The Gandy Dancer

Upcoming Public Operation Sessions:

Good Guys

November 10 & 11. 12th Autumn Get Together. Hours: Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Start time for the club display is normally 10:00 AM for this event.

GATS   -   Great American Train Show

November 24 & 25 (Thanksgiving weekend). Hours are 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

General Club News:

Home and Garden Show:

The Alameda County Fall Home and Garden show allowed the club to showcase our modeling efforts for some 846 visitors on Saturday and 558 visitors on Sunday, for a total of over 1404 visitors for the weekend. We received many complements about both layouts. Many thanks to all of you, on both sides of the aisle, who participated in staffing our exhibit for this event.

October Business Meeting:

The nominations committee reported the results of their efforts to compile a slate of candidates for club officers. The incumbent officers have all agreed to run for their respective offices. In addition it was mentioned that there are additional candidates for the offices of President and Secretary. Candidates for President are Gary Lewis (Incumbent) and George Cumming (current O Scale Trainmaster). Henry Chandler, current Vice President is running unopposed for that office. Candidates for Secretary are Dean Lewis (Incumbent) and Gerald DeWitt. Cathy Chrisman, current Treasurer is running unopposed for that office.

November Business Meeting

The November general business meeting will be held on Friday, November 2nd. Elections for club officers, for the coming year, will be held at this meeting. We will be selecting President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Please plan to attend and vote for the candidates of your choice. Big Bertha, will be fired up for the pre-meeting grilling session, weather permitting.

Annual Club Holiday Party Scheduled.

The annual club holiday potluck is scheduled for Friday, December 7th at 7:00 PM. Please join us for our annual holiday season kickoff. Bring your spouse and children to the most festive occasion on the club calendar. The sign-up sheet is posted on the refrigerator door. The sign-up sheet is designed so that everyone will be able to see what others are bringing in order to avoid duplication of others efforts.

Membership Dues are Now Due.

It's that time of year again, please see the Treasurer and ante up! Members are reminded that dues are $24 per year.

Can you spare a minute?

Have you missed a business meeting, or are wondering what was discussed at the last business meeting? Minutes of recent business meetings are posted on the bulletin board by the stairs. Check it out.

All Quiet on the Western Front.

As many of you are aware the air horn that delighted visitors of all ages to our club, for many years, is no longer on our building. The horn was not stolen. The person who loaned the horn to the club has sold it to someone else. The new owner has removed the horn from the building.

The Chief Rolls Again.

The Santa Fe Chief tail sign, which serves as a night-light, has been dark for some time. The necessary repair parts have been installed, and the tail sign is shining once again.

Membership Roster Update.

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 contacted.

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HO scale news:

Cab three monitor relocated.

Monitor number four, which is used by the cab 3 operator, was relocated from it's former location adjacent to the club locker room to the shelf above the coal mine. The shelf was constructed to support the monitor, but the move was postponed to allow decoration of the wall behind the freight yard. Since a significant amount of time had passed with no action on the backdrop, it seemed reasonable to proceed with the monitor relocation. This move will make the images on the monitor screen easier to see and more useful to the cab three operator. Bob Johnson conducted the monitor relocation with assistance from Carlo Borlandelli and Carl Klenk.

The following remarks are from the HO Scale Trainmaster.

Another month has come and gone and with it the Home and Garden Show. The sign-ups for this show were not what they could have been. If it seemed that the modified sign-up was a bit totalitarian that was definitely not the intention. In fact, it did magnify a less than enthusiastic outlook on what, in theory, could have been a real moneymaker. Unfortunately, the monetary result was about the same as the as the sign-up participation. Was the less than enthusiastic participation a result of the sign-up system or was it a result of the workload for; "just another show". It was probably a combination for both.

One benefit realized at the G and H Show was a much greater participation in manning the Donation Desk. It certainly was encouraging to see members walking up to the desk and asking the person sitting there if they needed relief. In any case, the sign-up sheets will revert to the, "old system", for the month of November.

It was decided by a vote of HO members present on Friday, October 27th that the HO scale will participate in the November Good Guys on Sunday, November 11th only.

--Carl

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O scale news:

The following remarks are from the O Scale Trainmaster.

Home & Garden Show:

Thanks to the O Scale members who participated during the Home & Garden Show on Oct. 6 & 7. The crowds were a little thin, but the take was OK, all things considered.

November Shows:

Don't forget that we have two shows in November, after which we will hibernate for a few months. Sign-up sheets are posted.

Good Guys, November 10-11. You will need your ACCRS pass to enter the Fairgrounds, as the Good Guys rent the entire place.

GATS, November 24-25: This is a well-attended show, and the kids particularly like the O Scale layout. We should run the rails off both days to highlight our scale compared to Lionel and others. Remember that the crowd arrives early, especially on Saturday, and often visits the layout before the GATS doors open at 11 am.

Sign-Up Sheets:

Often, members plan to attend even though they are unable to add their names to the sign-up sheet beforehand. The more the merrier, says Popeye, but the sign-up sheet is the only way I know whether we are "covered." If you can't sign up, but plan to attend, either ask someone to add your name to the sheet, or let me know. Contact me by  E-mail.

November Sunday Session:

Our Sunday operating session will be November 11 (2nd day of the Good Guys Show). DCC-ers, Bring your stuff, so that we can operate multiple trains on the mainlines. (Ditto GATS, if you are able).

Trainmaster Wanted, Apply Within:

The election of our O Scale Trainmaster for 2002 will be held in December. If you are interested in serving in this highly-coveted, highly-paid position, Raise Hand and Call Loudly.

--George A Cumming, O Scale Trainmaster

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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 "red cap" is a porter at a railroad station.
2. A "ticket snatcher" is a conductor.
3. A "student smoke agent" is an apprentice fireman.
4. A "steam-heat man" is a trainman on a passenger train.
5. A "lever jerker" is a switchman.
6. A "filling station" is a water tank.
7. A "grease trough" is a lunch counter.
8. A "hotbox" is an overheated journal (bearing).
9. A "hay burner" is an oil burning headlight.
10. A "pop" is a safety valve on a boiler.

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Editorial Notes:

Time for an old story.

A long time ago there was a boy who lived with his father. As this boy was becoming a teenager his father noticed that he was becoming more and more belligerent. The young man's attitude and approach to situations was upsetting other members of his family as well as friends. The father decided to have a talk with his son but as expected the son would not change his behavior. So the father asked if the son would just hammer a nail into the backyard fence every time he upset someone. The son agreed to this.

As time went on the son noticed that there were a lot of nails in the fence. He started to realize that he was causing a lot of upset. He decided to talk to his father about the fence. The father suggested that if he apologized he could remove a nail. The son's behavior slowly changed and the number of nails were slowly reduced. Finally the time came for the son to remove the last nail. So he and his father went out into the back yard and removed the nail. The son said, "I have changed my ways. I apologize when I say something inappropriate". The father replied "Yes you did but look at the holes in the fence. Even though you apologize you still leave scars".

--Anonymous

Local Area Events.

The South Bay Historical Railroad Society is having a three day Open House on Friday, November 2, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM; Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days. Exhibits include HO and N scale layouts, Railroad artifacts, a 138 year old station building and a restored Harriman # 4 Interlocking tower. Tours of the Interlocking Tower will be conducted during the weekend. Cost is $2.00 for adults, $0.50 for youths 6-17 and families $6.00. The station is located at 1005 Railroad Ave., Santa Clara. If you need additional information please call (408) 243-3969 or visit SBHRS

               

Museum Report:

This is the third in a series of reports about railroad related sites and museums visited during your editor's recent vacation. This month features Russ and Linda Wood's Wood 'N' Trains Bunkhouse and Train Mountain in Chiloquin, Oregon.

The Wood 'N' Trains Bunkhouse is located just outside of Chiloquin, Oregon. Situated on the picturesque Sprague River it is a wonderful location to sit back and watch the lazy river flow by. This is one of those rare locations where the silence is deafening. A most enjoyable evening past time is to sit out on the deck and watch the fish jumping out in the river and the resident river otters cavorting at dusk. The wind whispering through the surrounding trees is only rarely interrupted by the sound of a distant train sounding its horn for the railroad crossing in downtown Chiloquin.

Traffic on the road in front of the house is so frantic as to be virtually non-existent. A dozen cars during daylight hours would be heavy traffic. This situation is a very pleasant change of pace for anyone familiar with Bay Area Traffic. The dinner menu, on the evening that I stayed, included an intriguing meat loaf cooked by Mr. Russ hisself. My most cordial hosts were Linda and Russ Wood, who were kind enough to put up with yours truly. Russ has even said they might let me come back, sometime.

The following morning, Russ and I left the bunkhouse, and traveled to Train Mountain. Train Mountain Railroad Museum is situated near Chiloquin, mid-way between Klamath Falls and Crater Lake National Park on over 2000 acres of Ponderosa Pine forest. There is over 58,000 feet of 7½" gauge mainline track and, including yard and sidings, a total of over 105,600 feet. While a major focus of Train Mountain is the 1.5" to the foot 7 ½" gauge railroad, there is also a growing collection of prototype railroad equipment on site. Prototype equipment present during my visit included a Jordan spreader, a large number of cabooses and a complete Weyerhaeuser logging train. Track preparations had been completed for installation of a former Southern Pacific snow plow train that is currently being set up. The snow plow train includes a rotary snowplow.

My tour of Train Mountain started at the car shop, which provides storage for equipment and houses the machine shop equipment and staff that keep the trains rolling. There were a variety of locomotives and cars present during my visit. Locomotives included F units decorated for several railroads, Alco PA and PB units, RS-3, EMD SD40 and more modern power. Rolling stock of various styles were represented including a toolbox car built to look like a coiled steel car, boxcars, reefers, gondolas, flats, tank cars, and cabooses. After touring the car shop and meeting the staff it was time to pull out our train and go for a ride.

Backing down from the car shop, we accessed one of the run-through tracks. After clearing the switch, we proceeded forward through the yard passing a parked log train and several flat cars loaded with track panels. Upon exiting the yard we ran through a grade crossing and passed Central Station which houses the Company Store and dining facility. Passing Central Station we looped around the steaming bays and turntable.

One stop of interest was at the track shop where all track panels and switches used at Train Mountain are assembled. The shop is setup to assemble track in an efficient manner using jigs and tools specifically setup for this type of work. One end of the shop is used to assemble track and has jigs for straight and curved track. The other end of the shop houses the switch assembly area and associated jigs and components. As track panels or switches are completed, they are stacked six high for track panels, on flat cars and the loaded cars are pushed out of the shop to storage tracks. When several flats of track have accumulated a train will pick up the loads and return empty flats to the shop for loading.

After completing the tour of the track shop we were on the road once again. The major grade crossings have crossing signals. The crossing closest to the main entrance features a full sized, operating set of crossing signals with gates that lower. It was strange to go across the crossing and be looking up at the gates and flashing lights. The ride over the mainline lasted about three hours including stops to look at various points of interest. Upon returning to the car shop we found out there were some visitors that were interested in having a ride, so we went out for another two hours.

Scattered along the track are groups of buildings that are approximately the same scale as the trains. Most of the buildings feature detailed interiors examples of this would be the train station with telegraphers office and waiting room and the creamery with milk processing equipment. I would have liked to share more photos of Train Mountain but I suffered from a bad batch of film and two rolls of photos of buildings and details turned out to be so poor that they cannot be used for publication. Looks like I will just have to make another trip to take pictures of the incomparable Train Mountain. Photos.

The next installment of the museum report will cover The High Desert Museum, located just south of Bend Oregon. While this museum is not railroad related it does feature a working steam powered saw mill and related equipment with lots of things for the spouse and children to see and do.

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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 October 27, 2001
For more information contact Robert Johnson, Editor