FRONTIER FLIMSY The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA www.nfr-nmra.org September 2016 Volume 62 No. 3 So Stan goes railfanning the Kamloops CN Yard August 28, 2016 the center of operations for all traffic from the west coast to all points east and for his effort, gets to see, (but no chance to take photos of), the tail end of a train come to a stop deep in the yard, and for these two yard goat s to come down, stop and the entire crew go off for lunch. End of train movements. Photo: Stanley Conley Waybill Regional Notices Page 3 Executive Reports Page 4 Division Reports Page 5 Officer Reports Page 8 Regional Train Orders Page 10
The Niagara Frontier Region NMRA Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Volume 62 Number 3 Stanley Conley, Editor 2194 Valley Drive Ottawa, ON K1G 2P8 The Frontier Flimsy is published four times annually by the Niagara Frontier Region of the National Model Railroad Association, Inc. and is distributed openly on the web at www.nfr-nmra.org. Material for publication is welcome. Send articles, coming events, notices, etc. to the editor. Materials including photographs may be submitted by e-mail. Materials will be credited at the time of publication and will be returned if requested. Articles appearing in the Frontier Flimsy may be reprinted in other nonprofit publications providing that credit is given to the author and the Flimsy. Advertising is accepted in the Frontier Flimsy; please see the region web site for information and rates. Opinions expressed in the Frontier Flimsy are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the NMRA, the Region, its officers, or other contributors to the Frontier Flimsy. Special thanks to Diane Dodds for proofreading and nitpicking. Email notification is coordinated by Richard Sparrow. The Niagara Frontier Region Flimsy 2194 Valley Drive, Ottawa, ON K1G 2P8 The Niagara Frontier Region Regional Officers President Richard Hatton 205 Country Lane, Stayner, ON L0M 1S0 705-428-9997, moose_caboose@bell.net American V.P. Matt Bierl 146 Los Robles Street, Williamsville, NY 1422 16721 716-632-3686, mattbierl@msn.com Canadian V.P. Tim Warris 312-b St. Patrick Street PO Box 1420, Port Dover, ON N0A 1N0 519-583-1099, tim@warris.com Secretary Vacant Treasurer Tony Kerr 1361 Creekwood Trail, Oakville, ON L6H 6C7 905-338-8881, tony.kerr@sympatico.ca Division Superintendents Allegheny inactive Central Ontario Richard Hatton 705-737-9363 moose_caboose@bell.net International Richard Sparrow 905-892-7958 rands.sparrow@sympatico.ca Lakeshores Raymond Howard 315-789-4801 rhoward1@rochester.rr.com Ontario Trevor Ross 705-983-9602 trevor@tjrcadd.com Northland St. Lawrence Chris Lyon 613-837-8522 cnlyon@sympatico.ca Southern Tier Robert Hamilton 607-754-0089 bobhamilton@stny.rr.com Western Ontario Steve Juranics 591-212-9694 sjuranics@rogers.com Regional Officials Achievement Peter Nesbitt 613-592-0110 nesbitt@magma.ca Program Convention Les Radvanyi 416-543-1052 les@larcom.ca Coordination Flimsy Editor Stanley Conley 613-523-8237 stanley_conley@rogers.com Flimsy Richard Sparrow 905-892-7958 rands.sparrow@sympatico.ca Distribution Historian Open Membership/ Open Registrar Model Contest Open WebMaster Tim Warris 519-583-1099 tim@warris.com Page 2 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016
Niagara Frontier Region Official Notice of Executive Elections The NFR Executive and Board have opened the nominations for the term beginning in 2017 and ending in 2020. All positions are open for elections this term, as this is the first election held since the change to the NFR Constitution regarding elections. President Canadian Vice President US Vice President Secretary Treasurer The NFR constitution requires that the nominee for the position of President must have served at least one term as Vice President, and can be a Canadian or US member, it no longer alternates as in past years. These positions are open to any NMRA member within the Niagara Frontier Region willing to accept the nomination. If no eligible candidate is willing to run for the position of President the current president can run again at the request of the Executive Team. For the first time we will be doing the voting electronically (email) as per the NFR Constitution. Nominations for all offices listed above remain open until November 15, 2016. To be nominated, submit an email of nomination listing the following information; Nominee's name and office to which nominated. Nominee s NMRA membership number. A statement by the nominee indicating their acceptance of the nomination. Nominations must be sent by November 15, 2016 and received by November 25, 2016. Please send your nominations to: Ron Colpitts at nfrelections@gmail.com The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Page 3
President Richard Hatton American Vice President Matt Bierl Canadian Vice President Tim Warris Secretary Vacant Treasurer Tony Kerr The region s financial statements for the 2016 fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2016 have been recently completed and will be available to the membership following acceptance and approval by the region s executive. Hopefully, that will be within the next few weeks. As I indicated during the Ottawa AGM, the region is in a very enviable position as it relates to its cash reserves. However, I am still very concerned that the region has a significant challenge to find new sources of revenue. In the current fiscal year the region experienced a $400 shortfall in revenues over expenditures. If it wasn t for a significant U.S. exchange gain on the transfer of funds from the region s U.S. bank account, this year would have seen the start of a slow depletion of the region s assets. During the next Page 4 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Niagara Frontier Region Executive Reports fiscal year we probably will not have that luxury to fall back on. This situation however should not stop us from considering spending proposals that would benefit the region and divisions. Membership attraction and retention appears to be one of the most significant issues facing the region. Therefore, at the AGM the executive called for suggestions on how we might spend some of our resources in order to attract additional members while at the same time providing increased benefits to the current membership. Three proposals have been received to date all of which would, if approved, provide the divisions making the proposals with funds to carry out a number of initiatives. Each of these initiatives is quite different from each other in their approach to attracting and retaining members. It is hoped that the executive can provide feedback to the division proposals in the fall. One area that has in the past been somewhat contentious is that of convention profits. Historically, the region has been a partner in the allocation of convention profits. As a partner the region would provide seed money to the convention organizers to cover the up front costs. The region would also cover the financial loss if the convention failed to obtain break-even attendance numbers. In the past this has provided significant revenue to the region but now could possibly be in jeopardy if more of the sponsoring divisions decide to go it alone. In addition there are several schools of thought on the financial aspect of conventions. The first being, conventions should not be
organized on the premise of yielding a profit. Ideally, they should break even or at worst have a small loss covered by the region. This allows the sponsors to give best bang for the attendee s dollar. A second school of thought feels that the region should subsidize the convention in order that it might be able to offer a guest speaker, celebrated or guest clinicians, superior facilities, additional activities and so on that couldn t be provided within a reasonable registration fee. Then there is a third group, the sponsoring divisions, who see conventions as their only potential source of revenue hence the convention is set up with a view for profit. There is no right or wrong viewpoint, however we could probably eliminate the need for conventions to turn anything but a modest profit by simply providing the divisions with some form of revenue stream. I would suggest that incorporating a divisional subsidy within the current NMRA Canada membership fee structure might be a reasonable approach. In addition, the region may be able subsidize this as long as we don t overly deplete our assets. Let s face it, the divisions are our grassroots organizers and they need financial help to do what they do. Finally, I indicated in the last issue that I would discuss the future which most likely will be the winding up of the life fund and removing restrictions on the cash investments associated with that liability. To date no formal motion has been drafted in that regard. Furthermore, as part of the process, I will be asking the executive to give the opportunity to any life member to indicate to the executive if in any way they would be affected by the winding up of the life fund. Niagara Frontier Region Division Reports Allegheny Highlands Division Inactive Central Ontario Division Superintendent Richard Hatton International Division Superintendent Richard Sparrow What a great summer, unless of course you are interested in keeping your lawn alive, or have funds left over from your lottery win to water it every day! Although, with the weather being so hot at times, it provided a good excuse to stay indoors, and guess what get down in the cool basement and work on the layout! October 22 nd ID Meet The ID Fall Meet is just about ready to go, and the details are in the flyer further on in the Flimsy. Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for registration, and the clinics start at 9:30 a.m. We are looking forward to being back at the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre in Hamilton again and are very grateful to the H.O.M.E.S. club who are sponsoring this Meet and putting on the three clinics for The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Page 5
us. The club layout will also be running, and this will be an opportunity to see how the JMRI computer generated car forwarding system works. H.O.M.E.S. recently started using this system for operating sessions. If you haven t seen the H.O.M.E.S. layout lately, don t miss this event, being put on exclusively for the ID Meet attendees. The formal Meet program should finish at about 1:00 pm and the club layout will be open from 2:00 pm. For lunch there is a tavern just down the road, but not many other eateries within walking distance of the club house. Bringing a lunch with you would be one option. Remember also that the layout will be open for the annual H.O.M.E.S. layout tour coming up in a couple of months, on November 5 th. Layouts will be open all day throughout the Burlington Hamilton area and the Niagara Peninsula. ID Modeling Day We are planning to book a room at Eva Rothwell for a day of modeling in late November, or early December. You can bring whatever projects you are working on and have a few hours away from all other distractions just to work on that project. Getting together as a group and having other modelers experience to draw from is sometimes helpful when you get to a tricky bit in the project, and it is always good to have the opportunity to talk railroads and railroad modeling with like-minded folks for a few hours. There will be a short introductory clinic/discussion on how you can incorporate the Achievement Program (AP) philosophy into your modeling, whether or not you are involved in the AP. If you are participating in the AP we will discuss tips on how a little up front planning can help to achieve the requirements of the various certificates most efficiently. ID Spring 2017 Meet We are planning to hold our Spring 2017 Meet at the Steam Museum on Woodward Avenue in Hamilton. Details are still being finalized, but we should have more news to give you at the October 22 nd Meet. It will feature a couple of display layouts with a chance to visit with the owners to discuss why and how the layouts were built. More details will follow as the event gets closer. We welcome any questions, comments or suggestions that you may have for the ID. Email links are on the ID website at http://nfr-nmra.org/id Hope to see you in Hamilton on October 22 nd.. Until then, play safe Regards, Richard Sparrow Page 6 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016
St. Lawrence Division Acting Superintendent Chris Lyon This has been a quite summer. I guess we are all still recovering from the Convention (Algonquin Turn). It is an unusual time for SLD as we were so focussed on the activities in May and we are planning the next season s fun. It looks like we are going to have a good executive this year and there is a changing of the guard. Bill Merideth is our new Assistant Superintendent. Bill Meek is our Clerk/Paymaster and Tom Badenoch is our Scribe/Secretary. We had a very productive first meeting and have all decided to offer our membership a late September bus trip to a train show in Montreal followed by a hobby shop run and layout visit. Our meeting clinics will be ambitious with a potpourri of presentations that are all about the details. Welcome back everyone and let s have another great year. Lakeshores Division Superintendent Raymond Howard Southern Tier Division Superintendent Robert Hamilton Western Ontario Division Superintendent Steve Juranics The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Page 7
Niagara Frontier Region Officer Reports Achievement Program Chairman Peter Nesbitt I m pleased to say that since my last report the following AP certificates has been earned. John Licharson Official John Wagner Volunteer Steve Juranics Volunteer Congratulations to all three of you! There are a few more in the approval process. Peter Nesbitt Page 8 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016
SLRX Press Release The Mid-Continent Region (of NMRA) is offering as its current car project a set of six 40' wood refrigerator car kits lettered for the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company. The cars are produced by Accurail and include trucks for two cars, $24.00 each for four cars and $23.00 each for all six cars. Shipping is USPS flt rate based on the number of cars ordered. To order contact: http://www.mcor-nmra.org/regional-car-kit.php and Accumate couplers. Car numbers in this set are 4265, 4317, 4280, 4302, 4894, and 4836 and unique to this project. St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company was established in 1878 by Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company to transport its products across the U. S. At its peak about 1920 the reefer fleet was made up of over 5000 cars. The build date on these cars is 10-42. The cars are priced at $25.00 for one car, $24.50 each Your Local Micro-Mark your small tool specialist dealer The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016 Page 9
Regional Train Orders September 24, 2016. SLD Road trip Ottawa to Montreal. http://sld-nmra.ca for breaking news. September 24-25, 2016. Montreal. Montreal Model Train Exposition. Jeunesse Au Soleil Sun Youth. 4251 St. Urbain 10:00am-5:00pm, Adults $8, children $6. Info: montrealmodeltrainexposition.com, I.DOW@videotron.ca September 25th, 2016 Muskoka Layout Tour - 12th Annual 'The Muskokian': 10:00 am 6:00 pm. Alliston, Barrie, Orillia, Severn Bridge, Gravenhurst, Huntsville and Bracebridge 20+ Layouts from N to G $5 per person Maps after September 1st at nfr-nmra.org October 1-2, 2016. Brampton, ON. 2016 Brampton Model Railway Show Saturday and Sunday10:00 am 4:00 pm. Brampton Fairgrounds 3km North of Mayfield Rd. on Heart Lake Rd. 33,000 sqft operating N, HO, O & G scale displays, Vendor Tables Free Parking, Accessible Facilities, Great Food Service, Family Friendly. Manufacturer's Section including: TrueLine Trains, ESU, Fastracks, Bowser, Mt Albert Lumber, GLX, Imagine That Laser, Model Builders Supply, Rapido, Prairie Shadows. Admission: Adults $7, NMRA Members $6, Seniors & Teens $5, Children 6-12 $ 3, Children under 6 Free. Info: bramptonmodelrailwayshow@gmail.com or at 905-855-4413 https://sites.google.com/site/bramptonmodelrailwayshow2/ October 15, 2016. Waterloo, ON. Waterloo Region Model Railway Club Annual Fall Open House. Saturday 10:00am - 5:00pm 1589 Maryhill Road In Quonset hut approximately 1 km north of Maryhill village city limits. Admission: Adults $5, Seniors & Students $3, Children under 12 Free. Info: http://www.sudburydivision.ca/ October 15-16, 2016 Bowmanville ON. 30th Annual Model Railway Show. Clarington Central Secondary School 200 Clarington Boulevard, Bowmanville, Ontario Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am - 4:30 pm. Adults $6, Senior $5, Family $12 Sponsored by: Soper Valley Model Railroad Association. Info: http://www.svmra.ca/ October 22, 2016 Hamilton On. ID fall meet. Eva Rothwell Community Centre on Wentworth Street. November 5, 2016. The 16th Annual Hamilton & District Layout Tour will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016, from 9am to 5pm. We'll have home and club layouts in N, HO, and O scales (and G if weather permits!), from Burlington to Beamsville, plus Hamilton itself. Admission is $5 per person, and guide books will be available at local model railway shops from early October, so you can plan your day in advance: Just Train Crazy - Dundas Valley Hobbies - Modellers' Choice Credit Valley Railway Co - Paris Junction - Broughdale Hobby. On the day of the tour, guide books will be available from 9am at the HOMES club layout, 460 Wentworth Street North, Hamilton, Ontario, L8L 5W8 Updates will be posted on our website, www.trainweb.org/homesclub November 19-20, 2016. Whitby ON. Model Train Show sponsored by the Pine Ridge Railroaders, Inc. Located at the Father Leo J. Austin School, 1020 Dryden Boulevard near Anderson Street. Saturday 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Adults $7.00, Children under 14 $3.00, under 5 free. Info pineridgemodelrialroaders/club prrshow@gmail.com and on Facebook. November 26, 2016. Ottawa, ON SLD Meet. http://sldnmra.ca for breaking news. Page 10 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2016
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