![[ABEL logo]](./images/ABELLOGO.GIF) |
AMHERST BELT LINES |
![[ARS logo]](./images/ARSLOGO.GIF) |
HO Modular Railroad |
Copyright © 2002, Amherst Railway Society
|
Sudro Brown BrownSudro@cs.com |
Clark Huber chuber@charter.net |
Alan Rice abel.planning@comcast.net |
Ah, September. The days are crisper and less humid; the nights are getting cooler; trees begin their annual change in plumage, exchanging the subtle shades of green for a variety colors - perfect for modeling, by the way - then gracefully releasing each leaf to the whim of gravity. With the days getting shorter, the time for model railroading activities takes on a different light – moving from the outdoor activities of railfanning, to the indoor activities of modeling and shows. As seems to be the norm for the Amherst Railway Society's HO Scale Modular Layout, the 2002/2003 Show Season appears to be a busy one, so let's "start our engines" and get right down to business.
As of this edition of the Modular Mumblings, the Amherst Belt Lines has firm invitations, and commitments, to four shows this season. Right now our schedule looks like this:
| Sunday, October 20, 2002 | Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club's Show, Townsend, MA |
| Sunday, November 3, 2002 | Bedford Boomer's Model Railroad Exhibition, Bedford, NH |
| Saturday, February 1, 2003 and Sunday, February 2, 2003 | Amherst Railway Society's Big Railroad Hobby Show, West Springfield, MA |
| Sunday, February 23, 2003 | Worcester Model Railroader's Show, Auburn, MA |
Mark these dates on your calendars now so that you don't forget them! Reserve some time in March, too, for the Little Rhody show in Warwick, Rhode Island – we haven't been invited yet, but this is a show worth going to with or without an invitation. As always, we are looking for anyone interested in participating to come to these shows, whether you own a module or not. Help is needed for setting up, operating the layout and loading the modules for transport. If you have a module, or modules, you would like included in one or more of these shows, let Alan know as soon as possible. Deadlines for notifying Alan about participation are listed with the information for each show.
Come on out and lend a hand this year!
|
This year marks the fifteenth annual show for the Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club. The show will be held at the North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, MA on Sunday, October 20, 2002 with setup occurring on Saturday, October 19. The High School is easy to find on route 119 in Townsend, MA. If you need directions, please contact one of the coordinators. The show features a good mix of vendors and layouts, and there is generally something there for everyone. The Belt Lines has space allocated for a modest layout of 24' x 20' and, as can be seen by the detailed layout plan, there is still room if you want to include your module in this layout. Setup will start around 10:00 AM on Saturday and continue until around 5:00 PM. After that, we will likely carry on a long-standing tradition of heading across the street to a local eatery for some cold beverages, good food and conversation. The show opens on Sunday at 10:00 AM and runs until 4:00 PM. If you are interested in participating, with or without a module, let Alan know immediately so that he can finalize the layout plan. We look forward to seeing you there. |
|
The Bedford Boomers have been putting on a great display only show for twenty years that is well worth the trip to Bedford, New Hampshire from nearly anywhere. For seventeen of those twenty years, the Amherst Belt Lines has been an enthusiastic participant at the show, and looks forward to being a part of this year's exhibition as well. The show is held at the McKelvie Middle School in Bedford, New Hampshire from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 3, 2002. Directions to the show are available on the Bedford Boomer's web site (http://www.boomers-rr.com/) or from any of the module coordinators.
This show features a variety of railroad displays, both model and prototype, indoors and out. In past years there has been a 1-to-1 display of speeders and other portable railroad equipment, an operating live steam layout, and modular layouts of nearly every scale. The show is a "display only" show without any vendors, which is a refreshing change from the rest of the shows. Setup starts Friday night, November 1 and will continue on Saturday until about 5:00 or 6:00 PM. The Belt Lines crew are then invited over to the Belforti's for a dinner, still to be determined. After dinner, it has been traditional to travel to a local layout to supply an operating crew for the evening. The past couple of years we have been invited to Bruce Robinson's Valley Junction Railroad for an operating session that has been enjoyable and action-packed. We are looking forward to another great year in Bedford.
Our space allocation is not yet known, but we anticipate a layout of about 20' x 32'. If you are interested in participating, with or without a module, let Alan know by October 20 so that he can finalize the layout plan and get a list of participants to the Boomers. We look forward to seeing you in Bedford.
OK, so the heading appears to be redundant. You are sitting there reading the headline, saying to yourself – "Of course ABEL is portable, it is a modular layout!" This isn't really about the layout, but rather that we have changed our format for preparing the Modular Mumblings in an effort to present you with better graphics both on paper and on the web. The newsletter used to be, and still is, created in Microsoft Word, with the graphics – layout or module plans – prepared in CADVANCE and then embedded into the Word document by "cut and paste" and sized to fit the space available. This was fine for the version that was printed and distributed as "hardcopy", but was problematic to translate into the web version of the newsletter. With this edition of the Modular Mumblings we now have the capability to write PDF files out of both Word and CADVANCE – the result will be better graphics on both the web and the paper copy. The copy that goes to the printer is a PDF file complete with graphics, while the copy that goes to the web has PDF graphics to enhance the quality of the product.
So, what does this mean to you? Basically it means that the quality of the graphics has improved for both versions of the newsletter. It also means that we have in place the ability to make other graphic information, such as show plans and module drawings, available on the web site. As time permits, we will start to transfer some of the archived show plans and module drawings to the web site so that you may view them online, or download them for printing.
Please note that Alan has changed his email address. His new address is abel.planning@comcast.net Please update your address books accordingly.
This year the Amherst Railway Society's HO Scale Modular Layout will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary in February. It is hard to believe that the first layout was assembled back in February of 1978 in the Student Union Ballroom of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The specifications for the modules have undergone numerous changes and improvements over the past quarter century, but the concept behind the organization has remained the same: promote the hobby of model railroading through an operational, portable display. In the past 25 years the Amherst Belt Lines has been involved in countless shows and displays, leaving its distinctive mark wherever it goes. In addition to the regular shows of the Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club, the Bedford Boomer's, and of course the Amherst Railway Society's Big Railroad Hobby Show, the Belt Lines has shown at the Greenberg Show, in the Massachusetts Building as a display for the Big E, a private Christmas Party for a Massachusetts Defense Contractor and is now becoming a regular display at the Little Rhody Division of the NMRA's show in Providence, Rhode Island. We have tested the endurance of the setup crew (one day to setup, run and break down the layout) with what is now becoming a regular appearance at the Worcester Model Railroader's Show in Auburn, MA. We have traveled all over New England to achieve our mission goal of promoting "the World's Greatest Hobby."
From its humble beginnings in November of 1977 to put together a then formidable layout of 11' x 19', the Amherst Belt Lines has grown to an empire of approximately 13 scale miles of mainline track and over 100 modules. The Belt Lines has served as the birthplace of several other modular groups, as well as a haven for numerous independent modules and modular groups participating in the Amherst Railway Society's show. Some of those groups have moved on to become standalone displays, others remain as part of the larger effort.
As we begin our 25th year of operation, we would like to thank the individuals who played a key role in getting the Belt Lines started. First, our thanks go to Mr. Bob Buck, Amherst Railway Society Show Chairman, for planting the seed and obtaining the first specifications from the WISE division of the NMRA. Second, to Mr. Bill Venman, for taking on the role of the first Module Coordinator. Thank you, gentlemen, for starting us on a truly amazing journey!
That is all for this edition of the Modular Mumblings. We'll be looking for you in Pepperell and Bedford!
Celebrating 25 years of Service
Modular Railroading is FUN!
Sudro, Clark and Alan