THE FIRST STATE MODEL RAILROAD CLUB, INC. NEWSLETTER€¦ · 3 FSMRRC Hosts 22 Boy Scouts at the 32nd Railroading Merit Badge Class, Awards 400th Badge - Jeff Shockley The First State

THE FIRST STATE MODEL RAILROAD

CLUB, INC. NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2019 NEXT MEETING: The next meeting of The First State Model Railroad Club, Inc. will be held on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 P.M. at Jarrell Station at 1282 McKee Road, in Dover, DE. NOTES FROM PRESIDENT EATON: Hippy, spring is here!!!!! Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather. March was a busy month for us. We had our largest Boy Scout merit badge class ever. I would like to thank Jeff and Paul for making that day a great success. I’d like to thank all those who showed up to help load the layout for the St Georges’ show on that rainy Thursday night and all those that showed up to help with setting up, running trains and taking down at the St Georges’ show. I think it was a good crowd that came that day. The pedal car was a big hit with the kids. We left the layout in the trailer since our next show will be at the Dover library on Friday the 12th

of April. We will meet at the Dover library on the 11th around 6:30 and set the layout up. Please come to the library on the 11th and not the club house since no one will be there. We will be running trains at 10:00 in the morning and again at 6:00 that night. So if you plan to help run trains that Friday you should be at the library at 9:00 that morning and again at 5:00 that evening so we can make sure everything is running. We will be taking the layout down Friday evening after running the trains at 8:00. Hope to see you all there. After the library show we don’t have anything until October 12 for our first open house. In September we will be taking down the DCC layout and setting up the old DC layout for that open house and the one again in November. So please come and help us fix and repair the DC layout for these shows. As you all know that layout needs a lot of tender loving care to get it operating correctly.

2

And I’m sure that most of you have not heard the great news. We have been given a donation of $25,000.00 to our club. This should give us a great start toward fixing the Jim Valle memorial train room ready for a permanent layout. We will talk about this at our next meeting. Well that’s all for now. Have a happy April Fool’s day and Happy Easter. Sam Eaton, President WELCOME RECENT NEW MEMBERS: Charlie Carrico, (wife Trish), 232 Sugar Pine Dr., Middletown, DE 19809-9774, phone (H) 302-834-0742, (C) 302-584-5890, email: [email protected] Pablo Rivera, Jr., 8 Springwood Dr., Dover, DE 19904, phone: 302-480-3919 (no email) William James Thompson, II (Jay) (wife Renee), 45 S. Shore Dr., Dover, DE 19901, phone 302-382-2930, email [email protected] REMINDER: FSMRRC DUES WERE DUE ($60/YR) BY THE END OF FEBRUARY 2019. If your dues are not current, please send or give them to Treasurer Matthews. FSMRRC OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: SAM EATON SECRETARY: JEFF SHOCKLEY VICE PRESIDENT: JIM THOMPSON TREASURER: BUZZ MATTHEWS FSMRRC PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 1282 McKEE RD., DOVER, DE 19904 (no mail is received at this address) FSMRRC MAILING ADDRESS: 505 EAGLE NEST DR., CAMDEN, DE 19934 OR P. O. BOX 16, PORT PENN, DE 19731

3

FSMRRC Hosts 22 Boy Scouts at the 32nd Railroading Merit Badge Class, Awards 400th Badge - Jeff Shockley The First State Model Railroad Club hosted 22 Boy Scouts, representing 8 troops from the DelMarVa Council, at its 32nd Railroading Merit Badge Class on March 9, at its club head-quarters in Dover, DE. The troops were:

Troop 24, Wyoming, DE Troop 252, Newark, DE Troop 105, Long Neck, DE Troop 283, Bear, DE Troop 123, St. George’s, DE Troop 464, Ruthsburg, MD Troop 186, Milford, DE Troop 911, Milford, DE

After the scouts checked in and spent time looking over the club’s HO Scale layouts, the class started at 9am with Austin Hahn of Troop 464 in Ruthsburg, MD, leading with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Bryce Patricella, of Troop 186 in Milford, DE, with the Scout Oath and Keith Boyer of Troop 911, Milford, DE, giving the Scout Law. The group was split into two smaller groups with the first staying to, among other things, learn a brief history of railroading, the difference between the different scales of model railroading, Operation Lifesaver, and the different types of railcars and their uses. The second group learned how to switch railcars on a “Timesaver” module and build an HO scale railcar donated by the Mid-East Region of the National Model Railroad Association.

4

Lunch was held when all the scouts had completed their respective projects at 11. After lunch, the groups switched places and the class concluded at 2pm with all the participants receiving their completed blue cards to receive the merit badge and also were given model railroading magazines by the club.

With the completion of this class, the First State Model Railroad Club has awarded 404 scouts the Railroading merit badge, since their program started in 2003. I would like to thank Phil Bowman, Paul Buckley, Matt Carrico, Sam Eaton, Don Jennings (who drove up from Carey, NC) for helping the scouts complete the different achievements, Buzz Matthews, our photographer, F&N Hobbies for the donation of railcar kits, knuckle couplers and wheel sets, and Bill Benzin for preparing the railcar kits for the scouts to build. The next class is scheduled for March 14, 2020.

5

UPCOMING EVENTS: April 6, 2019 – The Delaware Train. Nur Shrine Center, Route. 13 / 198 South DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE. 9a-2p. Admission is $5.00, children under the age of 12 FREE, $10.00 Early Buyers 8:00am Admission. It will feature over 160 tables of trains, acces- sories, slotcars, and some toys. Delaware Train Show will have a diversity of trains in all Scales and makes. We have a variety of unique dealers coming from up and down the east coast. The show has grown bigger every year. Train show is Saturday only. April 6-7, 2019 – The Great Scale Model Train Show, Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD (Cow Palace). Saturday: 9a-5p, Sunday: 10a-4p. Admission: $9.00 for both days, $8.00 for Sunday only. Children up to 15 FREE with a paid adult. http://www.gsmts.com See notice at end of newsletter for discount admission coupon. April 11-12, 2019 – FSMRRC set-up at Dover Public Library, E. Loockerman St. Set up on the 11th and running and take down on the 12th. April 11-13, 2019 - Eastern Division TCA York Train Meet, 334 Carlisle Ave, York PA http://yorktrainshow.com/ May 4, 2019 – Spring Fling Train & Toy Show. Roxana Firehouse, 35943 Zion Church Rd., Frankford, DE (Route 20 between Millsboro and Fenwick Island, DE.) 9a-3p. Admission: $5, children 10 and under FREE. Operating layouts, door prizes, refreshments. Visit: www.delawareseasiderailroadclub.com for information and directions. May 4, 2019 – Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club Swap Meet & Open House. Grace Episcopal Church, 7 E. Maple Ave., Merchantville, NJ. Swap Meet: 9a-1p, Layout open: Noon-3p. Admission: $5, Spouse and kids under 12 FREE. For information on tables for Swap Meet: Ernest Kraus, 856-468-8537.

6

DISCOUNT TICKET FOR TIMONIUM SHOW: Re: Reminder Notice and Invitation to the Great Scale Model Train Show of April 6 & 7, 2019. DISCOUNT ON ADMISSION: First things, first! Tear off the top part of this email above the cut line indicated below, and take a discount of $2 per family or $1 per solo adult for your Saturday admission, which also gets you in for Sunday. >>>CUT LINE. TEAR OFF ABOVE PART AND BRING TO SHOW FOR YOUR DISCOUNT<<< SPECIAL PRESENTATION AT THE APRIL SHOW: You have probably been impressed, at some point, by the stunning realism and detail of certain model structures on layouts you have seen. The people who actually make these exquisite models, as kits or completely assembled, will be at this show. Find them in the Center Hall. Huge! EVERYONE’S A WINNER! Not kidding. Your wrist band automatically entitles you to discounts and freebies at local eateries close to the show. Get a free crab pretzel from Silver Spring, or 15% OFF at Il Basilico. Details (including a map and directions) are on flyers you will find at vendor tables. But there are no coupons to cut, no hoops to jump through. Just present your wrist band, and score the deal. CLINICS AND HOW-TO’S: This feature at our shows has proven to be enormously popular, so we are staying with a winner. Numerous aspects of the hobby are presented and explained by experts, in everyday language you can easily understand and put to good use. Topics and presenters are published at the show. WHAT? YOU NEVER WIN ANYTHING? Well, maybe that’s about to change. In addition to our door prize drawings, we also draw 500 winning numbers to match the number on your wrist band. And it doesn’t matter when you enter the show. Your number can be drawn at ANY of our 10 drawings. Winnings are not trivial; merchandise certificates, life time passes, items on the prize table, a free show, and more. All of this from “prize central,” behind the White Elephant tables, under the balloon. The White Elephant sales area is in the center of the South Hall. Ask ‘em where Prize Central is, and they’ll tell you. OUR WEB SITE: Yeah, we have one: gsmts.com. Go there to see more about us; refer the site to others. I’m beggin’ ya. PRIVACY AND SECURITY: We don’t share nothin’ with nobody. Our contact list is maintained on my actual computer and NOT in the “cloud.” FINALLY, THANK YOU! We appreciate your continued attendance and support of our shows. You make us great, and we appreciate it! Scott