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AMHERST BELT LINES |
![[ARS logo]](./images/ARSLOGO.GIF) |
HO Modular Railroad |
Copyright © 2002, Amherst Railway Society
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Sudro Brown BrownSudro@cs.com |
Clark Huber chuber@charter.net |
Alan Rice abel.planning@comcast.net |
As this edition of the Modular Mumblings is being put to press, the weather has turned markedly colder and mid-November is just behind us. Thanksgiving is on the horizon, which can only mean that the Christmas rush is about to begin in fact in some Malls it already has! With the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays just around the corner, we must be getting closer to the pinnacle event of our show season, the Amherst Railway Society show in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The show is now only a little over two months away, and the planning and preparations are well under way. Before then, however, we do have a holiday season to enjoy, so let's put on the turkey and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with family, friends, health and a hobby to relieve the stress of the holidays! Whether you celebrate Christmas or Kwanzaa or Chanukah, have a safe and happy holiday season this year, and keep warm while you put together that piece of rolling stock or add the extra detail to the town that will really bring it to life!
Meanwhile, on with the show(s)!
In the last edition of the Modular Mumblings we only had four of our five anticipated shows firmly committed. Now two of the shows are history, and the invitation to the Little Rhody show has been presented. Unless we are invited to another show, our schedule for the rest of the season looks like this:
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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 |
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Saturday, March 15, 2003 and Sunday, March 16, 2003 |
Little Rhody Division of the NMRA Show, Warwick, RI |
Anyone wishing to participate in any or all three of these shows is more than welcome to attend. Help is always needed in setup, operation and break down, so you don't need a module to have a good time. Please let one of the module coordinators know if you plan to attend a show, as some shows require a listing of participants. If you have a module or modules that you would like to display at any show, please let Alan know by the deadlines listed below. Space may be limited, so please notify Alan as early as possible to reserve your spot.
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The fifteenth annual Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club show was a success this year. Held at the North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, Massachusetts, the show featured many operating layouts and several vendors. While attendance by the vendors was rather light this year, the variety in displays made up for them and held the attention of the public. The Belt Lines layout was a far cry from what we had proposed in the last edition of the Modular Mumblings. Clark Huber introduced a new module set, Proctorsville, which will eventually become a removable part of his home layout. Clark is hand-laying all of his track and switches and has done a tremendous job so far. The module came to Pepperell unscenicked, but what more can be expected when the first tie was laid only seven days before! The variety of industries planned, changes in elevation and shift of the mainlines from the front to back of the module make this a very different module and show a great deal of promise for this display. We are all looking forward to seeing the progress in February, Clark! (A track plan was not available at press time; we will try to publish one in a future edition - ed.) We would like to thank Steve Belforti, Dana Bock, John Bock, Mike Cormier, Jim Fenner, Gary Munsey, William Rice, Bryan Warner and Wes Warner for their time and efforts in getting the layout off the ground, running and back in the trailer. |
 Pepperell Siding layout, November 2002 |
 Bedford Boomers Layout, November 2002 |
Big Railroad Hobby Show - February 1 and 2, 2003
This is the show where all of our efforts and talents come together. For the benefit of anyone reading about this show for the first time, the Amherst Railway Society's Big Railroad Hobby Show is likely to be the largest show of it's kind in the Northeast, if not the country. This two-day event has drawn a crowd of over 22,000 visitors to display, sell and view nearly 5 acres, over 200,000 square feet, of layouts, models, toys, tools, collectibles, etc. all related to railroading or model railroading. The show has been a tremendous success, and has drawn vendors and visitors from across the country and overseas.
Not to be outdone by the show, the Amherst Railway Society's HO Scale Modular Layout the Amherst Belt Lines has also seen tremendous growth over the years. Last year the display boasted nearly 15 _ scale miles (over 900 feet) of mainline track in 90 individual modules. This year we will be celebrating a quarter century of modular railroading at the show and look forward to having as many who are interested participate in the activities. We are making plans for Saturday night, and will provide more details at the show.
Most of you are familiar with the routine by now, but for those of you who have just joined us and those who have forgotten, we will repeat it here. The show will be Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2, 2003 from 9:00AM to 5:00PM with setup beginning Thursday afternoon, January 30 and running through Friday. If all goes well, the layout will be up and operating before we have to leave the Better Living Center Friday night. We need your help to make sure that this process goes smoothly from start to finish whether you have a module or not.
If you have a module (or modules) you would like to display in the Amherst Belt Lines layout, please contact Alan by not later than December 20, 2002. It is important that notify Alan by this date, as the amount of time it takes to design the layout with all the peripheral groups involved is considerable. If you have previously notified him that you plan to participate with a module, please confirm your plans to attend with him before December 20, 2002. 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 20, 2002!!
Of special concern this year are modules with mainline tracks laid to the old specification of 5" and 7 1/2" from the front of the module. If you own one of these modules and would like to include it in the layout, special arrangements will have to be made. Make sure you let Alan know that you have one of these older modules so that he can plan accordingly.
As it was last year, our policy regarding module delivery is that all modules must be in the Better Living Center on Thursday, January 30 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.
Finally, 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. 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, January 10, 2003. Parking passes for parking on the Fairgrounds property on Saturday and Sunday will be available at the layout on Friday on a first come / first served basis. Since the quantity of passes is limited, before asking for a pass please consider if you can make alternative arrangements for parking during the show.
The Worcester Model Railroader's show is held at the Auburn Elks Club in Auburn, Massachusetts. This is a one-day show that literally is only one day for the Belt Lines. Setup will start at around 7:00AM on Sunday morning and the doors open at 10:00AM. We have generally gotten trains running by the time the doors open, but it is always a challenge. If you are up for the challenge, please feel free to lend a hand. If you want to bring a module, space is limited so let Alan know right away!
This year will mark the third time that we have participated in the Little Rhody Division of the NMRA show in Warwick, Rhode Island. The show is on Sunday, March 16, at the West Warwick Civic Center with setup on Saturday. This growing show has a good mix of layouts and vendors. If you are interested in attending, please let Alan know by February 14, 2003 so that arrangements can be made for modules and people.
In spite of the best efforts of many people we managed to publish some incorrect information in the last edition of the Modular Mumblings. While it was correctly reported that the Amherst Belt Lines will be celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year at the Amherst Railway Society show in West Springfield, some of the background information was not reported correctly. First of all, the group was organized in November 1978 (not 1977) and the first layout was assembled in February 1979 (not 1978) February 18, 1979, in fact. This year will therefore mark the 25th consecutive appearance of the Amherst Railway Society's HO Scale Modular Layout at its namesake show. Second, the original specifications were obtained from the Mt. Clare Division of the NMRA, not the W.I.S.E. Division as originally stated. All other names, places and dates are correct. We apologize for the confusion.
That is all for this edition of the Modular Mumblings. We'll be looking for you in West Springfield!
Happy "HO"lidays!
Modular Railroading is FUN!
Sudro, Clark and Alan
(Remember DECEMBER 20, 2002!)