February 2024 Newsletter

Posted by Lloyd Thomson January 31, 2024

February 2024 Newsletter

The first Denver & Salt Lake Railroad Ski Train (Denver & Rio Grande Western's predecessor) was inaugurated 88 years ago on February 9, 1936. Read more here: https://railfan.com/remembering-the-rio-grande-ski-train/.

CCMRRC Winter Social - Bryan Enarson tells us more about the event organized in lieu of the Christmas Party. “The Board is extending a personal invitation to our 2024 kickoff pizza party! You and your guest will be treated to all you can eat pizza and salad bar. Come see photos and videos taken of member railroads over the years. RSVP Bryan Enarson via email to bryanlax@aol.com by February 13.”

· Date: February 16th

· Time: 3 pm

· Place: Pizza Factory, 2 W St George Blvd

February Luncheon Dates

February 2^nd and February 16^th - Bloomington Country Club at 11:30am. If you plan to attend, contact Bryan Enarson (bryanlax@aol.com) no later than the Wednesday before the luncheon. Unlike a typical restaurant which welcomes any number of patrons anytime during business hours, the country club arranges tables and chairs specifically for our luncheons. Again, if you plan to attend, contact Bryan at the email above.

2024 Club Dues, Name Badges, & T-shirts

From Larry Schneider ”Thank all of you that have paid you dues for 2024. I have received dues from more than 35 members. I also want to remind you Name Badges are available for those members still needing one. There is a small cost, members $5, non-members $10. Spouses and plus ones are always welcome at our events. Also, I still have T-Shirts left. All remaining black shirts are 2X or larger. I have 1 XL in red and the remaining are also 2X or 3X. Each shirt is $10. For name badges, reply to peggy.larry.schneider@gmail.com with the exact spelling of the first and last name. If you want a shirt, reply to Larry with the size and color you want. The Name Tags and the T-shirts will be ready for you BEFORE the Pizza Party. Name Badges will be ordered in early February. Shirts are available now.”

Spring BBQ – May 18^th (See future newsletters)

Pediatric Playroom & Children’s Museum

Larry Schneider tells us more about the museum railroad. “The train is run so much that we continue to have equipment failures. The LGB loco we've been using failed around a month ago. Fortunately, Bryan Enarson donated a Piko loco and after some work, Tim got it operational and it's now running at the museum. We also have a small diesel switcher as a backup which still continues to perform well. An analysis of the LGB loco found the motor burned up along with damage to the sound card and the motor control board. Since we now have a microprocessor-controlled power center we are exploring the ability to limit layout runtime to increase locomotive longevity.”

The current status of the Pediatric Playroom layout comes from Werner Balsterholt. “Tim Fitch and his neighbor, Ian, installed the new train controller and connected it to the playroom railroad. I took a couple of photographs as they were working.” Click HERE and scroll down to the February 2024 Update for photos.

Member Railroads

Dale and Karyn Angell (Toy Man TV) visited several club member layouts during our tour in November. Published on their YouTube channel over the past few weeks are these layout visits:

· Eldon Chouinard, Joe Adair & Paul Bottino

https://youtu.be/BFqDIG0hJOE?feature=shared

· Dick Saunders & Tim Fitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MpnAftlucg

Newest Club Project Railroad

Because of the very generous donation of 1948 vintage American Flyer locomotives, rolling stock, and track from Paul Benedict, Mesquite, club members have begun building a 4x8 layout for possible donation for this year’s Jubilee of Trees. Here are PHOTOS of Bob Mallory, Dan Mangiaracina, Bryan Enarson, Larry Schneider, and Richard Schacht building the project’s benchwork. As work continues, check future newsletters for photos and descriptions.

For information about American Flyer history, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Flyer.

Member Marketplace

“HEY NARROW GAUGE FANS. I (Dick Gibbons) have some Durango & Silverton narrow gauge photos on my portable hard drive you might be interested in. At Durango (11 photos). At Silverton (70 photos). Plus 7 short videos and some photos of a D&RG display. All were taken around 2010. Also have a bunch of different railroad photos, mostly taken in the northeast. If you're interested in copies, contact me at gibbons@infowest.com.”

HO scale layout for sale – 4’ x 14’ mounted on 3 tables. The owner is asking $1,900. The layout is fully landscaped but needs wiring and power. Locomotives and rolling stock are included. Contact Bryan Enarson at bryanlax@aol.com for more details. Click HERE for a photo of the layout.

UP’s 4014 “Four Corners” 2024 Schedule

https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/index.htm

Upcoming Train Shows and Conventions

· Kanab Train Show

Robert Lacey tells us more about the upcoming show. “We invite you to the 9th annual Kanab Train Show, Feb. 9-10, 2024. We're expecting layouts in N, HO, HOn3, O, Lionel Standard Gauge, and G. We'll also have a big Lego display and several vendors. See www.kanabtrainshow.com for further details. Questions, please contact kanabtrainshow@gmail.com. We hope to see you there. Come introduce yourself - I'll be in the conductor suit.”

· Hostlers Model Railroad 2024 Festival

March 1-3, 2024

Ogden Union Station

Ogden, UT

https://hostlers.info/

· Evanston, WY Operations N-Scale Weekend 2024

July 24-28 2024

Roundhouse and Machine Shop

Evanston, WY

https://nscalemeet.info/about/

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