May 2015 Issue - Page 1 Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club s Newsletter Since April 1993 Model Trains are FAN tastic Pictures and Story by Marlan Woodside Forget about those video games, I believe these kids are on the right track! Look at these "train foamers" all in a row they seem to be down by the station early in the morning watching the trains. This is what makes it worth all the time and effort put into each show, the viewing public, and 361 of them were at this April s Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club (TLRC) Spring Show. While we did not have an A we did have a Z in the G to Z of model railroad displays. While it has become routine to have the G, the HO, the N and the Toy Trains as depicted in the picture at left below, we had a return of the Z scale Have Railroad Will Travel attaché case model railroad posted at the entry way to Westpark. The picture below right is of TLRC member Marlan Woodside who is the proud new owner of the Z scale layout. The greeting table proved to be a popular starting point for train show visitors as depicted in the lower left picture. Another TLRC member, Mario Terrazas (in the green shirt) was a tremendous help in getting a coupler replaced on the engine, my eyesight was not good enough to handle it!
May 2015 Issue - Page 2 TLRC Business Meeting Stationmaster s Report Dean Smith No April Report Due to the Train show Model Trains are FAN tastic Pictures by Marlan Woodside Part of the Friends of the Tehachapi Depot crew Sheryl Bovi and Dennis Storms and the B&W t-shirt mentioned in Rick s G scale article.! Wilson James the new TLRC greeter (good job after retirement), thanks also to John Medvigy (not pictured) who also manned the station and stuck stickers on visitors! The family that plays together stays together, parents mentoring future model railroaders! A wonderful day at Westpark! Which is the kid in this picture at the left? TLRC member Chuck Kirtland (on the right) or the other little guy catching a view of the train? Note the depot visitor s STICKER and Friends of the Tehachapi Depot docents Judy and Tim Trujillo. Super relationship between the two clubs, all are jewels of our Tehachapi community. Thanks for the support!. When visitors were asked as they got their entry sticker how they heard about the train show, the majority said I saw the caboose at the depot. Location, location, location. Thanks FOTD!
May 2015 Issue - Page 3 Model Trains are FAN tastic Pictures by Marlan Woodside The birthday boy, aka Chris Howard, staffs the N scale layout at the TLRC train show. TLRC member Doug Pickard operates his toy train version of the tank train. The toy train layout is always a popular stop on the train show tour. TLRC Members Ron Snyder on the left and Ed Lotter on the right work the busy HO layout yard. Another revenue center for the train show is the promotions table expertly ran by TLRC Maureen Cornyn and she was aided by Anna Terrazas. Thanks Ladies Left to Right the Ladies staffing the revenue generating bake sale table, Roberta Lotter, Fidi Smith, and Debra Howard, many THANKS ladies and those that contributed baked goods for them to sell. John Medvigy on the left and Wilson James on the right, welcomed visitors to the TLRC Spring Train show
May 2015 Issue - Page 4 Model Trains are FAN tastic (Conclusion) Pictures by Marlan Woodside Many thanks to the Lancaster and Northwestern Railroad Club of Lancaster for setting up another super detailed G Scale layout that visitors enjoyed A Lionel Santa Fe Banner and an Indian head dress? TLRC member Dennis Keck could not resist the photo op! James Hurrell on the left and Donald Lotter on the right are now properly attired with new TLRC vests and are best in show operators! Yes Mom (TLRC members Debra and Chris Howard), Chris DOES still enjoy celebrating his birthday at the TLRC Spring Train show. Happy 17th Birthday Chris!. Thanks to the Howards for sharing the 17th Birthday celebration cake with the TLRC crew. This has become a tradition Another show is in the books and in the newsletter. Many photos taken and not posted, but you folks did a super job in entertaining the public and each other. Thanks for all the hard work and effort in putting on another great show. Thanks also to the Tehachapi Valley Park and Recreation department for a great venue and for being a great host for the TLRC train show. TLRC member Phil Cornyn wants to know when Chris Howard will EVER stop being a kid that likes to wear crazy hats and play with trains! ANSWER: NEVER!!
May 2015 Issue - Page 5 TLRC Goes to the Fullerton Railroad Days Event Story and Pictures by Marlan Woodside The star of the show was the restored Santa Fe 3751. As it turned out, one of the layouts had several Baldwin 4-8-4 type locomotives so viewers got to see the real thing AND HO versions as well. Reflecting the cost to operate the real thing, a cab visit on the real thing set you back $20. All proceeds went to the care and feeding of the steam locomotive. There was a BNSF diesel locomotive and a trio of cabooses that one could explore as well. Then on the modeling side, there were over a dozen different scale layouts of model trains to tour on the lot of the former Santa Fe depot. While vendors existed on the grounds for food, Wilson James and I chose to eat at the Union Pacific depot that had been converted to an Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant. There is not enough space to cover all of the photos from the event, but there certainly was enough viewing to consume several hours at the show. The photo at right depicts 8 people that made the Lancaster Metrolink train departure at 6:25am after paying $10 for their ticket. TLRC members Wilson James and Marlan Woodside are at right in the picture, the rest read about the trip and tagged along. Wilson James at Best Looking Models Around (BLMA) Headquarters with owner Craig Martyn, alas no FREE SAMPLES, great tour by Craig. Across from the station is the Hqtrs of BLMA, got a tour and picture with the owner. Good times! Folks that spent $10 and left Lancaster Metrolink at 6:25am to make the event. TLRC members Marlan Woodside (red vest) and to his right Wilson James, the rest read about the trip and tagged along! We met others at the show that did not think about taking the Metrolink train. And they are Railfans??? Wilson James with the ladies staffing the Women In Railroading booth, no cheap date here, $65 for the framed photo, still a good deal and he met a friend with a car that hauled it to Lancaster!
May 2015 Issue - Page 6 East Kern G Scale Railroaders Story by Rick Passalacqua and Pictures by Marlan Woodside The first Thursday this month, I went to John Bell s and the two of us worked on a tunnel over a cemented part of his roadbed. John had already completed his first tunnel leading into the canyon on the lower track. That tunnel has a more flat mountain on top of it because an upper railroad track would rest on it. The tunnel we completed was a large corrugated half round tube laid on top of concrete blocks over the cemented roadbed until the right height was achieved. Then we covered it with roofing tarpaper and lots of dirt. It looks real nice now. We then started on another tunnel over another part of the cemented roadbed. We used the same techniques as the previous tunnel except that we ran out of tar paper and had to stop there. John had also put a temporary tunnel over a part of track that wasn t cemented. I took the digital level and put it on the blocks for the tunnel and the grades all were way too high, from 3% to 6%. That s Tunnel time at Bell Mountain, the one to the right of the picture is buried under dirt and the other is in the Pre stage The tunnel in the center of this picture will have a track going over the top, yes another Loop in Tehachapi! why it s always best to complete your tunnels after the roadbed is completed. That turned out to be the only get together for the month. Now you can understand why John Bell needs more DIRT, he s got ta bury those culverts to create tunnels! Dennis Keck, Robby Robinson, Rex Welker and his family and I helped set up the G Scale layout brought by the Lancaster and Northwestern club to the TLRC train show on Friday night. Then Saturday I went and saw some of their wonderful engines running. I also got a great Tee shirt from Friends of the Tehachapi Depot that changed the train scene from black and white in the shade to color outdoors. Pretty cool plus it promotes Tehachapi! We will continue to meet at John s on Thursdays, unless anyone wants to do anything different. Call me @ 661 821-7277 or 972-5069. Sorry I didn t get too many e-mails out last month for reminders, but I lost a horse (for good), fostered 12 kittens and had 11 puppies. You can see my mind was kind of busy. Hope 2 C U B 4 U do? Rick John s Bell thought of everything. He has placed several viewing benches around the layout for folks to watch the trains.
From the desk of the Paymaster Mike Schmitt, the following reports are provided for your review May 2015 Issue - Page 7 TLRC FINANCIAL REPORTS You are reading a special edition of the Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club newsletter. (You didn t want to read our financials anyway, did you?) We hope you enjoy reading about our activities and hope your interest in our club has been ignited such that you might consider joining in the fun with us! We are a non-profit organization that fosters the interests of our members in the hobby of railroading and modeling of railroads as well as seeking out railroad adventures to further our understanding and love of trains. We put on an occasional show or two as well over at West Park in Tehachapi and meet the second Saturday of each month at Kelcy s Restaurant (across the street from the Depot) in Tehachapi. Stop on by we d love to have you join us. To learn more, visit our website, send us an email or contact one of our board members or any member of the club! All this information is displayed on page 8 of this newsletter.
Activities: TLRC OFFICERS Superintendent Rex Welker 661-256-2147 Dispatcher Mario Terrazas 661-816-6314 Stationmaster Dean Smith 805-760-1035 Paymaster Mike Schmitt 661-821-5271 1st. Inspector Wilson James 661-823-1665 2nd. Inspector Marlan Woodside 760-373-4765 ADMINISTRATORS/CHAIRPERSONS Hospitality Cathy Welker Conductor Chris Howard Historian Rex Welker Membership Rick Passalacqua Loop Editor Marlan Woodside Scale Chairs: N Chris Howard HO Wilson James Toy Trains Doug Pickard G John Bell Z Marlan Woodside Facebook and Web Site Conductor Dean Smith and Ravi Balasuriya Promotions Maureen Cornyn Publicity Mike Schmitt Ways & Means Vacant Tours Marlan Woodside Event Coordinator Wilson James TLRC Email Address: tlrc_club@hotmail.com Facebook Address: Search for Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club Website Address: tlrc.club May 2015 Issue - Page 8 Loop Editor s Corner A train show is a Not for Profit operation! If you look at the Paymaster s Report you can see the proof! That is why we are so thankful to our members for paying their dues (hint, dues are due in June) and greatly appreciate the support provided by the baked goods sales, promotions and consignment tables, for without the monies brought in from these activities we would NOT EVEN, break EVEN. So many thanks to all those folks that supported these activities and staffed the booths. The sticker a customer effort was successful, no one turned down being stickered, a count of 361 attendees, 241 on Saturday and 120 on Sunday was recorded. Thanks to those that staffed the greeting entry way table. May is already upon and that means July will be a crew change dinner, but WAIT, we haven t selected a new slate of officers yet, so now is the time for members to step up and run for an office and make a difference in our club! Happy Training!!! Marlan Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club Monthly Newsletter of the Tehachapi Loop Railroad Club Post Office Box 876 Tehachapi, CA 93581 Table of Contents TLRC Train Show...Page 01 TLRC Train Show...Page 02 TLRC Train Show...Page 03 TLRC Train Show...Page 04 Fullerton Railroad Days...Page 05 Kern G Scale Railroaders...Page 06 Paymaster Report...Page 07 Officers & Contacts...Page 08 Next Meeting Date: 9th May 2015 @ 10am Location: Kelcy s Restaurant 110 West Tehachapi Boulevard