All Railroad enthusiasts are welcome to enjoy an afternoon of model railroading fun on Saturday, May 16 th. There is no charge to attend.

Transcription

1 Visit RED at Website: April June 2009 All Railroad enthusiasts are welcome to enjoy an afternoon of model railroading fun on Saturday, May 16 th. There is no charge to attend. May Meeting Monroe Hall Santa Rosa The next meeting of the Redwood Empire Division will be held on Saturday, May 16 starting at approximately 1:30 PM. The meeting is being held at Monroe Hall, 1400 West College Avenue in Santa Rosa. Doors will open at 1PM. Please do not come before then because a previous group meeting will be finishing up. Sandwiches, snacks, coffee & tea will be available for purchase, furnished by MARY MOORE CAMPAGNA. A short RED business meeting will include a report on the state of our division and elections for division superintendent and chief clerk. See page 4 regarding the election ballot, included in this CALLBOARD issue, that is mailed to all RED members. A program on layout design, using the NWP as a prototype, will be presented by Jerry Porter. Some models of NWP facilities will be exhibited. Everyone will get a free door prize ticket. If you are wearing your division name badge it will be worth an additional free ticket, as will bringing something for the contest display (see page 4) and/or at least one guest. Tickets can be purchased, three for one dollar, for a special door prize, which will be a one year subscription to the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette magazine. We hope to see you on Saturday, May 16 after 1 PM and before 1:30 PM. Driving Directions Monroe Hall is located in Santa Rosa on the south side of West College Avenue between North Dutton Avenue and Stony Point Road. Go west on College Avenue from Hwy 101. Vehicle parking is located behind the building.

2 Page 2 April June 2009 STAFF ROSTER DIRECTOR Carol Alexander 5307 Spain Avenue Santa Rosa, CA (707) carolnma@msn.com SUPERINTENDENT Steve Skold 5306 Yerba Buena Rd Santa Rosa, CA (707) sandcskold@att.net CHIEF CLERK Dr. Ed Merrin 2115 E Foothill Drive Santa Rosa, CA (707) edmerrin@earthlink.net CONTESTS Giuseppe Aymar 1330 Medical Center Drive Rohnert Park, CA giuseayman@aol.com MEMBERSHIP Gus Campagna PO Box 6344, Santa Rosa, CA campgus@earthlink.com NOMINATIONS Ed Zakareckis 2408 Homestead Court Fairfield, CA (707) ezak@castles.com ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM Harold Mentzer 102 Berna Avenue, Napa, CA (707) hsmentzer@aol.com ESTATE COUNSELOR Don Clauder 305 Garfield Park, Santa Rosa CA, (707) CALLBOARD EDITOR John Rolston 240 Chase St., Sonoma CA, (707) jrolston@pacbell.net DIRECTOR S REPORT BY CAROL ALEXANDER I m just back from the PCR Convention and still pumped up from the activities. The train rides through Niles Canyon and the stop in the yard, to look over the equipment, was just the first highlight for me. There were many fine clinics and lots and lots of excellent contest entries. RED was very well represented in the contest room this year and lots of prizes came home; be sure to read STEVE SKOLD S column to learn more about it. It was also nice to see some first time attendees from RED at the convention as well. The awards banquet was very nice this year. The video I prepared, at the request of RON PLIES, was very well received and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. The speaker was engaging and quite funny and the food was excellent. However, for me the highlight of the banquet was the opportunity to present the 2009 RED Member of the Year Award to JOSEPH G. AYMAR. He is a wonderful addition to our Division and has injected a new level of enthusiasm into the organization with his clinics and award winning models. The Board of Directors meeting went long (it s just hard to shut me up) but the meetings often do. The important information from that meeting is that the 2011 National Convention is moving forward and the committee has a bold and innovative program lined up. It is their intention to bring in the splintered interests of our hobby and give them a common place to meet and exchange ideas and information. The clinics will have tracks for special interests of all kinds. The idea is to include as many SIGs and societies as possible. Ray DeBlieck and his team will be looking for volunteers to work during the convention as room monitors/hosts to help make this happen. When they ask, I hope you ll say yes. Once again NMRA s first Region is leading the organization in a direction that could revitalize the hobby. I hope to see you at the upcoming meet where I ll share some more information. Photo by John Rolston Giuseppe Aymar with his 2009 RED member of the year award SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT BY STEVE SKOLD It is election time again in RED. Ed and I are running for re-election and if everyone is satisfied with our performance, please fill out your ballot and send it in to Ed Zakarekis. If not, fill in a write-in candidate, but only if he or she is willing to run. Our meeting in May will again be at Monroe Hall in Santa Rosa. Please do not try to get in before 1PM as there is another group there. Jerry Porter will provide the clinic on layout design using the NWP as a prototype. There will be a show and tell which will include prize winners from the recent PCR Convention in Fremont. RED walked off with two of the three Best of Show awards given. GIUSEPPE AYMAR won with (Continued on page 3)

3 Page 3 April June 2009 (Supt. Report Continued from page 2) his chlorine car in model and TOM SWEARINGEN won with his painting in the craft contest. The third one went to Ronnie LaTorres with another outstanding photo. Contest winners at PCR included: GIUSEPPE AYMAR who was 1st with his diesel, in addition to the chlorine car. ED MERRIN was 1st in Other Prototype Print, 2nd in Tracks and Structures Print and 3rd in Prototype Black and White. TOM SWEAR- INGEN, in addition to his Best of Show, took 1st in Railroadiana Original with another beautiful painting. CAROL SKOLD took 1st and 2nd in General Pattern in the craft contest. Yours truly was 2nd in the favorite print contest. Next year's convention will be in Sparks, Nevada and will include a ride on the newly extended V&T, which will go from Virginia City down to Hwy 50 in Mound House. Other upcoming events will include the RED summer meet in Fortuna, Fernbridge and Eureka on August 22 and 23 and will include a breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse. We are already starting planning for the 2011 mini convention in May of NMRA is having a National Convention in Sacramento that summer so the PCR have a minimal convention so as not to compete. As I write, we are having unseasonal hot weather which reminds me I need an air conditioner for my garage. Don't forget to vote and submit your ballot, or as HAROLD MENTZER plagiarized from someone in Chicago: Vote early and vote often. CHIEF CLERK'S REPORT BY DR. ED MERRIN Good morning or evening, whichever it is you choose to read your Callboard. Today I sit in my hotel room at the Fremont Marriot, midway through the Rails Across the Bay 2009 PCR convention. It is very early - too early- but that s what it takes to be a Hobo and awaiting breakfast. Fortunately, I have a cup of coffee next to me and if only I could stop hitting the caps lock key by mistake. Oh well As usual, trains are the big topic on everyone s mind, followed closely by food and drink. Last night Dave Croshere and I found ourselves in a crowded, boisterous Mexican restaurant surrounded by throngs of what may have been outcasts or affiliates of biker gangs. We had our Hiballers yellow shirts on, so nobody messed with us. I even had my convention badge pinned on, which loudly proclaimed me as being a powerful figure with orange and red ribbons for contest entrant and presenter. And so, I ve survived to report on our last RED meet, which took place on February 21 at the Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society. Attendance was limited to only 15 registrants, possibly because of some competing hobby activities in the area. Special reports and updates: PCR President Ron Pleis passed on the sad news of the recent illness of Rich Kolm, PCR Secretary.(Unfortunately, Rich passed away later this year.) RED Director CAROL ALEXANDER put out a call for photographic records of PCR members in action as part of a photo presentation planned at the April PCR convention in Fremont. She also discussed our upcoming commitment to participate in the annual Home Show this September at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. RED is looking for volunteers. Introductions: Superintendent Skold introduced two new members attending the meeting. GEORGE BUSH hails from Gualala, representing the hobby at Sea Ranch. MORGAN GRIFFITHS, a former long time member, has decided to put RED back in his life and rejoins us. Welcome to both of you! Nominations committee report: Chairman ED ZAKARECKIS announced nominations for RED Superintendent and Chief Clerk/Paymaster. Both incumbents will be running for reelection and at the time of the meeting, there were no other nominations. The results will be announced at the Annual Meeting in May. Write-ins are welcome. Contest committee report: Chairman GIUSEPPE AMAR encouraged members to begin preparing models for the PCR convention in Fremont. When it comes to models, Giuseppe knows of what he speaks, so we always listen up to his advice. Show and tell: A number of excellent pieces of work were on display, with the modelers there to present them. TOM SWEARINGEN brought a beautiful acrylic painting of an SP diesel based on a photograph of an actual (as opposed to a phony) SD45. BRICE BEN- SON contributed a scratchbuilt wooden structure with interior. GEORGE BUSH brought along a structure in progress. GIUSEPPE AMAY had scratchbuilt rolling stock, including a pickle car. (Sweet? Kosher dill? He didn t specify.) ED MERRIN had a string of SD7s in various SP color schemes. STEVE SKOLD showed a narrow gauge Mason Bogie. Hope I didn t leave anyone out. Clinics: We had two excellent clinics presented by RED members, both aimed at giving a boost to members yearning to participate in the upcoming PCR convention. MARY MOORE- CAMPAGNA had a Powerpoint presentation outlining the nuts and bolts of (Continued on page 4)

4 Page 4 April June 2009 (Clerk s Report Continued from page 3) planning, organizing, and delivering clinics. GIUSEPPE AMAR explained in detail how to prepare models for contests, including filling out the paperwork in the most effective manner for winning the hearts and minds of judges. Finally, the door prizes. There were two special door prizes. STEWART BENSON won a $25.00 gift certificate to The Loose Caboose in Napa. (Tell us, Stu, how much over the twenty-five bucks you wound up spending!). DAVE CROSHERE wound up with a framed black and white print of a photo taken by the late Don Cabral in the Jamestown roundhouse. Meanwhile the PCR convention has just about wound down. As luck would have it, RED members came away with a disproportionate share of contest awards and many of the prize-winning entries will be on display at our May meeting. NOMINATIONS REPORT BY ED ZAKARECKIS All RED members will receive a printed CALLBOARD issue, which will include an enclosed election ballot. Please follow the instructions on the ballot and either return it by mail or bring it to the May 16th RED meeting and submit it before the business meeting starts. Election results will be announced during the business meeting. CONTEST/DISPLAY REPORT BY GIUSEPPE AYMAR 2009 has been a year of remarkable changes affecting all of us. A catastrophic meltdown of our most hollowed financial institutions resulted in severe losses financially for most of us and progressed to painful repercussions in allied fields and job securities. While many jobs were lost altogether, others were put on furloughs creating a climate of financial restraint which still pervades our every action. It is in this climate that our 2009 Rails across the Bay Regional convention was held. The prognosis was not good. Most feared a poor turnout due to the expense of attending, especially from out of town folks. The Convention committee did a superb job of keeping costs relatively low and they were rewarded by a higher than expected turnout. Over 230 people registered and attended the Convention. The Contest room was a prime example of the high attendance, sporting a substantial number of entries and, I must say, very well made projects. We saw an increase in the number of displays and structures as well as in photographs. A tribute that the hobby can still thrive in hard economic times by allowing us to still create models or express ourselves through photography or paintings without having to spend more than a few dollars. Once again, our RED Division had a strong presence and walked away with many happy faces. TOM SWEARINGEN presented two gorgeous acrylic paintings that won him first place in Railroadiana Original and Best of Show, also in Railroadiana Original. His paintings have a magical feel to them. They invite you in as a protagonist rather than a mere observer. We would be honored if Tom will bring them to display at the next RED Division meeting in May. Dr. ED MERRIN won first place in other prototype print, second place in tracks and structures print, and third place in prototype black and white. CAROL SKOLD won first place and also second place in General pattern. STEVE SKOLD won second place in Favorite print, which is voted by all who come to see the contest. Lidia Aymar (this is my mother) is not a member of NMRA or PCR but I decided to show some of her crochet work depicting (what else) trains. These are works that I treasure and represent the love my mother has for me, and they speak of her elegance, style, determination and creativity. They were well received and appreciated and awarded a second place ribbon. You should have seen her face when I told her, since she had no idea I had brought them to display. As for myself, I fared pretty well. First place in the diesel category with the 1938 City of San Francisco E2 units set (A-B-B ) and Best in Show with a scratchbuilt chlorine car (which probably cost me no more than a few dollars to build). At the next RED function we shall have a show and tell of the Contest entries. This is to demystify the notion that the models are only for a few brave souls. Anyone can build these models to varying degrees according to our abilities at the moment. Remember, we all started at the beginning, no one was born a Michelangelo ( well, maybe Tom was!!!). I encourage all of you attending to bring a model, finished or unfinished, whether you think it is good or not and present it at the Show and Tell together with the contest models. Yours could be the inspiration to any of us to make the next model. And is this not what it s all about; to be an inspiration and receive inspiration from others? Go RED, Go RED.

5 Page 5 April June 2009 THINK SMALL #59 A Simple Project at Bodega Some of you may remember the old boxcar body featured in the spring 2006 Think Small article. My ancient boxcar body found a home next to the caboose track at Bodega. I set the car body on low cribbing and piled a few old ties at the door for a step. With lockers, a desk and a stove inside, plus a privy just a few steps away, the freight crews were happy with their shack. As time went bye, the old ties tossed in place for a step became a bit wobbly. But freight crews accustomed to hopping off and on moving cars in rail yards tend toward sure footedness as a matter of survival. Only when Dad Sweeney, longtime skipper of' the morning freight, took a nasty spill one frosty morning, did everyone agree that a proper entrance step was needed.. The B&B gang heard the call for help. Upper management agreed to a safety upgrade with available time and minimal cost conditions Result: The cribbing under the old car was redone with just six 8 x8 x10 foot bridge ties, cut to five feet. This provided sturdy support for the sill timbers near where the trucks once took the load and also provided air space to keep the wooden car frame away from the wet earth of spring. A concrete step as part of' a slab at the door was the B&B gang's simple fix for the shaky step problem. They even found some heavy mesh for reinforcement. Sven, from the car repair gang, brought over some short 4x4, 2x4 and 1x3 stock to build handrails. He was quite fussy about the placement of some bolts to support the handrails at the sides of slab and step. ( Short line railroaders tended to be resourceful and to act like family.) They even found a bit of paint for those handrails. Now Dad Sweeney has a big smile on his face as he grasps the handrails on icy mornings. This story provided the excuse for a simple project on the layout. If you built the car body or cobbled one up from an old car in your fleet, this can be a relaxing bit of scratch building, varied to suit your mood of the moment. My first choice for the slab and step was the old reliable tub of drywall plaster. How to make the tiny form for the plaster step was rattling around in my head while I prepared supper. The white foam plastic meat tray had just enough graininess to look like smooth HO concrete. There was ample thickness. I tried cutting the stuff with a single edge razor blade which worked great! Next day I cut a slab and step to fit the conditions at the Bodega caboose track. I discarded a few sloppy cuts and smiled: I had a slab and step without need to make a form or dirty my hands. You may need to adjust measurements to fit your shack and location. Meat trays are handy raw material! There is a caution. I found that MEK, liquid plastic weld or Floquil dissolve meat tray material. A drop or two can leave a crater. Plain white glue is a convenient adhesive to use with meat tray material. A water base tacky glue gave no problems. The water base paints common in our hobby also give zero troubles. The super market will provide you with a supply of' useful material at no cost! Wash those meat trays with the supper dishes and stock pile some hobby supplies. The handrails are a small detail, just eight tiny bits of styrene, but they make the whole project worth your time. You can find 4x4, 2x4 and 1x3 styrene strips ( Evergreen #8404, 8204 & 8103) at the hobby shop or cut your own from bits of.040,.020 and.010 thick sheet styrene left over from past projects. The lengths required are short. If you mess up a few cuts, try again. You need to practice! Just for fun. find your micrometer and test Evergreen s stuff. #8204 is not always.023 x.046. I measured one strip.020x.041, which is about 11% off in the cut from sheet stock, but a lot better than my efforts. Cutting long strips from sheet stock can present problems. Keeping uniform width is difficult. Remember, errors of a scale inch or two are usually too small for most of us to see. (Continued on page 6)

6 Page 6 April June 2009 (THINK SMALL Continued from page 5) I painted my concrete slab and step grey mixed with a bit of white. The handrails received the same paint with burnt sienna, plus just a touch of black added. One small blob of paint did the whole job. You wear the hat of brass! This is a small project. You can try different stuff to find what pleases YOU without spending a lot of time or money. Did you catch Harold Mentzer s great clinic about culverts at the November 2008 meeting? He models concrete head and wing walls with styrene. Would meat trays provide an alternate material? The stuff is easier to cut and the supply is abundant. Green and cheep is stylish these days. I had to give the meat trays a try. Concrete head and wing walls are easy to make from meat trays. The major problem, as with styrene, is choosing your paint color. Cut stone walls take a bit more time. I used a curved dental pick to push Redwood Empire Garden Railway Society (REGRS), No. 1 gauge, various scales. If you are interested call Ken Brody at (707) or westie@sonic.net Napa Valley Model Railroad Historcial Society, HO layout. Meets Fridays 7:30 PM at Napa Fairgrounds, 575 Third St., Napa. For information call: Clubhouse (707) or Ron Rogers (707) or John Rodgers (707) Lake County Model Railroad Club, HO layout. Meets Wednesday at 7:00PM in the old National Guard Building at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Martin Street, Lakeport. Call Mike Ernst at(707) Coastal Valley Lines, HO modular. Meets 1st Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM at Sam s For Play Café, crevices in the surface of the tray material - PRESTO! -BLOCKS OF STONE! By a change of color, subtle or even drastic at times, the illusion of separate stones will jump right out. (An old trick, often used with plaster castings.) Harold's handout provided references for the technical facts: 1. NMRA data sheets D6a and D9g. 2. Mallery s Bridge & Trestle Hand book Chapter 5. Mallery's book rang another bell. The cosmetic part of concrete and stone bridge abutments on our layouts can be crafted from common plastic foam meat trays and the take-home containers, if you eat out. Be GREEN, save the landfills by using this handy modeling material. Bill Williams The Ancient One CLUB SCHEDULES 2630 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa. Call Steve Lewis (707) or Blain Hendrix (707) NPC Operators. An On3 operating group meets one Sunday each month. Contact Steve Skold (707) or sandcskold@att.net Redwood Empire Live Steamers. A new group is forming with the goal to build a 7 1/2 inch track facility in a local park. For information, call Don or Ann Bruner Welch at (707) or write to PO Box 4594, Santa Rosa, CA Bay Area S Scalers. Contact Lee Johnson at (925) Mendocino Coast Model Railroad & Historical Society is running its G-scale layout the 2nd & 4th weekends, each month, in the botanical gardens at Fort Bragg. This outdoor operation will ultimately expand trackage to cover 6100 sq. feet. The group meets at 1:00 PM on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Contact Phil Miller at (707) North Coast Live Steamers, a group, from the Fort Bragg-Willits area, that promotes the hobby of large-scale railroading and other steam related history. Contact Bill Shepard at (707) Eel River Valley Model Railroaders, HO Scale layout. Meets each Friday evening at 7:30 P.M. at the Humboldt Co. Fair Grounds, Ferndale, CA. Write to P O Box 950 Fortuna CA or contact Ron Plies at (707) or rlplies@cox.net for more information. Humboldt Bay & Eureka, HO layout, Eureka, CA. Contact David Berriman, PO Box 915 Arcata, CA (707)

7 Page 7 April June 2009 Annual Meeting of the Redwood Empire Division May 17, 2008 Steve Skold, RED Superintendent, called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM. The minutes of the last meeting, as published in the Callboard, were approved as written after receiving a motion to accept them, without reading. Treasurer s Report: Ed Merrin, Chief Clerk, reported that there has been a slow and steady decline in RED funds. The current balance of $ is down from over $3000 just five years ago. The cause is primarily from a lack of fund raising activities. A number of ideas were brought forward on how this situation might be approached. Carol Alexander put forth the idea of creating a video series on model railroads of the Redwood Empire. Ballot Committee Report: Carol Alexander was elected as RED Director. Announcements: PCR President Ron Plies gave a report on the Fresno convention this year. Jack Burgess received the John Allen award and Mary Moore-Campagna was the proud winner of the Annual PCR Person of the Year award. Ed Merrin won the RED Member of the year award. RED members faired very well in the contest room with a number of them winning contest awards for models and photography. Without the intention of overlooking anyone s accomplishments, the most prominent awards went to Giuseppe Aymar for Best of Show (wheel car) and Brice Benson for Favorite Model (Sturgeon s Sawmill). The 2009 convention will be hosted by the Coast Division in Fremont. The RED will be bidding for the 2011 PCR Convention, which will be a scaled down mini version in deference to the NMRA National that will be held in Sacramento in July. Adjournment at 1:20 PM. EDITOR S NOTES July September CALLBOARD Staff Meeting: 7:30 PM, July 21 Text Deadline: July 28 Mailing: August 4 Meeting: Saturday. & Sunday August 22 & 23 October - December CALLBOARD Staff Meeting: 7:30 PM, October 13 Text Deadline: October 20 Mailing: October 27 Meeting: Saturday, November 21 Submit all articles, calendar items, adds, comments and corrections to the Editor. Attention CALLBOARD readers: Please advise if you are willing to read future newsletters on-line at the RED web site (vs. reading a printed mailed copy). Any or all pages can be printed by you at any time. Please send your ok by to the Editor at: jrolston@pacbell.net List Yes Notification on the subject line. No message is required except your first & last name. ************************

8 Page 8 April June 2009 COMING DOWN THE LINE May 2-3, June 6-7 & August 1-2: Redwood Empire Live Steamers will be running at Youth Community Park, 1725 Fulton Rd., Santa Rosa. # May 8: Sierra Division meet at the Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society, 1990 Grand Ave, Sacramento. May 16: RED meeting in Santa Rosa. Details are on page 1. May, June, July: Redwood Empire Garden RR Society meetings. # May & July 11-12: Sturgeon s Sawmill in Sebastopol will be running. June 7: Coast Division meet at the Computer History Museum, Shoreline Blvd at Hwy 101 exit, Mountain View June 27-28: Coastal Valley Lines run at Spring Lake Village, Santa Rosa. # July 4: Roots of Motive Power Frontier Days Steam-up, Willits, CA July 5 to 11: NMRA National Convention, Hartford, CT August 1-2: Coastal Valley Lines run at Oakmont, East Recreation Center, 7902 Oakmont Dr., Santa Rosa August 22-23: RED summer meeting in the Fortuna, Fernbridge & Eureka area. September 18-20: Redwood Empire Train Show at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. November 21: RED meeting. Location to be determined. # Contact information is listed on page 6 Visit RED at Web site: Many of the art items used in this newsletter are courtesy of Ken Houghton Rail Images or came from the web site: CALLBOARD John Rolston, Editor 240 Chase Street Sonoma, CA FIRST CLASS