A big thank you to everyone who participated in the annual SMD Mini-Con at Blue Ridge Summit in April. In my opinion the event ran very smoothly. A special shoutout to Grant Berry for again taking the lead on this ever-popular event.
Mini-Con 2024.Bob Johnson looks at a locomotive at his brass loco tuneup table.John Pursell, D.M.A. talking about improving structures.Dave Thalman talks about basic scenery forms.Frank Benenati talks about making wire tree armatures for dioramas and detail scenes.Maryland T-Trak.Ken Mazer talks about fast tracks turnouts.
This year’s attendance was just about the same as last year. We still have not returned to the kind of numbers that we were seeing before the great COVID lock-down but those that attended seemed to be having a good time. Assuming we hold the event again next year I have some ideas for increasing the pre-event publicity that may help attendance.
Election of Officers
We will be “electing” the division officers at the May meeting.
The candidates are as follows:
Superintendent (president) – Bob Johnson
Clerk (secretary) – Alex Polimeni
Paymaster (treasurer) – Ray Price
These are the only elected positions in the Division. There are numerous other unofficial positions (see listing at end of the Wheel Report).
Please note that I have already announced that I will not serve again for the 2025 / 2026 program year, and Alex has stepped up to serve as Clerk, simply because no one else has volunteered. If we cannot get some new candidates for officers for the 2025 / 2026 we will be forced to declare the division inactive.
Summer Activity Planning
At a previous meeting we discussed the possibility of setting up a group trip on the Western Maryland Scenic out of Cumberland. The big draw there is of course C&O engine 1309. Unfortunately, I have been informed that the 1309 is currently out of service due to a cylinder issue. We will discuss this more at the upcoming meeting.
FYI, EBT number 16 is also out of service due to a cracked driver hub. It is not a good time for steam in our area.
Mid-Eastern Region Convention Planning
We have been officially asked to host the 2027 MER convention. Assuming we are still an active division I can see no reason not to do so. Under the current convention protocols the MER handles a significant portion of the work involved. I would like to form a small (3 to 4 people) exploratory committee to investigate available facilities, possible prototype tour activities, etc. If you would like to participate in this endeavor please contact me as soon as possible.
As previously noted, Alex Polimeni is now working with Division members (and others) to develop feature articles, layout photo tours, written clinics, etc. to supplement the basic Wheel Report content. Please consider reaching out to him and providing content.
Remember, this is your Division and we are depending on you to support us and provide us with content for the Wheel Report. We will not be issuing a regular edition of the Wheel Report until August, so you have plenty of time to work something up.
Hey, folks! It’s your friendly Division newsletter editor, Alex Polimeni. As you’ve likely noticed, I’ve struggled to deliver a timely, informative Wheel Report since taking over from the always capable Tom Fedor last year.
The vision behind this new era of the Wheel Report was to move from a magazine- style format toward more of a bulletin- not unlike the publication’s very namesake.
What this format requires (and I’ve not been quick enough to deliver upon) is punctual sourcing. My intention, going into the current SMD year, has been to publish the WR the Sunday two weeks before a membership meeting (and yes, you’re reading this one week before our November meeting at Steve King’s).
If we infer a deadline allowing several days lead time, and 2-3 weeks for you to work up quality content, I need to be prepping your WR about two months in advance. So, here’s how I intend things to shake out going forward…
The WR deadline for content submission will be the 3rd Sunday of each month. In addition to the Superintendent’s editorial, upcoming meeting details, and Division management info, you can expect the following articles:
Recent Activities
I’ll be asking about what we’ve been up to at each month’s meeting, so that I may get in touch and share what our Division members have been up to in the wider world of model railroading.
Coming Events
A shortlist of railroad related things happening in our area. I’ll need everyone’s help on this one, though, as you always hear about things I’ve no idea about.
Bits & Bobs
My personal favorite, inspired by club newsletters of olde. Don’t worry, I’ll pester folks directly for this one.
Trackside Photos
Everyone has a smartphone these days, so please, put them to use! Submit a photo of something on your layout (or a layout you’ve visited!) with a brief caption, and I would love to add it in.
Member Highlight
Something I’ve wanted to do since the start, I’d like to begin writing up brief interviews/biographies of Division members- especially newcomers!- and covering their stories in the WR. Considering our Division covers four states, we have an incredibly varied membership and I would very much like to reflect that.
So, yeah! That’s the plan. I’ve dropped the ball thus far, and can only thank you for the incredibly gracious patience you’ve shown for it. I’ve already begun assembling some the above for our December WR, and I am very excited to finally realize the things I’ve seen in my mind’s eye since taking over as editor.
I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and we’ll talk again soon!
This special edition of the Wheel Report addresses a number of activities and events so please be sure to read the entire post.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who hosted meetings and / or presented clinics during the past year (2022 / 2023). This was our first full year of face to face meetings since the 2018 / 2019 program year (something called COVID-19 seems to have gotten in the way since then). Attendance at the past year’s meetings was quite good although not quite up to the level that is was prior to COVID. My aim, with your help, is to not only get back to previous attendance levels but to exceed them.
East Broad Top Railroad Tour
The date for the planned special tour of the East Broad Top Railroad has been set for Friday, July 28th (Now Friday, 11 August). I realize that this date may not work for some of you that have to work on Friday but it was selected to avoid the large weekend crowds and allow those of us attending to have a better experience. Our semi-official hosts for the day will be our own Jane Clarke and her helper Pete Clarke. Both of them are very active in the Friends of the East Broad Top and are quite knowledgeable as to the history and operation of the EBT.
NOTE: The estimated cost for the day will be – $46.00 per person for all of the various tickets you will need (pay as you go – not a single ticket).
The schedule for the day is as follows:
10:00 AM – Meet at the Friends of the EBT museum in Robertsdale, PA – Tour Museum & adjacent mine area
You are welcome to bring guests with you. We do ask that you email southmountaindiv@gmail.com if you are planning on participating and let us know how many people will be in your group.
2023/24 Division Meeting Schedule
The regular monthly meetings of the SMD will start in September of 2023 and run through May of 2024. Meetings are held on the 2nd Sunday of the month September through March starting at 2:00 PM. In lieu of the April meeting we will again be hosting an annual SMD Mini-Convention at the Blue Ridge Summit fire hall (across the street from Main Line Hobby Supply). The May meeting, as usual, is moved to the 3rd Sunday to avoid a conflict with Mother’s Day.
For those of you who are not currently participating in the regular division meetings, a meeting normally starts with a social period to allow everyone to enjoy the host’s layout (if they have one) or to examine other aspects of the host’s modeling efforts. This is followed by a short business meeting and then we frequently have a modeling clinic put on by one of our members or a guest presenter.
The SMD does not collect any dues or supplemental fees. The meeting host typically provides refreshments and we do accept voluntary donations at the meetings to help defray the costs of these refreshments.
Membership in both the South Mountain Division (SMD) and the Mid-East Region (MER) of the NMRA is automatic if you live in the areas highlighted on the map below.
Call for Meeting Hosts and Clinicians
We make an effort each year to schedule most of our meetings at locations that are either new to the division, or locations that we have not visited for several years. Each meeting will give you the opportunity to see how your fellow modelers have approached the hobby and to learn new techniques.
If you would like to host a meeting during the 2023/24 program year and/or present a clinic, or have a suggestion for a future clinic, please email southmountaindiv@gmail.com as soon as possible.
2023/24 Division Communication Strategy
Current plans call for the Wheel Report to be issued on a monthly basis starting with the September issue which will come out in mid to late August. Each issue will deal primarily with the upcoming meeting and any current issues of interest to the membership of the division. Other content will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
Notices of upcoming events such as train shows. The membership is encouraged to send notices to southmountaindiv@gmail.com for inclusion.
Critical Division business that will be taken up during the next meeting for action by the group.
Short articles written by members of the SMD and/or photos of interest. These may include articles about your modeling efforts, fan trips, etc. We will also be printing content addressing NMRA content such as the Achievement Program, SMD/MER web content of special interest, etc. Again, the membership is encouraged to provide content.
Along those lines we are going to try to cover, at least, the business portion of upcoming meetings (and clinics when practical) with a ZOOM link.
NMRA & MER Links
Don’t forget that both the NMRA Magazine and the Mid-Eastern Region (MER) newsletter, The Local, are now being distributed electronically. If you are not receiving these publications and other digital content, check to make sure your email address is current.
After several years of declining attendance participation in South Mountain Division activities seemed to stabilize a couple of years prior to COVID and then started to slowly grow. Post COVID active participation has been steady but slightly down from 2019. NMRA membership in the SMD area has been more or less constant at around 100 members. As previously noted, if you are a member of the NMRA, you are also a member of the SMD, so we are encouraging you to become active in your Division. You will meet other modelers, get fresh ideas to help your with modeling, and hopefully just have fun.
For those of you who are active… If you know of a fellow modeler who is a member of the NMRA, but does not participate in our Division activities, encourage them to do so.
Modelers who are not members of the NMRA are welcome to attend one or two meeting of the SMD as a guest but for insurance purposes they will be required to join the NMRA after that. I encourage all of you to reach out to non-NMRA modelers and encourage them to join us.
We have a supply of a very nice color brochures that you can use as a recruiting tool. These were printed just prior to COVID with the primary intent of placing them in area hobby shops to reach out to modelers. Due to recent NMRA changes (primarily concerning the NMRA Bulletin going to an electronic publication) some of the info on membership is out of date, but should not cause any issues.
Starting this fall we will start placing these brochures in area hobby shops again so if you have any suggestions as to where to placed them let me know.
I hope to see you soon; either at the EBT in July or at our first meeting in September (location to be determined).
The spring newsletter is now available. Click over to our NEWSLETTERS page to view or download this current publication and past editions in PDF format.
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The spring newsletter is now available. Click over to our 
The winter newsletter is now available. Click over to our