The Gandy Dancer
The Official Publication of
the Alameda County
Central Railroad Society
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The Gandy DancerThe Official Publication of
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| Go to November 2004 Issue | Return to Gandy Dancer Index | Go to January 2005 Issue | ||
In This Issue: |
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| General News | HO Scale News | O Scale News | Railroad World News | |
It's a quiet time at the ACCRS. Enjoy your holidays!
Annual Club Holiday Potluck:
Friday, December 3, 7:00pm. The potluck will replace the usual business meeting.
Signup sheets have been posted on the refrigerator door. Remember, the whole family is invited!
Both warm and cold dishes are welcome. Items such as finger foods, cold cuts, vegetables & dip and whatever else might be good. There are plugs for those wishing to bring a crock-pot or other item to keep food warm.
The monthly business meeting will take place on Friday, January 7, 2005.
Carl Klenk will officially take over as club treasurer.
This Month's HO Scale Run Schedule: |
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| Date: | Mode: |
| Friday, December 3rd | Analog/Potluck |
| Friday, December 10th | Digital |
| Friday, December 17th | Analog |
| Friday, December 24th | Christmas Eve |
| Friday, December 31th | New Year's Eve |
From the HO Trainmaster:
Hi,
I would like to thank everyone that voted for me (I think ;:) ). I would also like to thank Andy and Jeff for their leadership. Where has the time gone? 2004 is almost over and we have a lot to do before next fair. We have several projects on the way but I would like us to finish what we have already started. Yes, it's the dreaded city. It's looking much better but it's not done. I invite everyone to look over the city and come up with a list of things they would like to see completed.
My list is:
As we collect the lists we can determine what we want to do and create a final list.
Some of you may have noticed that upper hidden yard is no longer. It was removed so Paul can layout the new Charmin end of the hidden yard. The plan is to complete the hidden yard work and them develop a new upper hidden yard that will potentially double our hidden yard track. Paul has several track plans that he will present.
As requested, Gary has temporarily placed flex track at the Charmin end of the layout. The flex track shows the proposed new curve and bridge placement. Please take the time to look this over and provide feedback to Gary.
A couple of years ago we had a few contests that the members enjoyed. This year I would like to continue holding contests.
For the first contest, I would like to suggest we build and decorate oil pumps like the one we have near the sawmill.
Many of you may remember the funny decorations placed on some of the oil pumps around the US. Bob Johnson has collected several pictures of highly decorated oil pumps. Each participant would get a model oil pump and a picture of his/her choosing. After the oil pumps are completed the top 3 pumps that best depict the actual oil pump will win a prize. Well, that's a start. Now it is up to you to come up with more contests.
There are a lot of things on the layout that require maintenance. I would like to see everyone pitch in. So far we have several volunteers (listed below). So I ask each of you to think about what task you would like to help with.
One last thing, I would like to have a short meeting before the Dec. potluck to discuss and vote on the following:
Remember what Ann always asks me when I get frustrated and angry while working on my trains:
"Don't you do this to relax and have fun?"
Take Care,
Seth
HO Trainmaster
From the O Scale Trainmaster:
Well, Gang-
So you railroaded dragooned talked me into being Trainmaster. I'll try not to be vindictive. I will, however, be leaning on the rest of you pretty heavily unless and until I can turn the entire web-site project over to Wayne and others.
To business: Our layout is showing signs of benign neglect, and we ought to do something about it. We have broken railings, passed-out pedestrians, sway-backed structures, abandoned building sites, worn-out trackage and bare spots in our ground cover. I'd say we're doing a good (albeit unintentional) job of modeling a struggling early-1970's rural shortline, and we all know what happened in the late 70's. Not a pleasant prospect!
But, I think with relatively little organized effort, we can roll back the clock. For example, George Engeman has done wonders with the structure lighting even though he's only spent a few evenings under the layout. Dave Chandler has been doing yeoman service keeping the club rolling stock in operation. Henry has worked a little turnout magic here and there. I intend to spend an hour each Friday fixing the little cosmetic things I see-- resolder this railing, glue down those pigeons, that sort of thing. I urge each of you to do the same; if it's less than an hours' effort and / or requires less than $50 to fix, just haul off and fix it! Want help? Find me, and I'll hold the light and pass the tools, if nothing else.
Too, there are stagnant projects that I propose we either finish or abandon in favor of something that can attract more time and energy. I have heard several members discussing possible improvements and how to restart some of those projects, but I have not made an organized attempt to capture the ideas.
SO: For the January meeting, I ask each of you to think of (and outline into one-or-two evening steps) a few projects in each of the categories below. If you can't make the meeting, forward your list to me, and I'll see that each idea gets heard. (if you get this newsletter via snail-mail, my address is on the envelope.)
I don't want to give up our laid-back approach to the hobby, but I would like to generate a little more interest in getting things accomplished. In that vein, I'm hoping that each person will list projects that they'd be willing to tackle or direct. Remember, unlike our '70's shortline prototype, we're doing ok financially. But: member-hours are scarce, so I'd like to leverage our brain-power and bank account to make as much progress as we can by fair time.
The categories are:
Repair:
(ex: repair bridge railing on mainline trestle or re-lay yard lead)
Improvement:
(ex: plant trees in narrow gauge end or finish scenery around mainline bridge)
Change:
(ex: install faux neon sign or build inter-modal drop-in)
Looking forward to learning from all of you,
Dan
O scale Trainmaster
| Go to November 2004 Issue | Return to Gandy Dancer Index | Go to January 2005 Issue |
| Club Officers: | |
| President Gary Lewis |
Vice President Henry Chandler |
| Secretary Dean Lewis |
Treasurer Don Pomplun |
| HO Trainmaster Seth Abrahams |
O Trainmaster Dan Espinosa |
| Newsletter Editor Dan Espinosa |
Webmaster Wayne Toigo |
| Visit the ACCRS website | |
| If you have any information that would be of interest to the ACCRS membership please contact Dan Espinosa. The deadline for submitting information for the January issue is 21 December. Members are also encouraged to submit photos, announcements and other club and railroad related material for use on the club website. | |
The Gandy Dancer, a monthly publication of the
Alameda County Central Railroad Society.
Copyright 2004, ACCRS Inc. All rights reserved.
Last Revised 29 November, 2004.
For more information, email Dan
Espinosa, Editor, at: steelnomad2002@yahoo.com