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AMHERST BELT LINES |
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HO Modular Railroad |
Copyright © 2001, Amherst Railway Society
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Sudro Brown BrownSudro@cs.com |
Clark Huber chuber@charter.net |
Alan Rice abel.planning@comcast.net |
As we put this edition of the Modular Mumblings to press (seems like an odd statement for something that is computer generated!), Thanksgiving is behind us and the traditional winter season holidays - Chanukah, Christmas and New Years - are rapidly approaching. The 24th annual show season for the Amherst Belt Lines is off to a good start, with even better things to come. So, without further delay...here is the news:
October 13, 2001 started off the 2001-2002 show season for the Amherst Belt Lines with the Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club's 14th annual show. Those who participated this year helped to get the layout smoothly on its feet and operating in time to go out for dinner at the usual place - JB's, across the street from the High School. The "standard" layout was pressed into service for this show and seems to be pretty well debugged in terms of assembly and operations. We still need to work on refining the Car Card system so that more of the available industry is serviced on this layout. A heartfelt "Thanks" is extended to everyone who participated in our 13th appearance at this show.
The weekend of November 9, 10 and 11 marked our 16th appearance at the Bedford Boomers show. We setup an "L" shaped layout, 32' x 20', with a connecting leg to the Boomers' layout even though we didn't interchange with the Boomers. The Boomers' planning group did a great job as always and the overall layout in the Gym was impressive. On Saturday night the Belforti's hosted the crew for a delicious beef stew dinner. This has become an annual event and we are all grateful to Mary-Lynn Belforti, Kim Rice and the rest of the group that makes this possible. After dinner several of the operators headed out to Bruce Robinson's Valley Junction Railroad for a LATE night operating session. We went to Bruce's last year and are still impressed by how much layout and operation he has packed into a relatively small space. The layout is not a bowl of spaghetti and is pretty comfortable to operate. Thank you again, Bruce, for playing host to this group. Maybe next year we can show you what it would be like to convert to DCC!! The Boomers' show was well attended on Sunday, and after a good day of running trains we were down and out of the school in record time. Thank you to all who participated in this show!
This year marks the 24th annual appearance of the Amherst Railway Society's HO Scale Modular Railroad (aka: "The Amherst Belt Lines") at this show in February. Over the years we have seen a large number of changes to both the layout and the show venue. This year we expect the layout will be better than ever, and a few changes and surprises may be forthcoming.
The Amherst Railway Society show is Saturday, February 2, and Sunday, February 3, 2002, at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Setup starts on Thursday, January 31 from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm and continues all day on Friday to 10:30 pm. Show hours will be the same as last year, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The show will once again be in three buildings this year.
All module owners, and other interested parties, are invited to participate at the show, with or without modules. We will be in the same general location in the Better Living Center as we have been for the past few years and probably in a similar configuration as we had last year. We hope to have RailCam back again this year, as this always seems to be a hit. There has been some discussion with Justin Maguire and his crew about hosting an On30 modular layout with our layout this year, though this may become just a module and a table with propaganda. This On30 group made their full debut at the Little Rhody Show last year and their work really gets you thinking about experimenting in a different scale. We are also expecting a few changes that should make the layout run a little smoother. When you consider the shear size of this layout - approximately 12 scale miles - the overall operation of the layout is pretty amazing.
| Railcam views from 2001 show |
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Before any planning of the layout can start, we need to know what you plan to bring to the show. Designing a layout the size of our display at the Big E show will take Alan most of December and all of January. He can do some preplanning, allocating space and making his best guesses, but your input is required to finalize the plan. If we plan to do any "cul-de-sacs" in the layout to allow the public to get a closer look at modules, we must submit the layout plan to the West Springfield Fire Department for approval. To allow enough time for these activities to occur, Alan needs to begin planning the layout as soon as possible. If you would like to have your module, or modules, included in the layout, you must contact Alan by not later than Friday, December 28, 2001. E-mail and U.S. Mail addresses are at the top of this newsletter, as is the phone number, for your convenience.
This "drop dead" date applies to all modules to be included in the layout. If you notified Alan prior to the publication of this newsletter, please contact him again as a reminder. If you have a NEW module (one that's never been in an ABEL layout), or a module that has had significant changes to track configuration, you must send Alan a track plan and the industry or siding information for that module. If you have a NEW module or have made significant electrical changes to your module(s), let Alan know so that we can make arrangements to inspect the module before the show to avoid having to fix or repair problems at the show. We would like to avoid fixing or repairing modules at the show this year, as repair is not an efficient use of our resources. Remember, we will not assume your module is coming to the show. If you want Alan to include your module in the layout, you MUST contact him by Friday, December 28, 2001!!
As it was last year, our policy regarding module delivery is that all modules must be in the Better Living Center on Thursday, January 31 by 9:00 pm. If you have a new or reconstructed module that has not been inspected, please try to get to the show site as early as possible on Thursday. We would like to have all modules on their legs and in close to final position before we leave the building Thursday night. If you have specific reasons why you cannot meet this deadline, let Alan know when you confirm the use of your module in the layout, or as soon as possible thereafter should your circumstances change. If you have not arranged for the late arrival of your module the space will not be available when you arrive on Friday morning! This is a VERY large layout, and we cannot afford to delay setup. If you need help with transportation to meet this deadline, let Alan know when you contact him so that arrangements can be made.
After you have delivered your module on Thursday, please plan to stay to assist others in setup. There is plenty of work to do and the more hands there are to do it, the faster it goes. You can help others unload and assemble their modules. We will need at least two crews to level modules and two or more to put in the rail connections. We need people to run cables, put up skirting, setup the barrier, etc. - the list goes on.
Do not forget to stick around after the show, too. Everything that is done on Thursday and Friday has to be undone on Sunday. Rolling stock must be put away; the skirting must be removed, folded and stowed; cables must be pulled and coiled, etc. Remember, our goal is to have the layout setup and operating smoothly as soon as possible, and taken down and shipped out as fast as possible on Sunday. If we can have some fun operating trains in between, so much the better!
This year the Amherst Railway Society Show Committee has asked that anyone associated with the layout have an exhibitor badge provided by the Amherst Railway Society, Inc., and has asked that we provide a list of names to have on file at the show office. This list will also be used to assign parking tags, so... If you are planning to participate in this event and would like to ask others not directly involved with the layout to assist in operations (we have quite a few "outside" operators at this show), you will need to provide Alan with this information by Friday, December 28, 2001.
Just as we were going to press with this edition, the invitation for the Worcester Show flashed across email. Now is the time to mark your calendar for this one-day show (quite literally, from setup to tear down - ONE-DAY!) and plan to come to the Elks Club in Auburn, MA on February 24, 2002. We plan to bring the "standard" layout to this show since the space available is limited and we know we can get it up on its feet and operating in the three (yes, three) hours we have to set up. Setup goes much quicker if we have a few more people to help out, so set aside the date in February for this show now so you don't forget!
We were formally invited back to this show while we were up at the Bedford show at the beginning of November. Justin Maguire extended the invitation which Clark and Alan practically jumped on. Justin has promised some format changes this year, including changes to the concessions, so the show will only get better. It will be at the same location as last year in Warwick, Rhode Island. We plan to bring the "standard" layout to this show, but if you would like to have modules included in the layout make your requests now. We will do everything in our power to honor requests by module owners and perhaps obtain some more real estate for the layout if necessary. Those of us who went to this show for the first time last year had a great time. As more information becomes available, we will provide an update. 2" in 2003
Several years ago [1996] we changed the specifications to narrow the mainline track centers from 2 1/2" to 2" and bring our HO Modular Standards into line with the NMRA Recommended Practice. Since then, many modules have been retired, modified or rebuilt to match this new standard. Now that time has passed, we are trying to get as many modules as possible to meet this 2" standard so that layout planning can be simplified - the idea of a modular layout is that you can place any module anywhere in the layout. The two 2-foot modules that are currently used to provide the transition between 2" and 2 1/2" centers are nearing the end of their useful life. We would like to avoid rebuilding the transition modules if possible. If you have a module (or modules) with 2 1/2" mainline track centers, the coordinators are asking that you evaluate your modules to determine if you can rebuild them to 2" track centers. We understand that some of you use your module(s) in a home layout and may not be able to modify the modules because of the work involved at home. For those of you in that position, notify the coordinators and we will discuss continuing the "grandfathering" of these modules, or work with you for other solutions.
That is all for this edition. Remember - let Alan know if you plan to participate in the Amherst Railway Society Show by December 28, 2001, with or without modules, and if you are planning to invite additional crew to the show.
Seasons Greetings and have a Happy and Safe New Year!
See you in West Springfield
Sudro, Clark and Alan