October Printed Whenever! See Layouts In N-HO-On30-Lionel Bring your engine and control the throttle-dc or DCC! Saturday Dec 2, 10-5 Sunday Dec 3, 1-5 Located: Basement of the VA. Museum of Transportation FREE ADMISSION White Elephant Sale 2017
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES Sept. 19, 2017 Crew Members Attending: Derek Wimberly, Elliot Woodrum, Bill Oertly, David Kingsley, Jim Kuhlman, John Holm, John Beirne, Rich Conroy, Doug Gaj, Ed Sawyer, Fred Burroughs, Bren Brookman, Jim and Christopher Davis, Tim Tyree, David McCall, Ron Vance, Lee Anderson, Billy Nauert, & Roger Butcher. Meeting was called to order by our fearless leader, Superintendent Billy Nauert a.k.a. Beetle Treasurers Report by Lee Anderson Next report will include the ebay sales spreadsheet. Liaison Report by David McCall The sign for the children s layout at the Center in the Square Museum should be up this week. Go check it out. David met with the electrician Ron Deaver for his recommendations on a project for the N scale room. The project is to add a duplex box for the layout; however, the breaker for the room cannot be turned off. Ron gave David three scenarios: For $100 he ll use the room lighting three way switch (never used), come off that to a quad box and use extensions for the layout outlet; for $300 he ll run a dedicated line (we can always turn this off) to the outlets; for $1000 he ll install a separate breaker box in the room. Motion was made to spend $300 for option #2 motion passed. David started the discussion on the subject of Bev s retirement from the VMT. David received some ideas from the VMT i.e. monies for the new Volvo truck display in his honor. A motion was made for the club budget to enter $500 in the fund plus have Lee go to each crew and ask for donations. Bev is retiring at the end of the year so we have time to do this. We will also make him an honorary RVMRC life member and present him a plaque stating so. New Business The RVMRC will not have an open house for the Candy Corn Express on Oct 28; however, crew members, in costume, will volunteer their time for the VMT. David Kingsley has requested that his membership be reinstated. There were no objections from the membership crew. Beetle made an update to the crew on the outdoor sign. He will get with Jay and ask him to make a few design changes. Lee led the discussion on the amendments to the By-Laws. David McCall opened the discussion saying the concept of the amendments was fine but it s the terminology he s having problems with in the amendments and in the By-Laws. David says that editing of these two and keeping the concept of the By-Laws will make them consistent and clearer. David made a motion that the amendments be added to the By-Laws-no further discussion. A majority yes vote passed the motion. David has volunteered to edit the By-Laws. NEXT BUSINESS MEETING: NOVEMBER 21, 6:45
Elections for the Governing Board The existing By-Laws states that the term limit for the Superintendent is two years; however, there are fourteen preliminary votes for Beetle to stay in the office of Superintendent. So, David McCall calls for an amendment to say there are no term limits to the officers of the governing body which is the Superintendent and Superintendent Elect. The motion was passed by a majority vote. Vote for Superintendent: There was no one to oppose Beetle for the office so a motion was made and a majority vote has Beetle continuing the office of Superintendent. Vote for Superintendent Elect: No one opposed Bill Oertly for this office and a motion was made with a majority of the membership voting yes. Bill Oertly is our new Superintendent Elect. Next business meeting is November 21. Meeting Adjourned Minutes By Lee Anderson A A OTE FR M THE LIBRARIAN serious attempt has begun to organize the many piles of donated magazines that have accumulated around the club. Five boxes of magazines, mainly containing "Model Railroad Craftsman", have been removed from hallway and sorted. We have almost a complete collection from 1981-1995 and issues going back to 1955. My intent is to go through all the boxes in the hallway first and only keep magazines dealing with model railroading and railroad history. I plan to make duplicate issues and magazines on other subjects available to the club members for free until the end of the year. Thanks to Lee Anderson for his donation of two books: Chasing the Powhatten Arrow" by Michael Abraham, and "Popular Mechanics Railroad Album" by John O'Connell, and a 3-ring notebook with a collection of DVD videos on thumb drive about Layout Tricks & Tips. Doug Gaj: Librarian ADVERTISEMENT Reproduced From RAILROAD MAGAZINE April 1951 SUPPORT THE VMT. BECOME A MEMBER
The Lost Locomotive by John Beirne A few weeks ago Bill Ortley donated a HO Scale Heisler locomotive to the On30 group. He had acquired it in a box of pieces from his deceased friend, Tom Riddle. The picture below depicts a typical Heisler at Cass, WV in July, 1971. Heislers were similar to the more plentiful Shay, as they were geared locomotives used in industrial settings such as logging railroads. What will the On30 group do with a broken down HO Heisler, half of O scale size, that is missing some components? There is no way to install a DCC decoder and we do not have instructions on how to put the thing together! That is when the story of the Lost Locomotives of Roanoke came to mind. In the late 1950 s N&W sold some 4-8-0 locomotives to the Virginia Scrap Iron Company located near the Roanoke Memorial Hospital and they sat there for about 50 years.
During that time weeds, vines and trees grew up within the locomotives. In 2009 the engines were rescued. Several are located throughout the USA. One was given to the VMT and is located just west of the museum near the corner of Norfolk Ave & 5 th Street. Alas, we have a solution for our donated Heisler. The On30 group discards surplus parts and pieces behind the roundhouse at Big Lick. Just like the prototype, we never know if we might need a 33 inch driving wheel, an old headlight or a bell. We never cut the weeds or trees in this area and it s becoming a scrap yard jungle! Not to long after our Heisler was to rest, a tree grew up out of what is left of the cab just like the prototype. Perhaps she ll be pulled out someday for reconditioning. Photos by John Beirne
LEARNING PROTOTYPE At the Atlanta History Center, the Texas is in a glass-enclosed exhibit gallery prominently placed on the front of the museum building, visible at all hours and lit up at night. Alongside the Texas will be an exhibition focused on the history of the famous locomotive, including the story of the Great Locomotive Chase, as well as the vital role of railroads in Atlanta and the Southeast. The new History Center will be officially open in the Fall of 2918. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqbjjtysy9a The Texas was located in the basement of the old Cyclorama Museum so it had to be dug out. The Texas restored to it s original likeness during the Civil War era. The Texas as it appears when it was moved to the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC to be restored. After a year of restoration time the Texas is back home in Atlanta-her new resting place in the Atlanta History Center as described above. TEXAS HISTORY: During the Civil War the Union knew that supplies to the Confederates troops in Virginia was coming from Atlanta via Chattanooga, TN. The man to disrupt this supply route was given to James Andrews and the Andrew s Raiders. The outcome of the event wasn t good for the Andrew s Raiders, they were all captured, tried and hung-all but seven whom were exchanged. Hollywood made the first movie of this event called the The Great Locomotive Chase staring Buster Keaton in 1929. Walt Disney did a remake in 1964 starring Fess Parker. The other engine during this event was the General. SUPPORT THE VMT. BECOME A MEMBER
PHOTO-OP Photo taken by Caleb Smith, a former RVMRC member, shows the Texas resting in the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC after being restored and waiting to be returned to the new facility in Atlanta, GA. We re starting to hear about planned ceremonies for the new Amtrak station plus ticket costs and time schedules. It s really going to happen. Let s support the Amtrak and ride the train, not your vehicle. Billboard advertising Amtrak.located on Brambleton Ave. across from Cave Spring Kroger. I couldn t get any closer to get a good photo of the Conrail heritage engine and a BNSF a pretty sight. SUPPORT THE VMT. BECOME A MEMBER
FULL STEAM AHEAD Michael, N-scale, can move mountains... Mike, On30, is resetting a signal light with John underneath redoing the wiring....but Rich, On30, can build them back. A bit of housekeeping for Mike and John-On30. Brighten those tracks, fellas. Jim, Bill and John in HO are on the level as they check the level of another section of safety plexiglass. Thank you VMT for the plexiglass. Donate to the Fire Up the 611
Dec 2-3: RVME Open House Candy Cane Express 10-5 & 12-5 Dec 2-3: Timonium, MD, Greenberg s Great Train Show Dec 9-10: Fredericksburg, VA, Rappahannock Model Railroader s Christmas Train Show Dec 16-17: Chantilly, VA, Greenberg s Great Train Show Jan 13-14: Charlotte, NC, World s Greatest Hobby Train Show Jan 20-21: Richmond, VA, Greenberg s Great Train Show Feb 3-4: Timonium, MD, Great Scale Model Train Show Feb 17-18: Charleston, WV, Kanawha Valley Railroad Association Train Show For more information on the above and other train shows go to www.railserve.com/events/train_shows or www.littletoytrains.com or Google. SNIP-ITS & FAVORITE WEB SITES The July issue of U-Tube Model Builders emag has a wonderful introduction to micro control systems such as the popular Arduino. Engineers, ask your crew if anyone is interested in micro electronics and have them pursue this field to gain automation on your layout. If someone is interested the club could perhaps purchase the basic material and equipment for bench test and operation work. You can catch up on this technology by watching U-Tube videos about micro control systems. Check out marklinofsweden on U-Tube. He s a very happy person with his Swedish accent and he makes a great video. Marklin isn t a traditional modeler because he tries many methods to model something and will let you know what works best. He not only has professional edited videos but I find him to be uplifting when he talks and laughs. Oh, one more thing, he uses a lot of toilet paper for his scenery! He has a web site too with all his tutorials check it out. Here s a U-Tube video you may like, How To Fire Up a Steam Locomotive. Hope you like it is much as I did. Another U-Tube video I thought was interesting, War Trains-Combat Strategies. I noticed some of the safety issues that are against the rules in today s railroad industry. Something interesting in the video is the assembly of ship sections in Denver, CO and transported by train to the shipyard in the east where it is built into a ship. FREE Am I the only member that watches UTube or reads train magazines? Come on guys, help me out here, I need some entries. Thanks. PLEASE CHECK THE DUES SCHEDULE
GIVE THESE ESTABLISHMENTS YOUR SUPPORT TODAY. Rail Yard Hobby Shop November 21, 6:30 7547 Williamson Rd, Roanoke, VA 24019 Serving Hobbyists for 25 Years Save 10% by presenting your membership card! www.rvmehome.com NOTICE Looking for new members to build a Lionel layout from the ground up. Stop by our club on any Tuesday evening from 6:30 till 8:30. Location is in the basement of the VA. Museum of Transportation on the Jupiter rocket end, around the back corner no experience is necessary. Editor: Lee Anderson Lee500221@gmail.com Roanoke Valley Model Engineers Click The RVME editor is asking the membership to send photos and or articles for the newsletter.