Memorial Day.

The Gandy Dancer The Official Publication of the Alameda County Central Railroad Society

May, 2007

Next Public Operation Session:

The ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR!

General Club News:

Upcoming Events:

June

The Monthly Business Meeting will occur on Friday June 1st, 2007

Big Bertha will be hot for the usual pre meeting meat burning ritual. Grill sould be hot about 6:00 PM.

July

The Monthly Business Meeting will not occur due to Fairtime.

August

The Monthly Business Meeting will not occur on August 3rd, 2007 due to
the annual club post-fair Bar-B-Que and we survived the fair celebration.
Sign up sheet available, please indicate the number of persons attending,
so we can get the amount of meat needed and what you are bringing to share.

Fair warning: 2007 Alameda County Fair June 22th to July 8th, 2007

Unofficial minutes of the May Business meeting.

The meeting was called to order at 8:10 PM by President Gary Lewis.

Treasurer's report: Paul Newhouse. Club is still solvent.

PCR letter: Gary Lewis.

The PCR of the NMRA has invited us to a meet in Mountain View to present our club's features and information to potential new members. The meet will happen June 3 at the Computer History Museum. See Gary for details if you'd like to represent us at the event.

Cross training: George Engeman.

George presented an idea hatched by Seth to do some cross-training between scales such that members could pinch hit on the scale they don't usually operate in case of shortage of fully qualified operators in that scale during a show.

George suggested early June for the training session. Discussion ensued and a tentative date of june 8 was chosen pending the gathering of more information. George also suggests that those interested in an informal session could snare a member of the appropriate scale at a time convieneint to them.

Parking hoops: Gary Lewis.

There will be a new wrinkle in the parking for the OSH show due to an indoor soccer or football game. Our usual gate will not be open until 10AM. Be prepared to improvise to get to our usual parking area.

Sound: Gary Lewis.

Due to the increasing availablity and usage of sound equipment, HO has formed a sound advisory committee. Discussion ensued over the advisablity of adding O scale to the comittee, and potential problems that need to be addressed. Dick Stark has offered to join the comittee to ensure that O scale is informed and represented.

Bill Kinnerley Memorial: Dick Stark.

Dick has written an article for the PCR newsletter commemoratiing Bill. See him for details.

Move to adjorn: Bob Johnson. Dan Espinosa 2nd. Unanimous. pass 8:32 PM.

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HO Scale News:

May & Early June HO Scale Run Schedule:
Friday, May 4th	Digital
Saturday, May 5th	Analog OSH
Sunday, May 6th	Digital OSH
Friday, May 11th	Analog
Friday, May 18th	Digital
Friday, May 25th	Analog
Friday, June 1st	Digital
Friday, June 8th	Analog
Friday, June 15th	Digital
Friday, June 22nd	10:00 AM Opening Day of the Fair Analog

Fair Sign up sheets available.

The sign up sheets for the fair have been posted on the white board upstairs. Several people have already signed up. Please sign up today. Members are expected to work a minimum of seven shifts, but if you wish to work more, please feel free to do so.

We have three operating shifts per day. As a general rule the shifts are 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM; 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM; and 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Mondays through Thursdays the first shift hours are 11:00 to 2:00 PM.

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May HO Meeting minutes.

Due to the need for OSH show preparations the meeting was of an informal type and no official minutes were recorded.

Due to the absence of the Trainmaster, the assistant Trainmaster Bob Johnson oversaw the unofficial meeting.

Sign up sheets for the upcoming County Fair were discussed and it was decided to keep the same number of DCC and Analog days as last year.

Wayne reported on the replacement of two cameras for the HO layout and a voting sheet, with related motion and second, was posted for members to vote on payment for the required component parts to complete the repairs. Members were encouraged to vote on this issue.

Gary reported that the Port project is well along. With track work basically complete and wiring and control panel in process, it is expected that this area will be ready for the fair.

Carl and Paul reported that the road and scenery repairs are coming along well, and they expect to be finished by the fair.

Dean Lewis presented two extension cords to the HO scale and offered an apology for the recent Email unpleasantness.

The meeting was concluded and members returned to preparations for the OSH show.

Respectfully submitted by Bob Johnson, Assistant Trainmaster.

From the HO Trainmaster:

The passing of a club member and friend is a sad event.
Condolences to the Cancilla family.
Goodbye, Joe.

Notes from the Assistant Trainmaster

The fair is closer than you think. But there is still some time to prepare for it.
Now is the time to get your equipment tuned up and ready to go.

• Lubricate your locomotives.
• Clean locomotive and tender wheels.
• Check your couplers for proper height and missing springs.
• Check wheels for proper gauge.
• Check trucks for proper attachment to cars.
• Check for loose or missing weights.

If you have been accumulating equipment this past year for "that special train" for the fair and have not been test running lately, now is the time to do that. Please do not use opening day or your first day working the fair as your first test run. Your fellow members will not be impressed by waiting for you to "pick up the pieces". Test early and often!

In the remaining time before the fair we need to track down existing problems (gremlins) with track, scenery, layout support systems (wiring, power supplies, switch machines (ever hear of loose fulcrums?) and the like. The more items we discover and address now will mean a more trouble free operating experience for everyone during the fair.

-Bob
Assistant HO Trainmaster

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O Scale News:

From the O Scale Trainmaster:

The fair is rapidly approaching and we need people to sign up for operating. The fair begins in less than 4 weeks according to the sign posted on the corner of the fairgrounds at Valley and Bernal Avenues. The sign-up sheets are on the clip board by the dispatch booth. Please try to help out, since we always seem to barely have enough people.

Along the lines of barely not having enough people, it has been suggested by HO trainmaster Seth that some cross training be done to allow some of the HO scalers be able to operate the O-Scale side of the club. This concept was brought up at the last business meeting and there seems to be some positive enthusiasm for the idea. In addition, there would be training for operation of the HO-Scale side of the club for any O scalers who are interested.

There are still a few things to do to on the layout to get ready for the fair. In addition to the usual dusting, cobweb removal and repairs here and there, some rolling stock is in need of help. Dave C. has been expending effort in this regard and it might be a good idea for anyone interested in helping him to see him on Friday evenings.

The O-Scale trainmaster has been working on some of the switchers to have them ready for the fair. Progress is slow, but positive.

See you on the right-of-way,
-George
O Scale Trainmaster

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	In Memoriam, Member Joseph Cancilla answered the call of the great dispatcher and took his final run to the station of eternity May 20, 2007. Joe was a member of ACCRS for many years. He is fondly remembered for being a worker, a regular participant in club meetings and helped staff the club's exhibit during the annual county fair each year. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a good friend to many people. Joe was a member of what is called "the greatest generation", he was a veteran of U.S. Army service during World War II. In addition to his interest in trains, Joe liked baseball. He was a fan of the Oakland Athletics. Joe will be missed by those who knew him; his name will be added to the memorial board.
U.S. Army Flag

Club delegation attends member funeral.

A delegation of five members attended the funeral of member Joseph Cancilla on Thursday morning, May 24, 2007. Services were held at St. John's Catholic Church in San Lorenzo. Members attending were Seth Abrahams, Dean Lewis, Paul Newhouse, Cathy Chrisman and Bob Johnson. Many thanks to those members who came out represented the club at this somber event.

General Hobby and Prototype News

Napa Valley Model Railroaders

2007 Swap Meet & Show, Saturday, August 18th at
The Napa Valley Expo Center, 573 Third Street, Downtown Napa
Swap meet 8:00 AM to Noon. Model Railroad open until 2:00 PM
Admission $3.00 Adults, 12 and under Free. Free parking.
Concessions available. More info (from 2006 show): Link to Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society

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The Gandy Dancer, a monthly publication of the Alameda County Central Railroad Society.
Last updated June 19, 2007.

Unless otherwise noted, this web page and all images and information it contains are
Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Alameda County Central Railroad Society. All Rights Reserved.
For more information, email Dan Espinosa at:
steelnomad2002 at yahoo dot com.