STAR The Texas Western w w w. t w m r c. o r g October February 2010 2018 610 Facebook Likes for our club page, @ Texas Western Model Railroad Club Everybody s Doing the Locomotion! In This Issue President s Bus. Car... 2 CAO s Baggage Car...3 October Meeting...3 CFO s Pullman Car...4 The Train Schedule...6 Photo Corner...5 COO s Coal Car...7 CDO s Sky Top... 8 Sept/Oct. Birthdays...10 Have a Suggestion Or a Story Idea? Contact: The STAR Editor at, galvinart@att.net LIKE US on Face- Book @ Texas Western Model Railroad Club #modeltrains #twmrcfwtx Golden Spikes were handed out to several members including many of our newer and our prospective members, by club President Darrell Cowles at the August Biz meeting.
2 October 2018 The STAR From The Business Car The Plano Train Show will be history by the time you read this article, however I want to thank each and every one of our members that stepped up and covered shifts at the show. I hope you had a good time working your shifts; as I have always enjoyed working them in past years. The most fun is taking tickets and watching families come through the doors with children so excited about trains. Yes, we model railroaders are excited about trains or we wouldn t be members or the TWMRC. But there is something magical to children about trains; always has been and I hope always will be. I see the same look in their faces when they watch a train go chugging by on a layout as I had on my face when I went downtown Fort Worth to Leonard Brothers department store with my family during Christmas. I stood out in the winter wind on Throckmorton Street and watched the beautiful train display in their window. Trains running, lights flashing, everything seemed to be moving before my eyes. It seemed I had just gotten there when my parents said it was too cold to stand there any longer and we had to go into the store. Any child that grew up in or around Fort Worth in the 1950 s and early 1960 s knew about Christmas Toyland in Leonard Brothers basement. Talk about magic! There was no internet on a computer showing the newest toy 24/7; nor did the television of the day show much in the way of toys. It was the job of the department store flyers to get children s attention. But Toyland had isles and isles of toys lighting up, moving, and making noise to attract the attention of young children. There was even a monorail to ride that ran around the ceiling of the entire room; it gave you a bird s eye view of everything below. Their Santa was great, he even had Rudolph with him! I hope you keep that feeling and excitement about what your club is doing and continue to come down and help build an amazing layout. See you at the club, Darrell Cowles The STAR is published by The Texas Western Model Railroad Club & The Texas Western Railroad Association, A 501c Non- Profit Organization. Visit our web site: www.twmrc.org 2018 Executive Board Darrell Cowles Chief Executive Officer ceo@twmrc.org Clarence Zink Chief Operations Officer coo@twmrc.org Ken Marcoux Chief Financial Officer cfo@twmrc.org Chris Galvin Chief Development Officer cdo@twmrc.org Jay Waters Chief Administration Officer cao@twmrc.org LIKE US on Facebook, @Texas Western Model Railroad Club Follow Us on Instagram: #twmrcfwtx
3 October 2018 The STAR From The CAO s Baggage Car October 2018 How time flies. My article from last October was about the Club trip to Chama to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. It does seem like it s been a year since that trip. I look back on my time on the Board of Directors one year as the Chief Financial Officer and five years as the Chief Administrative Officer. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving on the Board, but it is time for some new faces at the front of the room. Chris Galvin and Ken Marcoux (reluctantly) stepped up to join the Board last year. They have both done a great job and are outstanding Board members in their positions. There are num- erous members who can, and should, run for the CAO seat. It is not difficult, and I will gladly pass on my files and (limited) knowledge to the next elected candidate. I look forward to the coming year with new leadership and a layout that is progressing rapidly. By this time next year I hope to see a fully scenic d upper level, a fully functional lower level, operating sessions underway, and plans to start expanding the layout!! 2018 has been a great year with membership growth and layout progress. 2019 will be even better. The summer heat is finally over, and the crisp fall weather is just around the corner. Grab your tools and head on down to the Club and let s get our layout ready to show it off. Jay H2Os October 2018 Business Meeting Thurs. Oct. 4, @ 7 PM at Texas Western Clubhouse 6808 Forest Hill Dr. Forest Hill, TX Shop at AmazonSmile and Amazon will make a donation to: Texas Western Model Railroad Club Go to smile.amazon.com Then select Texas Western Model Railroad Club as the non-profit you d like to help. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases back to the club.
4 February October 2015 2018 The The STAR STAR -- The CFO s Pullman Sleeper Car But instead of this being a deathknell, the club looked for a way to survive. This of course led to our current residence and the resurgence of the club. All this is now ancient history but does lead up to new challenges. At the end of each month I do a review and reforecast of our finances. Three months ago when I did that review the numbers where quiet alarming. I thus had the unfortunate task of reporting my findings and concerns during an emergency meeting called by the BOD. THANK YOU! I have been a member of the Texas Western since the first year of its inception. Most of the time I ve taken it for granted, it was always going to be there and I was always lucky enough to be a member. We ve had to overcome a few tough patches over the past few years. The loss of my good friend and club benefactor, Joe Williams, and the subsequent loss of the club building and teardown of our beloved layout being a major setback. WE then expressed our concerns at the next business meeting and the membership response has been overwhelming. Dues collections are at all time highs, donations up, club member participation through the roof. The influx of new membership has been a true godsend and their enthusiasm and participation can t help but be noticed. It s become apparent to me that my love for the club is shared by all members, old and new. Thanks to all of you our financial footing is on much more solid ground and the futures so bright I m going to need shades ( thank you Huey). So once again I say THANK YOU and have fun! Stay Cool, Ken Marcoux
5 October 2018 The STAR Photo Corner Allen Street Bridge at the North End of the MKT s Ney yard in Ft. Worth as modeled by Mike Galligan. Allen Street bridge is being scratchbuilt by club member Mike Galligan as it appeared in our era. A unique feature of this bridge is that the on the west end of the structure the road narrowed. Mike has photo s that show this anomaly. I am building some home flats to flank both sides of the bridge that will show a common type of similarly constructed wood homes built in the 1920 s - 1940 s. If you ve seen what I ve been building in the back room you know now where they will be used. Chris Galvin
6 October 2018 The STAR THE TRAIN SCHEDULE Upcoming Meetings, Events, Shows & Clinics OCTOBER 2018 4th - Texas Western October Business Meeting, 7 pm, at TWMRC Clubhouse, Thursday 6th - Youth In Model Railroading Meeting, 10 am, Saturday 11th - Work Night, 7p - 9:30p, at TWMRC Clubhouse, Thursday 13th - 10 AM, LSR Cowcatcher Division 1 August Meeting, Make- &-Take-Clinic: Telephone Pole Pt. 2, Saturday 13th - Work Day, 3p - 9p, Saturday 18th - Work Night, 7p - 9:30p, Thursday 20th- Work Day, 3p - 9p, Saturday 25th - Work Night, 7p - 9:30p, Thursday 27th - Work Day, 3p - 9p, Saturday NOVEMBER 1st - Texas Western Business Meeting, 7 pm, Thursday 3rd - Youth In Model Railroading Meeting, 10 am, Saturday 10th - NMRA Lone Star Region Cowatcher Division 1 Meeting, 10 am, Saturday N. Texas Council of Railroad Clubs Dallas Area Train Show dfwtrainshows.com Jan. 19-20, 2019 Sat. 10a - 5p Sun. 10a - 4p Plano Centre Adults: $10.00 NMRA LSR Cowcatcher Division 1 Christmas Party T.B.D. 7 PM @ the Texas Western Model Railroad Clubhouse
7 October 2018 The STAR COO s Coal Car Summer is over officially in another two weeks (Sept. 22, with the vernal equinox), but vacation season was definitely done on Labor Day. I smoked a turkey for the family, which was most likely the last one that poor old smoker will do. I ve had that smoker/grill combination for almost 10 years, and smoked 30 briskets, pork shoulders, and a few turkeys through that thing. It s so used up that there are two holes burned through the firebox. Time for a new one. Speaking of new ones, it is nearly time to elect another Board of Directors again. Both Darrell and Jay stated that they will NOT serve another term as CEO and CAO respectively. They have both had some difficult personal challenges this year, and need to step back for a while and practice this hobby quietly. I can respect that. I will continue to serve as the club COO if you will have me do so. Please do not nominate me for CEO. I will not accept the nomination. I continue to work and travel as I have before, therefore would not make a suitable CEO. Besides, I don t have the personality for it. I believe Ken Marcoux, the absolute best CFO we have ever had; and Chris Galvin, a social media guru and all around fine CDO and Texas Star editor, will also serve in their current positions if you, the TWMRC membership, will have them. They have both done an excellent job this year. Think carefully about who should be nominated for CEO and CAO. We embarked on a journey several years ago to become a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, to become a center of modeling and prototype knowledge, and to be the BEST model railroad club around. We have achieved, or are in the process of achieving those goals. The past two years we have been attracting new members at a rate the TWMRC has NEVER seen before, and have lost fewer members to dissatisfaction than ever before. We are keeping the club going nicely, and the layout is progressing Our new CEO and CAO must be prepared to continue that journey. I for one, have enjoyed the trip so far, and believe it has shown its value, and instilled a large amount of pride in each and every one of us. One other thing I would like to expound upon is bringing youth into the hobby. As a bunch of older guys, we bemoan the lack of skills we see in the younger generations. Too much time on the cell phones. Hand-eye coordination centered on thumbing texts to heavens knows who. Moronic YouTube videos. I don t need to know how to do that, I ll just download the app. O.M.G., if it wasn t for earbuds, their brains would be dripping out their ears! I ve been the TWMRC liason working with the YMR (Youth in Model Railroading) group for several years now. While frustrating at times, I have found working with the YMR group enjoyable. John Skiba, the YMR leader, and I have been able to transfer some of our knowledge about woodworking, using tools, basic electrical systems, wiring, and modeling skills over to those kids. Are they experts yet? No. But, eventually one or two (maybe more) will become proficient, and maybe ( On most work nights you ll find several members including Andy, Johnnie & Jerry doing track work. Or Trapper, David C., Erik and others to name a few. ) one might even become an MMR. I think that is worth the time and effort. But how do we get the younger kids hooked on trains? I think it is a gradual process. Most of you have met my Grandson Jack (aka Trey ) at some time in the past few years. He got started with one of those wooden (PlaySchool?) train sets with the grooved wooden tracks that go together like jigsaw puzzles when he was about 2. He kept all the track and parts and stuff in a plastic bin. Put it up and take it down. Easy-peasy. Why he took to that who knows? It wasn t a gift from me, but we played with it a lot together. Whenever we were over at his house, it was always Poppie come look at what I built. He graduated to Lionel O-27 when he was 5 and I gave it to him for Christmas. Him and his sisters built a whole town of Lego buildings and put them on the 4x8. He s 13 now, and remembers the old club. He liked going up into the loft and watching the trains run from there. Now he is laying roadbed, spiking down track, soldering track drops, and building structures with Ken and Chris. I think the key to it is to promote but don t push the natural fascination kids have with trains at an early age, but as soon as they are capable of assembling things, push them in that direction. Possibly the Grandkids are now too old, but how many 30 somethings do you know that are seeking a diversion from work and home life, and could be shown the joys of model railroading if a light was shone on the path? Or maybe the Great Grand kids?? Keep the greasy side down and on the rails. Clarence Zink
8 May October 2016 2018 The STAR The STAR The CDO s Parlor Car CDO s Sky-Top Lounge Car That We now have a New recruiting tool for finding more new members and to reach more modelers looking to join our club. I put together a one page three-folded Join the Texas Western MRC flyer. You received it early in September via news@twmrc.org and we will put a.pdf copy of the flyer in our forum on our website, so that it can be accessed for printing and distributed at area hobby shops, open houses and area train shows. Clinics, Did you happen to see or attend Leo Palitti s telephone pole clinic at the September NMRA Cowcatcher Division 1 meeting at our clubhouse? It was another terrific one put on by one of the top modelers in the Division and a member of the Texas Western. We surely are lucky to have Leo & Lorrie around us to learn from and visit about building structures and scenery for our club layout. If you re new to the area or our club, make it a point to go and visit their home layout,, The Black Bear and Bayou Model Railroad. Their laywill be on the layout tours of the upcoming North Texas Council Fall Plano Train Show Sept. 29-30, 2018. When you go to the show to work some hours for the TWMRC and or the Division, make sure to pick up a Layout Tour Guide for directions and times of their open house. You won t be disappointed as they have put together one of the finest Model RR s in DFW. Mike Corley is putting some scenery clinics together for our club, as we are getting closer to adding scenic elements to our layout. These clinics will focus on what can be found in the specific area s for Fort Worth, North, South, East and West. And will cover cuts and fills under the roadbed to add a 3rd dimension, trees, e.g, cottonwood, elm, mesquite, oak, shrubery and weeds, grass, water, structures; where and how to situate them. Intregrating structures, landscape, and track. And creating the scene, e.g., adding details like telephone poles, people, vehicles, and fire hydrants... To kick off this 9 part series, Mike plans to do a broad overview, of the tools, and glue, and expectations for the series of clinics. We will cover more about the clinics when Mike is ready to start the first one. You may recall my August article when I shared that Dave Kohler and Myself have both participated in the Facebook Birthday Donation event, in which if You re on Facebook you can accept donations to your favorite Non-Profit organization in lieu of personal gifts from family and friends for your birthday. This actually works and with our club registered with the program, the TWMRC will receive all $240. raised. If you have a birthday coming up, I encourage you to give this a try, and I hope you will consider listing, the Texas Western Model Railroad Club as the non-profit you d like the donations to be awarded. As I have been purchasing art materials for the upcoming State Fair of Texas, I want to remind you when you order products online to use Amazon Smile, Amazon will give ( Continued on Page 9... ) 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitble organization of your choice. Simply go to smile.amazon.com to sign up. Every little bit helps our club continue its mission. Happy railroading, See you at the meeting!!! Chris Galvin
9 October 2018 The STAR Division 1 September Meeting Recap At the 2018 September Cowcatcher D1 meeting Division 1 Achievement Program Advisor, and Texas Western member Leo Palitti put on a Make-N- Take Clinic How to Build a working telephone pole lamp light. Leo has been putting on several modeling clinics for the division this past year and this one was another nice one, as I and others participated in the 1 hour session. At the October Division 1 Meeting, there will be a DCC clinic, regarding Running trains instead of running your Layout by Tom Pearson. The D1 Meeting will start at 10 am on Saturday, October 13th, at the TWMRC Clubhouse. ( Leo Palitti ) ( Terry got a little friendly advice from Erik ) Chris Galvin
10 October January 2015 2018 The STAR The STAR SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2018 BIRTHDAYS Chris Johnson 9/2 David Crumpton 9/3 Adrian Chappell 9/30 John Skiba 10//15 Kevin Leddy 10/16 David Kranda 10/18 Mike Galligan 10/19 Johnny Skiba 10/25 Hutch Hinton 10/27 THE TEXAS WESTERN THE TEXAS WESTERN STAR STAR Let s All Keep the Clean UP Crew Clubhouse Clean!!! JANUARY 2015 Everyone Please Pitch In and keep DARRELL the bathrooms, COWLES kitchen, layout room, hallways, electrical room, ADA David bathroom, Hall parking lots, clean. Bob Hunt Throw away your drink cups Ken Roose and fast food bags. Texas Western Railroad Association 6808 Forest Hill Drive, Forest Hill, TX