REGISTRATION IS OPEN - 2019ngrc.wildapricot.org · Register online for the DoubleTree Hotel here This is our NGRC 2019 Updates Newsletter. You should have already received our Welcome

NGRC 2019 Updates

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Register online for the Conventio n hereRegister online for the DoubleTree Hotel here

This is our NGRC 2019 Updates Newsletter. You should have already received ourWelcome Letter when you signed up for e-mail updates about the Convention. You mayhave also received previous newsletters. These updates will be published periodically,providing valuable information about the upcoming Convention in Portland, Oregon. Aswe continue to add new subscribers, important information will be duplicated for theirbenefit. In addition, special articles will be published providing in depth informationabout Convention Events. Past copies of the newsletter are available on our website. Youmay view them by clicking on this link.

A word from the 35th NGRCChairman

Bill Derville

Everything is right on schedule for a great convention. Already, over 540 people have registered forthe convention which is pretty amazing since the convention isn’t until August.

The trolley ride has already sold out for both Monday and Tuesday. See the article elsewhere in thisNewsletter for more information. You may sign up for the waiting list in case additional seats or tripsbecome available. We should know by mid- summer.

The BBQ, with a ride behind the 4449 GS-4 Southern Pacific steam locomotive, is expected to sell out.So far, over half of the available 660 seats have been sold.

The Friday evening banquet features Doyle McCormack as our keynote speaker. Although over half theseats are sold, there is still plenty of room, but they are going fast. Doyle was the driving force behindthe restoration of SP4449.

We have increased the room block at the DoubleTree Hotel as we have already registered over 60% ofthe available rooms at the special Convention rate. You may use the link on our website to reserveonline, or call the hotel directly at (503) 281-6111 or 1-800-996-0510. Please note the specialConvention rate is only available until July 27th or until our room block is filled. Please mention ourEvent Code of “LNY” for the special Convention rates.

We have added a Model Contest to the Convention schedule. This contest will be judged by popularvote of the attendees. See the article elsewhere in this Newsletter for more details.

We look forward to hosting a wonderful convention and are excited about seeing you there.

There will be frequent updates on our web site as the Convention date gets near. We suggest youbookmark this page so you can find it quickly and visit often.

Thanks for signing up for our updates. We will keep you posted as things develop and show you manypictures about some of the layouts you can visit next year.

See you in Portland in August!

Convention Registration and CostsWe’re sure most of you are wondering “What is this going to cost me?” We wanted to get this part right up front. Event costs are per person.

REGISTRATIONIndividual Convention Registration (Until May 31st, 2019) $85Individual Convention Registration (After May 31st, 2019) $100Family Convention Registration (Until May 31st, 2019) $125Family Convention Registration (After May 31st, 2019) $145OPTIONAL EVENTS/ACTIVITIES (See details elsewhere in this Newsletter)Trolley Ride & Dinner (Monday and Tuesday) SOLD OUT $50Layout Tour Bus (Each Day) $30Early Mailing of the Layout Tour Book $15SP4449 Ride and BBQ (Wednesday) $55SP4449 Cab Ride SOLD OUT $250Ice Cream Social (Thursday) $5Gary Lee’s Whistle Stop Station Make and Take Clinic (Thursday & Friday) $65Banquet (Friday) $60Convention Car (Centerbeam Flatcar with Lumber Loads) $80ACCOMMODATIONSDoubleTree Hotel Standard Room (Convention Rate) $169(+tax)/nightDoubleTree Hotel Premium Room (Convention Rate) $189(+tax)/night

Model ContestOne ballot per name badge will be included with the Welcome Packet. Popular vote will determine the winner in each of the following categories:

1. Engines: Diesel, Electric, Steam2. Rolling stock3. Structures4. Diorama5. Railroad-iana (craft items)6. Photo (garden railroad only)7. Best of Show

Entries must be submitted Wednesday between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. The room will open for viewing at 3:15 PM Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, and Friday until 3pm. Models can be picked up before the banquet Friday evening. Complete rules may be found on the Convention Website. The ballot box will be located in the display room. Winners will be announced at the Friday Night Banquet.

Willamette Shore Trolley Ride and Dinner

We are offering a special excursion on the Willamette Shore Trolley Monday and Tuesday evenings. The trolley runs from Lake Oswego to downtown Portland. This is a very pretty six mile trip along the west bank of the Willamette River and takes about 45-minutes each way. The route includes breathtaking views of the Willamette River and a 1,000 foot S-Curve tunnel. When we arrive in Portland, we will have a short walk to the Old Spaghetti Factory for a spaghetti dinner. We will re-board the trolley for the return trip to Lake Oswego. Attendees will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the WST Station in Lake Oswego, about a 40 minute drive from the hotel. At this time, the Trolley is sold out. If you are interested, please sign up for the waiting list when youregister. Those on the waiting list will be contacted if seats become available.

Read more about the Willamette Shore Trolley on their website at http://wst.oregontrolley.com/.

Just one of the beautiful trestles on Gary Lee’s Baker & Grand Ronde RR featured in the April 2013 Garden Railways magazine. See it on Wednesday’s Layout Tour

Operating Sessions

Long a standard in smaller scales, railroad operations are gaining popularity in Garden Railroading. This is evidenced by the cover story in the June, 2018 issue of Garden Railways magazine by Nancy Norris and Stanley Ames. For those with an interest inoperations, have we got a treat for you! On Tuesdayevening at 5 pm we will be opening several layouts foroperating sessions. Whether you have an idle curiosity,are an avid operator, or anything in between, there is aplace for you. We will start with a brief introductorysession at each layout, then run trains for a few hours ofoperating fun. This is not just following a train around alayout. Using a waybill system with two-man crews,dispatchers, yardmasters, and others, you will operate afreight train in a busy environment. Dropping offloaded cars, spotting empties, collecting cars, andmoving between locations under the watchful eyes of seasoned coaches, we guarantee a good time for all. There is no extra charge for the operating sessions and attendees will be responsible for their own transportation to the layouts. We suggest you grab dinner on the way, as food will not be available at the layouts. Due to the high interest, we have opened additional slots for Tuesday’s sessions. If you have already registered and found the sessions full, please drop an email to the Registrar if you would like to be added to the list. Our Operating Session Coordinators will be in contact with those signing upto discuss which layouts you will be assigned to and additional information needed to attend the sessions.

We haven’t forgotten our younger visitors. On Friday we have added some special Family Operating Sessions. Under parental supervision, our Junior Engineers will be able to run trains on the big layouts. You may sign up for these sessions when you register. If you have already registered, please contact the Registrar to be added to thelist.

(Convention Contact Info can be found at the end of this Newsletter.)

Don't miss the Bearspaw Southern RR on Thursday's LayoutTour

Layout Tours

We think the highlight of any National Garden Railway Convention is the layout tours. Portland in 2019 will certainly not be an exception. We will have over 30 layouts on tour.

The Portland Metro area is home to some of the finest layouts in the country, a number of which have been featured in Garden Railways magazine. In our Newsletters we will feature some of the great layouts on tour. Of course, pictures cannot do justice to these layouts,

so we hope you will come see as many as possible. Layouts will be open Tuesday through Saturday with each geographical area open one day. We will have buses available each day and, of course, self-guided touring is welcome. Please sign up for buses whenyou register. Bus tickets may also be available on a spaceavailable basis when you check in. Your ConventionRegistration is your admission ticket to these layouts, so besure to wear your lanyard when touring.

The Wednesday bus tour will be exceptional with a visit tothe acclaimed Baker and Grand Ronde Railway (featured inthe April 2013 Garden Railways) of NMRA Master ModelRailroader Gary Lee, followed by a stop at the famousMultnomah Falls, then crossing the Columbia River over the Bridge of the Gods to tour layouts in Camas and Vancouver, Washington. This is a trip not to be missed. We expect the buses to sell out early.

Convention books may be ordered for early mail delivery for a nominal fee. This may be handy for those desiring to lay out their routes in advance of arriving to the Convention. These books will containmaps, addresses, and information about each layout. There is also a list of guidelines for visiting layouts. Please be sure to read these guidelines prior to touring to ensure an enjoyable experience for all.

Wednesday Night Barbecue

No National Garden Railway Convention is complete without a Barbecue, and what better way to go toa barbecue than riding behind the famous Southern Pacific GS-4 Daylight steam locomotive 4449? SP4449 was restored in 1974 to be used as the American Freedom Train, which toured the United States during the American Bicentennial in 1976. The two-mile ride will take us up the beautiful east shore of the Willamette River to historic Oaks Park.

While the cab rides have sold out, we are taking a waiting list in case of cancellations. There is a minimum age of 12 yearsold. All cabs in steam engines are somewhat dirty by their nature, so wear clothes that can stand to have an oil stain

just in case. Those

signing up for cab rides will be contacted to schedule your trip.

Our train will have 4 passenger cars with a total capacity of 220 people per train and make multiple trips to Oaks Park throughout the evening. We have 660 tickets available for the BBQ, so be sure to sign up early. Sorry, there is no handicapped access to the train. Buses will transport attendees from the hotel to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center where they will board the train for the trip to Oaks Park, enjoy a barbecue dinner, and return by train to ORHC for the bus trip back to the hotel. Your ticket for the barbecue includes the bus and train rides. There will be a schedule for the train posted at the Registration Table where you will be able to sign up for your desired train. Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis when you check in.

Ice Cream Social/Vendor HallThursday afternoon we will kick off the opening of the Vendor Hall with an Ice Cream Social. You maypurchase Ice Cream tickets when you register or at the Registration Center when you check in. Come enjoy some tasty ice cream and fantastic fellowship with other Garden Railroaders then check out the special deals offered by our vendors. Be sure to show your appreciation for their support of our hobby as they show off their latest offerings and answer your questions. The Vendor Hall will be open Thursday 4-9 pm, Friday 1-4 pm, and Saturday 9 am-4 pm.

Make and Take Clinic“Whistle Stop Station”

We are pleased to offer a special two-day hands-on clinic by NMRA MasterModel Railroader Gary Lee. In this clinic, you will build the “Whistle Stop Station” that you may take hometo your layout. Under Gary’s expert supervision, you will learn various construction techniques and tool usage to help you further enjoy the hobby. You don’t have to be a skilled craftsman to attend, Gary will lead

you every step of the way. We will have to limit attendance to enable the desired level of individualizedassistance. Fun for newcomers and experienced hobbyists alike, this clinic is sure to fill up fast. All materials and supplies will be provided. (Signage, figures, crates and barrels not included.) A limited number of tools will be available. Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite modeling tools if desired. There will be a $65 charge for this clinic.

Friday Night BanquetWe are excited to present Doyle McCormack as the keynote speaker at our Convention Banquet. Doyle,a retired Union Pacific locomotive engineer who isnow the president of the Oregon Rail HeritageFoundation, led the restoration effort of SouthernPacific GS-4 Daylight steam locomotive 4449 in1974. He then served as Chief Engineer as 4449pulled the American Freedom Train around thecountry for America’s Bicentennial in 1976. He willbe sharing about his adventures in locomotiverestorations.

When you sign up for the Banquet, you will beoffered three menu options. Please select yourchoice for each member of your family.

Smoked Tri-Tip Chipotle Demi-Glace Buttermilk Fried Walla Walla Onions with Cheddar & Chive Potato Cake Seasonal Vegetables

Crab Stuffed SalmonBrie, Lemon Beurre Blanc, Bread Crumbs Yukon Gold Potato Cake Seasonal Vegetables

Vegetable Wellington

Grilled Zucchini, Squash Peppers, Carrots, Onions, Fresh Chevre, Tamari, Roasted Tofu wrapped in Feuille de Brick over Harvest Rice and Red Pepper Coulis.

Doyle McCormack at the controls of SP4449

Enjoy the sprawling Coeur D'Alene Branchof the Northern Pacific RR on Friday

Staver LocomotiveSaturday evening at 5 pm, Staver Locomotive will be holding a special open house for Convention attendees. With extensive yards and long mainlines, the layout at Staver’s occupies a good portion of a restored historic warehouse as well as a large outdoor segment.Known nation-wide for theirsemi-annual Steam-Ups, thefacilities at Staver Locomotive aretop-notch. Attendees are welcometo bring their own battery or livesteam equipment to run. Sorry, no

track power is available. Attendees will be responsible for their owntransportation to and from Staver’s.

Staver Locomotive, located in a restored historic building in the heartof Portland’s NW industrial area, is home to a growing ecosystem of1:32 scale model trains, buildings, and environments. Staver’s is alsohome to a machine shop with a collection of 3D printers, CNCmachines, lathes, and all the other equipment we use to cut, carve, machine, and mill our growing community of models. Visit http://staverlocomotive.com/ for more details.

Wednesday return to the 1890's Old West and the Crooked River Railroad

Lone Pine & Western Railroad

Owner: Tom Gaps(Featured in the June 2014 issue of Garden Railways Magazine,

visit this exciting railroad on Thursday’s Layout Tour)

The LP&W RR started out as a “flat back yard”. But after adding 150 yards of drain gravel, 95 yardsof top soil, 36 yards of ¾” crushed rock, 12 yards of ¼” minus crushed rock, 15 tons of hand selectedmossy rock, 4 tons of Iron MountainSlate, 4,000 square feet of landscapefabric and 500 square feet of pond liner,you end up with the Lone PineMountain Range, a 6 foot high mountainrange that meanders for a total of 100feet from one side of the back yard tothe other. The LP&W RR, a branch linethat was built into this mountain range,starts at the yards in Lone Pine Junction,a connection point with thetranscontinental railroad. The LP&Wworks it's way up the mountains to reachthe mines at Summit. Along the way therailroad follows the 70ft long ClearWater River, with its three water fallsand crosses the river by bridge at three locations. In order to maintain a less than 2% grade, thebuilders had to tunnel through the mountains at seven different locations. One tunnel is over 35 feet inlength.

This is a 1:20.3 scale, all battery powered railroad that was featured in the June-2014 issue of GardenRailways Magazine. The motive power on this narrow gauge branch line is all steam. It is designed

for operations as a point-to-point railroadwith optional return loops at each end forthose times when you “just want to runtrains” and not have to stop and turn thelocomotives and trains around at each end.There is a total just over 400 ft of mainlinetrack, with an additional 300 ft of trackused for passing siding and to create theyards at Lone Pine and Windy Ridge nearSummit. Visitors can walk all the wayaround the railroad, but at any givenviewing point, by design, you can see nomore than 1/3 of the railroad. So, if youwant to follow the progress of a train, youhave to walk along with it. If you choose tostand at one location and watch, a train will

come into view, travel through your viewing range and disappear, not to be seen again for severalminutes while it is on the far side of the layout. The railroad is elevated so that us “old folks” don'thave to get down on hands and knees to work on it. The elevation varies depending on where you stopto view the railroad, from 12” where you first enter the back yard, to 24” in the yards at Lone pine, withan elevation of 36” on the back side at the town of Halfway and finally 42” at Windy Ridge Yard,located in the railroad storage shed.

All of the track is from Sunset Valley. With four exceptions, all of the switches are also from SunsetValley. The four exceptions are hand-built switches to deal with switch requirements for which an off-the-shelf Sunset Valley switch that would meet the requires was not available. All of the structures aremade of wood, hand-built, and of “stick” construction. Some are based on purchased plans, some arebased on pictures found on the Internet, and some are total freelance. A few of the buildings havesound effects incorporated into them.

The Story of The Lone Pine & Western

The town of Lone Pine is a mythical crew change point on the transcontinental railroad. In the late1800s gold was discovered in the nearby Lone Pine Mountains. A branch line needed to be quicklybuilt into the mountains to service the newly established mines. This branch line initially achieves awater level grade by following the Clear Water River into the mountains. At Headache Falls, therailroad diverts from the following the river but the surveyors were able to maintain the same 1%grade into the mountains by blasting a series of tunnels. Due to the rugged nature of the mountains,this branch line is limited to single track operations with occasional short passing sidings. The townof Half Way is located part way up the mountain. It consists of a small switching yard, a freightcompany and a small wood products manufacturing business, all of which help to provide additionalrevenue for the branch line. Continuing on past Half Way, the branch line again follows the upperreaches of the Clear Water River for a short distance before again diverting to follow a canyon furtherinto the mountains and more tunnels. The line eventually arrives at Summit Station, located near thegold mines. A small yard was built near Summit at Windy Ridge to turn the trains around for the tripback to the town of Lone Pine.

Contact Info

Questions, questions, questions. There are always questions. For yours, please use the following addresses:

[email protected]: To ask questions, resolve issues, make changes to your registration, or be added or removed from waiting [email protected]: To ask questions about things in the newsletter or to submit material to be published in the next [email protected]: To ask questions or get help related to the web [email protected]: To ask questions of a general nature about the convention itself

Thanks for reading NGRC 2019 Updates. This Newsletter is published periodically to advise of any changes involving the Convention. Future editions will also contain in depth articles on Convention events as well as previews of some of our great layouts you will be able to visit during the Convention. Past copies of the newsletter are available on our website. You may view them by clicking on this link.

We hope you enjoyed this report. Of course, comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. Contact us at [email protected].

Visit our web site at https://ngrc2019.org for more info and to register for the convention.

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