Last Stop Before Sandy. Valley portable model railroad displays, frequently appearing sideby-side NEXT MEETING

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1 S Say Volume XXIV, No. 3 March Last Stop Before Sandy W ITH THE LONG awaited appearance of Lookout Junction at the 2019 NMRA National Train Show in Sandy, Utah, the Rocky Mountain Hi-Railers will present their modular layout to the public one final time before heading south in July. The last of our three 2019 Treasure Valley Train Shows is on tap at the Library! at Bown Crossing on March This display will serve as our dress rehearsal before we step onto the national stage this summer. The branch library at Bown Crossing in east Boise will host Lookout Junction as well as the layouts of our regular traveling companions, the Treasure Valley Chapter of the TCA and the Caldwell Model Railroad Club. These three clubs have formed quite the coalition for Treasure NEXT MEETING Tuesday, March 5, :30 a.m. Treasure Valley Train Show Library! at Bown Crossing 2153 E. Riverwalk Dr. Friday, March 29, 2019 Noon-6 p.m. Setup Lookout Junction Saturday-Sunday March 30-31, 2019 Valley portable model railroad displays, frequently appearing sideby-side with layouts in four different scales. This year we are looking forward to sharing space with them at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy as we all proudly represent Idaho at the National Train Show. Our schedule for the Bown Crossing show this month will closely follow that of February s display at the Library! at Cole & Ustick in west Boise. Setup is planned for noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 29. The public show commences at noon on Saturday, March 30, and runs until 4:30 p.m. that day. Sunday s show, March 31, will open at 1 p.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. Once again, we will have to get creative with the configuration of Lookout Junction. The main display room at Bown Crossing will house our layout and the TCA s O-gauge layout, and space will be tight. But that s the beauty of our modular design, and we will have the option to select the best possible plan in which to arrange our tables to make everything fit.

2 Following are some scenes from the Cole & Ustick show. In preparation for our next show, we will have a planning session on Tuesday, March 5, 9:30 a.m., at the home of Shane Jibben, in Boise. Tops on the agenda will be a discussion of the electronic track block system at the crossing junction, developed by Gary Mercer. We ve had three shows to test its operation, and Gary has been fine-tuning it at each. Now we are to the point of making a final decision as to what we ultimately want out of the system and how that will be set up. Other items for discussion will involve accessory deployments, the punch list of items needing our attention prior to the NTS, and optimization of the layout for the enjoyment of our audiences as well as our operators. We also want to take a look at the options for displaying Lookout Junction at Bown Crossing, and we will vote on a setup plan. Another Successful Show at Cole & Ustick Our hosts at the Library! at Cole & Ustick went out of their way, as usual, to ensure that we and our audiences had a great time while enjoying our layout at their branch library last month. As mentioned above, we had to alter the usual shape of our layout to make it fit in the room, shared with the TCA s O-gauge layout. We decided to butt the rear table in the right pod up against the wall, eliminating access there, and we removed two 3-foot tables from the left pod. But those changes did not detract from the fun and excitement of the layout, and the smiles from our audiences bore that out. The adjacent room was occupied by the Caldwell Model Railroad Club s HO- and N-scale layouts. We kept a clicker count of patrons at the entrance to both rooms, and tallied 439 people in the seven hours of display, averaging a little more than one person coming in every minute. Upon notification of that patron count, Lindsay Zamara, branch supervisor, ed us, This is SO great! Thank you all so much for bringing your displays to our location. We are thrilled to have you and I know the customers love seeing you every year! And then, out of the blue, we were contacted on our website by a grateful mom: Glenn Hadden s UFO cattle roundup. Just wanted to thank you for sharing your trains and layout at the library. My oldest little boy is 5 and has been in love with trains since day 1. We always try to make your public events -2-

3 (missed last month s somehow). His little brother has gotten big enough to see the layouts now and loves it all too, and I m a big fan as well. I loved all of the details this year, especially the UFO. Looking forward to seeing you again in March! Kate Baker Thank YOU, Lindsay and Kate. We hope you had as much fun as we did. Say Hello to Don Boesiger [Don approached us at the Main Library show in January and not only joined up but gave us a dues check! We re delighted to have him as our newest member and we re looking forward to running trains with him. At our request, he penned this autobiographical sketch.] I think it is important to know that the banter I share with John and others is meant to be harmless. I do not wish to make anyone uncomfortable or feel anything other than joy with the laughing with each other. My background of the Navy was many deployments of close to six months. We passed the lonely time by banter with each other to relieve the tension of our important jobs. My saying used to be If I m not receiving hell or giving hell to someone every day, then the day is a total loss! Please let me know if I offend anyone. I take criticism very well, as it is almost always constructive. I believe I have read as much about A.C. Gilbert and Joshua Lionel Cohen as possible. I find their personal life stories fascinating! I have material to share should anyone else like to read more about these icons of the toy train market. I didn t grow up with Lionel or American Flyer trains. I grew up with an Erector Set and enjoyed making my toys. I m sure it had something to do with me being an engineer but definitely know that it helped me early in childhood to know that working with my hands on electrical and mechanical devices was my passion. I was given a very large set of Lionel postwar trains from a very good friend in I immediately started taking them apart and restoring them to full operation. Along the way I learned of all the Lionel clubs, parts books, websites selling parts, and books on the history of Lionel. Only because of the TM movies did I learn of the American Flyer and Lionel or 2- rail vs. 3-rail competition. This is when I decided to get some Gilbert S-gauge trains and compare them to Lionel. I think most books I ve read on toy trains separate the hobby into three areas. Collectors, repair people, and operators. I think I was a repair person who became a collector. I m still building my layout in the spare room over the garage, so I will become an operator soon. I enjoy repairing which comes from the many hours spent in the Navy troubleshooting equipment and restoring it to operation. I enjoyed the work then as much as now. My interest in toys goes beyond trains. I have over 30 Gilbert Erector Sets along with Haslam Plastic Bricks and Super City building sets which I played -3-

4 with as a kid. I have collected a few Lionel construction sets as well as a few other companies construction sets made in the late 40s. I have always bought and made plastic models of ships and aircraft as a great pastime. Many of my hobby interests were developed from my work experience and skills. There is very little electrical, electronics, or mechanical that I don t enjoy talking about, working on, or designing. I m a member of quite a few organizations but the one I put my spare time into was the Boy Scouts where I was a Cub Master for four years and assistant Scout Master. I love when a kid wants to earn the railroading merit badge! I hope to meet everyone in the RMHR club and hear their stories. I enjoy listening and talking about most subjects. I know that I can help in many ways and hope to make myself useful. Sometimes I just need someone to ask me for help since I m not too observant. Please call me Boe or Don or Chief and I ll answer to all. National Train Show Confirmation Received As I announced to the members recently, it was no surprise that we received official confirmation of our acceptance to display Lookout Junction at the Junk pile out by the back fence in the trailer park. NMRA National Train Show in Sandy, Utah, July 12-14, For those who have been awaiting confirmation before making lodging arrangements, we intend to stay in the Sandy vicinity for five nights: July 10-14, The NTS has assigned us a 20- foot by 25-foot space, L-5010, in the Mountain America Expo Center. While I m not exactly sure where that space is located within the hall, I will share information with you as it becomes available. They are providing us with one table and a 10-amp power source. It appears that the Caldwell club will be near us, as president Rob Saunders reports that they have been assigned space L However, the TCA has space L- 3011, so we ll have to run down the aisle to visit with them. I ve been in touch with the president of the Golden Spike American Flyer Train Club from northern Utah, who expect to display their 25-foot by 80-foot O- and S-layout at the Expo Center. Len advises that There are large doors in each of the sections at the back for large vehicles, such as a -4- semi, to drive in and out. Perhaps we will be able to drive directly to our spot. We might consider getting together with the Golden Spike club for a joint dinner some evening, such as we did at the Seattle and Sacramento shows. Side Tracks After our show at Bown Crossing this month, we intend to meet as needed at Shane Jibben s garage to prepare the layout and trailer for the trip to Sandy. The initial schedule will probably be announced in the next S Say. * * * I have officially notified the Gem County Recreation District that we will not be participating in the Emmett Cherry Festival in June this year, as we will be focusing on preparation for the NTS in July. However, the Caldwell Model Railroad Club has indicated that they will again display at the Festival. * * * The January-February 2019 issue of the NASG Dispatch has a full page devoted to our club and Lookout Junction. However, the story and photographs do not appear in the print edition, but in the online digital version, which is accessible exclusively to NASG members. Dispatch editor Bill Pyper calls the Rocky Mountain Hi- Railers one of the most active S- gauge clubs in the western United States. The top photo features

5 Gary Mercer testing the operation of his new junction controller at Railshow Members should log into the Members Only page on the NASG website and follow the instructions to open the January- February issue story on page 40. S Say is the official newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Hi-Railers. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by the editor/coordinator, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the club. Articles and letters are encouraged. Address comments and correspondence to: John Eichmann, Coordinator john@rockymountainhirailers.com John H. Eichmann COUNTDOWN TO SANDY July 12-14, MONTHS! RMHR Calendar Tuesday, March 5, :30 a.m. Business Meeting Friday, March noon Setup Lookout Junction 2153 E. Riverwalk Dr. Saturday, March 30 Noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday, March :30 p.m. April-May-June Worksessions TBA Wednesday, July 10 Leave for Sandy Friday-Sunday July National Train Show Mountain America Expo Center Sandy, Utah Loading up casters are handy! -5-