August - Reading Society of Model Engineers

RSME
TIMETABLE
DING SOCIETY
REA
MOD
EL ENGINEERS
THE
The News Bulletin of the Reading Society of Model Engineers
August/September 2009
Volume 60.3
The Story Continues
by Bill Leth
CELEBRATING
R
OF
EA
N
DI
G
SO
1949
CI
ET
RSME
M
OD
2009
EL
G
EN
I
Y
E
NE
RS
60 YEARS
A ramble to a fun time! Then? & Now!
Above - All roofing installed, closing end panels
Winter 74-75
Right - Roof plywood going on, wives and small fry
checking on progress - summer 1954
OPPS! Correction: The Engine below was incor-
rectly labeled as the prototype for Diesel Engine #730, in the
previous edition of the Timetable. The engine depicted is a
Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster, not a Baldwin AS-16 which
was the prototype for #730.
RSME CALENDAR for 2009
Monthly Meeting
Second Saturday of each
month (2:00 p.m.)
Annual Meeting / Elections
October Monthly
Meeting
Spring Open House
Ran Successfully
Summer Open House
Sat. Good- Sun. Rain
Fall Open House
Oct. 24th and 25th, 2009
12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Frosty Run
December 5, 2009
12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Laurel Run Operating Days
First Sunday of Month
12 p.m.- 5 p.m.
(June – November)
2nd Floor Meeting
Monday Evenings
(7:30 p.m.)
NEEDED
A picture of an AS-16 that a member has
the “copywrite” to publish.
Please forward it to Bill Leth.
HO Explorer Meeting First and Third Mondays
(7:30 p.m.)
Clubhouse Phone: 610 - 929-5444
Board of Directors of the RSME
President: Frank Oese
610-944-7195 - eseo1@ptd.net
Vice President: William Ingham
610-944-7113 - william_r_ingham@yahoo.com
Treasurer: At the time of this writing we are
looking for someone to fill the remainder
of the treasurers term.
Secretary: Iggy Sakasitz
484-707-3016 - iggysaksr@ptd.net
Director: Bill Leth
610-929-4803 - weleth@comcast.net
Newsletter Editor: Bill Leth
610-929-4803 - weleth@comcast.net
Any submissions, comments, or corrections can be
emailed to the editor at weleth@comcast.net or see
me directly at a club function. You may also mail
the submission to the club address:
C/O Newsletter Submission
RSME
P.O. Box 13011
Reading, PA 19612
The “Thing” (as it was called) that Jim Zeigler built
is running an early tryout across the bridge in 1951
Credits - Photos this Page:
Above-Ed Wiswesser
Engine 864-Unknown Photographer
Cover Photos - Upper:
Ed Wiswesser - Jay Matz and his new cattle car. Circa. 1970. Lower photo:
Unknown - Mr. Gangwere & #730 on turn
table. 1962
From the President’s Desk
August/September 2009
Frank Oese
Clubhouse Painting Project Completed!!!
For those of you who might not have noticed, the
exterior of the RSME Clubhouse was beginning
to look dingy and dirty and the existing paint was
becoming badly weathered. There also were areas
where the existing paint coverage was poor, and
some previous repaints of the building had been
done piecemeal and had left some areas of the
building exterior with little paint coverage. Lower
areas of the building were discolored due to years of
rainwater runoff from the roof having splashed dirt
on the bottom 4 feet or so of the building.
Over a year ago Gene and Phyllis Pyle approached
the President with a proposal that the clubhouse
needed to be repainted. Gene developed several
conceptual paint schemes and provided artist’s
renderings of a repainted clubhouse. A proposal
was brought before the RSME membership (and
approved) last year to repaint the building based on
the Pyle’s proposal. The estimated cost of painting
the clubhouse was rather high, with the paint alone
being estimated at close to $4,000! Due to the
high cost, the proposal brought to the membership
last year was only to paint the end of the building
facing the parking lot. In addition, funding of the
paint purchase was to be by Member’s donations,
and not from the General Fund of the club. Labor
for painting was also to be by volunteers from the
Membership. A total of $600 was collected in
membership donations to purchase paint to cover
only one end of the building. Other projects and
activities of the Club prevented any
progress from being made on the
painting project, until July of this year.
In May and June of 2009, the Pyle’s
again approached the President
about getting moving on painting
the clubhouse exterior. They had
researched the type, colors and costs
for the paint that would be required.
The Pyle’s also had researched and
obtained a price quote from a painter,
who would do the work at a very
reasonable price. In addition, the club
had recently auctioned a large collection of model
railroad equipment and supplies, and the proceeds
from that auction (combined with the $600 already
collected for paint) were more than enough to cover
the estimated costs for painting the entire exterior of
the building.
A proposal was again brought before the Membership
(and approved) for a project to paint the entire
building exterior. The Pyles volunteered to manage
the project. The painting project began in early July
when the painter pressure washed the exterior of
the two-story, 40 foot by 80 foot clubhouse. The
project lasted almost the entire month of July. The
Pyles were on site for many of those days in July
monitoring and assisting the painter. They also
prepped and painted the clubhouse doors, painted the
lower part of the building with brown paint, and in
general put in many hours of labor and supervision to
insure that the project turned out well.
The final total cost of the project was less than
$4,000 (including labor) which was lower than the
initial estimate last year for paint. The lower cost
was due to the Pyle’s finding paint at discounted
prices, finding a painter who did the work
inexpensively, and also due to the Pyles doing much
of the painting themselves on the lower areas of the
building. Many thanks are due to Gene and Phyllis
for their perseverance and hard work to complete this
project!
3
REPORTS FROM THE
RAILS
Laurel Run M.O.W.
By Bill Leth
Earlier this summer William Ingham lead a “team of
members” in the process of replacing ties and ballast
throughout the 15” track. He was assisted in this process
by a long list of names that need to be acknowledged
for their efforts. I will list them all, hopefully not missing anyone. Bruce Daddi, Steve Gilbert, Steven Ingham,
Daulph Kline, Alvin Rineer, Iggy Sakasitz, Kyle Sanders, Mike Schaeffer, John Spinka, Dennis Tiley, Doug
Waltman, and Harry Zimmerman. Special thanks go out
all the member that assisted and to William Ingham for a
job well done.
The side of the shed says:
DONNERWETTER
HELP US ADVERTISE
UND
If you received THE RSME TIMETABLE by mail, you
have noticed that a copy of our flyer listing the 2009
open houses and run days is included but not stapled in
with the other pages. We ask that you post this flyer in
a prominent place in your area such as a convenience
store, restaurant, market, school, etc. If you received an
electronic version, you can print out the flyer to display.
With this extra advertising, we hope to attract more
people to attend our events. Thanks for your help.
ROCKABUTZER
Above: Moving the old storage shed for the new
roadway - 1953
Below: The members plus guests gather in this photo, which was taken at the NMRA Mid-Eastern Region Convention (Circa
1950) visit, to give their approval of the “work train - (#10?)” as it pulls out of the engine house. Photo Courtesy of Kaye D. Treese
4
Clickity - Clack in the Club Car
From the Editor’s Desk
Bill Leth
The absence of my Coeditor in the last month gives
me pause to think about just what a significant loss
to the club the resignation of Gene and Phyllis Pyle
really represents. It is because of the ongoing attitude
of dissension of other members contributions, and
discord caused by the belief that what people do on the
property should go without examination or question.
One may accuse the Pyles of this but the reality is that
everything that has been accomplished in the past 2-3
years they have been involved. Not one thing can
be said to the negative on all they contributed. Their
time, energy, enthusiasm, and physical efforts, were
sometimes appreciated by the members, but often were
praised begrudgingly, or went totally unappreciated. If
their efforts were commented on, it came off more as a
passing “that’s nice” rather than true appreciation. For
those of us that contribute to the efforts of the club’s
business, rarely do we hear from other members any
form of appreciation for the efforts of just keeping
the place running. And heaven forbid does anyone
come running forward to assist when a shorthanded
situation (that is obvious to the blind) occurs? Not too
likely! This wouldn’t bother me so much if it wasn’t
that the same folks that don’t come forward to assist,
also complain the loudest or find the most fault with
what is done. It is not so much that the physical help is
really necessary, but it might be nice to be asked if any
assistance is needed. This is not true of all members
but there seems to be a greater percent of apathy than
appreciation or participation.
I wrote a letter to the BOD and the membership a
while back, about some observations about the club,
and maybe I need to revisit it and bring it back to
the attention of the members. Maybe I should write
a new one. As an artist, I have been a part of the
process of critiquing my Art and personal positions
throughout my life, and the Society here is just another
entity that should get a critique whenever we lose
such a valuable asset as the Pyles have been to this
organization. A good hard honest look at ourselves and
how we participate as members of this society should
be done since we have had a truly significant loss in
their resignations. I think we need some serious self
examination as an organization, instead of just ignoring
the Locomotive in the room!
Membership News
Due to the recent resignation of Gene Pyle, the Club
is looking for someone to step forward to take on the
duties as membership chairman and an engineering
committee member. The BOD would like to hear from
interested members.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE
FOLLOWING POSITIONS
Membership Chairman
Engineering Committee Person
“Calling for Assistance”
Bill Jost - At the controls in the basement at
5 Church St. terminal. Circa. - Post WWII
DING SOCIETY
REA
MOD
EL ENGINEERS
Stamp
RSME
P.O. Box 13011
Reading, PA 19612
August/September 2009 Edition
RSME Timetable
In the Beginnings
RSME: