THE S EMAPHOREEMAPHORE S Official publication of the North County Model Railroad Society Issue No. 51, July 2018 A southbound Coaster glides through Rose Canyon. See page 4. In this issue .... Oceanside’s new mayor visits NCMRS Riding the Grand Canyon Railway Bob Kale deals with duplicate car numbers Goodbye to NCMRS co-founder Cy Grimshaw New ATSF Business Car tours NCMRS T HE S EMAPHORE Table of Contents Issue 51, July 2018 President’s Message 3 This month’s cover photo 4 Event Timetable 4 Department Heads 5 News & Activities 6 Mayor Peter Weiss visits NCMRS 8 Eileen Turk retires 7 2018 PSR Convention at San Diego 7 Rev. Bill Pope named NCMRS Chaplin 8 Structure Award for Harold Helland 8 P&R Commission report 9 New structures for NCMRS 10 A Haunting Whistle 11 Some Favorite Models 12 April Op Session 13 New ATSF business car tours NCMRS 14 The Grand Canyon Railway 18 Fixing duplicate car numbers, by Bob Kale 22 New Coaster locomotives 24 Hobby News 25 Humor 26 SD’s colorful railroads 27 The Old Yardmaster 28 From the Editor’s scrapbook 29 The Semaphore The Semaphore is published quarterly as the official publication of the North County Model Railroad Society. The next edition of The Semaphore will be published October 1, 2018. Please submit articles and pictures to the editor at [email protected] by September 10, 2018. The North County Model Railroad Society is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation whose objectives are 1) to hold and manage property and funds for charitable purposes, 2) to provide public displays of model railroads in order to present and teach the history and operation of railroads, and 3) to promote and teach railroad safety. Donations are welcomed. For reference the NCMRS tax ID is 33-0478444. NCMRS is located at Oceanside Heritage Park, 220-230 Peyri Drive, Oceanside CA 92058. Our web site is www.ncmrs.org 2 T HE S EMAPHORE From the Interlocking Tower July 2018 s you know from our meetings, we are developing a plan to rebuild the Trains 4 Kids A model railroad. This will be a perfect time to develop new skills and learn more about the world’s greatest hobby – model railroading. During the next several months, there will be opportunities to provide great ideas to make the model railroad more enjoyable for the children. When construction starts, the first step is to develop and build the framework to support the model. The next step will be installation of the roadbed and track. Following track work, there will be the need for electrical work. Based on what I have heard, I am sure there will be moving parts, lighting for buildings, and of course electrical control of the trains. Scenery will be a major portion of the rebuilding process. If you would like to learn new skills or develop current skills, there will be opportunities to take part in the construction of a first class Trains 4 Kids model railroad. I am sure several of you would like to be a part of this endeavor. Another opportunity to participate will be the Fall Swap Meet to be held Saturday, October 13. As you know, each of our Swap Meets has increased our revenue through rolling stock and building sales and our very popular raffles. We have had vendors and guests stay just for the results of the last raffle. Being part of a successful event is personally rewarding and this event helps provide funds for improvement of our model railroad. Over the last couple of months, we have had several new members join the club. As the new members become engaged in club activities, please take the time to introduce yourself and welcome them to our club. I know when you joined the club, active members made you feel “at home” with the club. We would like all our new members to feel welcome. Please do your part to show them around our facility. In September, the National Model Railroad Association is holding the Pacific Southwest Region 2018 Convention in San Diego. As part of the event, NCMRS will be sponsoring an operating session. Based on feedback from recent op sessions, the Switch List method will be used and set up by our members. At this event guests from the NMRA will be operating trains under our guidance. That means they will control the engines, but our members will operate the switches and provide guidance as they travel around the model railroad looking for towns and industries. This is a great opportunity for NCMRS to gain recognition within the model railroad community and the NMRA. Although the year is half over, there is still plenty of opportunity to get involved in NCMRS functions. As more members participate, NCMRS becomes more successful and enjoyable for everyone. Have a great day, Harold 3 T HE S EMAPHORE About Our July Cover Photo ome 45 minutes after leaving the S Oceanside Transit Center, Coaster F40PH-2C locomotive No. 2101 glides through Rose Canyon. Her destination in downtown San Diego is just 14 minutes away. Electro Motive Division of General Motors introduced the 3,200 hp F40PH series commuter locomotives in 1987. In 1994 Morrison-Knudsen delivered five remanu- factured F40PH-2Cs to North County Transit. They were decorated for Coaster Service and numbered 2101-2105. The F40P-HC-2s are scheduled for replacement in 2019. See page 24 for details. Timetable of Selected Events NCMRS Events are in bold July 14, LAUPT Summer Train Fest, Los Angeles July 14 & 15, Great Train Expo, Pomona July 21, PSR Amtrak Train Ride To San Diego July 28, NCMRS Business Meeting August 5-12, NMRA National Convention & National Train Show, Kansas City, MO August 31, NCMRS Business Meeting September 12-16, NMRA/PSR Convention, San Diego September 15, PSR Convention Swap Meet, San Diego September 15, PSR Op Session at NCMRS September 29, NCMRS Business Meeting September 29, NCMRS Family Picnic October 6, Los Angeles Prototype Modelers Meet, Bellflower October 13, NCMRS Fall Swap Meet October 20, Roundhouse Gang Swap Meet, San Bernardino 4 T HE S EMAPHORE Department Heads & Committee Chairs Effective July 1, 2018 Decoder Pro and Track Test Leo Valley Chaplin Bill Pope Children’s Programs Laura Reese E-bay Sales Rich Blankinship Electronics/Electrical Nick Ruddick ETC Team Tom Ashton, Chris Davis Facility & Railroad Construction Harold Helland Maintenance Bob Kale, Kevin Harper Membership Jim Gillie, Lynn Wagner Member Support (swag) Rich Llewellyn NMRA Liaison Pete Steinmetz Operating Sessions Harold Helland Operation Lifesaver Laura Reese Planning and Design David Ford Program Chairman Pete Steinmetz, Dick Bale Public Relations Dick Bale Purchasing Control Rich Blankinship Scenery David Ford, Eddie Perez Semaphore Editor/Publisher Dick Bale Semaphore Proof Reader Sue Ruddick Signal Master John Burrow Storage and Inventory Bob Hunt Swap Meet Rich Llewellyn Training Rick Keefer Trains4Kids John Castaneda, Jim Gillie, Laura Reese Trains4Kids Scheduling Laura Reese Web Master Nick Ruddick NCMRS 2018 Board and Officers Nick Ruddick, Chairman/CEO Harold Helland, President Dick Bale, Director Rich Llewellyn, Vice President John Burrow, CFO/Director Rich Blankinship, Treasurer Jim Gillie, Secretary 5 NN C C M M R R S S NNEWSEWS && HHIGHLIGHTSIGHLIGHTS New Mayor Visits NCMRS ceanside’s new mayor, Peter Weiss, toured the layout and other facilities of NCMRS on O Saturday May 26, 2018. Although familiar with Heritage Village Park, this was the former city managers initial opportunity for a first-hand look at what NCMRS has accomplished since moving to the park. The mayor appeared both surprised and impressed at what he saw and noted that NCMRS was clearly the principal attraction at the park. Following the tour the mayor joined NCMRS members for lunch arranged by Pete Steinmetz. Rich Blankinship, who is a member of the Oceanside City Parks & Recreation Commission, was responsible for arranging the mayor’s visit. Mayor Peter Weiss poses in front of the Helix with Harold Helland and Rich Blankinship. Cy Grimshaw 1931-2018 NCMRS co-founder yrus Samuel Grimshaw passed away in Encinitas on June 1, C 2018. He was 87 years old. Cy was raised in a military family and moved numerous times, but he considered Chicago his hometown. Cy served in the Air Force as both an enlisted man and an officer. He retired as a Lt. Colonel after some 28 years of active service. Following his retirement from the military Cy worked for Northrup Corp. where he was instrumental in developing the B-2 bomber. Cy was a hobbyist for about 30 years. Although he always had an interest in model railroading, his first modeling hobby was building and flying powered model airplanes. He belonged to a local club in the North County. After numerous expensive crashes, his interest moved towards model railroading: not as expensive and with no crashes. Cy was one of the three founding members of NCMRS when the club was launched in San Marcos in 1990. He served as the first president of the fledgling organization. Declining health kept Cy from being active at NCMRS in recent years. Cy is survived by his wife Essy. He will be buried at the Miramar National Cemetery with full military honors in a private ceremony. Reported by Leo Valley. 6 NN C C M M R R S S NNEWSEWS && HHIGHLIGHTSIGHLIGHTS Eileen Turk Retires CMRS hosted a retirement lunch for Eileen Turk on Wednesday June 6. As manager of N the Parks and Recreation Department, Eileen was instrumental in working with the City of Oceanside to secure a home for NCMRS at Heritage Village Park. Throughout the past four and a half years, Eileen has been a staunch supporter of NCMRS and has worked with the City to complete several upgrades for our facility including the expansion of the Trains 4 Kids room.