Happy Independence Day everyone! Stay Safe!
Club News
Larry Schneider describes
recent RIP track activities at the Children’s Museum. “Tim Fitch installed
a new slow-start slow-stop controller at the museum. It is working great as seen
in the video HERE. (note it was set for a
10 second run time for testing in this video and then reset for 120 seconds for
actual operation). We want to make a few minor mods to fix some potential
EMI/EMF interference. It is still operational and under kid (button) control.
This was done as the quick start and stop plus the long run time caused the LGB
engine to fail. This should help correct that. Currently we are running the 4th
of July train the G group put together along with a locomotive Tim donated for use
until the LGB unit is repaired and back in place.”
Clubhouse
Status
As
reported earlier, the City of St. George set a June 30th deadline to
vacate the 300S location. As of today,
the CCMRRC is officially “homeless” but all club belongings are now stored safely
off-site until a suitable location can be found. ALL CLUB MEMBERS:
PLEASE forward any possible very low cost or free locations to Al Thorne. (homeplat@infowest.com)
July Luncheon dates
July 7th and July 21st - Bloomington Country Club at
11:30am. If you plan to attend, contact
Bryan Enarson (bryanlax@aol.com) no later than July 5th and/or July
19th. NOTE: Unlike a typical restaurant which welcomes
any number of patrons, the country club arranges tables and chairs specifically
for our luncheons. Again, if you plan to
attend, contact Bryan at the email above.
Member Railroads
Al Thorne recently added to his Lionel railroad. Click HERE and scroll down to the July 2023
Update for photos.
Dan Mangiaricina updates us on his post-war
Lionel layout redesign project. “After
having several problems with the reverse loop, I decided to remove it and
reroute the inner track around the lake, past the fire station, in and around
the nursery and a straight run along the one side of the layout. In doing this.
I had to redesign the roads, install three traffic gates and redo the
landscaping. As for now everything is running smoothly.” Chick HERE and scroll down to July 2023 Update to
see photos.
Longtime club member and G scale modeler Paul
Bottino built a new railroad but indoors this time. He summarizes its construction process here. “First, I built four
tables, four feet by eight feet. Then I bolted them together to build an eight’
by sixteen’ structure covered with plywood; 42 inches high. Great for
viewing and working on trains.”
Click HERE and scroll down to the July 2023 Update.
New member Kurt Rakozy shares photos of his Lionel
railroad HERE.
Bob Lacey (of Kanab Train Show fame) shares his description
and photos of the modular HO scale railroad he recently displayed at the
Bristlecones and Bricks Train Show in the historic Freight Barn.
“Our
HO scale, 10-module layout has been under construction for the last 5 years or
so. We've only shown it at the annual Kanab Train Show each February, but we
were excited to take it on the road to Ely, NV. We really enjoyed the show. I highly recommend a visit to the railroad if
you've never gone. The show is primarily a Lego show, which was fine by us, as
we also enjoy Lego projects (Peter won awards for his F-22 Raptor and AH-1Z
custom builds).
The
layout is a freelanced subdivision of the Rio Grande and Espee, imagined as
though the DRGW purchased the Western Pacific but continued running the shared
directional main setup through Nevada jointly with SP. We are set up to run
trains from the 1950s, the 1990s, and are hoping to assemble a third fleet to
show the post-UP merger modern era.
This
spring, we worked extensively on the desert modules, laying down a lot of dirt
and making a lot of sagebrush, thanks to Rob Spangler's instructions on MRH
(Model Railroad Hobbyist). We've started to experiment with a DIY static grass
applicator, but are still trying to get the hang of it. While at the show,
Peter worked on getting the lights to illuminate in many of the structures salvaged
from an abandoned layout in Kanab, with great results.
The
layout also includes a small town, a 5-track yard, a sawmill with associated
logging branch, and a roundhouse (with a mostly-working turntable).
Control
is provided for DC and DCC operations using a Digitrax DCS 50 connected to a
Raspberry Pi/JRMI setup (with many thanks to Dave Merrill for help on that end
of it).
Long
term, we plan to create a farm area on one end and complete scenery through the
yard. We plan to show the layout at the Kanab show each year, plus maybe one or
two more shows annually. We are always happy to host visiting trains from other
railroads. At the Kanab show, members for the Rio Grande Modelling and
Historical Society regularly run their equipment on our layout, a tradition
we're happy to continue.
We
are open to anyone that might be interested in building pairs of modules that
could join with us. While the modules aren't built strictly to a national
standard, they roughly follow a 2-track version of the NMRA standard (almost
like the HO version of the NTrak standard).
If
anyone has an Amtrak or Rio Grande/California Zephyr set that wants a home, or
a set of double stack cars, we're in the market.
We're
excited to be part of the club, and hope to be able to join in on some of your
activities in the future. Robert & Peter Lacey, Orderville, UT” Click HERE for photos.
Modeling News, Techniques, and Products
Tips for Better Tubular Track (Lionel)
Choosing how high to place a layout backdrop
Noteworthy Model Railroads (non-CCMRRC)
Bill Scobie Sn3 Narrow Guage Layout
2021 National Garden Railway Society (3 layouts)
GB&J Railroad by Dr. Jack & Claire Fisher (note
the sculpted vegetation)
Permanent Garden Railroads You Can Visit
Upcoming Train Shows, Conventions, and Rides
38th National Garden Railway Convention
July 1-8, 2023
Santa Clara Convention Center (located in CA)
Freedom Train
Heber Valley Railroad
450 South 600 West, Heber City, UT 84032
Tuesday, July 4
Rock-n-Roll Train
Heber Valley Railroad
450 South 600 West, Heber City, UT 84032
Friday, July 21, 6:30pm - Midnight
Fiddlers and Fireworks Train (Celebrating
Pioneer Days)
Heber Valley Railroad
450 South 600 West, Heber City, UT 84032
Monday, July 24
Texas Express - Supercharged, High Speed, Streamlined (NMRA convention)
August 20-26, 2023
Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center
1501 Gaylord Trail
Grapevine, TX 76051
Rocky Mountain Region Convention – “Rails Along the
Rio Grande”
November 9-12, 2023
Albuquerque, NM
Prototype, Railfanning, and
History
Union Pacific and
National Park Foundation Unveil New Pullman Porters Mural
10 Obscure Prototype Railcars
CSX Queensland Hump Yard
(operation video)
Video of Prototype Ballast
Spreading
Union Pacific Armour
Yellow: The paint scheme that never always changes
New Locomotive Build
Market: Nonexistent for Now?
Sorting out locomotive
headlights and class lights
Nevada County Narrow Gauge
Railroad Museum https://ncngrrmuseum.org/
Biggest steam switcher:
Union Railroad’s 0-10-2
Until August, All
Aboard !!
Lloyd Thomson
