Gary has accomplished the seemingly impossible in that their layout has gotten

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1 Upcoming Events: Saturday May AM Gary & Marilyn Siegel Santa Barbara (805) Battery and Track Power Eggliners Please bring: A-G Desserts H-O Appetizers P-Z Salads Saturday May AM Gary & Cathy Raymond Thousand Oaks (805) Battery Power Only 1:32 Only Please bring: A-G Appetizers H-O Salads P-Z Desserts Future Meets: June 11 Power June 18 Morse July 16 Mele July 23 Siegel August 6 Goodman August 20 Abraham If you are interested in having a meet in 2016, contact Jim Eldridge at sjeldridge@earthlink.net May 2016 Gary & Marilyn Siegel Gary has accomplished the seemingly impossible in that their layout has gotten better and better every time we have visited. Every time we think he must surely be done. But, he isn't. What has he done since last time? You'll just have to come and see for yourself. The main line is point to point, about 750 feet long, and has lots of sidings in case you are in the mood to work your way from end to end. The maximum grade is 1.5% and the curves are at least 8 1/2 feet radius. There are some very close tolerances in the tunnels. They will handle K-27s, but anything larger may leave some paint behind. There are also two branch lines that would each be respectable layouts in any other back yard. They have steeper grades and sharper curves. The track for Eggliners is a separate loop, or at least it was the last time we were there. There will be a bridge to connect the two layouts, but it's still in process. Gary & Cathy Raymond's Meet If there is any such thing as minimalist Art in garden railroading, Gary & Cathy have found it. Everything you need (track, locomotives, cars, great food, better friends), nothing you don't (just about everything else), This layout is unique in that it is #1 scale (1:32) only, as well as battery power only. It also has 11 foot radius curves, no grades to speak of, and no bridges or trees to clutter things up. It is raised 57 inches above the ground. National Garden Railroad Convention If you are thinking about going to the Convention, it's about time to stop thinking and start planning. The main part of the show is July 4 to 10 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. But, with tours to 92 layouts starting July 2 and extending to July 13, and the Summer Steam up in Sacramento starting July 13 and going to the 17th, you can actually get too much trains. The official hotel is the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara right next door to the Convention Center. Convention and hotel reservations, schedules, maps, and everything else are here: Some people are going up by Amtrak; if that sounds like fun, contact me for names. Gary Raymond is taking the modular layout, and would like some help for setting up, running, and tearing down. He will be driving up on the 5th, setting up on the 6th, tearing down on the 9th, and driving home on the 10th. Contact Gary at (805) or glraymond@earthlink.net And if that is not enough for you, there is also the Great Western Rail Adventure, a tour of rail facilities northern California and Nevada starting and ending at the Santa Clara Hyatt June 24 to July 1.

2 News From Around the Water Cooler and Beyond Bill Fincher wrote to say he entered a photo contest on a British web site devoted to plants for garden railroads, and received a Highly Commended which we would call Honorable Mention. Bill's entry form said: The railcars and the layout were created by the late Yves "Beaver" DeBievre. I took the photo a few years ago at a Gold Coast Garden Railroad Society monthly meet. I have been a member of the GCGRS for over 25 years. The trees with the lighter green leaves are dwarf olive trees, the trees in the background are dwarf Alberta spruce and junipers. The ground cover is thyme. Unfortunately I don't know what the flowering plant is in the middle of the picture. That's Queen of Spain, Not Queen of Steam My brother, Clay, and his wife, Maggie, are traveling in Budapest, and came across an old train station. He says there are lots of them, and none look like they have seen a coat of paint in 50 years. This particular one has been temporarily re-purposed as a movie set Thanks, Bill. I believe the unknown plants are false for part of The heather. It's probably just as well he didn't win, as the winqueen of ner got a Japanese maple, which would be fine, but the Spain, starring Penelope Cruz and Cary Elwes. Apparentcontest was sponsored by the Bodiam Nursery, in East ly they saw the second unit, as none of the big name stars Sussex, UK. Jumping through all the hoops to bring it to were there. Here are a couple of his pictures; there are this country would probably cost more than just going to the more here: local nursery and buying one. Or a dozen. Lots more pichttps:// tures here: /with/ / Think Your Locomotives are Expensive? Metrolink is buying 40 brand new EMD F125 locomotives for $300 million. That is $7.5 mill each. They are Tier 4, meaning 85% less polluting, have 4700 hp, positive train control, and crash energy management. They are rated to pull ten passenger cars at 125 mph. So far, Metrolink has the only announced order. Naturally, there is competition. Siemens has had better luck with its tier 4 entry, having sold 90 and optioned nearly 200 of its Mobility locos. Meanwhile, General Electric says it not only has Tier 4 locomotives, it has been delivering them for a year now.

3 Randy & Nancy Bryie's Meet The locomotive that appears to be made out of diapers is in fact made out of diapers. It had been a center piece for a baby shower. Georges Arseneault ran his Santa Fe Mikado and a maintenance of way train. Don't tell management that he was transporting the crew in an open gondola. Randy Bryie made time for his GP38 and camera car. Rex Davis ran his Santa Fe SSB1200, which to most people looks just like an NW2, but the Santa Fe put more powerful prime movers in them.. John Ryan had the inaugural run for a D&RGW NW2 that he had just gotten Gary Raymond brought his black and all fixed up. white Santa Fe MTH VO1000 and matching MTH cars. Although Gary Andy Speidel made sure his 3 truck brought it, it was mostly run by 7 year West Side Lumber #15 Shay would old Jamie Davis. feel right at home by having it haul some real logs. The WSL #15 is still Mark Goodman ran his Uintah Mallet running today as the Yosemite Mtn and a realistic train of flat cars with Sugar Pine #15. It only hauls tourists sacks of Gilsonite, just like the real now, but you never see anyone model Uintah. that. If you were running what looked like a Jim Eldridge's RS3 hauled several Uintah Mallet with the side tanks rereefers. Jim likes this engine a lot moved, and a Colorado & Southern more after he finally figured out that all tender added, drop me a line and i will the problems he was having awhile print your name next month. ago were caused by a broken axle. Thanks to Randy and Nancy for anothed Morse ran his SD40 and a train of er terrific meet. all tank cars.

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6 Don & Linda Morgan's Meet The weather was perfect early on. The wind came up after lunch, and things got interesting. There were several wrecks, some caused by the wind. Lamont Stolley brought his Ten Wheeler and some matching passenger cars. Randy Bryie had his GP38 and camera car. Some day, probably after he retires, he'll make a movie out of all Some of us were trying to count the the layout tours. We could have a number of loops of track. The consen- guess whose layout this is contest. sus was six: One around the koi pond, one outside of the first one, that excrazy Charlie ran his Milwaukee tends into the back and can be run as Road Atlantic. This is an engine he two separate loops, a figure eight on got from Old Charlie Schlosser. the patio, the big loop behind the caboose, and the newest one, a very Bill Fincher's Forney had the line simple oval in front of the caboose. around the koi pond to itself until the Eggliners muscled in on it. There were so many trains running that despite having three photograjim Eldridge ran his green and yellow phers, some managed to finish without C&NW RS3 and covered gondolas getting their picture taken. that could be filled with rocks when the wind came up. He also brought a Gary Raymond ran his MTH VO1000 brand new all-steel D&RGW caboose. very early. Too early in fact, because nobody got a picture of it. Doc Riese brought his UP ALCO PA units. He had the wreck of the day, or Jim Davis ran his brand new MTH month, or maybe even longer when Challenger and a few cars. the wind blew his train completely off the track just as it was passing over a trestle. Georges Arseneault brought the same Santa Fe Mikado as at the Bryie's but with a very different train. He had a spectacular wreck of his own. Why it went off the track was a mystery, but may have had something to do with light cars in front, and heavy cars at the back of the train. I ran the Scamp, a tiny that was made by Chris Walas. Eggliners took over the line around the koi pond, led by Linda Morgan's teddy bear. Sylvia Eldridge and Mary Heumphreus collaborated on the veggie train. Thanks to Bill Fincher and Dennis Paulazzo for some of todays' pictures. And thanks to Don and Linda for another unforgettable meet. The photo of Don and Linda was taken last year.

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9 The Trip of a Lifetime. In Ten Days. posted were taken near the bottom, and none had any obvious differences from the last time we were there. Here's a picture anyway, just to break up the page. Imagine this: travel from Los Angeles, to Portland to Chicago to Los Angeles. By private railcar. You don't need to imagine it; it is going to happen September 24 to October 3. The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec are using the ex-milwaukee Road business car Montana and the exsanta Fe lounge car Acoma. You have a choice of one or more of eleven segments, up to the whole trip. The trip goes up the Coast Starlight route to Portland, along the Empire Builder's route through the Columbia River Gorge and Glacier National Park to Chicago, and home along the route taken by the Southwest Chief through Raton Pass in New Mexico. Many price points. Details here: More On The Veggie Train As mentioned on the Morgan meet page, Sylvia Eldridge and Mary Heumphreus collaborated on a vegetable train. The car bodies are sweet peppers, with carrot slices or celery sticks for track. Wheels are cucumber slices held on with toothpicks. Fill the bodies with dip or sliced veggies, stand back and smile graciously at the compliments. Shamelessly Swiped From Our Facebook Page Our members who have already seen this can either enjoy a moment of deja-vue, or skip to the next item. Joe Bussing reports that his layout expansion is done, or as done as any layout ever is. He is running trains on it if that helps any. Somehow he left the impression that he was working on the top of the layout, but all the pictures he Mary Heumphreus posted some pictures taken at the garden railroad in the ABQ Biopark Botanic Garden in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is one of several pictures she posted on our FB page. She says that they took Amtrak, and enjoyed every minute of the trip. The garden is near the zoo and the Santa Fe Railroad yards. There is a video in which you can hear exotic zoo birds, and trains rumbling by at the same time. The video is about half way down this page: Kim Whitaker posted some pictures of John's new baby. After a nearly three year gestation period, MTH finally delivered a BNSF Dash 8. Here it is on Gary Raymond's layout. OK, John, the ball is in your court. Time to get moving on that layout we've been hearing about for about three years now.

10 GCGRS Membership Application Form Membership in the Gold Coast Garden Railway Society is open to anyone who is interested in outdoor model railroading. Dues are $20 per year to get a printed copy of the newsletter mailed to you; or $10 if you can take the newsletter via . New members, please add $6 for each name tag that you want to have. Membership runs from January to December. Make checks payable to Bruce Kuebler for GCGRS. Bring this application and payment to any meet, or mail it to: Bruce Kuebler Encino Dr Oak View CA First Name Last Name: Newsletter: Gary Olmstead (805) garyolmstead@earthlink.net Membership: Bruce Kuebler (805) pbkuebler@sbcglobal.net Meets: Jim Eldridge (818) sjeldridge@earthlink.net Webmaster: Position Open Spouse/Partner/Other(SPO) First Name: SPO Last Name, if different: Facebook: s/ / Street Address City State Zip Phone: ( ) I enclose $20 because I love to receive a printed newsletter in the mail I enclose $10 because I want to get the newsletter two days earlier by I also need name tags, pin type name tags $6 each magnetic name tags $8 each Shipping and handling for name tags: $4 per order For new members: Would you like some help designing and/or building your layout? (Yes/No) If yes, what would you like help with Gold Coast Garden Railway Society Encino Dr Oak View, CA High Priestess of Facebook: Kim Whitaker whitdevelop@sbcglobal.net Please put GCGRS in the subject line of any correspondence.