February 2018 WISEops is on the Calendar NMRA — Joe Russ Midwest Region This year’s annual operating weekend is scheduled for April Convention 6-8, 2018. Get a chance to see and operate the layouts of your fellow April 13-15, 2018 WISE members. So far there are ten layouts participating ranging You still have time to take advantage of early registration from N, HO and three-rail O gauge. Sessions each run about 3 hours. discounts for this year’s Midwest Region Convention in Madison. It is If you have not operated a model railroad in the past don’t worry. being held at the Radisson Hotel on the South Beltline near West Each session is a learning experience, even for the experienced oper- Towne Mall. Clinics and operating sessions are planned for Friday ators, and even if you are a novice, you will get plenty of help from evening and the clinics continue Saturday morning. Saturday also your operating team. Sessions are currently planned as follows: features more operating sessions and layout tours in the afternoon. The banquet is planned for Saturday evening with keynote speaker Friday, April 6: 7pm—10 pm Tony Koester from Model Railroader magazine. Additional layout Saturday, April 7: 9am—Noon, 2pm—5pm, 7pm—10pm tours are available on Sunday. Sunday, April 8: 9am—Noon There will also be a photo and model contest during the event. If you are going to enter, please complete an NMRA Form 901 Operate for one session or the entire weekend. Registra- prior to the conference to save time. The form is available on the tion will start around March 1st (watch for an e-mail and check the NMRA website. Early registration ends March 31, 2018. A registra- Division’s website and Facebook page for the exact day registration tion form is included on Page 7 of this month’s Owl Car starts). Like last year, everyone can register from the beginning, how- For more up-to-date information check out the website at: ever, NMRA members will receive preference for the first five days. www.nmra-scwd.org So if you like to operate on different layouts, be sure to save the date for WISEop 2018. Want to Attend the Inside this issue: Mad-City Train Show? Page 2: From the Super’s Desk, Video Library News, (Leave the driving to us!) Jim’s Tips & Tidbits, Trainfest Planning Starts We still have room on the bus to the Mad-City Train Show Page 3: WISE Upcoming Events, National & Regional Events, in Madison. We depart Saturday, February 17, 2018 from 3 conven- Need a Great Personal Uncoupling Tool? ient locations. Fare is $37 per person which includes the ride, admis- sion to the show and complimentary coffee and donuts on the coach Page 4: Information on the upcoming March 18 WISE Meet bus. The cost for persons 17 years old or younger is $15 per person. Changes in the Delivery of the Owl Car Pick-up locations: Page 5: Contest results from the January WISE Meet 7:00 am— College Avenue Park & Ride, Southwest Lot Page 6: WISE Board contact information, From the Editor 7:15 am—State Fair Park, Park & Ride Lot, I-94 and 76th Street From Your Paymaster 7:30 am— Goerke’s Corner Park & Ride, I-94 and Barker Road Page 7: Registration form for Midwest Regional Meet For more information contact Art Oseland at 414-764-5375 The Capitol 400 (see article above) or e-mail him at [email protected]. Cash or check made out to the WISE Division of NMRA must be presented at boarding on Saturday Page 8: Last run—the UP & Western unless you have paid in advance to Art. Page 2 February 2018 Notes from the Super’s Desk... Jim’s Tips and Tidbits —Jim Kelly We had another great contest room at the January meet, Many years ago John Coots, founder of SS Limited and three great clinics and our first Facebook Live streamed clinic - What later N Scale of Nevada, gave me a great tip on cementing cast a kickoff to the new year! Well done and thank you to all those in- pewter parts together. volved in organizing, attending, bringing entries and dedicating their He recommended swishing them in acetone first and time to present great information. then cementing them with CA. I tried it and it works great. I think You’ll see the results of the contest later on (in full color if it clears pores in the metal surfaces and lets the cement penetrate you’re reading this digitally). With 25 entries and 8 contested catego- and lock in. ries voting was not easy! Start prepping for the March meet so we can keep the ball rolling. Staying with contests for another moment I’d like to thank Winter time is “track kinks” time, at least if you live in Wisconsin and have a basement that is less than perfectly climate- Mike Slater, Ted Zeiger and Ed Varick (and if I missed anyone my controlled. The winter air in my basement goes as low as 30 per- apologies) for answering the call to staff the contest room. To keep cent humidity and this causes the plywood sub-roadbed to shrink. things fair I did the tally but they did the work. Thank you very much It takes only a little shrinkage to cause a kink in the rails. Dennis for your help so the contest could go on. Janssen recently e-mailed me a photo of a kink on his layout. He The first Trainfest Committee meeting was held on Thurs- uses Homasote roadbed which is also, indirectly, a wood product. It’s made from recycled newsprint, which is made from pulpwood. day the 25th of January with some of the Board in attendance. It To remove kinks you can wait for spring or relieve the pressure by certainly was a packed room! See below for more. gapping the rails. The best solution is to preempt the problem by Events in February, March, April and August: gapping the rails as you lay track. Also avoid soldering rail joints so A WISE Bus Trip, a WISE Meet, the Mid-west Region Con- the rail has room to breathe. vention, WISE Ops, the WISE Meet & Annual Meeting and the Nation- al Convention. This spring and summer is already shaping up to be When real railroad equipment is removed from service it busy if you want to be! In February the Division will be holding its is white-lined, that is to say, a white line is drawn through its road regular bus trip to the Mad City show in Madison on Saturday the number. Years ago a modeler I know had done what many do and 17th. The March meet will be at the same physical location (though decaled his wife’s name on the side of his elegant observation car. newly renamed Four Points Sheraton) as our previous meets this After twenty-some years together she asked for a divorce, and season. sure enough the next time his operators came around the car had been white-lined. This year’s Midwest Convention will be in Madison so take advantage of it’s close proximity for either a day or the whole event. Our April meet will also be the Annual Meeting. As a member of the WISE Division please come! The 2018 National Convention in August (8/5-8/12) in Kansas City, MO. While someone could fly there you can Trainfest 2018 Planning Underway also ride Amtrak’s Southwest Chief right into the city. Between the — Ken Jaglinski clinics and the show, you might forget to do some railfanning…. Well The Trainfest Committee kicked off its planning for the maybe. 2018 event on January 25th with a meeting at the offices of Mercury As always please email me if you have any questions at Communications, their marketing partner. This years event will once again be held at the Expo Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park on the [email protected] otherwise I look forward to seeing you weekend of November 10-11, 2018. around town! —Pete After coming off a successful year in 2017, no major chang- es are planned for 2018. Ticket prices will remain the same as well. The featured road for “Celebrate a Railroad” this year is the Great Video Library News Northern. The Burlington is committed for 2019 and the Wisconsin — Burnell Breaker Central and Green Bay & Western are under consideration after that. DVD's will NOT be checked out or returned during the Trainfest is recognized as being the largest operating rail- February 17 bus trip to the Mad City Train Show. Your Video Librari- road show in the country and we, as a Division of NMRA, should be an will be out of town for a family event. proud of that label. The event is a teaching tool for the public regard- The DVD Video Library will be available for check out at ing trains and provides an opportunity for modelers to see new prod- the March 18 meet. We now have transferred all Division VHS tapes ucts and learn new techniques. But it takes a lot of work to put this to DVD's for all to be available for viewing. show together. If you have not been able to volunteer to help the ALL DVD'S MUST BE RETURNED BY THE APRIL 22 Division at Trainfest in the past, please consider helping us out this WISE MEET. year. Please contact Ken Jaglinski, Trainfest Chair, at [email protected].