way freight track talk - ocme trains

2019 O.C.M.E. Board of Directors

Gary Gorman........( 714) 317-0785 Ken Matassa........ (714) 953-3067 Bob Harrison........(714) 504-0291 Allen Stephens......(714) 533-4774 Hank Castignetti...(714) 742-2335 Appointed Officers: Mackerel Flats Mercantile Store Co-Mgrs: Betty Cummings..*82(714) 979-9390 Stefanie Drake ..........(714) 315-6296

Way Freight

Patrick Ledbetter [email protected]

Contents

Upcoming Events 1

OCME Board of Directors 1

Dates to remember 1

President’s Message 2

High Iron 2

I’ve been working 3

Birthday Party’s 3

Classification Yard 3

DATES TO REMEMBER

Feb 2 Work Day 8:00 AM. General

Meeting 12:00 PM - Club house Board Meeting 3:00

Feb 16-17 Sat. & Sun Public Run

March 2 Work Day 8:00 AM. General

Meeting 12:00 PM - Club house. Lunch at meeting. Board Meeting

March 16-17 Sat. & Sun Public Run

Special Events This Month

Public Run Day’s

Work Day

WAY FREIGHT Jan 2019

Volume 36, Issue 1

On Saturday about 180’ of track and two switches were replaced. This was the first phase of the Turntable Lead Replacement Project. A huge thank you to the track crew; Jeff Garrett, Andy Romer, Lori & Mark Johnson, Zack Jones, David Smith, Adam & Chase Dupre, Terry Koken, Dennis & Josh Neal.

Due to the large amount of replacement track, culvert repair and ongoing maintenance, we will have a second Work Day, starting on Sat. 26, 2019. This Work Day will focus on replacing the culvert under the Turntable and Skinner Leads. We will have a regular Work Day on Feb. 2, when we will complete the Turntable Lead. Lunch will be served both days and I hope to see you there. Gary Gorman

Track Talk www.ocmetrains.org

Riders This Month

2361

For those of you whom I have not met, my name is Gary C. Gorman and have been a

member only since April, 2018. Being new, I was somewhat surprised, amazed, and

humbled by suggestions from members that I should run for the Board of Directors. I did run

and was pleased to receive enough votes from you to be elected, and subsequently be chosen

by the Board of Directors to represent OCME as your new President. Thank you!

A FIRST CLASS RAILROAD BY PRESIDENT GARY GORMAN

High Iron By Bob Harrison

O.C.M.E Newsletter

I’d like to share with you a little bit of my background. I am a retired Engineer with the Long Beach Fire Department;

a founding member & President of three non-profit organizations in Huntington Beach. Beginning in 1983, I raised

funds for the acquisition and restoration of wildlife habitat, filled the position of Project Manager for four wetland

restoration projects in the area and built the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center on PCH. You may have seen or met my

wife Gretchen during the Fall Meet where she was working under the radar to help me make the Meet a success. My

youngest son, Gary Scott, has also joined the club and is in the very slow process of building a “Galloping Goose”.

Railroading has been in my blood since I played with my Dads Lionel trains as a child. As a teenager I spent the

summers of 1962 & 1963 helping Norman Clark restore a narrow gauge, 60-ton Shay locomotive named Dixiana, you

can ride behind this locomotive today at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in Felton California.

I am now at have point in my life that allows me the time to build a 71/2’ gauge, 10-wheel live steam locomotive I

hope to have it operating before my first term expires!

I come into this position at OCME at a unique time. Under the guidance of Past President George Shearer and

members Terry Cummings, Hank Castignetti, Terry Koken and others, the Mackerel Flats & Goat Hill Junction

Railroad is secure in Fairview Park for the next 30 years.

CONTINUIED IN CLASSIFICATION YARD

Goathill News

We (Operations) had a very successful 2018. Some highlights were: 1. The Pump-In in April which included our first nature train. 2. The Fall in September had the largest attendance in recent years. 3. The October (Halloween) Public Rides. 4. The December (Santa) Public Rides. We made some important changes last year and will be making more this year. We want to remind you that our most important job is to run a safe railroad.

Please note the following: 1. The Conductor is our most important person on our train crews to keep the passengers safe while loading, unloading, and riding the trains. a. During loading, the Conductor is responsible for balancing the weight on the cars. b. During the time the train is in motion, the Conductor must: i. Be watching the passengers for safety violations (e.g. no dragging feet, no photography, etc.). ii. Monitoring the train for improper operation (e.g. derailments). iii. Notify the Engineer of any problems that require attention. iv. To do the above three items properly, the Conductor must pay full attention to the above and refrain from extensive conversations with the passengers. c. If there are any problems, submit an incident report to VP Operations.

Continued on page 4

O.C.M.E Newsletter

Goathill News

Classification Yard "Where things get sorted out"

Dennis Neil*, Josh Neil*, Bob Harrison*, Betty Cummings*, Carolyn Hayes*, Jeff Garrett, Dixon Sheldon, Kyler Stevenson*, Ken Matassa*, Jim Marsden, Derek Marsden, Gary Kimble*, Lori Johnson*, Mark Johnson*, Hank Castignetti, Andy Romer*, Jayson Stevenson*, Hailey Stevenson*, Dalton Johnson*, Zach Jones*, Gary Gorman, Allen Stephens*, Terry Cummings*, Stefanie Drake*, Nicholas Hanrahan, Steve Hanrahan, Mike Springer*, Craig Okun, Lois Taube, Seth Taylor, Jerry Koken & Pail Hammond

I’ve been working on the railroad

Anyone who is a qualified engineer and or conductor please make yourself available for 1 Saturday every 6 months to help with these events. Please contact Larry Ogle at

[email protected] or call Hank Castignetti at 714-742-2335 The parties are 2 hours long morning and afternoon and plan on an additional 2 hours to setup and put away equipment and yes put out the trash. We are a smile factory, kids of all ages come to

us and we do our best to send them off with a smile. Thank you to our Birthday Party Crews Jack Young,Jim Marsden, Gary Gorman, Jeff Garrett, Glenn Swain, Louis Aguirre, Jayson Stevenson ,Kyler Stevenson, Mark Johnson, Matt P, Gary Gorman, Hank Castignetti, Larry Ogle, Terry Koken, Jack Young, Glenn Swain

BIRTHDAY PARTY’S

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE CONTINUIED Through the foresight and efforts of Bob Brooks & his crew of “gandy dancers” over the last five years most of the mainline track has been replaced and is expected to last for the next 30 years. In addition, Bob Osborn & Myron Peterson have replaced 26 of the 40 mainline switches. DJ, Zack & Hank have been working to maintain our fleet of passenger cars. Glen continues to do a tremendous job maintaining our hard-working fleet of locomotives. Betty Cummings and Larry Ogle continue to run our extensive Birthday Party program, which contributes about 1/3 of our

income. Without the support of our membership and dedicated volunteers like these, we would not be able to enjoy operating our own equipment or just riding our railroad. Please consider volunteering your time to help keep the Mackerel Flats & Goat Hill Junction Railroad rolling. According to “Live Steam & Outdoor Railroading, the MF&GHJRR is the THIRD largest 7 ½” gauge layout in the United States. In addition, we carry as many or more passengers in a year than most other similar clubs.

We have a great railroad that every member should be proud of. I look forward to continuing the great work of past boards and members who have made the MF&GHJRR truly a “First Class Railroad”

Gary Gorman, President

.

O.C.M.E Newsletter Goathill News

Attention on the Railroad

FLAT SCREEN TV WANTED

The club would like to upgrade some of the creature comforts in the clubhouse. Our

video system has finally died leaving us with a library of tapes that can’t be viewed.

If anyone has an unused Flat Screen TV and VCR player they could donate we would

love to have them. Even a CD player would be a welcomed addition.

If you can help please contact Hank.

Thank you!

714-742-2335

[email protected]

ORANGE COUNTY MODEL ENGINEERS

P.O. Box 3216 Costa Mesa, CA 92628

Phone: (949) 54-TRAIN

We’re on the Web! www.ocmetrains.o

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High Iron Continued

2. Reminder that the train crews who put the OCME Club trains away are responsible to make sure that they are refueled and fully operational for the next use. 3. When train crews are returning from being relieved, please take the next available train. This may or may not be the train you were using prior to relief. 4. Before relief crews take over a train, they need to do the following: a. Check with the Station Manager for the current track conditions. b. Check with the crew being relieved for the current train status. 5. The grass area south of the railroad crossing extending past the compound is an environmentally sensitive area and is extremely wet. An attendee at the January Public Run decided to use it as a shortcut to leave and became stuck causing extensive damage to the area. The area will shortly receive signage and be fenced. Please do not use this as a driving shortcut. 6. The Sunburst Youth Academy cadets will be helping to maintain our facilities on Sat. Feb. 2nd. We will need 3 people to work with their adult sergeants who will interface with the cadets.

We would like to remind everyone while shopping with Amazon to please use Amazon smile. They donate .05

percent of your purchase to OCME. Please search for Orange County Model Engineers.

Classification Yard by HANK CASTIGNETTI Thank you for electing me your new club Secretary. I look forward to a great year of fun, excitement and helping our club grow. Acknowledging and encouraging the hard work and dedication of all our member volunteers will be my top priority. Members are the greatest asset of OCME and the driving force behind all our accomplishments and achievements.

THANK YOU ONE AND ALL! Please join me in welcoming our newest members:

➢ Andrew and Robin Nelson of San Clemente ➢ Dennis and Diane Cascarelli of Garden Grove

When you meet them for the first time please stop and introduce yourself and let them know how much we appreciate them, make them feel welcomed. They are, after all, our future! BENCH CAR MAINTENACE PROGRAM DJ and Zach Jones have taken a special interest in maintaining our fleet of 39 riding cars as well as the control cars on the Chessie, Santa Fe and the 596. Along with guidance from some senior members, they are focusing on fully servicing the trucks and couplers. This entails removing every axle, checking for flange wear, cleaning and lubricating the needle bearings, replacing worn thrust bearings, checking side frames and springs and rotating the axel position in the truck. To date 16 cars have received this TLC with the remainder expected to be completed within the next 60 days. They’re paying attention to cosmetics, too! Benches have been re-upholstered, side plates have been repainted and new vinyl numbers applied. Thank you for all your hard (and greasy!) work keeping our fleet in top shape! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Any member is welcomed, no encouraged, to speak at a Board of Directors meeting. Time has been allotted in the agenda at the start of every board meeting for members to make comments and bring issues before the group. If you have questions, suggestions or comments…..SPEAK UP! Copies of the current agenda will be available at lunch for everyone to review and stay abreast of what your BOD is doing on your behalf. Be aware, be informed, be involved!


O.C.M.E., P.O. Box 3216, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-3216, (949) 54-TRAIN. Our railroad is located in Fairview Park, 2480 Placentia Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA.

If you have any for sale items please send the info to [email protected] THE WAY FREIGHT is published by ORANGE COUNTY MODEL ENGINEERS, INC. (OCME), a non-profit California Corporation

which has created THE MACKEREL FLATS & GOAT HILL JCT. RAILROAD in Fairview Park, Costa Mesa, California. It is the intent of OCME to educate and enlighten people of all ages in the rich railroad heritage of the United States of America and other parts of the world. As a qualified non-profit organization, all donations are fully tax deductible under IRS ruling 501 (C) (3). Views and opinions

expressed in THE WAY FREIGHT are not necessarily those of OCME.

Work Day Pictures

Run Day Pictures

Page 5 O.C.M.E Newsletter Goathill News


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