volume 50, number 1.5 winter 2009 -...

Volume 50 #1.5 - E-SouthErneR - Winter 2009

The Official Publication of the Southeastern Region of the National Model Railroad Association

Vo lum e 50 , Number 1 .5 20 09 Win ter

In this issue is a selection of Layouts from the 2008 Piedmont Pilgrimage Layout Tour

2 Volume 50 #1.5 - E-SouthErneR - Winter 2009

Name Address City Phone

State

Birth Date Occupation

Zip

Scale

Cell Phone

NMRA Membership and/or Subscription Type (Circle the Option(s) of Your Choice) One Year Two Years Total

Member - All rights and benefits - does not include NMRA Scale Rails. $39.00 $78.00

NMRA Scale Rails subscription - Must be an NMRA member to subscribe. $19.00 $38.00

SER The SouthErneR subscription - Must be an NMRA member to subscribe. $10.00 $20.00

Family - Spouse or minor child of above member in good standing. No NMRA Scale Rails or voting rights. Provide family member’s name and date of birth here: Name: DOB:

$7.00 (each member)

$14.00 (each member)

Student - any person 18 yrs and under or student between the ages of 19 - 25 yrs possessing valid student ID. All rights and benefits and NMRA Scale Rails.

$28.00 $56.00

Sustaining - Mandatory for group memberships (Clubs, Associations, Businesses). All rights & benefits & NMRA Scale Rails.

$110.00 $220.00

TOTAL DUES & SUBSCRIPTIONS PAYMENT ENCLOSED (Make checks payable to NMRA)

Mail To: Rick V. Coble, Registrar, 3278 Spring Wind Ct., Lawrenceville, GA 30044-4838

Credit Card:

Month Year

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Signature Issued To (print)

Master Card VISA AMEX Discover Diner’s Club Check

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NMRA / SER Membership & Subscription Application

NMRA # SER # Renewal New

Please accept my application for membership Renewal or for New Membership in the National Model Railroad Association, which includes the SouthEastern Region and my local SER Division.

Directions from I-85: Take Exit #104 - Pleasant Hill Rd. (Northbound turn left; Southbound turn right) Go past Gwinnett Place Mall to Buford Hwy (3 miles). Turn right and go 1/3 mile. Store is on the right next to Cherokee Closeouts and across from the Southeastern Railway Museum.

Pleasant Hill Road

EXIT #104 I-85

SR 316

I-85 Peachtree Ind. Blvd.

BUFORD HWY

Southeastern

Railway Museum

TM CC

N

www.trainmastermodels.com

3570 Buford Hwy. Duluth, GA 30096 770-622-1611 11am—7pm Tues.—Wed.—Thurs., 11am—6pm Friday—Saturday, 1pm—6pm Sunday, Closed Monday

Volume 50 #1.5 - E-SouthErneR - Winter 2009 3

SOUTHEASTERN REGION DIRECTORY

OFFICERS

President: Bob Beaty, Jr., MMR (205) 987-2385 [email protected] 741 Dividing Ridge Rd, Birmingham, AL 35244 Vice-President: Joe Gelmini 770-460-8873 [email protected] 170 Camelot Drive, Fayetteville, GA 30214 Secretary: Tom Cusker (205) 621-1778 [email protected] 3022 Long Leaf Lane, Helena, AL 35080 Treasurer: George Bloodworth 678-297-1814 [email protected] 245 Hidden Meadow Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30004

DIRECTORS

Exec. Advisor: Phil Hutchinson (334) 272-1923 [email protected] 5743 Carriage Barn Lane, Montgomery, AL 36116 Director (2010): George Gilbert (615) 352-1254 [email protected] 750 Rodney Drive, Nashville, TN 37205 Director (2010): Randall Watson 770-831-5736 [email protected] 730 Morning Creek Lane, Suwanee, GA 30024 Director (2012): Fred Coleman 828-699-0983 [email protected] PO Box 361, Naples, NC 28760 Director (2012): Paul V. Voelker 770-967-1644 [email protected] 6438 Paradise Point Road, Flowery Branch, GA 30542-3143

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

AP Program: George Gilbert (615) 352-1254 [email protected] 750 Rodney Drive, Nashville, TN 37205 Contests: Tom Schultz (205) 879-3603 [email protected] 2798 Montevallo Road, Birmingham, AL 35223 Conventions: Tom Cusker (205) 621-1778 [email protected] 3022 Long Leaf Lane, Helena, AL 35080 Education: Dean Belowich MMR (843) 651-1850 [email protected] PO Box 50239, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579 Good & Welfare: Fred Coleman 828-699-0983 [email protected] PO Box 361, Naples, NC 28760 Historian: Joe Nichols, Sr. MMR (770) 396-6447 [email protected] 4554 Chadwell Lane, Atlanta, GA 30338 Legal Counsel: Vacant Member Aid: Charlie Brown, MMR (770) 943-5280 [email protected] 3 Springbrooke Trail, Dallas, GA 30157 Membership: Tom Schultz (205) 879-3603 [email protected] 2798 Montevallo Road, Birmingham, AL 35223 Registrar: Rick V. Coble 770-279-2523 [email protected] 3278 Spring Wind Ct, Lawrenceville, GA 30044-4838 Webmaster: Mike Broadway (205) 991-0626 [email protected] 3110 Meadowbrook Trail, Birmingham, AL 35242

DIVISIONS

1 Mid-South: Thomas Bailey (931) 433-4207 [email protected] 1008 First Avenue, Fayetteville, TN 37334 2 Steel City: Jack McCraw (205) 744-0758 f [email protected] 1123 13th Avenue Circle, Pleasant Grove, AL 35127 3 Dixie: Phil Hutchinson (334) 272-1923 [email protected] 5743 Carriage Barn Lane, Montgomery, AL 36116 4 Gulf: Glen Hall (850) 475-1530 [email protected] 609 Phyllis Street, Pensacola, FL 32503 5 Piedmont: Howard Goodwin 770-529-2103 [email protected] 79 Cross Branches, Acworth, GA 30101-7705 6 Empire: Richard Dalrymple (478) 471-8883/fax 8994 [email protected] 107 Cordell Court, Macon, GA 31220-5227 7 Palmetto: Bob Roof 803-799-1708 [email protected] PO Box 50356, Columbia, SC 29250 8 Atlantic: Nathan P. Stone (912) 354-2604 [email protected] 4808 Taylor Road, Savannah, GA 31404 9 Cent. Savannah Terry Pitts, Jr (706) 854-1529 [email protected] River: 3964 Cheyenne Trail. Martinez, GA 30907-5114 10 Bluff City: Ned B. Savage (901) 682-8716 [email protected] 136 Greenbriar Drive, Memphis, TN 38117-3208 11 Cumberland: Bob Hultman (615) 833-5158 [email protected] 1305 Chestnut Drive, Brentwood, TN 37207 12 Smoky Mt.: Larry Burkholder (865) 408-9903 [email protected] 206 Coyatee View, Loudon, TN 37774-2172 13 Headquarters: Charles “Chip” Chipman (423) 892-3706 [email protected] 6906 Phyllis Lane, Chattanooga, TN 37401 Cell (423) 304-0818 14 Magnolia: Troy Lee Hight (601) 389-5370 [email protected] 10341 Highway 16E, Philadelphia, MS 39350-3730 15 Land O' Sky: John A. Williams (828) 452-4178 [email protected] 205 Sunset Ridge Rd., Clyde, NC 28721-8598

Winter—2009 Volume 50, Number 1.5

The SouthErneR The Official Publication of the Southeastern Region of the

National Model Railroad Association

Deadlines For Submission

Spring 2009 (Apr) - Mar. 1, 2009 Summer 2009 (Jul) - June 1, 2009 Fall 2009 (Oct) - Sept. 1, 2009 Winter 2010 (Jan) - Dec. 1, 2009

The SouthErneR is mailed to members of the Southeastern Region & interested parties who have paid the subscription rate of $10.00/year. Material for publication is welcomed! Please send materials to the proper Assistant Editor. All submissions become the property of The SouthErneR unless otherwise contracted. Please don’t send previously printed materials.

ADVERTISING: Rates are for electronic-format or scan-ner-ready ads. Preferred formats are Plain Text, MS Word or MS Publisher and JPG. Text or Text & JPG ads can be done by the editor. Include the company name, address, email address and/or a day-time phone number (I prefer email). All ads must be prepaid before publication.

Make checks payable to: SER-NMRA

Pike Registry : $16 for 4 issues

ADVERTISING RATES

Number of Issues 1 2 3 4 $120 $240 $360 $400 $ 90 $180 $270 $300 $ 60 $120 $180 $200 $ 30 $ 60 $ 90 $100 $ 15 $ 30 $ 45 $ 60 $ 10 $ 20 $ 30 $ 40 $ 10 $ 20 $ 30 $ 40

Page Size Full 3/4 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/12

Crawler

EDITOR

Paul V. Voelker 6438 Paradise Point Road

Flowery Branch, GA 30542-3143

v o e l k e r p v @ m s n . c o m [email protected]

[email protected] (770) 967-1644 [Leave a message]

STAFF

Feature Articles Editor: Joe Gelmini - 770-460-8873

papage l@ com cas t. net

Division Events Editor: Merrill Compton Jr. - 205-871-3730

bha m bones@ aol.c om

Advertising Department: George Bloodworth

678-297-1814 G e o r g e B l o o d w o r t h @

b e l l s o u t h . n e t

Bob McIntyre - 770-518-8923 [email protected]

WAYBILL

Departments:

New Members AP Awards The President’s Car The VP’s Keyboard Convention Coordinator Upcoming Events Calendar Division News

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F e a t u r e s :

Bob Wheeler’s Cartridge Train Loading & Storage System Meridian Railfest 2008 Steve Austin’s On30 Elkhorn Iron & Timber Railroad Joe Yow’s HO Scale RB&BB Circus Layout Rails to Sails Convention - Railroads of Pensacola Fall SER Board of Directors Meeting Minutes George Potter’s N Scale KL&P Railroad Dave Pitcher’s N Scale Southwestern Pennsylvania Railroad Gary Jarabek’s HO PRR Southeast Division Layout Rob Richardson’s Quirky HO Scale 1968 Georgia Railroad Norm Stenzel’s HO Scale Brandywine & Benedictine Railroad Charles Aycock’s HO Scale Piedmont & Southern Railroad Phil Stead’s On3 D&RGW San Juan Division McVean Trading & Railroad

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Model Railroad Author Certificate In looking over this issue I see that I am doing an awful lot of “writing”. I mention this because I already have my Model Railroad Author certificate. Some of you might want to consider writing an article and submitting it so you too can earn points towards your Author certificate. Most Editors have not gotten their Author certifi-cates because they “edit” rather than “write”. An Editor can only earn points for the Volunteer certificate unless they write their own articles. Few do however I am not among those ranks and will continue to write my own articles for this newsletter however that said, I already have my Author certificate. I have no problem shifting an article that I am writing to this online version where I have lots of space available if you want to submit something! And make sure to add photos to your articles as they also count for points. Case in point, Troy Hight has an article in this issue on the Meridian, Mississippi 2008 Railfest and Trainshow. Troy sent me an email asking if I would be interested in the article and asking what kind of pictures he should send. He had 42 photographs but no JPEGs. In my answering email I told him of how many photos I gener-ally shoot and how many I generally use in an article. For example, at Rob Richardson’s I shot 372 photos of which I used only about 20 in the layout’s photo spread in this issue. I suggested to Troy that he send me all 42, I’d scan each one and use as many as I thought were needed. So Troy sent me all 42 by snail mail, I scanned each one and then ended up using 15 of the 42 photos in the print issue and 17 of the 42 photos in this online issue. If I recall correctly, each photo is worth 1/3 of a page in points so 15 photos equals 5 pages worth at 2 points per page for a regional publication or 10 points total. Now add in the text he wrote for the article and he is at least 1/4 of the way towards the 42 points he needs for his Model Railroad Author Certifi-cate!

SOUTHEASTERN REGION of the NMRA presents:

CLINICS ON DVD

Our first clinic in this ongoing series by the Southeastern Region is entitled:

"Building a Timber Trestle"

Our second clinic is entitled:

"Light Emitting Diodes & Their Application in Model

Railroads."

Look for more titles coming in the future!

These DVDs sell for $10 each (+$2 shipping) and you may order them by sending a check to the SER Treasurer. Make the check pay-able to: Southeastern Region

And mail to: George Bloodworth 245 Hidden Meadow Dr. Alpharetta, GA 30004

Birmingham Southern Railroad Company

The First Century

By

Ronald G. Mele

Laminated hardbound edition with color front and back covers.

144 pages - includes complete history of the South’s premier industrial shortline from its begin-nings in 1878 to contemporary operations.

Color and black and white photos from the BSRR and US Steel archives and author’s collection.

All time steam and diesel rosters.

Maps and aerial photographs.

$25.00 postage paid

Send check or money order made payable to:

Ronald Mele 4080 Mountain View Drive NW

Pinson, Alabama 35126 (205) 681-2553


Now if you will look in the box below you will see the qualifications for the Dave Muller Award. This is something your division’s Superintendent could help you to be honored with but it does re-quire that he submit your name so that we will know that you are out there and eligible to re-ceive the award. The intent of this award is to honor one individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to promote or inspire participation in Region ac-tivities. Dave Muller was great at getting new members. He was also outstanding at promoting the hobby to the membership and the general public. Surely you or your division’s Superintendent may know of someone in the region that is an inspira-tion to you or has worked tirelessly in the promo-tion of our hobby. I need to know who those peo-ple are so send me some names guys!

Holds "Volunteer" Certificate.

Holds "Official" Certificate.

Holds "Author" Certificate.

Other Certificates, MMR, Gold Spike Award.

Authored one or more modeling articles this year (per page).

Put on one or more clinics this year (per clinic).

Active in putting on a National convention (per full day).

Active in putting on a SER convention (per full day).

Active in putting on a Division trainshow (per full day).

Organized a modular and/or sectional layout show.

Active as a contest or AP judge this year.

Active as Committee Chair for at least 6 months

this year at Division level or higher.

Active in a modular or sectional layout.

Boy Scout Merit Badge program (per badge).

Each member signed up to NMRA PLUS a one year

subscription to “The SouthErneR”

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POINTS CERTIFICATES HELD OR DEEDS DONE

Send nominees t o the Ed i t o r a t :

v o e l k e r p v @ m s n . c o m Or by sna i l ma i l t o:

P a u l V . Voe l ke r 6 4 38 P a r a d i se P o i n t Roa d

F l ow e ry B r an c h , G A 30 5 42 - 31 4 3

As a reminder, the categories with applicable points are below.

DAVE MULLER AWARD ***ATTENTION***

All Division Superintendents Please submit the names & point totals

of deserving region members by January 31st, 2010

DAVE MULLER AWARD

Member City Division Skip Brown Birmingham, AL Steel City Jeff Johnson Birmingham, AL Steel City David Medley Helena, AL Steel City Shirley P Womble Birmingham, AL Steel City Larry L Barnes Dothan, AL Dixie Charles Horne Enterprise, AL Dixie John Moniak Panama City Beach, FL Gulf Alan Hooper Marietta, GA Piedmont Morris O Metcalf Jefferson, GA Piedmont Eraina Perrin Dallas, GA Piedmont Leonard M Schwartz Canton, GA Piedmont Robert W Smith Mableton, GA Piedmont Harold D Webb Acworth, GA Piedmont Robert E Wood Jr Kennesaw, GA Piedmont George R Pederson Columbus, GA Empire Thomas A Hoots Fort Mill, SC Palmetto Steven R Spence Travelers Rest, SC Palmetto William F Burkel Bloomingdale, GA Atlantic Larry Keenan Memphis, TN Bluff City Alan E Butler Antioch, TN Cumberland Michael P Ekdall Brentwood, TN Cumberland Joel Holmes Cookeville, TN Cumberland Fredrick Carmichael Chattanooga, TN Headquarters H Randall McGinnis Chattanooga, TN Headquarters Robert C Miller Pelahatachie, MS Magnolia Charles A Hoesch Murphy, NC Land 'O Sky Mary Ann Hoesch Murphy, NC Land 'O Sky Neil P McGuinn Fletcher, NC Land 'O Sky

A. P. Awards *Indicates first Certificate of Achievement

Go l d S p ike Ho wa rd G oo d wi n

A c w o rth , G A

Wi l l i a m R o b e r ts o n R o s we ll , G A

Ja m es Trav i s Mariett a , GA

Model RR Engineer - Electrical H u g h Te a f o r d *

Me mph is , TN

A ssoc i at i o n O ff ic i al T h o m a s C u s ke r

He le n a, AL

A sso ciat io n Vo l unteer R o b D o d d s *

A c w o rth , G A

Master Model Railroader S. Michael Braunstein

MMR #416 Grimsley, TN


For several years I had been hearing of Bob Wheeler’s Cartridge Loading System that he uses to store his trains on but until now I had not visited his layout to see it in ac-tion. Well its November and now I was visiting layouts on the Piedmont Division’s Pil-grimage tour and Bob’s was one of the layouts I made it a point to stop in at to see this Cartridge system in action. Bob models the Ontario Northland - Ramore Sub, the track plan of which was designed by fellow Piedmont member Scott Perry. As can be seen in the photo above Bob has a lot of cars but his layout is not large enough to handle all of them at once so he stores the rest on these unique shelves he calls “cartridges”. As can be seen in the photo at right each cartridge is built from two pieces of wood forming an L-shape with a base board and a vertical back board. The base board is grooved allowing the flanges of each car’s trucks to lock into the grooves as if they were riding on regular track. The arrow points to a coupler screwed to one end of the shelf that retains the cars and keeps them from rolling off the car-tridge while it is being moved.

Bob Wheeler’s “Cartridge” Train Loading & Storage System

Photos & Story by Paul Voelker


Photos 1 thru 3 at right show Bob removing one car-tridge from its place on its wall supports and moving it to the layout. In Photo 3 he tilts the cartridge to demon-strate how the coupler on the end holds the cars from rolling off the cartridge. For information on the construc-tion of the cartridges and storage system, see Bob's ar-ticle in the May 2007 issue of Scale Rails magazine In Photo 4 Bob has already set the cartridge into one of its supports on the layout and is now moving the open end to its resting place where the grooves in that end will align with a track on the layout. In Photo 5 at left we can look down the cartridge to-wards its connection with a track on the layout. The cars can be removed by hand or with the use of a loco-motive as can be seen on the next page.

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Photos 6 & 7 show how the open end of the cartridge is mounted onto the layout. A track with guard rails aligns with the cartridge, the guard rails insuring that the cars will stay on the track during withdrawal from or insertion into the cartridge. The locomotive has just enough reach to couple onto the cars on the obviously non-powered grooved board. Each cartridge is 8 feet long and so can hold 8 feet worth of cars.

Photo 8 shows the saddle that the open end of the cartridge sits in. To retain the car-tridge in place Bob uses a simple cabinet door magnet and a steel plate on the car-tridge which is sufficient to lock the cartridge in place on the layout and permits enough side-to-side movement to ensure the track aligns with the grooves on the car-tridge. Photo 9 shows the cars being withdrawn from the cartridge. A locomotive pulling a string of cars off a cartridge comes to a wye so a train can be directed either north or south bound on the layout.


Photos 10 & 11 show the swing-out saddle for the coupler end of the cartridge to sit in. The as seen the saddle can fold flat against the side of the layout when not in use. In the photo below we see part of Bob’s Ontario Northland railroad. The arrow points to the saddle where a cartridge can connect to the layout.

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Wye Track Saddle


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Bob Wheeler’s

Ontario Northland Ramore Sub

All photos on this page are keyed to the drawing above. You are looking in the direction of the arrow in each shot. Bob’s layout resides in a fairly small room on the top floor of his house. While the overall dimensions of the room are 19 x 23 feet, the room space is partially eaten up by a staircase and a fur-nace room. Looking to a possible move in the future, Bob has assembled the lay-out in such a way that it can be broken down into several interlock-ing pieces. At a later date, an arti-cle will appear in these pages on how Bob has created a novel ap-proach to creating a solid interlock to mate each section.


Greeting to all this holiday season. By the time this letter reaches you, the festive season will be behind us, the turkey parts and left over ham turned into sandwiches and the wrapping paper used to kindle a warm fire in your fireplace. Now it is time to sit back and admire the new BLI engine, new FSM kit or that Blackstone HOn3 K-27 your significant other said you were not going to receive this Christmas. What is also neat about this re-flective time is remembering the smiles and the squeals of joy from kids, (yours, others or grandkids) as they watch the trains run, some just under the tree, some on home layouts and others in public displays. The joy of trains and model railroading is a year round hobby but it is really intensified during the holiday season. In Birmingham, The Steel City Division supported the McWane Science Center’s annual Holidays with Trains display. The entire third floor of the Museum was devoted to model trains, big ones, little ones, tin plate, antiques, and Thomas! There were operating displays of Lionel three rail, G-scale, N-scale, Z and of course HO. There was a large operating display of an operating circus and carnival, displayed models built by SCD NMRA members. The Wrecking Crew Model Railroad Club had their Locust Grove and Western RR sectional layout as the centerpiece. The IMAX theater is showing the Polar Express through January. Divi-sion members are also building the Woodland Scenics Grand Valley HO layout each week-end. Visitors are invited to observe, ask questions and even participate in the construction. The layout will be raffled off at the end of the event. There was also our ubiquitous NMRA membership display with literature about the hobby that has had to be replenished daily. Holidays with Trains will run through January 12, 2009. So far, just during the month of November, 37,000 people visited the museum (not counting the bug-eyed toddlers that got in for free)! Now that’s what I call introducing the hobby to the public. The Piedmont Division has had their annual Piedmont Pilgrimage in the last quarter of 2008. Again, this is another excellent vehicle to introduce people to our hobby. While opening up one’s home to strangers can be daunting, it is an opportunity to share the joys of this hobby and introduce young people to something that uses more than two thumbs to play with. I also want to note with pride the numerous mentions of the SER, the Piedmont Division and several specific individuals in the NMRA Scale Rails. Not only were there articles by SER members, there was one particular praiseworthy input of how SER members helped an individual with the Achievement Program. I personally have received calls and comments from outside the Region as to how well we do things here. Other Region Presidents have called and asked for permission to use our by-laws, Superintendent’s Handbook and even the Strategic Plan. I continually receive praise for Paul Voelker and Mike Broadway for their work on our communication organs. I have even received a request to allow a contiguous division, outside the SER to be assimilated into our Region. We must be doing something right. This summer, I appointed Troy Height as Superintendent of the Magnolia Division. This will not be an easy task for Troy as Magnolia is almost the entire state of Mississippi! He has taken the bait and has really stepped up to renew interest in the hobby in Mississippi, with correspondence and also NMRA involvement in the Meridian, MS train show. It is hard to maintain enthusiasm when we are scattered over a large geo-graphical area (unlike Piedmont and Steel City). Therefore we need to stretch to make the connections, and to share our own accomplishments or help another Division member with a problem. Model Railroading can tend to be a “loner” hobby, if we let it. Reach out and mentor some one. Whether you are Danny Head in NE Alabama, Nate Stone in Savannah, Mike Ferry in Tennessee or Glen Hall in Pensacola, you can reach out to the “loner” in your areas and reinforce the satisfaction this hobby can bring. Until next time, Happy Holidays, a prosperous New Year and keep in Training. Bob Beaty, MMR President, SER

The President’s Car Robert Beaty, MMR


Photo References 1. Location Sign 2. Permanent Displays 3. Dunn Roadbuilders GP 8 #1535 4. NS GP 59 #4610 5. NS Exhibit Car

The Meridian Rail Fest was held Saturday November 1st at the Meridian Railroad Museum. The Meridian Railroad Museum is housed in the former REA Building that is adjacent to the restored and functional Meridian Union Station. The day included both prototype and modeling dis-plays, as well as a model train sale. The museum has Southern bay window caboose X 317, a Meridian & Big-bee caboose, and two passenger cars on permanent display. Brought in for the event were Dunn Roadbuild-ers Railroad GP-8 #1535, Norfolk Southern GP-59 #4610, Norfolk Southern Exhibit Car and Kansas City Southern Business Car #1887 "Port Arthur". The Dunn locomotive began its career as Frisco GP-7 #513, built in June 1950. It was rebuilt by the ICG in the 1970's as a GP-8. Dunn acquired the unit for their bulk aggregate handling facility located along the NS mainline in east Meridian. Dunn also has similar loco-motives and facilities in Laurel and Hattiesburg, MS also. Dunn employees were present to assist visitors into the cab and answer questions about their opera-tions. NS #4610 was beginning to show some age. She was painted in April 1994 in the Sylvan Green and Light Gray livery to honor the heritage of the Southern Rail-way on its Centennial. Meridian was just one of the twenty three stops this year for the NS Exhibit Car. The maroon clad Exhibit Car was he highlight of the day for many people. The updated locomotive simulator puts you in the engineer's seat of a virtual train. The car was full of children and parents, most of the day. The last of the special display pieces was the Kansas City Southern's Business Car #1887 "Port Arthur". She was built by Pullman in 1950 for the Union Pacific as Coach #5403. It served the Alaska Railroad for nearly twenty years before retirement in the late 1980's. KCS acquired her from a St. Louis dinner train vendor in 2006. The large observation deck was added in a 1996

Meridian Rail Fest 2008 By Troy Hight

Magnolia Division Superintendent

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rebuild that made her completely self sufficient. HEP is not necessary for operation. I hung around long enough to get a private tour. As a bonus, the north bound Crescent made its daily stop, in Meridian, just before noon. Several passengers boarded for the trip to Birmingham and beyond. Meridian is also a crew change point for all Amtrak service per-sonnel. The museum is under the direction of Mick Nuss-baum, and is open on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. The museum has numerous static displays inside including a model of Illinois Central GP 7 #8950 that was built by IC engineer M. C. "Matt" Nussbaum, the direc-tors father. The model operates on 7 1/2" gauge track. The museum is also home to the Meridian Model Rail-road Club. Their current edition of the Meridian Union Terminal (M.U.T. Lines) is an approximately 900 sq. ft. DC controlled operation. Some bench work is still ex-posed, but most of the current layout has basic scenery in place. A move several years ago forced the abandon-ment and dismantling of a much larger and nearly com-plete railroad. The current pike is just over two years old. Bill Lowe is the informal leader of this group, which meets most Thursday nights and Saturday mornings year round. The day of activities concluded with a model train show and sale. Several vendors from around the south-east were on hand to exhibit their merchandise. I picked up a couple of items for myself and made some new friends in the process. All in all. it was a very rewarding day.

You can learn more about the museum at: http://meridian-railroad-museum.org 6

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Photo References 5A Inside Exhibit Car 5B Inside Exhibit Car 6. KCS "Port Arthur" 7. Amtrak Crescent #20 Arriving 8. GP 7 model 7 1/2" Gauge


Photo References 9-11. Meridian Model RR Club 12. Engine terminal 13. Cement Plant 14-15. Outdoor train show

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Steve Austin’s On30

Elkhorn Iron & Timber Co.


Now available is the 3-part online-only AS2008 Anaheim Model Contest Photo Books which cover the AP-judged 2008 national convention contest that was held in Anaheim, CA this past July. Parts 1 & 2 cover Rolling Stock while Part 3 covers Structures & Displays. This is the fifth installment in the series and is available exclusively at the SER’s website.

In each book you will see at least one and very often several photos of each model entered as seen on these pages from Part 3. Each model’s scores in the five scoring categories (Construction, Detail, Conformity, Finish & Lettering, Scratchbuilding) and its overall Total Score are included. See what shows up at a national contest. You too could be a national contest winner, you just need to en-ter. Come to Hartford, Connecticut this summer and bring a model or two with you. Entry isn’t hard but does require that you fill out some paperwork. All the forms you will need can be found in one of the Model Contest Photo Books or online at the NMRA website: www.nmra.org

I look forward to seeing you and your model in Hartford!

2004 Seattle Complete 2005 Cincinnati Parts 1, 2 & 3 2006 Philadelphia Parts 1, 2 & 3 2007 Detroit Parts 1 & 2 2008 Anaheim* Parts 1, 2 & 3

Years now available include:

2008 Anaheim Model Contest Photo Book Set


One of the many layouts on the 2008 Piedmont Pilgrimage Layout Tour was this modular layout ti-tled: B. Joe Yow’s Ringling Bros. & Barnum Bailey Circus Lot from the 1930’s. From the Pied-mont Pilgrimage brochure: “The Circus traveled in four trains of their own special cars. First to arrive would be the Menagerie & Dining Departments, some small animals and the cooks to prepare meals for the next arrivals. Second to arrive would be the Canvas Wagons which held the Big Top, Side Show & other tents. Third would be the interiors for the various tents. Last would be the Performers, Horses & Elephants. It’s now time for the SHOW!”

The SouthErneR Southeastern Region, NMRA

3278 Spring Wind Ct Lawrenceville, GA

30044-4838


CLIP THIS COUPON AND TURN IN AT SHOW

Sponsored by the Piedmont Division,

SouthEastern Region,

National Model Railroad Association

Web Site: www.piedmont-div.org

I-75 Northbound; from Atlanta and I-285:

• I-75 to Exit 263 West, Marietta Parkway Exit sign reads: To Marietta – To Roswell

• Follow the Marietta Exit Sign onto the S. Marietta Parkway west • Follow S. Marietta Parkway west across Highway 41 • To the intersection of Fairground Street • The Civic Center is on the corner of Fairground & S. Marietta Pkwy

The Civic Center is 2 miles from the I-75 interchange (Easy way in: Left onto Fairground, Right into Civic Center Parking)

3/14 & 3/15, 2009

ONE DOLLAR OFF ONE ADMISSION - ONE COUPON PER PERSON

FEATURING:

Over 200 Vendor Tables

5 Operating Layouts

Layout Raffle A Complete Model Train Layout with

a Digitrax Control System

Junior Layout Let your kids run the trains!

Model Contest NMRA sponsored

Door Prizes

Admission: $8 per person Kids 12 & under are FREE!

Admission Good Both Days

Cobb County Civic Center, Marietta, GA. (770) 528-8450

March 14 and 15, 2009 Saturday: 10 AM – 5 PM Sunday: 10 AM – 4 PM

w w w . T h e M o d e l Tr a i n S h o w . c o m THE MODEL TRAIN SHOW


2009 THEME CONTEST A Display or Diorama depicting the Theme:

"Rails to Sails"

This could be wharfs, docks, coal tipples, etc. as long as there is Water & Rails.

Have fun with this one! Glen Hall Convention Coordinator

Another Christmas will have come and gone by the time you read this. Here’s hoping you had a wonderful holiday and that Santa brought you all those model railroad goodies on your list. This past November was national model railroad month – a time designated for all us NMRA members to do something to promote model railroading and bring our hobby to the public. As has been our tradition for the past six years, the Piedmont Division held its annual “Piedmont Pilgrimage”, a showcase of home layouts around the division that is open to the public and broadly adver-tised. Each year this event has grown in both number of layouts on the tour and people attending. The 2008 Pilgrimage featured 68 layouts and was attended by over 4,800 visitors – a new record! This year I was able to visit a number of layouts I had not seen before as well as some old favorites I always enjoy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe I’ve ever visited a layout, no matter how simple or complex, where I didn’t pick up some new ideas. It is always interesting to see how different people address the challenges and joys of building their model empires. And I always learn something I can apply to my own Georgia Great Southern. I encourage you to share your layouts, modules, dioramas, train collections – whatever – with other modelers in your area. You will be glad you did. If you are not sure who the other modelers are in your area, a good place to start is the fall, 2008 issue of the SouthErneR. My thanks to Editor Paul Voelker and Registrar Rick Coble for providing in that issue a compilation of NMRA members residing in the Southeastern Region and organized by division. I’ve already had a number of folks tell me they were not aware of all the people in their division. I encourage you to get in touch with each other and share the fun. Speaking of sharing the fun, I hope you are planning to attend the 2009 SER convention, “Rails to Sails”, to be held in Pensacola, Florida, in June. Glen Hall and his crew are working hard to put together another memorable convention that will be enjoyable for the whole family. Details on registration can be found else-where in this issue and on the SER website. Your SER Board of Directors held its fall meeting in Birmingham last October. Minutes of the meeting are in this issue. One of the items we discussed at length was the modeling contest held at our annual convention. Some new procedures are in the works regarding SER contest rules and how to improve the contest experi-ence for everyone – contest entrants, spectators and judges. Until next time, may all your signals be green!

The VP’s Keyboar d Joe Gelmini


The last few months have been pretty quiet around the Region. This is the time of year that each of the Division’s do their own thing and not many members think about conventions. Not the SER or the National NMRA Convention. But shortly after you receive this issue of the Southerner it will be time for each of you to start making your Convention reservations. This year we will be holding the SER convention in Pensacola. Glen Hall is promising a great time for all who attend. I encourage everyone to check the web site and get your reservations in as soon as possible. In February your issue of Scale Rails will have all the details, along with reservation forms, for the 2009 NMRA convention in Hartford, Connecticut July 5th to 11th. This should be a great time for all, so get your reservations in as early as possible to guarantee you get the tours and other activities you want. As for the SER Conventions here is our line up for the next several years. 2009 Pensacola The 2009 Convention in Pensacola, FL (June 12th to the 14th) has completed their plans and the only think missing is you. Chairman Glenn Hall reports that everything is proceeding on schedule and that he is sure everyone will have a great time in Pensacola. Check out the details on the convention and get your reserva-tions in early. There will be lots to see and do at the 2009 Rails to Sails convention. The web site address is:

www.trainweb.org/pmrc/Convention/home.htm 2010 Birmingham 2010 we will be back in Birmingham AL. The convention dates will be May 21st to the 23rd. It will be at the same site as the 2004 convention in Bessemer Al. The committee is still finalizing the details and say you are sure you will enjoy the changes they have planned. 2011 Macon The Empire Division will be our 2011 host in Macon Ga. They are working on the details and should have some information available in the spring of 2009. We thank Chairman Richard Dalrymple and the Empire Di-vision for stepping up and hosting the 2011 Convention. 2012 Knoxville I am please to report that Superintendent Larry Burkholder of the Smokey Mountain Division has come forth and made a bid to host the 2012 SER Convention. This will be brought before the membership at the annual meeting in 2009 for their approval. 2013 Convention As you have heard and read Atlanta will be hosting the 2013 NMRA National Convention. This is a great honor for Atlanta and the SER. The competition for this honor was intense and took several years of prepara-tion just to win the bid. But one of the stipulations for hosting the National is the SER Region cannot hold a Regional Convention 6 months before or 3 months after the National. So with this rule being put before us the SER Board will take up the subject of what we will do for our annual meeting. Details will be forth coming. 2014 The group that had been inquiring about the 2014 has decided to hold up on their bid for now. Since 2014 is more than 5 years out I will not actively look for a 2014 host. Convention Handbook The convention handbook was approved by the SER board at the October board meeting and it will be posted to the SER website before year end.

Convention Coordinator Tom Cusker


DIVISION MEETS Steel City Division 2 - Regular Meeting 3rd Thursday of every month 7 PM Oak Mountain Hobbies 2659 Pelham Pkwy Pelham, Al 35124 Hwy 31 S. 1 Mile from Hwy 119 (exit 246 off I-65) Call 205-685-8980 for meeting information Piedmont Division 5 - Regular Meeting 2nd Tuesday of every month, Elks Lodge, 1775 Montreal Rd., Tucker (Atlanta - East Side) Website: www.piedmont-div.org Smoky Mountain Division 12 - Regular Meeting 1st & 3rd Sunday of every month Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, TN 3 - 5 pm work or operating sessions 5 pm business meeting 1st Sunday Land O'Sky Division 15 - Regular Meeting 1st Thursday of every month at 7 PM, Community Center at Eliada Home For Children located at the end of Eliada Home Road in the Leicester Community of West Asheville, NC. Call (828) 694-0339 for program information & directions.

NATIONAL CONVENTION Hartford, Connecticut

July 5 - 11, 2009 www.HN2009.org

SouthEastern Region 2009 Conventionii

Pensacola, FLiiii

June 12, 13 & 14, 2009

www. tra inweb.o rg/ pmrc/Co nvention/ho me.htm

GEORGIA

(Continued)

May 1 & 2, 2009 Dalton 2009 Southeast Garden Show NW Georgia Trade & Convention Center, 2211 Dug Gap Battle Rd, Dalton, GA Info: 913-406-3400 [email protected] http://www.segrs.com

NORTH CAROLINA

February 21 & 22, 2009 Asheville Land O’Sky Division’s 19th Annual Model Train Show Downtown Asheville at the Asheville Civic Center Fri. Feb. 20, Noon to 7 PM; Sat. Feb. 21, 9 AM to 4 PM Admission $5.00 per day, Children under 13 Free with Adult There will be 3 operating layouts & over 100 Tables Contact: Fred Coleman 828-699-0983 [email protected] April 25, 2009 Hendersonville Spring Rails 2009 Model Railroad Show and Swap Meet Whitmire Auditorium, Lily Pond Lane, Hendersonville, NC 28792 10 AM to 4 PM Admission $5; Scouts in uniform & under 13 Free Contact: Chuck Place 828-685-2726 1396 Spicer Cove Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792 [email protected]

SOUTH CAROLINA

May 2, 2009 Columbia Columbia SC Model Train & Toy Show SC State Fairgrounds - Ruff & Moore Buildings, 1200 Rosewood Drive, Columbia, SC 29201 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM Adults $5.00 , Kids 12 & under free, Scouts in uniform free Info: Howard A Knight Jr, Knight Shows & Events, 1609 Congress Road, Eastover, SC 29044 803-783-8049 http://www.knightshows.com

TENNESSEE

February 14 & 15, 2009 Nashville World's Greatest Hobby on Tour Nashville Convention Center, 601 Commerce Street, Nashville, TN 37203 10 AM to 6 PM on Sat.; 10 AM to 5 PM on Sun. $10 for adults, Kids 16 and under are Free! Info: 630-279-5094 www.wghshow.com

LOCAL SHOWS & EVENTS (Date Order by State)

ALABAMA

February 28, 2009 Birmingham (Roebuck) 18th Spring Train Show and Sale First Baptist Church of Zion City, 1104 Gene Reed Rd., Birmingham, AL 35235 9 AM - 4 PM $5.00 for Adults, $2.00 Kids (8-12 yrs old), Kids (under 8 Free) Info: Sonny Burchfield at (205) 980-0611 PLEASE only call between 1 PM - 5 PM (CST) Smokey City Rails Model RR Club, P.O. Box 94606, Birmingham, AL 35220 [email protected] Be sure to put Train Show in the subject line. http://smokeycityrails.com March 21 & 22, 2009 Mobile 18th Spring Train Show and Sale Fairhope Seventeenth Annual Model Train Show Fairhope Kindergarten Center, 100 S. Church Street, Fairhope, AL 36532 Sat. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sun. 10:00 am to 4:00 pm $2.00 for Adults; Accompanied children FREE Active duty military, police and fire fighters FREE This train show is held in conjunction with the annual "Fairhope Arts & Crafts Show" (One of the largest in the South) Contact: Herb Kern 251-660-1659 6405 Magnolia Place Ct., South Mobile, AL 36695 [email protected]

GEORGIA

February 14, 2009 Atlanta (Duluth) SER Board of Directors Meeting Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, GA Meeting starts at 10:00 AM Meeting is open to all region members.

March 14 & 25, 2009 Marietta The Model Train Show Cobb County Civic Center, Marietta, GA 770-528-8450 Corner of Fairground & South Marietta Parkway 200 Vendor Tables, 5 Operating Layouts, Raffle Layout, Door Prizes Sat. 10 AM - 5 PM, Sun. 10 AM - 4 PM Admission $8 per person (Good both days), Kids 12 & under Free www.TheModelTrainShow.com March 20 - 29, 2009 Macon Macon, GA - Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club, (Central Georgia Model Railroad Club also displays) 11 AM - 7 PM, Central City Park, Long Building For the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival, $7 parking fee. [email protected]//members.cox.net.mgmrc/ Jack Copeland 478-328-8028.

Future Region Conventions 2010 Birmingham, AL 2011 Macon, GA

2012 Knoxville, TN 2013 Atlanta, GA / NMRA

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

P le as e s en d in f o o n y ou r e ve nt to the Sout hE r ne R a t l ea s t 6 mon th s pr io r t o t he n ex t d ea dl in e f or i t to ap pe ar in t i me o r be fo re yo ur e ven t t a kes p l ace .


Shown in the photo above are two of the four uniquely-numbered Red Caboose GATX 10,000 Gallon Tank cars being offered for sale by the SouthEastern Region. These Tank Cars would be perfect for your 1950-era or later model railroad as no transition-era modeler ever has enough of this type of car. Cars will be sold singly for $32.00 or as a set of four for $110.00 plus Shipping. For more information contact Ran-dall Watson by phone at: 770-831-5736 or by email at: [email protected]

Randall Watson 730 Morning Creek Lane

Suwanee, GA 30024

Sponsored by the Piedmont Division, Southeastern Region, National Model Railroad Association

Web Site: www.piedmont-div.org

FEATURING:

N-Scale Layout Raffle A Complete Model Train Layout with a Digitrax Control System

Over 200 Vendor Tables

Junior Layout Let your kids run the trains!

5 Operating Layouts

Model Contest NMRA sponsored

Door Prizes

Cobb County Civic Center Marietta, GA. (770) 528-8450

w w w . T h e M o d e l T r a i n S h o w . c o m THE MODEL TRAIN SHOW

Admission: $8 per person, Kids 12 & under are FREE! Admission Good Both Days

ONE DOLLAR OFF ONE ADMISSION - ONE COUPON PER PERSON

I-75 Northbound; from Atlanta and I-285:

I-75 to Exit 263 West, Marietta Parkway Exit sign reads: To Marietta – To Roswell Follow the Marietta Exit Sign onto the S. Marietta Parkway west Follow S. Marietta Parkway west across Highway 41 To the intersection of Fairground Street The Civic Center is on the corner of Fairground & S. Marietta Pkwy The Civic Center is 2 miles from the I-75 interchange (Easy way in: Left onto Fairground, Right into Civic Center Parking)

CLIP THIS COUPON AND TURN IN AT SHOW

3/14 & 3/15, 2009

V50 #1.5

March 14 and 15, 2009

Saturday: 10 AM – 5 PM

Sunday: 10 AM – 4 PM


RAFFLE LAYOUT PROJECT 2009

By Paul Voelker

The photos above & below show Piedmont members on a week night in January working on this year’s Raf-fle Layout. The layout will be raffled off at the division’s upcoming Train Show on March 14 & 15. Seen in the photo above are Mark Weiss, Neil Thomas, Lindsay Lapole, Mike Devaney and Scott Chatfield’s back.

Piedmont Raffle Layout Drawn by Neil Thomas

Bob Wheeler, Mike Crew work on the layout while Scott Chatfield oils a turnout to keep paint off the points when the rails are painted.

Piedmont members that were working on the layout this week in January are from left Ken Stinnette, Mike Crew, Mike Devaney, Keith Williams (behind Mike), Neil Thomas, Mark Weiss, Scott Perry, Ted Roberts (behind Scott), Bob Wheeler, unknown (sorry), Scott Chatfield, Lindsay Lapole & Kathy Devaney.


RAILROADS OF PENSACOLA

By Glen Hall In 1826, Army engineer Captain William Chase began to rebuild harbor defenses to protect the Navy Yard. He retired and helped organize the Bank of Pensacola and then gained its financial backing for a 220 mile railroad north from Pensacola to Montgomery. And in 1856 the Alabama and Florida Railroad came into be-ing. As were most railroads in the south it was destroyed by the retreating Confederate troops. The A&F was rebuilt by 1872 as the Pensacola and Louisville Railroad. In 1876, William D. Chipley of Georgia became the P&L manager and lost no time transforming it into a major part of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Later that year as the Florida regional manager for the L&N, Chipley started construction of 161 miles of track through the panhandle to the Apalachicola River, thus linking Pensacola eastward with the rest of Florida. The first run over the entire length of the line from Montgomery to Pensacola and them eastward was in 1883, and from then on the L&N dominated the Pensacola waterfront controlling four of the largest wharfs in opera-tion at that time.

Then it all started with yellow pine. One of the first local railroads established in the area, 1873, actually started in the middle of a forest and ran 10 miles southeast to Escambia Bay. The Pensacola and Perdido Railroad’s sole purpose was to move tim-ber to the coast for transport by ships. By 1885 the company owned five locomotives, one passenger coach and 90 freight cars. Their wharf was 2600 feet long, with a Y extension, all served by tracks. In 1900 the lum-ber company of Alger-Sullivan began laying 55 miles of track from their mill in Century, Florida northward into Alabama. This became the Escambia Railroad which would eventually put down over 200 miles of track to move timber to their mill in Florida, then on L&N tracks to the port. Toward the end of the century dreams turned to connecting the Mississippi River port of Memphis with the Gulf Coast by rail. To join in this effort the P&P formed a subsidiary in August 1892 called the Pensacola-Northern Railroad, then in October voted to change the name to the Pensacola, Alabama and Tennessee. A route was surveyed all the way to Memphis and tracks were started northward in July of 1893 and then came the stock market crash of 1898 ruining their plans and that of Henry McLaughlin the major stockholder. Na-tionwide, 74 railroads went out of business that year. Mobile won the race for the Memphis connection. Therefore, the PA&T and McLaughlin decided that a simpler investment might be to connect Pensacola with Mobile. Another subsidiary was chartered in 1907 to handle the Mobile connection called the Pensacola, Mo-bile and New Orleans Railway or PM&NO. At the same time, they realized that a northern expansion into the pinewoods of Alabama was necessary as the yellow pine in Florida was nearly stripped and mills were mov-


Here comes Frisco. After the Civil War, the southwest branch of the Pacific Railroad was sold and reorganized, and in 1876 was sold to the St Louis and San Francisco Railway Co., from that time on known by its nick name Frisco. In 1901 the Frisco leased the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway Company, including the fine bridge across the Mississippi at Memphis The entire KCFS&M became part of the Frisco system in 1904. The Frisco still lacked an outlet to tidewater, so its president B. F. Yoakum set Pensacola as his logical target, since only 151 trackless miles separated the Frisco from the “deepest harbor on the Gulf.” The decision was finally made in on July 7, 1925 to purchase the Muscle Sholes, Birmingham and Pensacola Railway along with all track and dock facilities in Pensacola. The Frisco was about to deliver Pensacola from the monopoly enjoyed by the L&N. Work began on renovating the port facilities and construction of the 151 mile of track. On the eve-ning of June 27, 1928, Frisco’s Class 700 Mountain passenger locomotive pulling the “Pensacola Special” pulled onto a pier and stopped along side a visiting ship. Its 14 Pullman and business cars carried Frisco offi-cials, business leaders and the press. Frisco had arrived in Pensacola.

ing north. By February, 1913 the PM&NO had laid some 45 miles of rail, the entire 60 mile route surveyed, cleared and graded and pilings placed for all bridges to the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The road never quite made it to its planned connection with the L&N. Even so the PM&NO operated into the 1920’s and owned three line locomotives, two switch engines, 113 cars, the Perdido Wharf in Pensacola and 46 miles of mainline track into Alabama. McLaughlin’s northern expansion remained on hold until 1910 when he enlisted the financial help of a New York banker, Roy C. Megargel. On January 2, 1911 articles of incorporation were filed for the Gulf, Florida & Alabama Railroad. In October Megargel purchased the old Southern States Lumber Company right of way. Expansion northward began in May and on January 1, 1913 it had extended service to Broughton, Alabama. The GF&A also followed the Southern States right of way to Cantonment, then built new track southward to Pensacola. Construction also continued northward and in 1915 connected with Southern Railways Mobile-Birmingham line. The combined companies now owned 142 miles of new GF&A mainline, plus the PM&NO line into eastern Alabama. The company began creating a 49 acre marine terminal with three piers and 27 tracks. Pier 1, 600 feet long, was equipped with an innovative traveling coal loader. (Note: The concrete struc-ture in the bay just west of the bridge is all that remains) Pier 2, 1200 feet long handled general cargo, while Pier 3 at 900 feet handled lumber. The GF&A became known as the “Deep Water Route”. In the 1920’s things began to crumble, first the PM&NO could no longer remain solvent and was sold to the Gulf Ports Ter-minal Railway. The 1926 hurricane was a death blow and in 1925 GPTR stopped operating. Likewise the GF&A could not be maintained financially and was forced to sell and on November 26, 1921, at auction on the steps of the station, the entire railroad was sold for $90,000 to the newly organized Muscle Sholes, Bir-mingham and Pensacola Railway.

2009 SER Convention Website:


NMRA SouthEastern Region 2009 convention

Rails To Sails Pensacola, FL June 12-14 2009

REGISTRATION FORM Name ___________________________________________ NMRA#____________ Address ____________________________________________________________ City __________________________________ State __________Zip____________ Phone # (_____) ______-_______ E-Mail _________________________________

NMRA Members Full Fare includes all Convention Activities: Clinics, Layouts, Tours, Banquet, Train Show and Breakfast

Registration Postmarked before May 1, 2009 $75.00X___=_______ Postmarked after May 1, 2009 $85.00X___=_______ Spouse or other Attendee Name _____________________________ $20.00X___=_______ Kids under 12 FREE X___ Non NMRA Attendee (add $15.00 to registration) $15.00X___=_______ OR New Membership Rail Pass for 6 Months (add $9.95) $9.95X___=_______ Convention Polo Shirts ($18.00 at convention) $15.00X___=_______ Specify size: S M L XL XXL XXXL TOTAL $________ Banquet Choice: ___Baked Grouper ___Chicken Primavera

Make registration Check to: SER Gulf Division

Mail to: Rails To Sails c/o Terry Tucker 1435 Harold Ave Pensacola, FL 32514


Clinics Modeling Open Loads by Dick Flock Using prototype and model photographs, this clinic will present a variety of possible open loads from industries such as steel, con-struction equipment, lumber, power generation and many others. Discussion will include appropriate loading and blocking tech-niques.

Using ProTrak for Operations by Howard R. Garner This will be a free ranging discussion of why ProTrak meets my requirements for prototype operations. It will cover such things as customer orders, filling those orders, routing of empties, STCC codes, scheduling, switch lists and more. It will all be tied into how it effects operations. Where this differs from other options will be pointed out.

Sort-of-Quick Freight Car Weathering by Reed Ostrander Some techniques for and comments on weathering freight cars to get rid of that out-of-the-box-shiny-look. If you are interested in a realistic look to what moves on your tracks, weathering is an es-sential element. How much is enough, how much time is it going to cost and how “real” do I want the look to be will be covered as well as some comments on tools, paints, patience and practice.

Building Prototype Structures by Scott Povlot Scott will discuss and demonstrate how to research, draw scale plans, building of mock-ups and some construction challenges in building prototype structures. He will have models he has con-structed for your viewing.

Remote Lighting With LED’S by Jack Rowles Presentation will cover the selection, buildup and installation of proper sized LED’s and fiber optic strands for remote lighting on the layout. CSX Goulding Yard

Schedule: Friday June 12th Trolley departs from Civic Center at 2:30pm

International Paper Mill Schedule: Saturday June 13th Trolley departs from Civic Center at 9:00am and will stop at the Train Show for 30 minutes on Return trip.

Prototype Tours

Non-Rail Clinics and Events

Non-Rail Tours Historic Pensacola Village

Local Hotels Pensacola has a variety of great hotels and motels in a

range of prices. Check www.visitpensacola.com

Days Inn We recommend the Days Inn which is offering a special

rate of $66.30/night until May 28, 2009 Please mention NMRA when making reservations. Days Inn, 710 N Palafox St, Pensacola, FL 32501

Phone: (850) 438-4922 Website: www.the.daysinn.com/pensacola06384

RV Parks Tall Oak’s RV Park

(850) 479-3212 9301 Pine Forest Rd

Naval Air Station Oak Grove RV Park

(850) 452-2535


Friday June 12, 2009

9:00am Convention Registration Opens Contest Registration Opens SER Board of Directors Meeting

1:00pm Clinics Non-Rail – Meet and Greet

2:30pm Tour – CSX Goulding Yard Clinics

4:00pm Clinics Non-Rail

5:30pm Convention Registration Closes Contest Room Closes

Saturday June 13, 2009

8:00am Convention Registration Opens Contest room Opens

9:00am Contest Room - Judging Starts Tour – International Paper Mill Clinics Non-Rail Train Show Opens

10:30 am Clinics

11:30am Lunch Break

12:00pm Convention Registration Closes

1:00pm Clinics Non-Rail Tour – Historic Pensacola Village

2:30pm Clinics

4:00pm Clinician Roundtable Discussion Non-Rail

5:00pm Train Show Closes

6:30pm Presidents Reception

7:15pm Awards Banquet

Sunday June 14, 2009 8:00am Breakfast

9:00am SER Annual Meeting

10:00am Train Show opens

1:00pm Layout tours

Convention Contacts Convention Chairman

Glen Hall (850) 475-1530 609 Phyllis Street

Pensacola, FL 32503 Email: [email protected]

Prototype Tour Chairman Al LeBlanc

Email: [email protected]

Non-Rail Chairwoman April Holloway


Convention Registrar/Treasurer Terry Tucker 1435 Harold Ave

Pensacola, FL 32514 Email: [email protected]

Train Show Contacts Train Show Coordinator

Jack Rowles Email: [email protected]

Assistant Show Coordinator John Hudson


Convention Facilities All events will take place on the Second floor of the Civic Center except the Train Show.

Pensacola Civic Center

201 East Gregory St., Pensacola , FL 32502


Around the Area

Museums

National Naval Aviation Museum Naval Air Station, Pensacola

West Florida Railroad Museum 5003 Henry St Milton, Florida

www.wfrm.org

L&N Depot Museum Hwy 98 Foley, Alabama

http://www.cityoffoley.org/html/depot_museum.php

Hobby Shops

Trains by Johnson 10412 N. Palafox St.

Bobe's Hobby House 5719 N. W St.

L&N Depot Museum

West Florida Railroad Museum


Layout Tours Sunday, June 16, 11:00 am until

The Almosta Railroad Jerry Roberts - HO A freelance HO layout created by Jerry Roberts that is 15’x30’ with a 145’ mainline. It serves the towns of “Here”, “There”, “This Place” and “That Place”. The time frame is 1935 to 1950 steam. Directions: From Hwy 29 N turn west on Kingsfield Rd. and pro-ceed 2.5 miles to the second stop sign at Hwy 97. Turn left and go 1 mile to Argle Road, turn left at 2483. Layout is in the building in the backyard.

South East Kansas Railroad Glen Hall - N This is an N-scale prototype layout, designed by Glen Hall, set in Coffeyville, Kansas about 15 years ago. The layout is a 12’x16’x32’ L, with the track in a figure eight and operated by DCC. Directions: From the Civic Center take I-110 north to the Brent Lane exit. Turn right, cross Davis Hwy and turn right at first intersection on Lynell Street, then right on Phyllis Street to 609. Parking on the right just past 609.

Prototype Modeling Coffeyville, Kansas in N Scale This layout was seen previously in the Spring 2008 SouthErneR


Train Show Hadji Shrine Temple

800 West Nine Mile Rd. Pensacola, FL 32535

Details Show hours for convention & General Public

Saturday: 9-5pm Sunday: 10-4pm Admission

Adults $5 Kids Under 12 are Free

Conventioneers are Free

Features Vendors selling model railroad supplies

7 layouts in 5 scales Kids play area

Exhibits Food


The following board members were present: President Bob Beaty, Vice-President Joe Gelmini, Treasurer George Blood-worth, Secretary Tom Cusker, Executive Advisor Phil Hutchinson, Directors George Gilbert, Fred Coleman and Director Randall Watson. Absent Director Paul Voelker. The following committee chairmen were present: Historian Joe Nichols Sr, Webmaster Mike Broadway and Gulf Division Superintendent Glen Hall. Members present were Sam Fell, Steel City Division and Jesse Menefee, Dixie Division. A quorum was present. Meeting called to order at 10:05 AM CDT. AP Chairman George Gilbert presented President Beaty with his 11th and final AP Certificate making him the 11th mem-ber in NMRA to complete all eleven certificates. Everyone congratulated Bob on his accomplishment. President Beaty welcomed all the attendees. A motion was made to accept the Secretary’s minutes from the 2008 Spring Meeting as published in the SouthErneR. Moved by Randall Watson. 2nd by George Bloodworth Motion passed by unanimous vote. Treasurer George Bloodworth presented the Treasurer’s Report. The Region has total cash and investments of $33,531.68. Total Liabilities and Reserves are $12,079.00. Non designated cash is $21,452.68. A motion was made to accept the report. Moved by Randall Watson. 2nd by George Gilbert. Motion passed by unanimous vote. The Treasurer apprised the Board of his intentions to purchase a new CD and still retain approximately $6000 in cash reserves in the checking account. A discussion of what is the Vern Yarborough Award and why we have $500 set aside for it. George Bloodworth made a motion that since the SER is now solvent that the $500 set aside in our Liabilities and Reserves be moved to the general fund. 2nd by Fred Coleman. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Joe Gelmini gave the Vice President’s report. Jack McGraw from Steel City and Ned Savage from Bluff City were ab-sent but sent reports that Joe gave. Joe Gelmini gave the Piedmont Division report. Phil Hutchinson gave the Dixie Division report. Fred Coleman gave a report on activities within the Land O’Sky Division. Glen Hall gave a report on activities within the Gulf Division. George Gilbert gave a report on the activities within the Cumberland Division. Membership Chairman Rick Coble was absent and Secretary Cusker passed out copies of his report. President Beaty reported that the National BOD approved changing the boundaries in the Asheville area. They have been changed to realign the boundaries by zip codes for that area. Jesse Menefee addressed the board on his ideas of what we could do to promote the hobby and the NMRA. SouthErneR Editor Paul Voelker was absent but his report was passed out by Secretary Cusker. Achievement Program Chairman George Gilbert gave his report on AP activity. A discussion was held about Bill Siebert and Jack Mershon who have been working with kids building T Track layouts. Randall Watson made a motion to recog-nizing both men for their work in this area. 2nd by Fred Coleman and passed. President Beaty will send letters. President Beaty reported that Dr. Joe Nichols Jr. has stepped down as Contest Chairman and that he has named Tom Schultz as his replacement. At this time President Beaty presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Dr. Joe Nichols Jr. for his years of service as Contest Chairman. Since he could not be here his father was asked to accept for him.

Southeastern Region Fall Business Meeting Saturday October 18, 2008 - Birmingham, AL


Secretary Cusker passed out the Education Committee report from Chairman Dean Belowich. Part of the report con-tained some recommendations for possible contest changes. The board reviewed the report and had a discussion about the awarding of the Mack Craig Award at the 2008 SER Convention. Director Watson made a motion to change the awarding of the Mack Craig Award to Danny Head due to a mathematical mistake being made during the final tabulation. The current award winners will be asked to return their awards. 2nd by George Bloodworth and passed unanimously. Joe Gelmini made a motion that the SouthErneR publishes the correction of the winner of Mack Craig Award. 2nd by Randall Watson and passed. Tom Cusker made a motion to table Dean Belowich’s recommendation for contest rule changes until the winter meeting to give the board time to review the recommendations. 2nd by George Gilbert and passed. Mike Broadway gave the Web Master report. A discussion was held about what types of things we may want to add to the web site. Good and Welfare Chairman Fred Coleman submitted his report. A total of 56 letters have been written since the last report. Convention Chairman Tom Cusker submitted the following report: 2009 Convention: Convention will be hosted by the Gulf Division and will be held in the Pensacola area on June 12, 13, and 14. Glen Hall reported he needs help getting clinicians. 2010 Convention: Cusker reported that the convention will be hosted by the Steel City Division and will be held in the Birmingham area on May 21, 22, and 23. He is the chairman for the convention. Everything is progressing on sched-ule. 2011 Convention: The Empire Division will be hosting 2011 Convention. VP Gelmini has worked with them some. 2012 Convention: Knoxville has submitted bid to host the 2012 convention. It will be taken to the membership for ap-proval at the next annual meeting 2013 Convention: Since Atlanta has won the bid to host the National Convention by NMRA rules we cannot have a SER Convention 6 months before and 3 months after the National. Cusker made motion to work with the Piedmont Division to get a room and have the annual SER Breakfast Meeting on Sunday morning. 2nd Joe Gelmini and passed. 2014 Convention: Cusker reported that The Central Railway Model & Historical Association in South Carolina has made an inquiry about hosting the 2014 convention. He will work further with them to get an official bid.

Southeastern Region Web Page Addresses Home Page: http://www.ser-nmra.org SER Officials: http://www.ser-nmra.org/officials.htm Convention Page: http://www.ser-nmra.org/convention.htm

MASTER MODEL RAILROADERS

#34 Ted M. Norcross, Jr. #48 Dr. Joseph J. Nichols, Sr. #78 A. M. Bennett #87 Al Westerfield #134 Michael L. Callahan (D) #182 Larry P. Deagon

#185 Larry E. Smith #192 Robert Beaty, Jr. #201 Edwin D. Keith #212 Charles Brown #235 Roy D. Tritt #297 Dean A. Belowich

#321 Ronald Gough #376 Jesse W. "Bill" Griffith #407 Roy Stewart, Jr #416 S. Michael Braunstein (D) = Deceased


Convention Handbook: Cusker reported that he had sent out the handbook to the board members and gotten comments back from a few. A discussion was had about the convention handbook. It was decided that all reference to the dollar amount of the advance money should be removed. With that change being made Joe Gelmini made a motion to ac-cepted book and publish it to the membership. 2nd by George Bloodworth and passed. OLD BUSINESS Non- Dues Revenue Projects: Dr. Joe Nichols Sr. reported that he has completed the DVD on the making of Industrial Buildings from Styrene. Several of the members reported they have viewed the DVD and find it worth while. A discussion was held about going to mar-ket with it. Phil Hutchinson made a motion to allow up $150 covering expenses to produce the DVD. 2nd by George Gil-bert and passed. Randall Watson reported on the region cars project. The GATX Red Caboose tank cars in four separate road numbers have come in and we have sold 30 of them so far. We have 270 left to sell. He will report to the board at each meeting on the sales. Other Old Business Joe Gelmini reported back to the board on the Dudley Ross Award. He presented what he had outlined to win the award. A discussion was held by the board. Joe Gelmini made a motion that the award be given to a scratch-built or kit-bashed model best representing a prototype structure or scene. Judging: Normal contest judging will take place, following which any models meeting the above criteria will be eligible for the Dudley Ross award. Judging will be by subjective consensus of the judges. If no contest entries meet the criteria, models entered for “display only” that meet the criteria shall be considered. In the event no models in either the contest or display categories qualify the award will be held over. 2nd by George Gilbert and passed. NEW BUSINESS Glen Hall reported that the model theme at the 2008 convention will be something dealing with Rail to Sails. He will get the details to Paul Voelker to publish in the Southerner The next meeting will be in hosted in the Atlanta area Saturday February 14th. Randall Watson made a motion to adjourn. 2nd by George Gilbert. Meeting adjourned at 2:06 PM Submitted by Tom Cusker Secretary

I hope I win this Layout at

the Train Show!


George Potter’s N Scale Kerhonkson, Lackawack

& Peekamoose Photos By Paul Voelker


Dave Pitcher’s N scale layout depicts southwestern Pennsylvania dur-ing the very popular transition era when diesels started to take over from their steam-driven counterparts. Dave models both the B&O and Pennsylvania Railroads and the layout is set up as a point to point with staging at both ends for both mainlines with a live interchange between the railroads. Scenery on the layout is in the early stages however it is obvious looking at the photos above and below, that there is some great potential for Dave and others to get some really dramatic photos once these scenes have been completed. Seen at left mounted on the fascia is a box containing card cards for use during switching operations on Dave’s layout. Also seen is a track dia-gram for the Interchange at Possum Run which this scene will depict once the scenery has been added.

Dave Pitcher’s N Scale Southwestern Pennsylvania Railroad

Story & Photos by Paul Voelker


Dave handles a DCC throttle at the town of Layton while seen in the background is where the staging tracks are located in the shop area seen behind Dave. In the view in the bottom photo is Neal Thomas (red shirt) helping Dave out during the Pilgrimage tour.


Gary Jarabek’s Pennsylvania Railroad

Southeast Division Photos & Story by Paul Voelker


The Locomotive servicing facilities on Gary’s layout. Gary has uses a transfer table in addition to a turntable to move locomotives around the facilities. Notice in the photo at right that Gary has in-stalled small light bulbs in the loco servicing pit, a neat addition. In the top right corner photo we see layout owner Gary Jarabek in the foreground with Piedmont Division members (from left) Bob Young, Mrs. & Mr. Trifanescu, & Joe Sullivan.


Rob Richardson’s Politically Incorrect

1968 Georgia Railroad

Rob Richardson’s 1968 Georgia Railroad is a politi-cally incorrect and sight-gag heavy operations-oriented layout. Rob (seen at left) uses a schedule (sort of) and car cards for operations. Due to the distance I have to drive to get to Rob’s house, I al-ready know in advance that his will be the only lay-out I will be able to see on that day’s tour, The dis-tance is about 100 miles each way but his layout is well worth the trip! In the photo above John Stevens (at left) watches Dave Butts uncoupling cars from Dave’s train. The photo below shows some of Rob’s humor, the slo-gan for the Redneck White Trash Trucking Com-pany is “We May Be Stupid But We Are”.


John Stevens’ train is seen here arriving at Union Point. John may have some cars to either spot or pick up at this location. John will run his train around the layout picking up or drop-ping off cars as he goes. This is the fun part of Operations, running your train around a layout performing “work”, rather than just running it ‘round & ‘round. That is not to say that ’round and ’round isn’t fun too, it is just that after a few years it does get boring for some of us. Notice in both photos the red triangle? This is where the mainline passes through a wall on its way to an adjacent room. The back drop is very effective at hiding this from the viewer’s eye.


John ponders how to perform a switching move in the town of Madison. The photos on this page only partially depict the num-ber of moves John was required to make to switch all of the cars that had to be either set out or picked up in Madison.

In the close up photo we see some more of Rob’s humor in the form of Johnson Lumber’s sign which can be seen in the distance in the bottom left photo.


Norm Stenzel’s Brandywine & Benedictine

Photos By Paul Voelker


Above In the foreground a herd of horses race away from a passing coal train on Charles Aycock’s Piedmont & Southern Railroad. Right Charles uses a pair of helixes to access hidden staging tracks below the layout. Below Some of Charlie’s Southern Railway steam motive power can be seen here in the

foreground and gathered around the coaling tower in the background.

Charlie’s layout was just one of nearly 70 layouts that were open to the general public during the Piedmont Division’s month-long Pied-mont Pilgrimage Layout Tour this past November. Hopefully we may pick up several new NMRA and region members through this effort to educate the public on the enjoyment of modeling railroads.

Photos by the Paul Voelker


Above Charles Aycock is seen operating a train from inside one of his access pits while in the background Rob Dodds and Piedmont Division Superintendent Howard Goodwin (right) check out some of Charlie’s rolling stock. Below Another view of Charles Aycock’s magnificent Piedmont & Southern Railroad. Unseen under the layout are a pair of helixes which allow Charlie to access his hidden staging tracks below the layout.


Phil & Linda Stead’s D&RGW

San Juan Division

Story & Photos By Paul Voelker

On November 22, a Saturday I ventured up to Phillip & Linda Stead’s On3 D&RGW lay-out in Ball Ground, GA (just south of Nel-son). Last year I had to miss this layout but wanted to see it this year as I’d heard they had some track down. Last year the “layout” was largely a just track plan. The photo be-low shows some of this full scale track plan with scenery and even a train painted on the floor. Eventually the layout will occupy the entire basement and cover up this track plan.

Phil Stead (left) talks with Ken Stinnette and Rick Coble about the layout’s progress and plans for the future. Photos below show progress so far

Alamosa, Colorado

Chama, New Mexico

Alamosa, Colorado


Ken Stinnette stands beside the track plan floor painting at Tan-glefoot Curve above. You can just make out the train’s locomo-tives (next to Ken’s left foot) and cars painted on the plan. The train’s “caboose” appears near the chair in the distance.

Tanglefoot Curve

Chama, New Mexico

Colorado - New Mexico Border MP316.59


MODEL TRAINS DISPLAYED AT THE MUSEUM OF AVIATION

The Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club will be bring-ing a bit of Christmas magic to the Museum of Aviation this month. The club is setting up a large miniature train display at the Museum the weekend before Christmas -- December 20th and 21st - and will be giving away a "Santa Fe Flyer" starter train set. The Bachmann elec-tric train set is a complete ready-to-run HO-scale train with a diesel locomotive with operating headlight, and three finely-detailed freight cars including a hopper, gondola, and caboose. The set comes complete with a speed controller and track. Visitors can enter the free drawing at the Museum on December 20th or 21st be-tween the hours of 9 am and 5 pm. The drawing will be held on Sunday, December 21 at 5:00 pm and the lucky winner does not have to be present to win. The large HO-scale train display by the Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club will feature several train lines con-tinuously running through a landscape scene with minia-ture buildings, cars, bridges, rivers, buildings and an airport. The club will also have a larger O-scale Lionel train running and a "12-days of Christmas" theme train on display. "This Museum Planes and Trains Display will be a smaller version of the display that the club has set up at the Georgia National Fair," said club member Joe Udemi. "We'll even have a Harry Potter 'Hogwarts' train on display," said Udemi, who also works as an air-craft restoration volunteer at the Museum. Club members will be on hand both days to answer questions about model trains and the hobby of model railroading. The Middle Georgia Model Railroad Club has been around since the 1970s and currently has about 20 members. They meet at My Father's Place restaurant on Moody Road in Warner Robins on the third Tuesday of every month and invite anyone inter-ested in learning about model trains to come join their meeting.

The club has a web site at: http://members.cox.net/mgmrc/

and an email address: [email protected]

On September 15th and 16th, six of the Division 4 clubs journeyed into the Dixie Division to set up for the Annual Wire-grass Heritage Train Show in Dothan, Alabama. As usual Danny Lewis and crew put on a great show that drew a large crowd.

Also in September the PMRC N Scale Division took part in the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society’s ‘Old 100 Home Coming’. Engine100, a Baldwin 2-6-2 is the last known engine that belonged to the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Com-pany which operated in the early 1900’s in Century, Flor-ida. It was recently purchased from the Whitewater Val-ley Railroad in Connersville, IN and will be refurbished to running condition. The club utilizing a straight and two helix N-Trak modules created a logging layout, including a replica of #100 to be displayed on a semi-permanent basis on their museum. When work starts, club members have been invited to join in and get their hands dirty. October is fair time in Pensacola and as usual the PMRC HO, N and Z Divisions along with the Emerald Coast Garden Railroaders set up and ran their trains for 10 days. Believe it or not, it gets tiring after about 6 days. At the eastern end of the division, the Miracle Strip Model Railroad Club held its 15th Annual Open House and sidewalk sale on October the 21st. December 8th was the winter Division Swap Meet at the West Florida Railroad Museum in Milton. February the G Gaugers will travel to Perry, GA for the Annual Large Train Show and March will be the Annual Southwest Ala-bama Railroad Modelers show in Fairhope, AL. Hope everyone got everything on their Christmas list.

G U L F - D i v i s i o n 4 Glen Hall - [email protected]


Happy New Year to all. I’m hoping that everyone had a joyous Christmas and holiday season. It was certainly a busy one for the Piedmont Division. The last quarter saw us involved in our semi-annual Boy Scout Railroading Merit Badge class, with over 30 scouts participating and earning the merit badge in our one day class. Together with the Southeastern Railway Museum, our permanent home for the class, we have seen nearly 400 scouts come through the program in the eight years we’ve been doing this fan-tastic outreach event.

November was filled with the sixth annual Piedmont Pil-grimage, now under the leadership of Bob Mc Intyre, who was the father of this now amazingly popular and well at-tended annual event. This year saw new attendance re-cords set with 4800 visitors from many parts of the country and some from Europe. This has become the premier out-reach program of the Piedmont Division with well over 10,000 visitors in the six years of existence. Many of these same layouts will be featured during the 2013 NMRA con-vention to be held in Atlanta, hosted by the Piedmont Divi-sion. We are gearing up for the next live auction to be held on the 31st of January at the Elk’s Lodge. Look for the flyer elsewhere in this publication for additional details, or go to our World Class web site: www.piedmont-div.org Shortly after that, in March, our annual Train Show will be held at the Cobb Civic Center, again with details contained in our ad in the SouthErneR. Those of you who have never been to one of our auctions are encouraged to check it out. It’s the most entertainment that will be found legally in Atlanta for five bucks! The Train Show will be changing locations in 2010, year after next, most likely to the larger Cobb Galleria on the perimeter of I-75 and I-285. This is coincidentally the site of the 2013 NMRA convention to be held here in Atlanta. This is all in an effort to grow our Annual Train Show into a lar-ger event which will attract more model railroaders from outside of the Metro Atlanta area. We already have one of

PIEDMONT - Division 5 Howard Goodwin - [email protected]

www.piedmont-div.org

Scott Povlot came to the December meeting with this unoffi-cial “Peachtree Express 2013” box car. Scott is writing an article on this that will appear in the division’s first quarter newsletter The Timetable.

Hartford, Connecticut July 5 - 11, 2009 www.HN2009.org

the best train shows in the area but we feel we can make it even better.

Operating groups continue to be of growing interest in the Division, with a new modular operating group concept being developed by the Director of Operations, Charlie Crawford. This will be popular with those of our group who are not blessed with basements, but would like to experience model railroad operations. Look for them to be showing their layouts at the Train Show in 2010. With several new programs for the membership on the horizon for the Piedmont Division, it should prove to be another banner year. Be sure to check out our web site regularly for updates on the latest happenings. I hope to see everyone at the next SER convention in the Panhan-dle. Till then, may all your signals be green. Respectfully submitted, Howard Goodwin Superintendent, Div 5

Cumberland Division members hosted their Fall 2008 Division Meet & Model Train Show at the Tennessee Central Ry Museum on Nov 1. Upcoming are 3 more train shows, the TCA show on Dec 13, the World's Greatest Hobby Show in mid-January and the Great Train Expo in mid-February 2009. Cumberland Divi-sion modelers will participate in these shows by set-ting up both HO (Cumberland Valley Model Railroad-ers) and N scale (Nashville Ntrak) modular railroads. Construction continues on Bill Hemrick's large HO model railroad in Nolensville TN. Workers on the RR held an open house on Thursday Dec 4, with over 80 people attending. Immediate upcoming projects in-clude extending the signaling system and continuing the buildout of the now-named Sierra RR branch of the RR. Also, congratulations to Dan Cole for getting a photo of his HO Pacific RR published in Trackside Photos in an upcoming issue of Model Railroader. Any SER members wanting to see Bill Hemrick's RR when they're in the Middle TN area, call Bob Hultman at 615-833-5158 & I'll try to get you into the RR. Cumberland Division wishes a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all !

CUMBERLAND - Division 11 Bob Hultman - [email protected]


HEADQUARTERS - Division 13 Charles “Chip” Chipman - [email protected]

Organizational Meeting in Mid-January, time and place TBA, look for e-mail and snail mail announcement coming soon. Topics: Election of Officers and discussion of By-Laws. Thank You, Chip Chipman,

Events that some members of the Bluff City Division have partaken in over the past months include traveling to Train Shows and Operating Sessions inside and out-side of the Division. An open house was put on by the Jackson Model Railroad Group at the Home of Bob Wil-son near Gibson, TN in late September. More than 20 Bluff City Division members from the across the Divi-sion, mostly West Tennessee, attended. Bob’s HO Scale Layout models the New Haven Railroad, and the track work is now nearly completed. Bob uses Digitrax DCC for his operating system for his large layout, and during the open house three trains ran, two on the same track. During October, The Bluff City Division operated lay-out displays at the Pink Palace Museum’s Annual Train Exhibit for three weeks, the Mid-South Garden Railway Society Group set up and operated their modular layout at the four day, outdoor Pink Palace Craft Fair. In addi-tion, five of our members taught two Railroad Merit Badge Courses at the Chickasaw Council’s Boy Scout “Scout Base” which was held in Tunica, MS. The Scouts operated one of the two “Time-saver” layouts that our members brought down to the Event. Twenty-four Scouts completed the Course. During November, The Memphis Society of Model Railroaders held a swap meet at their regular monthly meeting. The Mid-South Rail Runners N Scale Group

BLUFF CITY - Division 10 Ned B. Savage - [email protected]

began their schedule to have an Operating Session on the first Wednesday Night of each month on their N-Scale Layout at the AZO, Inc. location. The Sessions work on a Time Table with the use of a “Fast Clock”, and the period trains are run on the L&N line from Mem-phis, TN to Bowling Green, KY and on to Nashville, TN, or Louisville, KY and back. Eight train consists were run at the December Session. About a Dozen people from the Bluff City Division traveled west and north on the 29th of November. About half traveled to the Train Show in Collingsville, IL, and half to an operation session at a Large HO Scale layout in Jacksonville, AR. December is filled with events. The Bluff City Divi-sion hosting a joint Train Show with Casey Jones Chap-ter of the TCA, on December 6th and then, that evening the Memphis Society of Model Railroaders are having their annual December Banquet at the AZO, Inc. loca-tion. There will be an open house upstairs showing the progress that have been made by the four groups who store, work-on, and operate layouts there. These lay-outs include N-Scale, HO Scale, ON-30, and G-Scale modular layouts. Also, the Division will have a planning session to plan an event schedule for 2009, sometime in December. This Report Submitted by Ned Savage, Bluff City Div. Superintendent e-mail address:

[email protected]

First off I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and that with the start of a new year you will be refreshed and ready to continue to enjoy our hobby. While it has been six months since I became the Division Superinten-dent I'm still learning names and also just how everything fits together. As a Division/Club, we have several different levels at which we interact: We have the Club which is open to any-one with an interest in model railroading; the Land O' Sky Division of the NMRA which is open to all members of the NMRA who reside in our geographic region; the module group which is open to Club and Division members, the operations group which is open to anyone with an interest in the operations side of model railroading; and our various outreach activities, not the least of which our interaction with the children at Eliada Homes. Recently we added an-other dimension, railfanning and regional excursions. Early in December several of us made the trip to Johnson City, Tennessee. There we had the opportunity to see a store-front layout of several different scales. I was most interested in the American Flyer trains as my first train as a child was American Flyer. We then went to the F.L. Carter Museum at East Tennessee State University. This mu-

LAND O’ SKY - Division 15 John A. Williams - [email protected]

seum has several operating scale layouts. A visit to the museum is well worth while. You can find out more about the museum at:

www.johnsonsdepot.com/glcarter/cartermuseum.htm

As I said in a previous edition of The Semaphore, I would like to see us do more of this type of activity. It is a great way to learn about the railroads of this region and a great opportunity for further fellowship. So with the beginning of the New Year, I encourage you all to remember "Model Railroading is Fun."


The Meridian Rail Fest was held Saturday November 1st. My efforts to notify the division membership about the event via email was not very successful. I'm not sure what caused the mix up, but I will try both a post-card and email for the next event. Rail Feast was a very enjoyable day and I had the opportunity to met and promote the NMRA to several potential new members. The Meridian Model Railroad Club held an open house in conjunction with this years Rail Fest. Their current edition of the Meridian Union Terminal Lines is opera-tional and open for visitors. They are located in the old REA building that is adjacent to Union Station in down-town Meridian. If you happen to be in the area on a Thursday night or Saturday morning, drop in a see what they are up doing. Now for a matter of business. Each division is required to have at least two division officers. If you would be interested in helping grow our part of the region please let Joe Gelmini or myself know as soon as possible. Our contact information is listed in the Region Directory on page 3. Until next time...Troy

MAGNOLIA - Division 14 Troy Hight - [email protected]

And W. Michael Barry adds: Construction on the Club layouts is progressing. A small operating crew gathered at the club house one Sunday afternoon to run trains. With only the feeder wires and track spikes holding down the track we ran trains on the new HO layout. Our track laying crew is second to none. I'll have some dimensions in the next report. Again we are open on Saturdays in the Singing River Mall from 12 to 5 PM. So if you are on the Coast drive thru Gautier and stop by the Mall for a visit.

One of the many joys of Model Railroading is sharing your hobby with others. There is no greater joy than having critics, skeptics and those who see the hobby as a childish pursuit of playing with trains come to the realization of the scope and depth of enjoyment and learning our hobby brings. Charlie McVean has been pursuing the hobby in just such a manner. As owner of a very successful invest-ment firm, Charlie has shared his love of trains and model railroading with his co-workers for many years, in a most

entertaining way. If the computer screen becomes a blur and the pressures of the commodity market begin to weigh heavily on you as an employee, simply cast your gaze to the ceiling and you immediately are whisked away and become a railfan, watching an NS fast freight or BNSF unit coal drag rumble by. Don’t forget to come back to reality though. There IS a job to do. Inspired by ceiling mounted G and O scale railroads found in restaurants and homes all over the country, Charlie so-licited the help of his friend and modeler, Jerry Michnewicz,

McVEAN TRADING & RAILROAD Jerry Michnewicz

to construct a suspended “layout” around his 15,000 sq. ft. office. Originally built in O scale in 1992, the noise be-came too much of a distraction for every day business. Undaunted, Charlie and Jerry converted to HO, construct-ing over 250 feet of double track mainline, hung from spe-cial brackets and mounted in aluminum channel sus-pended from the ceiling. Long runs with long trains are the operation of the day… in fact, EVERY day. One of the trains was estimated to have traveled over the life of the layout an actual distance of Memphis to California and back. Two MRC 9500 power packs control the two mainlines, running Athearn, Atlas and Proto 2000 equip-ment. At various locations along the main, structures and scenes typical of the mid-south can be found. Charlie McVean’s layout provides a truly unique experience of one man’s pursuit of the love of model railroading.


The regularly scheduled quarterly Division 12 meeting was held on September 25th at the Bass Pro Shop in Kodak, Tennessee. Fifteen members attended. The meeting was highlighted by clinics given by Brooke Gunning and Phil Brooks.

Brooke spoke on the science and business aspects of de-signing laser-cut structures. A Power Point presentation was accompanied by a number of actual kits offered by various manufacturers. The computer aided drafting ef-

SMOKY MOUNTAIN - Div. 12 Larry Burkholder - [email protected]

Brooke Gunning’s Clinic

Phil Brook’s Clinic

The Dinner.

2009 THEME CONTEST A Display or Diorama depicting the Theme

"Rails to Sails" This could be wharfs, docks, coal tipples,

etc. as long as there is Water & Rails. Have fun with this one!

Glen Hall Convention Coordinator

forts and accuracy required to produce such kits on the la-ser machine was explained and impressed everyone. Brooke has the equipment to do this work and ran a busi-ness in Florida. He has not yet restarted his business since moving to Tennessee. Phil Brooks gave a presentation on the design thinking that should go into laying out a rail yard. Examples of good and bad designs were shown on various posters, mostly focus-ing on maximizing efficiency of movement with within mini-mum area. A number of reference sources were cited. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 11th, at the Bass Pro Shop on I-40, Exit 407. The meeting will start at 7:15 pm and will be proceeded by dinner in their restaurant for those interested at 6 pm. So far just about everyone meets for dinner and a lot of good discussions and camaraderie ensue. The December 11th meeting will feature two clinics. Paul Locher will present advice for and guidelines used in judg-ing an AP model at shows. Jim Schall will have a couple models for Paul to judge. Dean Odiorne will present “Building the Perfect Ground Throw”. In other Division 12 area happenings, the Mountain Empire club in Johnson City celebrated their one year anniversary operating out of the George L. Carter Railroad Museum On November 16th. The museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Plans are underway for offering several public workshops in model railroading skills on selected Saturdays in December. The Knoxville Area Model Railroaders spent the last few months doubling the size of their garden railroad at the Oak Ridge Children's Museum and again had it decorated for public Christmas operations. The display was open every Saturday and Sunday evening in December. As many as 200 adults and children visited some nights. Considerable effort was put in by club members in refurbishing an old 3' x 14' N scale layout, which was then donated to the Chil-dren's Museum and auctioned off at their fund raising gala on December 5th.

volume 50, number 1.5 winter 2009 -...

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