Tehachapi Depot (California) Train Show coming June 18

Tehachapinews.com (California): Tehachapi Depot Train Show coming June 18
The Friends of the Tehachapi Depot will hold its second annual Train Show and Faire on Saturday, June 18. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the park surrounding Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum.

Currently, there are 12 vendors registered for the event coming from as far away as Lompoc. The vendors will be selling both new and used model trains, accessories and even birdhouses built around a railroad theme. Items from the collections of well-known local train buffs, writers, and photographers, like Dave Burton and Ed Delvers, will be included in the sale. The FOTD will also have items for sale in the depot which will include books and artifacts along with other items.

FOTD President Tim Trujillo says, “Participating in or attending the Train Show is a great way to help the Depot. As an all-volunteer organization, Friends of the Depot, depends on fundraising programs like this to keep the Depot running and vibrant. We’ve got a jewel in the center of our town that needs your support. Please come out and enjoy the fun of the Train Show while helping do a good thing for Tehachapi.”

There is a suggested donation of $2 per person, children 12 and under are free. There will also be coffee and donuts for sale during the early morning hours and a bake sale later in the day.

Have train-related items to sell? Contact Carol Westover at 823-7832 or email tehachap@yahoo.com for additional information. You can also go to www.tehachapidepot.com for further information and forms.

A table space rents for $10, a 10-foot x 12-foot space rents for $20, plus a $5 fee for the city of Tehachapi Business License. Vendors must furnish their own tables and canopies.

Linda Gordon, who coordinated the first show last October, is hoping for better weather for this event.

CHINGFORD: New mayor names model train

TihsIsLocalLondon: CHINGFORD: New mayor names model train
NOT quite the same as christening a boat, the new mayor has marked the start of his time in office by naming a model train.

Cllr Geoffrey Walker, the new mayor of Waltham Forest, visited the Chingford and District Model Engineering Club (CDMEC), in Ridgeway Park, off Peel Close, Chingford, on Sunday, May 29, to name their new petrol locomotive.

Mayor Walker continued the tradition of naming the trains after flying insects with the name ‘Demoiselle’, meaning damselfly in French, to sit alongside their existing trains Firefly, Blackfly, Mayfly and Schmetterling (German for butterfly).

Cllr Roy Berg, chairman of the group, said: “It was a great honour to have Geoffrey here. It’s only the second act he has done as mayor so it was splendid.

“I’m not quite sure why we name our trains after insects but Demoiselle does sound good.”

The mayor and his party were then driven around on the train by Cllr Michael Lewis for its first official ride.

The CDMEC is open for the public to ride every Sunday between 2pm and 5.30pm until the end of September, with rides costing 50p or £1.

Nashville: Cheekwoods gardens open for free Monday

The Tennessean: Cheekwoods gardens open for free Monday
Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art opens its gates free to the public Monday.
www.cheekwood.
HCA/Tristar is sponsoring Summertime at Cheekwood.

On Monday, visitors can enjoy exhibitions and events that include:
The "Trains! Tennessee in G" outdoor exhibition takes visitors across Tennessee with model trains, miniature representations of the state’s historic landmarks, and colorful gardens. The buildings have been intricately handcrafted using natural materials, including twigs, bark, leaves, acorns and pebbles. The landscape is made up of more than 2,500 tiny trees, shrubs, groundcovers and flowering plants in 250 varieties.

Between 10 a.m. and noon, families can stop by Cheekwood’s studio in the Frist Learning Center and create their own ‘’Trains inspired’ art project.
Inside, 43 key paintings and sculptures by 31 of the most celebrated artists who came to maturity in the 1950s are on display in the exhibit, Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The show examines the complex and varied nature of American abstract art in the mid-20th century.

Also on exhibit are selections from Cheekwood's collection of William Edmondson. Born to former slaves on a plantation south of Nashville in 1874 , Edmondson taught himself to carve tombstones and became one of the most celebrated African-American sculptors of the 20th century.

This is also one of the last chances to view the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection of Fabergé; Among the world’s most significant compilations of Fabergé pieces, the collection includes more than 50 rare pieces highlighted by three Russian Imperial Easter eggs. The exhibition closes June 5.


Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum on the historic Cheek estate. It is at 1200 Forrest Park Drive. For further information call 615-356-8000 or visit www.cheekwood.

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Comfort is in the food and the atmosphere at Ollie's Station Read more from this Tulsa World

Tulsa World: Comfort is in the food and the atmosphere at Ollie's Station

We had taken grandkids to Ollie's Station in the past to watch the model trains run on tracks around the walls and ceiling of the restaurant, and the trip never failed to be a hit.

We recently took a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 20-year-old on their first visit. The mother of the younger ones was skeptical that the trains would hold their attention, but she shouldn't have worried. They were mesmerized the whole time we were there.

Add to that the fact we immediately could put food in front of them from the buffet, and you have a perfect outing for the young-uns.

It wasn't bad for us older folks, either, what with the all-you-can-eat fried chicken and other home-style favorites on the buffet.

Ollie's Station has a full menu of traditional comfort food, but many fans like to come to the weekday lunch buffets and weekend breakfast and lunch buffets.

The weekend buffets change from breakfast to lunch at 11 a.m., and we made it for a Sunday lunch buffet.

The fried chicken - lightly battered and cooked to perfection - is the poster boy for the buffet, but other items were tasty, too.

Among the standouts were mashed potatoes with a chicken-broth gravy, ham cooked with pineapple, salty potato-chicken soup, a sweet corn casserole, boiled potatoes and green beans, and big, soft dinner rolls.

One diner ordered pancakes off the breakfast menu (available all day) with bacon ($4.49). The pancakes were large and fluffy with a bit of a vanilla flavor, and the bacon had a mild smokiness to it.

The weekday lunch buffet is $6.99, and the weekend buffet is $7.99.

Ollie's Station is located in the heart of the west Tulsa neighborhood of Red Fork, by the train tracks and just under a major highway overpass.

Joe Gilling, who managed the old Metro Diner for 16 years, bought the restaurant seven years ago from Lin and John Gray, who had installed the first model trains. Gilling, who knew nothing about model trains before buying the restaurant, has taken the hobby to a whole new level.

He has added dozens of cars and sets to the collection and occasionally rotates those used on the tracks. Other interesting memorabilia include a 1943 photo of the Webster High School state-championship football team, a youth cooking stove made by the train-maker Lionel and a print drawing of what only can be described as a pin-up girl wearing a Frisco hat.

"The stove actually worked at one time, and it is very rare," Gilling said. "I've never seen the Frisco pin-up girl anywhere before; I paid severely for that one."

She is in the hallway across from the men's room, in case you go there looking for her.

Ollie's Station offers a variety of daily specials, from meatloaf and mushroom Swiss steak to smothered pork loin and chicken Parmesan, depending on the day.

One that caught my eye was the bean bar, offered Monday nights beginning at 5. The $4.99 all-you-can-eat bean bar includes black-eyed peas, pinto beans, navy beans, lima beans, fried potatoes, grilled potatoes with onions and peppers, regular cornbread and jalapeno cornbread.

Gas, the sign says, is free.

OLLIE’S STATION
4070 Southwest Blvd.
918-446-0524
6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (lunch buffet, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week; breakfast buffet, 6:30-11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday); accepts all major credit cards.

Cheyenne, Wyoming: Depot Days May 21-22

If you live anywhere near Cheyenne, Wyoming, head there for Depot Days this weekend.

Hosted by the Cheyenne Depot Museum and Sherman Hill Model Railroad Club.

Features tours of the Union Pacific Steam Shop with opportunities to see steam locomotives Nos 844 and 3985, as well as the Car 57 project, a restoration effort of an old Pullman railroad car built in 1887.

Also features a railroad art show, vendors and model train displays.

Open from 9 am to 5 pm. Final tours our 4 pm on Sat, 3 pm on Sunday.

http://cheyennedepotmuseum.org

Booklist: Getting Started With Lionel Trains, by Allan Miller

Getting Started With Lionel Trains: Your Introduction to Model Railroading Fun, by Allan Miller
Krause Publications, 2001
Oversize, 115 pages plus Appendices, color photos scattered throughout, no index
Library: 625.19 MIL

Description
Lionel! In the long and colorful history of electric toy trains, there has never been a more recognized and respected name!

Indeed, the Lionel trademark hasendured for more than a century, and is synonymous with quality, durability, variety and value in the model railroading hobby. Lionel trains have also become an American holiday tradition, to the point where no Christmas tree is considered truly complete without a Lionel train circling the base.

This book is designed to inspire Lionel railroaders to expand that holiday tradition into a creative, educational, and fun-filled hobby that can be enjoyed year round by individuals and entire families. It's a book for today's Lionel railroader-wespecially those who are, as the title suggests, getting started with trains.

-Discover the variety of fun-filled and action-packed Lionel trains and accessories that can lead to a relaxing and rewarding lifetime hobby

-See why the distinctive Lionel three-rail track system has proven itself over many years to be the easiest to install, operate and maintain.

-Learn how to select, set up, wire, operate and maintain your Lionel trains.

-Experience step-by-step, the construction of an attractive Lionel layout so your trains can be enjoyed throughout the year.

-Expand your knowledge of Lionel railroading with the help of appendix listings that include extensive print and video references, clubs, suppliers and internet resources.

Here is your one-way ticket to a lifetime of creative model railroading dun with Lionel trains.

Table of Contents
1. Why Lionel? And other frequently asked questions.

2. The Lionel legacy
-A century of tradition
-Trains for the ages, and all ages
-Highlights in Lionel history (timeline)

3. Today's Lionel
-Motive power
-Rolling stock
-Operating cars
-Welcome to Lionville

4. Gettign started with Lionel railroading
-Selecting your first Lionel set
-Where to buy Lionel trains
-Assembling a basic train set

5. The tried-and-true Lionel track system
-O27 & O guage three eail track components
-All about switches
-Remote-control track sections
-Lionel insulated track sections
-Track tips

6. Powering your Lionel trains
-The basics of toy train electricity
-Locomotive motors
-Lionel transformers - past and present
-Connecting to the transformer
-Power distribution through auxiliary "feeders"
-Increasing your layout's power potential
-Basic block wiring and control
-The new technology: TrainMaster Command Control

7. Planning a Lionel Layout
-The golden rule of model railroad planning
-Selecting a location for your layout
-A theme for your railroad
-Types of track plans
-Layout design tips and techniques

8. 20 track plans for small Lionel layouts

9. Constructing an action packed Lionel Layout
-Step #1-Build a firm foundation
-Step #2-Construct reliable trackwork
-Step #3-Lay the roadbed
-Step #4-Ballast the track
-Step #5-Wire the layout
-Step #6-Place and connect operating accessories

10. Personalizing your layout with scenery and details
-Groundcover treatments
-Trees for the layout
-Hills, mountains and rock formations
-Water features
-Details that make a difference

11. Great Lionel Layouts from the pages of O Gauge Railroading magazine

12. Maintenance tips for Lionel trains
-Mainenance tools and supplies
-Locomotive and rolling stock maintenance tips
-Rolling stock maintenance tips
-Track and switch maintenance tips
-The Lionel Service department and Service station network
-Miscellaneous troubleshooting tips
-Protecting and preserving your Lionel trains

Appendices:
A-References for Lionel operators and collectors
B-Lionel trains online
C-Collector and operator clubs and associations
D-Suppliers of equipment and accessories for Lionel railroaders
E-Glossary

Pakistan: An update on ‘Railways at 150’

Dawn.com: An update on ‘Railways at 150’

If you want to know the size of the ‘journalist community’ in Lahore then the Railways Headquarters is the place for you.

The nearby press club is not expected to give you the right number, for it may be unaware of the existence of all these journalists making passes at the Pakistan Railways head office for a concessionary journey on the rails.

Still media people have this unhappy knack of angering their benefactors, the railways ministers.

When, a fortnight ago, Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour bludgeoned the media over its unfair criticism of the railways he was following in the footsteps of Gen Musharraf’s minister for railways, Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi. So irked was Mr Qazi by the nosy newsmen that he banned their entry on the railways premises. In this comparison between the two ministers lies the answer to Mr Bilour’s allegation: journalists are silent when a dictator is in power and over-critical in times of democracy.

If this is not sufficient enough to placate our worthy friend from Pakhtunkhwa, nuggets from a recent experience with the Pakistan Railways may make him happy. The idea is to continue our romance with the rail journey and celebrate the preservation of the department exactly 150 years after the first train was run on the territory that is Pakistan today.

The journey began on May 10, three days before the 150th anniversary of the original Karachi-Kotri train, and ended the following evening in Lahore — a bit abruptly given how reluctant the meandering Tezgam had been in letting go of its guests.

The closer we got to Lahore, the stronger was our bond.

If only for the romance attached with the name, I would have preferred the nearby Prem Nagar station for the last unscheduled stopover. Instead, we were stuck at Kot Radha Kishan. By that stage in the journey, complaints had subsided and travellers were that much more equipped to get the best out of the situation.

Consequently, the battery of under six-year-olds in our touring party went for quick bathing sessions, under cold gushes of water delivered by a hand pump on the KRK platform and to the envy of their senior companions who were too limited by the social codes to take advantage of this genuine throwback in time.

On a more urgent note, let me add that even on a station with the right kind of non-Islamic gender balance, the Radhas sat stiff
in admiration of the freedoms that their Kishans enjoyed.

Beloved Lahore was just one hoot away, but it seemed that the souls on board the Tezgam were in no hurry to reach their destination. They were hooked on the every-10-minute doses of refreshments that they had been served for the last 20-odd hours since they began their journey in Hyderabad.

You learn as you travel. Dev Das didn’t need to spend so much on the real thing; given the bottles they serve on the rails, he would have been dead by the time he arrived at Paro’s door.

But there was one gentleman who was not ready to go down without a bit of excitement … “The trains will never run the way you want them to unless you confront the railways officials … He who says you will soon be under way is a liar. You shall remain at Kot Radha Kishan for another two hours at least, and that is if the staff is efficient enough to deal with the problem …

In the meanwhile let’s go beat up the station master.…”

The leader of the (failed) rebellion said he was an off-duty railways official. He may have been speaking the truth. He had the same trimmed railways moustache and his hair was oiled, just as railways officials do their hair probably to camouflage the fits and starts their bodies are subjected to.

He had some resemblance with the modest, patient Nazir Junior whom I had the privilege of having as our guard on a train journey many years ago. It appears that he continues to be a model for railway staffers on the move. They have the powers to stop fast trains but in their achievements they are as modest and shy as Nazir Junior was every time he had Sir Vivian
Richards on the ropes, or actually a few feet inside.

At the centre of running an extremely unpopular service that still ferries some 200,000 to their destinations each day, the railways officials try to be as people-friendly as they can under the circumstances. I saw one neatly turned-out Nazir Junior allowing the guests to get away with paying the fare for Multan from Khanpur, when actually they had boarded in Karachi.

The non-railways chaps on duty were as facilitating, and consequently another lesson learnt was that a train is a place where your Rs10 are still worth something. A nan-tikki cost just that provided that your exposure to the new hygienic standards permitted you to dig your teeth into the cutlet. A chilled soft drink cost Rs20, much less than what school canteens charge their greedy young clients these days and at Rs15 a piece the thin disposable cups lived up to the milked tea’s hot billing.

The same poor man’s economy prevailed on the stops, of which the old, nervous Tezgam now has too many. As indeed did prevail the romance.

At the risk of irate fellow journalists who want to revolutionise the railways, I can confirm that nothing can substitute the nostalgic feeling evoked by the sounds and smells of a train journey. If the glimpses above are not romantic enough, I had the privilege of being treated to some unique mime patterns woven in the dark by a newlywed couple too lost in their blanketed world to bother about outsiders.

I hope that they did manage to oust the mischievous camel from their tent. And I realise why everyone is so afraid of letting the curious journalists in. They have no respect for privacy.

Grand River to Design and Build New E-commerce Web Site for Model Train Company

Press Release: Grand River to Design and Build New E-commerce Web Site for Model Train Company

Ann Arbor, Mich. (PRWEB) May 16, 2011

Grand River, a leading e-commerce developer, today announced they will work with M.B. Klein to create a new online store for Model Train Stuff (www.modeltrainstuff.com). M.B. Klein serves the model train community with a large, ready-to-ship selection of trains and accessories.

A Magento Enterprise Partner, Grand River will design and develop the new site using Magento's Enterprise Edition 1.10. This leading open-source e-commerce platform delivers a scalable, cost effective, online retail solution with rich features, functionality, and flexibility.

"We want to give our online customers the same great shopping experience they would get in our store so we chose Grand River," said Matt Ehrhart, e-commerce manager at M.B. Klein. "We're working with them to build an easy-to-shop site that offers the very best selection of model train products and continues to provide the expertise and top notch customer service that has helped us lead the industry."

Grand River will use their expertise in usability, design and information architecture to create an enhanced user interface for ModelTrainStuff.com, making it easy to search, shop and buy products. The Magento platform includes support for mobile commerce as well as content management and targeting, search engine optimization, promotional marketing tools, order management, and customer service.

"ModelTrainStuff.com is shopped by train enthusiasts from around the world," said Scott Robertson, partner and co-founder of Grand River. "They turn to M.B. Klein for indepth product knowledge and outstanding customer service. The new site will deliver that experience online and provide the company with a foundation on which they can expand their e-commerce business with easy-to-use content management tools that update the site in real time."

In addition to the development of the new online store, Grand River will also provide cloud hosting services for M.B. Klein.

Canadian Passenger Trains: The International Limited

From Wikipedia:
The International Limited was a named passenger train operated between Chicago and Toronto, Ontario. It was originally operated by Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western. When the route was revived in 1982, it was operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak. The Amtrak service was discontinued on April 25, 2004, due to decreasing ridership: down from 125,126 in 1997 to just 88,045 in 2003.

History
CN/GTW operation
When the Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western controlled the operations of train number 14, the International Limited, from Chicago's Dearborn Station to Montreal's Central Station, the train was around 12 cars long, including GTW & CNR Baggage-express cars (two), CNR Coaches (five), CNR named 12-1 Pullman Sleepers (three), CNR 8-1-2 named Pullman Sleeper (one), and last but not least, an unusual 2-3-1 Buffet, Lounge, Solarium from the CNR. It departed from Chicago's Dearborn Station at 8:00 pm behind a GTW U4-b 6400 Northern type steam locomotive.

At Port Huron, St. Clair Tunnel Company electrics would pull the train through the tunnel to Sarnia, Ontario, where a CNR 5700 class Hudson (4-6-4 wheel arrangement) or a CNR 6400 class Streamlined Confederation (4-8-4 wheel arrangement) would take the train to Montreal. The 15 hour train ride left Chicago at 8:00 pm and arrived in Montreal at around 11:00 am the next morning. The train left daily stopping at Chicago, Sarnia, Toronto, and Montreal as well as a variety of other stops along the way. A second section operated in the opposite direction as train number, leaving Montreal and travelling to Chicago as, stopping at the same stations along the way running as train number 13. The Chicago to Montreal section is shown in the photograph behind a CNR 5700 class Hudson.

Amtrak/Via operation (International)
When Amtrak and Via Rail respectively took over the operation of the International Limited in 1982, they cut back the route to terminate and originate in Toronto, Ontario, and shifted the route to run between Toronto and Chicago via Sarnia, Port Huron and Battle Creek over GT/CN tracking.

The train consisted of two or three coaches and a food-service / custom class car combination. The train was powered alternately by a Via Rail or an Amtrak F40PH locomotive and the cars could be any combination of Amtrak's Heritage, Amfleet I and II, or Horizon Fleet coaches or by cars provided by Via. From Monday through Saturday, the opposing trains ran as Amtrak-Via train numbers 364 and 365. On Sundays however, they ran as train numbers 366 and 367. By 1995, both trains usually ran with a set of 4 to 5 Superliner.

In later years, Amtrak P42 locomotives replaced the F40s. In 2002, they mainly only consisted of Horizon Fleet and Amfleet coaches because the Superliner's were in for extensive renovation. The train was discontinued in 2004 due to falling ridership. Via Rail still runs trains on the route between Toronto and Sarnia, Ontario, while Amtrak replaced its portion of the service with the Chicago-Port Huron, MI Blue Water.

Canadian Passenger Trains: The Dominion

Dominion was a Canadian transcontinental passenger train operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

It first began as a summer service between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, operating in 1931 and 1932. Effective June 23, 1933 it replaced the Imperial as the CPR's main transcontinental service and included a Montreal, Quebec – Sudbury, Ontario section.

It remained CPR's flagship train until the introduction of the stainless steel dome streamliner The Canadian on 24 April 1955. The Dominion was eliminated in February, 1966 but continued on as the Expo Limited (serving the Montreal World's Fair) for much of 1967.

'High-Speed' Trains Won't Run at High Speeds

I love train travel... but is it too late to bring competent rail travel to the US?

The article below is from Newsmax, a Conservative Republican news organ.

Newsmax.com: Obama's 'High-Speed' Trains Won't Run at High Speeds
They're calling it the "train to nowhere."

California is ready to spend $5.5 billion to build a high-speed rail line from Corcoran, a town about 30 miles south of Fresno known for the prison housing Charles Manson, to Borden, a ghost town north of Fresno.

But trains on the line in the state's Central Valley are not scheduled to stop at either Corcoran or Borden.

It's true that the roughly 70-mile line would be the first leg of a planned rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles estimated to cost between $43 billion and $81 billion. But there is no guarantee that once that leg is built, the entire line will then be constructed, leading Democratic State Sen. Alan Lowenthal to tell CNBC, "I don't know if it's a train to nowhere, but it could possibly be an orphan set of tracks."

At least the first leg will be built to accommodate trains traveling at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour. Other plans for so-called "high-speed" train travel — a pet project of President Barack Obama — would achieve speeds of no more than 110 miles per hour, "which high-speed rail aficionados do not even consider to be true high-speed rail," a report from the Cato Institute observed.

Congress appropriated $8 billion for high-speed rail in Obama's 2009 stimulus bill and $2 billion more in the 2010 appropriations bill.

But newly elected governors in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin rejected rail projects in their state, and Congress declined to provide more funds in 2011.

"President Obama's dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead," Cato Institute's Downsizing the Federal Government website declared. But the $10 billion already committed will go toward several questionable projects, according to the site:

• Illinois is spending more than $3 billion to add three trains daily to the current five between Chicago and St. Louis and increase the average speed of trains on the line from 51.6 miles per hour to 56.8 mph, saving travelers 30 minutes on the current 5 1/2-hour trip.

• Washington State is spending $700 million to add two trains per day to the current three between Seattle and Portland, Ore., and boost speeds from 53.4 mph to 56.1 mph. That will save travelers 10 minutes on the current 3 1/2-hour trip.

• North Carolina is spending $545 million to increase speeds between Charlotte and Raleigh by about 3 mph, saving travelers 12 minutes on the current 3.2-hour trip.

"While high-speed trains in Europe and Japan are technologically impressive, nearly all the routes in those jurisdictions lose money and need large subsidies to stay afloat," the site concludes. "America's geography is even less suited for a successful high-speed rail system than Europe or Japan because our cities are less dense and spaced farther apart. The federal government should withdraw its support for high-speed rail, and instead focus on major aviation and highway reforms to improve the nation's mobility."

Chicago: Homewood Railroad Days right on track

SouthtownStar: Homewood Railroad Days right on track
Wind and rain couldn’t derail train enthusiasts from Homewood’s eighth annual Railroad Heritage Days on Saturday.

The chugging of wheels and sound of steam whistles could be heard throughout downtown in celebration of railway history and travel.

This year’s festival paid special tribute to the 75th anniversary of the Green Diamond: the Illinois Central Railroad’s first diesel-powered passenger train.

Event-goers were treated to various model train layouts, railroad memorabilia, slide shows and the show-stopping “Big Mo,” the world’s largest mobile model train railroad. The display included seven popular trains traveling along 400 feet of track through scenery ranging from waterfalls to winter parks, all under a fiber-optic star-studded sky replicating the constellations above the Nevada Desert. The entire layout was controlled by a mother board, the complexities of which evoked the circuitry of a space shuttle.

The attraction was a favorite for Gia Riney, 40, and her son Harrison, 5, who like many youngsters was on tip-toe to look at the design.

“We came out last year, and the kids really liked it. My grandfather was an engineer, so it’s part of the family,” Riney said. More modest model train layouts also proved exciting for attendees, particularly those that were hands-on. Joel Weber, of the ‘S’ Gaugers, whose 1950’s American Flyer model includes all original materials, was happy to allow visitors a feel for the model train experience.

“I brought this model so kids could see just how much fun you can have playing with these trains,” he said.

Sharon Gunderson, along with a handful of members of the Homewood Rail Committee, began the festival to generate an interest and appreciation in railroad history.

“We started out with some exhibits in the firehouse, and it grew from there,” Gunderson said.

The event now has spread to three more sites: the village complex, village auditorium and village hall. “We usually see anywhere from 800 to 1,000 visitors, and I would project that for this year,” Gunderson said. “All of our advertising is done for free. Our budget doesn’t allow for anything more.”

Still, the event continues to remain a favorite in the community.

“It’s been a real success,” Gunderson said.

Model Train Displays Destroyed in Georgetown Fire

WBOC 16: Georgetown, Delaware: Model Train Displays Destroyed in Georgetown Fire
GEORGETOWN, Del.- A weekend fire at the historic Georgetown Train Station damaged more than the building.

The Delaware SeaSide Railroad Club said it lost up to $40,000 in trains and equipment on the second floor of the building. President John Hodges said some pieces cannot be replaced because the manufacturer is out of business.

"My colleague told us that we had a real serious situation," Hodges said. "The building was fully involved upstairs and we probably lost everything."

In total, five model train displays were destroyed in the May 7 fire, Hodges said. One display was not in the building at the time.

Investigators determined the fire started on the second floor but have not pinpointed a cause. The rail club was finishing up an open house at the time.

"The club, especially, lost a lot of value and a lot of money in trains, train accessories, tracks, transformers and all the equipment it took to set these displays up," Hodges said.

The Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce occupied space on the first floor, which mostly saw smoke and water damage, Hodges said. Mayor Brian Pettyjohn said the group is temporarily working out of space at town hall.

Train club members are scheduled to return to the building on Friday in hopes of salvaging some pieces. In the meantime, volunteers hope to raise the necessary funds to buy new trains.

Hodges said the club's goal is to replace the trains and have displays ready in time for Christmas.

The club is trying to raise money through two upcoming shows: June 18 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center and Sept. 24 at the Roxanna Fire Department. Admission to the Rehoboth show is $5 and the Roxanna show is $4; children under 10 are free

UK: Thieves target model trains from Railworld site

The Evening Telegraph, Peterborough, UK: Thieves target model trains from Railworld site
VOLUNTEERS have been left heart-broken after a collection of rare model trains worth more than £2,000 were stolen in a raid in Peterborough.


Thieves struck at Railworld, in Oundle Road, taking 29 model locomotives and leaving behind £200 worth of damage.

The raid took place between 9.15pm on May 5 and 5pm on May 6 and was discovered by a member of staff opening the unit.

Manager John Turner said his “heart sank” when he heard about the burglary, saying it was a blow to all the volunteers who help keep the organisation going.

He said: “It has been very upsetting for our volunteers who spend their time and effort working to improve exhibits for the visitors’ enjoyment.”

The models were part of a 40-train exhibition outlining the evolution of the locomotive, with replicas of steam, diesel and electric type engines.

They had been tied to a length of track and the offenders cut or, in some cases, wrenched the exhibits from their settings.

Some of those models left behind bare the scars of an attempted theft with broken wheels or cracks along their surface.

They also broke the display case which contained them that had been handmade by one of the volunteers.

The exhibition was installed two years ago and had been a popular hit among visitors.

The trains are “OOgauge” scale, the most popular scale for railway modelling in the UK and the scale-of-choice for Hornby Railways.

Examples of locomotives taken by the thieves include the Lafayette, Mallard, Queen Mary and Virgin Voyager.

The majority of the models, which are valued at up to £70 each, have been donated to Railworld over the period of 10 years.

Mr Turner said: “That’s another blow because the majority were donated to us to display for visitors.

“We actually had a donation last week that was going to go in the case, but that’s a bit pointless now.”

He said he holds out little hope of re-creating the exhibition especially given some are no longer available to buy.

He said: “I personally do not think we can re-start the time-line, unless someone donates a load more locomotives.

“It could take another 10 years of donations to build it up again. We have not got £2,000 spare to buy the trains.”

Mr Turner says the organisation is no stranger to such crime and has vowed to fight on without the collection if they cannot be retrieved.

He said: “It’s one part of our exhibition but the show will go on. I think this is the 190th crime we have reported since we opened in 1993.

“We’re not going to let it stop us.”

Anyone with information about the burglary should call Cambridgeshire Police on 0345 456 4564 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Seattle: HUGE Model Railroad Event This Weekend!

KOMO News: HUGE Model Railroad Event This Weekend!

Seattle / Tacoma, Washington * May 12th, 2011 * For Immediate Release

Tacoma Northwest Model Railroad Club (TNW) is holding one of the area’s largest Model Railroad Show & Swap Meet Saturday, May 14th from 9am to 5pm & Sunday, May 15th from 10am to 4pm at historic Freighthouse Square, 2501 East D Street in Tacoma, Washington.

The pubic is invited to join in the fun of one of America’s most beloved and popular hobbies, Model Railroading. TNW Club members & members of other Railroad clubs will be on hand operating working model train layouts in several gauges and over 80 vendor tables will be offering unique & hard to find trains & goods throughout three floors of Freighthouse Square.

The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad, which runs a full size live steam tourist railroad out of Elbe, WA is bringing a working Baldwin 2-8-2 Locomotive & will be giving rides in vintage passenger coaches. You can also get a close up look at a Railway Hi-Rail Truck courtesy of the BNSF Railway. In addition, Sound Transit will hold an open house – come check out The Sounder!

There will be plenty to see and do for the entire family and people of all ages including a special Lego Play area for Kids and several unique eating establishments.

The Tacoma Northwest Model Railroad Club has been in existence over two decades and currently has dozens of members from throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Freighhouse Square building was built in 1909 and served and the western most terminus for the Milwaukee Railroad. It remained a freight distribution center used by the Milwaukee RR ... and it served in this capacity until the mid 1970's.

The Admission Donation is just $5 for Adults, $3 for Children under 12 years old and free for those under 3 years of age with a portion of the proceeds going to local Charity.

Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg Germany

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

Miniatur Wunderland (German for miniature wonderland) is a model railway attraction in Hamburg, Germany and the largest of its kind in the world. As of January 2011, the railway consists of 12,000 metres (39,370 ft) of track in H0 scale, divided into seven sections: Harz, the fictitious city of Knuffingen, the Alps and Austria, Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, and Switzerland. Of the 6,400 square metres (68,889 sq ft) of floorspace, the model takes 1,150 m2 (12,378 sq ft).

By 2020, the exhibit is expected to have reached its final construction phase, including at least a total of ten sections in a model area of over 2,300 m2 (24,757 sq ft).

The next section covering an airport is due to open in the second week of May 2011. The exhibit includes 890 trains made up of over 11,000 carriages, 300,000 lights, 215,000 trees, and 200,000 human figurines.

The creators are planning to work on models of Italy and France after the airport section is completed. Possible future additions include Africa, England, or a futuristic landscape.

Looking for a website that sells model train stuff?

Check out Model Train World, "For rare and hard to find model trains".

http://modeltrainworld.info/

I've never used them myself, but it looks like they've been in business since 2008.

They also have their own blog, and here's a list of their recent posts:
--GETTING ON TRACK
--Model trains carry pastor away
--Train Day to revisit Naples’ rail history
--World’s largest model airport opens to rave reviews
--Train set bound for Evenglow
--Miniature Model Of Knuffingen Airport At Miniatur Wunderland In Germany Goes On Display (Photo and Video)
--Train hobbyists put kids on right track
--A closer look at how SEAL Team Six trains
--Scaling Up Is So Very Hard To Do
--Experience Walt Disney’s love of trains

Prague: The Railroad Kingdom

NTD Television: Prague’s Railroad Kingdom Opens New Historic Exhibits

Transcription of a news story from December 22, 2010:

The "Railroad Kingdom" entertainment center in Prague is launching several new and interesting exhibits. The president of Karlovy Vary Town, Josef Novotny, is revealing this region – newly added to the center’s national model. The creators put in classic attractions of the renowned spa town of Karlovy Vary, including the International Film Festival, old castles in the countryside and scenic walking paths.

[Josef Miracky, Railroad Kingdom]: ”We used more than 1,100 various small figures in the Karlovy Vary model; they are performing all the ordinary activities. The figures really enhance the story of the rail yard."

Apart from opening the new portion of the nation’s model, the center has also installed a new exhibition – “Our Small History” – showing life in the 1960’s and 70’s when Czechoslovakia was still a socialist state.

[Lucian Krutomluv, Our Small History Exhibition Script Author]: “I’d pictured in my head situations which were pretty absurd or embarrassing and occasionally funny. I scanned my memory and based on the model’s look, made up some situations typical for that time. Some scenes were decided already; others were staged based on the figures. You form the men and then they form the situation. Like this one – that’s an underground band."

The national model and the whole expo project are not meant as just humorous flashbacks about the farce of the old days. They are an authentic and imaginative way to expand youngsters’ awareness of Prague’s history.

[Dusan Vselicha, Our Small History Exhibition Curator]: “We try to find various key points and moments in this exhibition; often humorous, often embarrassing and often sort of degrading. They remind us how life used to be like here, during communism. You know, people often tend to forget these things."

So what’s the message of this exhibition? Vselicha says


[Dusan Vselicha, Our Small History Exhibition Curator]: "Our Small History’s little human models show how small and cynical people were made to feel during the communist times – perhaps also showing that many people still are so small, so narrow-minded and so very skeptical."

Railroad Kingdom is a permanent display. The Project’s creators are planning to add new segments to the model at regular intervals. They hope to finish the whole project by 2014. After 4 years of expansion, the railroads should cover around four tenths of a square mile – turning the Railroad Kingdom into not only the largest rail model in Prague, but in Central and Eastern Europe as well.

NTD News, Prague, Czech Republic.

Naples (FL) Depot Cultural Center

The Naples Depot Cultural Center, which doesn't seem to have a website yet, is located at:

1051 5 Avenue South
Naples, FL, 34102-6413

According to the news article I shared yesterday- thee train station is open permanently, and one assumes will have model trains on display.

One also hopes they are working on a website!

The historic Naples Depot train station reopened permanently on Saturday. The train station was built in 1927 and served Naples until 1971. It was closed for nearly five years while undergoing a massive reconstruction.

World's Largest Nation, Seen in Miniature

NTD Television: World's Largest Nation, Seen in Miniature
In a quiet street not far from the city centre of St Petersburg, an ambitious project is taking shape. Master model-makers are re-creating the Russian landmass, in miniature, from Kaliningrad in the west to Kamchatka in the east.

The world's largest nation has been scaled down to an 800-square-meter model, still under construction, but already on show to the public, who are allowed to visit one day each week.

The 'Grandmaket,' Russian for 'Grand Model', is a model on a 1:87 scale, designed with a big vision.

It depicts Russia's vast natural landscape, including lakes, rivers, mountains and forests, as well as its major cities, railways and historical monuments.

One of St. Petersburg's best-known landmarks, the Peter and Paul Fortress, is represented in miniature, complete with chiming bells in its spire and the sound of its midday cannon.

Much of the model presents a somewhat idealized view of Russia – there are no traffic jams in the capital Moscow and there is no litter in the countryside.

'Grandmaket' aims to give a recognizable picture of Russia, not a true-to-life copy, says project founder, Sergei Morozov, who reportedly had the idea for the model as a way of entertaining his young son.

[Sergei Morozov, Grandmaket Founder]:
"We are presenting an image of the Russian Federation. We use several key buildings, key landmarks, key features of the landscape, characteristic places."

Cars and trucks drive around the roads in perfect harmony, observing traffic regulations – a far cry from the congested reality of the roads in major cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg.

The trains which crisscross its terrain are programmed by computer and are never late, assures Alexei Linkov who controls the network from his laptop in a corner office.

But the model does offer a wealth of detail of everyday life in modern Russia, from police searching the owner of an expensive 4x4 jeep to firemen tackling forest fires. The model is programmed to show a fire starting every ten minutes, but stops short of reproducing the smog which engulfed swathes of Russia last summer.

[Natalyia Petrunova, Visitor]:
"From west to east, it's very interesting to look at, especially those parts where everything is moving, where it's dynamic – it's great!"

More than 100 craftspeople, electronic engineers and modeling artists have been employed to help build Russia, the model nation. Work has so far taken four years and the model is scheduled to complete by the end of this year.

Naples, Florida celebrated National Train Day on Saturday

Quite a few communities did...

Train Day to revisit Naples’ rail history
All aboard! National Train Day rolls into Naples on Saturday, May 7, at the Naples Depot Cultural Center. Organizers want to raise the awareness of the importance of trains to the history of Southwest Florida — also, they add, it’s a chance to play with really neat model trains on exhibit there.

“It’s our playground,” says Si Lyle, volunteer at the Naples Depot. And an elaborate playground it is. The layout at the depot is a labyrinth of model trains — some big, some small.

The colorful Lionel Train Layout Room features a series of toy model cities with nine trains zipping around a complex layout of miniature rail routes.

“When I look at this thing, I look at it as being interactive and attention-getting,” says Michael Fleming, another volunteer at the depot. “A way to show all of the different kind of things that make up a good hobby.”

This Train Day, however, will include much more of Florida’s history along with its trains. Attendees at the free event will see trains set up on 12 different modules, each representing a different part of Southwest Florida economy in the 1950s.

“You’re going to see ... fruit and vegetable, packing and shipping, which was a huge industry. You’re going to see the timber industry, fishing industry. You’re going to see the downtown layout,” says Fleming. “One will represent the middle of Naples itself with residential area.”

A module of the downtown Naples area will feature a scale model of Four Corners, just a block from the depot itself.

The railroad first came to Naples in 1927 and greatly contributed to the economic growth. Since agriculture has always been a big part of that growth, trains were vital to transporting goods out of town.

Volunteers can explain the importance of real trains but introduce people to smaller model ones. Their hope is to raise visitors’ level of enthusiasm for trains and what they meant to this country.

Mohammed Lati, another train enthusiast and volunteer who is planning the event, wants not only to entertain but to educate as well.

“The most important thing is to introduce people back to the train,” he says.

Today, May 7, is National Train Day

For more information, visit www.NationalTrainDay.com.


KETK: National train day Saturday
Longview, TX — The City of Longview is joining cities across the nation to host National Train Day festivities celebrating 142 years of transcontinental railroad travel and AMTRAK’s 40th anniversary. National Train Day activities will be held from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Saturday, May 7, at the Longview AMTRAK Passenger Rail Station, 905 Pacific Avenue. The event coincides with the arrivals and departures of AMTRAK’s Texas Eagle train and the connecting motorcoach services from Houston and Shreveport.

The free event will include music by the Lobo Jazz Band, a working model train display by Loblolly O-Gauge Model Railroad, Children’s Railroad Storytelling by the Longview Public Library, activities from the World of Wonder, equipment displays, Operation Lifesaver, an American Flag Display by the Rotary Club of Longview, and a variety of other activities.

Additionally, AMTRAK and Longview Transit are partnering to provide a special opportunity for 54 persons to ride the AMTRAK Texas Eagle from Longview to Marshall so they may experience train travel. Passengers will detrain in Marshall and will be returned to Longview by Lone Star Coaches. Sign up for this free activity will be first come / first served and registration will begin at 4:30 pm on Saturday, May 7 at the Longview Transit Office located at 903 Pacific Avenue, directly across the street from the depot. Criteria include a limit of 4 tickets per family and children under16 must be accompanied by an adult.

On-site parking will be restricted to permit holders and ticketed AMTRAK passengers. National Train Day visitors are asked to park at the City-owned parking lot at the corner of Cotton Street and Fredonia Street. Visitors will be shuttled to the train station on buses provided by Longview Transit and the East Texas Council of Government’s GO BUS. Shuttle service will begin at 3:45 pm and will continue throughout the event.

Sponsors for the event include the City of Longview, Longview Transit, AMTRAK, the Mayor’s Task Force for Passenger Rail Facilities, the Union Pacific Railroad, the East Texas Council of Governments, and Sobol Welding Supplies.

According to Mayor Jay Dean, “Longview exists as we know it because of the development of the railroad in the 1800’s. With this celebration and the restoration project at the depot, we’re recognizing how important trains are to our past and our future.” This past summer Longview received a significant grant to restore the historic Longview Junction Train Depot, which is the home of the AMTRAK Passenger Rail Station. The restoration project is currently in the design-stage with construction expected to take place over the next few years.

For more information, visit www.NationalTrainDay.com.

Booklists: Off on a Wild Caboose Chase, by Adolf Hungry Wolf

Off on a Wild Caboose Chase: True adventures, folklore, and a farewell tribute to the old train caboose, by a writer who lives aboard one, by Adolf Hungry Wolf
William Morrow and Company, 1989
205 pages, no index. 24 pages of b&w photos.
Library: 625.22 HUN

Description
The world of rails holds a nostalgic fascination for millions of Americans who remember a train whistling around a bend with a steam engine leading and a caboose bringing up the rear.

Adolf Hungry Wolf, expert on American Indian culture and well-known author of train lore, has had a lifelong love affair with the rails. Here he relates many tails from his encycopediac knowledge of the railroad, annd, in particular, the caboose. The most beloved of all railroad cars because they were home to the crew, cabooses were surrounded by myth, legend, and sometimes truth far stranger than fiction.

Adolf Hungry Wolf purchased an old caboose to use as his office and transported it many miles over rail and road to his home in British Columbia. That arduous, if scenic, journey is described, and he gives recommendations for how similar cabooses can be obtained and used by their fans.

He also includes suggestions for some scenic and historic train trips in North America that he and his son Okan have discovered over the years.

This fascinating collection of true adventures, folklore, and farewell tribute to the old train caboose is illustrated by stunning photographs, many of them from the author's own historic collection.

Table of Contents
1. Train in the Night
2. Across the Rockies in my Own Caboose
3. My Grandpa Had One, Too!
4. I've Been Working on the Railroad
5. Notes from a Family Freight Yard
6. Rail Laws and Handcars
7. The Moose by My Caboose...and Other Animal Tales
8. Railroad Avenue and Depot Street
9. Railroad Lingo, Women Presidents, and Rhymes
10. Notes from Some Father and Son Train Trips
11. Last of the Wild Cabooses

Long Island, NY Model Railroad Engineers

Patchogue Patch: Profile: LI [Long Island] Model Railroad Engineers
The Long Island Model Railroad Engineers is a scale train club, established in 1976 to promote the hobby of Model Railroading on Long Island.

http://www.limrre.com/

The Club is currently constructing two Model Railroad layouts at their headquarters on Horseblock Road in Medford. The club's HO and N scale layouts occupy a total space of over 2,000 square feet.

The tracks, which roll through towns and wilderness alike, are decorated with perfect miniatures of everything that would be found in the real world. Little cars are stopped at railroad crossings, towns are made up of general stores and post offices and people crowd the streets.

According to engineer George Woitas, the 24 members of the club take the time to carefully construct all of the track layouts. Their precision is what brings life to these models. Buildings are constructed from kits, and the rocks and trees built from materials purchased at homes centers.The formation of the layout is an on-going process, contributed to by all the members.

Modern trains are more advanced than older models, and are run by a digital command control, which allows more control of multiple trains on the same track layout, President John Rauh explains.

Each engine is built with a microchip installed in it which receives coded information from the control panel. Older tracks had a transformer that controlled electric power to the tracks, but could not control each train individually. As a result, each train added to the track had to run at the same time.

“In the old days, you put an engine on the track, you turn on the transformer, and the train would run,” he said. “If you put two on, turn it on, they would both run. You could have 150 engines on these layouts, and it’s only going to run the ones you tell it to.” The digital command control also allows the user to start and stop each train as an individual entity.

Club membership is open to all, and comes with a monthly $55 membership fee. They hold an annual open house to show off the handiwork of the group to the public. Regular meetings are held every Tuesday.

Vintage Railroad Playing Cards

I picked up a pack of Vintage Railroad Playing Cards at the Casey Jones Railway Museum in Jackson, Tennessee (between Memphis and Nashville).

http://www.caseyjones.com/

You can pick up your own deck of these cards at a variety of places on the web, including Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Railroad-Playing-Cards-Systems/dp/1572816163.

Below are just a few of the cards, to show you what they're like:

Model Train Societies: California: Carquinez Model Railroad Society

Carquinez Model Railroad Society
Official Website: http://cmrstrainclub.org/

The Carquinez Model Railroad Society is celebrating National Train Day this coming Saturday.

The society will celebrate the completion of its main line, a layout of more than 2,000 linear feet of HO scale model railroad track that loosely re-creates a portion of the old Southern Pacific Railroad line from Oakland to Sparks, Nev., from the 1940s to the present. (While the line itself is complete, the accompanying scenery is still under construction.

The society welcomes to the public see the layout at its open house on the second floor at 645 Loring St. in Crockett from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

According to the society, "The layout is the largest layout of its type in the Bay Area, constructed on three levels with two large connecting helixes on opposite corners of the layout."

Booklist: Playing With Trains, by Sam Posey

Playing With Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale, by Sam Posey
Randon House, 2004
214 pages. No index. No photos.
Library: 625.19 POS

Description
Why do grown men play with trains? Is it a primal attachment to childhood, nostalgia for the lost age of rail travel, or the stuff of flat-out obsession. In this delightful and unprecedented book, Grand Prix legend Sam Posey tracks those who share his "passion beyond scale" and unearths a wonderfully strange and vibrant culture.

Posey's first layout, wired by his mother in the years just after the Second World WAr, was, as he writes, "a miniature universe that I could operate on my own. Speed and control: I was fascinated by both, as well as by the way they were inextricably bound together.

Years later, Posey was convinced that building his son a basement layout would be the highest expression of fatherhood. After sixteen years and thousands of hours, this project, the outgrowth of chance meetings, unexpected friendships, mistakes, illnesses, latent ambitions, and sheer luck, was completed. But for Posey, the creation of his HO-scale masterpiece, based on the historic Colorado Midland, was just the beginning.

In Playing With Trains, Sam Posey ventures well beyond the borders of his layout in northwestern Connecticut to find out what makes the top modelers tick. Posey knew enough not to expect genial hobbyists dabbling in their basement workshops. Still, he was startled by the "world of extremes" he discovred - extreme commitment, extreme passion, and extreme differences of approach.

For instance, Malcolm Furlow, holed up on his New Mexico ranch, insists that model railroading is defined by scenery and artistic self-expression; while Tony Koester, a New Jersey modeler, believes his mission is to replicate, with fanatical precision and authenticity, the way a real radio operates.

Going to extremes himself, Posey drives a real steam engine in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to understand the great machines that inspired the models and connects us to a time when the railroad was inventing America. Ultimately, Playing With Trains reveals an enduring American world of invention and pleasure.

Table of Contents
Author's Note
Part One
1. The Mighty ZW
2. Lionel Dad
3. The Gorre and Daphetid
4. John James Hagerman
5. Thin Air
6. In the Zone
7. Short Notice
8. Englemann Canyon

Part Two
1. Fountain of Youth
2. Ruling an Empire
3. The Holy Grail
4. A Railroad to Run
5. Borrowed Time
6. The Silver Meteor
7. Powered by Steam
Epilogue
Acknowledgments