Category: News

From the Desk of the Superintendent

The monthly meeting of the South Mountain Division (SMD) will be held on Sunday, December 11th at the home of Division member Jeff Grove.   This will be the third in-person meeting home meeting of the division for this year (2022 – 2023).  Obviously, if you have symptoms of Covid or have recently been exposed, we would ask you not to attend.  Otherwise, everyone is welcome.

The meeting location is in the Hagerstown, MD area. Please email the Superintendent at southmountaindiv@gmail.com for the street address.  As per normal (whatever that is) activities are scheduled to start at 2:00 PM but reasonably early arrivals are welcome.  Jeff’s home is a side by side duplex with dual driveways.  Jeff’s drive is the one on the right and he requests that you do not block any of the driveways in the area when parking (park on street).  When you walk up Jeff’s driveway turn to the right and enter the basement using the outside basement door.

Jeff’s previous layout was the victim of several moves so what we will be seeing on the 11th is a totally new and features many craftsman kits.

Following the business meeting we will have a rather unusual clinic presented by Jeff.  Many of you are probably aware that Jeff is the proprietor of Carolina Craftsmen Kits.  Jeff will be making a presentation on the process he uses to identify new kit concept, design and produce them.  Many of his ideas and processes can be useful to all of us when it comes to selecting and building structures for our layouts even if you don’t use craftsman kits yourself.

The turnout for the first two fact to face meetings of this year (and the live May 2022 meeting) has been very good.  Let’s keep up the trend and have an even better turnout on the 11th.

 

Bob Johnson
2022-2023 SMD Superintendent

Please find the November draft meeting minutes at this link <https://portal.smdnmra.org/2022/12/06/smd-draft-meeting-minutes-13-november/>.

SMD Draft Meeting Minutes – 13 November

Division members met in-person at the home of Paul Mahoney near Frederick, MD.  18 or so were present. After viewing the layout and socializing, the Superintendant welcomed everyone and called the business meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.  It was noted that this is just the 3rd in-person meeting since the pandemic started.

22.11–1​Paymaster’s Report:  Paymaster Ray Price reported the SMD bank balance was $3,457.91 (the same as last month).

22.11-2​Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes): The attendees dispensed with the reading/summary of the minutes (previously distributed by e-mail), and per Roberts Rules of Order, the draft minutes, as submitted, were approved by acclamation.

22-11.3​The SMD welcomed a possible new member named Leo.

Old Business:  

22.3–3​Meeting Reminders: There was a brief discussion of email meeting reminders. It seems that, while reports of the first mailing not getting to all members had been made, only one of those present actually experienced the issue. All received the 2nd notice.

22-10.5​Mini-Con 2023:   The Mini-Con date is set for the first Saturday in April – April 1, 2023– the week before Easter.

New Business:  

22-11.4​A Summer Trip in 2023: Two destinations were discussed:  1) the Western Maryland Scenic RR in Cumberland and 2) the EBT in Orbisonia. No official vote was taken but many voices spoke in favor of the EBT. The Clarkes pointed out that FEBT would be willing to open the Robertsdale Museum for the SMD.

22-11.5​Upcoming train shows were discussed, but there were too many to get all the details. There was a suggestion that the newsletter list them.

22-11.6 Host Paul Mahoney briefly spoke of his, “It’s just fun” philosophy of model railroading.

Adjournment:  The Superintendant accepted a motion to adjourn.  The next meeting on Sunday,December 11, 2022 will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Jeff Grove’s home near Maugansville, MD.  It will be an in-person, face-to-face meeting.  Members will be reminded by e-mail.

Notes for the Minutes taken by Pete Clarke and formatted by Clerk Harvey Heyser

Following the meeting, host Paul Mahoney presented a clinic on 3-D printing.

Draft Meeting Minutes – 9 October

Division members met in-person at the home of Superintendant Bob Johnson near Jefferson, MD.  16 or so were present, including the Superintendent, Paymaster, Newsletter Editor, and Mini-Con Coordinator.  After viewing the layout, the Superintendent welcomed everyone to the first in-home meeting since March 2020 at Jay Beckham’s and called the business meeting to order.

22.10–1​Paymaster’s Report:  Paymaster Ray Price reported the SMD bank balance was $3,457.91 and confirmed that the SMD is still receiving approximately $40 from MER twice a year.  He also reported that the SMD account is now with Truist after a merger between BB&T and Suntrust.

22.10-2​Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes):  In the Clerk’s absence, the Superintendent explainedwhy past meeting minutes had not yet been approved.

–​March meeting minutes:  the Superintendent asked for motion to approve the revised draft March meeting minutes.  Ron Polimeni made the following motion (second by Grant Berry):

Motion:  That the draft Minutes for the March 2022 meeting be approved as revised.  The motion carried.

–​May meeting minutes:  the Superintendent asked for motion to approve the revised draft Maymeeting minutes.  Grant Berry made the following motion (second by Ray Price):

Motion:  That the draft Minutes for the May 2022 meeting be approved as revised.  The motion carried.

– September meeting minutes:  Per Roberts Rules of Order, the draft minutes, as submitted, were approved by acclamation.

22-10.3​The SMD welcomed new member Mark R.

Old Business:  There were no items of old business discussed.

New Business:  

22-10.4​A Planning Meeting held prior to the start of the meeting year.  The Superintendent reported that the decision was made to hold the September meeting by Zoom and that the remainder of the meetings would be in-person with the following hosts:  Bob Johnson to host October, Paul Mahoney to host November, Jeff Groves to host December, Steve King to host Jan, Pete & Jane Clarke to host February, Andrew Dodge to host March, no confirmed date for Mini-Con, and Rich Randall to host May.

22-10.5​Mini-Con 2023:  Chair Grant Berry raised the issue of attendance dropping after lunch atpast Mini-Cons and suggested a revised schedule with informal clinics running through until noon followed by a roundtable / panel discussion with guests.  He asked for member input on the revised format.  A suggestion was made to pre-load the roundtable / panel discussion with starter audience questions determined beforehand.

Another suggestion was made to hold the raffle drawing after the roundtable / panel.

Chair Berry asked for membership to be considerate of Brian Wolfe’s support of the Mini-Con.

Mini-Con Finances:  Paymaster Ray Price reported that we earned $150 after expenses on the raffle last year (2022). Normally our only expenditures are the gift card for the raffle and morning coffee + donuts.

Modular Layouts:  The consensus was to invite layouts back if they wish to attend.

22-10.6​Newsletter (Wheel Report):  Editor Alex Polimeni asked for input regarding format of newsletter.  He raised the possibility of publishing a larger, more conventional newsletter once or twice a year.  The Consensus of the discussion was to move to a monthly format, shrink newsletter size, and focus on highlighting the upcoming month’s events and presenters.  Editor Polimeni announced that first issue of new format will be December 2022.

22-10.7​Hybrid Meetings:  Alex Polimeni requested input.  The consensus was that such meetings are doable but difficult.  He will investigate and attempt to implement options.

22-10.8​Audit:  The Superintendent reported that an Audit Commission will be set up at the next officer’s meeting.

Adjournment:  The Superintendant accepted a motion to adjourn.  The next meeting on November 13, 2022 will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Paul Mahoney’s home in Frederick, MD.  It will be an in-person, face-to-face meeting.  Members will be reminded by e-mail.

Notes for the Minutes taken by Alex Polimeni and formatted by Clerk Harvey Heyser

Following the meeting, host Bob Johnson presented a clinic on the concept of increasing layout realism by viewing the layout as a series of stages, utilizing concepts such as view blocking, viewing angles, scene exits (exit stage left) and forced perspective.

SMD Business Meeting – Sunday, 13 Nov

The monthly business meeting of the South Mountain Division will be held on Sunday, November 13th at Division member Paul Mahoney’s home. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or believe you have been recently exposed, we kindly ask you not to attend; otherwise, all are welcome.
Please email the Division at southmountaindiv@gmail.com for the street address.
Activities are scheduled to start at 2pm. Following the business meeting will be a clinic on 3D printing. Minutes from last month’s meeting will be published  this Saturday, as well.
Hope to see you there!
Alex Polimeni Newsletter Editor, writing on behalf of the Superintendent

MER Joint Meet, 5 Nov.

The Potomac Division’s annual Joint Meet with James River will take place on Saturday,November5th at the Battlefield Baptist Church in Warrenton, Virginia, starting at 9 AM.
There will be door prizes, a white elephant table, model judging and a popular vote contest with the theme of Maintenance of Way (MoW) cars — coincidentally, also our Division’s Challenge category for the December-January Flyer issue. The centerpiece of the event will be clinics. The following are already scheduled:

Ken Wilson on Rolling Stock Brake Systems
Brian Sheron, MMR, on Making An Operational Grade Crossing Signal Norm Reid & Jeffrey Fleisher on Model Railroad Photography George Gaige on Building an Operating Water Tank
Phil Taylor on SoundTraxx Blunami
Ernie Little on Decoder Pro

Entry is free as is the parking. We will pass the hat to take up a donation for the church. Past donations from the Joint Meet have helped build a kids camp for inner city children and a feeding program for children in the U.S. and around the world.
The Church is located at 4361 Lee Highway in Warrenton.
There are also three layout open house visits scheduled in the afternoon:
Jim Rogers, Aldie, Virginia: Let’s call it the B&O Cheat River Sub. It is HO, point-to- point, Baltimore to Cincinnati (staging), with main yards in Grafton, WV and Clarksburg, WV. A papermill is served from the Clarksburg yard. The Charleston Sub goes from Grafton to Charleston, WV, where there is an interchange track with the NYC. There are 3 NYC trains coming from Toledo to service Charleston. We use card waybills and Dispatcher control of the main line.

Paul Buzby, Gainesville, Virginia: His HO layout from the late 1950’s to early 1960’s, covers the Southern Jersey region, including the Pennsylvania Reading/Seashore Line, the Pennsylvania RR, the Reading RR, and the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). The layout includes a 17-stall roundhouse with turntable, prototypical track layout of Camden passenger yard with kit bash of Allen Tower, heading south to a scratch-built tower of Newfield, then to Winslow’s kit bash tower, and finishing in Tuckahoe (with a scratch-built tower.Also, displaying an O-gauge layout with some vintage equipment, including an antique Lionel Train.

Marty McGuirk, Gainesville, Virginia: Marty’s HO scale model railroad is inspired by the Central Vermont Railway of the steam era.
Joint Meet Schedule – Potomac & James River Divs.

8:00 am — Set up for Staff, White Elephant tables, etc. 9:00 am — Open for Registration — Gym Entrance
9:20 am — Greeting and Announcements by Superintendents
Pastor Greeting, Prayer, Passing the Donations Bucket — Main Auditorium 9:40 am — Clinics, First Session
Room 106: Ken Wilson, Rolling Stock Brake Systems
Room 107: Brian Sheron, MMR, Making an Operational Grade Crossing Signal Room 111: Norm Reid & Jeffrey Fleisher, Model Railroad Photography
10:25 am — Break for Coffee and White Elephant Shopping — Gym 10:40 am — Clinics, Second Session
Room 106: Phil Taylor, SoundTraxx Blunami
Room 107: George Gaige, Building An Operating Water Tank Room 111: Ernie Little, Using Decoder Pro
11:25 am — Break for Coffee and White Elephant — Gym
11:45 am — Final Assembly — Main Auditorium
12:00 — Popular Vote Results, Raffle (Door Prizes), Closing — Main Auditorium 12:45-1 pm — Clean-up (volunteers) — Everywhere
1pm— OfftoLunch—OnYourOwn
1:30 pm-4 pm — Layout Visits

Here are short descriptions of the clinics:
Brian Sheron, MMR has a clinic on how to build an operational railroad grade crossing (automatically detects approaching train, starts crossbuck flashers and warning bell, lowers gates, and then automatically stops flashers and bell, and raises gates once last car passes the crossing). Included with this clinic is an operational HO scale model of a grade crossing that demonstrates how the gates work, how and where the detectors are located, and how everything is electrically connected.

George Gaige, who developed the prototype for the Broadway Limited Operating Water Tank will show you how to build your own in HO, though the process can be used in any scale. Come and see how to add interest and animation to your layout. This animation is useful for an operations-oriented layout to set the time for how long a water stop lasts during an Ops Session. The accompanying sounds add to the ambiance during the process.
Ernie Little, MMR has a clinic on the JMRI DecoderPro application. The clinic will cover the use of the JMRI DecoderPro application to program Digital Command Control decoders and will include a demonstration of the use of the application.

Ken Wilson’s clinic will provide participants with a clearer understanding of brake systems for both freight and passenger equipment. The way train brakes work, and what all the parts, pipes, and rods are will be demystified using diagrams and photos. Information will be provided to help modelers acquire the parts necessary to super detail cars, or at least upgrade older cars that only have minimal representation of brake equipment.

Philip Taylor’s clinic will focus on the new Soundtraxx Blunami — a device that marries a 2nd generation Bluetooth Radio Control Circuit to a Soundtraxx Tsunami 2 DCC Decoder. We will explore how this unique blend allows control and sound in straight DC, DCC and Dead Rail environments or if you choose some combination of the three options with or without a DCC Command System. There will be a demonstration of how to program the Bluenami and operate it using a phone or tablet with 2 to 3 locomotives.

“White Elephant” Sales Notes:
Who may sell:
Only NMRA members may conduct a sale in this White Elephant sale. Sellers may sell only railroad-related items (model or prototype).
Table Reservations:
Tables are 72” x 30”. Reservations must be requested no later than Wednesday, November 2. You can ask for more than one table.
Requests should be sent to Kenneth Montero by email to: va661midlo@comcast.net. Confirmation will be sent by Thursday, November 3. Questions: Call Ken Montero at 804-794-5704 and leave a message or by email.
Norm Reid & Jeffrey Fleisher will present a clinic on “Model Railroad
Photography”. In this clinic, you will learn how to compose effective photos, what equipment you may want to use, techniques for creating clear, in-focus photos and
videos, and some post-processing techniques to enhance your photos.

Sale staffing:
The member requesting one or more tables will have to staff his/her tables (set-up, sales, close-out), either alone or with the help of one or more fellow attendees. Sales:
Sellers will handle all aspects of their own sales.
Sellers are responsible for the security of items brought for sale.
Neither the James River Division, the Potomac Division or any of its members assisting with the sale accept any liability for items brought to the meet.
If away from one’s tables, such as during a clinic, a seller may want to use a table cloth to cover sales items to indicate the seller is away.
Sales Times:
The sales area will be closed during the opening and closing portions of the meet. Doors to the gymnasium will be closed.
It will be open before the opening portion, during clinics, and after the closing portion.
Close-out:
The sales area will remain open after the closing portion of the meet. Sellers arerequired to pack up any unsold items, then fold up and return to
storage all tables by 1:00 pm