docMarch 2014 - The Lone Star Region
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March 2014 - The Lone Star Region
March 1, 2014 Vol 20 No 3 Inside this edition: Page 2 - Schedule of future events Page 3 - Bluebonnet Limited Page 4 - NMRA and LSR update Page 5 - FREE STUFF on the web Page 8 - FRED DCC, and UP Big Boy Page 9 - Earth forms by Niles Bishop Page 10 - Micro Layouts, part 3 Page 11 - Fire Insurance Maps The Spring Break shows at the Mahon and Groves libraries have been put on hold until sometime in June. Randel Bittick reports that scheduling conflicts with the libraries prevented us from being able to schedule our show for Spring Break in March. Instead, Randel is working to schedule one or both libraries to participate in the libraries’ “Reading Express” programs. Stay tuned for specific dates and more information. SouthWest Trakers, the N-Scale Division of LMRA, has made arrangements to set up their N-Scale modules at the end of Spring Break at the Wolfforth Library. Setup will be on Thursday, March 20th and will run on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22. Complete details are on page 2. Our club President, Ron Pederson, has taken a job assignment in El Paso for 6-months. Vice-President Buddy Arnold will take the reigns as Interim-President while Ron is away. We are excited to announce another contest this spring. Almost every layout conceivable, regardless of your time-period being modelled or the scale of your model or whether your model is permanent or modular, it has a space or two or three for a billboard. And billboards is the topic for the May contest. To get your creative juices flowing, start with these two web sites: http://www.ehow.com/ how_6407439_build-scale-billboardsigns-scratch.html http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/ magazine/mrh-2011-03-Mar/ssbuild_billboard Don Payne built a bill-board (at right) for his HO module, featuring a photo of himself. Be creative. Have fun. A simple google search will get you started. The rules are pretty simple. Build as many or as few as you like. Build in any scale you like. Build from a kit or scratch build. We will bring our billboards to the May Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Lubbock Model Railroad Association P.O. Box 53674 Lubbock, TX 79453 meeting, where we will present our entries, explaining how they were built, what inspired you to build them and any other information you would like for us to know. Everyone will have a chance to judge. Prizes will be given for first and second place as was done last year. Our annual auction was held at the February meeting. It was another huge success with a great deal of participation. Auctioneer Dave Lamberts reports : 83 items were up for auction we had about 1/3 as many no-bids as last year. $426 was earned by the sellers $192 was earned for the club treasury We need people to present clinics for most of the rest of 2014. Here’s your chance to share your modeling with the rest of us. We have April and July covered, but we need clinics or presentations for the rest of the year. Some suggested clinic topics are: photography, trip slides or videos, Harvey Girls, scenicing, scratchbuilding, module building, kit building, painting, weathering, detailing just to name a few. If you can help us out, please contact Buddy Arnold at cliftonarnold856@yahoo.com. Speaking of clinics, our April presenter will be Niles Bishop and he has graciously provided Board Of Directors: Officers: Ron Pederson - President (absent until September) lubbockrpr@team-psc.com Buddy Arnold - Vice-President (interim president until September) cliftonarnold856@yahoo.com Randel Bittick - Secretary rd424y@nts-online.net Dave Lamberts - Treasurer DavidWL1944@aol.com At-Large Directors: B.J. d’Orsay - Newsletter Editor bj.dorsay@gmail.com Jay Morrow - Librarian jaygroups@jaymorrow.org Joe Price wasunka@yahoo.com Darrell Puckett epee@suddenlink.net Meetings When: 1st Monday of each month except for holidays Time: 7:30 - 9:00 P.M. except for special events Where: Hope Lutheran Church, corner of 98th St & Frankford Ave. (Continued on page 2) Page 1 2013/2014 Timetable Lubbock Model Railroad Association All Aboard! (Anything more than one month in the future should be considered tentative, and subject to change) March 2014 Club meeting, Monday, March 3rd, 7:30. Hope Lutheran Church, 98th & Frankford Ave. SouthWest Trakers set up at Wolfforth Library, Marth 20 - 22. April 2014 Club meeting, Monday, April 7, 7:30, Hope Lutheran Church, 98th & Frankford Ave. Clinic will be presentation by Niles Bishop of a method of building up scenery. May 2014 Club Meeting, special time 7:00 on Monday, May 5 Billboard contest. Bring your models and cameras! (Continued from page 1) some preview photos of the work he is doing to create his earth forms on his permanent home layout. Find these photos and a brief description of his technique on page 9. It is amazing what you can find on the internet now-a-days. When I first began modeling, you had to depend on books, magazines or other modelers to learn how to be a modeler yourself. That is no longer true. Beginning on page 5, I have listed the many resources available to us all, and it’s all free! Many thanks to those who sent me the web sites. At least two of us, bj d’Orsay and Dave Lamberts will be attending the Lone Star Region’s annual convention, this year being held in Roundrock during the first week of June. Dave Lamberts is our district’s representative to the LSR, and he brings us a complete lineup of why you should consider attending this year’s convention, besides the fact that you will be able to see both of us present clinics. See page 3 for much more information. NMRA, the national organization is creating a new program called NMRA EduTRAIN. It will be a prepared curriculum to provide education and training about every aspect of model railroading. Check out page 4 for more details. Join us on Yahoo! http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LMRA/ Dues are STILL due NOW $12 for an individual $18 for a family Bring to the meeting or mail them to: LMRA PO BOX 53674 Lubbock, TX 79453 Get involved Contact Buddy Arnold at cliftonarnold856@yahoo.com or 788-1898 if you are interested in presenting a clinic or informational program at one of our club meetings. Bob Batson moved back to his home town of Hearne, TX last summer and will be installing portions of his home layout in the old Hearne Depot, now a museum. Bob is also coordinating the clinics at the LSR Annual Convention in Roundrock next summer. He already has an exciting list of clinics, something to appeal to everyone. N-Scalers must love bridges. This is an arch bridge being built by Joe Price. It will connect TTrak modules, and be nearly 5-1/2 feet long! This will match up with B.J. d’Orsay’s 4-foot steel truss bridge which made it’s debut at the TTU Museum show. Both bridges will be featured in April’s newsletter, describing building techniques and more photos. Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 2 THE BLUEBONNET LIMITED Division 4 - the Cen-Tex Division - is excited to be hosting the 2014 NMRA Lone Star Region Convention June 4-8, 2014 at the Wingate by Wyndham & Williamson Conference Center in Round Rock, Texas, just outside of Austin. Registration is $85 per person ($95 after April 15). Herein some information taken from the LSR’s convention web site. Come visit the WB & S The Wimberley, Blanco & Southern is a live steam railroad located southwest of Austin. This railroad has a main line of 6,200 feet with 14,000 feet of total track. We will have live steam locomotives and diesel locomotives pulling passenger cars for us to ride. We also will tour their extensive facilities including shops, turntable, train station and yards. We will visit the railroad in two groups – one group on Thursday and one group on Friday. We will provide buses to transport you between our convention site and the railroad and we will also provide a box lunch for the day. Prototype Tours Two prototype tours have been lined up. On Thursday, we will have a bus take us to the LCRA car repair facility in Smithville which maintains over 1,100 gondolas used for the transportation of coal from Wyoming to the Fayette Power Project. We will have the opportunity to tour the facility, observe repair operations and ask questions of LCRA employees. On Friday, we will have a bus to take us to the Georgetown Railroad which hauls crushed limestone from the facilities of Texas Crushed Stone to points in Texas and Louisiana. The stone moves in unit trains of 40 to 120 railcars via connection with UP and BNSF. We will get to observe the mining and rail operations involved in the loading of the railcars and ask questions about the process from mining to interchange with the Class I carriers. Clinics There are over 60 clinic slots available. Some clinicians already lined up include David Lamberts, B. J. D’Orsay, Mike Barrett, George Bohn, Bob Brindle, B.J. d’Orsay, Kennedy Gauger, Frank Houzvicka, Chuck Lind, Terry Nathan, Loren Neufeld, Tom Pearson, and Clarence Zink – with more to come. Topics include module construction, Decoder Pro, reducing derailments, T-trak, mining, turnout construction, trestle construction, European railroads and more. We would love to have even more presenters. If you would like to present a clinic, please contact Bob Batson. Operating Sessions and Layout Tour There are ten operating sessions planned with a total of up to 94 operating slots available. The railroads range from long runs in full scenery to no scenery but a lot of switching. All are HO Scale except Kim Saign’s which is N Scale. In addition, we will have a switching layout to operate at the convention. See the schedule for more details. We will also have an extensive layout tour program which includes tour opportunities on Thursday evening, Saturday afternoon and a going home option on Sunday. We will provide directions for driving yourself to these layouts. Over 20 layouts will be open on this tour program. Finally, the local AustNtrak group will assemble and operate Ntrak and T-trak layouts at the convention center Wednesday through Saturday. Non-Rail Program Several activities are also planned for the non-rail program. We hope to have a lot of entries in our contest this year: The theme is bluebonnets. We will have several clinics, a shopping option at both the nearby Outlet Mall and also at the Salado shops, and a quilting demonstration on Thursday evening. On Saturday, we will have a bus to take us to the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens and Museum where we can view the largest collection of touchable bronze sculptures in Texas. And More! We will also have a number of other activities to enjoy, including: Contest Room - We are looking forward to seeing many award winning cars, locomotives, structures, photographs, and more. Silent Auction - Bring all the items you would like to sell. Come to the silent auction room and bid on all the must-have items for your collection. We have a large room available for this . Door Prizes and Raffle - Great opportunities to pick up some great items, thanks to our sponsors! So – as you can see – if you are awake you will be having fun. Hope to see you there. Dave Lamberts Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 3 The National Model Railroad Association is creating a new curriculum program called NMRA EduTRAIN®. “It will become the first complete curriculum of re-usable turnkey clinics covering all aspects of model railroading from kit building to scenery, electricity and electronics, layout construction, scenery, and operations. NMRA EduTRAIN® clinics will include traditional presentations as well as demonstration labs and hands-on (Make and Take) workshops where the primary objective is to teach. When fully implemented NMRA-EduTRAIN® will allow a model railroader to progress through all phases of model railroading, according to their interests, from novice to Master Model Railroader. It will include clinics to train model railroaders to become more comfortable and proficient at delivering presentations (Train the Trainers).” - NMRA Magazine, March 2014, page 10. For the most up-to-date information of the region, go to the Lone Star Region at http://www.lonestarregion.com/. Their webmaster, Jeff Palmer, has been hard at work creating a new web site for the region, and he now has posted a link to the new website, still under development. You should also be proud to know that this LMRA newsletter is featured on the front page of the LSR web site. It’s the only club or district newsletter to be featured on the front page. Of course, the news this spring is the upcoming convention in Roundrock the first week of June. Go back to page 3 for details if you skipped it first time through. But also look at their new website, still under development, but looking A note from Ken Matticks, one of our friends in Midland: 1. 2. I will be making a presentation at the Garden Railway Show and Annual General Meeting of the Association of 16mm N.G. Modellers on Saturday, April 12 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. My talk is on American Garden Railways (with emphasis on building one on a desert). Let me suggest that after you have collected and published these Internet sites, you collect and publish members’ favourite YouTube videos on railways. I have almost 400 different videos in my “Favourites” on YouTube. And I look for more almost every night. Kenneth R. Matticks Midland, Texas 79701 Join the NMRA www.NMRA.org Lubbock Model Railroad Association P.O. Box 53674 Lubbock, TX 79453 Monthly Club Meetings: Usually First Monday, 7:30 PM Hope Lutheran Church 5700 98th St. Corner 98th and Frankford Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Logon to our Yahoo! Group page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LMRA/ Hundreds of photos and documents A perfect place to post your railroad-related activities and photos to share with the group. http://www.facebook.com/ groups/88889679658/ Page 4 My request was simple: send me links to the free stuff on the internet that helps you enjoy or improve at your hobby of Model Railroading. The response was immediate and huge from LMRA members and friends of LMRA around Texas who receive our newsletter. Here are their contributions, somewhat organized be broad category (some links may be listed under multiple categories), with credit given to the contributors. You’ll also soon see that it was difficult for me to categorize many of the links I received. So look through each and every category. For each contribution I have tried to include the name of the contributor. If I missed anyone, please forgive me for the oversight. Historical / Museums http://www.utahrails.net/ - great photos and history of railroading in Utah (sent by Patrick Pritchett) http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/ locomotives/4014.shtml Union Pacific Railroad is undertaking the movement and restoration of one of the world’s largest steam locomotives – the Big Boy No. 4014. (Patrick Pritchett) http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/ (Ron Warner) http://www.borail.org/ (Ron Warner) http://calzephyr.railfan.net/ (Ron Warner) Modeling Associations/Societies/Clubs http://www.mopac.org/ - "Dedicated to preserving the rich history of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Texas & Pacific, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, and all Predecessors" (Patrick Pritchett) Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers, http://www.16mm.org.uk (Ken Matticks) http://www.centramod.com/Home.htm (Bob Batson) http://www.lonestarregion.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.nmra.org/ (Bob Batson) http://www.geekwithtrains.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.ttos.org/index.cfm? id=82328&fuseaction=browse&pageid=1 (Ron Warner) http://www.drgw.org/ (Ron Warner) http://www.railfan.net/links/ (Ron Warner) http://www.southernappalachia.railway.museum/ (Ron Warner) http://www.nwhs.org/index.php (Ron Warner) http://www.nasg.org/ (Ron Warner) Prototype http://www.texaseagle.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.montanarail.com/ (Ron Warner) Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Photos / Web Cams http://www.utahrails.net/ - great photos and history of railroading in Utah (Patrick Pritchett) rrpicturearchives.net (Clyde Shannon, Jim Brown) http://trn.trains.com/Interactive/Web%20Cams/ Details.aspx (Ron Warner) http://www.locophotos.com/ Techniques LightLine homepage for lining and paneling of 16mm scale locomotives: http://www.lightline16mm.com (Ken Matticks) A good locomotive reference: http://www.thedieselshop.us (Jim Brown) Model Railroads Timpdon Lake Railway (16mm scale) http://www.timpdon.co.uk/timpdon/tlr/index.htm (Ken Matticks) A very nice HO layout in Colorado: http:// www.gfsm.org/pcindex.html (Jim Brown) Excursion Trains http://www.flyingunderradar.com/ (Ron Warner) Online Groups / Communities http://groups.yahoo.com/group/n_scale/messages (Bob Batson) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ NScaleVehicleAssociation/ (Bob Batson) Magazines / Publications http://www.geekwithtrains.com/content/fall-markerlamp (Bob Batson) http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/ (Bob Batson, B.J. d’Orsay) http://www.cowcatchermagazine.com/ (Bob Batson) Page 5 Suppliers / Manufacturers Events http://bluebonnetlimited.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.lonestarexpress2013.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.blwnscale.com/ (Bob Batson, Jim Brown, B.J. d’Orsay) http://www.periodminiatures.biz/21.html (Bob Batson) http://www.decapodsystems.com/contact.html (Bob Batson) http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ (Ron Warner) http://www.barmillsmodels.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.blairline.com/nhome/ (Bob Batson) http://www.branchline-trains.com/index.html (Bob Batson) http://www.fiferhobby.com/ (Bob Batson, B.J. d’Orsay) http://www.finescaleminiatures.com/images.html (Bob Batson) Software 16MM modeling http://www.gclaser.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.kingmill.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ (Bob Batson, B.J. d’Orsay, Shawn Best, Jim Brown) Hi BJ, http://micro-scale.com/ (Bob Batson) As some will know, I model using a scale of 16mm=1’0” (1:19.05) running on 32mm (O scale) track. This means that our prototypes are 24” gauge railways of Wales, England, Zimbabwe , and the state of Maine. When I first switched to 16mm modelling, there was one site on the Internet with anything about two-foot narrow gauge railways and that was a library reference at the University of West London. Now there are hundreds of sites and YouTube posts. http://www.microstru.com/index.html (Bob Batson) http://modeltechstudios.com/ (Bob Batson) http://monstermodelworks.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.pufferbellys.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.richmondcontrols.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.showcaseminiatures.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.trainweb.org/tylick/signintro.htm (Bob Batson) http://www.t-kits.com/ (Bob Batson) http://www.bigindoortrains.com/primer/buildings/ store_fronts/store_fronts.htm (Ron Warner) http://www.greatdecals.com/Griffin.htm (Ron Warner) http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/index.php (Darrell Puckett) MicroMark has every type of tool one could imagine. You can order a free catalogue. They also have excellent mail order service. www.micromark.com (Dave Lamberts, B.J. d’Orsay) Caboose Hobbies must be the largest model railroad store in the country. They have great mail order service and a huge web page inventory. www.caboosehobbies.com (Dave Lamberts) This is used N-scale; he is very nice to work with. http:// yardsaletrains.com/ (Jim Brown) These guys have some unusual kits in HO and N, such as boats, planes, and a hangar. The quality is good. You can order directly, or through Model Train Stuff. http:// www.osbornmodelkits.com/index.htm (Jim Brown) He does not have a web site, but he does have some nice Nscale special runs: Prototype N Scale Models (TM) by George Hollwedel 2108 Buffalo Tundra Dr Austin, TX 78754-5960 512-579-0539 (Jim Brown) My favourite site is for the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers at http://www.16mm.org.uk. To see many of the locomotives that have been built in this scale, go to http:// www.lightline16mm.com. My friend Geoff Munday runs LightLine, a company that puts lining and panelling on 16mm scale locomotives and his work is on display at this web address. To see some of the prototype railways, go to http:// www.festrail.co.uk for the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways. Also, the favourite locomotives of those of us who study quarry railways are the Quarry Hunslets, built by the Hunslet Locomotive Company of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. I was pleased to be a part of the team that repatriated EDWARD SHOLTO, a Quarry Hunslet, from the USA back to England where she was restored to ex works condition and is now working in steam around England. Here is a site to see Hunslets: http://www.quarryhunslet.mste.co.uk, including my godchildlocomotive, EDWARD SHOLTO. This April 12th is the Annual General Meeting of the Association of 16mm N.G. Modellers. I have asked to make a presentation there on “Garden Railways in America” with emphasis on a garden railway in west Texas. If you need more information on my scale/gauge combination, please let me know. Best wishes to all. Ken Matticks, Midland http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp? TOPIC_ID=9280&whichpage=1 and you'll find many signs of all sorts and links to several other sites. (Mike Moore) Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 6 Signage By Mike Moore, North Texas TTrak Want to add some traffic signs to your layout for added realism? Try copying some from here http://www.signsdirect.com/ or from here http://www.safetysign.com/ then you can scale them up or down, print and apply. What else can subtly set a time or place for your layout than billboards. Look for some here www.billboardsofthepast.com/ Then build a frame to put it near the road or apply it to a building side. I've also included two sheets of good ones I've collected over the years. These are already scaled to N. Feel free to print these out an make up few. You could also cruise through eBay looking for metal signs, etc. for sale. Just cut and past the picture in the add to another page. Here's some example of the 1000s I've got in my library. If you use them, I'd appreciate some sort of credit for the idea. I do have a full-blown set of clinic notes about billboards, but I'd just as soon not sent that at this point. It's mostly about making the billboard framework, but that's pretty intuitive. The hard part is collecting all the signs. A few are presented here to give you an idea... American Wind Power Center Layout Update Coy Harris reports that in preparation for their layout, they have purchased their DigiTrax equipment and the German software to automate the control of everything, and have a computer to load it up to. The software selected is that used by the massive Hamburg, Germany layout. Their website is http://www.freiwald.com/pages/index.html and offers many products to automate museum and ublic layouts. It will be very exciting to see this in action someday. Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 7 Here is an easy electronics project from http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/ CircuitIndex.html Submitted by Darrell Puckett. Please Read Before Using These Circuit Ideas The explanations for the circuits on these pages cannot hope to cover every situation on every layout. For this reason be prepared to do some experimenting to get the results you want. This is especially true of circuits such as the "Across Track Infrared Detection" circuits and any other circuit that relies on other than direct electronic inputs, such as switches. If you use any of these circuit ideas, ask your parts supplier for a copy of the manufacturers data sheets for any components that you have not used before. These sheets contain a wealth of data and circuit design information that no electronic or print article could approach and will save time and perhaps damage to the components themselves. These data sheets can often be found on the web site of the device manufacturers. Although the circuits are functional the pages are not meant to be full descriptions of each circuit but rather as guides for adapting them for use by others. If you have any questions or comments please send them to the email address on the Circuit Index page. UNION PACIFIC’s 4014 Big Boy As most of you know, the Union Pacific has taken possession of Big Boy (4-8-8-4) #4014, and is in the process of moving it from California to Cheyenne, where they will spend 3 - 5 years renovating it into a fully functioning locomotive. They will be using it for promotional trips across the country as they do with their other large steamers, the There are MANY YouTube videos of the move so far. You can get started with this link http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=DsZGWn_bPPE and then keep watching for hours if you want. Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 8 Our April clinic will be presented by Niles Bishop and he will show us how he is contouring his landscaping. It is a method I’ve never seen before ; in fact, I had never even heard of it before I got these teaser photos from Niles. He uses plain corrugated cardboard and cuts our each contour layer and stacks them up, gluing each layer with common white glue. I am intrigued at how precise his earth forms turn out. And then he covers them with plaster. He did confess that he is now a major stock holder for elmer’s and that it does take time, butjudging by these preliminary results, I think it may be completely worth the effort. Join us for our April meeting to find out more from Niles. Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 9 Top 10 Mistakes with Micro Layouts By Joe Price Part three of his Micro layouts series While micro layouts are small and easy to transport for shows, they do have some pitfalls that it would be good to acknowledge and avoid, or at least minimize. Being aware of these, as they apply to your micro, should make showing it a happier experience. 1. Avoid running with the train. If your layout needs a access from the front, back, and sides to operate, it could be a pain to operate. It is much better to be able to sit in one place and operate the layout comfortably. It's easier on the operator and the audience. 2. Manual turnouts are bad at a show. While okay at home, manually operated turnouts ruin the effect of the train layout because you have to stick your hand into the display to flip the turnout. 3. Keep it Simple. The KISS principal is perhaps the advice a modeler could use. A micro layout does not have to be complicated to be fascinating. A few turnouts and one or two key industries that need to have certain cars in certain places is not only easier to operate, but surprisingly fun and simple. 4. Leave some elbow room. A train layout not only should be easy and simple, but also very believable. A lot of track and turnouts leaves little room for buildings and scenery. A train will look great if it is surrounded by landscape and buildings. Many people at a show will gaze in awe at the buildings and the natural flow of the modeled landscape. A well-modeled scene will attract viewers more than weathered rolling stock. 5. Details, details, details. What is needed are details. In town: cars, people, trash, litter and pets should be seen. Rural scenes: animals, dead trees and the occasional person will complete the scene. On a farm, people expect to see a host of livestock right down to the ducks on the pond. 6. Lights are great. Most well lit rooms aren't good enough for great modeling. Perhaps, consider some system of lighting which gives the models a natural look complete with shadows that are noticeable, but not too dark. 7. Add sound, smoke and lights. A layout that has puffing, steaming, hissing locomotives draws attention. Not every micro needs all these, but judicious use can be helpful. 8. Good enough to operate in the dark. Make sure the layout is reliable during low-light situations when it's difficult to see. Then, it will run anytime. 9. Animation domination. This means more than just having a train go through a scene. Carnival rides, buses, trams, and sometimes even boats and planes that move make for a very fun layout both for the public and for the modeler. This is especially important on micro layouts as they are more prone to being past by, so attention is needed. This also applies to #7 and #10. 10. Advertise. A sign that declares the name of the scene, builder, layout, town or whatever will be noticed at a show and will give the layout a sense of completeness and professionalism. Darrell Puckett has started doing this on his Americana module set, and on others as well. This was condensed from an article at <http:// jjwtrains.blogspot.com/2014/01/top-10-micro-layoutmistakes.html> dated January 16, 2014. Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 10 Yahoo group post submitted by Joe Price Fire Insurance Maps and City Atlases Sun Feb 9, 2014 11:12 am (PST) . Posted by: redwood_chopper Regarding the recent query about digging for any sort of plans for historic sites and structures, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps was mentioned in a reply as a useful reference. These are - when they can be found online - extremely useful tools. More often than not, a public library (if they are linked with ProQuest) can make these available online to registered library patrons although access and availability varies from state to state, county to county. Aside from library collections, there are some alternate online resources, some free and others requiring payment. One of the free sites for a variety of Sanborn and other historic maps and extremely rare city atlases is the David Rumsey Map Collection owned and run by Cartography Associates. It's more a dedicated hodgepodge of rare maps and atlases but can be very useful if you manage to find a place relevant to your need. http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/view/search? q=Insurance+Fire&sort=Pub_Date,Pub_List_ No,Series_No As for the Sanborn Maps, this mention by Old House Journal Magazine' s website is worth perusal. http://www.oldhouseonline.com/where-to-find-sanborn-maps/ Californians today can freely access Sanborn maps for their state through several public libraries. Los Angeles Public Library offers the general public living instate wide access. San Francisco offers anyone living in the Bay Area and holding a current SF Public Library card (extended as a courtesy to area residents) access to their scanned Sanborns for Sanborn California-only maps. I use these often. http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000305601 Finally, some states have excellent maps collections either housed in that state's State Library or the State Archives at the capital. For instance, California State Archives maintains an extensive historic railroads plat maps collection (originals as well as microfiche versions) that can be used *in person* ~ but you have to go to CSA to access them. These cover only large railroads like Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and so on, but they're quite handy documents. Plat maps typically show a railroad right of way and spurs, sidings and extremely basic ground plans for commercial freight customers' buildings if they were equipped with active access spur tracks. Do a little sleuthing on your own and see what you can turn up. Happy hunting! ~Kevin Bunker, Oakland, CA Staying on Track, March 2014, Vol 20 No 3 Page 11 It really is a small world. In 2009, I came home to a phone message that went something like, "B.J., this is Darrell Puckett in Shallowater and we NEED to talk. Call me, my number is xxx-xxxx!" My immediate thought was, "Oh shoot, what did I do now?" And thus began a friendship that gets stronger every week. You see, Darrell lives in a small town just 10 miles North West of Lubbock, where I live, and it turns out Darrell attended AMA in 1960, ten years before I graduated. And it gets better. I did call Darrell that evening, he told me who he was and why he had called. And we talked about our days at AMA, our common experiences, our memories of the school and the teachers. Then we turned the conversation to our current lives. Turns out we were both seriously into N-Scale model railroading. Darrell likes to scratch-build historical buildings for his railroad, and he had been researching the web with the thought to possibly model the big barracks. He finally decided that it would be too big and complex for him to build. But while on the web site, he noticed my name and address. I met him in person about a week later at a railroad show. Because of family commitments, I had been an inactive modeler for about 15 years. That all changed when I got connected to Darrell. Since then we have become seriously good friends. I am continually amazed at the invisible bond that exists between us, and we occasionally talk about it. We both came to the conclusion that the few years we each spent at AMA had a common transformative affect on both of us. B.J. d'Orsay, '70 Data Analyst Graduate School of Texas Tech University AMA Webmaster BJ has related his side of our story that is right on the money. While researching the design of the big barracks for a model railroad module I noticed that the web master for the AMA site had a Lubbock address. Having not met another AMA alumnus in all these many years, I immediately picked up the telephone and called BJ. He was not in so I left a message (that he mentioned). When he returned my call we had an almost instant bond. This is where it gets really weird. In the course of our conversation model trains were mentioned. That was when BJ told me that he too was a modeler and in N scale, as well. We met at the next Lubbock Model Railroad Association meeting. BJ and I had an instant connection. It seemed as if we just knew what the other had in mind. Our mutual friendship just seems to increase as we grow older. We seem to have an innate understanding of each other. Is it from AMA, or is it just one of those freak things that happen in life? We may never know. BJ and I have our suspicions. Darrell Puckett, '60 and B.J. d'Orsay, '70 sit in front of their model railroad modules during a 2013 show. Darrell's model of the Alamo at the time of the 1836 battle won First Place during the 2012 Lonestar Regional Convention of the National Model Rilroad Association. B.J.'s module is of a mid-20th century imaginary country train stop called "Whistlestop". This module earned second-place at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Regional convention of the National Model Railroad Association. Darrell has a home layout, while I do not. But we both build interconnecting modules according to an international standard known as T-Trak. Several times a year our local group of modelers get together and set up out modules to form a large layout. These layouts usually cover about 1,000 sq feet, and allow us to run up to 6 or 8 trains simultaneously. We recently set up at the Texas Tech Museum and drew almost 2000 visitors in just 2-1/2 days. So you see, it really is a small world. What are the odds?? Last year, BJ and I were president and vice -president, respectively. Our year as the senior officers of the club brought major changes, including rewriting the by-laws. BJ and I seem to know what the other wanted to do without any communication and we managed to update many of the antiquated rules and laws. Unfortunately BJ did not know General Roller and have the privilege of his wisdom and knowledge, but I believe that the General’s spirit lived on after his passing. Many of the things that General Roller stood for were still being permeated in cadets years later. The odds of winning the lottery are probably much less than the unique experience that BJ and I have had. Ten years apart, from different parts of the country, and totally different backgrounds. Forty-eight years later we wind up living ten miles apart and both N scale modelers and best of friends. What are the odds? "Ad Astra Per Aspera" Darrell G. Puckett, SMSgt, USAF (Ret.)
