The Main-Line OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION VOL. 39, NO.11 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2018

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1 The Main-Line OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION VOL. 39, NO.11 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2018 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE A message from the President of AGTTA to its membership and all those that help keep the hobby of model railroading alive. Road Trip On the road with me, my van and the trains - always the trains. Usually, my wonderful wife Melissa, accompanies me on the longer sojourns, but she recently left retirement and went back to work for a while. Maybe she is trying to tell me something? My destination this time is Tucson, where there is held a 2-day show on the south side of town at the Expo Center. It is hosted by the Gadsden-Pacific Toy Train outfit on Friday and Saturday which is run by Jeff Swanson, a very patient and nice fellow who is a pleasure to work with as he does a great job coordinating the event. For such a seemingly remote location, the attendance is wonderful and all of the 170+ tables HOW-TO CLINIC HOW TO SERVICE 736 BERKSHIRE STEAM LOCO To close out this year s How-To Clinics, Jim Weatherford will be returning to the How-To Clinic table. Jim s topic will be how to service and care for one of Lionel s classic steam engines the Berkshire This will be first time that Jim has presented a Clinic on this particular engine, so you won t miss this last 2018 opportunity to come and learn from one of our Club s most experienced experts. CLINIC START TIME: 5:00 are occupied - it is always a full house. Since I was first made aware of this show about 5 years ago by Jon Everett, I have looked forward to making the trip and attending it regularly. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

2 One does not see very much tinplate, pre or post-war, as there seems to be more emphasis on the smaller scales, but trains are trains no The Main-Line matter their vintage or scale. There are also several The Main-Line well-designed, is the attractively official publication constructed of the and All smoothly Gauge operating Toy Train layouts Association to enjoy, of San including Diego. one It is made published from Lego at the products. first of each month. NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS Please mail or all contributions for publication before the 1 st of the month to: Bill Hohnhorst, Main-Line Editor 8150 Pasadena Avenue La Mesa, CA (619) whohnhorst@cox.net MONTHLY MEETINGS Meets are normally held on the 2 ND Saturday of each month at the St. Dunstan s Episcopal Church, 6556 Park Ridge Blvd, San Diego, CA beginning at 9:00 AM. Big All-Day Saturday Meets are held in June & December. AGTTA CLUB WEBSITE AGTTA OFFICERS & DIRECTORS President Jim Andrews dangodfrey@aol.com (619) Vice President Ken Steele lionel400e@aol.com (619) Secretary Jim Weatherford wxfd@cox.net (619) Treasurer Bob Wall bobwall@san.rr.com (858) Directors Jon Everett (858) ewtrains@hotmail.com Bart Grey (619) ccbbpg@gmail.com Ed Jones (619) bigolddogs@cox.net Bob Hatton (858) Steve Pierce (858) trainyahoo@aol.com Bob Shaw (619) bobcwo4@att.net Greg Smyth (619) gregsmyth@earthlink.net Immediate Past President Dave Campbell (619) tf121pr@gmail.com Website Coordinator Rebecca Jones (619) grdanett@gmail.com It is an experience worth the 400 mile trip from San Diego and the drive is smooth as there are no ''parking lots'' on Interstate 8 between here and Tucson. The only congested scenarios occur on the expansive roadsides, away from the traffic lanes, where the Saguaros stand sentinel reaching out at right angles beckoning their stalwart brethren to close ranks against the encroaching blacktop. There is a lot of brush scattered about, nearly none of it green, as the cactus have apparently vacuumed all of the moisture into their bulky, spiny, threatening torsos, somewhat like a train collector at an estate sale. Despite the near desolation, there are other vistas to appreciate in addition to the plentiful Saguaro brigade. How about the sky! There are but a few clouds up yonder so it is a challenge to play ''spot the caboose'', especially my favorite, the D&RGW drover's model. I followed one for some un-counted miles until an upper atmosphere turbulence re-configured my charming vista into a ''stretch'' version - probably about 500 scale miles long and with very squat windows. I pity the poor conductor in that cabin. But why try to find an imaginary way car in the wisps of heaven when the countryside is literally festooned with the real thing here in the Arizona desert? There are long and very long real trains stretching across railroad iron and they are almost entirely unit trains, each consisting of auto carriers or pig flats or well cars with containers. No longer does modern railroading create a train with a multitude of car types such as box, tank, cattle or hopper cars. Today's single train consist is usually an amalgam of one of many of the same type of cars, and they are lonnnnnng in the desert. Tucson is still about 250 miles away when I realize that the trains are starting to look like so many slowly moving but blurring sheep and my tires do not have flanges to lock them within the roadway lanes. It is time to look elsewhere. Mohawk Valley, Roll, Aztec, Sentinel, Dateland, Papago, and my favorite, Gila Bend, have all melded into the scrub behind me. Those parched burgs have not inspired me to invest there as I do not have a yen to buy outsized parcels of land that may someday still be worth nothing, even to my great-grandchildren. There is lots of land for sale in Arizona. So I drive on. The junction of I-8 and I- 10 approaches after about 5 hours of driving during which I have developed a new skill at discerning the difference between the pits caused November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

3 MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! EVENT: AGTTA CHRISTMAS DINNER DATE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 TIME: DOORS OPEN 6:00 PM / DINNER 7:00 LOCATION: HANDLERY HOTEL IN MISSION VALLEY SIT DOWN DINNER: With your Choice from these two delicious entrees: Chicken Breast Piccata or Southwest Tri-Tip Grilled Marinated Steak Our three course dinner also includes a Salad, Rolls & Butter, Brewed Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, Tea and Dessert COST: $28 for all this fabulous food, incredible location & club fellowship BIG RAFFLE: Don t forget our biggest Raffle of the year will be held after Dinner. *** RESERVATION CUTOFF DATE DECEMBER 1 *** You simply don t want to miss our most enjoyable social gathering of the year so why not put your check in the mail TODAY! PAYMENT: Make out your check for the Number of Persons attending X $30, payable to AGTTA & send it to JIM ANDREWS at: 259 SCOTTFORD DRIVE, EL CAJON, CA NOTE: Please don t forget to include your choice of entrees for each reservation. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

4 from gravel that are shot (at least that is what it sounds like in my cab) from the tires of semis and the splat that is forced from the carcasses of suicidal bugs, both of which are Smithsonian quality and that are on vivid display on my windshield. I finally concede that there is no difference between the two as each collision is equally impossible to remove. Things are looking up as I-10 exit 250 is nearby, which is about 370 miles away from San Diego. I am finally approaching the Costco gas station where I always fill up for the return trip to San Diego. Today's price per gallon was nearly one dollar per gallon less than what I had paid in Santee. Who voted no on the very recent Prop 6 in California? But enough about politics, I have a train show in my immediate future. It is now Friday, the opening day of my quest and it is like most all other train shows that I usually attend in San Diego and Los Angeles. In attendance there is a smattering of kids and adolescents, some very patient wives of train people, and lots and lots of old men, including myself. Most are friendly and conversational, but there is an increasing group of dodderers, and I realize that there are more and more canes, wheels chairs, walkers and ''assistance people that have become characteristic of our members. Some eschew assistance and shuffle, limp, lean and stoop as best they can without aid. We have crossed over into a stage of advanced ''maturity'', but our sprit certainly fights on. Trains of all gauges, ages and conditions are desired, admired, haggled over, passed on and acquired. Even though most of us have long since exceeded the square foot limits of our homes, and the patience of our spouses, we still find room in out collection and shelf for one more treasure. It is a train show after all, a force of nature whose power easily exceeds the rationale of common sense and the will power of most mortal men to conduct their lives un-encumbered by the allure of toys. It is now Saturday afternoon and I have to re-direct my energies towards the homeward trip so I pack up unsold items, re-engorge the van cargo area, say good-bye to some great folks and hit the road again. The drive home is different. The expansive vistas have diminished as the darkness has compressed the horizon of the firmament into the east and west bound lanes of the desert freeway. Not much to enjoy until you realize that the sky, even at night, still offers inspiration. There are no cloud cabooses to enjoy, but the innumerable stars can be seen as the bright decor on a celestial Christmas tree, and my stuffed van of too many toy trains is just another gift to be un-wrapped by someone, anyone, who enjoys our wonderful hobby. I may be miles from Tucson by now, but I am also closer to San Diego, where there is another train show scheduled for this coming Thursday with our very own AGTTA. The only difference between train shows is the geography as we are all a great group wherever we do our business. Respectfully, Jim Andrews - President AGTTA MEMBERSHIP NEWS New Members Jim reports that we had no new members join in October. Membership Total Our 2018 Membership Total now stands at 127 paid up members. AGTTA BOARD ELECTIONS At the October Meet nominations were accepted for our Board of Directors. All current Board Members, with the exception of Director Ed Jones, have agreed to continue serving on the new Board. No additional nominations were put forth during the October Meet to fill Ed s vacated Director Position. However, we are pleased to announce that since the October Meet, Gary Butzke was contacted and asked if he might be interested in joining the Board. We are happy to announce that Gary has accepted. In accordance with our By-Laws Gary will be appointed by the Board to fill the empty position after the first of the year. Since there are no contested positions for our new Board a ballot is not required and the new Board can be installed by unanimous consensus. This will be done at the November Meet. The Board is pleased to announce that member Henry Joseph has stepped forward to fill the unelected volunteer position of Website Coordinator. This means that Jim Weatherford, who had initially volunteered to assume this position, will continue as our Club Secretary. Yours truly has also volunteered to continue as your MainLine Editor. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

5 AGTTA CHRISTMAS DINNER TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 TH NOT TO BE MISSED! ALMOST HERE The Holidays are fast approaching, whether we are ready or not. If you have not made your reservations for our always fabulous gathering please do so ASAP. Here s why you simply don t want to miss this truly outstanding get-together. LOCATION We will again return this year to the beautiful Handlery Hotel, centrally located in Mission Valley. Our dinner will again be held in our own private banquet room and as in the past, parking will be free! DELICIOUS SIT-DOWN DINNER This year we will again have a full service sit-down dinner vice a buffet. You ll have two choices of delicious entrees from which to choose: (1) Chicken Piccata or (2) Southwest Grilled Marinated Tri-Tip. Dinner will begin with a delicious salad and conclude with a fabulous desert. Of course rolls & butter, brewed coffee, decaffeinated coffee and hot and iced tea will be available. NO-HOST BAR You ll be able to purchase your favorite liberation just down the hall at the Hotel Bar. BIG HOLIDAY RAFFLE As he does at every Christmas Dinner, Bob Wall, the Club s Raffle Master, will be putting together our BIGGEST Raffle of the year. This raffle alone is worth venturing out to our Dinner. SIGNIFICANT OTHER DRAWING will of course again be held this year. It s the Club s small way of thanking all the ladies for putting up with our Model Train hobby, or should I say obsession. Each of the ladies attending will be given a free ticket. Then at some point in the evening ten lucky tickets will be drawn and each will win a $25 Gift Certificate to various fine shopping establishments. COST - $28 Per Person Yes, the dinner cost has been reduced by $2 and that still includes free parking and all taxes and gratuities. That is really a super GREAT value for such an outstanding venue. FREE PARKING Yes! Please bring your parking ticket with you to the banquet room so Jon can validate it. RESERVATIONS The Reservation Cutoff Date is Saturday, December 1 st. That will be here before you know it so don t put off sending in your reservation. Or better still simply bring your check and give it to Jim at the November Meet. PAYMENT Please make your check for the number of persons attending X $28, payable to AGTTA, and send it to Jim Andrews at the address on Page 3. IT WON T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU! CLUB APPRECIATION AWARD NOMINEES Each year at the Christmas Dinner we present the Club s Annual Appreciation Awards. These are given to deserving members as acknowledgement of their exceptional support and service of our Club. These areas include, but are not limited to, club meetings (hall setup, clean up, refreshments), clinic instructors, raffle donors, and layout repair, setup and operational runs, club advertising, etc. The Board would like to have your inputs as to whom you believe deserve recognition. Please let Jim Andrews know of any members who you believe should be honored. HOLIDAY ALL-DAY MEET TRAIN SET GIVEAWAY November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

6 Marshall and Cheryl have once again put together another wonderful O gauge ready to run train set that will be given away to a lucky child at our December 8 th Holiday All Day Meet. This year s Richard Thomson Memorial Train Set Giveaway includes not only the set, but also a building and a couple of vehicles as well. Wow! Each child who attends the Holiday Meet and runs a train on the dog bone layout, or who just wants a ticket and is under the age of 18, will be given a ticket. No purchase is necessary. Only one ticket per child. The child will be asked to put their first and last name on the back of the ticket. Then, at 1 pm, the winning ticket will be drawn. The child must be present to win as the set cannot be delivered. This is just a way for some of our members to give back to the children. Marshall & Cheryl would like to thank our sponsors: Lionel LLC and members of AGTTA. CLUB NEWS November Meet This Thursday Just a reminder that our Meet this month is this coming Thursday vice Saturday. November Meet Theme This month s Display Theme is Patriotic Trains & Accessories. If you can please bring something with this theme to display on the Club Display Table that would be great! Club 5-Rail Fall Run at SDMRRM Again we would like to remind you that the Club s Fall/Winter Run of the Club s Multi-Gauge Modular Train Layout will be in the Pacific Beach Room of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum from Tuesday November 20 to Sunday December 2, We need operators! All members are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to run your trains for the public and to share with them the joys of the model train hobby. If you haven t already, please talk to Bob Wall about signing up and sharing in the fun of representing your Club to the public. You ll be glad you did. Thanks! Volunteers Needed Our big Holiday All-Day Meet will be held on Saturday, December 8 th. To make it another big success we need some volunteers to step forward and contribute to our lunch time feast. We are in need of side dishes and serving items such as paper plates, napkins, and plastic serving ware. If you could help us out that would be fantastic! Please contact Jon Everett ( ) who is in charge of our lunch time feast. And Thanks! Free-Bee Table Another Big Success The Board would like to thank everyone who attended the October Meet and helped make the 9 th Annual Ed Karper Memorial Free-Bee Table another huge success. Club Trailer Repaired Last month an AGTTA Work Party consisting of Jim Andrews, Marshal Carpenter, Bart Grey, Mike Quigg, and Steve Pierce met at Marshal s Santee home. Their goal was to replace the broken roof vent on our Club Trailer, which is used to store and transport our Modular Layout. They report, mission accomplished. Caroline & Christine Poindexter and Cheryl Lyman were there to provide moral support. See photos on Page 8. BOARD MEETING REPORT FOR NOVEMBER MEETING The Board held its eleventh meeting of the year on Tuesday, November 6 th at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park. BOD Attendees: Jim Andrews - President, Ken Steele Vice-President, Bob Wall Treasurer, Jim Weatherford Secretary, and Directors Bart Grey, Bob Hatton, Ed Jones, Steve Pierce, Bob Shaw, and Greg Smyth. BOD Absentees: Jon Everett - Director Dave Campbell Past President, Bill Hohnhorst Newsletter Editor and Rebecca Jones - Website Coordinator. Visitors in Attendance: Caroline and Christine Poindexter. 1. Called To Order - The November Board of Directors meeting commenced at 6:30 p.m. 2. October Minutes - The Board of Directors minutes from 02 October 2018 Board Meeting were read by Jim Weatherford and approved with no corrections. 3. Secretary s Report Jim reported that no new members joined during the past month. We have 127 paid-up members. 4. Treasurer s Report Bob Wall reported on the status of the Club Treasury. He also presented the 2019 budget, which was reviewed and approved by the Board Membership Dues The Board agreed that the membership dues for the coming year would remain unchanged. 6. St. Dunston s Request Our Church POC, Roy Herringer, requested the loan of 20 AGTTA tables. This request was approved. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

7 Jim Andrews will talk to Roy about storing the tables at the church until the December All-Day Meet. 7. November Meet Drinks & Snacks Jim Weatherford will provide the water and soft drinks for the Meet. Bob Hatton will provide the chips and Ed Jones will bring the cookies Board Elections The current Board, except for Ed Jones, have agreed to serve on the new Board. At the October Meet, no nominations were put forth to fill Ed s Director Position. However, since then Gary Butzke has volunteered to fill the position. 9. Christmas Dinner Ken Steele wanted to remind everyone that the date for this year s Christmas Dinner Gathering is Tuesday, December 4 th at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley. The Club subsidized cost will be $28, which includes free parking. The RSVP date is Friday, December 1 st. (Please see full page announcement on page 3.) 10. December All-Day Meet Jon Everett has volunteered to provide the makings for Sloppy Joes and Hot Dogs for the All Day Meet. Jim Andrews will be providing the drinks. Volunteers are needed to supply additional food items along with serving items (paper plates, napkins, knives, folks & spoons). 11. Club Appreciation Awards Jim Andrews agreed to gather a list of members to receive this year s Club Appreciation Certificates at the Christmas Dinner. All Members are asked to nominate members who they believe are deserving. Jim will ensure the Award Certificates are printed. 12. Advertising in Church Bulletin Roy Herringer, our Church POC, has let the Club know that we can promote club activities that benefit both parties in their Church Bulletin. Jim Andrews said he would speak to Roy about a Boy Scout merit badge for model railroading. 13. Rady s Layout Greg Smyth reported that the layout has been running well. Decorations for the fall theme have been completed. The changeover to the Christmas decoration will take place after Thanksgiving. 14. Newkirk Christmas Layout Request Mrs. Newkirk has requested someone from the Club help set up their layout for Christmas. Jim Andrews will follow up. 15. Meeting Adjourned - at 7:55 PM. All Gauge Toy Train Association of San Diego Proudly Presents Its 9 th Annual Holiday Open House & Toy Train Meet Saturday, December 8, :30 Table Set Up 8:00 Sellers Set Up 9:00 Open to the Public 1:00 Giant Raffle FREE PARKING & ADMISSION ST. DUNSTAN S CHURCH 6556 Park Ridge Blvd., San Diego FOOD AVAILABLE Donuts & Coffee will be available in the morning & another delicious lunchtime feast with soft drinks & water will also be available. ATTENTION SELLERS PRE-PAID 6-FOOT TABLES STILL ONLY $10 EACH Tables are selling quickly. They must be reserved by 6 PM, Monday, December 3 rd Thereafter tables, if available, will be $15. FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS CONTACT Anthony Tarantino (858) CLUB INFORMATION For additional club information please visit our website November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

8 Working guys replacing the Club Trailer Vent. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

9 Watches and Railroads If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, would you know where to get one? You would go to a store, right? Well, of course you could do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bit better than most of the store watches, you went to the train station! Sound a bit funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northern United States, that s where the best watches were found. Why were the best watches found at the train station? The railroad company wasn't selling the watches, not at all. The telegraph operator was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station because the telegraph lines followed the railroad tracks from town to town. It was usually the shortest distance and the right-of-ways had already been secured for the rail line. Most of the station agents were also skilled telegraph operators and that was the primary way that they communicated with the railroad. They would know when trains left the previous station and when they were due at their next station. And it was the telegraph operator who had the watches. As a matter of fact, they sold more of them than almost all the stores combined for a period of about 9 years. This was all arranged by "Richard", who was a telegraph operator himself. He was on duty in the North Redwood, Minnesota train station one day when a load of watches arrived from the East. It was a huge crate of pocket watches. No one ever came to claim them. So Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer and asked them what they wanted to do with the watches. The manufacturer didn't want to pay the freight back, so they wired Richard to see if he could sell them. So Richard did. He sent a wire to every agent in the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days and at a handsome profit. That started it all. He ordered more watches from the watch company and encouraged the telegraph operators to set up a display case in the station offering high quality watches for a cheap price to all the travelers. It worked! It didn't take long for the word to spread and, before long, people other than travelers came to the train station to buy watches. Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watch maker to help him with the orders. That was Alvah. And the rest is history as they say. The business took off and soon expanded too many other lines of dry goods. Richard and Alvah left the train station and moved their company to Chicago-- and it s still there. YES, IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT that for a while in the 1880's, the biggest watch retailer in the country was at the train station. It all started with a telegraph operator: Richard Sears and his partner Alvah Roebuck! November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

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12 Editor s Note: In 1963 when I was a senior in High School, the L&N RR restored the famous Civil War General Locomotive and a vintage coach from that era. They then sent them on a publicity tour around the L&N system. One of the stops on the tour was the Cincinnati Union Terminal (CUT). Fortunately for my brother and I we had a neighbor who worked for the Pullman Company at CUT. He asked my Mom and Dad if we might like to do a little excursion behind the General. Of course we said we would love too! So he got us tickets and we had the special honor of riding behind the famous engine from CUT over the Ohio River bridge into Covington, KY, our home town. It was an experience I will never forget. We were given a postcard sized booklet containing the story of The General. I have kept it for all these years and I thought you guys and gals might like to see it. Above is the Cover photo with page 1 to the left and page 2 below. I will include additional pages in future MainLines. I hope you enjoy. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

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14 To be continued in the December MainLine. November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line

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19 AGTTA NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER CALENDAR OF EVENTS Nov 15 Thursday AGTTA November Meet Jim Andrews (619) Nov 16- Friday TTOS-SP Cal-Stewart Meet 18 Sunday Nov 25 Sunday TTOS-SW November Meet Dec 4 Tuesday AGTTA Christmas Dinner Ken Steele (619) Dec 8 Saturday AGTTA Holiday All-Day Meet Jim Andrews (619) ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION 6621 Cartwright Street San Diego, CA NEXT MEET: Thursday, November 15 th BOARD ELECTIONS 2:30-7:30 St. Dunstan s Episcopal Church 6556 Park Ridge Blvd., San Diego NEXT MEET: Saturday, December 8 th November, AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line