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Mid-May! Seems like only yesterday we were setting up the layout in the Better Living Center for the Amherst Railway Society Show! Now, three shows later plus a couple of months, it is time to close the door on yet another successful modular railroading season. Our track record with the layout seems to be improving – no pun intended – and all three of the “end of year” shows ran reasonably smoothly. There are many people to thank for their efforts – too many in some cases – and a few notes about the shows that we want to memorialize. So, without further ado…
This year the layout saw numerous changes at our home show, the Amherst Railway Society’s Big Railroad Hobby Show. The year was certainly not a record breaker, either for the layout or for the show itself, but there were some notable improvements and changes.
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First off, having all of the modules on site on Thursday night was a BIG improvement and helped tremendously with show set up. A HUGE thanks goes out to all module owners, trustees and transporters for being diligent in getting everything into the Better Living Center on time and as promised. Set up continued relatively smoothly on Friday and the layout was “operational” by 7:30PM. The general meeting held Friday night seemed to help with operations and motive power handling during the show. This will likely become a common event during future shows to familiarize everyone with what will be expected on this monster of a layout. Future topics will likely include operations, radio use, car handling, dispatching and other topics that you might suggest.
Operations on Saturday and Sunday were generally smooth. There was a bit of a bottleneck in the Bolton Junction area, partly from shortsightedness on the part of those of us who conceived the operations through this area. We made some initial assumptions about the electrical system that proved false, and could have greatly improved operations here. Well, with each layout we learn something new!
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Dinner Saturday night was excellent. It seems we may have found a new home for what appears to be a regular event. The food was terrific, and the entertainment was even better. Gary has done a fabulous job with his multi-media shows.
Several changes were made to this year’s layout. After considerable discussion with the Dry Hill Model Railroad Club, it was highly recommended that Dry Hill Yard be reduced in size. Part of this reduction eliminated the hump. While we are all sad to see this element depart from the layout, it was necessary to the overall growth of the Belt Lines. We are anticipating several new modules in the coming years but we are not expecting our available space to change to keep up with that growth! Speaking of growth, several new modules debuted in West Springfield. After nearly losing everything after the 2003 show, Mike Cormier went back to the drawing board to produce three new module sets. His Caterpillar and John Deere modules made it into the show and we expect to see a redesigned Cormier’s Mill next year. Wes Warner built a Shop extension to Conn River Yard. This is the start of something more as he expects to have the backshop ready next year! Stan Slowik added another four feet to Port Arcadia, complete with a dry dock! The level of detail that Stan employs, as well as his wit, makes this module set one that can be pondered for hours and still not fully explored. The award for the most notable new addition this year goes to the Bocks again; the flood loader modules were absolutely beautiful and worked without a hitch. The “old” loader jammed early in the show, unfortunately, but the “new” loader kept plenty of live coal flowing on the layout. Both loaders have now had new mechanisms installed and operate pretty much flawlessly. The Power Plant got a six-foot addition that included a working car shaker. A few carloads were brought over to this siding during the show and the audience got to participate in unloading a train. Terrific! According to the Bocks, 576 carloads of coal were shipped during the show, or approximately 57,600 tons, and not a lump was dropped on the right-of-way. Not too bad!!
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A note about track work… There were very few problems encountered this year. Our biggest problem seems to center around turnouts. It would be well worth the effort if you, as a module owner or trustee, could take a few minutes and examine the points and frogs of turnouts and crossings on your module(s). DCC seems to be particularly susceptible to short circuits, and as a modular layout with a very fluid set of rolling stock and motive power from a variety of sources, we compound the problem. If you check your clearances on points and frogs, isolate the frogs so that they are powered for the correct polarity for the route the switch is set, and isolate the points so that the each point is the same polarity as its adjacent stock rail, a number of problems can be eliminated. A few minutes checking and adjusting these items will save hours of operating frustration at a show.
Thanks to everyone who was involved in this show, it really was a huge success!
The Worcester Model Railroader's show was well attended this year. We got off to our usual early start with the doors opening for set up at 7:00AM. As in years past, many hands made for light work and we had the layout operating before the show opened at 10:00AM. At the risk of forgetting someone who helped out, we will just offer a group “Thanks” to those who did, you know who you are. We managed to muster a reasonable layout and it operated smoothly, when we were paying attention to it. A mishap on Proctorsville has suspended the operating rights of two of our engineers pending investigation. An RS-1 from the Vermont and Southern and a C-425 from the Amherst Belt Lines got into a bit of a tangle due to an open mainline switch, with the high horsepower prevailing. After a valiant struggle by the RS-1, it lost and both units ended up launching off the end of the gravel trestle at the east end of town. Unfortunately, there isn’t much real estate in this area, so both units “hit the pavement” so to speak. Damage was considerable, although some of it may be repairable.
In spite of the motive power mishap, the layout ran well through the rest of the day. Again, thanks to all who participated in this show.
The Little Rhody show is still one of those gem shows that you can’t pass up. The mix of displays and vendors is just about right, and there always seems to be something for everyone. With set up on Saturday, and the show on Sunday, this is a very relaxed and enjoyable show which is a great way to end the season. We had a respectable layout this year, including both the flood loaders and the power plant. John and Dana discovered a “flaw” in the design of the loading and dumping system at this show – they don’t work well in the dark! Both modules rely on light detection to perform certain functions – opening and closing the floodgates or throwing the tail track switch. We were in a rather dark corner this year with a very variable light source. The solution, of course, was to provide supplementary lighting for the show, something that may have to be considered in the future as well. All told, 134 cars were loaded at this show with 110 cars dumped at the power plant, 12 unloaded at the shaker and 12 unloaded after the show. Thanks to everyone involved in this show, too!
We don’t have a full schedule yet for the coming year, but here is what we do know:
As we get more information, we will pass it along to you.
After years of discussion, ABEL decals have finally been produced! The sheets were printed by MicroScale and come in two different palettes: black, white and maroon, or white, red and dulux gold. If you are interested in obtaining decals, please contact Alan, Clark or Sudro for more information.
We have had it brought to our attention that the “Thank You” gift issued this year might be missing some parts. The cars were provided by Intermountain, as somewhat of a rush, so the fact that sprues might be missing or duplicated in individual boxes is not a surprise. At the end of this newsletter is a copy of all the kit sprues for your reference. If you are missing any, or have duplicates, please let Alan, Clark or Sudro know so that replacements can be found. The kits are not easy to build with all the right parts, don’t make it more difficult on yourself if you don’t have them all!
That is all for this edition of the Modular Mumblings. Have a safe and happy summer. We’ll see you in the fall.
Modular Railroading is FUN!
Alan, Clark and Sudro
Amherst Railway Society, Inc.
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