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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012
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In this EditionDirector’s Report
Page 2
Front OfficePage 3
Westside FarmsMeetingPage 5-6
Tips and TechniquesPage 7
NMRA NewsPage 8
CALLBOARD
November 17th .....Remember to reserve the 17th of November for
the last RED meeting of 2012. It is to be hoped that all of you
know where Monroe Hall is located - 1400 West College Avenue in
Santa Rosa. Per tradition, Mary Moore Canpagna and her kitchen crew
serve a tasty lunch starting at 12:00 PM. Good sandwiches, cookies
and soft drinks will be available for purchase. Our meeting, as
usual, will start at 1:00 PM. Raffles and prizes await those who
show up and buy their supporting supply of tickets. Check out the
various models that have been entered in the Model Contest under
the rules posted in this newsletter and previous editions. Our
Business meeting will be followed by a Clinic by Dave Croshere on
how to make inexpensive switch machines for your layout. There may
be some new ideas presented which will benefit and expand the power
of the RED in coming years. See you all there!
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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012
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Empire Staff Roster
DIRECTORDave Croshere
1331 Enos AvenueSebastopol, CA(707) 829-‐9220
E-mail- [email protected]
SUPERINTENDENTStewart Benson
131 Casa Verde Ct.Sonoma CA 95476(707) 938-5941
No E- Mail
CHIEF CLERKVerne Alexander907 Grouse Lane
Petaluma, CA 94954(707) 763-9072
E-mail: [email protected]
CONTESTSGiuseppe Aymar
1330 Medical Center DriveRohnert Park, CA 94928
E-mail: [email protected]
MEMBERSHIPGus Campagna
1915 William DrPenngrove CA 94957-9524
E-mail:[email protected]
ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAMGiuseppe Aymar
1330 Medical Center DriveRohnert Park, CA 94928
E-mail: [email protected]
CALLBOARD EDITORDick Foster
219 Avenida Barbera,Sonoma CA 95476
707-935-6215E-mail: [email protected]
NOMINATIONSOpen
ESTATE COUNSELORDon Clauder
305 Garfield Park, Santa Rosa, CA 95409 (707)539-3510
Another outstanding summer RED meeting was held at Ron and Pam
Kaiser’s farm. We had beautiful weather and good fellowship. As if
running trains wasn’t enough we had beautiful aircraft flying over
saluting an august gathering of modelers. They honored us with WWII
aircraft and all kinds of military jets. We returned their
salutes.
Plans for the 2013 PCR convention in Dublin are well underway.
The dates are April 3-7th. Over seventy convention goers have
already signed up and that number will more than triple by
convention time. Over fifty clinics are already scheduled and that
list will probably grow also. Looking at the schedule of clinics
available there is a wide range of model railroad subjects to
choose from. One clinic will be given by PCR’s Charlie Getz the new
president of the NMRA. Charlie is a great speaker and usually very
funny. Further details of the convention can be found at the PCR
web site.
The next RED meeting is November 17 at Monroe Hall in Santa
Rosa. The doors open at noon and the meeting starts at 1:00.
Sandwiches, drinks (soft) and cookies are available at a nominal
price and well worth it. Come early and grab a sandwich. I find
this is a good time to look over the models on display and
socialize.
This meeting will be the unveiling of Giuseppe’s creative model
challenge. The idea is to make whatever railroad scene suites your
fancy within an area dictated by the scale you chose to model. This
should be very interesting. I love to see what people dream up.
Director’s ReportDave Croshere
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012
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REPORT OF THE CHIEF CLERKVerne Alexander
Our financial situation is stable. We have received from the
NMRA that portion of our dues that belongs to our Division. We have
had only incidental expenses since The Callboard was put on
electronic delivery. The balance in our account is $2432.61. We had
a staff meeting on the 16th of this month, and I want to share an
observation with you. This is a group of outstanding people. They
are bright, and dedicated and actively committed toward making our
meetings a valuable and enjoyable experience for the members. Some
very good ideas are being explored. This having been written, I
will add that I am always haunted and intrigued by the possibility
that not all the good ideas are in front of the staff. Maybe you
have an idea that needs to be pursued, and if you do, please make
that known to someone on the staff. Everyone is open to and eager
to receive member ideas..
A Message from the Front OfficeAfter the model challenge I am
going to give a talk / demonstration on how I make my
under layout switch controllers. These controllers are
incredibly easy to make. They have a lower profile than something
you might purchaser. In very congested operation areas they are the
easiest to use. They can also electrify the switch frog. Did I say
they cost about half the price of anything you can by? This is a
talk I gave in Medford Oregon last spring to rave reviews. If you
miss this talk, well you just don’t know what’s good for you.
After the meeting I am having an open house. My basement layout
is based on a freelance railroad in 1936. It is almost entirely
steam locos. The layout is designed for operations and is a point
to point railroad. All the track work is hand laid and the switches
are also handmade. They including a three way switch and a double
slip switch. I have a scratch built turntable that alines with any
desired track. The track work is 95% completed and the scenery has
just been start with a few structure in place. My address is 1331
Enos Ave. Sebastopol. It is about fifteen minutes from Monroe Hall.
Direction will be available at the RED meeting.
Please join us.
Dave Croshere
Continued on page 4
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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012
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my many hours of work have resulted in a very presentable ice
house that needs only painting and roofing to be finished, and a
major realignment of the current trackage on the CRAP! It seems
that somewhere in the process of redimensioning the diagram to a
building that would fit my available space I made a crucial error.
I overlooked that the dock portion of the ice house was not
included in the footprint. My ice house, in the place on the layout
for which it was specifically designed, sticks out over the main
line as it emerges from the helix! IT DOESN’T FIT! I think I can
fix the situation by tearing out the current ice dock tracks and
laying new track at a more severe angle. This will take away the
site I had reserved for Kowalski’s Poles, but it should give me the
half inch or so that I need to clear the main. This ice house will
now and forever more be known as “Verne’s Folly!” Your contest
entry will probably meet a better fate. You still have plenty of
time―please give it a go.
Please note that the date of our spring meeting at the Napa Club
has been changed to February 23. As usual, we are invited to bring
our own equipment to run as long as it meets NMRA standards for
coupler height, wheel gauge, etc. Club equipment will also be
available for our use. The layout will be in DCC mode, unless we
request otherwise. Our desire last year favored DCC, but this may
have changed, and may be discussed at our November 17th meeting at
Monroe Hall.
One of the features of the November meeting will be the contest.
Giuseppi Aymar has challenged us to scratch build a model for
judging. He, and Dave Croshere, feels there is great value to us as
modelers to go through this experience. The rules are in the last
Callboard. I don’t much like model contests, but in the spirit of
supporting this effort and of possibly learning something from it,
I am building a model.
Therein lies a tale. I am in need of an ice house for my layout,
and to fit the space available it should be built just about to the
contest specs. So away I go, and somehow the combination of a 1910
diagram for a building bigger than I can handle, a pile of styrene
siding and strips, a little bottle of MEK and
Continued from page 3
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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012
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Westside FarmsAugust 18 Picnic
A great day, beautiful property and good friends. All these
elements combined to make the 2012 Annual a very successful. Over
twenty five of the RED members and spouses attended the Westside
Farms picnic. We even had some spies from the Coast Divison in the
form of Tom Crawford and his wife. The barbecues were fired up and
the smells of hot dogs, ham-burgers and such filled the air.
Also there was the gentle “pop” of soft drinks and more being
poured for the thirsty railroaders. Ron had his layout in great
shape and it was enjoyed all the members. Sitting around enjoying
the lake view was also a big favorite.
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REDWOOD EMPIRE DIVISION OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2012
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Two budding young modelers, guests of Gus and Mary, found the
layout to be awesome (their word) and spent most of the time
running and switching Ron’s WP creation.
All of us wished for a great building like Ron has built for his
beautiful and great running layout.
The scene to the right is still there minus the gas station -
Where is it?
Ahhhhhh ....... The perfect end to a perfect day in the
country.
Thanks Pam and Ron for yourhospitality!
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This is a short series of tips and techniques that have come
from our
fellow members as well as from some of the best craftworkers in
our hobby.
Big Red’sWorkbench Tips and Techniques
If you have a trick or technique that you would like to share,
please send your idea to the CallBoard Editor.
Save those old worn out Exacto blades and make this clever
siding distresser. Take five blades and fit them into a 1/8”- 1/4”
brass tube and fix in place with CA glue. Makes a quick and
inexpensive tool for that next old time craftsmen kit.
Type to enter text
Save all those scrap switch parts, left over small gears and
other strange shapes to make “junk boxes”. Build several wooden
boxes and fill them with your junk after painting or weathering the
parts. It’s the details that make the scene!
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N M R A N E W S
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Support Your Local Hobby Shop
10% RED Member Discount
NOW WHERE IS THAT MEETING?The Winter Redwood Division Meeting
will be at the Napa Model Railroad Club
on February 23rd. See you there!
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Coming Down the LineRED meeting and Model Challenge Display
November 17th at Monroe Hall Lunch 12:00 Meeting 1:00 PM
November 10-11, 2012 - International Railfair at Placer County
Fair Grounds, Roseville. 10-5PM Saturday and 10-4PM on Sunday.
Open House Carquinez Model Railroad Society - November 10 &
11 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. December 1 & 2 same time.
Coastal Valley Lines December 1-16 Napa Valley Museum
Railroad Exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum 55 Presidents Circle,
Yountville, CA
Great Train Expo - February 16 & 17, 2013 - Sonoma County
Fair Grounds
RED Meeting - Napa Model Railroad - February 23rd 12:00 PM Lunch
and 1:00 PM Meeting. Bring good DCC trains to run on their great
layout. Napa County Fair grounds. 3rd Street entrance.