MINI-BUNCH

NEWSLETTER The Mini-Bunch newsletter is usually published 4 times a year on an

irregular schedule. Membership and a subscription to the Newsletter are $8.00 for 3 years or with Registration at a recent Mini-Bunch meeting.

Website: http://www.narrowtracks.com/minibunch

John Hansen & Ted Wiese – Editors Volume 41 Number 1 Feb 2012 email: jvhansen@earthlink.net or ted.wiese@gmail.com

Contents

Editor’s Comments

20th Midwest Narrow Gauge Meet

5th Annual Hoosier On30 Meet

Bear Creek Doings

Colorado Report

C and TS 463 Special May 15th

Fall Mini-Bunch Meet

The Denver South Park and Southern

The Editor’s Soapbox

Sorry about the late issuance of the last issue of Volume 40. (Imagine that for a second – 40 years for the Mini-Bunch.) Just a disparate group on people interesting is a minor aspect of railroads and modeling the same. This issue puts us back on schedule with information on Gary’s meet and including material that did not fit into the last issue.

Finally, Sandy and I are looking forward to a trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR in May. Loco 463 has been shopped and will run for the first time in 10 years. Last time we rode – 2006 – the locomotive spread the rails and went aground just east of Los Pinos. We hope for a better outcome this time.

If you are interested in making this trip, there is information later in the newsletter.

Ted

Three Mini-Bunch authors: Bill Brubach and Michael Yoakam in the ON30 Annual and Sam Swanson in the Gazette!!

Congratulations all!!

2012 Midwest Narrow Gauge Meet

Gary Kohler is sponsoring the 20th annual narrow gauge meet in Greenford at the former South Range school building.

Important news for the railroaders: There will be food – Greenford Cupboard will be there as usual, but there is also a BBQ restaurant opening in the building. IF you send Gary an email or state on your pre-registration form that you are interested, he can arrange to have a BBQ dinner on Saturday evening. LET him know.

Gary sent a list of vendors that will be coming: Hamm River Model! M2FQ & LID & CNGQ & LITco Turnouts! Mount Blue Model Company !Portland Locomotive Works! Rickety Rails! Schomberg Scale Models

!Underground Railway Press !Wiseman Model Service !Stoney Creek Designs !Railway Models Crusader Rail !John Weigel (Peterboro Railroad) !Railhead Publications !Mt. Albert Scale Lumber &!Mt. Albert Scale Models Bald One Locomotive Works

Registration form is at the end of the newsletter.

5th Annual Hoosier On30 Meet

Al Askerberg has announced that this meet will be held in Edinburgh, IN on Saturday, April 28th, 2012. The registration form is at the end of the newsletter along with Al’s email address if you wish further information.

The Fall 2010 Mini-Bunch meeting was held at the club facility.

Bear Creek Doings

It’s been an exciting eighteen months for the Bear Creek Tramway display layout. It went from concept to first prize winner at the 2011 Narrow Gauge convention. In January its story will be one of the features in the 2012

On30 Annual by Carstens. We hope it is focusing attention on the caliber of modeling done by the Mini-Bunch in general and the COOSE O-Scale Club of Columbus in particular. After Hickory, our merry band was split about six to two on its future. Two members were ready to rip the town of Big Run from its foundations and use the framework for a totally new project. “Been there, done that, got the trophy, got the tee-shirt! Let’s do a waterfront.” The six, shall we say “more mature” (read “older guys”), wanted to continue expanding the logging line over the hill to the actual logging camps. We’re a little more wary of fresh starts, having had so many of them. As usual, age and deception beat youth and enthusiasm, so the decision was made to add two more 6’ x 2’ modules identical to the existing two, but incorporating lessons learned. Another two 30” x 18” bridge modules will form a complete circle. This was not an easy decision to make as the new metal, welding, legs, fascia, track and lighting will pretty well demolish a $1000 bill. (Wives, you didn’t read that!) Transportation and storage will also be more difficult. That said, the new Bear Creek will be a complete operating layout as well as a display. It will have continuous running, staging tracks for whole trains, passing sidings and point-to point operation when desired. A whole logging operation will be demonstrated including bark stripping and chemical wood cutting. The prototype Bear Creek area is the scene of one of the biggest natural gas fields in the U.S., so early petroleum operations will also be modeled. This will fulfill the complete dream of eighteen months ago. See for yourselves how we progress. Visit the town of Big Run again this year at Greenford. Don’t expect many changes, yet. We’re still planning, cutting and welding, but we’ll bring what we have. Bill Brubach

Colorado Report- by Bill Strathearn

The Other Colorado Railroad

While the overwhelming focus on Colorado narrow gauge railroading has been on the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Southern (RGS), there was another very interesting one; The Colorado & Southern (C&S), a railroad full of iron men and small locomotives. Of interest today will be the original Colorado Central (CC) and two preserved locomotives. The CC ran from Denver to the silver and gold mines of Central City and Silver Plume. It was eventually incorporated into the Colorado & Southern in 1898 along with what was originally the Denver, South Park and Pacific, and abandoned in the late 30s.

There are only three C&S locomotives preserved in Colorado, all three consolidations: #60 in Idaho Springs, #71 in Central City and #74 in Boulder. #74 is currently undergoing extensive restoration. RGS fans will recognize #74 as having a later life there. Apparently, it was much maligned as being a poor steamer. Both 60 and 71 are well preserved as you see in the photos. Both these two as well as most all the consolidations had a unique appearance that made them really identifiable. They sported so called “bear trap” spark deflectors, laterally mounted air tanks, and bells on top of the air tanks; although number 60’s bell seems to have been given over to vandals. Given the long ago abandonment, there are still numerous examples of rolling stock and structures in the state, fodder for another time.

463 Special on Cumbres and Toltec RR

It's Showtime...The 463 Is Back!

The long wait to see Locomotive 463 operating again is almost over. After a decade of inactivity and approx-imately two and a half years undergoing a rebuild, the 463

will be the star of a pre-season charter over the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Ride behind the 463 on what will be its first revenue charter after undergoing restoration by the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc . Witness the sights and sounds as the “Mudhen” once again steams through the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico under late spring conditions!

This special offering by the Friends will feature a 9:30am departure from Antonito on a one-way westbound trek to Chama. Numerous photo runbys along the route will be planned. A BBQ chicken lunch will be served at Osier and is included in the price of the ticket. Each passenger will also receive a commemorative 463 cap! Reserve now as seats are limited!

Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Time: 9:30am Train Departs Antonito. 5:30pm Train Arrives in Chama.

Fares: $125 Coach Class (seats are still available.)

Motor coach transportation between Chama and Antonito is included in the fare. For those staying in Chama the motor coach departs Chama at 8:00am, arriving in Antonito at 9:00am. For people staying in Antonito or Alamosa, the motor coach departs Chama at 6:00pm and will arrive back at the Antonito Depot at 7:00pm.

To purchase a seat on this very special charter please call 505-880-1311

The Fall Convention

A note from Dan Kempf about our fall meet:

The Fall 2012 Mini-Bunch meet will be October 6th at the New York Central Station in Chelsea, Michigan. Registration will be $15.00. I need 5 or 6 people to hold clinics and a couple modular layouts. There will be tables available to sell that extra stuff. I will have my layout open on Friday afternoon from 4:00 to 8:00 and I am tentatively planning on have a tour of the Huckleberry facilities on Sunday morning.

The station is on the northern end of the Chelsea business district. We won’t have an onsite dinner; however there are plenty of coffee shops, restaurants and pubs/bars within the 4 blocks of the downtown area. There is a Comfort Inn, and Holiday Inn Express for those staying overnight.

If you want to put on a clinic or bring a modular layout or have a question please contact me at:

dkempf4010@comcast.net

Dan Kempf

The Denver South Park and Southern Railroad

By John Chlebowski The Denver South Park & Southern was originated over thirty years ago as a HOn3 railroad. The main towns were Como, with its roundhouse and the Ophir Loop area. In the early 80’s the railroad was converted into Sn3.

The DSP&S is a combination of The D&RGW, DSP&P, C&S, and RGS. Time frame is mostly the late 1939-40 era. Layout construction is modular in format with no section longer than seven feet. This can and has been cut apart to be moved and is now in its third new home. It has grown with each move and is now 30 feet by 28 feet. Zero level is at 46 inches climbing to 59 inches. The base is ! inch plywood under ! inch Homasote with the scenery made mostly of Styrofoam with the newer sections made with plaster cloth. All track work is flex track from Shinohara and Tomalco. Switches are Darr, Simpson, Railway Engineering, PBL and B&K Enterprises. Power is provided with a choice of sound systems, PBL, PFM and SDS with Miller sound chips at various locations to add a little life to the railroad. The main throttle can be switched from one to the other if you need to compare. The motive power is steam or gasoline types. Motive power consists of C’s & K’s as well as Galloping Geese and Shays.

The new layout covers a lot of real estate. The eastern end will represent Durango with its large depot, car shop, coaling tower, sand house and water tank. Proceeding toward the north you pass Ridgway depot, yards, roundhouse and turntable.

South of the track is the main street of a town representing Silver Plume / Ouray and Telluride before passing the Ouray depot. At this point we will take the western loop over the trestles to Ophir Loop and Vance Junction. There are several ore and coal loading facilities on the way. After departing Vance we go through Red Mountain and approach Sargent with its 475 foot coal loading trestle than stopping at the station for water and pass-engers. As we depart Sargent we could bypass the main-line to proceed to the Sargent round house and turntable with a return to the main line through Forks Creek by way of the wye toward Jefferson. After Jefferson station and water tank, we will steam past the Conoco and Gramps loading facilities. The line at the left goes to Animas Forks and Silverton, now under develop- ment. The high line follows the trestles leading to the No

Name mining area toward the Hukill and several other mines above. The tour will be completed by returning through Red

Mountain again to pick up the loop for the return to Durango. Thank you for coming with us for a ride through Narrow

Gauge Country. This is Colorado in miniature as I remember it. You can see the Aspen and the tall pines along the way. Look for future additions yet to come. Owner Lorraine Chlebowski Operator John Chlebowski

Notes from the Editors

HELP NEEDED!!!! We plan to send out 4 newsletters per year. We are looking for articles on modelbuilding and prototype that will be of interest for the members.

Mini-Bunch

http://www.narrowtracks.com/minibunch

Yahoo! Groups – Mini-Bunch

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mini-bunch

Name Badges Available – Soon, we hope -

Unfortunately, we have lost our nametag vendor again. Hopefully, we will be able to make nametags available again at some future date.

Mini-Bunch Newsletter on Internet

Thanks to David Keith, our Webmaster, you have the chance to see these and additional photos in color. And thanks to Jim Eakin for helping us with the copying.

Parties Responsible for this Newsletter Our Leader:

Jim Kehn 735 West Columbus St Pickerington, OH 43147 614-837-0724 prrfreak@aol.com

Editors: John Hansen 17826 Clifton Blvd Lakewood, OH 44107 216-521-1779 jvhansen@earthlink.net Ted Wiese 9099 Regency Woods Drive Kirtland, OH 44094-9380 440-256-5212 email: ted.wiese@gmail.com Narrow Gauge Timetable National Narrow Gauge Conventions 32nd 2012 – September 12 - 15, Bellevue, WA 33rd 2013 – August 28 - 31, Pasadena, CA 34th 2014 – September 3 - 6, Kansas City, MO 35th 2015 – September 2 - 5, Houston, TX 36th 2016 –September 7 – 10, Augusta ME Future Mini-Bunch Meets Fall 2012 Ann Arbor, MI Spring 2013 Greenford, OH

Name:_____________________________

Address:___________________________

City/St/Zip:_________________________

Phone/email:________________________

One day registration $10.00_____________

Two day registration $15.00___________ (no charge for spouse)

Dealer $35.00 (one table)_____________ (Includes registration for two)

Additional tables x $25.00 ea._________

Total amount enclosed_______________

Make checks payable to Gary Kohler.

Do you want to do a clinic yes_____ no_____ Subject__________________________________________

If you use PowerPoint, you will need to bring your own Power Point Projector.

Do you plan to enter a model in the Model Contest yes_____ no_____

Would you like to host a roundtable discussion yes_____ no_____ Subject_________________________

The 20th Annual Midwest Narrow Gauge Show 2012

and

CANFIELD (Greenford), OHIO TRAIN SHOWMarch 22-24, 2012

* Dealers, clinics, operating modules and layouts.

Operating Layouts Tentative for 2012: HOn30, Sn2, S/Sn3, On30 and 7/8n2.

This event is cosponsored by the Cleveland Narrow Gauge Society and the Mini Bunch.

Dealers $35.00 plus $25.00 per additional table.

All scales welcome: HOn30, HOn3, Sn2, Sn3, On2, On30, On3 and large scale..

SHOW HOURS

Thursday setup from 4-9

Friday setup 9:00-10:00

Friday Show opens at 10:00 and closes at 8:00

Saturday setup 8:30 to 9:00

Saturday Show opens at 9:00 and closes at 5:00

Host Hotel: Hampton Inn (Canfield): (330) 330-702-1900

(rooms reserved under Midwest NG Show)

PO Box 133, Washingtonville, OH 44490-0133

(330) 702-0117 or m2fq@aol.com

www.lightirondigest.com

http://www.maine2footquarterly.com/midwest.htm

Please send SASE for more information.

Fifth Annual

Hoosier On30 Meet Saturday, April 28, 2012

10 AM to 4 PM

Hosted and sponsored by the

Columbus Area Railroad Club Located at Johnson County Park Office, Edinburgh, IN

Modules & dioramas Clinics

Swap & sell Bring & brag Show & tell

Information: Al Askerberg - aiberg@comcast.net

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NATIONAL NARROW GAUGE

CONVENTIONS

Bellevue, WA September 12 – 15, 2012

Pasadena, CA August 28 – 31, 2013

Kansas City, MO September 3 – 6, 2014

Houston, TX September 2 – 5, 2015

Augusta, ME September 7 – 10, 2016

C&S #71 in Central City, CO

Mini-Bunch Newsletter Ted Wiese Co-Editor

9099 Regency Woods Drive

Kirtland, Ohio 44094-9380

A residence at Bear Creek

Mini-Bunch Meeting

Spring 2012 Greenford, Ohio

Date March 22 - 24, 2012

Flanger line at Ouray on the D SP & S

First Class Postage