The Gandy Dancer
The Official Publication of
The Alameda County Central Railroad Society
January 2002
New Years Issue.
| The Gandy DancerThe Official Publication of | January 2002New Years Issue. |
| Club Officers: | |
|---|---|
| President Gary Lewis |
Vice President Henry Chandler |
| Secretary Dean Lewis |
Treasurer Cathy Chrisman |
| HO Trainmaster Mike Browne |
O Trainmaster George Cumming |
| Newsletter Editor Bob Johnson |
Webmaster Jim Ferreria |
| Visit the club website | |
If you have any information that would be of interest to the membership please contact Bob Johnson, so that it may be included in the next issue. The deadline for submitting information for the February issue will be Friday, January 18 with a goal of being mailed and uploaded to the website by Sunday, January 20. Members are encouraged to submit photos, announcements and other club and model railroad related material for use on the club website. Please contact Jim Ferreria with items for the website, or questions relating to the website. |
| Go to December 2001 Issue | Return to Gandy Dancer Index | Go to February 2002 Issue |
| General News | HO Scale News | O Scale News | Test Your Word Power |
Friday, February 1, 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM; Saturday, February 2 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday, February 3 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Please note that participation in this event has not been decided. It is listed for reference as to when this event falls. The club was open and ran for this event last year.
Friday evening February 15th is the informal "stop by" session. The more "official" open house is on Sunday, Feb. 17, from 11 AM to 3 PM, more or less. There is a BBQ hosted by the O Scale, on Sunday, and HO scale members are welcome to attend and run for this event.
Orchard Supply Hardware's annual event. Saturday, March 2 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday, March 3 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
The January general business meeting will be held on Friday, January 4th. Big Bertha, will be fired up for the pre-meeting grilling session, weather permitting.
We had an excellent visitor turnout for the Turkey Day weekend show. Saturday saw a total of 1,036 visitors to our display. Sunday saw a total of 820 visitors, for a total of 1,856 visitors for the weekend.
As mentioned in the December newsletter, it was decided that the proceeds from the GATS show have been earmarked for donation to a charity related to the World Trade Center disaster last September 11th. The charity is AmeriCares "Heros' Fund" which is a dedicated fund for the spouses and children of those New York City uniformed Firefighters, Police Officers, and uniformed Port Authority employees, who have perished in the WTC tragedy.
A great big thank you to all of our members that staffed our exhibit for this successful weekend event.
The annual club potluck was held on Friday, December 7th. We had a very good turnout and those who participated had a good time. There were a good variety of tasty things to eat. Lots of trains being run on both layouts. Several HO members were demonstrating DCC operations during the course of the evening. Of course there is a lot of freedom in operations, cue the Addams Family theme song, and the risk of collisions. We succeeded in having a bit of an "oops" on the HO side.
Many thanks to all of the participants who generously provided all of the delicious goodies. If anyone went home hungry, it was your own fault, or it's a real bummer to be on a diet at a party. Photos of the festivities will appear in the February edition.
The club collection of videotapes has increased by one tape. Jim Jorgenson has donated a tape featuring the Southern Pacific circa 1941. Our tape library now consists of three videos. Thank you Jim, for the welcome addition to the tape library.
Membership Dues are Now Due.If you have not paid yet, start looking for loose change in the sofa and under the car seat, please see the Treasurer and ante up! Dues are $24 per year. Don't become delinquent. |
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We are in the process of updating the club roster. A copy of the current roster, with space for changes will be circulating for you to check your address, phone and email information. Once this process is complete, copies of the updated roster will be available for all members. We hope to be finished with the updating process shortly after the all of the dues have been collected. Please see Bob Johnson, if you have not been contacted.
HO Trainmaster Carl Klenk called a special election, on Friday, November 30, to select his replacement for the balance of the current term, which runs through September of 2002. There was a field of four potential candidates available for the office, two of which withdrew after nominations and prior to the casting of votes. One candidate was not present for the election. Each candidate was permitted to state his position on issues of concern to that candidate, if he was present.
The two candidates that remained for consideration were Ray Bailey and Mike Browne. The vote tally was ten votes for Mike Browne and two votes for Ray Bailey. There were some members who chose not to vote for either candidate. Mike Browne has been elected as the new HO Trainmaster.
The following remarks are from the HO Scale Trainmaster.
Well another year has passed and with it come new projects and adventures. With the addition of DCC to the layout and some scenery projects it will be very busy around here. See you at the January meeting. Also, please decide which two locomotives that you want to put decoders in so that we may put together an order for decoders.
Happy Holidays!
--Mike Browne
The following remarks are from the O Scale Trainmaster.
Errol Spangler reports that there was a good turn out, and a lot of work accomplished, at the December 9th Sunday DCC session. A 10 amp unit was added to the B cab, so you can run DCC on both main lines. A 5 amp unit will be installed in the narrow gauge trackage. The programming track is finished, and a "how to program" clinic will be held soon. Special thanks to Bill Brisko who, according to Errol, often disappears under the layout to install and fix things. The next DCC operations day is SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2002.
This year's meet will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, adjacent to the Westin Hotel, on Friday and Saturday, February 15 & 16. ACCRS O Scale will be open the usual hours on Friday night, and again from 11 AM on Sunday, February 17. Please bring some DCC-equipment to operate. A barbeque lunch will be served to the hungry visitors on Sunday afternoon.
The bulk prices for NWSL steel wheelsets are now posted near the "A" cab area. Please sign up if you are interested-the order will go in shortly.
--George A Cumming, Jr., O Scale Trainmaster
Listed below are the answers to last month's questions about American railroad slang. Some terms refer to people and others to equipment, facilities or actions.
On Friday, December 21, while on the way home from the club I encountered a "Sobriety Check Point" on Stanley Boulevard. After being delayed briefly and questioned, "have you consumed any alcohol or drugs this evening." I was allowed to proceed on my way. Upon departing I noted at least a dozen cars that were parked along side of the road, their drivers selected for field sobriety tests. This was an example of how serious the authorities take alcohol use and driving, especially at this time of year.
On behalf of the club officers and other members I take this opportunity to wish you and your dear ones a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. We look forward to seeing you at meetings and events in 2002.
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Fans of the Orchard Supply Hardware calendar will be able to add to their collections as the 2002 OSH calendar will be available again this year starting December 26th. This year' calendar features a special pull-out poster. Larry Fisher is the artist for the 2002 calendar. Click on the calendar image, at left, for more information. |
This is the fifth in a series of reports about railroad related sites and museums visited during your editor's recent vacation. This month features Union Pacific 2-8-2 2537, located in Jefferson Park in Walla Walla, Washington. The 2537 is displayed along with a bay window caboose.
Built at the Schenectady works by ALCo in December of 1918, builders number 60327 (#2537) is a U.S.R.A. (United States Railway Administration) designed locomotive. It is the only locomotive of its class preserved by the Union Pacific. The locomotive was receiving some much-needed attention to the jacketing on the boiler. Many years of exposure to the elements have taken their toll on this thin sheet metal wrapper. Large areas of shiny metal were evidence of some cosmetic restoration that was under way at the time of my visit.
There are two plaques on the fireman's side of the tender. The larger plaque reads as follows:
MacArthur locomotive a gift to the city of Walla Walla from Union Pacific Railroad. Designed in 1910 for the Japanese Railways, the Mikado class steam locomotive was widely used by American railroads in freight and passenger service. Its class name was changed to MacArthur during World War II. Powerful and reliable, the "Mikes" were a favorite engine in the Northwest.
No 2537 was built by the American Locomotive Company in 1918 for the Oregon Short Line. It made its last run in 1956. Fully loaded the engine and tender weigh 292,000 pounds.
The smaller plaque reads as follows:
Presented May 20, 1961 by Carl W. Evans Traffic Manager Union Pacific Railroad.
Caboose 24550 is the other part of the railroad display at Jefferson Park. 24550, a class CA-13 caboose, is a long way from the mid-west where it spent its early years as Rock Island 17132.
A few blocks away a beautiful restaurant (Jacobi's Café Depot) is located in a former railroad station with an observation car on a piece of panel track.Photos of the 2537 and Jacobi's Cafe.
The next installment of the museum report will cover The Sumpter Valley Railway, located southwest of Baker, Oregon. This narrow gauge tourist railroad features two operational steam locomotives, several cars and a number of display items.
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