THE MAIN-LINE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Happy Groundhog Day! The good news is that spring is on its way as predicted by our favorite two furry forecasters Punxutawny Phil and Staten Island Chuck. Hopefully all of us can do something with our train collecting that is not reminiscent of the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. I am looking for new ideas of things to do within our club in addition to our monthly meetings/trading sessions. I am planning several projects based on resurrecting concepts, ideas and designs of the past and would like to have some of our club members do the same. I have a good collection of Model Builder Magazines published by Lionel between 1937 and 1949 as well as the Digital copies of Lionel Magazine, Model Builder and Toy Trains. Within the covers of these magazines were countless ideas for build-it-yourself, do-it-yourself projects for buildings and rail side accessories that could be built from readily available materials when store HOW-TO CLINIC HOW TO DISASSEMBLE, REPAIR, & REASSEMBLE MARX MOTORS We are happy to announce that we have a Guest hosting this month s Clinic. Tony Shanley will be showing us how to take apart a typical Marx locomotive motor for cleaning, servicing and repair. He will be addressing common maintenance procedures and will do his best to answer any questions you may have about Marx repairs. The Clinic will commence at our regular start time of 5:15. We hope you will come out and give Tony a warm welcome. And for a preview of the Clinic check out the related Tech Tip that you ll find on page 6. As always, if you have any ideas for future Clinics make sure you pass them along to Jim. He very much welcomes your suggestions. CLINIC START TIME: 5:15 PM February, 2011 1 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
THE MAIN-LINE is published around the first of each month. The Main-Line is the official publication of the All Gauge Toy Train Association of San Diego. NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS Please mail, fax or e-mail all contributions for publication by the 1 st of the month to: Bill Hohnhorst, Main-Line Editor 8150 Pasadena Avenue La Mesa, CA 91941-6425 (619) 461-5039 whohnhorst@cox.net MONTHLY MEETINGS Meets are normally held on the 2 nd Thursday of each month at the Torrey Pines Christian Church, 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North, La Jolla, CA, beginning at 4:30 PM. A big All-Day Saturday Open House Meet is held in June. AGTTA CLUB WEBSITE www.agtta.com 2010 AGTTA OFFICERS & DIRECTORS President Ed Samsen (760) 485-4791 edoptician@yahoo.com Vice President Ken Steele (619) 644-1247 lionel400e@aol.com Secretary Jim Weatherford (619) 287-8687 wxfd@cox.net Treasurer Jon Everett (858) 538-0930 ewtrains@hotmail.com Directors Dave Campbell (619) 575-7578 airportinfomation@san.rr.com Bart Grey (619) 281-9347 ccbbpg@gmail.com Steve Mitton (619) 621-9779 sam9820@hotmail.com Steve Pierce (858) 571-6238 trainyahoo@aol.com Greg Smyth (619) 476-9942 gregsmyth@earthlink.net Immediate Past President Bob Wall (858) 452-8955 bobwall@juno.com Website Coordinator Alan Hamel (858) 453-5297 alanchamel@aol.com bought items were just not available. I suggest that builders substitute some modern conveniences such as Baltic Birch plywood or foam core instead of cardboard. To display some of these, I propose we build a small display based on John Allen s Timesaver switching problem built on a hollow core door for a visitor/potential member to actually operate while we extol the virtues of our club. It is a way to get new members interested in Toy Trains, and even crosses the generations to your youth. I saw this layout in use at Cal Stewart last November with Boy Scouts completing some challenging switching problems. On a monthly basis we have many opportunities to visit other clubs particularly Southwest Division TTOS. Invite some of your contacts to visit us as well. We are all ambassadors of AGTTA. All of you are the club; I am only the temporary president. Ed CLUB NEWS Dave & Jean Ely are in town from Iowa and will be visiting with us at the February Meet. I will be great to see them. Roland Frandsen would like everyone to know that he has discontinued his business phone and would like club members to contact him at his home phone number, which is (619) 449-9503. Steve Currie Plans New Layout Steve is very MEMBERSHIP DRIVE 2011 The Dates: From Now until August, 2011 The Prize: TBA The Rules: 1) Can t be a 2010 Member, the exception being your own Membership Renewal 2) A Regular Membership counts as 1 while a Family counts as 1 ½ 3) All new members are subject to Article II, Section 2, Qualification and Admission, of our Bylaws, which states: Members shall be persons of responsibility and integrity. An applicant shall be admitted to membership upon submission of a Membership Application Form and approval of the Board of Directors or such membership committee as the Board may appoint. So start signing up those new Members! February, 2011 2 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
excited about his decision to build a new layout. Of course first he needs a new building to house the new layout. His plan is to build a scratch-built 16 x 24 building out behind his home starting sometime this spring, once the rains have ceased. That s some exciting news Steve. Can t wait for you to get started. SDRRM Surplus Sale which was just held on Friday evening, February 4 th, looks like it was a resounding success. Watch for a complete report in the March MainLine. Trains Magazine Index Is Online Mark DiVecchio sent along an e-mail letting us know that the folks at Trains Magazine have made available online the index to all their past issues. The site states: "Search entries for more than 70,000 print magazine articles on prototype and model railroading from 1932 to the present day." http://trc.trains.com/magazineindex Lionel News Lionel has announced that their 2011 Ready to Run Catalogs will be available the first week in February and their 2011 Lionel Volume 1 Catalogs will be available the second week in March. Happy shopping. MEMBERSHIP NEWS New Members Wow! Jim Weatherford reports that he received FOUR new memberships during the month of January. That s excellent! We would like to extend a very warm welcome our new group of members: Paul Arzillo - O/O-27, Malia Carl - O/O-27, Joseph Grant - G/ O gauge, and Ed McCambridge - Toy Trains. Thank you all for joining our growing club. We look forward to meeting each of you at future Meets. 2011 Membership Dues Club Secretary Jim Weatherford is pleased to announce that he has received a total of 103 2011 Membership Renewals. That means we are well on our way to having almost all our 2010 membership total (144) back onboard. If you happen to be one of these folks who haven t yet renewed time has come to fill out your 2011 Membership Renewal form and get it in the mail TODAY along with your Renewal Check. JANUARY RAFFLE RESULTS WINNER ITEM DESCRIPTION SOURCE Mike Melkonian Lionel Lines O Operating Burro Crane Provided by AGTTA Greg Smyth Lionel RREA O Reefer w/ Spring Trucks Provided by AGTTA Bill Hungerford MTH O #580-1 Street Lamp Set in Silver Provided by AGTTA Lionel Milwaukee Road O Boxcar Provided by AGTTA Greg Drusch Lionel O Southern Boxcar Provided by AGTTA Christine Poindexter UMD O D&RGW Hopper w/ Coal Provided by AGTTA Mike Melkonian K-Line K641-8017 Iraqi Freedom O Boxcar Donated by Ted Bahrey Caroline Poindexter Lionel BNSF Flatcar w/ Trailer Donated by Jim Andrews Zane Grant 9 Issues of 2007 Trains Magazine Donated by Jim Osborne Caroline Poindexter 10 Issues of 2006 Trains Magazine Donated by Jim Osborne Caroline Poindexter 10 Issues of 2004/5 Model Railroader Magazine Donated by Jim Osborne Zane Grant 8 Issues of Garden Railroading Magazine Donated by Jim Osborne Richard Thomson Passenger Train Journal Magazine Donated by Bill Heckman Timmy Lewis 1988 Railfan Magazines Donated by Bill Heckman Timmy Lewis 1989 Railfan Magazines Donated by Bill Heckman Mike Melkonian Timber Times Modeling Logging Magazines Donated by Bill Hess Steve Pierce Timber Times Modeling Logging Magazines Donated by Bill Hess Zane Pert Lionel Trains & Accessories Manual Donated by Paul Dominguez Timmy Lewis Lionel Train Layouts Book Donated by Paul Dominguez Roland Wise How to Wire Your Model Railroad Book Donated by Paul Dominguez Steve Pierce VHS Tape: Streamliners of Yesteryear Donated by Emmett Lorentzen Ed Samsen VHS Tape: Southern Pacific - 1941 Donated by Emmett Lorentzen Nicholas Grant Lionel 2010 Vol II Catalog Donated by LTI Nicholas Grant Wooden Airport Tower & Train Switch Building Donated by Ed Jones A Big Thank You! to all the Members who donated to the January Raffle. February, 2011 3 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
JANUARY MEET PHOTOS Jim Weatherford had another excellent turnout for his How-To Clinic on Tune-up & Repair of Lionel O-22 Remote Control Switches Looks like Jim Andrews & Gene Mrowka are doing some serious haggling February, 2011 4 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
Jon Everett always has a great display of goodies for sale Bob Shultz also always has a very nice display of good stuff for sale February, 2011 5 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
It was great to have Martha & Happy Flohe with us A couple of our long time members: Syd Mason & Dennis Snead February, 2011 6 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
Always smiling Greg Anastopoulos was on hand And Bob Wall had another excellent selection of prizes for the Monthly Raffle Thanks to Bob Wall for taking all these great pictures. February, 2011 7 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
MEMBER LAYOUT OF THE MONTH GREG DRUSCH S 4 X 8 Editor s Note: An excellent idea has been put forth that I think you guys & gals will enjoy. It is that in each month s MainLine we feature a Member s layout. How, that doesn t mean your layout has to be some fantastic, huge, incredible layout that blows everyone s socks off. No, what we would like is to feature layouts of any size, shape, or configuration. It s your chance to share with other members your pride and joy. I would like to encourage every member to take come pictures of your layout and send them to me - the more, the better. And if you can take a few minutes to write up a small review to go along with the pictures that would really be appreciated. To get us started off I am pleased to have Greg Drusch s Test Track as our first layout. Thanks Greg for getting things going. Well it s been under construction for about 5 years and it is about 99% done. It s built with light weight, 4x8 plywood with a frame around it. I used 1x2 length long fur strips and on top a complete sheet of cork and grass. Then I framed it with L aluminum strips so that the layout will not flex too much. I then added aluminum strips on the bottom to make it easy to slide in my truck. The 1x2 s allow me to put the layout anywhere and not have to worry about the wiring from hanging down and getting in the way. The whole idea for this layout was to have a test track because I already had another layout with Lionel track on it. It is H-O, S, and A Schuco Disneyland Monorail, which is from the 1960 s. Accessories are all mixed. Bill Hess helped me with a lot with the electrical work. Right now the layout can not run DCC, but it will when I get the other box set up. The layout goes to the San Bernardino Museum when they have train days which was January 15 & 16 this year. I also sometimes take it to the TTOS club meets. February, 2011 8 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
Bill Hess & Greg Drusch with the Layout at an SP Meet February, 2011 9 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
FEBRUARY TECH TIP A PREVIEW OF THE FEBRUARY HOW-TO CLINIC ON MARX MOTORS By Tony Shanley The During the past few years my toy-train interests have shifted toward trains produced by the Louis Marx Co., Inc., Girard, Pennsylvania. A few months before he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, in December, 2008, club member Dave Ely acquired a huge Marx collection. He brought a lot of these Marx trains to our monthly meetings. Some of these pieces needed minor repairs, but the prices were right. I bought a lot of Dave s fixer uppers. These acquisitions accelerated what had been a growing interest of mine in repairing old Marx trains. Since then, several club members have asked me about repairing Marx locomotives. I do not consider myself an expert. However, I don t think it really takes a lot of expertise to do most Marx repairs. Marx motors are simple, durable, and repairable. I have included a photograph of a disassembled Marx motor. This motor came out of a No. 666 die-cast steam locomotive. However, it is pretty typical of most Marx motors. If you don t count the fasteners and brushes, there are fewer than a dozen different parts to the disassembled motor. (I don t take the reversing units apart.) That s really a pretty simple motor. One very nice feature of Marx motors is that the side plates can be separated by removing four ¼-inch hex nuts. Those of you familiar with repairing Lionel motors know the sides of the Lionel motors are more or less permanently staked in place. Being able to separate the sides of the Marx motors facilitates thorough cleaning. It also makes the replacement of the pickup insulator plate, which is frequently broken, an easy repair. The toughest part of separating the sides of the motor is the removal and replacement of the drive wheels. Two of the hex nuts which hold the sides together are hidden under the wheels. (Of course, you would have to remover the wheels to separate the sides anyway.) Come to the clinic and see what it takes to get one of these motors apart and, hopefully, back together. See you at the meeting, Tony Shanley February, 2011 10 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
U.S. RAILROAD HISTORY By Jerry Ward U.S. TRAIN RAILS First to conclude my history on U.S. Train Rails. The agreement of gauge of tracks and equipment was another major accomplishment. In 1871, there were no fewer than twenty-three different railway gauges in use to a greater or lesser extent in this country. The widest of these gauges was 6 feet; the narrowest was 3 feet and a few 2-foot gauge roads were also built. Obviously, the standardization of gauge was a major undertaking, due to the fact that locomotives and cars, as well as track, had to be converted. But through joint effort standardization of gauge, with minor exceptions, became a fact in 1886 to what it is today. Adoption Of Railroad Standard Time Zones Another big obstacle that had to be overcome was timing. Prior to November 1883, each railroad ran its trains by the local time of one or more cities on its lines, usually the city where it had its headquarters. There were at least 68 different local times by which trains were operated. On November 18, 1883, through the action of the railroads these local times were changed into four standard time zones in the U.S. now known at Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific with an hour between them. It is a fact that this method of time instituted by the railroads in 1883 and used by the Federal Government and the states and cities throughout the country was used without federal legislation. Not until 35 years later in 1918 did Congress pass the Standard Time Act. (Sounds like delay is still going on in Congress.) Editor s Note: Thanks again Jerry for sending along these interesting articles on the history of railways in the U.S. Sure hope you have more of these for I know that our members are enjoying them. And if you have a story, or article, or whatever to share please don t hesitate to e-mail it to me for I would love to have any and all inputs for the MainLine. Remember, this is your newsletter and it needs your inputs to keep it interesting and fun. February, 2011 11 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
SPECIAL RAFFLE #2 LIONEL O SCALE B-6 TRAIN SET PRR B-6 Switcher & 7 Scale Cars - Valued at $1,800 THE SET: As you can see above this is a beautiful set. They were originally sold as individual pieces during 1991/92. The Club has purchased them as a set for the Raffle. They are in mint condition in their own individual boxes. Bob said he was the first to get them out of their boxes only to take the above picture. TICKET SALES: Ticket sales for our second Special Raffle Train Set commenced at our November Meet. Tickets are just $10.00 each. The minimum number of tickets to be sold will be 150 with a maximum of 200. They will be sold over a five (5) month period from November through March. The winning ticket for the Set will be drawn at 6 pm at the March 10 th Meet. MONTHLY PRIZE DRAWINGS: At the January Meet the 1 st $25 cash prize winning ticket was drawn. The lucky winner was Gene Mrowka. At the February Meet another ticket will be drawn for a 2 nd cash prize of $25.00. The drawing will take place at 6 pm and you must be present at the monthly Meet to win the $25 cash drawing. Then the winning ticket will be reentered for the Grand Prize Set drawing at the March Meet. For the Grand Prix drawing you will not need to be present to win the Set. This way everyone buying tickets early have multiple chances to win. PARTICIPATION: Your purchase of raffle tickets in these Club Special Raffles provide you with the opportunity to have a little fun while helping AGTTA cover the Club s basic operational overhead expenses (hall rent, insurance, newsletter, etc.). Through these raffles we ll be able to keep annual dues at their current level or continue to offer free admission and table sales at our monthly Meets. So as they say, buy raffle tickets. INFORMATION: Bob Wall / (858) 452-5297 / bobwall@juno.com February, 2011 12 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, March 5, 2011 Southern California s Greatest Outdoor Railroadiana Swap Meet Spring 2011 Railroadiana Swap Meet 8 a.m. To 2 p.m. Railroad Antiques, Collectibles, Art, Books, Photos, Model & Toy Trains ADMISSION: Adults - $7, Children 5-11 - $5, Under 5 - Free - Also Free Parking! EXHIBITORS: $18 for non-members. Fee includes one admission - Space on a firstcome basis - Set-up starting at 7 a.m. Bring your own tables and chairs. Orange Empire Railway Museum 2201 South A Street, Perris, CA 92570 (951) 657-2605 / www.oerm.org February, 2011 13 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
Editor s Note: Model Retailer is a trade magazine that member Greg Anastopoulos of Rock House Station receives monthly. Greg has been kind enough over the years to give me his old copies when he is done with them. Some contain interesting model railroad related articles and ads that I think you will enjoy. Greg just gave me a bunch at the January Meet so some of the articles are a little dated but I think you will enjoy them just the same. I would like to thank Greg again for providing me with these magazines. February, 2011 14 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
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TOY TRAIN MAGAZINE LAYOUT OF THE MONTH February, 2011 18 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
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INSPECTION CARS OF THE MONTH February, 2011 21 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
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AGTTA CLUB MEMBER S TRAIN STORES & BUSINESSES Al s Choo Choo Loco Repairs, Layouts & Collections Call: (714) 654-0726 D&S Hobbies 28636 Old Town Front Street, Suite 100 Temecula, CA 92590 Wanted to buy N-HO-G Lionel & American Flyer Trains, Parts, Accessories Service and Repairs: Trains, Accessories, and Transformers Scott L. Kugler Hours: Debbie I. Kugler Mon, Wed, Thurs. 9am - 6pm dnsslk@msn.com Fri, Sat, Sun 10am - 7pm Phone: (951) 694-1773 Ed s All Gauge Train Sale See & Hold What You Buy All Gauges - Everything Trains 3000 Trains & Everything For Them 2011 TRAIN SCHEDULE MARCH 26 / JUNE 25 8 AM 1 PM Ed Jablonsky - (619) 287-0819 4838 Old Cliffs Road San Diego, CA 92120 Electric Trains Keep Roland Roland Frandsen Jr. Mon - Fri 9-2 & Sat 9-1 (619) 449-9503 (Please call before coming) 10259 Escadera Drive Santee, CA Eric s Train Repair SPECIALIZING IN POST-WAR American Flyer Trains By Appointment Only Phone Hours: 8am - 8pm Mon - Sat Eric Bense (858) 578-2395 10705 Lorie Avenue ericbense@aolccom San Diego, CA 92131 TCA #: 01-53270, TTOS, NASG Elystoys Lionel, Am Flyer, Marx, Ives, Hot Wheels, Dinky, Aurora Slots Tonka, Tootsietoy, Smith Miller Jean & Dave Ely (515) 664-8217 Rock House Station Call Greg Anastopoulos for Hours Bus: (760) 788-9846 Fax: (760) 788-8164 rockhousestation@hotmail.com 2505 Main Street, Suite 5 Ramona, CA SUPPORTING BUSINESS Steve Bovee, Owner www.reeds-hobbies.com E-mail: reeds@abac.com February, 2011 24 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version
AGTTA FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER Feb 10 Thursday Feb 12 Saturday Feb 13 Sunday CALENDAR OF EVENTS AGTTA February Meet Ed Samsen (760) 485-4791 SDMRM Model RR Swap Meet Jim Anderson (619) 696-0199 TTOS SW Division Feb Meet www.ttos-sw.org/activities.htm Feb 27 Sunday Mar 3 Thursday Mar 5 Saturday TTOS-SP February Meet Ken Flory (714) 538-8218 AGTTA March Meet Ed Samsen (760) 485-4791 OERM Spring Railroadiana Swap Meet www.oerm.org ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION 6621 Cartwright Street San Diego, CA 92120-2407 NEXT MEET: Thursday, February 10 th 4:30 8:00 Torrey Pines Christian Church 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North MARCH MEET DATE: Thursday, March 3 rd February, 2011 25 AGTTA Main-Line PDF Extended Version