RED MARKERS. Syracuse Model RR Club Train Meet & Open House. February 28, :00 4:00 PM NEXT MEETING... PAGE 1

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1 RED MARKERS Newsletter of the Central New York Division of the Northeastern Region, National Model Railroad Association, Inc. SERVING MODEL RAILROADERS IN AND AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE NEXT MEETING... February 28, :00 4:00 PM Syracuse Model RR Club Train Meet & Open House At this Meeting and in this Issue... Our annual visit to the Syracuse Model Railroad Club Train Show and Open House. They will have their HO scale layouts running, and their annual fundraising sale. Come early the show opens at 10:00 AM admission to the show is $4.00. You do not have to pay if only attending the meeting, but please help support the club. Election of CNY Division Officers. Nominations were made at the Banquet. Additional nominations are accepted from the floor. You must be an NMRA member to vote in the election. Clinic Jim Heidt will demonstrate the process and share techniques about basic mold making. Jim will review basic tools and ingredients for making molds and share suggestions for how to get the best results. He will take you through the process of making resin castings, and demonstrate uses of resin castings in making structure walls and details. Raffle No raffle at this meeting. Visit the sales tables and help the vendors out with your cash! PAGE 1

2 The Brass Hats Central New York Division - ELECTED Superintendent Bernard Messenger 9388 Paris Hill Rd. Sauquoit, NY (315) bernardmessenger@gmail.com Asst. Superintendent Ken Cameron 8462 Poolsbrook Road Kirkville, NY (315) kcameron@twcny.rr.com Chief Clerk Ed O Rourke 36 Nursery Lane Syracuse, NY eorourke@twcny.rr.com Paymaster Charlie Albee 215 Falls Blvd Chittenango, NY calbee1@verizon.net - APPOINTED NMRA Achievement Program Representative Dave Martini 6943 Shannon Way Liverpool, NY (315) kmartin1@twcny.rr.com NMRA Member Aid Chairman Jim Heidt, P.O. Box 25 Clockville, NY (315) jimheidt@hotmail.com Division Clinic Coordinator Bill Brown, 6002 Singletree Lane Jamesville, NY (315) larcproducts@yahoo.com Train Show Coordinator Lenn Amrhein, 6306 Meadow Drive Rome, NY (315) lamrhein@twcny.rr.com Division Storekeeper Ed Olszewski (315) eolszew1@twcny.rr.com Red Markers Co-Editors Ed Olszewski and Ed O Rourke 36 Nursery Lane Syracuse, NY (315) eolszew1@twcny.rr.com eorourke@twcny.rr.com Distributed through our web site at domestic US Mail Delivery available, 2016 CNY Division, NMRA, All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. Loose Spikes (Notes from the Ashpit ) Don t Get Left at the Station... To stay onboard and keep receiving Red Markers notices, you need to come to this meeting (or at least every third meeting). If you absolutely can t attend and want to continue to receive a mailed issue, send $3.00 to Charlie Albee (see left), make the check payable to CNY Division, NER. Of course you are always welcome to pick up the latest issue on-line at But money is a poor substitute. Come to the meeting because your check book won t have half the fun you will!! We continue to grow and plan exciting things. So don t miss out!! Thanks. PAYMASTERS REPORT Balance, $2, Income 14 Dec 2015 Auction $ Dec 2015 Holiday Party Dec 2015 Auction Dec 2015 Holiday Party Dec 2015 Holiday Party Total Income $2, Expenses 19 Dec Auction Payouts - $1, Dec Bank Fee $6.50 Total Expenses $1, Balance, $2, Respectfully Submitted, Charles Albee Paymaster Division Name Badges are available from Jim Heidt for $7.00. Price includes postage to mail your badge to you by First Class Mail. No more of this holding onto them or giving them to buddies to pass on. The $7.00 covers all costs. REMEMBER - Contact our Chief Clerk if you ever have trouble receiving your Red Markers. Also, if you need to change your address or post office address drop the Clerk a line. The Division Chief Clerk s contact information is listed in The Brass Hats sidebar to the left. Please have your articles and any items for Loose Spikes to us by the date listed below. Remember, EARLIER IS ALWAYS BETTER! Thanks for your support, Ed & Ed. 3/1/2016, 5/13/16, 6/30/16, 8/15/16, 10/1/16 Loose Spikes continued on page 4 PAGE 2

3 From The Freight Shed Bernard Messenger, Superintendent Happy 2016 to all! This year s party was a good way to relax after the holidays. We had a good turnout, the weather co-operated, and the meal was great. Ed Olszewski and Bill Brown s presentations were outstanding. It was nice to see so many of you enjoying each other s company. If you think about it, let's say you never joined the Division. Think about all the people you would never have met and made friends with. This is a model railroad and people oriented Division. One thing we do is encourage model railroaders to come to our meeting (events) to learn about ways to build layouts, buildings etc., and more importantly to meet people having the same interests as you have. I hope this spirit of inclusiveness continues since that really defines who we are and what we do. Finally, this will be my last From the Freight Shed column. Our annual election for Officers will take place at the February meeting. We will have a new Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you. I congratulate those who follow as the next Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Paymaster and Clerk as well, and wish them a successful tenure. From The Dispatcher's Desk Derail at Spruce WV on the Cass tracks, where joining old WM Trackage, Paul Valentine Photo Track turnouts are scenic details too. We ve all seen them and used them, turnouts. The railroads call them switches but modelers call them turnouts, why, I have no idea but that is a subject for another time. I ve always said there is a prototype for everything if you look long enough. Well, I recently found a prototype for a turnout to nowhere and the best part is it is also an operational feature. East of Syracuse, and south of Utica, on the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Utica Branch is Richfield Junction. This used to be where the Richfield Springs branch left the Utica main. The branch was active up into the 90 s. To protect the main from runaway cars on the branch a switch was added to the branch and left set to the diverging route when the crews were done operating on the branch. I believe this would be a great detail to add to our layouts if you have a branch leaving the main. It wouldn t necessarily be used on industrial sidings, those are typically protected by a split rail derailer or a derailer that is folded over onto the top of the rail and locked in place.you can make your own split rail derail by making a long slice in the rail. Foldover derails are available from several vendors in multiple scales. The turnout can probably be found in your scrap track box. The best part is you can use a number 4 switch and be prototypically correct. (Continued on Page 4 ) PAGE 3

4 From the Dispatchers Desk, (Continued from Page 3) The Richfield Branch track was torn up years ago and yet this switch remains. Perhaps the switch was added by Conrail or the NYS&W so it was not the property of the branch line which would explain why it is still in place. Either way it would make for an interesting detail with a prototypical story to go with it and you can add an operating rule for your crews working the branch that the switch must be left in the derail position. Have you thought about superdetailing a turnout? Above: Double-ended Foldover derail manufactured by the Nolan Company. Left: This is the derail switch on the Richfield Springs branch set to derail any runaway cars, Bob Woodard photo. (Loose Spikes, continued from page 2 ) March 18-20, Railroad Prototype Modelers Valley Forge Meet at the Desmond Great Valley Hotel, Malvern, Pa. Registration $35, operating sessions, 60 prototype clinics, model display and vendors rooms, Sunday open house tours. Go to for info and updates. Highball to Indy, 2016 NMRA National Convention and 2016 National Train Show is July 3-10, 2016 in Indianapolis, IN. Check out the Highball to Indy, 2016 website for further information at There will be a special room rate at the Westin Hotel - $119 for a single/double room. The 2016 NER Convention will be at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, hosted by the Hudson Berkshire Division, September 15-18, Division Elections: Officers of the CNY Division are elected annually at the February Meeting. Nominations were made at the Banquet: Superintendent Robert Verkuyl Asst. Supt.:Roger Beiswenger Paymaster: Charles Albee Clerk: Edward O'Rourke Additional nominations may be made from the floor. The person nominated must be willing to serve if elected. Only NMRA members may serve as officers and only NMRA members may vote. PAGE 4 Loose Spikes continued on Page 5

5 Loose Spikes, continued from page 4 From Ed Olszeski, regarding the auction. Here are some thoughts to improve the auction the next time we hold it. Some of these ideas come from conversations I had with Bill Brown, Aric Penfield and others. They are not all my ideas and unfortunately I am not able to recall who provided specific thoughts so I can t give specific credit. To get attendance up consider holding the auction in late October. Holding it during the Holiday period is tough. Too much going on with shopping, parties and general preparations for Christmas. Create a marketing campaign to generate more interest from the public. Limiting auction notices to hobby shop flyers isn t working to fill the seats. Issue a buyer number to sellers when they register their lots. This way lots that don t sell go into the seller/buyers slot. Removes the need for a No Sale set of tables in the holding room. Set an auction reserve of $5 per lot. This is a fund raiser and processing lots for sale takes time so let s make 50 cents per lot so the auction is worth our time. Low value rolling stock (i.e. Life Like, Tyco, etc.) must be bundled into lots of 5 cars or more. Moves things along and meets the $5 lot minimum price and still gets people their low value cars for $1 per car. If we want food at the auction we should work with the Senior Center (or other group in whatever facility we are using) so they can use it as a fund raiser for the Seniors group and they use their food sales certificate. The concessions would be staffed by the Seniors group. They take the risk and keep the profits from food sales. This is the model used by the Syracuse Model RR club at their Feb. show in the American Legion. Make a No Magazines rule. They don t sell so let s not waste our time. Work to get some donations from manufacturers and offer them as door prizes. Every buyer who registers gets one ticket. Every successful bidder gets an additional ticket. Drawing is held at the end of the auction and the winner must be present. This will help to keep people at the auction. More bidders might lead to some higher bid prices. Table below shows details of the last three auctions Gross receipts $1, $3, $3, Premium $158 NA NA Donations $87 NA NA CNY Div receipts $ $ $ # of sellers # of buyers NA PAGE 5 EUROPEAN TRAIN ENTHUSIASTS Invite you to their EUROPEAN TRAIN DAY Saturday, February 13th, to 2 The Commons, Burdick Driver s Village Circle Drive, Cicero, NY Do you have Euro trains to run (G & N)? Bring them along. Just curious, come along too. Info; Ghdavis81@Verizon.net

6 CNY Division to Host 3rd Annual Operations Weekend If you like to operate model trains this one IS FOR YOU! April 16 and 17 marks the weekend for Ops til You Drop : two days packed with 10.5 hours of railroad operations on some of the best layouts in the region. Several of the host layouts have appeared in national publications such as Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, and The Narrow Gauge Gazette. This will be the third year that the Central New York Division has hosted this event that is open to any rail enthusiast. This year there are seven layouts involved including two new additions: the fabulous Brunswick and Tuscan of Mike Shanahan, and the expansive Sioux City Lines of Bob Vickery. The cost is $10 per person YES THAT S RIGHT just $10 to cover snacks at each layout AND your Saturday evening dinner! Each participant will choose three of the seven layouts. Festivities begin at 12:30pm on Saturday with an afternoon 3.5 hour session. Operators eat dinner there then move to their second layout for an evening session. Everyone meets at a Sunday morning breakfast then begins their third session, heading home after 2:30pm. For more information visit or contact Bill Brown at LARCProducts@yahoo.com. The fabulous Brunswick and Tuscan of Mike Shanahan has been equipped for operations for the first time in 4 decades. The Pennsy based layout features the famous Horseshoe Curve. Bill Brown Photo Bob Vickery is opening his expansive Sioux City Lines for this event for the first time, featuring 25 to 30 mainline trains through 5 Midwestern towns. Bill Brown Photo PAGE 6

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8 YES! Reserve Me a Spot For OPS Til You Drop Name: Address: Home Phone: Cell Phone: Select 3 layouts numbered 1, 2, 3 with your preferences (Layout assignments will be made approximately 2 weeks prior to sessions. There are no guarantees we can honor your preferences but we will try) New York and Pennsylvania Central of Roger Beiswenger (Utica Area) The Leadville and Red Cliff of Bill Brown (Syracuse Area) Ogdensburg and Norwood of Jim Heidt (Between Utica and Syracuse) CSX Northeast of Dave Martini (Syracuse Area) Mohawk Valley Southern of Bernie Messenger (Utica Area) Tuscan and Brunswick of Mike Shanahan (South of Syracuse) The Sioux City Lines of Bob Vickery (North of Syracuse) (note that Drew James has dismantled his layout and moved. Look for his new layout next year maybe ) BY April 1 Send $10 Check Made Out To CNY Division, NMRA With This Form To: Bill Brown 6002 Singletree Lane Jamesville, NY PAGE 8

9 Area Model Railroad Groups: The Central New York Model Railroad Club: The CNY Model Railroad Club & Historical Society, Inc. Fri., 7:30pm. Operations 1st and 2nd Fri./month. New members and visitors always welcome. Info and directions at The Syracuse Model Railroad Club: Wed. 7p at the layout in the Eastwood American Legion, James St., Syracuse. One business meeting monthly, others are work sessions. Info: Salt City N-Trak, Ltd.: Meeting schedule / location t/b/a as the club is no longer located at the Eastwood American Legion. Operating 14' x 42' N-Trak modular layout which often tours. Info: Rich Petitto at FUNTRAK: The Frankfort United N-Trak Model Railroad Club, Inc. meets at members homes, meetings are scheduled and posted in FUNTRAK's newsletter each month about two months ahead of the actual meeting date. Info: Brian King at or Clayt Farrall at Cayuga Valley Model Railroaders: Thur. 7:00p and on most Saturdays at 9:00a at the club at 3 East Genesee Street, Auburn, over Speno Music Store. Info: Call Bernard Watkins Oswego Valley Railroad Association: The group operates the Oswego Railroad Museum dedicated to the historic preservation of railroad history in the Oswego County area. Open Memori-al Day to Labor Day on Sat, Sun and holidays Noon - 5pm. The museum is located in the city of Oswego at 56 West First St. The Oswego Railroad Museum Offers a 1950 s era 24' x 36' operating layout of the southern Oswego County area and an extensive railroad library. Contact Bill Nickolas at Central New York Modelers: The CNYMOD group has moved to new quarters in the Museum of Sci-ence & Technology (The MOST) in Downtown Syracuse. Info: at or by contacting President Andy Rezsnyak at or cny187@gmail.com. Central New York Large-Scale Railway Society: Meets at Driver s Village (the former Penn Can Mall), with a major layout under construction, Info: Bob Loran at rloran@windstream.net. The Bullthistle Model Railroad Society: Third Wed. of the month, 7:00 p.m. at their headquarters at 33 Rexford Street, Norwich, NY, and open Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on special events... all in creating visual and operable multi-scale displays of historic railroading in Chenango County. Info: Elton and Anethma Ire-land at (607) or club President, Philip Fairchild at (607) , lpfair@frontiernet.net CNYNRHS Model Railroad Group This group maintains O gauge and HO Scale modular layouts. Currently meeting 7 to 9 PM Thursday evenings at the warehouse behind JR Junction Train & Hobby, 2716 Erie Blvd. East, Syracuse. It is recommended that you call ahead at Info at or to modelrr@cnynrhs.org European Train Enthusiasts, CNY Chapter Round robin meetings. 'N' scale modular layout, Info: Gordon H. Davis at or , gdavis81@verizon.net PAGE CNY Division Schedule Saturday, January PM Division Banquet Rusty Rail, Canastota Sunday, Feb 28st 2-4 PM SMRRC Train Meet and Open House, Syracuse, NY Details in this issue! Sunday, April PM Charlie Romanick and Terry Ludwig April Ops 'Til You Drop Weekend Sunday, June PM Mike Shanahan Saturday, July PM, Division Picnic Finger Lakes Live Steamers Sunday, August?? Train Watching Tractor Supply Sunday, September PM TBA Sunday October PM TBA The meetings marked TBA could be at your layout!

10 Syracuse Model Railroad Club-Eastwood American Legion James St. at Nichols Ave Nichols Avenue Syracuse, New York Directions: I690 to Midler Avenue Exit. North on Midler Avenue to James Street. East on James Street one block on right. Parking lot in rear of building or on street. Observe parking regulation signs. The Central New York Large Scale Railway Society hosts Family Train Days at their layout in Drivers Village several times per year. What could be more fun than a day of trains? And what a great way to recruit young member to this wonderful hobby. November 28, Paul Torrey Photo Central New York Division, NMRA Red Markers News Letter 36 Nursery Lane Syracuse, NY PAGE 10