September 2020 Newsletter


Bruce Klawitter shared the following letter from Beth and Odette sent after returning home from Joe’s funeral services. 

“Dear Friends of Joe,

We want to express our sincere thanks to all of you for everything you did for us. Bruce, who went above and beyond and coordinated everything that needed to be done; Ray and his son Zack, who helped secure and transport personal property; Dan and Terry, whom we met in early June at the trailer, who helped salvage and transport train equipment; Lloyd, who cataloged all the train equipment; Dave, who handled the sale of the truck; and all the others whose names we do not know who helped us in any way.

We also want you to know how truly touched we were by the turnout at the memorial service and how much we appreciated the stories and experiences you all shared.  Also, thank you, Jim Harper for the pictures you gave us.  For those members and friends who were unable to attend, we know you were there with us in spirit.

Our brother loved being a member of the train club, and it was nice to be able to put a face (or maybe half a face with our masks!) on some of the names we heard in our conversations with him over the years.  We always enjoyed hearing about the train layouts, the festival of trees, the annual open house tours, the weekly lunches, and, of course, all the great deals he got on parts!

We owe you all an immeasurable debt of gratitude.  God bless you for your kindness and may it return to you a thousand-fold.”

Sincerely,
Beth Zukowski and Odette Ashby

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Club members typically “fly the coup” during the mid-summer months to enjoy sightseeing travels and family vacations, oftentimes in cooler climates.  That said, let’s see what folks accomplished in August beginning with an announcement concerning this year’s layout tour.

  • In light of COVID-19, CCMRRC Officers have decided a modification of this year’s November Layout Tour is required.  Rather than canceling the event outright, it was decided those individuals choosing to open their layouts will notify one of our Layout Tour Coordinators (Al Thorne, Terry Schramm, or Larry Schneider) with their decision by September 30th.  (As a reminder, tour dates are Friday, November 6 through Monday, November 9.)  Based on those decisions, a list of open railroads and the owner’s contact information will be published on the CCMRRC website and NMRA Southern Division Facebook page beginning Thursday, October 1st Other than this, no other promotion of the event will be undertaken.  No specific dates or times will be published, only the names and contact information.  It will be the owner’s responsibility to schedule the visitations and screen the individuals touring the layout.  Any questions about this year’s event should be directed to Al Thorne (homeplat@infowest.com), Terry Schramm (tschramm63@gmail.com) or Larry Schneider (peggy.larry.schneider@gmail.com).

  • Progress on the Lionel Group’s project layout can be seen HERE.  Jim Clark, Dan Mangiaracina, and Bob Mallory are busy installing the wiring for building lights.

  • Speaking of Bob Mallory, he’s added details to his garage-based Lionel railroad as seen HERE.  Scroll down to the New Additions as of 08/24/2020.

  • Larry Schneider has visited several locations in Colorado over the past few weeks.  Click HERE for the Moffat Railroad Museum and steam crane, HERE for David Moffat’s exquisite Marcia passenger car, HERE for the depot at Steamboat Springs, and HERE for Ron Senek G scale layout in Grand Junction.

  • Doug Whetstone is hanging drywall and painting the train room after water damage.  He promises a short write up with photos for October’s Newsletter.

  • Werner’s Balsterholt’s newest completed puzzle “Rounding the Corner” can be seen HERE.

  • To depict tar paper roofing on my roundhouse, I’m using overlapped strips of ½” black gaffer tape.  Once the tape is down, Bragdon “Dust Bowl Brown” weathering powder is applied with a makeup sponge.  See the progress HERE and scroll down to number 39.


Until October,
All Aboard !!