Mailing address: P.O. Box 50428, Mesa, AZ Visit at: Cardon Children s Medical Center Photo by Don Sorenson

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1 THE ABTO GAZETTE March, 2015 Volume 23 Number 3 Mailing address: P.O. Box 50428, Mesa, AZ Visit at: Cardon Children s Medical Center Photo by Don Sorenson IN THIS ISSUE President s Message March Meeting Information Spring Open Houses Module Event ABTO Tentative Meeting Schedule

President s Message March Gazette We had a good turnout at our early steam-up at last month s meeting. This was the first time we ran steam engines on our new layout, and they all ran well.

I attempted to run three other mode of power in this hobby (track, battery, and steam) all at the same time on the same track loop.

2 President s Message March Gazette We had a good turnout at our early steam-up at last month s meeting. This was the first time we ran steam engines on our new layout, and they all ran well. Stan Cornforth ran his remote-controlled Snow Plow engine; Ginny Morris ran her remote-controlled Mimi (Ruby) engine, and I ran my Accucraft Fairymead engine. I attempted to run three other mode of power in this hobby (track, battery, and steam) all at the same time on the same track loop. That effort failed because my Mikado electric ignition would not restart the flame in the fire box. Stan, the coordinator of this SIG, reminded me later that I could have restarted the fire box by lighting it through the smoke stack. Well, anyway, I will try it again. A lot is going on in our club this month with the modular track setting up and running at Falcon Field March 7 th, our regular club meeting at Helen Rabbitt s layout on the 21 st, and the Spring Open Houses March 28 th and 29 th. Some of those hosts could use some help, so if you have some extra time, please volunteer by contacting Mike Quaintance. Next month instead of our usual meeting, we will have our annual ABTO picnic and auction at Adobe Mountain RR Park. The food is provided at no cost to the members. There are a lot of items available for sale at the auction, including a magnificent 8 bridge. You may bring additional items to sell the day of the auction. The deadline for paying membership dues has passed. We have a strong core of active members; overall membership is now at 72. The board appreciates when members step up and help. There are some fun and exciting events coming up this fall, so I hope you are around to attend. Remember that the National Garden Railway Convention will be in Denver, July 6-11, This convention may be one of the best ever. Hope to see all of you on March 21 st. Chief Engineer John Meyers CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Friday, March 6 10:00am SETUP Module at Falcon Field, Mesa Saturday, March 7 9am-2pm RUN trains at Falcon Field Saturday, March 7 2:00pm TEARDOWN Module Wednesday, March 18 6:00pm Board Meeting location TBA Saturday, March 21 10:00am Membership Meeting at Helen Rabbitt s residence Sat. & Sun. March 28 & 2910am-2pm Spring Open Houses Wednesday, April 15 6:00pm Board Meeting Saturday, April 18 10:30am-2pm ABTO Picnic & Auction-Adobe Mountain RR Park 2

3 CONTENTS President s Message... 2 Treasurer s Report..3 Dues are Past Due February Meeting Minutes March Membership Meeting Info...5 General Meeting Tentative Schedule...5 Spring Open House Listing Thank You-Durango Historical Society.6 Barneys Beans (Ennis Thompson...7 Module Event...7 Cheap Radio Control.8 February Meeting Photos.8 April Bar-B-Q and Auction...9 ADDRESS CHANGE: Ennis and Marcia Thompson egtrailroading@outlook.com CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Brian and Rebecca Casull 4634 E. Bajada Road Cave Creek, AZ Phone: bhc8924@earthlink.net WELCOME NEW MEMBER: Tim and Nancy Csabanyi 282 Kerry Drive Santa Clara, CA Mobile: tim@moviemix.com 2015 DUES ARE PAST DUE: Please mail your check to : Mike Temenski ABTO P.O. Box Mesa, AZ $35.00 Dues Deadline Past Due Make checks payable to Arizona Big Train Operators 3

4 ABTO MEMBERSHIP MEETING MNUTES--SATURDAY, February 21, 2015 held at John and Pat Meyerses' Residence John Meyers, President, opened the meeting at noon.. John held a short demonstration of three ways to operate engines-- track power, battery and live steam. The live steam track was a donation. There is also a bridge in the back of the property that will probably be sold at ABTO April Auction that you can view prior to leaving. Don't forget to pay your dues by February 28th. After that date, you will not receive the Gazette or any other information and the cost goes to $ OLD BUSINESS: A. Minutes were approved as noted in the February Gazette. Approved by Jack Johnson and Steve Lewis. B. Treasurer's Report was amended after Mike Temenski, Treasurer, stated a correction to the Report as reported in the February Gazette. The correction is changing the storage amount of $ to $ Treasurer's Report approved by Jim Snyder and seconded by Steve Lewis. C. Calendar Change: was reported by John Meyers that the June 20th Meeting needs a location. Don Sorenson residence was reported in error as the location for the June Meeting. The July meeting may have to be cancelled due to no speaker. Mike Temenski mentioned, if any member is interested in a certain topic to be presentated at a membership meeting, please contact a Board Member. D. Spring Open House Report: The Open Houses are scheduled March 28th & 29th from 10am- 2pm each day. There are 16 homes and Cardon Medical Center. E. March Membership Meeting: Will be held at Helen Rabbitt's residence. More information in the March issue of the Gazette. F. Falcon Field: Jim Kangas mentioned that there is a sign up sheet available if you would like to sign to help set up the module, run trains and help tear down the module, Jim also passed out parking passes for those planning to come on Saturday, March 7th. More information in the March Gazette. NEW BUSINESS: A. Dennis Busby: spoke about the Durango Railroad Historic Society and a possible contribution of $ from ABTO to refurbish a project of a D&RGW Refrigerator Car. The Society had found cars and wants to purchase 2 reefers which one is a Refrigerator Ice Box Car. The membership was asked If ABTO approves the contribution, the society will give us a plaque stating that ABTO helped with a donation and also will offer two life memberships which will be given out at the Christmas dinner each year to two members of ABTO. A motion was made by John Maxzzoli, 2nd by Vince Simpson and the ABTO membership approved the donation. B. Auction and Bar-B-Q-will be held April 18th at Maricopa Live Steamers. C. Photo Contest: Mike Quaintance said that the topic will be Holidays or nighttime photos or both. Please send photos by jpg or a hard copy. Roger Crooks suggested that the deadline be at the April meeting and the membership voted yes. ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR: Vince Simpson showed a cheap radio control. Price is approximately $4.50. See more information in the March Gazette. Roy Towne spoke about making vents. Ennis Thompson spoke of a new SIG called Holiday Display of Studio 54 Buildings. There are over 200 buildings stored in Mike Temenski's garage. Rich and Shaaron Hull donated 35 to Ennis and Marcia Thompson to display at their Christmas Open House display. Roger Crooks suggested getting a store and setting the buildings up in the store. Jack Johnson has items for sale on the front driveway of the Meyerses home.. Auction information was discussed. Members can have ABTO sell their items for them at a small charge. Also, you can donate your items and receive a donation receipt. Glenn Saber mentioned he had a $1.00 off coupon for the Armory Sale on February 28th. This will be the last year to be held at the Armory. Door Prizes: Vince Simpson, James Ingram, Amanda Jeffrey and Jim Snyder Raffle Prize: Amanda Jeffrey The meeting was adjourned at 12:55pm by a motion by Gen Majaski and seconded by Mike Temenski 4

5 ABTO MARCH MEMBERSHIP MEETING INFORMATION Please Ken By Wednesday, April 18, 2015 ABTO General Meeting & (Other Events) Tentative Schedule 2015 March 21 March 28 & 29 April 18 May 16 June 20 July 18 August 15 September 19 October 17 November 21 November 7 December 6 Helen Rabbitt (Spring Open House) ABTO Picnic/Auction - Adobe Mountain RR Park Ryan House (Breakfast at First Watch Downtown Phoenix) Need a location CCMC Speaker CCMC Speaker John Meyers Stan & Sherry Cornforth (Flagstaff) Mike Lewandowski Mike Temenski & Lynne McClure (Phoenix Round-About to host Tucson TGRS) (Christmas Banquet) 5

6 ADD Terry and Carolyn Fields N. 12th Place Phoenix, AZ :00am-2:00pm 10:00am-2:00pm Thank you On behalf of the Durango Railroad Historic Society I would like to thank the membership of the Arizona Big Train Operators for its most generous contribution to our D&RGW Refrigerator Car project. Your contribution, along with those of several large private donations, including two of your members, will allow us to purchase and relocate the two reefers to Durango for display and future restoration. One reefer body will be sold, and its revenue used to support restoring the other reefer. After restoration the car will be displayed in the Silverton Railroad Historical Park along with several other cars that have been or will be restored. The informative sign that will be next to the car will include your club as a donor to this unique project. In appreciation, we are including two lifetime memberships to the DRHS that I understand will be shared with the members of ABTO. Thank you again for your support and we hope to see you in Durango and introduce you to our many projects. Sincerely, George Niederauer President 6

REQUESTED RECIPE " Barney's Beans " Some time ago, I asked Rich Hull for a good recipe for some baked beans.

Beans 1-Can of French Style Green Beans 1-Can of Pork & Beans 3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar 1/2-1 tsp.

4 or 5 slices of Chopped up bacon Drained Drained Drained Not Drained Put everything in a baking dish or pan, put

7 REQUESTED RECIPE " Barney's Beans " Some time ago, I asked Rich Hull for a good recipe for some baked beans. This past general meeting for ABTO at John & Pat Meyer's home, Marcia and I took the freshly baked beans to the meeting. Several people asked for a recipe to the dish, so here it is: MODULE EVENT 1-Can of Kidney Beans 1-Can of Pinto Beans 1-Can of French Style Green Beans 1-Can of Pork & Beans 3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar 1/2-1 tsp. of Liquid Smoke 1/2 Bottle of Chili Sauce Fry in Margarine - These 3 Products 1-Chopped Onion 1-Chopped Green Pepper 4 or 5 slices of Chopped up bacon Drained Drained Drained Not Drained Put everything in a baking dish or pan, put fried products into the pan, then all of the beans, brown sugar, smoke and Chili Sauce. Stir well until smooth, removing the lumps of sugar if there are any. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or longer at a lower temp. Add water if needed. This dish freezes well. 7

8 THE ABTO GAZETTE EL CHEAPO RADIO CONTROL PHOTOS FROM FEBRUARY MEETING As presented at the 2/21/15 ABTO meeting, it is possible to build a very simple, very inexpensive remote speed controller for your G scale engines. While this unit lacks the bells and whistles of fancier systems, it does provide the basic needed functions of start/stop/faster/slower. The heart of the system is a LED single color dimmer available from multiple e-bay sources (trustelc, katewu, magicguyshop,etc.) for about $5 to $8. Look for the black box unit with a key fob remote and volt input range. Other parts required will be a protective diode (1N5400 or equiv) and a set of pluggable leads to facilitate easy connection to your engine (about $2 total from Any battery pack could be used. For my track cleaning rigpulled by an Aristo critter, I use a 4-cell battery holder with #18650 lithium ion rechargeable in series. The resulting 14.8 volts provides over 2 hours run time. A set of 4 batteries with charger and a holder can also be found on e-bay for under $15. A photo of all the components is attached. For a complete operational description, go to and click on articles then inexpensive radio control. Vince Simpson Photos by Jim Snyder 8

ANNUAL ABTO BBQ PICNIC AND AUCTION All Aboard For ABTO Railroad Affair At Popular Adobe Mountain Railroad Park By Mike Lewandowski The ABTO Club is looking forward to spending a fun-filled day at the

Also, scenic train rides along several track routes in the beautiful wildlife preserve will be available. The park is located on 43rd Ave.

MLS is a popular spot for birthday parties, reunions, company picnics, meetings and a host of other gatherings.

9 ANNUAL ABTO BBQ PICNIC AND AUCTION All Aboard For ABTO Railroad Affair At Popular Adobe Mountain Railroad Park By Mike Lewandowski The ABTO Club is looking forward to spending a fun-filled day at the Maricopa Live Steamers (MLS) Railroad grounds on Saturday, April 12 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include BBQ lunch and our annual auction. Also, scenic train rides along several track routes in the beautiful wildlife preserve will be available. The park is located on 43rd Ave., in North Phoenix, just south of Pinnacle Park Road, and only 20 minutes from Central Phoenix. MLS is a popular spot for birthday parties, reunions, company picnics, meetings and a host of other gatherings. Sign up now and come out on April 12 to experience the thrill of live railroading in a 1/8 inch scale miniature operational environment. BOXCAR PARTY PAVILION SCENIC TRAIN RIDES Just a few suggestions to follow: 1. Wear comfortable clothes with flat shoes. No open toe shoes. Bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a light jacket. No alcoholic beverages are allowed due to safety and insurance regulations. 2. We will be located in the Boxcar covered party pavilion which has tables for relaxing. You also can bring your own chairs. Restroom facilities are available at the clubhouse DUES ARE PAST DUE SWAP MEETS March 21-Adobe Mountain Model Train Show/Swap Meet N. 43rd Avenue, PHX. AZ April 25 Grand Canyon Mini- Swap Meet Our Saviour s Lutheran Church-1212 Glendale Ave. Phx., AZ Tucson Garden Railway Society 2015 Rails in the Garden March 7th & 8th 10am-5pm Visit some or all of the 16 garden railroads throughout the Tucson area on a self guided tour. Please visit 2015 Rails in the Garden Tour website for maps, etc. 9

10 Arizona Big Train Operators 1633 E. Lakeside Drive Unit 1 Gilbert, AZ ARIZONA BIG TRAIN OPERATORS OBJECTIVES Membership in Arizona Big Train Operators (ABTO) is open to anyone with an interest in gardening and the creation & operation of large scale model railways. At our meetings, items of mutual interest associated with the hobby are discussed and demonstrated. Meetings are typically held at member s homes, where they have the opportunity to showcase their railway creations. General meetings are usually held on the third Saturday of the month. ABTO BOARD MEETINGS ABTO MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION The renewal fee is $30.00 per year and the new membership fee of $35.00 per year entitles you to attend all meetings and events, to receive the monthly newsletter, and to have one name badge created for you. Additional badges may be purchased for $7 each. ABTO CONTRIBUTIONS Members are encouraged to contribute articles, letters, illustrations and/or photographs related to garden railroading for inclusion in the newsletter and/or posting on the club web site. Board meetings will be held on Wednesday prior to the general meeting of each month. Board meetings are open to members who are current on their dues and have an item for the agenda. If you plan to attend, call a Board member to confirm location, time and date Members who have hobby-related items for sale or trade may submit an advertisement for publication and/or posting at no charge. Please limit each ad to a maximum of four lines. Accompanying photos will be considered for publication as space allows. 10

November, 2016 Volume 24 Number 11 Mailing address: P.O. Box 50428, Mesa, AZ Visit at:

THE ABTO GAZETTE November, 2016 Volume 24 Number 11 Mailing address: P.O. Box 50428, Mesa, AZ. 85208 Visit at: www.azbigtrains.org Ken & Kris Hawkins K & K Desert Rail Railroad Photo by Don Sorenson IN