ETMRC  RAILNEWS

July 2013 www.coslar.us/etmrc

The air conditioner is up and running! – Better than just installed, the new A/C had been running steadily for more than two weeks when this photo was taken. As a result, the climate in the Junction is vastly better, cooler and less humid. Kudos to Paul F and Rob D who did most of the work. And no, the a/c is NOT sagging: It was installed on a slope on purpose to drain condensate, of which there is a lot.

MEETINGS

The official weekly club meeting time is 9:00 to noon on Saturdays. Club members are usually present for work sessions Wednesday and Friday mornings at the same time as the Saturday schedule. If evenings are a better fit into your schedule than the mornings, consider 7:00 pm each Tuesday evening until about 9:00 pm.

For those who care to have Saturday breakfast, club members meet at 8:00 am at McKay’s Restaurant, on Park Street, near the railroad crossing, Commerce.

CLUB ACTIVITY

The air conditioner is in! Paul Fogle constructed a supporting structure of 2 X 4 and 2 X 6 lumber, which appears sufficiently robust to support a lot more than an air conditioning unit. The window frame was strengthened and the outer covering is ¾ inch plywood. Paul, with practical experience of Rob Dove, who has installed similar units, installed the unit with about a 10° slope to make sure that the condensate removed from humid summer days drains outside. The drainage concept was tested almost on completion with a series of drizzly days and high humidity. Insulation is packed all aroud the unit, and more is to come, but the most important thing is that it is in and going. The two installed the chosen window made it difficult for more members to assist. The unit has been running almost continuously since it was installed, and the difference inside is striking. The hot, sticky air with the thousands of mosquitos charged in through the open door that was characteristic in past years is gone. Things are comfortable with the door closed. The array of large, noisy fans remains, but they do not need to be run at top speed to keep the place at a workable temperature. In fact, with fans running to provide maximum comfort, you can still hear a noise-equipped train. You may still be deafened, but it will mostly be on purpose. Talk about progress!

The south sky is clear — The beginnings of rolling hills are starting to appear at the horizon as Bob E continues his rework of the skyboards. At his current rate, he may finish, but may never stand straight again.

Bob E , has mostly exchanged his skyboard blue paint for various greens and earth tones. The geology has transitioned from desert mountains to more temperate tree-covered hills. Of course this means more hours suggesting lots of trees. And if he thought the west wall paining was inconvenient because of the layout table width, the south wall is worse – not only is the table way beyond the reach even of spider monkeys, but access to the board in work is complicated by the need to crouch on the table top and is complicated by a horde of mostly hard–to–see poles and wires – a real backbreaker. At least the engine servicing tracks associated with the roundhouse and the turntable is still mostly a concept, and one can use most of the table as a seat, except where you can’t.

Bob T and Ron M, have been working together to reactivate the Roy King trolley layout in the north end of the work room. The two have scored impressive advances: the three electric track switches on the train shed leads and the two crossover switches between the short loop and the rest of the layout are now working reliably. A single operator can now select the desired route from the recently relocated control panel without someone having to manually throw the switches between the two. Of equal importance, and maybe better, the tangle of wires to nowhere that had proliferated under the layout dramatically simplified. And the dynamic duo aren’t done. They are already reactivating the switches on the numerous sidings, and cleaning and adjusting the track and wire so that the entire layout, not just the two passenger routes will be usable. In less than a month, they have overcome many of the effects from the move, something that has eluded us for more than two years.

JULY BUSINESS MEETING

The next scheduled business meeting is 9:00 am, Saturday, July 6, 2013. Our business meeting is usually on the first Saturday of each month, unless it isn’t. Since the peak of the show season is past, it mostly will be.

JUNE BUSINESS MEETING SUMMARY

Not submitted by anyone – what follows is mostly hearsay

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: 9:27 am< br>
PRESENT: Leroy H, Bob T, Paul F, Ron M, George W

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING:
Approved as published.

TREASURER'S REPORT:  Submitted by Treasurer Ron Means
This section is redacted.

COUNCIL MEETING REPORT: Submitted by Council Rep Paul F
North Texas Council of Railroad Clubs regular monthly meeting was May 25. The Treasurer's Report indicated $deleted on account, the same as April. More attendees at the 2013 Plano show completed surveys, perhaps because that qualified them for a door prize. Some stuffed the box with 27 entries. The survey results are still being tallied after clearing out the clearly bogus inputs. Deposits for both Plano and Fort Worth shows have been paid. The Fort Worth check has been cashed, and the contract is supposed to be mailed May 25. The contract is expected to be the same as last year, with the addition of the $deleted per electrical outlet fee. Lockheed Martin has sold 63 of the total 83 acres of the former LM Recreation Center – everything south of the main gate. The LMRA club at least has retained ownership of the layout and scenery, but they have to be out by the end of the year. Sound familiar? The Lone Star Region of the NMRA has $deleted in door prizes for the 2013 convention to be held the weekend of May 29 – June 2.
Next meeting will be held July 16, 2013.

OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
The absence of three mouthy members – Bob E, Rob D and Tom B – resulted in one of the shortest meetings in memory: 10 minutes from start to finish. Since the weather was pretty good, the goal for the air conditioner was set for after the meeting. And since none of the members present could remember anything else that happened either as old business or new business, the meeting sort of disintegrated and was finally adjourned at about 9:30. Is there a hidden message there?

MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:37 am

WHAT THE %*##% --?

A section to list strange happenings that really should be tracked down and fixed:  Anyone?  Anything?

The short meeting is strange enough, but it is probably a one–of– a–kind event. If it happens again with more members present, maybe we have a problem.

PEOPLE:

Rob Dove is still recovering from his medication difficulties, and hopes to be back to work soon. How soon is soon? Bad question, sort of like how high is up?

Member Bill LeRosen celebrated his 76th birthday on June 4.

INFORMATION:

The following web sites are excellent sources of supplies (1) and technical data (2). Two of our members also have personal web sites (3) and (4). Ed McCamey’s site (3) hosts the club website. Site (5) has some interesting photos of Commerce area railroading over the years.

1. Cyberspace World Railroad for supplies
2. http://www.geocities.com/budb3/index.html for technical data
3. http://www.coslar.us for Ed M's personal web site
4. http://geusnet.com/~rteeter/ for Bob T's personal web site
5. www.tamu-commerce.edu/library/collections/digital for Commerce Texas photos

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

July 20 — LSR 3 – Northeast Texas Division – Nicholson Library, 4845 Broadway Blvd, Garland.

July 14th — 20th NMRA National Convention – Peach Tree Express 2013. Atlanta, GA. For more information: http:// nmra2013.org

July 27-28 — San Antonio Area Modelers Summer Show – Live Oak Civic Center, Live Oak, TX

Regional Railroad Prototype News

This is just a sampling of that’s going on in our area, which is defined to be whatever I think interesting, so the area can be fairly large. Or not.

Museum of the American Railroad — The Frisco 4-8-4 #4501 actually moved to Frisco on June 28. The move took pretty much all day, moving at a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour over the tracks of the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern, the Trinity River express and the BNSF. The 71-year-old locomotive, a product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, performed flawlessly. Scott Lindsay of Steam Operations Corporation in Birmingham AL accompanied the locomotive and was elated at its performance. Great care and diligence went into the preparation for Sunday's trip. Scott and the Museum's dedicated Steam Crew spent weeks inspecting, polishing, and lubricating running gear components such as wheel and side rod journals. According to the Dallas Morning News edition for June 13, the UP 4-8-8-4 was scheduled to move on Sunday, June 16, but because of a derailment on one of the railroads over which the locomotive would move, it didn’t. No new move date has yet been publicized.

Then there was but one – the Museum former SLSF 4-8-4 4501 complete with a fresh cosmetic restoration moved out of Dallas on May 28 to its new home in Frisco. With the arrival of 4501 in Frisco, only the massive Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4018 steam locomotive, Santa Fe F-7A diesel locomotive, and two boxcars remain at the Museum's old location in Dallas' Fair Park. Those pieces are scheduled to move in mid-June. (Museum photo)