THE SIGNAL BRIDGE NEWSLETTER OF THE MOUNTAIN EMPIRE MODEL RAILROADERS CLUB JULY 2016 - MEMBERS EDITION Volume 23 – Number 7 Published for the Education and Information of Its Membership CLUB OFFICERS SPECIAL FOCUS THIS ISSUE President: RAILFAN OUTINGS FOR THE SUMMER, PT. 1 Fred Alsop PLANNING SUMMER OUTINGS WITH A RAILROAD THEME [email protected] Vice-President John Carter [email protected] Treasurer: Gary Emmert [email protected] Secretary: Debbi Edwards [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Ted Bleck-Doran [email protected] Webmasters: John Edwards [email protected] Bob Jones [email protected] LOCATION ETSU Campus George L. Carter Railroad Museum HOURS Business Meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Meetings start at 6:30 PM in: Brown Hall Room 312 ETSU Campus, Johnson City, TN. Open House for viewing every Saturday from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. Work Nights are held each Thursday from 4:00 pm until ?? . Photos courtesy of Ted Bleck-Doran. THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 PAUL’S PICS PAGE PHOTOS FROM THE LENS OF PAUL HAYNES DWARF SIGNAL PRODUCTIONS 2 THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 RAILFANNING MARYLAND, PT 1 There we enjoyed the party, of course, but we rode on a trolley through the country side and got to see a number of them in NATIONAL CAPITOL TROLLEY MUSEUM mint condition, the group does their own restoration in the Photos and Text by Jim Hoit museum, they have a theater and a trolley S gauge layout that will start when you turn an original trolley handle. The street In April Linda and I traveled to Colesville, Maryland to enjoy lights will light-up as long as you turn the generator crank, man our granddaughter’s 3rd birthday at the National Capitol that’s a lot of work. Trolley Museum at 1313 Bonifant Rd. just north of Washington, D.C. about 20 miles. If any of you are going to be in that area, it’s a great place to spend the afternoon. A view of the car barns at the National Capitol Trolley Museum Rheinische Bahngesellschaft 955, made by Gebruder Schondorff AG in 1928, Dusseldorf, Germany. It features a single truck, double end, City-suburban tram with two motors and trailer connections Here is an example of a wood street car. It’s a Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB) 1069, built by Les Ateliers Métallurgiques de Nivelles, 1907 in Brussels. Its principal features are: Single truck-single end design. For another international feel the museum has a tour street car from Blackpool England. DC Transit 1101, Washington's first PCC streetcar The museum has an S-gauge model layout featuring operating trolley models for a “Little Engineer’s” interactive experience. 3 THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 RAILFANNING MARYLAND, PT 2 THE B&O MUSEUM Photos and Text by Jim Hoit Also while we were in Maryland, we drove to Baltimore, Maryland to the Baltimore & Ohio train depot there we enjoyed the day with "Thomas". Our rail excursion began with a ride behind one of the greatest engines ever built, Thomas, We also saw a number of great loco's of the past like Clinchfields No. 1, the Tom Thumb and countless others big and small, viewed the HO scale layout which is built in a passenger car and enjoyed being in the round house. If you are planning a trip to Baltimore, this is a place to visit. Clinchfield No. 1 – has been restored and protected from the weather, but will it ever return to Erwin? Thomas makes an appearance at the museum – though the B&O Museum doesn’t have anything over the George L Carter Railroad Museum – Thomas can be seen running on the HO layout on most Saturdays. Mount Claire Station and roundhouse is home for the B&O Museum The museum host displays ofsome of the earliest examples of lovomotive and rolling stock. “Memnon" #57, an 0-8-0 built in 1848 by Newcastle Mfg., one of the oldest surviving freight locomotives on display. A view inside the Mount Claire station of some of the equipment on display. 4 THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 Chessie System GP38 #3802: built in 1967 chosen by Trains A sampling of some of the more modern equipment on display Magazine as "All American Diesel". It’s operable. outside of the roundhouse. B&O caboose C2222 is an example of a steel frames wood- Baltimore & Ohio GP40 #3684 was built in 1966. It’s operational. sheathed caboose operated by the B&O Western Maryland No. 236 is an example of a first generation 1500 hp F7. “Little Engineers” get to exercise their imaginations in a play area located between displayed equipment. 5 THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 MEET OUR MEMBERS region following retirement as a social worker based in Kentucky. BILL HEATON He enjoyed growing up in a railroad family. His grandfather (JP. Heaton) worked for the Interstate RR, the Southern RY, and Clinchfield. His father (Kyle Heaton) was employed by the Southern RY and Clinchfield. Bill started out modeling in HO and mastered painting and decaling rolling stock and locomotives. He developed a special knack for passenger equipment. Bill became impressed with 2-rail O Scale modular layout at a train show in Louisville. He sold off his HO collection and began to acquire 2-rail O Scale equipment. He aspires to build a 2-rail O Scale layout in his home during retirement. Bill Heaton is a native of the Tri-city area, having been born outside of Elizabethton, TN. He has recently returned to the Give Bill a warm greeting when you meet around the club rooms. COORDINATORS MEETING A short from a derailed caboose caused the caboose to burn and partially melt; but all other trains on the layout continued THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016 to operate normally. Need to find out why the breaker did CAMPUS CENTER BUILDING, ROOM 235, ETSU not throw and cut power to the rails. He will ask Frank Fezzie to check the electrical status of the layout. Meeting called to order by Fred Alsop at 6:00 p.m. Coordinators reports follow: Tweetsie Layout; John Edwards: ohn was called away prior to the meeting; no report. Fred Library; Gary Emmert: reported the layout is operational with Frank Fezzie working We have 30 new books for Bob Jones to catalogue. Danny to complete the installation and wiring of the turnouts in the and Sherri Lewis donated a Southern RR sounder and Cranberry Mine yard. Work is progressing on the creation telegraph key, a photo of the N&W 1218 locomotive, and a and the construction of the Cranberry Mine buildings with certificate of C&O stock. The ETSU Archives of Appalachia is John Edwards having cut out 5 of the structures all of which making a copy of this for the Carter RR Museum and will have been constructed by Fred. archive the original. Heritage Day Events; Geoff Stunkard: Locomotive Repair; Gary Gilliam: June 25th Heritage Day is “The Southern Serves the South”. The MEMRR club’s N&W y6b locomotive is down with Folks are asked to bring in Southern Railway trains and cracked drive gears. Gary has replacement parts on the way. consists, Southern RR photos and memorabilia. George A diesel locomotive in a building on the yard also needs axle Riley of White River Productions will be running a feature on gears and Gary will see to its repair. the Tweetsie layout in the 2016 HOn3 Annual with sidebars on Pardee Point, Blevins Depot/Hopson Store, and the Train Show; Roger Teinert: Cranberry section of the railroad. Geoff has completed the The show was a success with more than $8,000 cleared for draft of the article for the magazine and is compiling the the museum. We had 46 vendors, 209 tables, 7 operating photos for the story. layouts and more than1,500 attendees. Plans are being made for another train show in June of 2017. Museum Director’s Report; Fred Alsop: The university has provided approximately 1,000 sq.ft. of MEMRR HO Layout; John Carter: storage space for the museum at their Valleybrook facility off Progress is still being made on the freight yard. Help is of the Eastern Star Exit off of I-26 between Gray and needed to paint the rails, wire the tracks on the movable Kingsport. We will begin to move large items from the module and get a program. museum and from member’s storage areas to this facility including the Z-Scale layout in Fred’s basement, the Ed N-Scale Layout; Jesse Kettle: Rudtlege O-Scale layout from the museum’s trailer and Gary 6 THE SIGNAL BRIDGE JULY 2016 Emmert’ home, the rest of the Rev. Walker collection from will contact Pete Morrisett’s widow to begin to make Gary’s place, the Cope Traveling layout from the museum arrangements for the removal of his HO layout and other and other selected items. This will provide more workspace railroading items that he had donated to the Carter RR in the Carter RR Museum and allow us to tidy it up a lot. Museum now that we have the space to store them. Fred During the recent Carter RR Museum train show a new will provide members details when these arrangements are Paragon 3 N&Wy6b locomotive and a rolling thunder sound made and ask for volunteer assistance for this big task. system became available to the MEMRR for the very low price of $445 from Bob Barrett at HobbyTown USA, Johnson There being no further business the meeting was adjourned City.