A Newsletter of the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago July, 2012 FULL THROTTLE. Don't miss our annual picnic July 14th

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Lindsey Bailey
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Especially if we add in our jobs, family, vacations, home and yard maintenance and repairs, social activities, and maybe some sleep (Oh, who needs that!).

1 LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago R Established 1979 Large Scale Railroading A Newsletter of the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago FULL THROTTLE by Howard Thorson That s where we want to be with our backyard railroad activities setting up, planting, transplanting, cleaning up track, tightening wire connections, sprucing up the layout in general. As it turns out, that s a lot of work! Especially if we add in our jobs, family, vacations, home and yard maintenance and repairs, social activities, and maybe some sleep (Oh, who needs that!). So much to do before all those people show up for the open house, so little time. We do the best that we can, and that should be good enough. Even so, we run around to handle last minute details and fixes. You wonder to yourself, will they notice the corner area I couldn t quite finish?, even if you don t mention it. You think to yourself, I m sure they won t notice the building I just couldn t get put together and out on the layout you know the one still in the box in the garage, or in the basement. Well, there s always next winter to put it together. No, wait! That s the excuse that was used last year for the same building! Now you ve GOT to find time for that project. I ve heard tell that some backyard railroads are fully operational by the end of the summer. Just don t mention that the snow is coming to the owner of that railroad! As I write this, Little Boots Rodeo is this weekend. There are more activities, rides, and more to see this year. A lot goes into this event to benefit attendees and some local organizations for their help and support. It is really a lot of fun. The organizers even have a bigger layout area for our Club this year. 1 Don't miss our annual picnic July 14th Sign up for the NGRC Convention online today!! They liked us last year, and they want more and bigger from us. We can t refuse this kind of request. Our Club picnic is coming up soon on July 14 th at Jim and Donna Snorek s home in Elgin. There s fun, games, food, and conversation with fellow Club members and their families. I know Kathie and I always have a good time at the picnic. I m having some surgery on my right arm on June 26 th, but I should be fine by the picnic I don t want to miss it! Next up is the Convention. Rich Waliczek and Tom Trojan are asking for help with the layout and with security. Online sign-up or a phone call to them can help their jobs tremendously. People from all over the country, and possibly the world, will be here to attend the Convention. This is where our Club star can shine brightly, but we all must help. I m planning to be there for the week, I d like to see lots of Club members there too. I really liked the Convention in 2005, and I m looking forward to this one. Come on, join me, let s do this one up right! c

Member News: No new members this month. I hope we see all our members at an upcoming event soon. After all, it's our members that make our club successful.

2 Member News: No new members this month. I hope we see all our members at an upcoming event soon. After all, it's our members that make our club successful. c Club Officers President Howard Thorson - Crystal Lake (815) bear_n_owl@yahoo.com Vice President - Program Bill Halupka - Brookfield (708) LGBGuy@sbcglobal.net Vice President - Communications Jim Rusch - Editor/Publisher Bartlett (630) rusch13@comcast.net Vice President - Membership Paul Januska - Western Springs (708) pjanuska@sbcglobal.net Secretary/Treasurer Jim Snorek - Elgin (847) keronsjim@att.net LGBMRRC of Chicago The is published monthly by the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago. Material for the newsletter should be forwarded to the Editor at 688 Coral Avenue, Bartlett, IL on or before the 20th of each the month or ed to Rusch13@comcast.net. Mail for the other club officers should be sent to 11N013 Williamsburg Drive, Elgin, IL Electronic mail can be sent to keronsjim@att.net Membership Your mailing label shows your member number and your membership expiration date. To ensure uninterrupted receipt of the LGB Chicago Express, you should forward your check for $ version or $27.00 US mail version before your expiration date. Please make your check payable to LGBMRRC of Chicago, write your member number on your check and send it to 11N013 Williamsburg Drive, Elgin, IL Along the Mainline by Bill Halupka Well, the hot, humid dog days of summer have officially arrived! As I write this article, the thermometer is showing 102 degrees!! That s just a bit too warm for garden railroading, or any outdoor activity. My thoughts go back to a nice snowy day in January. You can dress for cold, but there is nothing you can do about HOT! If you take too many clothes off, you ll get arrested. I hope everyone s layout survived the big storm we had on Sunday July first. I m glad we didn t have any open houses that day. The damage wasn t really that bad in Brookfield, but other areas north west of here had a lot of wind damage. Even though it was hot, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4 th of July. Parades, barbecuing, friends, family, and of course running a few trains in the garden made it a real holiday. The Summer Picnic is July 14 th. Don t wait until the last minute to sign up. This is the first official club picnic we ve had in a few years. It s always fun to get together with fellow club members to enjoy good food, and a few games. Sign up on-line, or call the event coordinator for more info. The month of July will keep you busy with seven open houses to visit. In August, the schedule has two open house layouts. With nine layouts to choose from, it shouldn t be hard to pick out a few to visit. Or just visit all of them, so you don t miss anything. See the open house information later in this newsletter. If you haven t signed up for the Garden Railway Convention in August, now is the time. We will be setting up our layout on Tuesday the 14 th, and Wednesday the 15 th if needed. The sign-up sheet shows we re still a bit short on manpower for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We should have at least eight people operating the layout. Two or three to operate trains, and five or six others watching the layout and answering questions. This is our time to put on the BEST display we can. We need to show the entire large - scale community that we are the best club and have the best layout. Use the

com Until next month, keep those trains rollin! c Annual Picnic July 14th 11:00 am to??? Come join us for the fun at the annual Picnic.

3 club on-line sign-up sheet, or give Rich Waliczek, our coordinator, a call. After the convention, our next scheduled show is the Illinois Railway Museum display on Labor Day weekend. We always have a lot of fun out there. There s nothing like showing off our trains, while watching and riding full size ones. It doesn t get any better. Give Bob Rustemeyer a call, or sign-up online if your coming out. That s about all I have this month. If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to call or send me an . Bill Halupka -- (708) LGBer0672@aol.com Until next month, keep those trains rollin! c Annual Picnic July 14th 11:00 am to??? Come join us for the fun at the annual Picnic. This year to be held at the home of Jim and Donna Snorek at 11N013 Williamsburg Drive, Elgin, IL The club will supply grills, condiments, some beverages and desert. There will be no cost for this event. Just signup on line or call Tammy at Bring your own main course and something to share. There will be some games and of course FUN!! 3

4 "MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS Please check your mailing label on this newsletter. If the date is 7/1/12 or older, please send a check payable to LGBMRRCC for $27 for hard copy newsletter (or $22 only newsletter) to: LGBMRRC of Chicago 11N013 Williamsburg Drive Elgin, IL If you only get the electronic copy, check your membership card for the renewal date or call Jim Snorek at to get your date. Remitting now guarantees continued delivery of your newsletter at no increase in cost and helps to reduce mailing and printing costs of renewal notices. Your cooperation is appreciated." 4

28th NGRC Our Club still needs help with the NGRC layout. We are still lite on help Thur. Aug. 16th, Fri. Aug. 17th, Sat. Aug. 18th and Sun. Aug. 19th I would like to have at lest 8 members a day.

's about the show give me a call Coordinator Rich Waliczek Jr. 630-243-8587 28th NGRC Security Now is the time to volunteer to help run a great convention. We need your help!

5 28th NGRC Our Club still needs help with the NGRC layout. We are still lite on help Thur. Aug. 16th, Fri. Aug. 17th, Sat. Aug. 18th and Sun. Aug. 19th I would like to have at lest 8 members a day. We are in stort supply scenery ( Buildings, Cars, Trees, & People ). If you can bring any of these items PLEASE mark this on the sign up sheet under scenery and after man hours type in what items you can bring. sample ( 5 building, 2 cars, & trees) We still could use a few more trains. If you are not able to sign up at the club website or have?'s about the show give me a call Coordinator Rich Waliczek Jr th NGRC Security Now is the time to volunteer to help run a great convention. We need your help! There are many committees that are looking for help during the week of the convention. To find out where you can assist contact Gayle Althardt at ngrc2012@ aol.com or call at I am looking for volunteers to aid with security at the National convention in August. Any one interested plaese contact Tom Trojan at or tmt403@comcast. net. January,

Internet Sites LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago http://lgbmrrcc.com LGB/Marklin http://www.marklin.com Piko-America http://www.piko-america.com/ Large Scale Online http://www.largescale.

com/ Big Train Operator Club http://www.bigtrainoperator.com/ trains.com http://www.trains.com January, 2012 6 15551 South 94th Avenue, Orland Park, IL 60462 CLUB INTERNET SITES Arizona Big Train Operators www.

org Florida Garden Railway Society http://www.fgrs.org/ Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society http://www.gcgrs.org/ Indiana Large Scale Railroaders http://www.indylargescaler.

6 Internet Sites LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago LGB/Marklin Piko-America Large Scale Online National Model Railroad Association Garden Railways Magazine Large Scale Central Big Train Operator Club trains.com January, South 94th Avenue, Orland Park, IL CLUB INTERNET SITES Arizona Big Train Operators Bay Area Garden Railway Society Chicago Area Garden Railway Society Columbus (Ohio) Garden Railway Society Florida Garden Railway Society Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society Indiana Large Scale Railroaders LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago Miami Valley Garden Railway Society (not mgvrs) Puget Sound Garden Railway Society Sacramento Valley Garden Railway Society San Diego Garden Railway Society Washington, Virginia, & Maryland Garden Railway Society Wisconsin Garden Railway Society For additional Club Listings

7 Open Houses Date Location July 15th Lienau s 817 Lakeside Drive, Downers Grove, IL Paul Januska Birch Lane, Western Springs IL nd Rich & Barb Harder - North Lake Walter & Gail Radtke - Mt. Prospect 29th Dennis Cipcich - 41W610 Far View Road, Elburn, IL Ron & Martha Messner - Chicago Madison & Gayle Parker - Aurora August 26th Ron & Gayle Althardt Woodbine Circle, Vernon Hills, IL Donald Miller - Highland Park Sept. 23 Harry Sorenson (11am 4pm) - Huntley Jonathan & Jill Treubig - Huntley Call Bill Halupka to schedule your open house date at All Open Houses are from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Open House - July 15 th, 2012 Joe and Mary Lou Lienau Lakeside Drive Downers Grove, IL Layout Description: Layout was started in 1997 and incorporates some of the Ahnapee and Western Railway infrastructure. The time era is late 1920 s through the 1960 s. There are steam and Diesel locomotives, freight and passenger consists operating. 850 feet of brass, stainless steel and nickel silver track is laid along with 25 turn outs. The power and operating systems is by Bridgeworks, Aristocraft Engineer & the Revolution System along with battery power. The LGB EPL system keeps things operating smoothly. The signal system has been repaired after last year s lightning strike and is providing normal operation. New this year, are a Santa- Fe SD45, a pair of Green Bay & Western RS-3 s and a pair of GB&W FA-1 s. A reefer car icing facility is still in progress along with a 44 turn table. Mary Lou s Egg Liner layout has been relocated to a permanent location and should be up and running sharing space with a recently acquired LGB vintage starter set. Directions: Take I-355 to Boughten Road, east to Lemont Road, left turn north, to Plainfield Road, Left turn. East to Lakeside Drive, right turn, follow to house at 817 or 294 south to I-55, west to Lemont Road, north to Plainfield Road and follow the rest of the above directions to the house. Open House July 15 th Paul, Diane & Elizabeth Januska 1111 Birch Lane Western Springs, IL Phone: Layout Description: Welcome to the second open house of the Silverton & Copper Creek Railroad. Construction of the layout began in One of the main features is a small waterfall feeding the 20 foot long Copper Creek running through the center of the layout. There is approximately 325 feet of track, 13 turnouts, three spur tracks with uncouplers and an additional three sidings occupying an area of 32 x 42 feet. A point-to- point trolley line was added in The trains are controlled by track power using Massoth DCC controls. The layout is comprised of three large loops. One of the loops is elevated by a 70 foot long trestle with a three 7 bridges - one spanning the river. There are a variety of trains from a Mikado pulling S.P. Daylight passenger cars to a modern day diesel pulling a freight train. Plants and groundcover will be planted during the spring and early summer. Buildings are currently under construction and will be added as they are completed. Directions: From the North, take I-294 S to Ogden Avenue (US- 34). Follow Ogden Avenue East to Wolf Road. Turn right on Wolf Road and go approximately 2 miles to 55th Street. Turn right on 55th and go approximately ¼ mile to Woodland Drive. Turn left on Woodland and then turn right at the first street onto Birch lane. From the South, take I-294 N to the I-55 Stevenson Expressway/ St. Louis/Wolf Road exit and follow the ramp towards Wolf Road. Turn right onto Wolf Road and go approximately 2 miles to 55th street. Turn left on 55th and go approximately ¼ mile to Woodland Drive. Turn left on Woodland and then turn right at the first street onto Birch Lane. Open House July 29 th Dennis Cipcich & Sandra Martens 41W610 Far View Rd. (GPS has Far View as one word) Elburn IL Phone: Layout description: The Blue Stone Ridge RR has been expanded to 7 zones controlled by a Massoth Di-max Digital Wireless System. After a major lightning strike last August 8 th, the railroad is back in operation. Water features, multiple grades and landscaping compliment the operation of the 1800 foot railroad. Directions: From the north and east: At the intersection of Rte 64 (North Ave/Main St. locally) and Randall Rd. in St. Charles, go west on Rte 64.7 mile to Campton Hills Dr. Wyes to the left continuing westward to Town Hall Rd. (second stop sign after stoplight). Turn left (south) and over crest of hill to Far View Rd, turn left to 3rd house on left. From the south and east: At the intersection of Rte 38 (Roosevelt Rd/Lincoln Highway locally) and Randall Rd, west of Geneva, continue west on Rte. 38 past second stoplight to Beith Rd. turn right (north) and follow road which turns to the west to Town Hall Rd. turn right (north) and go about 300 to Far View Rd. turn right and go to third house on left.

8 LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago 2012 Schedule LGB Club Display Layouts and Meetings July 14th Summer Picnic at Snorek residence, Elgin - Tammy Bognet ti August 15th - 19th 28th NGRC - St. Charles, IL - Rich Waliczek Septemebr 1st & 2nd Illinois Railway Museum - Union, Illinois - Bob Rustemeyer (773) October 15th & 16th Southland Model Train Show - Richards High School, Oak Lawn - Larry Tomko (847) Nov & Dec 2012 Morton Arboretum - Kevin Kell- (708) December 2012 Brookfield Zoo - Holiday Magic - Bill Halupka Conventions & Shows July 18th - 22nd -- National "O" Scale Convention -- Carlstadt, NJ July 18th - 22nd, -- National Summer Steamup Small-Scale LIVE Steam --- McClellan, CA July 29th - Aug. 4th, -- NMRA Convention --- Grand Rapids, MI August 14th - 19th, th Annual Garden Railway Convention -- St. Charles, IL Sept. 1st & 2nd, --- Labor Day Train Show -- Illinois Railway Museum -- Union, IL Sept. 12th - 15th nd National Narrow Gauge Convention Bellevue, WA Oct. 11th - 14th, -- 27th Annual "ihobby Expo" --- Cleveland, OH Oct. 18th - 20th, "TCA" York Meet -- York, PA South Shore Model Railway Club - Fall Open House & Show Hingham, MA 10/27/ /28/2012 0ov. 10th & 11th, --- Trainfest, Wisconsin State Fair Park -- West Allis, WI South Shore Model Railway Club - Scout Night Hingham, MA 01/11/2013 South Shore Model Railway Club-Spring Show/Open House Hingham, MA 03/23/ /24/2013 South Shore Model Railway Club - Fall Show/Open House Hingham, MA 10/26/ /27/2013 Open Houses - See page 7 for future Open Houses LGB, The Big Train, Lake George & Boulder, the LGB Circle logo and the LGB Nameplate logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of E.P. Lehmann Patentwerk LGBMRRC of Chicago 11N013 Williamsburg Drive Elgin, IL January,

All Aboard! Don't miss out! Signup for the Morton Arboretum display show and Brookfield Zoo display Show today!!

All Aboard! Don't miss out! Signup for the Morton Arboretum display show and Brookfield Zoo display Show today!! R A Newsletter of the LGB Model MdlRailroad Club of Chicago All Aboard! by Wayne Zoeteman Trains, trains and more trains. That s what I keep seeing all around me. And I am not even at a show or exactly