Staying on Track is published monthly by the LMRA - David Lamberts, editor.
Visit us on the Internet at http://www.railserve.com/lmra
E-mail me at DWL1944@cs.com
Our mailing address is PO Box 53674, Lubbock, TX 79453
The December clinic will actually be our annual Christmas party. Herein the rules of the CHRISTMAS gift exchange. It is not complicated, but please read them closely to avoid confusion on Monday night.
Yes, it is that time of the year. Membership dues for 2001 are due this month. The good news is that dues have not been raised, and for the next year are again $12.00 for a single membership and $18.00 for a family. The treasurer will have his table set up in the usual place before, during and after the Christmas party for your convenience. This is a great bargain. Pay with a smile.
On a sadder note, I received the following from Bob Batson.
We noticed in the "In Memoriam" section of the most recent NMRA Journal that George Bates of Amarillo passed away recently. George and Irene were good friends to many of the LMRA members. They both pitched in and were a great help when we hosted the LSR convention in 1994, and have attended many of our functions over the years. We lost a good worker, friend, and modeler. Our prayers go out to all the family.
The club sent a sympathy card to Irene Bates. Thanks to Bob for bringing this to the attention of the club.
Joe Notturno has some N - scale stuff for sale. He has 10 or 11 engines two of which are Rivarossi and 65 cars of rolling stock. His phone number is 799-8429.
Bob Batson has a new web site address, www.texascentralrr.org . Go visit.
I received notification of a new book called Classic Railroad Advertising by Krause Publications. The byline reads as follows: The nostalgia of train travel roars back to life through a new book by Tad Burness. "Classic Railroad Advertising" is a hardcover collection of more than 200 color railroad advertisements spanning from 1917 to present, available from Krause Publications. "Classic Railroad Advertising" features creative advertisements from top American magazines like National Geographic, Life, Time, Saturday Evening Post, Look and Collier's. Each ad is accompanied by authoritative commentary on the railroads, the times and trains. The ads are alphabetized according to the corporate sponsor to the ad. Major railroads include Pennsylvania, New York Central, Great Northern, Union Pacific, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Canadian Pacific.
The book can be ordered from bookstores (ISBN 0-87349-274-9) or directly from Krause Publications, Book Department PR01, PO Box 5009 Iola WI 54945-5009 for $39.95 plus $4.00 shipping. Their phone number is (800) 258-0929 or www.krausebooks.com .
By Nancy B. Reed
The Lubbock Model Railroad Association continues to have its monthly meetings with programs covering the gamut of model railroading. We've enjoyed programs on scenery, wiring both track layouts and locomotives, and reports on visits to the real thing as well as to conventions.
The Amarillo Model Railroad Club is actively working on the property they own. Actively is really an understatement! The members were busy in April and May clearing the property and repairing switches and tracks in order to get their Helium Car moved. They have also been having a great deal of success selling the special run of cars they have, including the FtW&D boxcars. Most recently, they are getting ready to handle PFE reefers R40-10 in assembled form from InterMountain. These will be available in two paint schemes: (1) representing 1949 and (2) the 1950's when the UP shield was changed from black, red, white, and blue to black and white. If you need more information, contact Virgil Young at 4209 Kingston Road, Amarillo, TX 79109-5249.
The members have recently decided to make the last Saturday of each month an Open Houston for the public and will be running trains on the club's layout which is still in the Western Plaza. The locomotives will be outfitted with DCC control systems and all members are being encouraged to learn how to use this system.
Beverly Lyle, who is a member of both the LMRA and the AMRA reports that the new owner of the former Railroad Crossing restaurant in Canyon (just south of Amarillo) is interested in installing a train layout inside his restaurant. She will find out more about this and see how the AMRA can help out.
In the way of historic prototypes, I was recently in Philadelphia and had the opportunity to visit two important stations. The old Philadelphia & Reading, built between 1891 and 1893, is still standing but has been incorporated into a City Center Convention Center. While not much remains on the inside of its former days, the outside is still quite impressive with its massive Romanesque revival style. When the station first opened, it was labeled as the "handsomest terminal passenger station" of its time. Now the facade is augmented by a huge electric guitar in neon lights to advertise the Hard Rock Cafˇ which moved in recently
This will be my last column for The Marker Lamp. Next time, there will be a new director for Division 5. I hope that those reading this have enjoyed not only the club news but also my mention of the places I've been visiting as part of my ongoing research project on American railroad stations and the Classical influence found in some of them. When the major article I've written entitled "Roman Baths and American Railroad Stations: Echoes of Antique Empires" gets into print, I'll try to see that the new director on Division 5 is able to publish a full citation for you!
(Nancy B. Reed, The Marker Lamp, Summer/Fall 2001, Vol. 47, No. 2, pg. 8)
Here it is again, time for the election of the new Board of Directors. Jack Seay has put together this list of nominees. Please consider the names and be ready to vote at the December meeting for eight of the nine listed candidates.
Peter Wierzba
Rip Maples
David Lamberts
Ron Kutch
Margaret O'Neill
Ron Warner
Terry Chancellor
Randel Bittick
Jack Seay
Now that some interest has been rekindled in red vests for the club, I wanted to mention a web page that some of you will want to visit. Part of the fun of having the vest is "decorating" it, but patches and pins are not that easy to find. There is a company that will solve that problem. It is called the JRC Company/Iguana Railway. Their web page is www.IguanaRailway.com . They have the biggest inventory of patches (and pins, decals, hats, T-shirts, etc.) I have ever seen. You can see them and order them right off the web page. Buy a vest - go visit the web page. (The editor has no financial interest in Iguana Railway)