The Passing Track

January - February, 2009

Newsletter of the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club

PO Box 1362—Medford, OR 97501

The Home Stretch

One year ago, the following headline appeared in the Passing Track…”Planning Meeting Sets Goals and Standards Construction Phase II Set to Begin November 2008”. Preliminary work, indeed, began in November with the organization of the shed for module storage, the reduction of excess modules, the cleanup of the area where the peninsula was to be built, and the purchasing of material. In the course of the past month, the final phase on the permanent layout has come alive! The old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words is never more true...

Part of the construction crew (Larry Tuttle, Brad Fawcett and Paul Konig)

With the construction, operational possibilities were suddenly realized, visitor experiences will be enhanced, and a dream of years (if not decades) of planning and vision came to fruition in one fell swoop. This was the club’s moment of “awe and construction”!

Dave Spakousky “walks” the line with a tour of the new layout as a number of club members look on.

In approximately one month, the bench work was built, the track layout designed and the electrical wiring put in place. This incredible amount of work was the result of a number of club members dedicating 3-4 days per week for a month. The final phase of the permanent layout will also become the testing ground for the signal and detection system designed by Ed Kleinman.

Ed Kleinman’s modified detector motherboard that will be used in the mountain at Keno. This unit will be used to detect occupancy on the helix, on the SP main staging track within the mountain, and on the bridge.

The original C/MRI detector motherboard is intended for use in a single sub-district, and it accommodates 12 detectors. This capacity is beyond what is useful for us since we will have 11 sub-districts on the layout (8 on the original U-shaped portion, 2 on the new peninsula, and 1 on the helix) and since in a given sub-district we will have no more than about 6 signal blocks that need detection. In the interest of saving money, the original detector motherboards were modified so that we can use a single motherboard for two (or more) sub-districts. Translation…modifications were made for a more efficient and cheaper detection and signaling system.

This is the demonstration unit Ed Kleinman developed to display the signaling and detection system. Ed’s meticulous wiring is in itself a work of art!

The board approved requests to purchase a complete signal and detection system and the approximate 65 turnouts, cork roadbed, track, ground throws and miscellaneous components at several board meetings in December and January. There is high expectation that the final phase will be operational with at least a loop of track by the opening of the Railroad Park Sunday open houses in April. It is estimated that the Club will be able to operate 6-8 trains simultaneously on Sunday runday with the completion of the permanent layout loop. Such a possibility means there will be plenty of railroad eye candy for the public to enjoy. Moreover, the public will have numerous vantage points from which to enjoy the entire layout.

January Board Meeting Notes

The meeting on January 14 was called to order at 7:35 p.m. with four board members and six club members present. The minutes from December’s board meeting were approved with some minor corrections.

Dave Spakousky has completed the shelving in the storage shed to house some of the modules and donated nearly $100.00 worth of materials toward the project. (Some of the modules are now neatly stored in the shed and it looks great!—ed.) He and Larry Tuttle are inventorying and organizing the RVMRC’s various supplies, particularly from under the modular part of the layout, and storing them in boxes. Mr. Wayne Leiufelder donated issues of Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, and Trains Magazines to the club. Jay Mudge noted that the club’s videos and DVDs need to be inventoried and stored. Jim Dougall noted he would do so.

The club has received a membership application from Rick Coclasure. Rick will be invited to the club to get to know us and vice versa prior to the club voting on his membership application. (Rick was approved as a full member at the Annual Report General Membership Meeting on January 28—ed.)

John Gerritsma, the Passing Track editor, would like to “retire” from newsletter duties if someone is willing to take over the position. He did not want members who are critical to the buildout of the second phase to take on the additional duties of writer/editor. Jay will provide a topic/program for the January membership meeting.

Those involved with the benchwork of the permanent layout have decided to forego construction of the temporary shelter outside the building for a sawshed as previously approved by the board. Given the relatively nice spell of weather, it does not appear to be needed. Saw work will occur outside the backdoor.

Brad’s Railroad Show committee for 2009 will be meeting February 11.

Surplus modules of the club’s old layout have been given to a startup club in Yreka, to Ed Kleinman for signal testing, and to the Klamath Rails modelers such that all of the surplus modules have left the building. This was necessary to provide room to begin the final construction phase. There was no interest in an N-scale layout Jim Dougall has been storing at home, so he will dispose of it, having salvaged what was salvageable.

Jim Dougall and Dave Carr have offered to work up an inventory and estimate value of Roger Watkins’ and Stretch Manley’s donated model railroad items to the club.

The annual report will be presented at the January General Membership Meeting, and copies will be mailed to all full club members (those with voting rights).

Klamath Falls Railroad Show

This year’s railroad show will be held March 13-15, and the RVMRC has been invited once again to the Klamath Museum’s annual event. Bruce McGarvey would like solid commitment from those planning to attend so we have sufficient numbers of people to load, setup and tear down the layout. Jim Dougall, Brad Fawcett (80% sure) and Bruce McGarvey committed. John Gerritsma committed to helping loading and unloading at the clubhouse. (Subsequently, additional persons committed to the trip and to help load/unload, so the club has committed to the Museum—ed.)

McGarvey Resigns Treasurer Post

Bruce McGarvey tendered his resignation as treasurer of the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club effective January 31, 2009. A special board meeting was called by Club President Dave Carr on February 14 to appoint a replacement to fill the vacant treasurer position on the RVMRC Board of Directors. Gerald Hellinga was appointed to fill the post for the remainder of the term which is set to expire May 31, 2009. A third signatory (President Dave Carr) will be added to the checking account.

A Visit to the North Carolina Railroad Museum

By Brad Fawcett

While visiting family in Raleigh, N.C., over the recent holidays, I had the opportunity to visit the North Carolina Railroad Museum. This open-air museum is located in Bonsal, N.C., about 20 miles west of Raleigh, and is operated by the East Carolina Chapter of the NRHS. The museum is home to the New Hope Valley Railroad; the “NHVRy” has been an operating tourist railroad since the mid-1980s.

The New Hope Valley Railroad was initially incorporated in 1904, reorganized as the Durham & South Carolina Railroad (D&SC) in 1905, and completed construction of 31 miles of track in 1906. The railroad ran from a point near New Hill, along the Raleigh & Augusta Air Line Railroad (later renamed the Seaboard Airline Railroad, and now part of CSX) north to Durham, NC. In 1911, the D&SC was extended ten miles further south to connect to the Norfolk Southern Railroad

The original purpose of the D&SC was to support a local timber industry largely dedicated to manufacturing railroad ties, including a sawmill at Farrington and a planar mill in Bonsal. Eventually, shipments expanded to include goods such as cotton, corn, beans, and tobacco. Operations from 1906 to 1931 consisted of a mixed train (both freight and passenger) each way on a daily schedule. In 1920, the D&SC was leased to the Norfolk Southern. The highly-profitable “American Tobacco Spur” was built in 1924, running directly into the American Tobacco Company plant in Durham.

In the early 1980’s, construction of the New Hope Dam created Jordan Lake in the New Hope Valley, inundating much of the original railway as well as several communities along the line. The track used by the NHVRy today is part of the relocated line built to replace the flooded track. It was last used for revenue service by the Southern Railway in 1981. Since then, the track north of New Hill has been removed for salvage, and the right-of-way is now part of a hiking trail known as the American Tobacco Trail.

The East Carolina Chapter of the NRHS operates a tourist train over about six miles of remaining track between Bonsal and New Hill. Trains operate on the first Sunday of the month, May through December. The museum itself consists of the historic equipment in the NHVRY’s Bonsal yard and a large garden railroad.

The roster of equipment on display in the yard includes one 0-4-0T steam locomotive (built in 1941 by Vulcan Iron Works) and a number of small (85-ton to 25-ton) diesel locomotives. The museum claims to have “one of the finest collections of General Electric and Whitcomb diesel locomotives in the country.” Their rolling stock includes three wood-sided cabooses, open-air excursion cars fashioned from flat cars, and a Southern Railway Post Office & Baggage combine.

Besides some nicely renovated and restored prototypes, the Bonsal yard contains a fair amount of discarded pieces of equipment that look as if they haven’t been touched or moved in years. I was particularly fascinated by a modified flat car that I spotted near the back of the yard. The flat car had an unusually high deck, and the deck was cut short to provide room for a motor and an operator’s station at one end. Gutters - not unlike the rain gutters found on most houses - ran along both sides of the flat car. My curiosity peaked, I sought out one of the locals who was repairing an excursion car. He indicated that the flat car was a special car modified by General Electric for use in a large power plant nearby. The car was self-propelled (hence, the motor) and was used for moving large turbines during construction of the power plant. The car also was used as a “holder” for the turbines as they were being washed and painted; the gutters helped to keep that process from creating too much of a mess!

More information about the North Carolina Railroad Museum can be found at www.nhvry.org. While the museum does not boast much in the way of formal exhibits, any railfan that enjoys poking around a collection of unique historical railroad equipment will relish a Saturday afternoon in Bonsal. I hope to return some day when the trains are running….

Historic Ashland Railroad Museum

On the second Friday of each month, there is a presentation at the historic Ashland Railroad Museum. In January, the museum presented the award winning documentary Riding the Rails, which is a documentary on the history of 250,000 American teenagers who left their homes and hopped frieght trains during the Great Depression. This film features music from Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rogers and Doc Watson. It is a excellent documentary about a generation of teenagers that left home (some for financial reasons and some seeking adventure) to hop the trains and travel by train across the United States.

In February, the museum presented a film in honor of Black History Month titled, “Rising from the Rails. The film honors the legacy of the Pullman Porters. The film is a poignant tribute to these amazing men who rose, with dignity, from the rails. The Pullman Porters were trailblazers that would go onto become leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, and whose sons and daughters were influential African Americans.

As always the presentations are free, with a suggested donation of $3-5 to cover the cost of putting the event on. Refreshments are provided. The presentations are at 6:30pm at 258 A Street, Suite7 (upstairs). The museum is located in the upstairs part of the building that Lela's restaurant is in,
or the building across the street from Ace Hardware.

The next program in March will be on Friday, March 13.

March 2008 Calendar of Events

RAILROAD TIME CARDS 2009

Mar 7 – Willamette Model Railroad Club 24^th Annual Railroad Swap Meet, The New Hope Church, 11731 SE Stevens Rd., Clackamas, Ore. Info.: Rick Andrews 503-642-3298 or drdrews1@version.net

Mar 13-15 - Klamath County Museum Railroad Show, 1451 Main Street, Klamath Falls, Ore. Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club, Klamath Rails Club and others. Info: Bruce 541-890-8145 or iwcrr@charter.net or Joe Brick 541-883-3071 and check http://www.co.klamath.or.us/museum/Profile%20KCM.htm.

April 18-19 – Willamette Cascade Model RR Club, 21^st Model Railroad Show & Swap Meet, Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene, Ore. Sat 10am – 5PM, Sun 10am – 4pm. Info.: Lee & Diane Temple, 541-954-4917or ttandt@ram-mail.com

May 2-3 – Model Train Swap Meet & Show, Rickreall Grange Hall, 280 Main Street “Hwy 99W”, Rickreall, Ore. 10am – 4pm. Info.: Tom Pryor 2085 S Pacific West, Dallas, OR 97338

Nov 28-29 – 32^nd Rogue Valley Railroad Show, Medford Armory, Medford, Ore. Show time: Sat. 10am – 5pm, Sun. 11am – 4 pm. Model railroad displays, exhibits, swap meet, door prizes, raffle and more. Info: Bill 541-821-5547 or Brad 541-535-7952 bfawcett@mind.net

Dec 5 – Rickreal Railroad Show & Swap Meet, Poke County Fairgrounds, Show time 10am – 3pm. Info: Judy MacInnes 503-581-6071 or macinnej@msn.com

01/29/09

Rogue Valley Model RR Club

PO Box 1362

Medford, OR 97501-0102