Vice President's Message
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Branch Line - 1 USPS 870-060 ISSN O7449771 VOLUME 59 NUMBER 3 July—September 2002 VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Gene Mayer Page 1 - Vice President’s Message Over the past month the available on the PCR Web Site. Page 2 - Made in the PCR PCR Yahoo Groups internet The Board generally agreed with Page 3 - Editor’s Notebook messages have been full of the recommendations, but many Page 5 - Process of Prototype member comments concerning officers and chairpersons had Research the future of NMRA serious concerns Page 7 - New Forum for PCR and the Pacific Coast Over the past that there would not Communications Region (PCR). Some month the PCR be enough Page 8 - Ft. Lauderdale of you want to break Yahoo Groups volunteers to Convention away from NMRA. implement the internet Page 9 - Non-rail Report from Others support the committee’s the Shasta Daylight proposed new single messages have proposals. been full of 2002 Convention membership. Some The committee met Page 11 - Layout Design Tools members want to member Thursday evening for the 21st Century eliminate the library, comments May 2 after the do away with the Page 13 - Tales of the Santa concerning the board meeting to Cruz Northern museum or reduce future of NMRA discuss the input Page 14 - S Scale in Review the size of the concerning the and the Pacific Page 16 - Contest Report Bulletin. interim report. We Page 16 - Tri-Valley Clinics The Board of Coast Region agreed to eliminate Page 17 - Achievement Trustees adopted a most of the editorial Program new long-range plan for NMRA comments and expand upon the Page 18 - Tri-valley Layouts at its annual meeting in Ft. following details: Page 19 - ELSIE Lauderdale. I understand that Page 20 - Tri-valley 1. Divisions should insert a Ray, as our Trustee and welcoming letter to new Registration Form President, will report on the Page 21 - Coast Division Rpt. members in their Trustees’ actions in a future newsletters. Page 23 - RED Report issue of the Branch Line. Page 24 - Anyplace But Here 2. The regional Page 28 - Operations SIG The PCR Long Range membership chair should Page 31 - Club Information Planning Committee submitted send a welcoming letter Page 33 - Golden State its Interim Long Range Plan to to new members in Museum Info the Board of Directors at its addition to the one sent Page 35 - Callboard annual meeting in Redding May 1. A copy of the report is (Continued on page 10) Branch Line - 2 MADE IN THE PCR by Dave Connery Last issues’ review was in N scale so I the locomotive many of us saw at the historic thought I would jump to the other end of the park adjacent to the Convention Center in spectrum this issue. I last reviewed “large scale” Redding during the PCR Convention this spring. products in the July-Sept 2000 issue of the It’s a small, unique logging locomotive with a Branch Line, when I described Llagas Creek long history in California (been here since 1901 Track and Hillman Rail Clamps. I am still thrilled with a construction date of 1884). with both products and recently learned PCR Accucraft’s first releases are live steam member Bob Ferguson has started an internet locomotives with electric models scheduled for mail order business, Garden Railway Supply later this year. You know how it goes, I was Company ([email protected]) and is a hooked and ordered one sight-unseen. My dealer for Hillman. locomotive (#48) arrived in early July 2002. It Accucraft Live Steam Shay looked fantastic as Dennis Cole at the Train Shop Over the years I have grown increasingly unpacked it for me, installing the trucks and fascinated with the idea of operating a live steam pointing out what I should be careful with. locomotive on my garden railway (Gauge #1 – A few days later at home, and after I had see side bar on large scale). I began reading about collected the paraphernalia used by live steamers, a new locomotive, the I was ready to give it a Ruby, a very affordable test run. I read through (under $400) live steam the instructions several locomotive from times then began. I first Accucraft Trains of San oiled all moving parts Leandro . They have with a light oil, then since added several small added special steam oil to locomotives (0-4-0’s and the displacement 2-4-2’s) in the under lubricator. I next filled $650 price range. the boiler with distilled Recently they began water, removing about offering Michigan-California Lumber Company 30cc’s to provide some steam head room, and shay #2 in 1:20.3 live steam. This is a model of (Continued on page 26) Large Scale – What scale is it? by Dave Connery This is a topic you could write reams about. Let’s see if I can distill it into something under- standable. First, you need to recognize the difference between “scale” and “gauge”. I’m sure you all un- derstand this, but unfortunately common usage has confused these two concepts. Gauge is the distance between the rails. Scale is the relationship of a model to the prototype. You need to know both, as they are quite different. History -- Near the end of the 19th Century, toy trains were first built for well to do European fami- lies. These were large by today’s standards and became codified with track gauges of 1,2,3 and 4. As a (Continued on page 27) Branch Line - 3 Editor’ s Notebook By Bill Kaufman I think this is an interesting issue, but before There may be guys like that, but I was we get to that I want to take a bit of personal overwhelmed by people who called or e-mailed privilege and thank all who were concerned to see how I was. I had hardly been a day in the about my health and report to those of you who ICU when Jim and Scott Morgan from my round didn’t know. One evening in late May my chest robin were in my room. My sister showed up to started hurting. I am attuned to those things see if I was still alive and somehow Otis McGee because I had a heart attack managed to pass himself off as and bypass operation in 1988. a long lost cousin and get in. (I In the middle of the night I You kind of expect this was only supposed to have two decided that it “really hurt” and close relatives as visitors. went to the hospital. By the from your church or Eventually the nurses had to next evening, they had done an come in and break it up.) angiogram on me and were relatives, but not You expect this from your arguing amongst themselves church or relatives, but not about another bypass or a stent. necessarily from a necessarily from a bunch of But this edition of the train guys. Once I was post op “notebook” is not about me bunch of train guys. and back home, people came and my operation. (I had by, or phoned or e-mailed me another bypass and am doing to check on how I was and if I fine) It is about the model railroader community was being good about my diet and exercise. as a concerned and compassionate group. I’ve thought about why the people I know in Somehow “concerned and compassionate” modeling don’t fit the stereotype. I like are not the first words that jump into people’s conventions and my round robin. I like minds when they think of modelers. They are operations which is a game you play with other more likely to envision some guy toiling alone in people. So at least part of it is because I hang dark of his basement or garage, the typical “lone around with guys who like social interaction. wolf.” But part of it is just that we are, in the words STATEMENT OF PUBLICATION commonly thrown around, a “community” and The BRANCH LINE (USPS 870060, ISSN 07449771), is issued four communities are concerned about their members. times a year in the months of January, April, July and October. Deadline for all materials is the fifteenth of the month preceding publication. No That social interaction is important in model material will be returned unless requested and sufficient postage is pro- vided. Membership in the PCR at $6.00 includes a subscription to the railroading doesn’t always get its due. Which BRANCH LINE. Separate subscriptions are available at $4.00 per year. brings us to this issue. First, Ray in his The BRANCH LINE is published by the Pacific Coast Region, 530 Fig Tree Lane, Martinez, CA 94553 President’s report and Gene in his VP/Long Second Class Postage paid at Martinez, Marysville, CA and addi- Range Planning report are concerned with the tional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to - BRANCH LINE, 530 functioning of the PCR and how to fulfill Fig Tree Lane, Martinez, CA 94553 people’s needs and get them involved. You may All comments about materials contained in the BRANCH LINE should be mailed directly to the Editor, 623 Las Colindas Rd., San Rafael, or may not agree with the solutions, but CA 94903. Inquiries regarding membership application, renewal or change increasing human interactions is one way to of address should be directed to the Member Services Chairman, 530 Fig Tree Lane, Martinez, CA 94553 define what they are doing. The BRANCH LINE is printed by the Morris Family Printers, 727 Rideout Way, Marysville, CA 95901 (530) 742-6930 Steven Lowens has an article about a way to (Continued on page 4) Branch Line - 4 (Continued from page 3) there messing with toys and they are doing good Editor’s Notebook works.