From the Desk of the Superintendent

Robert “Bob” Johnson, Superintendent (2022-25)

October has been a very eventful month for the Division. For starters, we had a very good meeting at the home of Andrew Dodge. Considering the weather (it was a beautiful fall day with a lot of other activities competing for our membership’s attention). In addition to seeing a beautiful fine-scale layout we had a highly productive business meeting. There was a lot of member interaction, a number of issues and concerns were addressed, and multiple ideas were presented to address the Division membership participation issue.

During the October business meeting we received an offer from a member to serve as Superintendent (president), a tentative offer for Clerk (secretary), and a commitment from Ray Price to continue as Paymaster (treasurer). This is good news for the Division, and I thank those who offered their services. We are still in need of a volunteer to fill the position of Wheel Report editor.

Following the business discussion Andrew made an informative presentation addressing items that you should consider when planning a new layout or updating an existing one.

Shortly after the meeting I received the following email from Andrew. Andrew wrote, “Please pass on to the Division that today was one of the most enjoyable days with model railroading I have had in a long long time. I was delighted to have such a turnout and that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It made hosting a pleasure.”

November Meeting:

The monthly meeting of the South Mountain Division (SMD) will be held on Sunday, 10 November at the Cumberland Valley Model Railroad Club. The club has their own building located at 440 Nelson St, Chambersburg, PA 17201. Thanks to Division and club member John Pursell for arranging a meeting at this venue. It has been three years since we last visited their location.

2025 Mini Con:

Grant Berry has agreed to take the lead on the Division Mini-Con again this coming spring (April) and Mainline Hobby Supply has again offered to support the event. It will be held on a Saturday in April but as of this writing we do not have a scheduled date from the fire company for room availability. As always, Grant will need help with registration, event set-up, and of course clinicians. Start thinking now as to what sort of table clinic you could present at the event.

The Susquehanna Division has expressed interest in participating in the event with us this coming spring but details have not been finalized. More to come on this development.

2027 MER Convention:

We are still looking for two or three volunteers to form an exploratory committee to get things started for the 2027 MER convention which we are scheduled to host. Since the MER handles most of the convention arrangements the committee’s responsibilities at this time will primarily be centered around locating a suitable host hotel, developing a list of potential layout tour hosts, and to identify some sort of rail related prototype tour. Again, if you are interested please let me know. Email southmountaindiv@gmail.com.

SMD Membership Promotion:

There are two initiatives currently being developed to promote Division membership and current membership participation in Division activities.

Membership Participation

In last month’s Wheel Report I noted that NMRA membership in the South Mountain Division area has dropped from 90 plus members to only around 65. Of those 65, only around 30 to 35 are what I would consider to be active in the Division’s activities (monthly meetings, Mini-Con, etc.). A suggestion was made at the October meeting for the officials to reach out to all Division members to encourage more involvement by highlighting the benefits associated with participation. The suggestion was approved and a small group of our members are currently crafting the letter. Once the letter is in its final form a copy will be sent to every member of the Division prior to the end of December.

NMRA Membership Promotion Event

As reported last month, in lieu of a regular December meeting we will be conducting an all-day event at HobbyTown USA (Frederick) to encourage model railroaders to join the NMRA.

This event is scheduled to run from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. In addition to an information table promoting the benefits of NMRA membership we will have several table clinics (similar to the Mini-Con) with demonstrations of technology in model railroading (DCC, 3-D printing, computers, etc.) We will also be highlighting model railroading as a form of gaming. This approach is targeted to appeal to the younger modelers in the community.

We already have several volunteers for this event but are looking for additional volunteers and/or suggestions for table clinics. If you are interested please let me know as soon as you can. Email southmountaindiv@gmail.com.

Thanks to HobbyTown USA owner and SMD member Richard Benjamin for allowing us to hold this event at his shop.

Meeting Schedule:

SMD membership meetings are always the 2nd Sunday of the month at 2PM. The only exceptions are for April, when the Mini-Con replaces our business meeting, and in May, which will take place one week later, on the 3rd Sunday.

Please consider hosting a meeting sometime during the 2024 – 2025 program year. Email southmountaindiv@gmail.com. We try to avoid back-to-back repeat visits so if you have never hosted, or it has been a year or so since you did, give it a thought.

As of this writing, with the exception of May, all of the 2024/2025 meeting dates have been spoken for. The schedule is as follows.

  • December 14th (Saturday) – Membership promotion meeting @ HobbyTown USA in Frederick, MD
  • January 12th – Steve King; Pond Bank, PA
  • February 9th – Richard Benjamin; Frederick, MD
  • March 9th – Pete and Jane Clarke; Damascus,MD
  • April (date TBD) – Annual Mini-Con; Blue Ridge Summit, PA
  • May 18th (3rd Sunday to avoid Mother’s Day conflict) – OPEN

The Train Station Inn

Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia

By Jane Clarke

Pete points to the name “Jane” stenciled on the side of the 40’ boxcar.

Most summers, My husband Pete and I take a family vacation to my sister-in-law’s cabin in Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada. And most summers, we take a vacation from the family vacation.

This year we stayed three days at the Train Station Inn of Tatamagouche. I was dubious about booking it until I found out we could stay in Boxcar Jane! One side door of the boxcar was removed and replaced with an entryway with two people  doors. The interior walls were clad in drywall and wainscoting, but the floors appeared to be the original wood, heavily sanded and coated with gallons of polyurethane. There was a spacious living room, decent sized bedroom, small kitchen, and tiny bathroom. The only windows were above the entryway doors.

The Inn was its own little resort with a formal dining car, outdoor pub, gift and coffee shop, and lounge car. There was live music at the pub 2 of our 3 nights. It also boasts the largest collection of cabeese in Canada. Most of the cars were Canadian National, naturally.

We were there to bike a small portion of the Trans-Canada Trail. Like many trails, the quality of it varied between counties and townships.There were some remnants of the railroad, such as the Tatamagouche bridge. Not part of the RR, but the Sutherland Steam Mill was fascinating! So many ways to kill yourself at work back in the day.

If you are ever in Nova Scotia, I highly recommend the Train Station Inn!

Business Meeting: 13 October

The monthly meeting of the South Mountain Division (SMD) will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, 13 October at the home of Andrew Dodge in Olney, MD.  Following the business meeting Andrew will discuss layout design issues which will be of special interest to those of you who are planning a layout but have not yet started construction.

The Central Maine Railway is a freelanced railroad modeled in O scale Proto 48 that operated in Maine in the late 1890s. Running between Bangor and Portland and west to a connection with the Grand Trunk Railroad, the main focus of the layout is the area between Belfast and Camden with a car float/tug operation from Camden Junction and Stonington on Deer Island. A steamship company also operates a passenger side-2 wheeler between Deer Island and Camden Junction. The layout occupies two rooms plus a staging area with a total area 1,000 square feet.

All the locomotives, cars, and buildings are scratch built. The engines are operated though radio controlled NCE hand held radio devices and operate on hand-laid track. The scenery is real dirt and stones with a hand-painted backdrop.

There are also more than a thousand hand-made trees. Of special interest, besides the ships, is the fully operational rotary snowplow, and a full-size Victorian Shingle Style “cottage.”

Also included; A small HO logging railroad with geared engines and a switchback located in North Carolina. It is 2’x8′ with a 4’x2′ leg.

Please email southmountaindiv@gmail.com to obtain the street address and Andrew’s contact information.

 

From the Desk of the Superintendent

Robert “Bob” Johnson, Superintendent (2022-25)

A lot of things have happened Division wise over the past month. Rather than trying to address all these items in this section, I will cover each of them individually below.

Moving on – the first meeting of the 2024/2025 years was held at Rich Randall’s in Gettysburg. The turnout was rather small but those of us who were there had a good series of discussions about some of the issues facing the Division. Thanks to Rich for hosting us.

The second meeting of the program year will be held on Sunday, 13 October. We are doing pretty good on lining up meeting hosts for this year. As of this writing in addition to the October meeting we have hosts confirmed for November and January. Our most pressing need at this time is a host for the December meeting but we will welcome volunteers for any of the other scheduled meetings (February, March and May).

Finally – Don’t forget that we are in desperate need of volunteers to take over the management of your Division starting with the 2025/2026 program year and to serve on a 2027 MER convention committee (see September 2023 Wheel Report). If you might be interested, but want more information, please feel free to contact me.

Remember – this is your Division and it cannot function without your support.

2025 Mini Con

Grant Berry has agreed to take the lead on the Division Mini-Con again this coming spring (April) and Mainline Hobby Supply has again offered to support the event. It will be held on a Saturday in April but as of this writing we do not have a scheduled date from the fire company for room availability. As always, Grant will need help with registration, event set-up, and of course clinicians. Start thinking now as to what sort of table clinic you could present at the event.

The Susquehanna Division has expressed interest in participating in the event with us this coming spring but details have not been finalized. More to come on this development.

NMRA Membership Promotion

One of the topics discussed at the September meeting was the decline in Division membership. As of the last membership report from the MER we are down to a little more than 60 members (NMRA members living in our area) which is down from over 90 just a few years ago. Looking at the number of layouts on the recent Mainline Hobby Supply open house tour, and the number of people participating in the tour, it is obvious that the majority of the model railroaders in the area do not belong to the NMRA. Division member Richard Benjamin (and proprietor of HobbyTown in Frederick) has offered us the use of the meeting space in his store on 14 December to hold a promotional activity. We especially need to reach out to the younger modelers in the area. I am asking all of you for your ideas as to what type of activities we can incorporate into this event that would attract these younger people. My personal feeling is that we need to highlight the use of technology in our hobby by demonstrating things such as computer control, other forms of electronics (DCC, 3D printing, laser cutting, etc). I also think that model railroad operations can be presented as a form of gaming.

I am open to all suggestions and, of course, volunteers to make the presentations.

Achievement Program Certificates Awarded

Bob Charles (left) and Bob Johnson review structures made by John Pursell after the annual Mini Con in April 2024. The dioramas are entries for the Achievement Program structure certificate. (Tom Fedor)

NMRA Achievement Program (AP) certificates awarded to John Purcell.

Kurt Thompson, MMR and MER AP Manager reported in The Local that John has added Model Railroad Author and Master Builder – Structures to his list of certifications.

You can read more of John’s writing and see more of his modeling in past editions (years 2021/22 and later) of your Wheel Report <https://portal.smdnmra.org/497-2/>.