This Monday's (February 5) program will be the yearly auction. David Lamberts will be the auctioneer again this year. Herein are the rules of the auction.
The owner of the item to be auctioned will bring the item to the auctioneer together with the auction form. The owner will fill in the following items on the auction form:
The auctioneer will fill in the item number. He will also issue a card with a number on it to each bidder.
The auction will be conducted in the classical format with the auctioneer attempting to sell the item at the highest price possible. He will first read the item description to the club and note the minimum bid, if any. He will hold up the item for the group to see. The item may be passed around to the group if requested.
The bidders will all have a card with a number on it. They will use this card to bid. If interested in an item, the bidder must hold the card high in the air so the auctioneer can see it. KEEP IT IN THE AIR UNTIL YOU WISH TO STOP BIDDING. Do NOT raise and lower your card. Just keep it up until the price exceeds your comfort zone. The winner is the last bidder with his card in the air.
The auctioneer will note the number of the winning bidder on the auction form and the amount of the winning bid. He will subtract the percent of the hold for the club and calculate the remaining amount due the seller. The winner them claims his item, pays the price to the auctioneer, and the seller gets that amount less the percentage that goes to the club.
For example: the seller places a boxcar with a minimum bid of $5.00 and the minimum 10% going to the club to the auctioneer. The boxcar eventually sells for $10.00. The auctioneer notes the winning amount of $10.00 on the auction form and also notes the amount of $1.00 (10%) going to the club. The seller receives $9.00 from the auctioneer ($10.00 - $1.00 = $9.00).
When the auction is over, the buyer brings his money to the buyer's table. The auctioneer also pays off the seller less the percentage going to the club.
We are going to try and make things a little easier this year. There will be separate buyer's and seller's tables. If you are a buyer, go to the buyer's table and claim your item and pay your money. If you are a seller, go to the seller's table and pick up your money. The seller's table will have enough cash on hand to pay off all the sellers, on the spot. You don't need to wait until the end of the auction for either transaction. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. this month to allow for the auction set up. Every item needs an auction form. We will have some blank ones at the meeting. Please do try any creative financing like subtracting the amount you made by selling items from the amount you owe from buying items. Our bookkeeping is not yet that sophisticated and it will make the treasurer crazy. Mostly, come and have a good time. Bring money.
I got a call from Richard Raff in Amarillo regarding a train show March 2 and 3. The show will be held at the B&N Hobby Shop at 3601 Plains in Amarillo. This is the old Sears building. The Texas Panhandle Railroad Historical Society will be there with some modules. I think we can bring some too if we want. The show will run from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be a swap meet set up as well. If you want more details, call Richard at 806 622-3901
Submitted by Ronald Kutch
China has finished planning for the first railway to Tibet, a link that would knit the restive Himalayan region tighter with the rest of China.
Until now, Tibet's harsh environment had frustrated Beijing's hopes for rail links with the region it occupied in 1950, leaving Tibet accessible only by tortuous roads or by plane. There were concerns that tracks laid on the Tibetan plateau's frozen ground would buckle. And there were worries about the earthquakes that frequently rock the mountain's sparsely populated regions. Engineers have now found ways to overcome those obstacles and plans for a line to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa have been submitted to China's cabinet for approval. Approval will come very soon and trains will be running withing five to seven years, the Railway minister said.
The line will link Lhasa with Golmud, a city in neighboring Qinghai providence that has rail services to elsewhere in China. The minister said the line would boost the economy of western China, increase tourism and promote unity.
By Nancy San Martin, The Dallas Morning News, Sunday, January 14, 2001, page 45A.
New Mexico has rekindled a romance with one of America's most endearing legacies, the railroad.
A number of old train depots are being refurbished to their former luster, bringing back memories of when they served as community centerpieces and headquarters for the locomotives that tied the isolated Southwest to the rest of the New World during early settlement days.
In the last five years, communities around the state have been buying and renovating the old structures to serve an array of needs. At the heart of the restoration project is the hope that the refurbishing buildings will serve as an impetus for an economic renaissance, a nostalgic return to the turn of the century.
The Santa Fe Trail was the first link with the United States, said Elmo Baca, head of the state historic Preservation Division. When the railroad came in, it changed everything. The railroads were really an architectural and lifestyle revolution. It brought building materials and luxury items. The latest Parisian fashions were finally available to people.
The railroads also started to bring in tourists. It created an image of the American southwest, he said. Because of their central locations in the community, the depots can be an important anchor for downtown revitalization projects.
. . . . to be continued - see NEW MEXICO DEPOTS 2
Lubbock Model Railroad Association
P.O. Box 53674
Lubbock, TX 79453