LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago R Established 1979 Large Scale Railroading A Newsletter of the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago April, 2010 All Aboard! by Wayne Zoeteman Hello everyone. Well we had two shows last month and they went about as smooth as expected. Yes, I have been in this club since 2002 and it always seem that the first show (Harper) always has a few problems. This year was no different. I heard that only nine (9) people showed up to help setup the layout, so there was still some wiring to do the next morning before the show. The new wireless train camera was not working, despite Jim Rusch s all day attempt at it, among other things, made the show frustrating. However, the next show was the show that set the mark for all of the others. Jim Heubler, the shows coordinator for the past several years, has gotten this show down pat. With the setup, of which I heard went smoothly, to the wireless camera operating, to handing out the free lunch passes, and yes, handling the breakdown process with class and professionalism, he has set a high mark. Oh, by the way, I don t know what the record is for breaking the layout down and putting all equipment in the trailer is but we had it down in less that one (1) hour and forty-five (45) minutes! Jim Heubler commented that it was possible because almost everything is plug and play, so it makes everything go much easier. Come out to our next shows this year and find out how easy it really goes. While we may not have a show to setup during the summer months, this does not mean that your trains need to sit around and collect dust. Why not get some track out and run the trains outdoors!! Don t have the room in the backyard, or a back yard for that matter? No problem how about a circle or oval on the patio? Or in the garage? On the Start working on your garden railroad and book an Open House! Share your knowledge with your club members. driveway? Or start construction putting tables up in the basement. Yes, these trains I have seen being put on traditional layouts in the basement on plywood going all around the basement and over the washer and dryer. They made hinges to open the layout to access the washer. So get the permission to go ahead and start enjoying our beautiful summer weather. I am sure you all know how short it will last. About the international LGB/Marklin club is concerned, Craig Pecora has stated that he is disappointed with the new club magazine. More about the other scales that they make and not much about the G-scale. I haven t seen anything about it as yet, but it doesn t sound good. The weather is nice, so I am going to start grooming my outdoor layout and see what needs attention on it. By the way, does the grass really need to be mowed? Takes away from my train running Till next month, RUN THOSE TRAINS. Your club president, Wayne Zoeteman April, 2010 1
Along the Mainline by Bill Halupka I have to apologies for a late newsletter this month. My computer was attacked by a very serious virus! It actually took over my entire computer, attacking just about every nook and cranny it could find. Even went into my printer. At the end, it disabled my entire system!! Possibly a few of you received some weird E-mails from me about Viagra and other goofy stuff. Again, my apologies. It wasn t me sending the files or links. My computer was using my address book all by it self. It took over 5 hours on the phone with tech support. Standard repairs couldn t fix anything, so they had to write a Custom Cure program, which I installed to get the virus out. (Cost a few bucks as well!) I d like to find the low life s that make this stuff and clock them right in the chops!!!!!! Be very careful what you click or open. The one I got looked like real windows error pages, except they were phony. It would scan my computer, then tell me I had a ton of different bugs. It wanted me to sign-up for a special service/program to FIX my system. All they wanted was my credit card info!! Club Officers President Wayne Zoeteman - South Holland 708-331-2903 email - ez41@sbcglobal.net Vice President - Program Bill Halupka - Brookfield (708) 485-7193 email - LGBer0672@aol.com Vice President - Communications Jim Rusch - Editor/Publisher Bartlett (630) 830-0378 email - rusch13@comcast.net Vice President - Membership Paul Januska - Western Springs (708) 784-3520 email - pjanuska@sbcglobal.net Secretary/Treasurer Jim Snorek - Palatine (847) 359-7251 email - keronsjim@att.net LGBMRRC of Chicago The is published monthly by the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago. Material for the newsletter should be forwarded to the Editor at 688 Coral Avenue, Bartlett, IL 60103 on or before the 20th of each the month or e-mailed to Rusch13@comcast.net. Mail for the other club officers should be sent to 773 N. Sterling Rd., Inverness, IL 60067-4272. Electronic mail can be sent to keronsj@netzero.net Membership Your mailing label shows your member number and your membership expiration date. To ensure uninterrupted receipt of the LGB Chicago Express, you should forward your check for $22.00 before your expiration date. Please make your check payable to LGBMRRC of Chicago, write your member number on your check and send it to 773 N. Sterling Rd., Inverness, IL 60067-4272. Nothing was real! They tech guy told me most of these programs come from out of the country. The FBI has a special department that works full time trying to catch them. I found a fantastic service called (Stop Sign). It cost $7 a month. Watches my computer for spyware, virus, trojan horses, etc. Provides FREE tech time until the problem is fixed. If it can t be fixed by phone, they will write a custom repair program for you until it s fixed. As usual, March was a busy month. We started with the Harper show. For the most part, the show went very well. Over the three days, we had 18 club members participate in some way. A big thanks to our Friday Night set-up crew, and to our Sunday night tear-down crew. Without dedicated members, we couldn t do display layouts like this. I also have to thank Larry Rostis and Jim Rusch for getting the trailer to and from the show. The last weekend of March found us at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange. Our coordinator, Jim Heubler, assembled a good crew this year. We were setup and running in no time on Friday night. The teardown crew was just as good. From layout shutdown at 5:00pm to loaded trailer at 7:00pm was incredible! A big thanks to all that came out and supported the show. Our Open House schedule kicks off in May. We pick up the speed a little with a May 15 th and 16th open house at St. Aubin s Station in Woodstock. Our friends at LSOL will be present along with dealer displays, door prizes, and good food. Try not to miss this one. May 16 th also takes us to Sun City Huntley, where Harry Sorenson will be operating trains. And finally on May 23 rd, we travel back to Broadview to visit the layout of Helmut Zehnphennig. There are still a lot of open dates available. Sign up for an open house and share your layout with everyone. See our web site for an application and available dates. We have picked a date of July 17 th for a club picnic. We need to find an activity or place to go. Plus I need a volunteer to coordinate the whole deal. We can go back to a traditional picnic, or visit a place like Rochelle again. Maybe Jim Snorek s new yard!? Lets not wait too long on deciding. That s about all I have this month. If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to call or send me an E-mail. Bill Halupka - Home #(708) 485-7193 E-mailLGBer0672@aol.com Until next month, keep those trains rollin! April, 2010 2
High Wheeler and All-American Shows High Wheeler Show Photos by Leona Rusch and Larry Rostis Ahhh, the first show of the year is in the books.this was the preview of a couple of new items for the club. First, the MTS switches shown brightly with their new LED indicators. Of course Kevin found a few adjustments that were needed. Second, the new camera train. A White Pass diesel. Things did not go so well there. The Harper college WIFI system blow us out of the water. The situation has now been handled. Third, the maiden voyage of the club new Thomas the Tank train. Except for the fact that it was wired backwards and Bill Halupka had to do a quick rewire, Thomas preformed wonderfully to the kids excitement. April, 2010 3
All-American Show Better get your rest before teardown starts! April, 2010 4
For Sale! I would like to sell the set as a package. Everything, except some track pieces, is in original boxes. Everything was purchased in the early to mid 1980's and is authentic LGB from Germany. Every piece is "like new". The train has been stored inside and has never been set up outside of my home. I am the only one who has handled this train set. No children and no grandchildren. I am not in need to sell the train but I think it is a crime not to have someone enjoy it and put it to good use. Bill Asher 830-981-5112 LGB Item No. Brief Description (Where applicable) Tech II 2400 -----Transformer 20180 - Locomotive w/ Coal Tender 3063 - Red Car 4060 Flat car with vertical posts 4059 -Auto transport car w/ two (2) Mercedes 3013 Speisewagon 4036 -Circus wagon (car) 2001 Track maintenance vehicle 4065 Rio Grande caboose 3081 - -Personsenwagon 3019 Postal car 4047 Barrel car 5065 Schranke 1031 Pellbock 1031 Pellbock 5027 Animal assortment (for circus car) Individual Straight/Curved and Switching Track LGB No. Description 1100 -Straight Track/19 pieces 1000 -Curved Track/27 pieces 1205 and1210 ------Switching Track/4 pieces of 2 each No # -Track ties Miscellaneous G Gage Platform with roof Semaphore (battery operated) Artificial fir tree (18 in height) CLUB INTERNET SITES Arizona Big Train Operators http://www.geocities.com/~azbigtrains/ Bay Area Garden Railway Society http://www.bagrs.org/ Chicago Area Garden Railway Society http://www.cagrs.com/ Columbus (Ohio) Garden Railway Society www.cgrs.org Florida Garden Railway Society http://www.fgrs.org/ Greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Society http://www.gcgrs.org/ Indiana Large Scale Railroaders http://www.indylargescaler.org LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago http://www.lgbmrrcc.com Miami Valley Garden Railway Society www.mgvrs.com Puget Sound Garden Railway Society http://www.psgrs.org Sacramento Valley Garden Railway Society http://www.svgrs.org/ San Diego Garden Railway Society http://www.sdgrs.com Washington, Virginia, & Maryland Garden Railway Society http://www.wvmgrs.org/ Wisconsin Garden Railway Society http://www.wgrsociety.org For additional Club Listings http://www.gardentrains.org/gta/community/clubs/clubs.asp April, 2010 5
St Aubin Open House 11100 Route 176 Woodstock, IL 60098 May 15th and 16th Lunch provided! Manufacturer surprizes!! Price specials Door Prizes Lots of Fun!!! Internet Sites LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago http://lgbmrrcc.com LGB/Marklin http://www.marklin.com Silvergate Distributors http://www.silvergatedistributors.com/ Large Scale Online http://www.largescale.com/ National Model Railroad Association http://www.nmra.org Finescale Railroader Magazine http://finescalerr.com Garden Railways Magazine www.gardenrailways.com Large Scale Central http://www.largescalecentral.com/ Big Train Operator Club http://www.bigtrainoperator.com/ trains.com http://www.trains.com Large Scale On Line will there, will you??? 600 acres of Trees & Trains Chicagoland s Largest Garden Railway Store Ph. 815-334-9100 Fax 815-334-0000 www.staubin.com April, 2010 6
Open Houses Date Location May 16th Harry Sorenson (847) 669-8936 - 13400 Sun City Blvd, Huntley - 60142 May 23rd Helmut Zehnphennig (708) 343-4318 - 2332 S. 15th Ave, Broadview - 60155 June 13th Ron & Marth Messner Chicago June 27th Walter & Gail Radtke (847) 255-2977 - 205 E. Moehling Dr., Mt. Prospect - 60056 July 11th Mary Lou & Joe Lienau (630) 985-8244 - 817 Lakeside Dr., Downers Grove - 60516 July 25th Open House -- West LGB - CAGRS Clubs West area August 8th Open House -- East LGB - CAGRS Clubs East Area August 22nd Ron & Gayle Althardt (847) 634-0637 - 15902 Woodbine Circle, Vernon Hills - 60061 Don Miller (847) 432-6183 - 281 Woodland Rd., Highland Park - 60035 September 12th Madison & Gayle Parker (630) 851-4056 - Aurora Paul Januska (708) 784-3520 - 1111 Birch Ln, Western Springs - 60558 September 26th Fred & Penny Haberkamp (847) 913-0096 - 5828 Blue Heron Dr., Long Grove - 60047 Linda & Larry Cerwin Open House Antioch October 10th Open House -- West LGB - CAGRS Clubs West area October 24th Open House -- Possible Open House Date LGB - CAGRS Clubs No Area Yet Call Bill Halupka to schedule your open house date at 708-485-7193 All Open Houses are from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. News from Down South! And so it begins... We started our Train-In- The-Garden railroad. The garden will incorporate both the flag pole and palm tree. The 8' radius is large enough to accommodate all of the trains we have. The layout will be about 23' X 10.' After the perimeter blocks are set, I will tear out the grass and level the ground before putting down the weed barrier and estimating the amount of fill needed. The decorative blocks are sitting on clay house bricks at the East curve to make the garden level. The track is there as a pattern for the stones. Watch us on Facebook! Dennis Wind April, 2010 7
LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago 2009 Schedule LGB Club Display Layouts and Meetings July 17th Annual Picnic / Summer event Coordinator Needed Picnic Ideas??? Sept. 4th & 5th Labor Day Train Show - Illinois Railway Museum - Union - Bob Rustemeyer - (773) 774-2838 Sept. 25th & 26th Southland Model RR Show - Richards Highschool, Oak lawn - Larry Tomko - (847) 823-0280 Oct. 22nd - 25th ihobby Expo - Stevens Convention Center, Rosemont - Bill Halupka (708) 485-7193 Nov. & Dec.? Holiday Train Display - Morton Arboretum - Kevin Kell - (708) 524-0483 December? Holiday Train Display - Holiday Magic - Brookfield Zoo -????? Conventions & Shows April 30th & May 1st, --- South East Garden Railroad Show --- Dalton, GA June 22nd - 26th, --- NHRS Convention -- Scranton, PA June 20th - 27th, --- "TCA" National Convention -- Baltimore, MA June 26th & 27th, --- Galesburg "Railroad Days" -- Galesburg, IL June 30th - July 3rd, -- National "O" Scale Convention -- Santa Clara, CA July 11th - 18th, -- 75th Anniversary NMRA Convention --- Milwaukee, WI August 1st - 8th, ----- 26th Annual Garden Railway Convention -- Tacoma, WA Sept. 1st - 4th --- 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention ----- St. Louis, MO Sept. 4th & 5th, --- Labor Day Train Show -- Illinois Railway Museum -- Union, IL Oct. 21st - 24th, -- 26th Annual "ihobby Expo" --- Rosemont, IL Open Houses - See page 7 for future Open Houses LGB, The Big Train, Lake George & Boulder, the LGB Circle logo and the LGB Nameplate logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of E.P. Lehmann Patentwerk LGBMRRC of Chicago 773 N. Sterling Road Palatine, IL 60067 April, 2010 8