THE MAIN-LINE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION VOL. 33, NO. 10 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 2012 NEXT MEET OCTOBER 11 TH ED KARPER MEMORIAL FREE-BEE TABLE In memory of our dear departed friend, Old Smokey, we ll be having our 3 rd Annual Ed Karper Memorial Free-Bee Table at the October Meet. Once again you ll be able to do a little fall house cleaning and make room for your year-end catalog purchases and holiday toy train related gifts from relatives. Donated items for the Freebee Table can be added throughout the Meet as the table will be uncovered at approximately 6:30 pm at the conclusion of your nominations for next year s Officers & Board of Directors. Come and help us celebrate in Ed s Memory. This is one Meet you simply do not want to miss. October, 2012 1 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
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 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. Big All-Day Saturday Meets are held in June & December. AGTTA CLUB WEBSITE www.agtta.com 2012 AGTTA OFFICERS & DIRECTORS President Ed Samsen (760) 458-4791 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 Andy Anderson 858-274-9178 d724anderson@gmail.com Dave Campbell (619) 575-7578 airportinfomation@san.rr.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 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Welcome to October, Baseball Season is winding down with the playoffs and World Series, and Football season is well underway. It is now TRAIN SEASON! This meeting is very important to all members; it is nomination night for our election in November. If you are interested in running for office it is time to toss your hat (engineer s cap) into the ring. We can always use new leaders in the running of our club. One more event this month is The Ed Karper Memorial Freebie Table. Bring a bag for the goodies that you grab. I ve found bits and pieces to repair/restore more than a few items courtesy of the freebie table. One man s junque is another man s treasure. The special raffle for the GG-1 set is fast approaching the goal of 150 tickets sold. I am looking forward to the drawing for this outstanding freight set. I have more than a few tickets in the drawing.do you? These special raffles provide a way for the club to keep the dues price down making our dues a bargain. I need some help/advice concerning my idea for a Super O layout in the spirit of Gilbert s All Aboard Panels made in the 60s. Help me develop the concept into a standard for a portable modular layout. Dave Ott suggested using rigid foam insulating board for the base. I was thinking of HOW-TO CLINIC How To Repair Lionel Battery Powered Diesel Horns This month s How-To Clinic subject is one that almost every Lionel enthusiast can benefit from attending. If you have a diesel engine and the horn is just not putting out that right sound, don t miss this Clinic. Guest expert Larry Pearson will be at the table to explain and demonstrate how to make your horn sound the way the way it did when it was new. This is another not-to-be-missed Clinic. CLINIC START TIME: 5:15 PM Come to the Meet and support your Clinics! And as always if you have any ideas for future Clinics make sure you pass them along to Jim Weatherford. He would love to have them. October, 2012 2 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
sections either 2 square or 2 x4. I have heard an objection in the Super-O yahoo group because it would involve cutting the rare commodity straight track. I need ideas for how much space from the edge of the module to the ties, wiring standards, and signaling. I would like to see no accessories on the main line but rather all accessories on a siding so as to minimize clearance issues. We may be developing a national standard for Super O portable modular layouts. Work is moving ahead on my tubular track layout.the Hollow Core Door Layout. I am getting the two end modules finished. The two straight sections will follow shortly. Plan on attending our Christmas Banquet at Tom Hams Lighthouse Restaurant. This is a new venue for us and looks like a great event. The price is reasonable for an evening of good eating with good company as well as a terrific raffle. Check the calendar for more information. Cal Stewart is less than a month away. It is now located in ONTARIO CA at the convention center. This venue is much better than the Pasadena Convention Center that was used for the last almost 40 years. Parking and access are much improved. Think about carpooling with your fellow club members if you like. See you at this Thursday s Meet. Ed Samsen - President AGTTA MEMBERSHIP NEWS New Members Membership Chair Jim Weatherford has more good news to report on the Membership side of the house he has received yet another new Membership Application. We would like to extend a warm welcome to Jim Mastrogany from Encinitas who likes Lionel O gauge. And thank you Jim for opting to receive the PDF Extended Version MainLine. Welcome abroad! 2012 Membership Total With the losses of Butch Alvarado and Tony Mirabel Jim reports that the club s 2012 membership total now stands at a 150. AGTTA 2012 BOARD NOMINATIONS As Ed mentioned in his President s Message it s that time of the year when we must begin preparing for the coming year by accepting nominations for and election of our 2013 Board of Directors. We need new Officers and Directors candidates to bring new ideas and energy for events and expansion of the membership. Many of our current outstanding BOD members are willing to run again but that s not to say we don t welcome new blood (figuratively speaking). We have five or six highly productive one hour board meetings a year and feel proud of the success the organization has experienced to date. So who among you is willing to devote a few hours a year to PAY BACK the enjoyment you have experienced. We have noticed that when we solicit names to run for the Board some show up late or leave the hall and don t participate. WELL, this year at 6 pm when the nomination process begins the doors to the hall be closed. Those not participating will not be allowed back into the hall until nominations are compete and the ED KARPER FREE-BEE TABLE free for all has been attacked and cleared. Just to refresh your memory, here s what the Club By-Laws, Article VIII Election and Terms of Officers and Directors, states: Officers and Directors shall be elected annually for one calendar year by written ballot at the November General Meeting. All Officers and Directors are eligible for re-election. Nominees must be current members of AGTTA over the age of 18 and shall be nominated from the floor at the October General Meeting. Installation shall be held and the term of the office commence January 1. We encourage you to become a more active Member and help guide your Club during the coming year. The Board encourages you to step forward and get on board. And Thanks! CLUB NEWS In Remembrance Of Our Friend Tony Mirabel At this month s Meet Geri, Tony s longtime friend, would like you to join in celebrating Tony s life. She will be bringing some cake and cookies along with some coffee for everyone to enjoy while they remember Tony. Geri is also, along with the help of Roland Frandsen, going to be bringing quite a number of Tony s trains and offering them for sale to club members. She promises great prices, but she asks that all sales be in cash; no checks please. So go visit your ATM before the Meet and be ready to pick up some great buys. Christmas Train Layout for Rady Children s Hospital AGTTA in conjunction with our friends at the SD 3-Railers are going to be bringing some Christmas cheer to the young patients at the Rady Children s Hospital during the Christmas Holidays. A small layout consisting of two tracks laid out on two hallow-core doors is going to be constructed and put in place by the 1 st of December. The kids will be able to push buttons to make the trains move forward. To make this layout a reality we October, 2012 3 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
need your contributions in the form of either an engine or trains cars or at the very least a $2 donation. Luis Ramirez has already been generous enough to donate the necessary track. If you would like to make a donation please bring it to this month s Meet. Alan Hamel will be our POC for this undertaking. Special Raffle #4 Lionel O 2253W GG-1 Train Set Oh so close! Just 20 more tickets need to be sold to meet our minimum ticket sales goal of 150 tickets. That means that we ll have at least one more monthly prize drawing of two free tickets at the October Meet. And hopefully we ll sell the remaining tickets and be able to complete the raffle at the November Meet. To do that we need you to buy a raffle ticket at this Meet. At the September Meet the Poindexter Twins were the lucky winners of the two free tickets. Come to this month s Meet and you could be the lucky winner. Christmas Dinner Fast Approaching I know it s hard to believe but this year s gathering is just two short months away. If you haven t already I hope you will mark your calendar NOW and plan to be with us for our most fun gathering of the year. The date is Tuesday, December 4 th and the location will be the fabulous Tom Hams Lighthouse Restaurant, right on San Diego Bay. This is going to be a very special evening in a very special setting, but as is the case every year, it simply won t be the same without you with us. So please mark your calendar now and watch for all the details in the November Main-Line. Next Board Meeting Our next Board Meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 9 th, at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park and will begin at 7:00. We encourage all members who would like to attend to come on down. Cal-Stewart Meet Brochure Is Out A four page flyer detailing everything you need to know about this big event has been mailed out. You will find a copy of the four page flyer and additional info on pages 17 through 21. CLUB APPRECIATION AWARDS It s also that time of the year to begin thinking about our annual Club Appreciation Awards. Every year at the annual Christmas Dinner the Club recognizes those Members who have put forth that extra bit of effort in support of our Club. A one-page sheet providing all the details for these very important awards and an area in which to nominate a member will be available at the October Meet. If you believe that a particular club member deserves recognition then please take the small amount of time and effort required to complete the form. Then just give it to any Club Officer or Director. It will be appreciated. Thanks! All Gauge Toy Train Association of San Diego Proudly Presents Its 4 th Annual Holiday Open House & Toy Train Meet Thursday, December 13, 2012 2 pm 8 pm FREE PARKING & ADMISSION TORREY PINES CHRISTIAN CHURCH 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North La Jolla (San Diego), CA 92037 FOOD AVAILABLE Delicious food and beverages will be available at the Open House ATTENTION SELLERS MEMBERS: RESERVE UP TO 3 FREE TABLES BY 6 PM, DEC 1! Additional tables, if available, will be $8 each FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS CONTACT Anthony Tarantino (858) 569-6603 CLUB INFORMATION For additional club information please visit our website www.agtta.com October, 2012 4 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
SEPTEMBER RAFFLE RESULTS WINNER ITEM DESCRIPTION SOURCE Jerry Stipanov Lionel O Single Signal Bridge Donated by Bart Grey Jerry Stipanov Lionel O 9060 Nickel Plate Road Caboose Donated Christine Poindexter Luis Ramirez Cajon Pass DVD Donated Caroline Poindexter Plasticville N Scale Mansion Building Kit Donated by Bart Grey C & C Poindexter Four Train Magazines & Catalogs Donated C & C Poindexter Luis Ramirez CSX Mountain Sub Division DVD Donated Tom Barker Caroline Poindexter Multimeter Donated Dennis Snead Walter Bartol Two HO Switch Kits Donated by Ed Jones Walter Bartol Lionel Transformer Donated by Ed Jones Luis Ramirez Lionel Engineer Audio Speaker Donated by Ed Jones Luis Ramirez Lemax Building Longs Drug Store Donated by Ed Jones Happy Flohe Perelman Toy Museum Book Donated by Ed Jones Luis Ramirez Pair of O Marx Switches Donated by Walter Bartol Derek Westwood Three Marx O Train Cars Donated by Walter Bartol Derek Westwood Framed Train Parts Artwork Donated by Walter Bartol Christine Poindexter Lionel O Box of 3 Intermodal Containers Donated Luis Ramirez Bob Hatton Athrean HO Amtrak Passenger Car Donated Luis Ramirez Christine Poindexter Cast Iron Train Engine Door Stop Donated Luis Ramirez Walter Bartol Cast Resin Old Railroad Station Donated Luis Ramirez Derek Westwood Marx O Santa Fe F-3 A-A Diesel & Dummy Donated by Derek Westwood Walter Bartol Marx O Santa Fe F-3 A Dummy Diesel Donated by Derek Westwood Luis Ramirez HO Train Set & 6 Boxes of Buildings Donated by Greg Smyth Walter Bartol Pair of Train Bookends Donated by Frank Morgano Steve Pierce American Flyer Transformer Donated by Jerry Stipanov Derek Westwood Marx Transformer Donated by Jerry Stipanov Derek Westwood Atlas O Great Northern Boxcar Kit Donated by Steve Pierce Frank Morgano HO Trestle Bridge & Petro Gas Sign Kit Donated by Luis Ramirez A Big Thank You! to all the Members who donated to the BIG White Elephant Raffle. San Diego Model Railroad Museum Model Railroad Swap Meet Saturday, October 13, 2012 7 am 11 am Cost: Buyers $2 / Sellers $5 Sellers must arrive by 6:30 for setup & must furnish their own tables Coffee & Donuts will be available for purchase For additional info call Swap Meet Coordinator Jim Anderson (619) 224-1041 or the Museum Office (619) 696-0199 EDITOR S CORNER I would like to thank Bart Grey for taking the time and effort to send me the Whistle Stop follow-up to the left and the article on the River Gorge Route that you will find on page 8. Contributions like these are truly appreciated and always welcomed. Please send any and all my way. Thanks! Bill October, 2012 5 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
TTOS - Southern Pacific Division Announces Its October Train Meet at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris Sunday, October 28, 2012 Food Served: Raffle Starts: 11:30 am 1:00 pm Roving Auction: TBA Toy Train Layout Many Toy Trains Running WOW! Free Parking Ride Street cars, interurban cars and trains on the museum railways. Buy/Sell Collectable toy trains and accessories - Parking is FREE Please Note: This will replace our October Monthly Meeting at the Brookhurst Community Center in Anaheim Vendor Table Space: Free Setup: 8:30 am - Bring Your Own Tables Open to Members and Public: 9am 2pm + Park Admission & Train Show: FREE All Day Pass for Trolley & Train Rides: $12 Adults $8 Children 5-11 BBQ Lunch: $4 each for Members & Guests, Includes: 1 Hotdog or 1 Hamburger, Soft Drink or Water, 1 Bag of Chips and 1 Cookie. For more Information contact: J. Keeley (714) 842-8190 Orange Empire Railway Museum 2201 South A Street Perris, CA (951) 657-2605 Website: www.oerm.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- To make your food reservations please fill out the following information (food reservation required): Name TTOS # Number of members/guests x $4.00 each = Total Enclosed Pay in person at TTOS-SP Meet, or Mail completed reservation form & check payable to TTOS SP to: Mike Donovan - P.O. Box 5263, Fullerton, CA 92838 Your tickets will be provided at the picnic starting about 11:00. Mail by October 20, 2012 TTOS Southern Pacific Division Website: www.ttos-sp.com October, 2012 6 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
OCTOBER 2012 TECH TIP REPAIR & CARE OF LIONEL DIESEL HORNS By Jim Weatherford This Diesel horns are operated from a rather complicated circuit. It takes four components to sound the horn; the transformer whistle controller, the DC relay, a 1.5-volt dry cell battery, and the horn itself. Anyone of these components can, and will, cause the horn not to sound. You can ensure a fresh alkaline battery is in the locomotive. You can have the transformer whistle circuit checked and overhauled, but it s difficult to know when the battery bracket and the DC relay have hidden corrosion. There re two things you can easily do to enhance the horn operation and both of them involve jumper wires. The pictures shown here are of an F3. You can perform a similar procedure to any diesel locomotive that uses a dry cell battery. Add a short jumper wire from the top of the battery contact (large hollow rivet with a spring around it) to the relay mounting screw. Sand or file a clean spot on the top of the rivet and tin the spot with solder. Take a 1.5-inch length of stranded wire, strip ¼ inch insulation off one end and tin it. Crimp a small terminal lug on the end, loosen the relay mounting screw, and install the lug under the screw head. Strip ¼ inch insulation from the other end of the wire, tin the end, and solder it to the large rivet. This will ensure the battery provides positive voltage to the bracket. The other jumper wire we ll add is to the DC relay to ensure absolute continuity from the frame to the armature. The original configuration provides continuity primarily by the brass tabs at the pivot points and this tends to go bad over time due to corrosion. Cut a 1 1/2 inch length of flexible, stranded wire, strip 1/8 inch of insulation from each end, and tin the bare wires with solder. Clean a spot on the end (top) of the armature plate where it sticks out from the pivot point and solder one end of the wire to it. Clean another spot on the bracket terminal lug (opposite the coil wire terminal), and solder the wire to the frame. October, 2012 7 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
SPECIAL RAFFLE #4 LIONEL O 2253W GG-1 TRAIN SET THE SET: This classic 1955 Lionel set is headed up by a 2340 Green GG1 5 Stripper. TICKET SALES: Tickets are just $10.00 each. And we are only 20 tickets shy of reaching our minimum ticket sales goal of 150 tickets. Get them while you can for soon they will all be gone. MONTHLY PRIZE DRAWINGS: At the monthly Meets a winning ticket is drawn at 6pm. The winner, who must be present to win, is then given two free tickets. Caroline & Christine Poindexter were the lucky September winners. The Grand Prize drawing will take place at the Meet following when the minimum 150 ticket sales goal is reached. The lucky winner will not need to be present to win the Set. PARTICIPATION: Your purchase of raffle tickets in our Club Special Raffles provide you with the opportunity to take home a fabulous prize while helping AGTTA cover the Club s basic operational overhead expenses (hall rent, insurance, newsletter, etc.). Through these raffles we ve been able to keep annual dues at their current level and continue to offer free admission and table sales at our monthly Meets. A definite win, win situation. So as they say, buy raffle tickets. And thanks! October, 2012 8 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
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TOY TRAINS GO HOLLYWOOD CONTEST Contributed by Dave Otth Last month we had our first Toy Trains Go Hollywood Contest. To refresh your memory on how this works Club Member Dave Otth will supply your Editor with pictures from the Golden Years of Hollywood that contain model toy trains. I will include a picture each month and an applicable question (or two) about the picture, which will come with a list of three possible answers. It will be your task to come up with the correct answer. The first member e-mailing your Editor with the correct answer will receive a free printable image of the photo, courtesy of Toy Trains Go Hollywood, Dave s business. To spread the wealth one person can only win once every three months. To the right was our September contest picture. The question was: "What is the Title of this I Love Lucy Episode?" The correct answer was Ricardo's Look for New Apartment. Congratulations to the winner of the first contest, Luis Ramirez. At the September Meet Dave presented Luis with an 8 x 11 of the picture. OCTOBER CONTEST OK, below is this month s picture. And actually there are two questions this month. But the first is so easy that I don t think you ll have any problems with it. That is, who is the actor? And the tougher question is: from which movie is this picture taken? The three possible answers are: (A) Bounty Hunter (B) Night of the Hunter (C) The Hunter OK, get your answer back to me ASAP and if you are the first you will receive a copy of this picture at the October Meet. Gook luck! October, 2012 10 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
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The concluding two pages of this article will be in the November PDF M-L. October, 2012 13 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
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AGTTA CLUB MEMBER S TRAIN STORES & BUSINESSES Al s Choo Choo Loco Repairs, Layouts & Collections Call: (714) 654-0726 Lionel Value Added Dealer Authorized Service Station American Flyer sales & service Wanted to buy: Trains of all gauges and vintage toys D & S HOBBIES 28636 Old Town Front Street, Suite 100 Temecula, CA 92590 Phone: (951) 694-1773 Scott L. Kugler Mon: 9 6 / Thurs.: Closed Deborah L. Kugler Tues. 11 4 / Fri.: 11 6 dnsslk@msn.com Wed.: 11 6 / Sat.: 9 6 Sun.: 11-4 Elystoys Lionel, Am Flyer, Marx, Ives, Hot Wheels, Dinky, Aurora Slots Tonka, Tootsietoy, Smith Miller Jean & Dave Ely (515) 664-8217 Ed s All Gauge Train Sale See & Hold What You Buy All Gauges - Everything Trains 3000 Trains & Everything For Them 2012 TRAIN SCHEDULE DEC 15 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 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 October, 2012 23 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line
AGTTA OCTOBER NEWSLETTER CALENDAR OF EVENTS Oct 11 Thursday AGTTA October Meet Ed Karper Memorial FreeBee Table Ed Samsen (760) 458-4791 Oct 13 Saturday SDRM Swap Meet Jim Anderson (619) 696-0199 Oct 28 Sunday 24 th Annual TTOS-SP Perris Meet J. Keeley (714) 842-8190 Nov 8 Thursday AGTTA November Meet 2013 Board Elections Ed Samsen (760) 458-4791 Nov 16/ Friday/ 40 th Annual Cal Stewart 18 Saturday www.ttos-sw.org/activities.htm Dec 4 Tuesday AGTTA Christmas Dinner Jon Everett (858) 538-0930 Dec 13 Thursday Dec Open House & Train Meet Tony Tarantino (858) 569-6603 ALL GAUGE TOY TRAIN ASSOCIATION 6621 Cartwright Street San Diego, CA 92120-2407 NEXT MEET: Thursday, October 11 th 4:30-8:00 Torrey Pines Christian Church 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North NEXT MEET: Thursday, November 8th October, 2012 24 AGTTA PDF Extended Version Main-Line