TRAK Modular Railroading Society. Inc. NEWSLETTER

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1 January/February, 2008 Edited by Jim FitzGerald and Lee Monaco-FitzGerald TRAK Modular Railroading Society. Inc. NEWSLETTER NTRAK Website: Oklahoma City Train Show and N Convention Report A 50 by 90 area was filled with N scale trains for the 13th N Convention in Oklahoma City in early December, A number of NTRAK clubs took part in the layout. Above, the corner and string of modules down the center of the photo belong to the Boot Hill M RR Club from Kansas. The photo below Shows the part of the layout furnished by the Tulsa, Oklahoma NEONS club. Three large loops were tied together with Junction modules. Many more photos of the layout are in this issue. Thanks to Dave Porter and Bill Harrison for the photos. Page 1

2 NTRAK is a very informal organization. You can build a module and have it in a big layout without being a member, and there are many who do just that. Some of the big layouts have an inspection and certification of the modules before they can be used in the layout. This is just to avoid troubles trying to get the layout running in a short period of time. The NTRAK Manual and the NTRAK Module How-To Book can be purchased by anyone and are all the guidance needed to build a compatible module. Board member Dave Porter attended the recent Oklahoma City N Convention and train show layout. In the photos that he and Bill Harrison made were a number of modules from the Boot Hill Model RR Club. I had never heard of that NTRAK club, but here were many well done modules. The list that I got from Dave showed they were from Garden City, Kansas. My Highway Atlas showed it was a very small town in south west Kansas, 88 miles west of Dodge City. One of the Old West landmarks in Dodge City is the Boot Hill Cemetery, so that started to make sense. Lee & I had spent the night in Dodge City on one of our cross country trips, so must have gone by Garden City on our way to Denver, but I would never of thought of there being enough interest in that area to have a NTRAK club. It took years to get clubs established in many of the population centers. In a message from Mark Fisher, their club has HO and O scale modules as well as NTRAK. They take part in shows in Dodge City and Garden City as well as traveling to some more distant shows. There currently are eight active members in the NTRAK group. Their modules are shown on pages 1, 9, 16 & 17 of this issue. I want to congratulate them on the quality and innovation in their modules. I look forward to seeing their modules in other shows. I always pleased to learn of people spreading the interest in the hobby with NTRAK or T-TRAK modules. It is a great way to enjoy the hobby and share your work with others. Your Newsletter can always use photos of Modules, layouts or ideas. Please send your story along to our California address and we will be in touch for any details or photo requirements. NTRAK, Inc Officers & Directors General questions and Newsletter material. Jim FitzGerald, NTRAK President, Editor Lee Monaco-FitzGerald Corporate Secretary, Editor 1150 Wine Country Place Templeton, CA Phone & Fax ntrak@tcsn.net Bob Gatland, Chief Financial Officer PO Box 2386, Wilton, NY rgatland@nycap.rr.com Next Issue Deadline: Feb. 1st Page 2 Renewals, Orders & Shipping Dave Porter, Director PO Box 3618, Parker, CO dave@ntrak.org Phone: (303) Bruce Alcock, Director 1030 County St 2930, Tuttle, OK nytrr@hotmail.com Web Master, Bruce Alcock nytrr@hotmail.com Web site: Deadline for Coming Events & other material is the 1st of the month before publication. (Feb 1st, Apr 1st June 1st, Aug 1st, Oct 1st, and Dec 1st.)

3 New From MicroTrains The latest body style from MT is a Drop Bottom Gondola. The detail of the underbody is so great that I wanted you to have a close view of it. Lee s suggestion is that you take the trucks off and mount it upside down on a Flat Car, and park them on a siding so all can see it. The 40 gon is brown, white lettering UP 66775, MT# $ A very colorful 50 dbl. plug door box car has black roof and ends and a red, white, blue and orange Canadian Forrest Products design. USLX 242 is MT# , $ A load of concrete beams is on Rio Grande flat #23022, MT# , $ Another colorful car is a Kansas City Southern covered 3 bay hopper in black, grey, red & yellow. KCS is $35.60 and MT Page 3

4 PRR "Lines West" Baggage Building Laser Kit The Mid Central Region, N M R A, Inc. will be offering a series of prototype, laser cut building kits. The first offering in this limited production series will be a baggage/freight building located in South Lebanon, OH. The original structure, still standing, has probably been moved from its original trackside location. It now sits on private property several hundred feet away from what was once the right of way and is now part of the Rails to Trails program. It currently rests on a concrete foundation. The building ser- viced the PRR Little Miami Branch which ran from Morrow, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio. The building was probably constructed in the 1880 s. The building is 16 feet by 32 feet in size. The kit, offered in N, HO, O and S scales is furnished with a 4 foot by 32 foot platform on one side and supported on a wood post foundation. The modeler can remove the platform and post supports and provide a concrete foundation for the building if desired. The floor There is a window at the other end and the rear wall has no openings. material for the platform can be used to construct ramps up to the baggage doors. The model will be available for delivery in January The N Scale version is $13.95 plus tax for Ohio residents. Orders are being taken now. For photos and ordering information go the Mid Central Region web site. midcentral-region-nmra.org/freight-house- 2008/freight-house-2008,html For further information, please rbriggs261a@aol.com New Bachmann Spectrum Tenders By Craig Barrow Tenders with all wheel pickup greatly improve the performance of N steam engines. Bachmann is now offering three Specturm N tenders with all wheel pickup as separate items. In addition to the water tender with power pickup and lighting introduced with the Spectrum J and available for $30 are two new tenders, the long tender with four wheel trucks available in C & O, NKP, DRGW, and painted undecorated and a new six wheel truck Vanderbilt tender that is a C & O prototype available in C & O, GN, NH, and painted undecorated. The new tenders retail for $35. Each is already equipped with a drawbar with electrical pickup identical to those on the Spectrum , the Mountain, and the Consolidation. The Vanderbilt tender is a coal tender, but the Page 4 Photos by Bachmann transformation to oil is well within the scope of modelers to accomplish. I and a number of steam modelers are happy these tenders have been made available.

5 A 2-foot gauge Forney on the Wiscassette, Waterville & Farmington Railroad. The Sandy River & Rangley Lakes rail bus in the Portland, Maine railroad museum. By Tom Knapp In the last issue, I told some about the 27th National Narrow Gauge Convention, held this September in the sea port (and 2-foot-gauge railroad town) of Portland, Maine a wonderful town with a vibrant old town on the waterfront. My wife, Pat, and I arrived in Portland the weekend before the convention started and spent three days wandering around Maine. We went up to Boothbay and rode the train at the Railway Village there, and down Highway 1 to Kennebunk, Bath, Wells and York, and rode the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad on Portland's waterfront. One thing we didn t have time to do was drive up to the Sandy River and Rangely Lakes the classic Maine-Two- Footer. In between train-geek stuff, we found an openair restaurant and bar on the docks with a great jazz quintet playing "real" jazz from the 30's and 40's, and a martini bar on Congress Street that stocks real Mezcal tequila! I personally accounted for the demise of several lobster as well. Continued next page. I must admit to being impressed with the Fn3 (1:20.3) K s with great sound and smoke. Page 5

6 Another highlight of the NNGC is the vendor room or rooms in this case on two floors. Vendors had products in scales from 7 gauge to N scale. The primary vendor in Nn3 Republic Locomotive Works - was there, along with other vendors who have N scale products including Wild West Models, Banta Model Works, ModelTech Studios, and Sea Port Model Works. Tim Mulina had his vast series of Quick Pic books documenting the narrow-gauge in the main convention hall. As usual, there were many clinics four going on at any one time so it was necessary to carefully choreograph one s schedule. I attended a great clinic on resin casting before giving my clinic on the San Luis Obispo facilities of the Pacific Coast Railway, assisted by Curt Johnson - the acknowledged expert on the subject. (Incidentally, Benchmark Publications has just reprinted Curt s book The Pacific Coast Railway: California s Premier Narrow Gauge Railway, so get your copy now; previous editions have gone for as high as $350 in the resalemarket.) Three photos above. I visited the only N scale layout on the layout tours. Ray Houlihan has built a two level N scale layout. He had Page 6 some Nn3 on the layout, although non-operational. After determining we were not NY Yankee fans, he even shared some Moxie with us. The lower photo shows a Moxie bottling plant that he modeled.

7 Winterfest 2008 Springfield, MA, January 25-27, 2008 Northeast Ntrak will host Winterfest 2008, the 14th Annual Northeast Ntrak Convention held in conjunction with the Big Railroad Hobby Show of the Amherst Railway Society, Inc. at the Eastern States Exposition Grounds, The Big E, at 1305 Memorial Avenue, West Springfield, MA on January 26-27, The Ntrak layout set up will take place on Friday between noon and 5:00 P.M. The Hilton Garden Inn, 800 Columbus Avenue, Springfield, MA will again be the convention hotel with registration and clinics Friday night and the traditional banquet, contest awards presentation, guest speaker, etc. on Saturday night. Model, module, photo, and parade-of-trains (best train) contests will be held at the layout on Saturday. To reserve space for your module in the Ntrak layout, please call the Layout Coordinator, John Dunne at Hotel reservations should be made before January 11, 2008, by calling or and mentioning NTRAK to get the convention rate. Details and the on-line registration form are available at: by clicking on Winterfest Information. Those who attended Winterfest 2007 will be notified when the details and on-line registration forms are ready. For other questions write Bob Pawlak, Chairman, Winterfest 2008, at: or call him at Rail Days, Winslow, AZ April 21st-27th, 3rd Annual Winslow Railroad Days April 21st-27th, 2008 is going to be a much anticipated event for both the clubs involved and the town. We had a great time at the 2007 event. For 2008 the Winslow Chamber of Commerce will be handling all the event aspects. From transportation, parking, building allocations, tours and rail fanning. If you, your organization or train club would like to set up a display in anyone of 7 available spaces please contact John Scott (bnsfry@yahoo.com) so he can reserve your space. If you or your organization is N Scale Ntrak oriented and would like to be part of the Tucson, Prescott Valley and SNNT loop in the El Gran Garage then please contact John Scott (bnsfry@yahoo.com) with the amount of modules you would like to bring and whether or not they are mountain line or non-mountain line. Please, we are looking for anyone interested in displaying. March is the Cut Off Date for reserving space in the above buildings. Transportation around the town will be provided by shuttles and the local tractor club with hayride style services to get people around the town to the different activities and layouts. BNSF Railway- Has a meeting planned in January to start talking about Winslow Facility tours and locomotive demos and tours for the Winslow RR Days. Rail Fanning- as always at the La Posada Hotel and the Gazebo Park. Daily Entertainment by local live Bands at the Gazebo Park Friday and Saturday and possible during the week. Members who are a part of the displays have the opportunity to stay at The Lodge Hotel ( ). This hotel is giving us a discounted rate and the rooms have been redone. Please contact John Scott (bnsfry@yahoo.com) for the reservation code. Tucson Ntrak will be the Primary club in charge of the Ntrak Layout that will be displayed in the El Gran Garage. The Garage is directly across from the La Posada Hotel. We plan on putting three ntrak loops in the facility which will all be joined together by connecting spine modules that were used in the 2007 RR days layout. This will give us a nice long track to run on, and don't worry, we have the DCC power issues well under control this time. The layout space is 44 ft X 70 ft. For more info and updates visit this web site: ASWMRR/ASWMRR_Info_Overflow.html John Scott Page 7

8 Derby Express, June 25-29, Louisville, KY 2008 NTRAK, N Collectors, World s Greatest Hobby Show The color insert in this issue has photos of the convention activities. For details go to: Convention.com A write-up on the convention didn t arrive before our press deadline. So here are some highlights. The N Convention is combined with a N Collector Convention and a Worlds Greatest Hobby weekend Manufacturer, Dealer and Layout Train Show. A very large NTRAK Layout is planned. The layout space is 192 x 250. Registration for the convention is $75 until April 1st and $85 after that. Family members are $35 for adults and $10 for 10 to 17 years. 9 and under are free. Extra Fare are tours, river cruise, dinner train, busses to layouts, Banquet and Mfg. Breakfast. NTRAK module owners are asked to Register and will have access to the layout before and after the public is there. However, if you don t register, you will be allowed on the floor for layout setup and then only at times the layout is open for the public and at teardown. Anaheim, Ca. NMRA National Train Show, July The 2008 NMRA/National Train Show is scheduled for July at the Anaheim Convention Center, and Ntrak will be represented by another world-class layout. Members from the four Ntrak clubs headquartered in Southern California--Antelope Valley Ntrak, Group 160 Ntrak, Ntrak Express, and the Orange County N-gineers--are now in the process of developing a layout plan and operations schedule for the four-day event. As many of you know, the Ntrak layout is one of the more popular exhibits at the Show with hundreds of convention attendees and the general public (on the weekend) viewing our modules and trains. As was mentioned in the November/December Newsletter they are actively recruiting for clubs and individuals who are interested in participating in the layout to let them know of your interest. You can E mail them at: socaln.ntrak@gmail.com or write to them at: So Cal N, Post Office Box 582, Glendora, CA 91740, with the following information: Individual or Club Name Contact Information (E mail/phone) Number of Modules Length(s) of Modules DCC or DC (analog) Electrical Format Cinch-Jones or Anderson Plugs Specialty Module (inside corner, 3' / 4' Corner, Yard) Mountain Division Track (yes/no) Nonstandard Dimensions (if any) Parking Requirements (truck/trailer) Any Other Special Requirements Page 8 Deadline for submitting your club and/or module information and participating in the Show is MARCH 31, 2008 They will be working with the National Train Show administration to provide module owners and participating club members Exhibitors Passes to the Show, providing that each attendee will take an active role in the assembly, operation, and tear down of the layout. Admission to the National Model Railroad Association convention and their activities requires membership in the NMRA and a separate registration. For further information, please see their website at: The Anaheim Ntrak Layout Team is looking forward to a great show, but they can't do it without you! Come join them in Southern California for a great vacation/train experience. The Convention Center is across the street from Disneyland, a few miles from a number of the finest beaches in the U.S., and close to some of the western United States' best rail fanning locations--tehachapi Loop, Cajon Pass, Beaumont Hill, The California Coast Line and Surf Line routes. Come to Anaheim this summer and help us construct another outstanding Ntrak layout for the National Train Show and enjoy all that So Cal has to offer! More information will be available after the first of the year on the So Cal N website: (we are in the process of upgrading and updating the information, so please be patient).

9 Oklahoma City, N Scale Convention 2007 A week before the big December ice storm shut down Oklahoma and the surrounding area, there was a N scale convention and NTRAK Layout in Oklahoma City along with a large train show. The following pages have photos of some of the modules in the layout. They were furnished by Clubs and individuals from around the Southwest area. The Oklahoma N-Rail Club hosted the event again. This was the 13th year and they had the best attendance yet. Dave Porter and Bill Harrison kindly furnished the photos for your Newsletter. This Inside Corner module is from the Oklahoma N-Rail Club. Below are some of the modules furnished by the Boot Hill Model RR Club from Garden City, Kansas. Garden City is located in Southwest Kansas, about 100 miles west of Dodge City, home of the Boot Hill Cemetery. Page 9

10 Sugarland Modules built by Russ Straw from the Houston Area Page 10

11 It is always great to see the Sugarland Modules. Russ and his friends have researched the Sugar plant as it was in the city of Sugarland, Texas in the 1950 s. Most buildings are scratch built following photos of the original factory. At the right is another module by Russ with a different theme. Below is a module from the Tex-N Modular RR Club of Plano, TX. More modules from this club are on the next page. Page 11

12 More modules from the Tex-N Modular RR Club of Plano, TX. Above is a log pound and mill to turn the logs into lumber. The module below has a Mountain Division track and drainage from what looks to be a mining operation. Page 12

13 The Tex-N Modular RR Club corner has a Mission style depot and. a cab forward steam engine is parked behind the station. The yard beyond the station is the OK City Centenial Yard made of four 4 sections. Page 13

14 Joe Cox of Austi N TRAK brought his industrial module set with a four track main line. His buildings feature roof top duct work and other details. A road race is featured on a module built by Carl Sowel of El Paso, Texas. There is also a busy truck stop on the right side of the module. Page 14

15 The NEONS (North East Oklahoma N Scalers) based in Tulsa,Oklahoma have some beautiful modules as well as an extensive yard and engine facility. Page 15

16 Here are more of the modules furnished by the Boot Hill Model RR Club from Garden City, Kansas. The group is very informal with about a half dozen active members. They have been able to put together some nice modules. The above club corner module was adopted by Bob Simmons who then developed the mini yard going from the back of the module with three tracks. Below is a Intermodal Terminal, also built by Bob Simmons, and tied in with the Mountain Division track, which is standard on their modules. Page 16

17 Above is a double module set with a loop of track that goes behind the skyboard for a separate train line that pairs up with the Blue track. The lift bridge module above was furnished by the Tex-N Modular RR Club of Plano, TX. It blended in with the scenery very well. Page 17

18 New N Scale Modeling by Lee Lee@T-TRAK.org The following Articles and Photos show interesting work and projects of T-TRAKERS. Enjoy!! Starting a High School Model Railroad Club Photos and Text by Drew Cannon This small T-TRAK Layout sets up in 15 minutes and fits on a single 6 ft. conference table. To celebrate Take a Model Train to Work Day on November 16, Drew Cannon and Brion Oakley operated a small N scale T-Trak layout for students at the high school where Drew is a counselor. The two ran trains and answered questions in the foyer outside the school cafeteria during lunch periods. Most of the school s 600 students walked past the layout on their way to lunch and many students returned to the layout during open time between lunch and class. Drew is starting a model railroad club at school and more than 25 students signed up to learn more about the club. Both Drew and Brion are members of DesMoiNTRAK, the Page 18 NTRAK club in Des Moines, Iowa, which will provide support and assistance to the new youth club. This T-Trak layout is the result of a challenge offered to members of DesMoiNTRAK build a complete T-Trak module from lumber to finished module in the month up to November 16. Brion brought a completely finished module to the layout a beautiful wooded scene with a country store and out building on a gravel road. Scott McConathy built a 4-module set with a passing siding, which will eventually feature a passenger depot scene. Drew built 4 corner modules and a straight module with power connections for the layout. Continued on next page.

19 Brion Oakley completed this module from precut boards to finished module in less than thirty days. The rolling hills are lighter colored ground foam glued to the skyboard and the tree trunks are sage brush collected in Colorado. Notice the painted track rails, which adds realism to his scene. A cardboard mock-up of a packing plant helps to plan building and scenery locations. Scott McConathy s attractive 4 module set with turnouts, in progress. Continued, High School M RR Club. Modules are built to the 33 mm alternate track spacing and 14-3/8 inch alternate corner size to accommodate larger modern American prototype equipment. Students will meet after Thanksgiving to organize their club. T-Trak modules provide an ideal starting point to learn about model railroading while completing a project within a reasonable amount of time at relatively low cost. Completed student modules will be part of a two upcoming public T-Trak layouts at a local library in January and the local model railroad meet in April. Another motivation for this challenge was to jump-start an effort within DesMoiNTRAK to build T-Trak modules for use at small show opportunities where full size NTRAK modules are too large or require too much set up effort for a short show. The club has been talking about building T-Trak modules for a long time. Now that we have corners and a few straight modules other members will join the fun! Page 19

20 Roseville Roundhouse Model Railroad Club Nov Railfair Show--Roseville, Ca. The Club has participated in the International Railfair Train Show for many years. A most interesting and varied scale show plus dealers with a wide assortment of merchandise. What a pleasant surprise to find a T-TRAK-N Layout started by Myron Gyre. Myron was not at the table, at that time and I spoke with Judson, (Jeff), Reeves, (in photo). The modules were well made and interesting. Photos and Text by Lee A Wedding Party in progress. The hearse has brought a new resident for the cemetery. Page 20 The very young, chubbycheeked Engineer was wearing a most unusual cap with assorted buttons.

21 Roseville Roundhouse Model Railroad Club Nov Railfair Show--Roseville, Ca. CARNIVAL TIME in N Scale, by Tom An attractive, interesting NTRAK Module. Some slight adjustments to the Carnival train were in progress. The track is an unusual, eye-catching formation. Information on future NTRAK layouts, meets or conventions is being gathered by NTRAK Director, Dave Porter: <dave@ntrak.org> PO Box 3618, Parker, Co Jan 19-20, Plano, TX Dallas Area Train Show, Plano Center. Multi-scale railroad show with NTRAK layout Sat; 10-4 Sun, $7 for adults, children under 12 free. Tex N Modular Railroad Club webmaster@tex-n.org. Jan 19-20, Savannah, GA Savannah Coastl Rail Buffs Annual Show, National Guard Amory, 1248 Eisenhower Dr Sat; 10-4 Sun, $4 for adults. Savannah Coastal Rail Buffs. Feb 2-3, Timmonium, MD The Great Scale Model Train Show, Cow Palace, State Fairgrounds, 9-4 Sat; 10-4 Sun. One of the largest train shows in the US; multi-scale show. $7 Adults Baltimore Area NTRK, Please submit your information to Dave. If you would like to join in with a module in a layout, please contact the layout coordinator listed for that event well ahead of time. There most likely will not be room, if you just show up the morning of a show, unannounced. Feb 2-3, Monroe, WA (Seattle area) United NW M RR Club 17th annual Train Show & Swap Meet. Evergreen State Fairgrounds Arena - Blg 100 (Horse Arena}. Benefit Equifriends, a therapeutic equestrian program. Adults $7. Seniors/Juniors $5 10 to 4 daily. Contact Tom Hart (425) Apr 24-27, 2008 Winslow, AZ Winslow Railroad Days, NTRAK Layout, Contact: John Scott, bnsfry@yahoo.com ~tucsonntrak/ Jun 25-29, 2008, Louisville,KY ]2008 National N Scale Convention, Kentucky International Convention Center, Paul Downs, pauljdowns@mac.com Convention.com ,000 sq. feet of convention space, very large NTRAK layout. Jul 13-19, 2008, Anaheim, CA NMRA National Train Show, Anaheim Convention Center. Large NTRAK Layout. For Info.see page 8, or Note: We try to include any information about NTRAK or N scale layouts that will be at the events listed. If you send in a notice, please include that information. If space is tight, notices that don't mention N scale will not be published. Jim Hartford, CT NMRA National Train Show 2009 Edison, NJ National NTRAK Show? 2010 Milwaukee, WI NMRA National Train Show 2010 Richmond. VA National NTRAK Show 2011 Sacramento, CA NMRA National Train Show 2012 Grand Rapids, MI, NMRA National Train Show Page 21