UK: Mini trains are a model example of 3D art

Swindon Advertiser: Mini trains are a model example of 3D art
PEOPLE sometimes ask railway modellers why they spend countless thousands of hours creating miniature landscapes and running miniature trains over them.

If you think about it, the question’s a bit silly – and maybe a bit rude. After all, hardly anybody buttonholes a painter or sculptor and demands: “Oi! Why do you bother?” Not unless the painter or sculptor in question is a Turner Prize nominee, anyway.

I still asked Swindon Model Railway Club member Ian Burbidge, though, and he told me: “It’s like 3D painting with a central focus point that moves.

“Some people paint, some people draw. I guess doing this is my artistic expression. It’s actually quite a diverse hobby.

“You need to know a little bit about woodworking, about painting, about electronics. You need to be able to appreciate what you see in the countryside and what you see around you if you’re going to recreate it.

“There’s research to do as well.”

Layouts begin life as sections of track plus ready-made landscape features from model shops or home-made confections of chicken wire, polystyrene and plaster. Details are gradually added and the final result is often something that wouldn’t look out of place in a museum.

The Swindon club was founded in 1953, and met for many years in rooms beneath railway arches in London Road before moving to its base at the Tadpole Lane HQ of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway.

There are currently eight members, who meet to pool skills, swap friendly banter and in some cases create layouts that are too ambitious to be kept in a normal-sized home.

Ian, a 42-year-old accountant who lives in Old Walcot, has been an enthusiast since he was six or seven years old. His home layouts include a garden railway and his club layout is called the Cajon Pass, a rugged American desert landscape like something from a country and western song.

“It’s based on the broad area between California and Arizona,” said Ian.

Before creating the layout he visited the region to soak up its atmosphere. “It’s where the Santa Fe and Union Pacific come out of the LA basin and come through the mountains to get to the plateau of Arizona and Nevada.”

The accuracy and attention to detail make viewing the layout a sometimes vertigo-inducing experience, and bending for a closer look plays similar tricks on the mind to hitting the Google Earth zoom button too quickly – with the added bonus of the Cajon Pass being in three dimensions.

Another member who has looked to the other side of the Atlantic for inspiration is Alf Shaw from Churchward, a dad and granddad whose career saw him tackle everything from bar management to assembling Harrier and Tornado undercarriages at Plessey.

Aged 81 and with the energy of somebody a good couple of decades younger, he’s been a model railway enthusiast since building a layout for his infant son – who is now 54.

His main club layout is an astonishingly detailed rendition of a Canadian logging station.

Workers a centimetre high toil in forests and load railway wagons with timber, while horses graze in a paddock overlooking the scene.

“It keeps you young, this does,” he said. “It keeps you mentally active. You learn as you go along.”

At the other end of the age scale is 23-year-old John Stephens, a garden centre worker who lives in Stroud.

He’s currently adding new electronics to a layout depicting a British station of perhaps 40 years ago. Technological advances mean enthusiasts can add sound effects and lights. Some even mount tiny cameras on locos, producing driver’s eye views. Although a fan of computer games, he’s also a staunch advocate for flesh-and blood hobbies. “With this,” he said, “you can take some of the things from the virtual world into the real one.” The club has a website at www.modrail.org.uk and welcomes new members.

Model railroad display opens Thursday at museum

From Herald and News: Model railroad display opens Thursday at museum

If You Go
What: Klamath County Museum’s eighth annual Model Railroad Show
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: Klamath County Museum, 1451 Main St.
Cost: $3 for adults and teens, children 12 years old and younger admitted free of charge

A large model railroad set with hundreds of feet of track and dozens of cars, engines and cabooses will be on display this weekend at the Klamath County Museum’s Eighth Annual Model Railroad Show, according to a news release.

The Klamath Rails Model Railroad Club will be operating its HO-scale train layout today through Saturday.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The museum will offer a discounted admission price of $3 for adults and teenagers. Children 12 years old and younger are always admitted free of charge.

Inside the museum
“This is one of the most popular events of the entire year, and it’s always a thrill to see how children react to the sight of these trains,” said Gloria Sullivan, a collections assistant at the museum. “These model railroaders go to a lot of work setting up the display inside the museum, and we appreciate the effort they’ve put into this project through the years.”

The club’s diorama has three main lines for long trains and also features miniature towns, farms, forests and train stations.

Members of the Klamath Rails Model Railroad Club will be available to answer questions about model railroading and provide opportunities for local residents to join a train group.

An Introduction to HO Scale Model Train

From NBChildren: An Introduction to HO Scale Model Train
Scale models of automobiles have collectors around the globe. People have specific interests when it comes to scale models. Some prefer to cars over rails, while others collect scales of modern and vintage airplanes. Among the several different scale models of transportation objects, those of railways are perhaps one of the most interesting to watch as well as collect. For people who collect them, it is more than just a hobby. In fact it grows to be a part of their lives. Today, there are television series and kids shows that are inspired by scale railway models.

There are several manufacturers of scale model railways in the world. Among them, HO is perhaps the most renowned for making quality railway locomotive scales and tracks. HO established itself as a pioneer in model railway after the Second World War. The intention was to build railway tracks that are essentially useful for small home layouts. The idea was to manufacture cheaper railway scale models. At first the track width for HO was fixed as 16.5 mm. This was based on the standard gauge track size. However, there were companies that built scale railway models even before HO.

There are other models of scale trains like the O Scale and N Scale. However, the HO Scale was perhaps the most popular and widely accepted one. It was also the mostly manufactured train scale model. The term HO actually refers to Half Zero. This is to represent that the HO model was based on the original O-gauge train. The ‘O’ in HO is correctly spelled as zero. However, for convenience, it is spelled as the letter O. The ratio of an HO scale model train is approximately 1:87.

The history of HO Scale model train dates back to 1930sEurope. It was the German manufacturers that first designed these trains. The first model was designed in order to compete with the OO scale model. The HO model was sized similar to that of the OO model. The HO models were an instant hit and became much more popular during the 1950s. It was also during this period that train scale models became a part of people’s hobby. When compared with the OO model, the HO ones were comparatively smaller and hence were smoother and faster.

The HO train scales had broader layout patterns. They were more popular among people who collected trains and other scales of popular transportation like buses, flights and ships. However, the most important aspect which might have attracted people would be the detailing given to these scale models. The details are rich and displays on the trains are creative, without making it superfluous. This helped the HO models to have a close resemblance with real time locomotives. Before HO models hit the market, train scale models fit only in bigger hands. However, HO models were handy with kids too. Depending upon your likings and dislikes you can design a railway. If you prefer too much detail, then, this might eat up a little bit more time. You can also go for a fictional railroad.

Locomotive fans ride trains at Railfest

From Ventura County Star.com: Locomotive fans ride trains at Railfest
The rain that soaked Ventura County on Sunday failed to dampen the excitement of train enthusiasts and children who braved the wet weather to attend Railfest 2012 in Fillmore.

"We have a 7-year-old who absolutely adores everything about trains, and we promised him a train ride and a look at the visitors center and all the model trains, so whether it rained or not, we were coming," said Mary Brehm, who came with husband, Ryan, and their two sons, Dylan and Evan.

The Ventura family planned to take a one-hour ride on a train pulled by Fillmore & Western's restored 1913 steam locomotive.

"I rode Thomas (the Tank Engine) here when I was a little kid," said Dylan, 7.

"I don't think anyone in the room is as excited as Dylan is," Ryan Brehm said as he snapped photos of his sons watching model trains.

The event organized by the Santa Clara River Valley Historical Society took place Saturday and Sunday in downtown Fillmore, and while the sunny weather Saturday brought out the crowds, crafts and food vendors packed up and left during the rain Sunday.

"This is the first time in 18 years that we've actually had one day of rain. We've had some sprinkles and misty stuff, but it's never been like this," said Michael "Dusty" Clark, the society's vice president, as he stood getting shelter from the downpour.

Tom and Gwen Cram drove from Los Angeles to spend Gwen's birthday at Railfest.

"We were up here a couple of months ago and just picked up the flier and decided we would come back, rain or not," said Tom Cram.

The couple said looking at the model trains brought back memories from their childhoods and that they were excited to be able to ride a steam train.

"This is disappearing from our culture, and so we want to at least keep riding while we can," said Tom Cram.

Fillmore & Western Railway's Baldwin 1913 Consolidation-type steam locomotive made its debut at Railfest 2011 after being restored.

As the locomotive pulled up to the depot at Fillmore hissing and spluttering after its first trip of the day, Scott Metcalf, carrying his son, Eric, 2, was among those disembarking.

"He loves trains. Even though it was raining, it was worth the trip. It's an impressive sight," said Metcalf, who lives in La Cañada Flintridge.

Veronica Rooks from Ventura rode the train with her son, Travis, 5, whom she called "an absolute train enthusiast." "They let us off about halfway down, and they backed it up, and they put all this steam out so that we could get photo ops. And when it came by and the steam came out, you felt the power. It was amazing," she said.

Jared Bissen and Andrew Wilkinson of Fillmore & Western Railway were in the locomotive's cab keeping the boiler ticking over and driving the train.

"There's something about steam engines that are just magnificent, awesome, and it's a really neat deal to get it out and see all the kids smiles," Wilkinson said. "It makes all the work behind the scenes worthwhile."

Channel Tunnel Seen Winning Mail Bonanza From Airlines

From Bloomberg News: Channel Tunnel Seen Winning Mail Bonanza From Airlines
The Channel Tunnel, devoid of passengers at night since opening in 1994, is seeking an influx of mail trains as flight curbs at European airports crimp cargo flows, opening the market for millions of next-day deliveries.

EuroCarex, which groups French, Belgian and Dutch airports, yesterday ran its first test train into St. Pancras, the London terminus for Eurostar Group Ltd.’s passenger expresses, after an overnight trip from Lyon via Paris’s Charles de Gaulle hub.

Adding nightly routes for parcels and mail through the 30- mile subsea link would boost sales at manager Groupe Eurotunnel SA (GET) as freight flows languish two-thirds below their 1998 peak. Each train can carry 120 metric tons of parcels, equal to seven Boeing Co. 737 freighters. Rail will be competitive in both the next-day delivery “express” market and in three-day deliveries where cost is the chief priority, Brussels-based Carex predicts.

“There’s huge potential,” John Smith, managing director of Eurotunnel’s GB Railfreight cargo unit, said in an interview. “As time rolls on with the green agenda, problems at airports and the capacity that these trains can offer, the economics are going to begin to swing big-style in its favor.” Air France, UPS

The test, arranged with Eurotunnel, train operator Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français or SNCF and rail networks in the U.K. and France, aims to prove the plan’s viability to end users. Potential customers include Air France-KLM Group (AF), FedEx Corp. (FDX), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) and the TNT Express NV business it’s acquiring, SNCF’s Geodis SA logistics arm and Worldwide Flight Services, owned by buyout firm LBO France.

High-speed mail and parcel services through the Channel Tunnel may become possible as an Anglo-French safety committee loosens limits on train types permitted to use the subsea link in order to encourage new passenger entrants. The journey from London to Charles de Gaulle would take just over two hours, Carex says on its website, with Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport accessible in 3 1/2 hours and Frankfurt in about 5 1/2.

Yesterday’s test was performed by one of a handful of specially adapted TGV expresses that normally operate for French state mail service La Poste on SNCF’s Provence-Lyon-Paris route. The 10-car units, which have no seats, are the fastest freight trains in the world, with a top speed of 168 miles per hour, compared with just 100 mph for the equivalent model in the U.K. New Trains

Alstom SA (ALO), maker of the TGV, and Siemens AG (SIE), which builds the rival ICE, have been consulted on providing 25 new trains capable of 186 mph, the same speed as the Eurostar, featuring a floor with ball-bearing plates and rollers like those used in cargo jets and with a loading and unloading time of 30 minutes. A minimum of eight sets would be needed to commence services.

Older passenger TGVs could also be converted for freight use as they are retired from traffic, Smith said at St Pancras.

Winning permission to run scheduled trains through the tunnel should be straightforward given that Eurostars are themselves modified TGVs, and that the postal units carry no passengers, so that current evacuation rules won’t apply, said Francois Coart, managing director of Carex’s London division.

Mail trains would be competitive over distances of 300 kilometers to 800 kilometers (185 miles-500 miles), Carex says, with trucks and planes winning out either side of that range. Air France Interest
The plan will appeal most to freight integrators operating aircraft every night between cities such as Paris and London and for which “even 15 minutes means something,” said Olivier Rilhac, Air France Cargo’s delegate to the Carex project.

The carrier’s own model uses hold space on day-time flights within Europe, with shorter trips performed by trucks at a cost with which trains can’t compete, though the business case could move in the direction of rail over the next five years, he said.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Rilhac said. “You have to take into account the fuel price and environmental concerns, and you can’t be very optimistic about night flights. We want to be a client but we can’t lose customers, so we must find a way with EuroCarex to devise a more competitive model.”

Environmental curbs on cargo flights are most evident at Frankfurt, Europe’s third-busiest airport, where a 760 million- euro ($1 billion) fourth runway opened Oct. 21. The strip, which lifted capacity 40 percent to 700,000 flights a year, operated for nine days before a temporary court ban on services between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. took effect, with a federal court judge saying March 14 that the ruling is likely to be made permanent.

Frankfurt accounts for 25 percent of European air-freight consignments, or 2.3 million metric tons a year. One-third move at night, according to Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA), the airport’s No. 1 user and the biggest cargo carrier among passenger airlines. Road Limits

Elsewhere, London Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest, last year handled 476,197 flights, or 99.2 percent of its 480,000 limit. The airport also operates under a night-flights ban and won’t be allowed a third runway, the U.K. government has said.

A switch to trains for express-mail deliveries will also be spurred by new speed-limit restrictions for heavy trucks imposed across Europe in 2007, together with crowded roads, high oil prices and the deregulation of freight and high-speed rail networks, which has simplified operations, Carex says.

Paris-based Eurotunnel bought GB Railfreight in 2010 to win clients directly, instead of relying on train operators such as SNCF. The deal also means a company that ran only auto shuttles through the tunnel can provide trains across Europe, helping boost cargo volumes 17 percent to 1.32 million tons last year. Airport Links
Eurotunnel shares have gained 27 percent this year, buoyed by plans at Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn AG (DBHN) to offer passenger services from the U.K. to Amsterdam, Cologne and Frankfurt which should also speed up the approval process for mail-only trains.

Carex’s plans envisage rail-mail services linking London with Paris CDG, Schiphol, Lyon, Cologne and Liege, Belgium, in the 2015-2017 period. The group aims to extend the network first to Frankfurt and the French cities of Bordeaux, Marseilles and Strasbourg and eventually to locations in Spain and Italy.

While St Pancras has road access to some platforms, the Eurostar terminus is unlikely to be chosen as a permanent postal base, with Carex instead exploring options for a “railport” to the east, where the line crosses London’s M25 orbital motorway.

The emphasis at St. Pancras will remain on “quality and luxury,” according to Nicola Shaw, CEO of High Speed 1, which runs the station and its connection to the Channel Tunnel. While the route as a whole is open to freight trains, cargoes can be “heavy but not dirty,” she said in interview.

“This line is principally for high-speed passenger services,” Shaw said. “After that comes high speed freight, and then things like fruit from Spain and Italy. But we’re not expecting to have coal or aggregates. That doesn’t fit.”

Chicago, IL: All Aboard for Free Train fun!

From TribLocal: All Aboard for Free Train fun!
My oldest child is a typical boy, and much like his dad he loves anything that goes. They both have a particular fondness for trains. We have spent many days traveling all over the area for train exhibits and events, visiting museums and of course to see the ever popular Thomas the Train. Did you know that one of the best train displays is right here in Lake County and it’s free?

The second Saturday of every month (except November) the North Central O-Gaugers Model Train Club takes over most of the second floor of the Fremont Library (Mundelein) with a large train display and model train run. The three track display encircles the large open space and depicts city, country and working freight yards. Run by train enthusiasts and friends of the library the display will delight young and old alike.

Members of the train club are on hand and available to answer questions and talk to young enthusiasts about the trains. There are even stations where the kids can interact with the trains and the surrounding set. This is one of their favorite activities and my kids are more than willing to wait their turn to place the boom from the water tower down to fill up a steam engine or to lower the gates at a railroad crossing. There are also model cars, a drive in movie theater, and as the four year old remarked “real steam”.

There is more to do at Fremont then just take in the impressive model train exhibit. If your family covers multiple ages, like ours does, you can keep the younger kids entertained by enjoying some free wooden train play in the children’s department. Every month during the O-Gaugers train run the library has free wooden train play in the Youth Service Program Room from 1-4:30pm. Kids of all ages, can build their own wooden layouts and take Thomas, Percy, and Friends for a spin around the track. Let them build and play to their hearts content and leave the clean-up and storage of all those bridges and tracks to someone else!

In addition to the their monthly runs at the Fremont Library the O-Gaugers also do special layouts and runs at other libraries as well as at Milwaukee's Trainfest. This spring they are teaming up with the Circus Model Builders of Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois for two special circus train runs. These runs will not only include circus trains and circus models but other fictional characters such as Thomas and Harry Potter. You can see a full schedule of all the North Central O-Gaugers Runs at their website: http://www.ncogtrains.com/Calendar.htm

Special Circus Carnival Runs:
Saturday & Sunday March 24-25
Fremont Public Library, 1170 N. Midlothian Rd, Mundelein
www.fremontlibrary.org (847)566-8702
10am-4:30 pm Saturday, 1pm-4:30 pm Sunday

Saturday April 28
Wauconda Area Public Library, 801 N Main St., Wauconda
www.wauclib.org (847)526-6225
9am-4pm

Monthly Public Train Runs
Second Saturday of the Month every month except November
Fremont Public Library, 1170 N. Midlothian Rd, Mundelein
www.fremontlibrary.org (847)566-8702
10am-4pm, wooden train play in the Children’s Department 1-4pm

Atlanta, GA: The Model Train Show

Yes, you've missed it this year and I apologize for being several days late in announcing it! But mark it on your calendar for next year.

From Mableton.com: The Model Train Show The Model Train Show at the Cobb Galleria Center Sat. March 17 and Sun.

March 18 is the southeast's premier train show event. Over 260 tables of Model Train Dealers, door prizes, a complete raffle layout you can win, and more. See 6 operating model railroads, even a special model railroad kids can run!

Show times are: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4. Admission: $8 adults, Kids 12 and under Free! Free parking! Come enjoy a fun-filled weekend of family entertainment. Who doesn't like trains?!! Conveniently located at I-75 & I-285

Cost: Adults $8, Kids under 12 Free!
Phone: (770) 509-6941
Event url: www.themodeltrainshow.com

NC: 1932 model train on display in Shelby

From the Shelby Star (North Carolina): 1932 model train on display in Shelby
SHELBY — Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack.

A train chugged along railroad tracks – passing a passenger-filled depot and green fields. Wide-eyed children with grins on their faces pointed at the model train as it passed.

Tommy Forney, Shelby Parks and Recreation Department amusement supervisor, said people of all ages love trains. That’s why the newest addition to the Mickey Shull Izzi Rotary Train Depot is so special.

Joe Harand, a long-time Shelby resident, donated his antique model trains for a permanent display at the depot. The model trains were a Christmas gift to then 6-year-old Harand and his brother.

That was 1932.

Eighty years later, the set has found a new home in Shelby.

The antique models can fit in your hand, but they’re detailed to look like a life-size train. The display at the train depot includes a model engine, an observation car, a mail car and a Pullman car. The models, which are from a 1930s Lionel Standard Gauge train set, are encased in glass for everyone to see.

Harand said his brother had the train set for decades. When Harand’s brother died in 2008, the train set eventually came to Shelby.

“I was very, very excited and thankful when I found it was going to be on display,” Harand said. “My mom and pop would be really pleased.”

Forney said the new display is a welcome addition to the depot.

“(The models are) quite rare and in good condition,” Forney said.

“It’ll be here for people to enjoy,” Forney said.

Shelby City Park hosted a train exhibit and dedication Saturday to introduce the public to the new train display. Piedmont S-Gauge Train Club brought their modular exhibit featuring American Flyer trains.

“You see the way the kids’ faces light up,” said Bill Ware, a member of the Piedmont S-Gauge Train Club. “It makes you want to give back.”

Want to visit the Mickey Shull Izzi Rotary Train Depot?

The depot is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1-6 p.m. and Sunday from 1:30-6 p.m.

Wilmington, MA: Event of the Week: Toy and Train show at Shriner's

From Wicked Local (From Wilmington MA, in the Boston area): Event of the Week: Toy and Train show at Shriner's
Billerica, Mass. — The Shriners Auditorium at 99 Fordham Road, Wilmington, will again host the Greenberg Train and Toy Show the weekend of March 17. Since 1976, Greenberg's Train & Toy Show has been the largest traveling model train and toy show to serve the northeastern United States. The shows offer free workshops on a variety of topics as well as demonstrations. Those who want become involved with model railroading don’t have to look any further.

At most of the shows, there are trains that kids can ride. Kids are also amazed by the huge operating train layouts on display, many making real train sounds and simulate live steam. Admission to the show is good for both days. Admission is $7 for adults and children 11 and under are free. Visit GreenbergShows.com or www.alepposhriners.com/events.html for more information.

Denver, CO: Model trains to return after depot renovation

From Pueblo Chieftain: Model trains to return after depot renovation
DENVER (AP) — The last time for the public to view the model railroad housed in Union Station before construction begins on the historic station will be from 7 to 9 p.m. April 27. The station is being transformed into a boutique hotel.

The Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad Club will begin securing the museum-quality layout in May to prevent damage during the construction process. The model railroad has been in the basement of Union Station for 25 years.

Removable items, such as buildings and scenery elements, will be stored off-site to prevent damage. Contractors will work around the permanent elements to upgrade various building systems. The railroad club plans to reopen the exhibit in late summer 2014.

Winfield, Kansas: Daylight Donuts to get redo

From The Winfield Courier: Daylight Donuts to get redo
Lots of repainting and redecorating will be going on this weekend at the Daylight Donut Shop owned and operated by Melody and Terry Krueger at 910 Main.

According to Melody Krueger, work will begin Saturday afternoon around 1 p.m., and the shop will be closed to the public through Monday. The shop will be open Saturday morning until 11.

“ It will be quite a get-together if all works out,” Krueger said. “We have a group of my theatre friends who are putting the labor together kind of in return for all the get-togethers and after show parties we do here for the (Winfield Community) Theatre etc.” Food is being brought in both days by the mothers (Melody’s and Terry’s), and everyone is really excited about it all.

The old look will get a revamping! Vicki Schafer, Gypsy Schafer and Mary Prochaska are working with the Kruegers to organize help to paint walls a more up-to-date color, and then new art work will go up.

“We’re doing a new theme — Terry’s Donut Depot — with train art work and models to decorate in honor of Terry’s lifelong love of model trains and train history,” Melody Krueger said.

All the new art work will be pictures of trains and train things.

“We hope to also have time to put up short, small shelves on which Terry can display his actual model trains here and there on the walls,” Krueger said. “Later we will be possibly painting a mural down one side of the long hallway involving trains, as well as repainting our big sign for outside, off the alley”.

Eventually, they hope to add a real train that will go the circumference of the dining area.

“We feel really blessed to have such a wonderful family of friends that want to help us,” Krueger said. “Winfield is one of those kind of places that seems to nurture a caring, kind, involved community spirit that is willing to go the extra step for one another.”

Anyone interested in helping Terry and Melody with the Daylight Donut Shop makeover is welcome.

Boy Scouts Raise Money for Tsunami Victims

From Woodbridge Patch: Boy Scouts Raise Money for Tsunami Victims
Boy Scout Troop 964's annual Model Train Show donates profits to a Japanese Boy Scout Troop that was devastated by last year's tsunami - presenting the check to the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S.

Local Boy Scout Troop 964 presented a check for $3,000 to the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki, Saturday during the troop’s 14th annual Model Train Show.

This check is just the beginning, said Troop Committee Chairman James Young. "This is the bare minimum that we are donating," he said. All profits from the show this year will go to Troop 2 in Ishinomaki, Japan which was devastated by the tsunami a year ago. When communicating with Troop 2 leaders, Young said they told him that the troop’s history ended a year ago—but was going to be reborn now.

“Thank you for standing with us,” Ambassador Fujisaki told the crowd of boy scouts, families, and others who were gathered for the presentation during the train show at Saunders Middle School.

“You have been there for us, and we will not forget it. Japan will be there for you too,” he said.

Scoutmaster Martin Schwerzler presented the check to the Ambassador after Fujisaki had been given a tour by Train Show Committee Chair Fred Wetzel of the rooms filled with various model trains.

“There were two things I wanted to be in life that I never got to—a boy scout and a train modeler,” Fujisaki said. “So this is very exciting.”

The show, which has been held by Troop 964 annually since 1998, features one of the largest recurring HO-scale model train layouts in the Mid-Atlantic, according to Fred Wetzel.

The show included dozens of model railroad modules, created by scouts and model railroad enthusiasts—filling the gymnasium, cafeteria, and several classrooms at the school.

A large LEGO train layout, door prizes and a restaurant called the "Club Car" were all featured, as well as a display from Japan Train Modelers of Washington, D.C., complete with a Godzilla attack. There were also workshops for scouts to earn the railroading merit badge.

Saunders Middle School Principal Myca Gray was also there and presented Fujisaki with a school t-shirt inviting him to become a Spartan. Fujisaki immediately took off his sports jacket and donned the t-shirt, to the cheers of the crowd.

Saunders Middle School is located at 13557 Spriggs Rd.

CA: Model train show makes a stop in Bakersfield

From KGET.com: Model train show makes a stop in Bakersfield
Here they come around the corner. Several trains are on display at the annual Golden Empire Historical Society's Model Train Show. It’s the largest of its kind in Kern County. The organization believes the show is important for history.

"One of the things that we're concerned about is the history of railroads in Kern County as well as the West," says John Donaldson, treasurer of the Golden Empire Historical Society. "This is just an aspect of railroading that people can see and enjoy, for a lot of people, it's a hobby."

About 120 vendors set up shop at the fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday. Many sold hobby trains, engines, tracks and sets of all sizes.

"We just like bringing our layout to the shows," said Allen Arnett of Visalia Electric Railroad Modelers. "We like watching the kids, especially, look at them and what a kick they get out of them."

Kids like Alyssa Valdez loved watching the trains go around. "I like trains because they take you from one place to another," said the eight and a half-year-old Valdez, who came to the show with her grandfather. "They're really colorful, and I like it when they do the sound."

Debbie Schrader made a choo-choo noise on a hand-crafted whistle her husband made. She's selling them for their Imagination Depot company.

"We have train pillows, train blankets, we sell train fabric," Schrader said with a conductor's cap on. "My husband's been making them for 34 years."

The train show is a sight for all ages. There are about 10 train layouts. Many of the models come equipped with lights and sound, a different spin on a classic collector's item.

"We just think it's a great opportunity for people to see and remember what it used to be like," Donaldson said. "Trains today are so different than the ones in the past like when I grew up, so it's fun to see it and reminisce about what we saw in the past."

Fascination with trains has been realized in a big way

From AL.com: Fascination with trains has been realized in a big way
SUMMERDALE, Alabama --- Thomas “Tom” Lindsay, a Summerdale resident of about 9½ years, has continued to be constructive in his retirement.

He designed his home with a 26-foot-long and 16-foot-wide room to house his electronic model railroad operation with 13 different steam engines.

Lindsay said he’s always wanted a model railroad.

“Just never had the trains, time or facilities to do it,” he said.

“It goes back to when I was a kid,” said Lindsay, who was born in Newport News, Va., and as a child spent time around trains, coal and railroad operations.

He said he’s been working on his model railroad for about eight years, and that his wife, Mary Ann, creates the scenery, which includes about 50 buildings.

He has had good friends who have helped him with his railroad, he said, including one locally and another he keeps up with via Skype on the Internet.

All his engines are steam powered, Lindsay said, adding, “I prefer the romance of steam engines” over diesels.

He’s a member of South West Alabama Railroad Modelers group, which he said has about 80 or 90 members throughout Alabama and Mississippi.

Lindsay lived in the area where he was born for about 40 years, he said.

At the age of 3 years, he was stricken with polio and paralyzed from the waist down, he said. With the use of braces on both his legs and crutches, he was able to recover enough to have a brace on only one leg by the time he was 9 or 10 years old, said Lindsay.

Despite his limited mobility, Lindsay said, he lives a pretty active life.

“I didn’t know that I had any real challenge,” he said. “I pretty much did whatever I wanted to do to the point that I could. It was that or sit around feeling sorry for myself.”

For several years before he left Virginia, he was active in the area’s Coast Guard auxiliary, volunteering 10 to 12 hours a week.

He grew up on the water right on Chesapeake Bay, with family members who were boat builders and oystermen, and his father who retired from the Navy.

Lindsay worked as an internal auditor for several years before branching out to become a general contractor of residential homes from the 1960s to mid-‘70s. “I always liked building things,” he said.

After suffering some setbacks with that business, Lindsay moved in 1977 to Albuquerque, N.M., where he had family, he said, and there he opened an accounting and income tax preparation agency. While in Albuquerque, he met Mary Ann at a party.

The couple dated 10 years before they got married, he said. “We figured it might last,” Lindsey said.

Lindsay sold his practice after about 13 years, while the couple lived as “RVers” for many years. Over time, the couple used the RV to travel all over, including across Canada to Nova Scotia and to Alaska.

After leaving New Mexico, the two moved to Indiana, where they lived for about 2 years, during which time they visited the Gulf Coast area after seeing a magazine ad and bought property in Spanish Cove.

Lindsey said he had driven the coast from Texas to Virginia after vacationing in 1956 and “fell in love with the area.”

After the Disability Act passed, Lindsay, who said he had always wanted to be in the business of trucking, was able to get his commercial driver’s license.

He and his wife worked part time hauling military freight for about 11 years, he said, with the sleep area of their tractor-trailer designed to be handicap accessible.

Lindsay said he did all the driving, while his wife did the work outside the truck, especially in the last few years when he became more dependent on his wheelchair. “I’d get in the truck and I wouldn’t get out for three weeks,” Lindsay said.

Of all his professions, he said he enjoyed trucking most of all.

“I loved it,” Lindsay said, adding that he got paid to travel, see and do things, but “I wouldn’t have wanted to do it by myself.”

When Lindsay is not working on his model railroad, he spends some of his free time watching TV, particularly sports, history, Discovery and PBS programs.

He’s also a Shriner, he said, though he is not all that active these days.

Choo-Choo! Port Railroad Club Still Chugging Away

From Port Washington-Saukville Patch: Choo-Choo! Port Railroad Club Still Chugging Away
Hiding in the basement of the Harbor Campus Community in Port Washington is a scene that's roughly 15 years in the making.

A layout representing what could be a well-developed railroad system throughout Wisconsin between the Great Lakes and the Missippi River, as group member and show chairman James Bartelt puts it, fills the majority of the Port Washington Metro Model Railroad Club's meeting room.

The tracks are set up to operate as a true-life station would, with cue cards associated with different trains meant to go from here to there and back again. The group gets together for a full out operation of the tracks on the third Tuesday of every month.

The club moved into the Harbor Community basement in 1997, after its previous home in the upper part of the Java Dock building was repurposed.

Building layouts and running the tracks isn't the only activities the club partakes in. Members have also been involved in seminars and clinics, track walks, shows and trips to railroading points of interest, according to the club's website.

The club is also holding it's 17th annual trade show on Sunday, an event that Bartelt said helps raise the majority of the groups funds, beyond club members monthly dues of $8 each. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Circle B Recreation on Highway 60 in Cedarburg. Admission is a $3 donation; children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

If you're interested in learning more or joining the club, visit the website (http://members.trainorders.com/scrimjimmy/officers.html) or contact Bartelt at jimbartelt@metrorrclub.org.

Delaware: After fire, Delaware Seaside Railroad Club seeks help to get back on track

From Delmarva Now: After fire, Delaware Seaside Railroad Club seeks help to get back on track GEORGETOWN -- After losing its facility and merchandise in a fire last year, the Delaware Seaside Railroad Club is looking for a new place to continue its mission to preserve and promote the history and hobby of model railroading.

The May 7 fire that gutted the Georgetown Train Station was caused by an electrical malfunction and ruled accidental. It not only caused about $300,000 in damage to the building, in the 100 block of Layton Avenue in Georgetown, but also left the nonprofit -- which maintained an elaborate layout and housed collectibles on the second level -- without a home.

While the Georgetown Historic Association has started to rebuild, they've turned the second floor into meeting rooms, so the club won't be able to move back in, said member Bill Mixon.

The club lost more than $32,000 in equipment, but with items such as the Marx Store Display layout from 1958 destroyed in the fire, some items are irreplaceable, he said.

With the club only having liability insurance and the Georgetown Historic Association's insurance not covering the merchandise lost, the Delaware Seaside Railroad Club "lost everything," Mixon said.

"The most important thing that we lost is a (home)," he said, noting rare displays and members' dioramas were also destroyed.

While the club will host three fundraisers this year -- including the Indian Summer Toy and Train Show on Sept. 22 in Roxana, the Delaware Seaside Toy & Train Show on June 16 in Rehoboth Beach and a basket bingo in October -- donations, both monetary or collectible items, are still needed.

"We're looking for donations from people who have trains," said member Lee Horn. "We could resurrect them and refurbish them to get them out there for people to see."

The community has already donated some collectibles to the club, Mixon said, and the showing of support at last year's basket bingo was great; the group raised more than $5,000.

"We try to keep the old days alive," Horn said. "Otherwise, our history will be lost."

Iowa: The love of train sets continues

From Journal Express: The love of train sets continues
OTTUMWA — You can learn a lot building a model train.

There’s the soft skills, of course, like patience and attention to detail. But there are more concrete lessons, too.

“You’ll learn something about electricity, about woodworking and for the scenes, about art,” said Tom Morgan of Mount Pleasant.

Morgan and his fellow train club members were joined at the Great River Railroad Club’s 21st Annual Train Show by vendors and everyday train enthusiasts Saturday at the Quincy Place Mall. One shopper carrying her bags as she stepped from a store commented on how busy the mall was.

That was true, Morgan said, but in this age of video games and computers, it’s been getting harder to recruit fans of model trains, which were once toward the top of many lists to Santa.

But there is interest. Young Thomas Spoelstra of New Sharon was patiently following a model train around the 90-foot circle of tables at the center of the mall. With three tracks running side-by-side, the club’s setup had roughly 270 feet of track.

Thomas watched them all.

“His big brother got a train set for Christmas,” said Thomas’ dad, Steve. “It was just a [small one], but yeah, they can grow! Now Thomas is thinking about building one, so we came here for this.”

The event drew other children, too, but it often looked like far more adults were crowding the tables.

The other club he belongs to, the Iowa Model Steam Engineers, use miniature — but real — steam engines to power locomotives strong enough to pull the owner and friends around a homemade track. Morgan has more than 1,800 feet in his backyard.

Both types of train models, said Morgan, allow the hobby to be as exciting or relaxing as a person wants. He’s been involved for 50 years.

Morgan said there are plenty of model train enthusiasts who love “real” trains, too. They’ll let their own track sit a while as they grab a camera and head out to explore their favorite train locations. After a bunch of photos, they can then recreate that location in their own basement.

Some hobbyists want fast trains, more than one locomotive at a time and multiple, computer programmed track changes.

“Or,” Morgan said, “you can just sit and watch it run in circles.”

Commercial Trains: Macca's Eurostar nightmare: Sir Paul stranded on broken-down train for six hours after watching daughter Stella's Paris Fashion Week show

From the Daily Mail: Macca's Eurostar nightmare: Sir Paul stranded on broken-down train for six hours after watching daughter Stella's Paris Fashion Week show
# Beatles legend was stuck on train with wife Nancy Shevell and fashion designer daughter Stella
# Sir Paul 'laughed and joked' with passengers and signed dozens of autographs
# Eight trains were cancelled as faulty cable saw travellers trapped on trains for up to 11 hours
# Disruption came as Paris Fashion Week gets under way
# Model Laura Bailey, tweeted: ‘Love affair with Eurostar officially over. Love affair with Paris will never die'

Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney was among the thousands of Eurostar passengers caught up in massive delays on the London to Paris rail route.

Sir Paul was stuck on a broken-down train for six hours with his 51-year-old wife, Nancy Shevell, and daughter Stella, as they returned to Britain after attending Paris Fashion Week.

The rock star, who was returning to the capital on Monday night after watching 40-year-old fashion designer Stella's show, found himself stranded in the French countryside after heavy snow caused a power cable to collapse.

Far from being enraged by the 'vile' conditions on board, the 69-year-old 'laughed and joked' with passengers in his carriage and signed dozens of autographs, it was reported.

A source told the Mirror: 'It was a pretty hideous situation but Sir Paul was on fine form. 'He had a laugh and a joke as he chatted with the passengers in his cabin and he signed dozens of autographs.

Sir Paul was just one of thousands of travellers caught up in the cross-Channel rail chaos.

Eurostar passengers - including catwalk models - yesterday told of their ‘hellish’ journeys after a faulty with an overhead power cable delayed services by up to 11 hours.

Those travelling between London and Paris were worst hit, with some stranded in the Channel Tunnel without food or light.

Others said they arrived in the French capital at 1am with no hotel room, but the only accommodation made available to them was in a stationary train.

Last night Eurostar cancelled four trains and slowed the rest and today another four trains were cancelled.

Poppy Delevingne, the 24-year-old Vogue cover girl, told her 10,000 followers she was ‘deliriously tired’ after her disrupted journey to Paris fashion week.

Laura Bailey, the 39-year-old former face of Marks & Spencer, used her account on the social networking site Twitter to say: ‘Love affair with Eurostar officially over. Love affair with Paris will never die.'

Designer Henry Holland was less optimistic, writing simply: 'Eurostar DISASTER'.

Meanwhile, Sophia Abdel, a 19-year-old student, said: ‘I got to London at midnight after 10 hours and 23 minutes on the train. I was mad, tired and annoyed.

‘On the train there was no electricity, no food, it was dark. I just had to sit and wait. The staff didn’t do anything. I was supposed to be in London for study reasons but I’m going back to Paris today because I just want to be in my home.’

Kandy Woodfield, who travelled on the same train to London described the journey as ‘hellish’, adding: ‘The bar has made an absolute killing. I think it is terrible. There are elderly people and young children on board.’

Hundreds of exhausted passengers were given emergency accommodation on two TGV trains when they finally reached Paris so they could rest after missing their connections.

Laurent Girard, who was on his way to the Alps with friends, said: ‘It’s pretty depressing spending 10 hours on a train and then being told you can rest in another train. None of us got any sleep at all — it was awful. We’re all completely sick of trains now.

It is not the first time that world-famous models have suffered ordeals on the Eurostar.

In 2009 London-based German star Claudia Schiffer was among thousands left without food, water, lighting or air conditioning in the Channel Tunnel.

But while others were left stranded, a car was sent to pick Ms Schiffer up from the entrance of the tunnel after she was escorted there by staff.

A spokesman for the Gare du Nord in the French capital confirmed that two TGVs were made available for people to sleep in.

‘We didn’t get in to Paris until 1.30am and so were put on train to sleep,’ said Mike Adams, 43, who was on his way to a skiing holiday in the Alps.

‘There were a lot of others in the same position as us – we were completely stranded without hotel rooms,’ said Mr Adams.

‘The French put on heated trains, giving us blankets and some packed dinners. We didn’t sleep much, but others seemed to get their heads down. When staff arrived to clean the trains at around 5am we all had to get off.’

Laurent Girard, who was also on his way to the Alps with a group of friends, said: ‘It’s pretty depressing spending 10 hours on a train and then being told you can rest in another train.

‘None of us got any sleep at all – it was awful. We’re all completely sick of trains now.’

The Gare du Nord spokesman said hotel rooms were originally made available to families with children, but ‘soon ran out’.

Instead two TGV high speed trains became temporary dormitories for the stranded.

A Eurostar spokeswoman confirmed that the delays were all caused by an EDF power cable which collapsed in the snow.

She said: ‘The good news is everything is running as normal this morning. We are not expecting more problems with the power cable.

‘There was quite a severe impact on train services and we were doing everything we could to keep the train moving but it wasn't something that was in our control.

‘Our trains do carry supplies for this kind of thing so they would have been given some sort of refreshment but it wasn't going to be the most comfortable journey. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.’

Wednesday

I know I keep promising that I'm going to get back to a daily schedule of posts, and I know that weeks have gone by and there's been nothing regular about my schedule!

And I apologize! Stuff happens, abetted, I admit, by procrastination. There was a helluva lot of scanning of material I needed to do which I never did, and now I've got to get all that material back where it came from, so I've got 2 days of probably 12 hours a day spending my time scanning, and double checking to make sure I havne't missed any pages, etc.

So I'm going to spend the next 2 days doing that, will be all caught up on Wednesday, and will resume daily posts here.

And will finally have learned my lesson about procrastination - don't do it!