December 2021 Newsletter

 

Well, it’s that magic time of year again.  For me, memories of Lionel trains circling beneath the tree for hours at full transformer speed.  And as long as the bottom branches where metal icicles hung didn’t droop too low, no short circuits across the rails would create sparks or impede forward train movement.  Eventually the gondola, flat car, and every horizontal surface were piled high with needles to say nothing of the track, no matter how much water was added to the tree stand.  Funny what we remember, huh?

Club Business

To say this year’s CCMRRC Layout Tour was a tremendous success is quite the understatement considering the 3500+ individual visits to the 18 model railroads on display!  The Club sincerely appreciates St. George News (for the article, click HERE), Senior Sampler, Radio 100.3FM, State Bank of Southern Utah, Golden West Credit Union, and JADAM, LLC for their support in publicizing the event with articles, electronic billboards, or providing locations where our banners could be placed. 

Also joining us again this year were Dale and Karyn Angel of Toy Man TV who visited G scale layouts in SunRiver.  This year’s visit, plus three more videos from our 2019 event, are listed below.

·       November 28, 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ohkAge3LM

·       January 12, 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh9Bnw6qP44

·       January 5, 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs--FyhaIyo

·       December 29, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1Sx1hRB-fA

Click HERE for Larry Schneider’s photos of layouts belonging to Bob Mallory, Bryan Enarson, Keith Johnson, Richard Schacht, Ron Smith, Byron Rasmussen, and Dan Mangiarcina.  Photos of Larry’s railroad taken in daytime and nighttime conditions are displayed at the bottom.

In case you missed seeing the SunRiver layouts in person this year, you’re in luck.  The SunRiver Junction Holiday Model Train Tour will be held on Wednesday, December 29th from 1:00PM to 4:00PM.  Click HERE for the flyer.

While the Lionel Project Railroad was on display during the tour this year, Board #1 (aka Module #1) was sold to a family from Bloomington.  To see what they purchased, click HERE and scroll through the first 20+ photos which detail the board’s evolution from framing through completion.

As a reminder, this year’s Christmas Party is canceled as indicated by a majority of club members responding to Al Thorne’s survey on the subject.

Club Layouts

Our N-scale VP, Rich Wilson, shared photos of his new 3’x5’ layout known as Sandy River.  Click HERE and scroll down to the December 2021 Update.

Train Shows

The Kanab Train Show dates have been announced.  Click HERE for the flyer.

Modeling News

Club member Tom Lantry passes along a lesson he learned about decoder programming with JMRI.  “My learning curve in HO trains continues with forays down the rabbit hole of Java Model Railroad Interface. I discovered you can program a DCC locomotive to perform its various features upon entry and exit of occupancy blocks. For instance, you can have a loco ring the bell, blow the horn, speed up, slow down, pause, and more, automatically every time it passes through the blocks.

These require no programming code; you just select from drop down options. They are called ACTIONS and are found within the section of JMRI called DISPATCHER which allows you to automate the running of trains through pre-chosen routes.

I’ve run four trains which follow each other around the loop layout while maintaining spacing, obeying signals, each performing different programmed ACTION routines, such as blowing the horn according to the block number a loco is entering. One short blast for Block 1, two short blasts for Block 2, etc. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah to everyone.”

Tom's latest layout photo is shown under the December 2021 Update.  Click HERE to see it.

How to Make Paved Roads and Scenery for Your Model Trains https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/making-paved-roads-model-trains-2382042

Rev. Len Walker’s O-Scale Model Railroad Layout https://smokesignalsnews.com/columns/train_layouts/rev-len-walker-s-o-scale-model-railroad-layout/article_63e31e84-5515-11eb-9199-0f4700864ef2.html

All Aboard: For Model Railroad Enthusiasts, the Joy is in the Details https://www.statecollege.com/all-aboard-for-model-railroad-enthusiasts-the-joy-is-in-the-details/

Colorado Model Railroad Museum - Thanksgiving 2021 Newsletter https://youtu.be/QeOJOMKO5yc

Remsen model train show had something for everyone. https://www.wktv.com/templates/AMP?contentID=575786091

New Disney Parks Lionel Train Set Steams into Walt Disney World https://wdwnt.com/2021/11/photos-new-disney-parks-lionel-train-set-steams-into-walt-disney-world/

Britain’s biggest model railway goes on display. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Mcgp6Dtq8

Railfanning

Club member Bryan Osborn recently visited Durango and Ely and forwarded THESE cell phone photos.  “In August I rode the train from Durango to Silverton.  Beautiful scenery.  The highlight for me was bumming a ride on the track inspection car.  The first 7 pictures are from that trip.  The rest of the photos are from an October train ride in Ely.  They let me stand in the engine and watch while they shoveled coal and even gave me a chunk as a souvenir.  I rode in the caboose on that ride.  The cat is the railroad’s 14-year-old mascot named "Dirt".  The name came from taking the cat to the vet for a bath and checkup, but as soon as they got back to the yard it spent 10 minutes rolling around in the dirt and coal dust.”

IHB GP38 3800: Reborn, Rededicated https://www.railwayage.com/mechanical/locomotives/ihb-gp38-3800-reborn-rededicated/

Railroading's Most Famous Diesel https://www.wearerailfans.com/c/article/railroadings-most-famous-diesel 

Until January, Lee and I wish everyone a joyous and plentiful holiday season!!  Stay safe.

ALL ABOARD!