THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION, NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION VOL. 59 NO. 2 SUMMER 2018

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1 THE Box $3 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION, NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION VOL. 59 NO. 2 SUMMER 2018 PLUS- RR History, Timetable, NMRA-NCR-Division News & more!

2 HotBox Editorial The HotBox SUMMER 2018 Vol. 59, No. 2 EDITOR Barry Hensel Lotus Dr Canton, MI barry76lt@wowway.com Editorial Advisers Scott Kremer & the NCR Board Proof Readers Marge Hensel Marty LaForte John Beres The HotBox is published quarterly by the North Central Region of the National Model Railroad Association. Publication dates are- SPRING, March 1 SUMMER, June 1 AUTUMN, Sept 1 WINTER, Dec 1 The HotBox is available online atwww.ncr-nmra.org All material, articles and advertising must be submitted to the Editor. All material should be electronic, preferably MicroSoft Word or Powerpoint. Pictures should be in Jpeg format and color. Material can be ed or sent via US Mail on cd-rom. Materials will not be returned, unless return postage and envelope are included. Material submission deadline is FIVE weeks before publication date. Business ads- 1/2 page $20 per issue or $65 per year full page $30 per issue or $100 per year business card $10 per issue or $35 per year -or- free business card for exchange of websites and/or sales of HotBox Pike ads- $15 small, $30 double and $60 quad for a 3 year period! NCR Division Event ads- FREE To pay for any ad space... send your payment to the Editor. All checks/money orders need to be made out to "The North Central Region, NMRA" Send address corrections to the Registrar- David Simmons aarailfan@gmail.com Feel free to contact the Editor via , with any comments, questions or corrections. Barry Hensel, Editor WOW! Did we have a Spring? Seems like it lasted a day... maybe two? Now that the weather has seemed to settle down to a more normal season, here s hoping the summer will be nice for all of our outdoor activities. That reminds me to remind you... if you are out rail fanning, KEEP IT SAFE!! Stay off of railroad property, ask permission and stay off of the tracks!! There are several rail fanning parks within driving distance from most NCR members. Please consider using them. The 2018 NCR convention LANSING LASH-UP is underway, as registration is open! Check out the info and updates in this HotBox. At the recent Spring NCR Board of Directors meeting (they allow me to attend thanks!!) I noted in my HotBox report that this June issue will be the 40th that I have done as Editor. WOW issues! At four per year, that s 10 years gone by. I hope you have enjoyed the past 10 years as much as I have. I also hope you feel I/we have improved and continue to give you the best quarterly you can receive. Thanks for the support! Well, time to do some model railroading Thanks for reading Barry MODEL RAILROADING IS FUN! HOTBOX CORRECTIONS NCR "OOPS". Always striving to be correct is something we will do with the HotBox. But, we are human and mistakes can/will happen. Please forgive us, these are NOT intentional! The corrections for the March 2018 edition of the HotBox are - minor grammar and spelling! FRONT COVER PICTURES- Lansing Lash-Up 2017 logo; view of the Kansas City Missouri Engine facility John Bussard s layout; smoke! out of those stacks!; Stone viaduct on the PCR; double slip made easy REAR COVER PICTURES- Lansing 2018 logo; DTRR logo; Div 5 layouts - Buffalo & Chautauqua, Iowa Central 2 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

3 NCR - NORTH CENTRAL REGION, NMRA OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS President Scott Kremer skremer@wideopenwest.com Vice-President Dave Capron, MMR dcglnrr@gmail.com Secretary Norm Logan nlogan114@wowway.com Treasurer Robert Baird Baird3990@aol.com Registrar David Simmons aarailfan@gmail.com Directors Jay Qualman jayqualman@yahoo.com Dave McMullian Davemcmullian@earthlink.net Rich Mahaney hazmatrichm@aol.com Resident Agent Dean Pyers dpyers@aol.com NMRA Central Director Bill Neale, MMR centdir@nmra.org wneale@mi.rr.com Photo Contests Howard Andrews hwandrews@wowway.com Achievement Program Skip Luyk ArcadiaLogger@gmail.com Division One - Black Swamp Div Norm Cattell nacattell@bex.net Division Two Tip of the Mitt Div Scott Pandorf spandorf55@gmail.com Division Three 3 Rivers Div Bob Jones broadwaylimited15@yahoo.com Division Four Grand Rails Div Mark Baldwin mbaldwin@taskadvisors.com Division Five Capital Div Andy Keeney hunter48820@yahoo.com Division Six Motor City Div Mark Ellis emark@sbcglobal.net Division Eight Clinton River Div Phil Doolittle doolittlep@comcast.net Division Nine SW Michigan Div Garry Johnson elecsprk@gmail.com Division Ten Ten Wheelers Div Wayne Wilder bvpsrr@gmail.com RAILROADING "WHAT THE???" NCR HUMOR A few images taken from some FaceBook postings... OH MY...!! SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 3

4 PRESIDENT S OBSERVATION Scott Kremer As a reminder, the NCR has elections this year. While elections are not a highly anticipated event, they are necessary to maintain the order of things. All of the Board positions are up for election, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the three Directors. Each position is a two year term and there is a two term max. for each position. Each current Board member has one term remaining if they are re-elected. Feel free to nominate anyone for any position. Nominations will be tallied by an elections Team. Details on how to nominate someone are in this HotBox. The ballots will be in the September HotBox which be mailed to ALL NCR members. In the last issue of this column I tried to put forth a comparison of what life was like in this region years ago and what it is now. The most significant difference is the level of participation in almost every facet of what we do. An offer was made to challenge the Board of Directors to make changes that the membership felt would result in higher attendance at Division meetings and Regional conventions as well as involvement in activities such as the achievement program. The other critical thing we need to address is the recruitment and retention of new members. While the Board has worked on these issues, and as you will see later has added a number of things to our list, it was hoped that we could make this a from the members effort. As I sit here writing this I am not sure exactly what to say because the board received exactly one communication relating to this topic. To be honest I am confused and disappointed. It appears that there is a core of people who are generally satisfied. That is good. They participate in our activities on a regular basis. One piece of good news is that the participation in the achievement program has increase significantly and seems to have good momentum. This is the result of hard work by a number of people that have stepped up and convinced members that they can do this. However, the simple fact is that the majority of our Regional members do not join us in any of these activities. I was hoping we would find out why and what we could do. It would be a lot better than guessing. The offer to talk to us remains open. You can contact me at or at skremer@wideopenwest.com or communicate through your Division Superintendent. The most important event in our near future is the next Regional Convention in Lansing. A lot of work has gone into this and despite hearing this every time the simple fact is that this convention promises to be special. You can read the details elsewhere in this issue but it should be clear that the opportunities to have fun and learn new things from clinics, prototype activities as well as just associating with other modelers is going to be great. In addition Lansing is a reasonable drive for everyone in the region and the hotel costs are low as well. It would be great to see our attendance reach a higher level than we have seen for some time. To that end the Board authorized the Lansing committee to send a specific invitation to every Region member. We want to get the word out. Fewer than half of the membership gets a hard copy of the Hotbox. We felt that it was worth the cost of putting together and mailing the invitations to try and get more people involved. In fact you will see the Board look for more ways to prudently use some of our money to increase participation and recruit new members. To that end we will begin a program of contributing $9.95 of the $19.95 cost of a RailPass membership to people who attend our Division meetings and show interest in what we have to offer. With the three initial Division meetings that the National allows combined with a Railpass membership, a new member could have an entire year of getting to know us before having to step up to the full cost of membership. Given the critical nature of new members to the organization the Board feels that the modest cost of this investment is very much in our interest. So I will close by encouraging all of you to attend the Lansing Convention. In fact I would like more than that. It would be great if you would get out there and talk to others and see if together we can make this the largest convention we have had for some time. Hope to see you all there. Scott Kremer, President, NCR 4 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

5 NCR BOD SPRING MEETING REPORT NCR INFO This report is being made by the HotBox Editor and is NOT the official minutes of the meeting. Those official minutes will be posted on the NCR website soon. Here is what was observed at the meeting... The Spring meeting of the NCR Board of Directors was held on Saturday, April 21, The meeting was held in Lansing at the home of the Lansing Model RR Club. THANK-YOU for the use of your facilities! While not everyone was in attendance, a quorum was in affect with the number that was present. Several reports were given and here is some of the basic information... Treasurer The NCR is solvent and in good standing. HotBox The Editor reported that he is still enjoying being the Editor and looks forward to many more years in that position. We are printing about 450 copies for each issue, which covers mailing and hobby shop distribution. Sales in hobby shops varies, but with sales, ads and pike ads, the HotBox seems to be stable and breaking even. Achievement Program We are seeing an increase in participation in the Achievement Program. This is great! Our AP Director hopes that all Division Superintendents will encourage their members to give it a try! It was also suggested that an AP table be at all Division meetings, so that models can be presented for all to see and perhaps some judging could be done to show others how the requirements are judged. Registrar The NCR membership is slipping a bit. As of the end of February 2018, the NCR had 786 members, down from 849 a year ago. We have 18 NCR members that are not assigned to a Division. To help with membership, it was approved for Divisions to offer new members a NMRA RAIL PASS for half-price. The Rail Pass has changed to 9 months for $ The NCR will pay $9.99. Divisions will submit information to the NCR for reimbursement. NCR Conventions - We have several convention items to report on. First, there are a few NCR members looking into a possible joint convention with 1 or 2 other regions for 2022, when the NMRA National will be held in England. This is in the very early stages of discussion. Next, the 2023 NMRA National and the NCR bid to be host Region. A chairman has stepped forward and will be building a planning team shortly. Hotel, meeting room and convention space has been looked into and will be reviewed by the NMRA before any more progress is made. Next the 2018 convention, Lansing Legacies is on schedule!! Everything is going according to plans. Next the 2019 convention is being hosted by Div 8 and will be held at the Troy Community Center again. They will have online registration and a Saturday lunch gathering. Future NCR conventions are 2020 by Div 1, 2021 by Div 3. These two Divisions may switch years. One last convention item is that non-nmra members can be a layout tour host, as long as they sign a form stating that they accept all responsibility in case of any accidents. NCR One Day Events We are still hoping that we can offer a one day convention during the spring-time in Div 1 was trying to organize this first event, but may have to back off for a year. The idea is that the event would do some clinics in the morning, layout tours in the afternoon and OPS in the evening. If Div 1 is not able to do this in 2019, Div 6 may step in. Elections The entire Board of Directors is up for re-election in 2018!! Notices for nominations are in this HotBox, the ballot will be in the September HotBox and sent to all NCR members, with results in the December HotBox. The next NCR Board of Directors meeting will be in Lansing, during the Lansing Legacies convention. SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 5

6 RAILFANNING the SANTA FE RAILROAD Wow... What a treat as the HotBox roving railfan spent time on the Santa Fe Railroad of John Bussard. This layout is one that you too can railfan during the LANSING LASH-UP convention! Here s what s happening, left-down, then right - Phillips 66 gas station just on the edge of Cooper Junction; Cooper Junction freight station; Scenery Demo office building, this display will be at the fall convention center; Old Town Foundry, manufacturing limited run metal products; Cooper's Junction with Cooper's Machine works, barber shop, free Press, hardware, and freight station NCR TRACKSIDE 6 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

7 RAILFANNING the SANTA FE RAILROAD Our tour continues... Left-down, then right- Scenery Demo General Store, this will also be at the fall convention center; farm overlooking the Santa Fe engine facility; Kansas City, Missouri Santa Fe engine facility in back ground with trucking terminal and feed store ; Gulf gas station next to the Santa Fe engine facility Bottom scene- Rock Creek Junction, with Woodland Scenic Rockies Tavern NCR TRACKSIDE SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 7

8 TAME A DOUBLE SLIP SWITCH By: Ron St.Laurent, Div5 NCR PROJECT Most modelers will agree that a double slip switch is an interesting piece of track. Some of us WANT one because it is interesting. Some of us NEED one to solve a track issue in a congested area. A good number of layout design authorities will tell you to avoid them at all costs. If installed properly a quality double slip switch will perform well. The problem arises when the operator attempts lining up the switch to the right path. Some operators have enough of a challenge looking at a simple switch and determining the path to which it s set, never mind the path through a complex double slip switch. Here s how we solved this issue on Alan Godfrey s layout in Lansing. The switch is a no. 6 Shinohara code 100 double slip with two Tortoise switch machines controlled by the two toggle switches. This double slip is at the head of a yard so it will see a lot of action. Determine the path you want to take through the left side of the switch, A to B, A to D, C to B, C to D or their corresponding paths through the right side of the switch. Once that has been determined then set your path according to the graphic containing the toggle switches. If you wish to go from A to B then set your toggles UP and UP; if you wish to go from A to D then set your toggles DOWN and UP; C to B UP and DOWN; C to D DOWN and DOWN. Using a similar graphic you ll soon find that your operators are quickly selecting the right path and not derailing at the double slip! How about writing an article on your latest modeling project! At the HotBox, WE NEED AND WANT YOUR ARTICLES!! NCR CABOOSE CHALLENGE NCR INFORMATION SO??? How are YOU doing on your Caboose Challenge Diorama? Here is a Caboose Challenge example diorama model I saw at a Rockford, IL division meeting. We just need to continue to challenge people to build something for the Caboose Challenge for the Second Lives of Caboose modeling challenge at the Division level and then bring their dioramas to the NCR Convention, LANSING LASH-UP in Lansing, MI in October I m looking forward to seeing YOUR Caboose Challenge soon!! Regards, Rich Mahaney, NCR Director 8 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

9 HotBox NEWS "BETWEEN THE RAILS" NCR INFORMATION Here is where your news items, rumors, and gossip of just about anything in the Model Railroading hobby can be reported. Whatever it is, send it to us and we'll let everyone else know! BTR #1- the s have dwindled a bit, but we did get these video links - STEEL! Here ya go! Weirton Steel operations, back in 1989! Thanks Joe Bliss from Div 6 for passing this along! A friend forwarded links of the St Nicholas anthracite breaker, considered the largest in the world! Pennsylvania's last massive coal breaker comes down, ending an era Got a great website link for all of the great train hotspots!! - BTR #2- MICHIGAN RAILROAD CLUB PROGRAM June 06, Program will be DVD by Kerry Conroy. July 11, Jim Bradford with a pair of DVD's from his movie collection. August 01, Ron Cady. September 05, Mr. William Raul Meetings are held at the Henry Ford Centennial Library, Michigan Ave, Dearborn, Mich. Meeting starts at 7 pm with program starting around 7:30 pm. We must be out of the library by 9 pm. I like to have a Newsreel before the main program so if YOU have slides, video, digital of a current event (from a month or two ago) why not share it with other members. Contact: Kenneth Borg 3512 Merrick, Dearborn, MI BTR #3- It has been reported that GRANDT LINE products has closed their doors. (somewhat poetic, as they made HO scale doors...) They had been in business 60 years and are looking forward to retirement. BTR #4- We are sad to report another loss in the model railroader community. Lou Lapham passed in April after a brief illness. Lou was a past member of Div 6 and was chairman of the Plymouth 84 convention. Lou had not been active for many years, but was still well known among many of the longtime members. BTR #5- The HotBox has been getting some national coverage! Cool! As an NMRA member, you should be receiving two s. The monthly TURNTABLE has a list of links to stories of interest. At the end of the as a link called Division Business Car. That link takes you to a webpage that has stories from many NMRA division and region publications. Sprinkled among them were several of our HotBox Layout Tours! The most recent was the tribute to Larry Wright s layout. Take a look at that section to find more interesting items! COOL! DISCLAIMER!!- While we will try to verify most stories, the HotBox, HotBox Editor, NCR Board of Directors, its agents and representatives will not/cannot be held responsible for mis-information presented in this column. DIVISION LOGOS & BACKGROUNDS NCR INFO With each Division of the NCR, creating a nick-name and revising their logos, we thought it might be interesting to know how these logos came about and the story behind them. We ll go in order, Division Six is next... MOTOR CITY DIVISION DIVISION SIX LOGO The big 6 logo was first adopted just prior to the Plymouth 84 NCR convention, that Div 6 was hosting. That seemed to be a good time to change. While most of the Div 6 members at that time are no longer attending meetings, info we have uncovered says that Milt Moore was the designer. It is a simple design that covers the basics... Divison number and parent organizations, the NCR and NMRA. This design won out over several other choices. A recent addition to the Div 6 logo was our new nick-name, Motor City Division. SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 9

10 NCR DIVISION HAPPENINGS DIVISION INFORMATION Division One - Black Swamp Division (Toledo and Northwest Ohio area) The Black Swamp Division has completed our meeting season. It s been a terrific year with record attendance and member donations! We enjoyed clinics by fellow NCR members Rich Mahaney and Bill Neale, as well as a variety of presentations by our division members. We have several members who are just beginning layout planning and construction phases and many other layouts are progressing nicely. The Black Swamp Division is experiencing growth in operations-oriented layouts along with greater member interest in ops. We are in the initial planning stages to host the NCR regional convention in the Fall of As this goes to press, we are preparing this year s field trip. On July 14, we will travel to the Elkhart, IN area to visit the NYC museum, Elkhart depot, a rail yard, Jerry Macri s layout, and local hobby shops. Details will be posted in late June on our website. For more information on our meetings, activities, and location, check out our website at (submitted by- Dave McMullian, Superintendent) Division Two (Manistee to Iosco counties, to the Tip Of The Mitten at the Mackinac Bridge) Tip of The Mitt just had its Biannual meeting in Charlevoix The beautiful It is hard to believe that we have been a division for three years and needed to elect some new officers. Dave Zolnierek will be our new Paymaster, Robert Crocker will continue as our Clerk and Jens Hensel is our new Train Master. Many thanks to Jim Kurbel for setting up our books and taking care of them and to Scott Pandorf for being our Train Master and doing other jobs as assigned. He will continue doing our newsletter as that job was assigned as a permanently reoccurring position for the Division IT guy. After trying several schedules for our Yard events we have settled on having a Swap Meet table, an AP table and a freebie table. Our show and tell has become a major part of the afternoon followed by a clinic or two. We are currently working on a PSA with local news papers to find new members. They are up here we just need to find them. Once again we are looking at some Saturday Op sessions so let us know when you are visiting up north. We are also trying to get as many members to the Lansing convention as we can. (submitted by- David Capron, Superintendent) Division Three - 3 Rivers Division (Fort Wayne, Indiana and western Ohio area) The 3 Rivers Division just completed our 2nd annual Spring InTraining Program aimed at getting New Members and promoting the Model Railroading Hobby was a much better success than last year. We are currently working to assemble a video of our activities that we have done in the past months that can be shown at model railroad shows promoting the NMRA, 3 Rivers Division, & Model Railroading. Several members have just completed the training to be able to Judge Contest Models as we move forward toward getting more of our members Achievement Certificates. In June we will be reinstating our Newsletter "The Dispatcher" after a 7 year absence. It will be a quarterly only newsletter. We are looking at other opportunities to increase our membership participation at meetings and Division functions. Hope you have a Safe & Enjoyable Summer of Railroading. (submitted by- Bob Jones, Superintendent) Division Nine Southwest Michigan Division (Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and VanBuren Counties) Greetings fellow modelers! Our April meeting was hosted by member Doug Van Meter who welcomed everyone to the Sturgis Railroad Depot. He mentioned that the depot, recently renovated and converted for museum use, was much older than any of us in attendance. It was moved to its current site four years ago. Doug introduced Mike Mort, who was instrumental in the depot renovation. Doug and Mike summarized the interesting railroad history of Sturgis, and how it is related to railroads in other communities of southern Michigan. Doug pointed out the model train that they had set up. It circled the entire museum building near the ceiling. It was impressive, lit by LED lights, and ran flawlessly while we were there. We were introduced to Bonnie, the lead museum docent. Bonnie and her co-docents then showed us around the museum. The museum has several sections that trace the history of Sturgis from native Americans through to the present time. All enjoyed their presentations and the great animated exhibits. After thanking Doug, Mike, and those who gave up their time to host our tour, the group had a nice lunch at a nearby restaurant. Our May 19th meeting was at the Colonial Kitchen Pancake house. Doug Van Meter presented a clinic on scratch building. Our June 23th meeting will consist of visiting Jerry Macri s layout and train shop in Granger, IN. (Submitted by Garry Johnson, Superintendent, Division 9) 10 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

11 NCR DIVISION HAPPENINGS DIVISION INFORMATION Division Four Grand Rails Division (Grand Rapids and west Michigan area) Division 4 will be having elections soon as I m stepping down as Superintendent effective June Other than that, we have no events planned. (submitted by, Mark Baldwin, Superintendent) Division Five Capital Division (Lansing and mid-lower Michigan area) The Capital Division had a very successful April meeting, despite the ice storm, at Superintendent Andy Keeney's Nashville Lines model railroad. Bill Neale MMR held a clinic on weathering freight cars and Andy did one demonstrating ballasting on his layout. May's event was held at the Meridian Township Fire Department. This will be our second Division meeting there, as well as several Convention planning meetings, and we have found it to be a great facility for us. The event will feature John Bussard presenting a clinic on layout demonstrating the use of LED lighting on the layout. The group will then visit David Wentworth's HO New England based Lyman and Ammonoosuc Railroad. This will be our last get together for the season but plans are being put together for a summer tour of layouts in the Farmington and Northville area.you can subscribe to the15-25 page monthly Division 5 Newsletter. Send a request, Mark Cowles, at nkpcowles@yahoo.com. For more information, see the Division 5 website: div5.ncr-nmra.org (submitted by- Mark Cowles, Div. 5 Clerk) Division Six Motor City Division (Wayne & Washtenaw Counties) At Division 6, the Motor City Division... we are still having fun and educating members and new-comers on our great hobby. We ve done several more of our round-table discussions instead of formal clinics and these are very popular. 3-4 different subjects are moderated by a Div 6 member. Members interested in those subjects gather around, ask questions and offer their suggestions and experiences. What a great way to learn! No pressure! We are still doing clinics about 8 months of the year. Layout tours hosted by our Division members are still popular and we thank those that have volunteered to be open. Division 6 meets all year long, which means we will be having summer meetings, to keep that model railroading spark alive!! Our monthly newsletter is available on our website - The online version is like this HotBox... in color and has an extra page of pictures from the last meetings show & tell offerings! See the SCHEDULE on page 27 for our meeting schedule and location. (submitted by Barry Hensel, Newsletter Editor) Division Eight - Clinton River Division (Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair Counties) The Clinton River Division is deeply involved in convention planning for the 2019 NCR convention. CRD meetings continue to be well-attended and fun. In February, Mark Cowles outlined the history of the Ohio Central RR and Age of Steam Roundhouse, of the late Jerry Joe Jacobson. In March, we had a team discussion on benchwork. Larry Wolohon, Jim Zinser, Bob Scherer and John Jackson all presented ideas and tips on benchwork. In April, we were privileged to have Bill Rubarth bring his model of the Steamer Solano, an amazing model of an amazing ship that carried trains, including the engines, across a tributary of the San Francisco Bay from the 1870s to The exquisite model was built in the early 2000s by the late Jim Turner. Bill s narrative of the research that supported the accuracy of the model was fascinating. The May presentation focused on the history of George Sellios Franklin & South Manchester and the story of Fine Scale Miniatures. Since several CRD members have decided to take up Rich Mahaney s caboose challenge and build small dioramas displaying non-railroad uses of retired cabeese, we are all awaiting the June meeting to see what members come up with! You can be part of the fun we are having at Div 8, the Clinton River Division, just come out to our meetings! For directions and other information, see the SCHEDULE on page 27. You can find out the upcoming Show & Tell theme and the presentation topic by visiting our web site, Come join the fun. (Submitted by Phil Doolittle, Superintendent) Division Ten Ten Wheeler Division (Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer Tuscola, Sanilac and Huron Counties) The 10 Wheelers continue to meet at various members homes on the second Wednesday of the month. In April we had a presentation on the upcoming Lansing Lashup convention and held our first Spring Swap with many items traded or sold among the attendees. Many of our members will be active at the Durand Railroad Days and we are planning several layout tours this spring. Our new website is operating, and a Facebook page has been developed. The search continues for a permanent meeting location, you can contact us at Contact Wayne Wilder at bvpsrr@gmail.com or if you would like to attend one of our meetings. (submitted by Wayne Wilder, Division Ten Superintendent) SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 11

12 DTRR NEW LAYOUT PLANS By: Jack Watson NCR FEATURE Getting back to the basis of the story, (Constructing a new, small model railroad), first of all, I am no longer allowed to measure anything! While erecting the benchwork, I discover my room is actually; 12' 3" X 9' 2"! Apparently my measurements with the furniture in the room, were grossly incorrect! Will gladly accept the slight gain in space. So we have 1" X 3" framework, supported on 2" X 2" legs, and a very heavy oak roll-top desk, 1/2" of homasote on top of 1/2" plywood, a fairly sturdy platform! Decided on 12" tall backdrop, full length of Masonite board, both cheap and easy to handle. Wasted two weeks trying to glue to pieces of Masonite together with a smooth seam and still be able to curve it in the corner, tried three glues and adhesives, finally screwed them to plywood scrap as a backer! Time for a base coat of paint, use the cheapest latex paint you can get, it covers good, it is easy to clean up, and it will look alright if you drill holes, or plant things such as trees, signs and or posts! I choose a dark brown color that could pass for earth, and applied vigorously! Next comes track, I am using the newer Micro Engineering 'finger throw' switches, and ME code 70 non-weathered flex track. Even though I had a very thorough track plan, drawn on graph paper and using one square to the inch, track and buildings do not all fit exactly as planned! Several modifications to the track plan were required! As you can see the track was installed without too much difficulty, the newer ME track is easier to work with than their old stuff, and I like to use "Ribbon Rail" cheaters, both curved and several straight ones! IN THE NEXT HotBox ISSUE: backdrops, more to the point there are some pretty decent looking, ready-made, vinyl photo backdrops that come with adhesive on the back, (like contact paper) not cheap, but then I am not a great backdrop painter either! We hope you will return in September for the continued story of the DTRR! Jack Watson was NCR President from 2007 to 2012, NCR Director and was also Div 6 Superintendent and a member for many years. 12 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

13 NMRA-NCR ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM NCR AWARDS Members of the NCR have been busy over the last few months pursuing a variety of certificates in the Achievement Program... let s go modelers!!! GOLDEN SPIKE AWARD Rich Murphy, Div 6 MASTER BUILDER SCENERY Greg Rich, Div 8 MASTER BUILDER - STRUCTURES - Greg Rich, Div 8 MODEL RAILROAD AUTHOR - Greg Rich, Div 8 MASTER BUILDER CARS - Greg Rich, Div 8 I am very pleased to report that there has been significant activity in the region. Larry Wolohon presented a clinic on the AP at a March meeting of Division 9. I presented a Q&A session for Div. 5. Ken Chick, Dave Capron and Jim Macino have done a great job working with members in their divisions to promote participation in the Achievement Program Respectfully submitted by Skip Luyk, NCR AP Coordinator Rich Murphy and Greg Rich getting their Awards. Congratulations! AP QUESTIONS: If you have questions about the AP program or requirements, start with your Regional AP manager, Skip Luyk, MMR. If you still have questions, contact Frank Koch at fjkoch@hotmail.com or write Frank at 4769 Silverwood Drive, Batavia, OH NCR BOD ELECTIONS NOMINATIONS NCR INFO This is the year for elections in the North Central Region!! All positions are up for election President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and 3 Director positions. The Elections Committee will accept nominations until JUNE 15. Please send in your nominations using this format I NOMINATE for the position of Signed - your name Send your nominations to Skip Luyk - ArcadiaLogger@gmail.com or Andy Keeney - hunter48820@yahoo.com Or mail them to the committee at NCR Nominations 6850 W Herbison Rd Dewitt, MI You are welcome to nominate as many people as you wish for any number of positions. These nominations will then be confirmed and placed on the ballot. Your voting ballot will be in the next (September) HotBox, along with a brief profile of all of the candidates. That issue will be mailed to ALL NCR members!! Ballots must be received by October 15, Speaking of elections... let us remind you that in the last elections, the number of ballots received was ridiculously low!! We ask you to please send in a ballot with your choices!! Thanks!! NMRA NATIONAL ELECTIONS NCR INFO By: John Stevens, NMRA Secretary The following NMRA members were elected to the following positions in the 2018 elections: President- Pete Magoun, MMR Vice President/Administration- John Stevens Vice President/Special Projects- Gerry Leone, MMR, HLM Eastern District Director- Bob Hamm, MMR At Large North American Director- Jim Gore, MMR Pacific District Director- Rob Peterson In addition, the Executive Handbook revision passed. A huge "thank you" to all the candidates, and Congratulations to those who won. SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 13

14 The CAPITAL DIVISION (Div 5) will host LANSING LASHUP NMRA North Central Division Convention OCTOBER 11 14, 2018 Ramada Lansing Hotel and Conference Center. CONVENTION THEME: Bringing Your Layout to Life CONVENTION FEATURES Excellent Convention Facilities Modeling with the Masters Special Event Over 30 Clinics with Many Featuring Scenery Several Operating Sessions Reduced Rate for Lodging (see website or call ) Saturday Evening Dinner with Speaker, Chuck Geletzke, Jr Over 20 Layouts to Visit Modular Railroads on Site Room for Family Members to Relax or Work on Crafts Prototype Tours Evaluation of Models Available Upon Request Model Showcase Display Room And Much More For More Information: nmrancrdiv5.com 14 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

15 Clinic line up for LANSING LASHUP 2018 Lansing has been fortunate this year with a number of unexpected offers from our members to present some unique clinics this fall. The following is a list of currently confirmed clinics, but we still have a few more in the works. We hope you find these an additional enticement to book a room at the Ramada Inn and join us for this year s convention. There is going to be a lot to see and learn about. Pete Magoun MMR and Dave Capron MMR are presenting a regional version of Modeling with the Masters for us this year. Pete is our future NMRA national President and Dave is the author of a series of articles in RMC about building structures. They will demonstrate wood structure construction using JL Innovations MA Tower kit. This is a hands on, full participation clinic to be held Friday evening starting at 7 pm and running until the models are complete (they have the room for four hours). Price for the kit is $30, pre-paid by August 1. Only enough models for clinic participants will be ordered, so sign up early. This clinic is limited to 18 participants. A list of suggested tools can be found on our website. Pete Magoun MMR will be sharing with us his techniques on painting backdrops. Norm Logan will offer his take on backdrop painting Greg Rich that shows how he deeply details and blends backdrops into the foreground scenery. Dave Capron MMR will continue instructing about Wooden Kit Building with his clinic on the same. This clinic is scheduled to run two plus hours. Dave Capron MMR is also presenting a clinic on How to Obtain your Master Model Railroader certification. Hints on navigating the requirements, paperwork and getting your models judged will be some of the topics covered. Sam Swanson MMR is joining us from the Cincinnati area to share his knowledge on Tree Construction for your layout. Sam will cover various species and techniques to model them. He will also show how to build bulk versus foreground trees. Steve Gladstein is giving us a clinic on Using 3 rd Planet CAD software. Steve is going to demonstrate the features of 3 rd Planet in real time so you can ask questions and see them clarified in real time. Scott Pandorf will be sharing a clinic he has presented at the National NMRA Convention this summer on Using Arduinos to Animate Your Layout. If you are familiar, an Arduino is a micro-computer that can be programmed to drive lighting or motor circuits. Alan Bell joins us from Fort Wayne to share his knowledge on the Inter-workings of Mechanical Interlocking Plants. Alan will share the theory, installation guidelines and some learnings he has on the actual operation of the mechanical logic used on these installations. Brook Qualmann agreed to share her techniques for Scratch Building Prototype Based Buildings. Anyone fortunate enough to visit Brook and Jay s layout has been astounded by the quality, and quantity of Brooks work, and the fidelity to the prototype structures she replicates. John Bussard, our local scenery guru, will treat us to an extended Scenery Clinic. John demonstrates his techniques real time to his audience, starting with basic scenery forms in his first session and moving on to explaining how to add each additional layer of scenery. Rich Mahaney has offered us a number of clinics this fall, from which we have chosen the following FIVE: A) Tanks Cars 101 for Model Railroaders will show the different styles and types of tank cars used in different eras. He will also offer suggestions on how to increase the tank car traffic on your layout. B) Interesting Flat Car Loads will give examples of the stuff that is transported on flat cars and how you can replicate it for your own railroad. C) Railroad Car Traffic or Making Pancakes no sleeping in this clinic. After discussing the parameters of industries and the freight cars that support those industries, students will be divided into groups to brain storm the products, raw materials and rail cars needed to support this industry. Someone from your group will be elected to present your findings to the rest of the class. D) Junctions, Interchanges and Diamonds for Your Model Railroad will first look at the prototype and then transition to how to utilize Junctions and Interchanges to amplify the operations on your railroad. E) Perishable Operations in the 1950 s. He will look at refrigerator cars as they were used to transport meat, produce, milk and fruit and the infrastructure needed to support their operation. Included will be information on the documentation required to move perishables across the rail system. SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 15

16 Clinic line up for LANSING LASHUP 2018 Nathan Holth is a local historian with and interest in Railroad Bridges. He will be offering a slide presentation on mid-west bridges with a close focus on the International Bridge Crossing at the Soo Locks in the World War 2 era. Bob Blake will give his clinic on Changes in the Hobby over the Last Fifty Years. Chris Thompson will show us how to Artistically Weather Freight Cars. This looks like this clinic will be a hands on, air brush using, clinic on how-to-do it. Car bodies for this clinic will be provided. Brooks Stover MMR has moved into the Lansing area and will be sharing with us tips on Creating and Scratch Building Structures. Brooks work is in S scale, but his techniques apply to all scales. Bob Blake will show you how to model and detail Gas Stations of the 1950 s Gaylord Gill will use his layout as a case study to share ideas for Improving Your Layout s Representation of the Prototype without doing a total make over. Larry Wolohan MMR will demonstrate his techniques and secrets of building Resin Kits. Bill Rubarth will share the story of researching and building his model of the steam ship Solado. Bill Selleck will show you how to create and use Scenery Goop as a basis for creating landforms and that first layer of scenery. Mark Cowles will take you on a photographic tour of Lansing Then & Now. David Wentworth will share with us his techniques on modeling water, from meandering rivers to raging mountain streams to still ponds. Terry Davis will offer a Make and Take of basic model building techniques using plastics instead of wood. A $5 charge will be requested at the door to cover consumables for this clinic. Bring your basic tool kit with you, please. Jeff Fryman, Senior Dispatcher on the Wabash 2 nd District will show you how to create a Schedule and Timetable for your railroad. Fritz Milhaupt will demonstrate techniques for Renumbering Railroad Equipment so you can eliminate duplicate locomotive and freight car numbers. John Young will offer ways to Implement Car Cards and Way Bills for your freight car forwarding system, and some hints of managing implementation. Ron St. Laurent will be demonstrating Digital Templates for car cards and waybills, plus instructions on how to digitally create them Fritz Milhaupt will also share with you his fundamental passion in model railroading, by sharing his knowledge of C&O Passenger Service in Michigan. Cars, infrastructures and how each was utilized will be a part of Fritz s Power Point presentation. This looks like about forty-eight hours of clinics for your enjoyment and education this convention weekend. Some of these clinics have never been presented before; some are long time favorites that you may have missed in the past. All offer a chance to share the fellowship of your model railroading buddies from around the Great Lakes. 16 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

17 SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 17

18 RAILROAD HISTORY By: Don Watson NCR HISTORY THE CABOOSE The steam railroad began in England in the 1820's in the days of the horse and carriage, and it was a new form of transportation. In 1830, the railroad came to The United States. England was a small island nation that had been settled with a large population for hundreds of years. The U.S. was a new nation, only 50 years old, that was rapidly expanding westward with a steadily growing population. The first railroads built in this country were primarily concerned with moving passengers. The new railroads soon learned that moving freight could be profitable. Because of a shortage of locomotive power, the early railroads ran mixed trains (passenger & freight combined). By the 1840's, the railroads were beginning to show signs of great potential, the upright boiler on the locomotive had been replaced by a horizontal boiler and locomotive manufacturing had begun in the U.S. Business was so good that some lines were now able to operate separate passenger and freight trains. As trains became longer, the conductor required a work space. The first caboose on record was rather primitive, being merely the last boxcar of a mixed (passenger-freight) train on the old Auburn & Syracuse, a 26 mile line absorbed by the New York Central. From this car, in the 1840's, conductor Nat Williams ran his train. In it he kept flags, lanterns, chains, tools, etc., and wrote his reports while seated on a wooden box, using an upended barrel as a desk, and ate his meals on the same barrel top out of a lunch pail brought from home. This crew car eventually became known as a caboose, but many other names were also used, depending on the railroad and the section of the country. Some of the other names were way car, crummy, hack plus many other derogatory names. There are several versions of the origin of a caboose cupola. The most widely accepted version gives credit to T.B.Watson, a Chicago & North Western freight conductor running between Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa. One bright summer day in 1863, about the time the Battle of Gettysburg was being fought in Pennsylvania, Watson's flat top caboose was assigned temporarily to a work train and he was given an old boxcar instead. You must remember that the Civil War was in progress and all railroads were short of rolling stock at this point in time. Also all members of Division 6 surely realize that people by the name of Watson are strange individuals. According to the story, this car had a large hole in the roof, and the whimsical Watson piled boxes on the floor and sat atop one in such a way that his head and shoulders protruded above the roof. This odd position gave him a fine view of his train and the Iowa prairie. It is likely that he watched cattle grazing, farmers mowing hay, and gophers scurrying into their holes and while passing through villages, waved at girls from his lofty perch. In any event, it must have been a pleasant ride. Watson decided, so the story goes, that if all cabooses had cupolas the trainmen's work would be easier. Upon arrival at Clinton, he sought out the master mechanic, told him about the trip and suggested that a "crow's nest" be included in the two new way cars then being built at the North Western shops in Clinton. The official agreed, the cars were constructed that way, and thus the C & NW may have been the first railroad to operate cabooses with cupolas. 18 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

19 RAILROAD HISTORY By: Don Watson NCR HISTORY In model railroading, you will frequently hear the expression, there is a prototype for everything". Because of that statement, I am about to state some general rules about the use of cabooses Prior to the Civil War, cabooses did not have cupolas. 2. Bay window cabooses started to become popular after WWII. 3. Steel cabooses became popular after WWII. 4. Four wheel cabooses normally were used on short runs. 5. Transfer cabooses were normally used by belt railroads in the big cities. 6. On cattle trains, where the stock would be in transit for more than 24 hours, drover's cabooses were normally used. The cattle company shipping the livestock, would supply the men to help load, unload and feed the livestock. The drover's caboose was a longer caboose to accommodate these extra men. From the end of the Civil War until the end of WW I, the wooden caboose with the cupola was at the end of a freight train. During this period, the crew literally used the caboose as a home away from home. It served as an office for the conductor, a kitchen for whatever crewman acted as cook and as a bedroom for the conductor, brakemen and sometimes the headend crew. By the end of WW I, subtle changes began to take over. By this time, all trains had automatic couplers and air brakes and the brakeman's job was far less tenuous than it had been in earlier days, but the amount of paper work performed by the conductor increased because the bigger steam locomotives were pulling longer freight trains. By the end of WW II, cooking in the caboose, was no longer as popular as it had once been. Now that the automobile and paved roads were well established, fast food places had sprung up everywhere and it was easier for the train crews to pick up a quick meal somewhere along the line rather than cook in the caboose. By the 1950's more changes slowly took place. Most of the big railroads were now using punched card equipment and the conductor was given a printed list of every freight car in his train and he no longer had to make out the handwritten list that required hours of posting. During this period of time, the local freight that stopped at every little town and dropped off a car here and picked up a car there, began to disappear from the railroad scene. In the 1960's, the Florida East Coast Railroad was in serious financial trouble and wanted to make some (at the time unheard of) crew changes. The railroad unions wouldn't hear of it and called a strike. The strike lasted for years, was marked by numerous incidents of violence and sabotage. The railroad was operated by management all during these years and lost many customers, and the rolling stock and right of way suffered from lack of maintenance. During this strike, the caboose-less train with its black box was born and survived. Eventually the strike came to an end and the Florida East Coast Railroad survived, but under a completely new set of operating rules. SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 19

20 RAILROAD HISTORY By: Don Watson NCR HISTORY It is now 1992, and the local "peddler" freight is almost nonexistent, as most freight trains in today's world now move from one major freight yard to another major freight yard with no stops inbetween. If there are stops, at a junction with another rail line the only switching involved is to set out a particular set of cars and/or pickup a specific set of cars. Since this type of switching can be done easily, no caboose is used on this type of freight train. On those few local "peddler" freight trains that still exist, a caboose is still used. A caboose is also used on a now common type of freight train that did not exist in the steam era, or if it did exist was most uncommon. These are "foreign" freight trains. In the steam era, it was certainly a routine sight, to find a Union Pacific box car on a New Jersey Central freight train. However, that UP box car might have been loaded on a UP freight on the west coast, then transferred to a Burlington freight in Denver, Colorado, then passed to the Belt Railway of Chicago in Chicago, then taken to the New York Central in Chicago, where it was taken to New York City and handed to another belt railroad who it turn gave the car to the New Jersey Central. Although that type of operation still takes place today, it is being replaced by new logic. Toronto, Canada is a big source of freight and so is Chicago, Illinois. Due to joint operating agreements between the Canadian National and the CSX, it is now a common sight in Plymouth, Mich. on the CSX main line to Chicago to see a long freight with several CN diesels on the front end and a CN caboose on the back of this "foreign train. The word "foreign" is merely used to mean that another railroad is operating a freight train on the CSX right of way. When there is a large number of freight cars in one city (such as Toronto in my example) all going to one place (Chicago in my example), considerable time and money is saved by letting one train make the trip from Toronto to Chicago. Since Chicago is the big distribution point for railroad freight, it is possible that some of the freight cars brought into the CSX freight yard in Chicago by that CN freight train could end up on a CSX "foreign" freight going to New Orleans, or on a caboose-less CSX freight going to Indianapolis, or a local CSX freight going to La Porte, Ind. The caboose is dying, long live the caboose. Don Watson Division 6 member Don Watson, gave these lessons nearly every month and they always entertained and informed. After Don s passing at the age of 90, his family presented them to Div. 6 and the NCR. MAKE A STONE VIADUCT By: Howard Andrews, Div 6 NCR PROJECT My modeling is based upon the Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRC), which at one time had 600+ miles of trackage running in and around the city of Pittsburgh serving the mass transit needs of the residents. Pittsburgh had some of the most rugged terrain that you might find streetcars navigating anywhere in the world. So as I was building my representation of PRC it made sense to include a creek. My version of the PRC system is actually rather modest at this time consisting of 2 portable HO scale modules. The first is about 3 foot by 3 foot and a second about 3 foot by 4 foot. Building them with plywood framing and foam scenery made them light enough that they are easy to move. And when train show season is upon us they do find their way to local shows. The larger of the two modules represents a Carbarn area with street running in the foreground. A creek flows through the module front to back, making it necessary for the street with the streetcar tracks to cross it. But, the question was how? What kind of structure would appropriate to support the roadway over the creek? 20 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

21 MAKE A STONE VIADUCT By: Howard Andrews, Div 6 NCR PROJECT In my setting the road and streetcar line represents a major thoroughfare with businesses lining it. And, this isn t just any business district it is an upscale, well to-do neighborhood that has double track streetcar service. So, the support for the road would need to be substantial. A stone viaduct seemed to be the ideal solution but how to fabricate that? As I searched through my supplies I came across everything I needed to do a resin casting. And, since I needed two that seemed a great solution. My first step was to prepare a design for my viaduct. This was actually rather simple, the width was a little more than the width of the creek I cut in the foam and the depth was from the top of the sidewalks to the creek bed. I also included a safety wall of about 5 foot high so pedestrians would not be falling into the water below. My goal was to make a viaduct that looked right, not produce a model of a particular prototype. While this technique is great for freelancing it can also be used to produce a model from a prototype with a little extra research and effort. And, before you panic you don t need to be an artist to produce great results. My first step was to produce a slab of clay from which to cut out the blanks for my viaduct. To assure a uniform thickness I used a sheet of clear acrylic as my work base and a inch diameter dowel as a rolling pin. I worked the clay in my hands to warm it up and soften it before I began the rolling process. As I approached my final target thickness of 1/8 I added some styrene strips as shown below to act as guides to assure I got a uniform thickness. module. Once I was happy with the fit of the templates they were laid on the slab and a utility knife used to cut out the clay blanks as shown. To form the mortar lines and in essence carve the stones into the blank it is necessary to remove a thin line of clay. You could purchase wire tipped tools for modeling clay from art supply store. Being frugal I elected to make my own with a length of 26 gauge Nickel Silver wire (actually just a cut off from my overhead) held in a pin vise. Photo below shows my homemade clay sculptor tool. Using my sculpting tool with a piece of 1/8 wide styrene as a guide I carved the horizontals mortar lines into the clay blank as shown below. The vertical mortar lines are carved at about a 1/4" spacing, making sure the joints are staggered. For the stones along the top I made these approximately 1/4" by the full width of the top. With a slab of clay rolled out it was time to cut out the blanks that would become the pieces of the viaduct. Working from my design I cut cardboard templates that were test fitted to the location on the SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 21

22 MAKE A STONE VIADUCT By: Howard Andrews, Div 6 NCR PROJECT Using a dental chisel I formed the rough stone face by simply poking at the clay as shown below. The chisel was also used to smooth out and fine tune the mortar lines. A finishing touch on the clay master was to add a row of stones to form the arch for the creek to pass through. When all three pieces of the master are completed it is time to make a mold. I used a piece of plywood and glued 1/4" square styrene to make a containment. The next step is to cast the pieces of the viaduct. I cast mine using a product called Synair Por-a-cast that I purchased at the local art supply store. Either of the casting resins in the materials list will serve the purpose. Both are mixed 1 to 1 by volume making them easy work with simply mix equal volumes per the manufacture s instructions. Photo above shows my master ready for the RTV Silicon to be added. I used Smooth-on OOMOO 25, but any RTV listed in the Materials list will work. The RTV Silicon is mixed following the manufacturer s directions and poured into the containment. One trick is to pour into a corner of the containment and allow the rubber to flow over the master. This will minimize the air bubbles entrapped in the final mold. After pouring the Silicon allow it to set overnight, or according to the manufacturer s instructions, to cure. Once cured you can remove it from the master and should have a perfect negative of the master in the mold as show in the next picture. Picture above shows my casting room. The mold was sprayed with the release agent. I used plastic shot glasses to measure the two parts of the casting resin. These were then poured into an inexpensive plastic drinking cup and mixed well before the resin was poured into the mold. Once the resin sets the pieces are removed from the mold. The next photo shows a set of viaduct components, top to bottom Outer face, Cap Stone and Inner face, which are glued together with epoxy to make the final assembly. To do the glue up I used spring clamps to hold everything together while the epoxy cured. 22 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

23 MAKE A STONE VIADUCT By: Howard Andrews, Div 6 NCR PROJECT I finished my viaduct using techniques suggested by Bragdon Enterprises. My steps here are a summary, if you would like more details check their web site at To install the viaduct on my module I began by carving away the foam near the roadway. Under the street and associated tracks is a sandwich of 1/4" plywood and 1/2" homasote which provides the structure. The viaduct was glued in place with PL300 construction adhesive since it did not need to carry any load of the road or tracks. Once the glue dried I filled in any gaps with spackling compound. After that dried I primed the area around the viaduct with gesso just as I did the viaduct. I then colored the Viaduct and the surrounding area using dilute artists acrylics. The colors I worked with were raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna, burnt sienna and sunny yellow. The colors were applied in very thin coats allowing me to build up the illusion of stone on the viaduct. Once the epoxy sets the viaduct is primed with artist gesso as shown above. This provides a matt finish that can takes paints and stains easily so it can be colored with diluted acrylic artist paints. The gesso is allowed to dry overnight then dry black tempera is worked into the crevices on the bridge using a stiff brush. As shown in the next photo Wet water is then sprayed on the casting and the excess wiped from the surface. The casting is then set aside and allowed to dry. Editors Note a full materials list for this project can be found on the NCR website And finally, as shown above, my Pittsburgh Railways Company s PCC 1790 is crossing over the creek on its way to get folks to work! SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 23

24 PROTOTYPE PAGE NCR PROTOTYPE NCR Director at Large Rich Mahaney has been getting around Michigan, doing quite a bit of railfanning and photo taking! Here are some of his NCR area photos from travels during March and April... left side- EB CN train passing through Schoolcraft, MI; Coaling tower west of Augusta, MI on NS track; WB Amtrak at the Jackson, MI station; Waverly Yard in Holland, MI right side- Coaling tower in New Buffalo, MI; EB CN freight at Vicksburg, MI; EB CSX train passing through Watervliet, MI; WB CN train passing through Marcellus, MI 24 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

25 UP IN SMOKE! By: Norm Logan, Div 6 NCR PROJECT Nothing shows the power and energy of industry like smoke and steam. Huge boilers, massive generators, and furnaces that run months at a time produce thousands of tons of vapors in the atmosphere. Smoke also shows movement of the winds. Can we include this movement into our scenes on our layout? Yes we can! By using 100% polyester supreme fiberfill that your can get by the bag at JO-ANN s or MICHAELS, you use this silky fiber stuff to make smoke for your steel mills or other industries with smoke stacks. The trouble is that we need to show that the smoke is coming out of the stack, expanding, and moved by the wind. We need to take a snap shot in time with the smoke. The leg that goes in the stack bend that in a U shape so the top of the U is at the top slightly out of the stack. This will work as a spring and hold the smoke from swinging as people move by. It will be covered by smoke. Second, place the hanger in the stack and move the long leg in the direction you wish the smoke to travel. Lastly, open up the polyester fiberfill a bit by pulling it apart so it looks airy and expanding. There will be more smoke around the stack and then it moves the cloud of steam. This fiberfill could also be spray painted to look black or brown if need. First we need a white coat hanger. Why white? We use white so it will not show inside the stream of smoke. Cut a hanger just below the joint to form a upside down L. The long leg of the L will be holding the smoke and look like it is being blown in the wind. A heavy hanger can be used for larger and longer clouds of smoke. The effect is impressive and adds to any industry scene. Remember to have all of your smoke flowing in the same direction (N-S-E- W). That s it. One small bag will do everything on your layout. Get those furnaces going! How about writing an article on your latest modeling project! At the HotBox, WE NEED AND WANT YOUR ARTICLES!! SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 25

26 HOBBY SHOP & BUSINESS CORNER OTHER HOBBY SHOPS in the NCR Whistle Stop Hobbies & Crafts, Decatur, IN Phil's Hobby Shop, Fort Wayne, IN The Gladieux Train Depot, Oregon, OH Jackie s Trains & Gifts, Erie, MI Rider s Hobby, Grand Rapids, MI CONGRATULATIONS!! to Nankin Hobby!! Their 4th store has finally opened! Here is a press release- Nankin Hobby Brings Newest Hobby Shop Downriver SOUTHGATE, MI May 12, 2018 After months of hard work and renovations, Nankin Hobby is proud to open their newest brick-and-mortar hobby shop in Southgate! Located in the old Grand Hardware building at Fort Street, this full-service hobby center aims to cater to the neighboring Downriver communities. The store officially opened its doors to the public on Wednesday, May 16, Despite the rise of online shopping and competition within the hobby industries, Nankin Hobby continues to grow. After the launch of their e-commerce website and three other retail stores currently operating in Southeast Michigan, the opening of the Southgate shop has been highly anticipated. Location is so important when choosing to expand a business, especially for smaller retailers like us, says coowner Chris Wrigley. The amount of positive response we ve received since the announcement has been amazing. We re really excited to finally open and meet the folks who ve been cheering us on. From scale modelers and model train hobbyists, to R/C enthusiasts and quadcopter pilots Nankin Hobby has often been called a one-stop shop by its patrons. A family-owned business dating back to the 1950 s, the company takes pride in caring for their customers as well as their knowledgeable staff. THANK-YOU to our hobby shops for your support by selling the HotBox in your stores! 26 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

27 NCR SCHEDULE NCR DIVISION meetings NCR INFORMATION Division One Black Swamp Division (Toledo and Northwest Ohio area) We meet at Proclaim FM radio station community center, 7112 Angola Rd., Holland, OH 43528, near the Airport Highway exit from I-475/SR23 in west Toledo. Meetings are on the 3rd or 4th Friday of each month from September through April. May and July have an annual field trips to a rail museum, prototype site, layout tour, etc. The schedule is posted on our website at where you will find lots of information on our activities, member layouts, interesting links and our monthly publication, the Train Order. Division Two Tip of the Mitt (Manistee to Iosco counties, to the tip of the mitten at the Mackinac Bridge) Our two annual division meetings will rotate between the two locations. We are currently scheduling Yard activities in both Traverse City and Petoskey. For more information, contact David Capron, Superintendent. Division Three 3 Rivers Division (Fort Wayne, Indiana and western Ohio) Our monthly meetings are at the Baker Street Station, the iconic/historic restored Pennsy Passenger Depot in downtown Fort Wayne. The meetings are held on the Second Monday, from 7 PM to 9PM, in one of the board rooms. Exceptions to this schedule will be March, June, July- no meeting, September, December. Any updates/changes can be found on our website: Division Four Grand Rails Division (Grand Rapids and western Michigan) Meets quarterly with other special events thrown in. For additional information contact Mark Baldwin at or mbaldwin@taskadvisors.com Division Five Capital Division (Lansing and mid-lower Michigan) Meets at 1pm, on the SECOND Saturday of each month with the location changing every month, but in the Lansing area. We meet September to May with additional activities added for the WINTER. Please check our website or contact the Supervisor for meeting location. Division Six Motor City Division (Wayne & Washtenaw Counties) Meets at 7:30pm, on the THIRD Friday of each month at the Livonia Senior Center, Farmington Road, one mile north of the I-96 Jefferies Freeway, Livonia. Division 6 meets year-round. Division Eight Clinton River Division (Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair Counties) Meets at 7:00pm, on the THIRD Thursday of each month at Troy Christian Chapel, 400 East Long Lake Road, between Rochester and Livernois Roads, Troy. Division 8 meets year-round. Division Nine SW Michigan Division (Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St.Joseph, VanBuren Counties) Meets monthly except the months of July and August. Monthly activities begin with a meeting at 10AM at the Comstock Public Library, Comstock MI, followed by either a clinic or a planned layout tour usually on the third Saturday of the month. An informal optional breakfast at 9 AM at a nearby restaurant is also a part of our routine. Visitors are always welcome. For additional and up to date information contact Garry Johnson elecsprk@gmail.com Division Ten Ten Wheelers Division (Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer Tuscola, Sanilac and Huron Counties) Meets on the SECOND Wednesday of the month. At this time we are looking for a new meeting location so we are moving around. Call Superintendent, Wayne Wilder at or him at bvpsrr@gmail.com to verify meeting time and location of meeting or directions to the meeting location. We hope you will join us for a night of fun and information! OTHER GROUPS meeting in the NCR AREA There are MANY rail organizations in the NCR area. They can be found at YOU should join and attend your local NMRA/NCR/Division meetings and activities! Get the most out of your hobby participate often!! SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 27

28 VISITORS TO THE LAYOUT By: Bob Hanna, Div 3 NCR SPECIAL Visitors to the Layout B&O Lost Division Got a call from my church s youth director saying that our sister church in Yucatan Mexico, to which we send a youth mission trip about every 3 years, was coming to visit our church. Could they visit the B&O Lost Division one afternoon? There would be seven from the Yucatan church, and any tag alongs from our church. Sure! They would bring an interpreter, and my granddaughter s 3 years of Spanish was pressed into service, much to her excitement. With the date and time set, now it was time to panic! I m going to need help to pull this off! So at my OP session I asked for volunteers to help run the railroad, and as I did not have any DCC sound equipped engines, could I borrow one to show them? Once again proving that model railroaders are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet, I got several volunteers and three sound equipped engines, (four if you count the modern SD diesels that I had to decline as they would not do well on my Mountain Branch track with tight curves and heavy grades). When asked if we ever had any collisions, we all said with a smile Nooo, never., to the chuckles of all concerned. We ran a very loose OP session, complete with explanations of car cards, how we controlled the trains and switches, and presented a very busy railroad to our visitors. But soon it was time for them to go. They thanked us for showing them the layout. Their departing comments on the railroad were, Fantastic and Impressive. Then after they left, I thanked all the volunteers and bought pizza for those who could stay. The day of the visit, I was busy cleaning track and engine wheels, making sure car cards were in place, and adding two special cars to the local passenger train with a banner saying Welcome Yucatan Friends. We held the local passenger train until the visitors arrived and got around to Megantown s station. They took a lot of pictures and seemed very impressed. As you may know, I do not blow my own horn all that much, (at least verbally), so when my explanations lagged, one of the volunteers would jump in for me! Each volunteer explained through the interpreter, what they were doing, and pointed out little details for the visitors to see. They took a lot of pictures and did ask questions through the interpreter. It was a good day! The visitors have since returned to the Yucatan and my granddaughter wants to go with the youth group s mission work camp next year, when they go to help our sister church in the Yucatan. I also extended an offer to the youth director to bring the church s youth group over for a real hands on OP session some time. So perhaps someday later this year or next, I maybe panicked again and asking for volunteers to pair up with each youth and show them how we run the B&O Lost Division. That should be fun too! Several days later, my granddaughter was over for supper. As she had tagged along with the Yucatan visitors for several days after their visit to my model railroad, I asked her if they had mentioned anything about the visit. Was there anything they liked best? Did they like the river scene? Or, how about the DCC sound equipped engines? No. She said what impressed them the most was the hospitality everyone extended to them. Well of course. And I think that just goes to prove my point that model railroaders really are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet. 28 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

29 NCR TIMETABLE EVENTS! NCR AREA EVENTS NOTE- Events listed have been compiled from listings on website for Model Railroader magazine. If you have an event you want listed, it s FREE, but information must be submitted to the Editor at least 45 days in advance of our publication dates! Saturday-Sunday, July 28-29, Railroad Heritage Weekend Show & Swap (2 Days) Van Wert, OH - Van Wert Co. Fairgrounds Contact information - Jan Dunlap SUNDAY SUNDAY, AUGUST 5-12, 2018 NMRA NATIONAL CONVENTION AND TRAIN SHOW Westin Kansas City at Crown Center - 1 East Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO, Website: Tuesday-Thursday, August 07-09, Michigan Rail Conference 2018 Saginaw Valley State University 7400 Bay Road University Center, MI Admission Fees - $200 Early Bird Registration through June 22, $250 Regular Registration June 23-July 20, $325 Late Registration July 21-Aug 8 Ms Linda Darr, President, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, will provide the keynote address. The Michigan Rail Conference gathers representatives from industry, state and local government, academia, and the interested population to discuss freight and passenger rail issues. Conference will feature a field trip on August 9th to local rail venues. Contact Information- dannelso@mtu.edu David Nelson, PE, Senior Research Engineer Civil and Environmental Engineering Michigan Tech Transportation Institute 301 Grover C Dillman Hall 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI Website- Saturday, August 11, SUMMERAIL at Marion Palace Theater 276 W Center St. Marion, Ohio Presentations - 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM Train show & sale - 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM TICKETS are $25 to the Summerail multi-media shows and can be purchased at the door. This includes admission to the train show & sale. ADMISSON to train show & sale ONLY is $5 purchased at the door. Make check or money order payable to Marion Union Station Assoc mail to: Summerail, Bill Haines, 305 Lamar Court, Vandalia, OH rustyrails@woh.rr.com Saturday, August 18, Everett's Train Show Marion, OH - Marion Union Station Contact information Sunday, August 26, Railroad Memorablia Show Painesville, OH - Painesville Railroad Museum Contact information - Tom Pescha Saturday, September 8, Willard Train Fest Willard, OH - Willard High School & Willard Depot Contact information - Jim Heffley Friday-Saturday, September 21-22, Modeling Like a Pro (2 day workshop) South Bend, IN - Notre Dame KcKenna Hall Conference Center Contact information - NMRA Michiana Division Saturday, September 22, Mt Clemens Train Show Clinton Twp, MI - St Louis Social Hall Contact information - cdhikade@wowway.com Saturday, September 22, Canfield Train & Toy Show Canfield, OH - Canfield Fairgrounds Contact information - Elwood Woolman, Thursday-Sunday, October 11 14, LANSING LASHUP NMRA North Central Division Convention, hosted by The Capital Division (Div 5) Ramada Lansing Hotel & Conference Center See website - SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 29

30 NCR HotBox PIKE ADS YOU too, can have a Pike Ad for your railroad or club! Just the HotBox Staff for all the details. We ll even help you design your Pike Ad. And best of all... It s cool!! 30 the HotBox SUMMER 2018

31 NCR HotBox PIKE ADS SUMMER 2018 the HotBox 31

32 Permit Holder: National Model Railroad Association The North Central Region, c/o Dean Pyers, Resident Agent 8212 Clay Ct Sterling Hgts, MI NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID LIVONIA, MI Permit No in the next issue of THE Box MORE LAYOUT PHOTOS... stay tuned! THE LAST 2018 Convention News! RailFanning the Layouts of Div5