The Gandy Dancer

Upcoming Public Operation Sessions:

Alameda County Fair

Friday, June 22 thru Sunday, July 8.
Monday thru Thursday 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM.	Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
Wednesday, July Fourth 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.	Sign up today!

Good Guys

August 24, 25 and 26. 15th West Coast Nationals. Hours: Friday 8:00 AM to 6:00PM, Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

General Club News:

Fair Badges and Passes:

The club leadership has been working hard to try to have the passes and badges available and distributed to the members prior to the fair. Friday evening June 15th the passes for the 2001 Alameda County Fair arrived, delivered by President Gary Lewis.

The passes were divided between the two scales. Gerald DeWitt, HO Trainmaster has the supply for the HO Scale; and Vice President Henry Chandler has custody of the O Scale supply. Members that were present on Friday received their passes. Members who were not present on Friday evening will be able to get passes during the week at the club. HO members may see the HO Trainmaster on Tuesday evening, June 19th, or Thursday evening, June 21st. O Scale members may see Henry on Tuesday evening between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. O Scale members that are unable to get to the club on Tuesday evening will find that there are a limited number of tickets in the usual place. Please note that there may be several members in this position.

Members on the badge list, were contacted by Cathy Chrisman, Club Treasurer, on Tuesday, June 19 and were given instructions about when and where the photos were to be taken for the badges. Members had to come down to the fairgrounds to have their photo taken and badge issued. In past years there were several days, during the week before the fair, when the photos were taken. This year followed that pattern.

July Business Meeting

As in past years, there will be no July general business meeting due to the date for the meeting falling during the annual Alameda County Fair. Due to the upcoming club BBQ in August the next general business meeting will be in September.

Annual Club BBQ

The annual club barbeque will be held on Friday, August 3rd.   Hors D'Oeurvres will be served between 6:30 and 7:00 PM.   The club will provide the meat, beans, beverages and bread.   Members are encouraged to bring in a variety of salads and desserts.   The signup sheet is located on the refrigerator in the locker room.   Break out that secret family recipe and share the fruits of your culinary skills with your fellow club members.   Sign up today!

    Did someone order french bread?

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HO scale news:

The following remarks are from the HO Scale Trainmaster.

Projects:

Kensington improvements update:

A great deal of progress has been made with this project to date. Some of the improvements are detailed below.

Friday evening, June 8th the new drive in theater showed its first feature film The Matrix. Audience reaction was most favorable. There is still some work to be done with the parking area and other scenic details to be added to this area that will be a real showstopper. Seth Abrahams has done a fantastic job on the "projection screen." The tentative name for the drive-in theater is The Pinecone Drive In.

The new Gulf full service gasoline station was on display Friday evening also. The station features some very interesting interior lighting effects with illuminated signs and lots of detail. The lighting really stands out during simulated night on the layout. Be sure to checkout the price of gas. Linda Flannagan put in a lot of effort into the gas station and many other buildings and the effort really shows.

While the above items are impressive, they would not have been possible without the support of our resident civil engineer Carol Borlandelli, who constructed the support system for the streets and buildings, in addition to the street grid itself.

Thanks also to Dean Lewis for the artistic touch with the scenery surrounding the town of Kensington.

Kensington Transit Lines is now operational with limited trolley service and newly acquired busses to serve the transit needs of the citizens of Kensington.

In addition, road surfaces have been painted and basic scenery is going in. If what has been described sounds good, just wait until all of the details are in place. Our visitors will have plenty of new things to look at and the regulars, who visit year after year will see lots of changes.

Many thanks to all of the members that have participated in the Kensington Project.

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O scale news:

Friday evening June 15th the passes for the 2001 Alameda County Fair arrived.

Vice President Henry Chandler has custody of the O Scale pass supply. Members that were present on Friday received their passes. Members who were not present on Friday evening will be able to get passes during the week at the club.

O Scale members may see Henry on Tuesday evening between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. O Scale members that are unable to get to the club on Tuesday evening will find that there are a limited number of tickets in the usual place. Please note that there may be several members in this position.

Members on the badge list, were contacted by Cathy Chrisman, Club Treasurer, on Tuesday, June 19 and were given instructions about when and where the photos were to be taken for the badges. Members had to come down to the fairgrounds to have their photo taken and badge issued. In past years there were several days, during the week before the fair, when the photos were taken. This year followed that pattern.

DCC will be in use, during the fair, on the O Scale layout. The shakedown operations have went very well and the sound equipped locomotives sound great.

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Test your word power.

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.

1. A "keister keeper" is a baggage man
2. A "ballet master" is a section boss in charge of gandy dancers.
3. A "bridge monkey" is a bridge construction worker.
4. A "nickel snatcher" is a streetcar conductor.
5. The "dog catchers" are a crew sent to relieve a crew that has been outlawed.
6. A "number grabber" is a yard clerk.
7. "Pennsylvania" is a reference to coal.
8. A "gandy wagon" is a hand car.
9. When you "go in the hole" you go in the siding.
10. The railroad that was known as the "Cough and Snort" was the Colorado and Southern.

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Editorial Notes:

The editor would like to wish everyone a good fair, Happy fourth of July and an enjoyable summer.

A note for our newer members. If you plan on eating food from the fairgrounds during the fair you may wish to consider eating at the cafeteria, which is a bargain compared to ala carte eating from the concession stands.

Humor Junction:

Old Pullman Joke

There's an ancient railroad joke about a guy who asked the sleeping car porter on the Broadway Limited to wake him up the next morning and make sure he got off the train at Philadelphia the next morning, no matter how sleepy he was or how much he complained.

As the train pulls into New York in the morning the guy realizes he's missed his stop, finds the porter and yells, "why didn't you wake me up and get me off the train at Philadelphia like I asked you to? I'm pretty mad about this!" "Yes sir," the porter replies, "but not half as mad as the guy I did put off in Philadelphia."

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Go to June 2001 Issue

Return to Gandy Dancer Index

Go to August 2001 Issue

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The Gandy Dancer, A monthly publication of the Alameda County Central Railroad Society, Inc.
Copyright ACCRS, Inc 2001 all rights reserved
Last Revised July 1, 2001
For more information contact Robert Johnson, Editor