superintendent's corner comingevents - carolina southern · visitors can see the very scenic...

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Newsletter of the Carolina Southern Division 12, Mid-Eastern Region,National Model Railroad Association

Volume 16 Number 3 May–June 2016

Superintendent's CornerBy Alan Hardee
Coming Events
(See CSD Website for
further details)
SD Monthly Events:Unless noted, all

meetings at Huntercres Baptist Church,4620 Heman Drive,

Charlotte

Saturday,May21st

10 AM Layout VisitAlan Hardee908 S. 9th St.

Bessemer City

1

When working on a model railroad, the mind will sometimeswonder. This happened to me recently while rebuilding theyard area on my Carolina Central. The area that we actuallymodel may be small, but we want the impression that it goeson forever. To achieve this, we paint the backdrop blue, addclouds, background building, and trees. There are even photobackdrops to choose from to help us with this. We also wantconnections to the world beyond the layout. This can beachieved with interchange tracks on the layout to represent aconnection with another railroad. The use of hidden stagingareas gives the illusion that the trains we operate connect tothe outside world. There is another connection that wesometimes forget, people.

We need to connect with other people. It’s how we exchangeideas, learn modeling tips, and make new friends. Thesemeetings can be one on one, or group clinics like at ourRailroad Modeling University. The Carolina Southern Divisionis a great way to make your connection with people within ourhobby. There are a lot of members in this Division that Ihaven’t met yet. I want to make those connections, and calleveryone FRIEND.

June 18th, 9:30 AMAn Introduction to

Modular ModelRailroading

July 16th, 10:AMLayout Visit

Ty Brown777 Camp Cabarrus

Dr., Kannapolis

Other EventsJune 25, 9AM

3th Annual NC ModelTrain Show & Saleetrolina Expo Trade

Center

ct 20-23, MER 2016Fall Convention

Durham, NC

I met Jack Dziadul from Carolina Piedmont Division 13 whenhe presented details on the upcoming MER Convention at ourRMU in February. I learned that Jack lived in Sanford, NC. Myin-laws also live in Sanford so this had my attention. I nowhave a new connection with a model railroader outside ourdivision. I made plans to meet when I visited Sanford forEaster. Jack and Bob Bridges invited me along to see a coupleof layouts that will be on the MER Convention schedule. Thefirst stop was Jim Babcock’s HO Scale B & O layout based inPittsburgh. Jims Layout was just photographed and submittedto Model Railroader. Most of the structures are scratch built tomatch photos of buildings from the area. The next Layout we

Brass Pounder Volume 16
No 3 May - June 2016
visited was Lou Sassi’s On30 Sandy River & Rangely Lakes.You may know Lou as a nationally known author and

Superintendent’s Corner – continued

photographer. It was an honor for me tophotograph his layout. I did have to promiseLou that I would not post any photos of hislayout on the web. I will share the photos ofboth layouts at an upcoming meeting.

My next visit to see the In-laws just mightturn into a railfanning or operating oppor-tunity with my new FRIENDS.

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Editor's NotesBy Fred Miller, MMR

We have some interesting articles for you inthis issue of the newsletter. Bob Halseyshares his visit to Alaska with notes andphotos of the Alaska Railroad. I’ve gotsome notes on the recent National TrainDay at NCTM in Spencer.

And Andrew Stitt, our Program Director, hassome updates on the Division’s comingevents.

Have you noticed the number of onlinemodel railroading teaching aids? In additionto the various discussion groups, Kalmbachhas a great digital presence with theirMRExtra newsletter which is related to asubscription to MR. I find the MR VideoPlus extra fare of fer ing part icularlyentertaining and informative.

And a new onl ine of fer ing has beenannounced: Model Railroad Academy withA l l e n K e l l e r . T h i s s e e m s t o b e acombination of Allen Keller’s old layout visitvideos as well as new “comprehensiveproven tricks, techniques, insight andinspiration” from other modelers.

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Division Program NotesBy Andrew Stitt

May 21, 2016

Our visit to the Southern Piedmont LiveSteamers was unfortunately cancelled bythe live steamers because of a lack of crewmembers. (Editor’s Note: Alan Hardeestepped up to offer a layout visit andworking session at his layout starting 10AM.Burgers on the gr i l l a re of fered forcompensation to work teams doing cork,track and some wiring).

June 18, 2016

The June meet ing wi l l be t i t led "AnIntroduction to Modular Model Railroading".It will feature a panel presentation put on bymyself, Gil, and Alan. It will be held on June18th at 9:30 AM at the Hunter Acres BaptistChurch in Charlotte. Among the things wewill present are modules of varying types of

The Brass Pounder Volume 16 No 3 May - June 2016

Next Issue Submission DateJuly-August 2016 July 1, 2016

Articles are welcome on any railroadtopic, model or prototype. Your editor isavailable to assist in preparing thematerials.

Editor: Fred [email protected] W Trade St #2504,Charlotte, NC 28202-1753704-332-1753

Submissions For Brass Pounder

construction, what goes into building them,and a discussion of using modules as ahome layout, all or part. We intend to havemodules available for viewing as well ascomparison.

July 16, 2016

The July meeting will be on the 16th (afterthe national convention and train show) andwill be hosted by Ty Brown at his house at10 AM. Ty has a 1:20.3 layout inside hisbasement. It has more than 100 ft. of

mailto:[email protected]


running track, so it will be fascinating to seewhat Ty has done with this large scalewithin his basement. In addition, Ty is goingto share some of his knowledge andexperience on casting and vacuum formingfor modelers. Topics on casting will includemaking RTV molds, degassing, pressurecasting, and hollow casting. Ty's address is4777 Camp Cabarrus Dr., Kannapolis, NC28081. Due to limited space this visit islimited to NMRA members only. AndrewCSD Program Director

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Railroading Way Up NorthBy Bob Halsey

Some of us may have enjoyed watching therecent TV series about the Alaska Railroadand its wintertime difficulties. These arecertainly not exaggerated, and the ARR issurely a vital necessity to the individualistswho choose to live out in the wilderness.

Figure 2 Front of train

Figure 3 - Rear of Train

Figure 4 - Train Enroute

Division Website:www.carolinasouthern.org

Figure 1 - Alaska RR SD70 Diesel


But most people who have contact with thishistoric line do so in the summer, when thescenery is most beautiful, and snow isnormally seen only on distant mountain tops.This is when the majority of the thousands oftourists from the “lower 48” ride the moderncoaches and dome cars traveling betweenFairbanks, in the center of Alaska, andAnchorage, down on Cook Inlet leading tothe Pacific Ocean.

Figure 5 - Early AAR Power

The most popular stop is Denali NationalPark, halfway between the two cities, wherevisitors can see the very scenic park, seelots of wildlife (eagles, caribou, moose,bears, etc.), go white-water rafting for 11miles on the Nenana River (you wearrubber suits), watch sled dog training, andtake a bus tour up 90 miles into the parkinterior to get a view of the highestmountain in North America – if the weatheris clear! The park is the size of Massachu-setts Next stop south of Denali Park isTalkeetna, where serious hikers and cross-country skiers (in the winter) get off to starttheir ordeals.

Figure 6 - Maintenance of Way

Figure 7 - More MOW at DP Station

Figure 8 - Hi-Railer at Denali Station

The Bras

Construcserve thtrapperscountry.large, thaa namewinningsteamshiworkers,S.S. Ancmodernmajor fremaintenaunusualFrom theand FairSeward.with pasNome, onot even

The ARRgravel, aitems foupeople!in eachmoney mand dinindome casummer)

on vacation, many from Bulgaria and othereastern European countries, and all speakperfect English with no accents!

Just as with highway and road work, mostARR track maintenance is done from Mayto September. The main highway betweenAnchorage and Fairbanks was built early inWWII to help the Army defend Alaska, andfrom Fairbanks it connects with the WWII-built Alcan Highway that goes down throughCanada to Montana. Fairbanks is the siteof the main campus of the University of

s Pounder Volume 16 No 3 May - June 2016

Figure 9 - Speeder at Fairbanks Station

tion of the ARR began in 1914 toe gold miners, lumbermen, furand other denizens of that ruggedThe construction camp grew sot the Post Office decided it needed, so they held a contest. The

entry was named after thep which brought most of the miners,and supplies up from Seattle – thehorage. The camp is now a largecity and the site of the railroad’sight yard, passenger station, andnce facility (they do have someMaintenance of Way equipment!).re you can go north to Denali Parkbanks or southeast to Whittier andBut the line, a single-track main

sing sidings, does not go west tor east to Canada and the “lower 48”,to Alaska’s capitol, Juneau!

carries a lot of oil, lumber, coal,nd general freight (autos, food, andnd in most stores), and of course,

The passenger trains (2 or 3 a daydirection) pulled by 2 SD70s, areakers and fun to ride, with kitchensg tables on the lower levels of thers. The dining area servers (in theare all very attractive college girls

Alaska with its excellent museum. There isa restaurant in town that advertises “thenorthernmost Southern Barbecue in theU.S.”, and it is as good as the best you canget down here!

The Fairbanks passenger station has alarge room at one end that contains thelayout of the Tanaka Valley Model RailroadClub, which is a very detailed, operating HOscale depiction of a typical ARR section withmountains, bridges, and associatedindustries. They are looking for additionalmembers, because like many of our largelayouts down here, most of the work is doneby a handful of talented, dedicatedindividuals!

Figure10 -

TanakaValleyModel

RR Club

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I didnot get a chance to check out the model


railroad scene in Anchorage, but the stationgift shop has a variety of HO items on sale.

Although there are a few adventurous soulswho drive their RVs up from the lower 48, itis far more convenient to fly from Seattle toone of Alaska’s major cities via AlaskaAirlines, or ride a luxury cruise liner up fromVancouver, B.C. But if you want to do someserious wildlife and whale watching, fly to

Sitka or Juneau and then board one of thesmaller vessels (they’re comfortable but notvery big!) that take you into the InsidePassage, and you will see glaciers, whales,bears, salmon streams, waterfalls, etc.really up close, and go hiking and kayaking.In any case, whatever type visit you prefer,make sure it includes a ride on the AlaskaRailroad!!

Figure 11 - Unusual Alaska Road Signs

Notes on National TrainDay at Spencer

By Fred Miller

I had the opportunity to visit one of ourfavorite railroad places on Saturday, May14th. The NC Transportation Museumoffered up a celebration day for membersand the general public.

The Saturday events included the usualtrain rides with both a train of coaches anda train of cabooses

And some of those great restored dieselsand steam engines were operating for the


trains or on exhibit at various spots aroundthe museum and in the roundhouse.

Norfolk Southern was there with theirrepainted Southern Railway SD40 #3170.In fact it was put to work pulling thecaboose train for a few trips

.

One of my favorite little diesels (because Ihave a Bachmann HO model of it) a GE 45Tonner, was on display. Unfortunately it hasonly been cosmetically restored and notoperational.

As many of you can guess, what really gotmy juices flowing was the exhibit ofCharlotte Trolley Car No. 85. After a bunchof political meanderings at CharlotteTrolley,Inc., the car has a new home (at leastfor a few years) at NCTM where it will bewell cared for and maybe even put intooperation with a trailing generator car as inthe early days in Charlottes South End.

The little four-wheel Greek car that wasused for parades and celebrations inCharlotte, was also moved up to Spencer


One of the several presentations givenduring the day was put on by a couple ofthe original Charlotte Trolley guys whoactually restored Car No. 85. Lots ofinteresting tidbits were offered up for ustraction fans.

Recognize thisguy? He is ofcourse MarcusNeubacher, amember of ourDivision and nowDirector ofAdministration atNCTM. He’sresponsible forarranging manygreat events atthe Museum.

I reported in the last issue of the BP that mywife and I had enjoyed the special NCTM’sdinner train event. Well I again enjoyedlunch in a nice dining car during this visit.

The National Train Day event also includeda few operating layouts including the NScale modular group and a S Scale tinplateclub

And our Division was represented with thetraveling Show Table. Thanks to Alan andsome of his Metrolina Model Railroadersbuddies for staffing the table.


Although the attendance at the NationalTrain Day did not seem to be much over atypical Saturday, I thought it was a greatday

Division Brass

Superintendent Alan Hardee [email protected]. Superintendent Larry Paffrath [email protected] Fred Miller [email protected] John Stevens [email protected] 2016 Blayne Olsen [email protected] 2017 Roy Becker [email protected] 2018 Gil Brauch [email protected] Chairman Dave Chance [email protected] Gil Brauch [email protected] Editor Fred Miller, MMR [email protected] Chair Andrew Stitt [email protected] Chair Doug Algire [email protected] Chair TBD [email protected] Nancy Campbell [email protected]


You are receiving this mailed copy of the Carolina Southern Division’s newsletter, THE BRASSPOUNDER, because we do not have a valid email address for you.

If you are a member of the NMRA and would prefer to receive the full color version of THEBRASS POUNDER by an email attachment, please let the editor know.

If you are not a member of the NMRA but would like to join and continue to reap the benefits atthe National, Regional and Division level, please contact the editor for information.

Fred Miller, [email protected](see additional contact information elsewhere in this newsletter or our web site)


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