his G scale station model took first place (and an AP certificate) in the NMRA model contest, and Sunday, March 15, he wins the raffle layout. Way to go Alan !! You may want to get some lottery tickets while you’re on a role. I know that Mike Devaney and all those who helped had a great time building this layout. Everyone learned from each other and enjoyed some great fellowship along the way. It’s now time to be thinking about the layout for the 2010 show. We encourage other Piedmont operating groups to consider taking on next year’s raffle layout as a group project. You’ll have fun and learn a lot at the same time. Anyone interested in building the 2010 layout? If so, please contact me or any member of the Trainshow Committee.

Above left. The raffle layout attracted crowds throughtout the show. Above. Superintendent Howard Goodwin. Winning Ticket? Left. Gary Jarabek, Model Train Show advertising manager.


Division Model Contest Bob McIntyre, Contest/AP Chairman Photos Courtesy of Paul Voelker The Model Contest volunteers, judges, and Achievement Program Committee want to thank all the participants in this year’s contest. The following are the results:

Best in Show – Alan Mole, Rico, CO Depot Diesel 1st Place, Bill Mathewson – Industrial Diesel Mechanical “Critter”, G Gauge, Merit Award 117 pts 2nd Place, Regis Brooks – Fallen Flag C&NW, SD-50 Freight Cars 1st Place, Dan Shilt – Large Boxcar, Huntsville & Lake of Bays RR, Merit Award 97 pts. 2nd Place, Ovidiu Trifanescu – B&O Wagon top Boxcar Express version w/Creco Doors, Merit Award 91 pts. 3rd Place, Brian Glock, USRA Cement Hopper Conversion Caboose 1st Place, Revis Butler – ACL M-3 Caboose, Merit Award 103 pts. 2nd Place, Brian Glock – Long Island RR N52A circa 1930-60 On Line Structures Ist Place, Alan Mole – Rico, CO Depot, Merit Award 118 pts. 2nd Place, Robert McIntyre – PRR Interlocking Tower “BE”, Merit Award 96 pts. 3rd Place, John Daniel – Freight Conductor’s Shanty Off Line Structures 1st Place, Charlie Crawford – Framed, Sheathed & Abandoned, Merit Award 106 pts. 2nd Place, William Smith – Lady Jane Colliery, Merit Award 96 pts. 3rd Place, William Zawacki – Mary Ann’s Bakery

Contest Judges

Chairman and fill in judge - Bob McIntyre; Construction - Ovidiu Trifanescu, Scott Povlot; Detail - Joe Nichols, Sr.; Conformity - Howard Goodwin, Scott Perry; Finish & Lettering - Paul Voelker, Charlie Crawford; Scratchbuilding- Joe Nichols, Jr.

Alan Mole sets up his Rico, CO depot. Alan's model won Best in Show.

Alan's fine detail work is evident in this shot of his Rico, CO depot.

Bill Mathewson's G Scale Critter.

Revis Butler's ACL M-3 caboose.

Dan Shilt's Huntsville & Lake of Bays RR boxcar.

Charlie Crawford's Framed, Sheathed & Abandoned


We’ve got an interesting line up of clinicians for the second quar-ter of 2009. In April Tom Gordon will be presenting Building and Us-ing CMRI. In May, Scott Povlot will present Custom Prototype De-cals. June will see our annual guest clinician presentation. This year Ben Bartlett of the Land of Sky Division will present his Working with Styrene clinic. We also have a great line up of layout for you to visit. They’re listed in the schedule on the front page. Please note that we will have open house layout tours on June 14, 2009 which is the last day of the SER Convention. Howard and I felt that there enough members who do not go to the convention to make the open houses worthwhile. Guys, I could use some help. Having two open house layout tours a month has caused me to run through those who have volunteered to open their layouts faster than expected. If you can host an open house at your layout in the second half of the year please let me know. Bob McIntyre and I had an interesting conversation in the contest room at the Train Show. We each had an entry that we were hoping might grab enough points for a merit award. His was a kit signal tower

that had an enhanced interior. Mine was an abandoned building. It had started as a platform and roof that was to be placed on a new module. There was no intention to enter it in a contest. Liking the look of what had been built; I decided to build the building between the platform and roof and enter the contest. While waiting for the judging to conclude, Bob and I talked about our entries. He likened it to missing the green and then knocking the ball in for par. I took it to mean that par is a Merit Award. While a Best of Show award is nice, I prefer those Merit Awards. As it turned out Bob and I got our pars. How about you? Do you have a model that maybe went awry or didn’t seem up to par, missed the green. Maybe it can be fixed or re-worked and you can sink one from off the green. By the way, the model contest at the Train Show was spectacular. Two entries scored over 115 points (in G no less.) Category winners were in four scales: G, O, HO, N. Where were you S & TT modelers? There were two entries in Motive Power. Finally 8 Merit Awards were won. It was more like a Regional contest.

Ravings from the D.O. Knocking One in from Off the Green

By Charlie Crawford, Director of Operations

From the Stacks Stephen Leydon,

Division Book Librarian

The Piedmont Division Library is a member benefit open to all paid members. The library has over 320 titles covering railroad history and facts from the earliest railroads to present day. The library also contains reprints from older publications covering specialized areas of railroading like trolleys and short-line trains. Many tittles cover the his-tory of North American railroads as well as European and other railways as well. Books are loaned out for a two month period. The books should be returned on the second meeting after they are checked out to allow others to borrow them. Books may be re-loaned for a consecutive two month period if they are not borrowed at the meeting at which they were returned. Requests for books may be made and as soon as they become available, a notice will be given. The library also accepts donated books in good, clean condition. There are many how-to project books dedicated to regular as well as "narrow gauge". Some of the books and all the magazines come with many specialized suppliers offering their products and services. The library also has many books on the hobby of railroading. Some books cover how to model scenery, some how to lay track, other books have instructions on how to build structures, while others provide general modeling tips. The library has many Model Railroader Annual

Layout editions. These annuals are great for reviewing the best of the best in one publication and provide many interesting tips. These maga-zines are a good beginning for the returning modeler, or the mature modeler who wants to add something new. These annual editions are great for providing new ideas and showcasing newest concepts and products. If you are a "modular modeler" the library has several volumes dedicated to the art of making interchangeable modules. Contained in the library are several states' maps indicating train routes. Also there is a binder dedicated to train information specifically in Georgia. In this binder is a collection of railroad articles appearing in print throughout Georgia which were printed from the Georgia Rail website. Currently the library is receiving e-mail updates from Norfolk Southern and has the latest annual reports from Union Pacific and Nor-folk Southern. The library is looking to "fill in" some annuals. If you would like to donate you old annual of "Great Model Railroads" 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008 and the annuals of "Model Railroad Planning" 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, and 2006. Come to the library at the next meeting to take advantage of this member benefit.

Scott Povlot returns next quarter with a new edition of Model Citizen.


April Layout Preview:

Doug Alexander's Southern Railway System

Peachtree Division

The Peachtree Division is a double-track road with lots of pas-senger trains and through and local freight trains. The layout features a major passenger terminal, freight yard and engine terminal and shops, several small towns with customers to serve and some nice long mainline running.

Size: 24x60 (Presently 24x45) Scale: HO Prototype: Southern Railway (with lots of

other roads mixed in) Locale: Atlanta and north Era: 1939 - 1969 Layout Style: Loop, with intermediate staging

tracks representing “to points north” and “to points south.”

Len. of Mainline: 320’ Layout Height: 48 inches Benchwork: Open Box Roadbed: Cork on insulation foam Trackwork: Code 100 on mainline, code 85 on

other tracks Turnout Min.: No. 6 with a few No.4’s and No.8’s Min. Radius: 28” on mainline, 22” on some sid-

ings Maximum Grade: 1 % Scenery: under construction Backdrop: Painted cinder-block walls Controls: DC, but hope to be transitioned to DCC by fall of ’09.

Doug Alexander 2530 Bohler Road Atlanta, GA 30327

404-355-3154 404-272-2986 (cell)

April 19, 2009, 1 - 4 pm

Doug Alexander's Southern Railway, Peachtree Division

Achievement Program Update Members Earn Scenery Certificates Photos Courtesy of Paul Voelker

Congratulations to Alan Mole (above, right) and George Bloodworth (below right) for earning their Master Builder - Scenery Certificate.

Certificates were presented by Scott Povlot.


NMRA SOUTHEASTERN REGION CONVENTION

JUNE 12-14 PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

Clinics: Tours: Modeling Open Loads International Paper Mill Using ‘ProTrak’ for Operations CSX Goulding Yard Fiber Optics for Lighting Effects Historic Pensacola Quick and Easy Weathering for Your Rolling Stock Building Prototype Structures And Many More- - - - - -

MODEL TRAIN SHOW: SAT 9-5, SUN 10-4 Operating layouts in G, O, HO, N & Z Vendors Door Prizes For More Info Go To trainweb.org/pmrc/Convention/home.htm Not Registered? Use the Registration form on the following page


BUILDING GROUP RAFFLE LAYOUTS 101

Article 2 BENCHWORK CONSTRUCTION & TRACKLAYING

By Walt Liles

Well your group has decided the plan and its time to start construction. Make a quick trip to your local home improvement store to pick through lumber. Be prepared to spend some time looking for straight wood. Carry your knife so you can bust straps on the rack and plunder till you get good pieces. Signs of the times for locating good lumber.

A. Start with your wish list of lumber pieces. Be ready to need extra for unforeseen pieces. This includes masonite for the fascia and scenery divid-ers. Purchase enough drywall screws, bolts and hardware to fasten EVERYTHING.

B. Lay out your frame work you will need and make your correct cuts. Measure twice and cut once. Remind your crew to wear safety goggles when you’re using power tools. Multiple drills and bits make the day go faster at this stage. Make sure you square everything and countersink all screw holes so the wood will not split. Provide your crew a good lunch and break for so they will not run out of steam on you on this day. It takes a little manpower to get this all ready.

C. Make the frame, legs (2x2) and cross braces (1x2). Assemble all this so that you won’t be breaking your back later. Make your layout height around 42” to track level to capture the models at eye level vs. looking down upon them.

D. Start mounting 1x3 and 1x4 risers if needed for a cookie cut design of the plywood.

E. Layout your track design on your plywood sheet. Keep in mind you will be transporting this. Keep a close eye on the overall weight. It adds up fast with all the extras on the project. Go ahead and use a chalk line and create 1-foot square lines on the plywood as reference marks for your plan.

F. Mount your main layout to the frame and leg assembly. Keep it square and clean.

G. Assemble and install your scenery divider if using one. You will need to establish it now so you do not get trapped in later.

H. Stick with good track. We purchased ATLAS code 83 and snap switches for reli- able operation and manageable cost. First impressions you cannot ever get back. If the trains derail your layout will fail. That is not fun a new model railroader. We tacked our cork roadbed down and established our switch locations. Once you start you go from switch to switch. We used code 83-flex track as well with brown ties. We installed 10 switches on the SRR MURPHY BRANCH. This allowed for a lot of switching action on a small railroad.

I. Take your time and lay track correctly. This is where 1 or 2 people have to work on this instead of a large group. You cannot have a lot of banging and bumping the layout.

J. Check track work installed. Run cars through the switches and check your curves. Run both directions for thorough joints at the rail joiners. If good, go ahead and solder the rail joiners on the outside rail to establish good electrical continuity.

Next quarter we will write about the electrical and scenery techniques. The whole time we were building everything we were focused on how we would install the scenery. It makes the whole layout. Till next time, put your skills to work on your rail-road. This is a great opportunity for new folks to learn under experienced model rail-roaders with a common goal.


Division Members Recognized for Service

It takes a great deal of effort from many people to keep the Piedmont Division progressing. Many folks volun-teer quite a bit of their time to assure you get the most from your NMRA membership. In 2006 your Board of Directors established a series of awards to recognize those who go “the extra mile” in their commitment to the Division. The awards are separated into three categories – Brake-man, Conductor and Engineer. The Brakeman award recognizes members relatively new to the Division who have made significant contributions. The Conductor award is for those having made on-going contributions for several years. And the Engineer award, the Division’s top award, recognizes those who have made lifetime contributions to the Division and NMRA.

Also recognized for service were outgoing members of your Board of Directors. Left: Scott Povlot and outgoing Director-at-Large Paul Voelker. Below Left: Joe Gelmini, outgoing Director of Administra-tion. Below Right: Howard Goodwin and outgoing Director-at-Large Del Kittendorf.

2008 award winners. Above: Left Randall Watson (L), Conductor; John Travis (C), Engineer; and David Gelmini (R), Brakeman.

The Division thanks all the winners for their many contributions.

Photo Charlie Crawford.

Photo Howard Goodwin

Photo Ron Gough.

Photo Charlie Crawford.


February 15, 2009 Salt Lake City, Utah – Utah Colorado and Western announces purchase of Norfolk Southern Railway.

Today, UC&W President, Perry Lamb announced the purchase of Norfolk Southern Railway. The purchase announcement was delayed until official approval announcements had been received from the Surface Transportation Board and the United States Justice Department.

According to Mr. Lamb, “We are very pleased to announce this purchase today. This purchase will greatly benefit our combined customers and employees. It will enable seamless transporta-tion of products from coast to coast in a far more efficient man-ner. We look forward to working with Norfolk Sothern’s shippers as we integrate their operations into ours.”

It was noted that this move would ensure that the contract that UC&W maintains with UPS for high-speed transportation of both trailers and containers between costal cities would be easier to maintain as improvements were made to the former NS infra-structure. Initial improvements would be starting in St Louis and Memphis, headed east towards Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Norfolk, Charleston, SC and Savanna, GA. Improvements would also head south from Memphis to New Orleans. A total of $213 million has been budgeted towards these projects for the remain-der of FY 2009.

Additional motive power purchases have also been planned – UC&W Vice President of Mechanical Services, Howard Good-win, stated that the railroad would be signing a contract with EMD to purchase an additional 2500 SD70ACe locomotives be-ginning immediately. These locomotives would be used to re-place General Electric locomotives currently on the NS roster and being returned off of lease or sold. In addition, Goodwin stated that additional funds had been budgeted towards addi-tional intermodal platforms.

For the time being, NS based operations will remain generally as they have been in the past. Dispatching will remain as it cur-rently operates until integrated into UC&W dispatching. The Mechanical Department has already been integrated into UC&W as have Corporate Relations, Infrastructure and Personnel. Other changes are in the works.

Norfolk Southern management, while not present for the an-nouncement, released the following statement, “We are pleased with this purchase. The former NS shareholders have been well compensated for their shares of stock and we are even more impressed with the way in which our employees have been wel-comed by the UC&W owner, his staff and employees. We are confident that the Utah, Colorado and Western Railroad will bring a bright future to the customers and employees of Norfolk Southern Railway.”

The all cash transaction was completed on February 2nd, 2009 however the details of the transaction are being withheld at this time. 100% of all stock in Norfolk Southern Railway has been purchased by UC&W and has been retired. Furthermore, the listing for Norfolk Southern has been removed from the New York Stock Exchange as no further stock will be traded. Please note: This is a work of fiction and does not reflect any actual change in Norfolk Southern Railway or any of its opera-tions. This is work related to the HO Scale Utah, Colorado and Western Railroad owned by Perry Lamb.

UTAH COLORADO & WESTERN RAILROAD

The National Model Railroad Convention

The Hartford National

July 5—11, 2009

http://hn2009.org

Future NMRA National Conventions

2010: Milwaukee WI (75th anniversary of the NMRA) July 10 - 18, 2010

2011: Sacramento, CA July 3 - 9, 2011

2012: Grand Rapids, MI July 29 - August 4, 2012

2013: Atlanta, GA July 14 - 20, 2013


Featured Layouts : ATLANTA INTERLOCKING MODEL RAILROADERS & NORTH GEORGIA MODURAIL Show Coordinator: Walt Liles 678-896-6311 [email protected]


Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, Special Projects Contacts Superintendent Howard Goodwin '09 770-529-2103 [email protected] Dir. of Administration Rick Coble '10 770-279-2527 [email protected] Director of Finance Chris White '09 770-594-2618 [email protected] Director of Operations Charlie Crawford '09 770-565-1845 [email protected] Director of Personnel David Gilly '10 770-998-6524 [email protected] Directors-at-Large Scott Chatfield '10 678-467-6480 [email protected] Mike Deaton '09 770-552-7888 [email protected] David Gelmini '10 770-707-5019 [email protected] Gary Jarabek '10 770-509-6941 [email protected] Diane Kittendorf '09 770-998-8747 [email protected] Perry Lamb '09 770-218-9744 [email protected]

Ovidiu Trifanescu '10 678-230-3184 [email protected] Superintendent Emeritus Bob McIntyre 770-518-8932 [email protected] Achievement Program Joe Nichols, Jr. 770-552-0347 [email protected]

Advertising & Promotion Gary Jarabek 770-509-6941 [email protected]

Book Library Stephen Leydon 770-985-1420 [email protected] Boy Scout Clinics John Stevens, III 770-632-0753 [email protected] Coffee Coordinator Revis Butler, Jr. 404-255-9578 [email protected] Database Manager Rick Coble 770-279-2527 [email protected]

Division Auction Mike Devaney 770-978-8176 [email protected]

Division Cars Brian Glock 770-998-3314 [email protected]

Division Apparel Gary Jarabek 770-509-6941 [email protected] Good & Welfare Joe Gelmini 770-460-8873 [email protected] Member Aid Bob McIntyre 770-518-8932 [email protected] Joe Nichols, Sr., MMR 770-396-6447 [email protected] Name Tags Ed Palmer 770-467-0657 [email protected]

Piedmont Pilgrimage Bob McIntyre 770-518-8932 [email protected]

Refreshments Paul Ward 770-242-3041 [email protected]

SERM Layout Bob Wheeler 770-887-0072 [email protected] Special Projects Scott Chatfield 678-467-6480 [email protected] Timetable Editor Rick Coble 770-279-2527 [email protected] Train Show Manager Joe Gelmini 770-460-8873 [email protected] Train Show Advertising Gary Jarabek 770-804-0724 [email protected]

Train Show Volunteer Coordinator David Gelmini 770-707-5019 [email protected]

Video Library Joe Sullivan 770-664-4725 [email protected] Webmaster Scott Povlot 770-569-4678 [email protected]

Scott Povlot '09 770-569-4678 [email protected]

common goal and interest. Before long you will have another friend to share those tall tales of 50 car trains on a 10 foot oval track back in the old days before electricity. Before long the NMRA will have a new member. Then that new member will have many new friends and be given the opportunity to enjoy the simple buy important pleasures this life has to offer. Keep your friends and family close. Be open to new friends and keep moving on down the track. Thank you, David H. Gilly Directory of Personnel Piedmont Division, NMRA

The Membership Train Continued from Page 3 Division Online

Discussion Forum Interested in connecting with other Model Railroaders in the Division? Already a member of the NMRA? Then join the Piedmont Division’s Online Discussion Forum:

http://www.piedmont-div.org/forum/


Rick Coble, Editor 3278 Spring Wind Court

Lawrenceville, GA 30044-4838

Monthly Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at:

THE ELKS LODGE 1775 MONTREAL ROAD

TUCKER, GA

The Division's Board of Directors meeting is held at 6:00 pm at the Hickory House Restaurant on Northlake Parkway and all members are invited to attend as visitors.

DIRECTIONS

From the North: Take I-285 South to the LaVista Rd. exit: #37. Turn right or inside the Perimeter. Go to the 4th traffic light - Montreal Rd. Turn left on Montreal Rd. and go .7 mile, cross the (YES) railroad tracks. The Elks Lodge is the first building on the left after the tracks. From the South: Take I-285 North to the Lawrenceville Hwy. exit (#38). Turn left or inside the Perimeter and go to the first light (not counting the ones at the I-285 interchange) - Montreal Rd. Turn right on Montreal Rd. and go .6 mile. The Elks Lodge is on the right just before the railroad tracks. (Careful; as you go along Montreal Rd. it turns to the right and going straight ahead will put you on Hudson Rd.) PARK IN THE MAIN PARKING LOT ON THE SOUTH SIDE

OF THE BUILDING ENTER THE DOOR ON THE SOUTH SIDE WITH "PIEDMONT DIVISION" SIGN IN PLACE OVER

BINGO SIGN DO NOT USE FRONT DOOR, IT IS LOCKED.

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