STAYING ON TRACK

The Newsletter of the Lubbock Model Railroad Association
NOVEMBER 2002
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DON'T FORGET

Ron Warner pointed out to the editor that the November issue of Model Railroader (Arlan Tietel, "How to host an open house," Model Railroader, November 2002, pg. 100) had an article on preparing your home for a layout tour. Since we are "fixing to" do just that very thing, I thought I would print a short synopsis of the article. Arlan summarizes his suggestions as follows:

Plan Ahead. By planning an open house well in advance, there will be ample time to correct any scheduling or layout difficulties you encounter.

Prepare the House. A clean house and yard, besides railroad-themed signs, help people feel welcome. Make the route to the layout as short as possible.

Have a good crew. A team of good hosts and a well-trained operating crew will help the open house run more smoothly.

Spruce up the layout. Finishing those last few kits and adding details will make the layout visually interesting to guests.

Make it interactive. If you are comfortable with your guests, allow them to operate the layout. Opportunities to do switching is often appealing to guests.

Use radios if you got em. Radios are helpful in keeping people moving throughout the layout tour at an even pace, and especially during bus tours so guests know when the bus is departing.

Use a guest book. Keeping track of who has visited the layout is a nice memento and lets others see who has been there.

Be hospitable. Cookies or other snacks provide a touch of hospitality. Provide seating for those who are waiting to view the layout.

Publicize. Church bulletins, hobby shops, television stations, radio stations, and newspapers are great ways to get the word out about an open house.

MODELING PEARLS FROM THE NARROW GAUGE MEETING

1. Try painted newspaper cut into strips as tar paper roof material. Use grimy black paint.
2. Score your Grandt Line or other plastic windows with a razor knife to add wood grain. It is well worth the effort.
3. Use Blacken It (available at hobby shops) to darken metal to an almost black color. Works great on lead castings or brass and is easier and more realistic than just painting.
4. Use Tackey Glue (available at hobby shops) - a modeler's friend. Tackey Glue sticks metal to wood, wood to plastic, etc. It is nontoxic.
5. Use cheap acrylic paints to make Floquil colors. For example, burnt sienna + raw sienna = rust.
6. For waterfalls, use a gloss medium poured over styrene strips. Use pillow filler or cotton balls to create rapids and white water.
7. Use sawdust for scenery filler material. Mix sawdust powder (not the wood particles, but the dust at the bottom of the pile) with water and white glue. When clay-like apply over damp foam or wood and apply dirt and ground foam over the surface. Can also be used to fill in around rock molds.

MORE COOL WEB SITES

The last issue of The Marker Lamp (Byron Spampinato, "Information with 2 Fingers," The Marker Lamp, Vol. 48, No. 3, pg. 6) lists some web sites of vital interest to model railroaders. They are as follows:

www.nmra.org You will have endless information at your fingertips. Anything involved with the NMRA is listed here; clubs, Heritage program, world rail listing, national and regional convention information, etc. Also, a listing of manufacturers and hobby shops around the US. There is a section on prototype information with photos of modern and golden age trains. A great site.

railserve.com Again, many opportunities for endless info. This site covers whatever the NMRA doesn't. Another great site.

www.index.mrmag.com The information in this site covers modeling techniques, magazine publications about modeling, scale specific prototype magazines, books and special interest publications.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Fort Worth, Texas November 16 and 17, 2002. The 18th annual Fort Worth Area Holiday Train Show (Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at the Amon Carter, Jr. Exhibits Building, the Will Rogers Memorial Center, Amon Carter Blvd. The admission is $6 per person (Children 12 and under are free).

Plano, Texas January 18 and 19 2003. The 18th annual Dallas Area Train Show. Sponsored by the North Texas Council of Railroad Clubs (Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at the Plano Center, 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas. The admission is $6 per person (children 12 and under are free).

KRAUSE PUBLICATIONS

Amazingly, I have absolutely no proprietary interest in Krause Publication, but I get a lot of mail from them. They are coming out with yet another book entitled Model Railroading With M.T.H. Electric Trains (by Rob Adelman). According to their flyer, this book gives detailed information for planning model railroads by taking into consideration space and purpose, while offering tack plans and layout themes. An entire chapter explains how to design tack plans using RR-Track Layout Design software with a personal computer. Step-by-step instructions show how to install and use the software. Once the layout is designed, Adelman devotes chapters to constructing a table for the layout, track laying, backdrop construction and building scenic elements. You may order online at www.krausebooks.com .

I will bring the flyer with me to the November meeting.

E-MAIL, WE GET W-MAIL

To Bob Batson, dated 9/30/02

Hi Bob,

How's the LMRA doing? I am building a layout here in Abilene and am planning an open house in November. If a group is interested, I might be able to set up for you to see a group of maybe 3-4 layouts. My open house will be November 23 and 24. Doyle Davis will be here to help me run. Let me know and I will send a Flyer and make arrangements. How's your layout doing?

Ken Riediger.

Feel free to communicate with Ken. I don't have his e-mail address, but I bet Bob does.

TRACK TO THE FUTURE CONCLUDED

By Bill Marvel as printed in the Dallas Morning News, May 17, 2002, p. 2c.

"With digital recording and miniaturization," says Mr. Thompson, "you hear the air pumps, the squeal of brakes when it comes to a stop, the clank of the fireman's shovel as he opens and closes the firebox door. With some systems, you can hear the fireman and engineer talking."

Miniature diesel motors idle when the locomotive is standing, rev up and rumble when it's on the move.

Jack Burgess, the Silicon Valley modeler, once hid tape decks and speakers around his Yosemite Valley layout to provide ambient nature sounds. Then he discovered the little chips that give voice to talking dolls and greeting cards. Now his valley is alive with birdsongs and the whine of a sawmill. He has even experimented with an electron incense burner: Alfalfa was overpowering, but pine scent worked with his mountain scenery.

With light-emitting diodes and fiber optics, the firebox of a steam engine flickers. Diesels glow with warning lights, running and marker lights, and number boards. Nighttime Main Street blazes with signs of life.

Such realism does not come cheaply. Decoders run anywhere from $15 to $200 depending on features; a digital sound-effects unit goes for $159; and the DVD-playing drive-in costs $699.95.

"Coming down the track," says Model Railroader's Terry Thompson, "are miniaturized video cameras in the locomotives. The question then is, how do you build your layout to be seen from a distance, like the traditional model railroad, or to be seen from the track?"

"A friend of mine who's on the cutting edge has built a layout with different scenes in the tunnels. An underground station, for example."

"I don't know what the next invention will be," says Mr. Thompson. "That's always the fun surprise."

Staying on Track is published monthly by the LMRA - David Lamberts, editor.
Visit us on the Internet at railserve.com/lmra
E-mail me at DWL1944@cs.com
Our mailing address is PO Box 53674, Lubbock, TX 79453

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