The RailLink Mississippi Valley Associated Railroaders M.V.A.R. Carleton Place, Ontario Canada Our 24th Year 1987-2011 March 2011 (Photo courtesy John Morin) Check out the M.V.A.R. web site www.mvar.almontecentral.ca for the latest club updates: and www.facebook.com mvar
The President s Message for March 2011 David Biggs We all know that saying Out of sight out of mind. Well that was the way of the garden railroad in my backyard this winter. Covered in snow you wouldn t know anything resembling some train tracks was under there somewhere!!! Fortunately the days have got longer and spring seems to have arrived this week, enough so that a lot of the snow has melted away to reveal the garden railway once again. Now, once again, I have thoughts of finishing off that G scale station and putting out the water tower for another season. Unfortunately for me my work schedule yet again precludes a visit to another train show. This coming weekend is the Kingston show and for those of you who can get out to see this I will be most envious [Photos please ;-)]. It s always great to get out to a show and this one in particular also affords some very large scale train spotting just up the road. David Public Relations and Programs Larry Skinner Each Saturday morning members, friends, and guests come out to the Gourmet Restaurant for breakfast and railroad social time. This is a great place to get and share ideas for building your railroad. We start arriving about 07:00h and we eat at 08:00h. We socialize until 09:00h. On Wednesday mornings 6 to 8 members come out to Tim Horton s in Almonte for café and our Railroad Social hour. We start arriving about 09:30h and we meet until about 10:30h. On Wednesday mornings (9:00 to 12noon) from April to October are the times when a few R.G.S. Train Yard members come over to David McCurdy s Rio Grande Southern Train Yard to continue to improve the garden railroad layout. Make these times at the layout a regular part of your railroad social life. Call another club member this week and get together for a house visit and see what they are doing with their layout or maybe make some suggestions... 2
David Biggs, President and MVAR Librarian We have a Growing Video and Book library that is Not being used as much as it could. The library is taken to every meeting and you can sign out what you want and return it next meeting or our Saturday morning breakfast. dbiggs@biggsworld.com Ben Sanders, Treasurer The closing balance as of Jan 15 th is $963.89 bsanders@ucalgary.ca. David McCurdy, Membership Get to know your fellow MVAR members! Take time on Saturday mornings for the MVAR breakfast at the Gourmet in Carleton Place and/or plan to join the Wednesday morning coffee sessions at Tim Hortons in Almonte. Regular monthly meetings are at the Carleton Place Arena on the fourth Thursday of each month during the club year (except Dec.) and our Dinner meetings (Sept., Jan. and May) are at Christ Church in Ashton. The T-Trak Sub meets at the Carleton Place Arena on the second Thursday each month..dmccurdy@sympatico.ca Rod Goodwin, Webmaster To all members who have web pages; You can have your link posted on our website. TO ALL MEMBERS CHECKOUT THE WEB SITE FOR ACTIVITIES THAT THE MEMBERS WILL BE HOSTING. wingood@sympatico.ca Larry Skinner, Public Relations, Programs and RailLink Editor Please remember that this is YOUR club and if YOU want to make it exciting and active it is up to YOU to do so. My part is simple take over a fully developed newsletter model and put your inputs into it. This year promises to be a busy one with many new programs and events already in the works or in the planning stages. Please send your thoughts, pictures and articles to me for RailLink. This is an important way to really make MVAR you railroad club! lskinner@storm.ca 3
After the BiG STORM, March 2008 The Big Storm that made its way through Eastern Ontario from March 7 to the 9 th 2008 certainly had a lasting effect on the flow of traffic and lack of traffic flow on the CPR, Belleville Sub for several days. I managed to get out to Feldspar on March 7 th as the snow just began to fall and accumulated with some severity. Shortly thereafter I sought shelter to wait out the storm for a couple of days. Sunday morning I was able to dig my vehicle out of the mess and made my way over to Smiths Falls to survey the activity or inactivity in the yard. The usual Road Switchers 3043, 3072, 8203 and 5878 were somewhat snowed in on the Shop Tracks! The scanner indicated that VIA #643 was 10 minutes from the Falls and CP#138 was to wait on the south track at Boundary Rd until the VIA cleared. Over at the Station I learned that the Switch Broom has a new application as a window scraper. Our own Dennis McTavish had assisted the 4
Engineman by passing him the broom in the attempts to clear the windshield. Under the snow was VIA #903!. After some improvements to visibility the VIA headed south knowing that ahead there would be 4 foot drifts to bust through on the Brockville Sub! The first drift it encountered was near the wye just south of the Station. and head into the Station so that one of its units could be transferred to a westward train. An hour or so later the #138 with 9718 & CEFX 1032 was instructed to drop its train at Boundary Rd., The Conductor was knee deep in the snow after tying down the train west of Boundary Rd. Meanwhile back at the Station area the effects of the storm on the recently arrived train from Montreal were noticeably present. 8826 & 9675 lead what looks like train #159 or #153 towards the Station on the north track. 5
At this point I decided to head west with the hopes of catching some westward movement out of the Falls. Instead I caught the glimpse of an eastward stack west end of Elmsley. Signals came up for a second train that eventually pulled to stop at the west end of Elmsley siding.. 8726 pulled up at the west switches Elmsley siding, and seemingly waited for instructions to proceed to Smiths Falls. Another great day trackside, March 9, 2008 John Soehner of Bolingbroke The last couple of times I have scratch built a structure, several of you have asked me if I took pictures and documented it. Well, this time I did. I was looking through a book awhile ago, and saw a picture of an open sided single bay engine shed. It looked sort of neat, so I thought I would like to have one on my layout. Not the beauty of making a non-prototypical layout without copying an existing road is that pretty much what I want I can put on it. So, trying to keep with the 30 s, 40 s, and 50 s era I figured why not an open sided engine bay for minor work and repairs. 6
So hear it goes. Remember, this is for N Scale: First, I make a template drawing of my frames. It is a little hard to see in this picture, but I made the template on computer paper, and then covered it with wax paper so that when I was gluing the pieces together they would not stick to the paper. Once the template was ready, I began assembling the frames. They are 24mm high at the sides and 46 mm high in the centre. The side pieces are 34 mm apart on the inside. I should note that all the wood parts were made with pine lumber that I obtained from Bob Summers and the sawmill on the Innisville Southern Railroad. The rate I am going through it, I will have to negotiate more lumber soon. During assembly, I held the pieces in place with strips of masking tape while waiting for the glue to dry. 7
The above two images show the two types of frames used. I made two of the one on the left for the front and rear of the engine shed, and I made four of the type on the right for the inner frames. Once I had all the frames made, it was time to create a jig so that everything would line up. I also decided that instead of making concrete footers for each leg, that I would use a sill piece. The sills were cut to 120mm long and marked with 24mm centres for the frames. 8
With the front piece in place, it was time to start putting in the middle frames. That part was easy what wasn t was installing the spreaders and the braces. That was tedious. Placing more frames and installing spreaders and braces... So now the structure has been completed but... 9
Here it is almost finished. I applied an india ink/alcohol wash to make the structure look weathered, then added the tin roof which I still have to age and weather. I also added a partial wall to the right side and a tool shed (which still needs weathering and doors). All in all, I am happy with the results, and once I get it on the layout, do some scenicing and add some old barrels, pallets, wheels and other junk it should be ready to receive it s first engine. Now if I could just find some pictures of a foundry! SHOW REMINDER Don t forget Rail-O-Rama 19, 20 March 2011 in the Ambassador Hotel, Kingston Ontario 10
MVAR Meeting 24 February 11 We had a real treat this meeting with not one but two speakers. Anne Shropshire did a presentation on A Way Ahead for the Railroad Museum of Eastern Ontario. She told us a bit about how she arrived at RMEO and her subsequent hiring as Curator for the museum. She also spoke to the changes in the Board of the museum and laid out a schedule for the many events now planned for this year. All in all, this painted a picture of renewed optimism and a brighter future for the RMEO. Her presentation included as well a collection of photos and descriptions of the many pieces of power and rolling stock and in many cases the current condition as well as planned restoration activities. Welcome aboard, Anne. It s great to know that RMEO is getting back on track! (A copy of Anne s presentation will be posted soon on our MVAR site) Brian Hull brought in some of his Marklin Trains and told us how this all started and a bit about his lifelong experiences with Marklin trains. He spoke of his family life as a child of an RCAF family in post war Germany and related how Marklin cars were readily available through the BX were his father was stationed. These were clearly the good old days with an HO model railway car going for approximately 4 Marks or roughly a dollar within the reach of a boy s allowance. Brian illustrated the robust construction of this Marklin equipment by showing us a tinplate goods van from his collection. With his ambitions recently rekindled Brian told us he is already busy a home layout. See Brian s article, MR 101 Beginning Again next in this issue. Larry Skinner 11
MR 101 Beginning Again I received my first wind-up train, a big pre-ww II, Hornby maroon engine that had been my uncle s, sometime about age six or seven. Then, a couple of years later a Hornby circle of track and a green wind up engine and two carriages. This train layout served chiefly as background for the battles I staged with my father s Brittain s soldiers. It wasn t until I celebrated my 11th birthday, in Germany, on an RCAF fighter base, that I received my first HO model train a circle of track, a yard engine, two 3rd class carriages and a flat car from the German maker Marklin. In those days, an additional freight car cost about 4 marks or a dollar, so it was something that could be bought from my allowance or purchased with birthday and Christmas money. My model train enthusiasm lasted until I was almost fourteen and went off to boarding school. At Christmas time, the set would come out to show Christmas guests and, surprisingly, because my father liked to see it in action. By this time, the layout, still temporary, had become more elaborate with automatic crossing gates, electric switches and signals that could stop trains within a block of track. I added a larger steam engine and long express train carriages with lighting. However, truth told, too soon my enthusiasm for model trains went into hibernation and stayed there for about fifty years as I got on with life. This is a pretty typical story for its era. Then retirement and learning about the Mississippi train guys from George Margita. Gradually the spirit of this gang blew on embers, ash covered but not extinct. The embers began to glow. What really opened new doors for me was MR 101 in a church hall in Nepean this winter. Through mentoring, hands on activity and the extraordinary competence and passion of our hosts and presenters, I discovered the freedom and creativity that could be brought to adding scenery and interest to even a relatively small and simple layout. For me, this was a life-altering event. As an eleven year-old, I had attempted to assemble simple wooden kits, with primitive completion standards. I had also made a little mountain out of a blob of plaster of Paris, and I had scattered grass on a board and glued it down. But I had never created a scene with any compelling sense of realism. At MR 101, within little more than an hour, I had created a square foot diorama on pink foam board crossed by a strip of HR track embedded in very realistic aggregate road bed and through a scene that could have been a snap of the Bruce Peninsula or the rail line at the edge of the Park. There were rocks and trees and scrub bushes, fallen 12
logs and the makings of a trail up a rock and a path through the terrain. More amazingly, within that same time and with the same materials, eighteen or so dioramas had been created with the same materials, each to a high standard and each calling to mind an utterly different and compelling scene. At my table, as at each of the others, two dioramas were in production. My table partner and his seven year old son worked with a level of team work that seemed to give great pleasure to both. We had learned how to make trees by gluing finely ground green foam on branches that gave realism, we learned how to glue foam board and secure aggregate with generous amounts of white glue mixed to a magic formula refined by experience. We learned how to mix the modern version of Plaster of Paris, gray coloured CelluClay and where and how to buy it. We added and glued down, grass and shrubs and dead branches. Our hands-on experience complete, we re-assembled to circulate through four teaching stations to learn about the must have tools of model railroaders, how to maintain rolling stock, how to lay down track and how to select the type and purpose of our layouts. In short, a year s learning in the second part of a morning. By shortly after noon we were complete and our hosts, organized beyond belief, were well on their way to rolling up the tent and leaving the site, scout-style, as though they had never been. A lot of learning in a little time, a morning s education which, truth told, may take a few months to be absorbed and put creatively to work. But once the creative fire is lit.... Brian Hull Editor s Note: MR 101 was a special program organized presented by the St. Lawrence Division, or SLD, of The Frontier Region of NMRA Canada. It was presented in two sessions in October 2010 and February 2011 to help introduce the World s Greatest Hobby, Model Railroading. It was targeted at newcomers and potential model railroaders was attended by a wide range of ages from about 5 years to over 80 years old. Well done SLD! See http://www3.sympatico.ca/gd.knowles/sld/sld_index.htm For the SLD website. 13
RR from the Web... Here s what Dallas Model Works says about the latest addition to their My Railroad web program. And remember, the best part of this model railroad program is its price free! Ever want to get more of those cool little 55 gallon drums that you picked up a couple of years ago but now you can't remember who makes them, what the part number is or where you got them? Problem solved. My Accessories lets you record any of the trillions of tiny accessories that model railroaders accumulate. You probably won't want to use it for everything Walthers' New River Mining Company kit is pretty recognizable on its own but for all of those myriad smaller accessories such as sign posts, decal sheets or the aforementioned 55 gallon drums, My Accessories will prove an invaluable resource when you suddenly realize you need more of them six years from now. Have a look at this great web service at: http://www.dallasmodelworks.com/interchange/mylayoutinfo.asp More from Springfield... Our own John Soener and his marvellous HO custom trucks has been featured on the 1/87 Vehicle Club s website: 14
John Soehner built this vintage truck tractor using a Sylvan GMC 620 resin cab mounted on an Athearn tandem axle chassis to represent one of the tougher GMCs John says he recalls from the '50s. Behind the GMC a Sylvan White 5000 with an Athearn container chassis that was extended and converted into a flatbed trailer with strip styrene. TALES FROM THE OMR February 2011 At last report way back in December 2009, the big news involved turnout repairs in Almonte yard that had somehow slipped out of gauge. And Midland, to make some contribution to the report, advised of some repair work to their coaling tower and finally, there was something of a census report that the population of the OMR service area had grown by about one hundred additional people. Then over a year passed when there were no OMR reports presented or produced because very little transpired that was noteworthy of reporting or reading. Looking back over that year, it is less than noteable that the railway maintained some level of operation, some highway construction was commenced and a scrapped coach was converted into Marrion s Diner located adjacent to Almonte Yard and the R.J. Frost Ice and Storage building. Now, coming up to date, we have once again some real news to report for you. You may recollect from several prior reports that the OMR, when its own resources were insufficient, often procured services from the Biscay Bay Railway people and they have done so again recently. This time Biscay Bay Chief Engineer Mike Smithson was engaged to develop a means by which operators at Almonte tower could identify the direction of train travel in every block of the main line. A design concept was proposed and approved and a prototype assembled and installed for test in one block. The outcome of the trial was a success and production of sufficient units was commissioned to equip the entire main line. Production of the devices has begun and they are being installed along the main as they are delivered from the shop. However, purchasing have noted a shortage of some components in the initial production delivery but the back order situation should be resolved in a few weeks. Stay tuned... George Margita 15
Coming Events Mar 19, 20 - Kingston Rail O Rama Ambassador Hotel, 1550 Princess Street, Kingston Saturday 10:00-16:00; Sunday 10:00-16:00 Organized by: Kingston Division, Canadian Railroad Historical Association Contact: 613-542-9461 Thursday, Mar 24 MVAR Meeting night: Keith Hansen Railroad book author of: "Last Train to Lindsay" and "North from Edmonton, The Northern Alberta Railways", raconteur, photographer, etc. Thursday, Apr 14 MVAR T-Trak Sub Meeting night: Clinic Abandoned Trackage Larry Skinner Thursday, Apr 28 TBA May 20-23 Trains & Tulips - The 7 th Annual Canadian Railway Convention Algonquin College Woodroffe Campus, Nepean Biulding A Saturday 10:00-17:00; Sunday 10:00-16:00 Organized by: Canadian Association of Railway Modellers (CARM) May 21, 22 Trains & Tulips Train Show Algonquin College Woodroffe Campus, Nepean Saturday 10:00-17:00; Sunday 10:00-16:00 Organized by: Canadian Association of Railway Modellers (CARM) (This show is affiliated with the Trains & Tulips - The Canadian Railway Convention, held May 20-23.) 16
Some of the M.V.A.R. members Railway Patches. M.V.A.R. David McCurdy Dennis MacTavish Jim Davis David Biggs Bob Summers John Soehner Eric Halpin John Morin T_TRAK Sub W.G.H. You re Logo Here You re Logo Here You re Logo Here You re Logo Here You re Logo Here Check out the M.V.A.R. web site for the latest club updates: www.mvar.almontecentral.ca and www.facebook.com mvar MVAR Executives for The 2010-2011 Year. President: David Biggs 613.863.7627 Secretary/Archivist Ron Legge 613.257.5110 Treasurer: Ben Sanders 613.253.6064 Membership: David McCurdy 613.253.5519 Program & PR Larry Skinner 613.264.0081 Library: David Biggs 613.863.7627 Newsletter: Larry Skinner 613.264.0081 Webmaster: Rod Goodwin 613.256.0551 Web Site: www.mvar.almontecentral.ca 17