RED MARKERS Newsletter of the Central New York Division of the Northeastern Region, National Model Railroad Association, Inc. SERVING MODEL RAILROADERS IN AND AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE NEXT MEETING... BOB VICKERY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19TH, 2-4 PM At this Meeting and in this Issue... Bob s Layout models the railroads that ran into Sioux City. Currently the Illinois Central, Great Northern and Burlington are modeled. The Modeled areas are the Illinois Central Yard, the Engine facility, and the Sioux City industrial area contains passenger stations, a coal provider, freight houses etc. This layout has multiple staging yards. Other Roads modeled are St. Paul Minneapolis, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific. 1) DIVISION BUSINESS: Superintendent Messenger will report on division business a. 2014 Great NY State Model Train Fair booth staffing b. MOW Award 2) 2015 SCHEDULE: Discuss the tentative 2015 schedule for the Division. 3) MODEL POPULAR VOTE CONTEST: Get building a model for this meeting as we will feature a model popular vote contest 4) RAFFLE: Don t forget your quality donations for the raffle and your wallet to get your raffle tickets. Also, a free raffle ticket to each member wearing their name badge! PAGE 1
The Brass Hats Central New York Division - ELECTED - Superintendent Bernard Messenger 9388 Paris Hill Rd. Sauquoit, NY 13456 (315) 737-7437 bernardmessenger@gmail.com Asst. Superintendent Ken Cameron 8462 Poolsbrook Road Kirkville, NY 13082 (315) 687-3697 kcameron@twcny.rr.com Chief Clerk Ed O Rourke 36 Nursery Lane Syracuse, NY 13210 315-425-9224 eorourke@twcny.rr.com Paymaster Charlie Albee 215 Falls Blvd Chittenango, NY 13037 315-687-3282 calbee1@verizon.net - APPOINTED - NMRA Achievement Program Representative Dave Martini 6943 Shannon Way Liverpool, NY 13088 (315) 457-7437 kmartin1@twcny.rr.com NMRA Member Aid Chairman Jim Heidt, P.O. Box 25 Clockville, NY 13043 (315) 697-6227 jimheidt@hotmail.com Division Clinic Coordinator Bill Brown, 6002 Singletree Lane Jamesville, NY 13078 (315) 454-2516 larcproducts@yahoo.com Train Show Coordinator Lenn Amrhein, 6306 Meadow Drive Rome, NY 13440 (315) 334-4841 lamrhein@twcny.rr.com Division Storekeeper Ed Olszewski (315) 488-4193 eolszew1@twcny.rr.com Red Markers Co-Editors Ed Olszewski and Ed O Rourke 122 Blackstone Way Syracuse, NY 13219 (315) 488-4193 eolszew1@twcny.rr.com eorourke@twcny.rr.com Distributed through our web site at www.cnynmra.org, domestic US Mail Delivery available, 2014 CNY Division, NMRA, All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. Loose Spikes (Notes from the Ashpit ) 2014 PAYMASTERS REPORT Don t Get Left at the Station... To stay onboard and keep receiving Red Markers e -mail notices, you need to come to this meeting (or at least every third meeting). If you absolutely can t attend and want to continue to receive a mailed issue, send $3.00 to Charlie Albee (see left), make the check payable to CNY Division, NER. Of course you are always welcome to pick up the latest issue on-line at www.cnynmra.org. But money is a poor substitute. Come to the meeting because your check book won t have half the fun you will!! We continue to grow and plan exciting things. So don t miss out!! Thanks. BEGINNING BALANCE - 29 August 2014... $ 1,973.51 RECEIPTS: 9-16-2014 Donation & NER distribution:... $ 311.54 9-23-2014 Raffle (9-21-2014):... $ 45.00 TOTAL RECEIPTS... $ 356.54 EXPENDITURES: 8-31-2014 Bank fee:... $ 6.50 8-23-2014 Picnic Expenses (8-9-2014):... $ 68.82 TOTAL EXPENDITURES... $ 75.32 ENDING BALANCE, 7 October 2014... $ 2,254.73 Respectfully Submitted: Charles Albee, Paymaster Division Name Badges are available from Jim Heidt for $7.00. Price includes postage to mail your badge to you by First Class Mail. No more of this holding onto them or giving them to buddies to pass on. The $7.00 covers all costs. REMEMBER - Contact our Chief Clerk if you ever have trouble receiving your Red Markers. Also, if you need to change your e-mail address or post office address drop the Clerk a line. The Division Chief Clerk s contact information is listed in The Brass Hats sidebar to the left. Please have your articles and any items for Loose Spikes to us by the date listed below. Remember, EARLIER IS ALWAYS BETTER! Thanks for your support, Ed & Ed. 11/14/2014 (Continued on page 4 - LOOSE SPIKES) PAGE 2
From The Freight Shed Thanks to Dick Lautenslager for opening his layout for our September meeting. It was a few years since our last meeting at Dick s. A good time was had by all. Now that the Palmer Convention has passed I just wanted to say it was fun. If you are ever passing though From The Dispatchers Desk Prototype research is something we all must do to accurately portray the railroads we model. Even someone freelancing a model railroad needs a certain amount of fidelity to prototype, and unless one is modeling present day railroading and can visit trackside to gather this information, research needs to be done using available sources. The Internet, of course, provides a nearly limitless source of such information if one has the patience to sift through it all. Right now I am installing the station platforms and motor storage area in New Haven. Putting New Haven Railroad Station into Google nets 10 pages of references. I m looking for details of the station platforms and electric locomotive service area, but most of the photos are of cars or locos. This will require pulling each photo up and examining for detail. Beyond that, I have various printed sources that must be consulted to carry out such research. The New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association publishes a quarterly magazine. This is a great source of prototype information. They also publish a calendar, which contains at least 14 photos, also very useful for my research. There are Massachusetts, I recommend The Steaming Tender Restaurant in Palmer. It is a great place to watch trains and get an excellent meal. Speaking of conventions, the 2015 Convention is still up in the air. It will be in New Jersey if it happens and may be a joint venture with the Mid-Eastern Region. The 2016 Convention will be hosted by the Hudson-Berkshire Division. Looking forward to this meeting at Bob Vickery's. I've had the pleasure of operating his busy layout and am impressed with what he and his friends have done in the also a number of photo collections published in books about the New Haven, and most railroads of any size. This is where I have been concentrating my research at present. Checking out Dave Sweetland s New Haven Color Pictorial Vol. One The West End gives me almost 20 pages of New Haven Station photos. What can we learn from them? Several photos show the sand house, sand bin and sand tower. One of them has enough detail to create rough drawings of the sand delivery system. There was also an inspection pit and inspection platform. The platform appears to be of wood construction, which makes sense working around 11,000 volts AC. Several photos show electric switch machines. I will need to add them, and the dwarf signals as well. Another photo shows a hose between the tracks evidently a ground steam connection. I don t have a way to model the leaking steam, but the area around it will need to look wet with standing water. There is a signal of some sort on the platform. Inquiring on the New Haven Railroad discussion group website eventually unearthed the information that these were train start signals, used to let the engineer know he was cleared PAGE 3 way of building and operating his expansive layout. We are having a Popular Vote Model Contest at this meeting, so bring a model to display. If you're having any problems getting the Red Markers or anything else just call or email me. That's what I'm here for. Don't forget, if you would like to nominate someone in the Division for the MOW award, send your nomination to me or to Ken Cameron. That's about it for my thoughts. See you on the 19 th at Bob's. to pull away. There is a fair amount of sand where the engines would have waited. Also a lot of different out-buildings of various sizes and colors, and a number of old cars used for storage or work space. All this from one book. I have an entire bookshelf to consult if I wish to do so. Someone freelancing a layout would still need most of this information in order to make things look right regardless of the railroad being modeled. Enjoy your research. See you at Bob Vickery s on October 19. Ed and Ed
LOOSE SPIKES (Continued from page 2 Bernie notes in his Freight Shed column this month that there is presently no confirmed site for a 2015 NER Convention. Given the timetable for such events to happen, it appears unlikely there will be one. However, there are a couple of other options available to us. With the National Convention in Portland,OR, this year some of us may opt to do some visiting closer to home. The Mid Eastern Region has a convention in Mount Laurel, NJ, October 22-25, 2015. Mount Laurel is in Central NJ, pretty much due east of Philadelphia, about 4.5 5 hours drive from Syracuse. The 2015 Niagara Frontier Region Convention is being hosted by the Lakeshores Division at RIT, May 15 17, 2015. This could be a couple of day trips. The 2016 NER Convention will be hosted by the Hudson-Berkshire Division, September 15 18 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. Plenty of options for us to examine. It is always interesting to visit new places and see what they have to offer in terms of modeling. The 2014 Great NY State Model Train Fair put on by the CNY Chapter, NRHS will soon be upon us as well (November 1 & 2). The Division will be setting up a table along with the NER. We will be seeking volunteers to man the table at the meeting October 19 at Bob Vickery s layout. Plan on giving a couple of hours if you can and get your admission into the show paid for by the Division. Mark your calendars; the Large Scale train group at Drivers Village will hold two Family Train Days, November 29 and December 27, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Drivers Village layout. CNY Division Executive Board meeting September 9, 2014 Denny s Oneida Call to order: 6:05 PM Present: Bernard Messenger, Charles Albee, Ken Cameron, Ed O Rourke Discussed Palmer Convention highlights, good and not so good Charlie Albee provided a Paymaster Report: Current balance $2,209.73 Total includes $308.54 revenue sharing from NER Discussion regarding bank service charges Need a tax ID before moving account; Wait on National plan to allow use of National s tax ID Proposed Schedule for 2015: January 10 or 17 Joint meet in Auburn with LSD (January 24-25 is West Springfield show) February 22 Eastwood SMRRC show April 11 & 12 This is Ops til You Drop weekend Suggested possibly offering open houses at non-ops layouts for Division and guests on Sunday Possibly tie this to Tout d Chooch event? May 16-17 LSD is hosting NFR Region Convention possibly tie into same May 9 10 is Mother s Day weekend & May 23 24 is Memorial Day weekend June 28 Aug 9: Picnic, Bill Brown has offered to host on this date (August 23 29: National convention, Portland OR) September 19 or 20 November 1 (Saturday Oct. 31 is Halloween) November 7 8 NRHS Great NY State Model Train Fair December 12 Auction (alternates every other year with banquet) Suggestions: Gary Frost? NRHS museums? Brian Curry? Utica/New Hartford area? Further discussion needed regarding Ops Weekend/Open Houses/Tour d Chooch see if members are interested, discuss with Bill Brown, schedule board meeting to work out details. Bernard will discuss this at Sept. 21 Division meeting Train Show will follow similar pattern to last year. Call Bernard s cell to get admission pass. Need to set up on Friday Work with Scooter to use NER set-up. Discussed members bring models to work on while tending tables, need people to meet and greet attendees Discussion about borrowing a Timesaver set up for interactive display. Ken will check availability with LSD. Deferred discussion of Bus Tour, Web Site revisions to another meeting Adjourned 8:05 PM Respectfully submitted, Edward J. O Rourke, Clerk PAGE 4
BOB VICKERY 2608 Carolwood Drive, Phoenix, NY DIRECTIONS*: From Rt 57 turn LEFT onto Lamson Road in Phoenix From Rt 48 turn RIGHT onto Lamson Road From Lamson Road turn onto Runnymeade Road Turn RIGHT onto Carolwood Drive PARK HERE * As always, don t take our word for it. Verify these directions for yourself. 2014 CNY Division Schedule (UPDATED) Sunday, Oct. 19th, Division Meeting, Bob Vickery, 2 4 PM Get building a model for this meeting as we will feature a model popular vote contest. Saturday, December 6th, Division Christmas Banquet, 1 5 PM We will hold our 2014 Christmas Banquet at the Rusty Rail in Canastota again this year. Details are still being worked and we will have all the important information for you later in the year. For now, put the date on your calendar so you can enjoy a few hours of relaxation at the final division event of the year. - 2015 (Tentative)- January 10 or 17: Joint meet in Auburn with LSD January 24-25: West Springfield show February 22: Eastwood SMRRC show April 11 & 12: Ops til You Drop weekend May 16-17: LSD is hosting NFR Region Convention at RIT June 28: TBD Aug 9: Picnic, Bill Brown has offered to host on this date August 23 29: National convention, Portland, OR September 19 or 20: TBD November 1: TBD November 7 & 8: NRHS Great NY State Model Train Fair December 12: Auction (alternates every other year with banquet) PAGE 5
2014 events calendar NOVEMBER 1 ST 2 ND 40TH GREAT NYS MOD- EL TRAIN FAIR NYS FAIR GROUNDS, SYRACUSE, NY THIS IS THE LARGEST TRAIN SHOW IN NEW YORK STATE. DETAILS AT: WWW.MODELTRAINFA IR.COM Photo by Bernard Messenger Are you at a cross-roads with a modeling project or your modeling direction? Come to Division meetings to find new direction and assistance from your fellow members. This photo was taken near the Steaming Tender Restaurant in Palmer, MA during the recent NER convention. NOVEMBER 21 ST -22 ND 33 RD WNYRHS TRAIN SHOW, EIRE COUNTY FAIR GROUNDS, HAMBURG, NY. FOR DETAILS SEE: WWW.TRAINWEB.ORG /WNYRHSTRAINSHOW Central New York Division, NMRA Red Markers News Letter 122 Blackstone Way Syracuse, NY 13219 PAGE 6