The Gandy Dancer
The Official Publication of
The Alameda County Central Railroad Society
May 2002
| The Gandy DancerThe Official Publication of | May 2002 |
| 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 June issue will be May 24 with a goal of being mailed and uploaded to the website by May 26. 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 April 2002 Issue | Return to Gandy Dancer Index | Go to June 2002 Issue |
| General News | HO Scale News | O Scale News | Test Your Word Power |
| Friday, June 21 thru Sunday, July 7. | |
| Monday thru Thursday 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM. | Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. |
| Thursday, July Fourth 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. | |
The May general business meeting will be held on Friday, May 3, Big Bertha the club BBQ, will be fired up for those wishing to bring your own meat for the self-service grilling session prior to the meeting.
The weather for this weekend show was rather winter like with some periods of rain and clouds. Sunday' weather was cool in the morning but turned out to be more pleasant than Saturday. Saturday saw 454 visitors and Sunday saw 522 visitors for a weekend total of 976 visitors. Many good comments were heard about both layouts throughout the event. Thank you to the hard working members from both sides who pitched in to staff our display for this weekend event.
The one-day open house for the Coast Division of the Pacific Coast Region of the NMRA was held on Sunday, April 7. We had a steady stream of visitors during the course of the day, although the majority of the visitors seemed to be from other events taking place on the fairgrounds. There was a good turnout from the O scale side of the house. Mike Browne and Bob Johnson represented the HO scale. Both sides were operating in DCC mode for the day. A good time was had by all that participated.
The annual post fair club BBQ will be held Friday, August 2. Mark your calendar for this family oriented event.
We expect to have an updated version of the roster which should be available in May.
Longtime member Andy Herrerra was hospitalized in late April. Reportedly he is on the mend and will be back at the club in the near future. Speaking for the club membership, we all wish Andy a speedy and full recovery.
A very nice framed print of steam locomotives now graces the front wall of the club near the front entry door. The print depicts a variety of steam locomotives from Europe and North America. Next time you are down at the club check out this interesting collection of steam images. Member Len Ferreria generously donated this item to the club. Thank you, Len!
This month marks the one year anniversary of The Gandy Dancer going on line. Although, no celebration is planned, this is a small milestone in the history of the club newsletter. The past year has seen improvements in layout and content, with more things to come.
A calendar has been posted adjacent to the dispatch panel showing the scheduling of Analog and DCC running for Friday evenings. The letter "A", on the calendar, denotes an analog run night. The letter "D", on the calendar, denotes a DCC run night. The schedule for May is as follows:
Analog: |
Friday, May 10 and Friday, May 24. |
DCC: |
Friday, May 3; Friday, May 17 Friday, May 31. |
A small group of volunteers has come forward to answer the call issued by Linda Flannagan for a working group to engineer and prototype the installation of sidewalks in the city. The installation of the sidewalks is critical in the continuing effort to complete reconstruction of Kensington. Final orientation and location of buildings, street painting, striping and installation of many detail items cannot go forward without the installation of the sidewalks throughout town.
The following remarks are from the HO Scale Trainmaster.
Hello everyone,
First off, on behalf of the club and myself, I would like to wish Andy Herrera a speedy recovery.
I still have some people who have not picked up their FREE DECODERS yet. I will lug them around for a couple more weeks, then they will become property of the club.
The weather is getting nicer now and I think we should set a time to install the decoders in our equipment. I will take a poll on which Saturday everyone can attend the clinic.
--Mike Browne
The following remarks are from the O Scale Trainmaster.
May 5: DCC operations Sunday. Last month there were six engines operating, all with sound. Very impressive!
June 1- 2: The normal DCC date in June is the same weekend as the Good Guys Street Rod Show. Are you interested in doing DCC and having the layout open one of those days?
August 4: We will repeat last year's very successful get-together, attended by the West Bay group and others. We will also have tables out for a swap meet. So, pass the word. I will send notices to the magazines.
--George A Cumming, 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.
To many the holiday weekend at the end of May marks the beginning of summer and the vacation and BBQ season. These enjoyable and fun activities are part of the good things in life. And summer is the time when many of these activities take place. However, there is a more important and somber reason for the Memorial Day holiday.
The origins of Decoration Day, as Memorial Day once was known, reach back into American History. During the great conflict of the mid 19th Century which has been referred to as the "Civil War" or "War Between the States" there were women's groups, in the South, that would place flowers on graves of the war dead. In 1868, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11, which in part instructed that flowers should be placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. This was first observed on May 30, 1868, to honor those who perished during the war.
After World War I, the meaning was changed to honor all Americans who died fighting in any war. The knowledge of the meaning of Memorial Day has faded with the passage of time. In an effort to re-educate and remind the American people of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed in December of 2000. The resolution asks that at 3:00 P.M. local time, on Memorial Day (May 27th this year), for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps'". Additional Information.
Information courtesy of www.usmemorialday.org.
 |
 |
|
This is the last in a series of reports about railroad related sites and museums visited during your editor's recent vacation. This month features coverage of the equipment display at The Dalles, OR, The Dalles Dam Railroad, The Hood River Railroad and semaphore signals on the Central Oregon and Pacific.
Just because it is small don't discount the history behind "Ole Yeller #099". This little locomotive was built by Plymouth Locomotive in 1928 and is powered by a 150 horse power caterpillar engine. This locomotive was used at the Panama Canal. Later it was used in the construction of the Bonneville Dam. In 1958 the government sold the locomotive to Harvey Aluminum which used it as the plant switcher for their Dalles facility until 1979. The locomotive was donated to The Dalles chamber of commerce in 1990 and was placed on display near the chamber office.
The Dalles Dam railroad is an interesting operation that boards its passengers in Oregon and discharges those same passengers in Washington a few minutes later. The train consists of a small locomotive, which looks to be a GE, 70 tonner, a passenger car that was converted from a flatcar, and an old wooden caboose. The passenger car and caboose were restored with the assistance of Union Pacific; the UP shield is displayed on these cars for that reason. Reportedly the caboose was originally operated on the Northern Pacific. The restoration job on the caboose is fantastic both inside and out.
The Hood River Railroad is a tourist railroad that runs south from Hood River, OR. The equipment includes GP9R # 88 former Southern Pacific # 3835, GP9 #89 former MNVA # 306, a number of passenger cars and cabooses from the Great Northern and UP. The line was originally constructed in 1906 to haul men, equipment and supplies required for timber harvesting, returning lumber to Hood River. In later years the railroad also served fruit growers and other agricultural customers in the region. The first three miles of the line ascend a 3 percent grade to reach a switchback then proceeding to Parkdale. Along the way there are magnificent views of the Cascade range including Mount Hood and Mount Adams. The depot at Hood River over the years has served Union Pacific's City of Portland and Portland Rose. Later it served as a stop for Amtrak's Pioneer. Today it serves as the terminal station for The Hood River Railroad.
If you would like to see working semaphores on an active rail line go north and visit the Central Oregon and Pacific railroad. The signals still protect train movements as they have since installation in 1912. Time is running out for these venerable relics. CORP is in the process of replacing them with modern signals. In a couple more years these working antiques will be gone. The good news is that the semaphores are not being scrapped, the railroad has discovered a source of revenue, by selling the old signals to interested collectors! Double semaphores still stand on the old Southern Pacific Siskiyou line, at Oakland OR. These signals appear to be in excellent condition with fresh paint. They are located just a few feet from the secondary highway that parallels Interstate 5. Addtiional information about CORP signals.
I had the good fortune to encounter a northbound Central Oregon and Pacific freight just north of Medford, OR and was able to photograph it as it split a pair of semaphores. That seems like a good point to end this journey. Photo supplement.
This concludes this series for the time being.
The Great American Train Show will be held June 1 and 2 at the Sonoma County Fair and Exposition, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Hours 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission $7.00.
| Top of page |
| Go to April 2002 Issue | Return to Gandy Dancer Index | Go to June 2002 Issue |