Meeting and Event Schedule 2019

  • February: Membership Meeting: 1:00 PM February 9, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Easy hard-shell and ground goop as well as wire tree armatures.
  • March: Erie Train Show: March 3, 2019 at Rainbow Gardens. Division 12 has its T-TRAK layout, consignment sales, and information table as well as clinic presentations.
  • March: Membership Meeting: 1:00 PM March 9, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Scratch building with wooden block cores.
  • March: Railfest: March 16 and 17. Division 12 members answer questions and demonstrate the T-TRAK layout.
  • April: Membership meeting: 1:00 PM April 13, 2019 at the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society located at 31 Wall Street, North East, PA 16428. Program: from museum staff and presentation on tank cars.
  • May: NMRA Mid Central Region Convention: May 2-5. Division 12 members are volunteering and some of our T-TRAK group will be participating in a large T-TRAK layout. As it is right next-door this year, we are hoping to have a significant Division 12 turnout at The Bullet 2019, our regional convention.
  • May: Membership Meeting: 10:00 AM May 11, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Overview of the NMRA website and introduction to Fast Track turnout jigs.
  • June: Between the Rails: Division 12 is hosting a picnic and train watching, joining with other railroad enthusiasts at the North Gale Street picnic area in Westfield, NY on June 8, 2019 starting at noon.
  • July: Membership Meeting: 10:00 AM July 13, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Three different weathering techniques with presentation, demonstrations, and an opportunity to try one out.
  • July: Jefferson Train Show: July 20, 2019 in Jefferson, Ohio. We will have our T-TRAK layout and information at this train show.
  • August: Membership Meeting: 10:00 AM August 10, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Modeling electrical equipment as large loads, and using DCC lighting decoders.
  • September: Alleghany Western Mini-Meet 2019: Details coming soon!
  • October: Membership Meeting: 10:00 AM October 12, 2019 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Program: Mini-Meet after action reflection and ongoing planning for 2021 regional convention.
  • November: Erie Train Show: November 3, 2019 at Rainbow Gardens. Division 12 will have its T-TRAK layout, consignment sales, and information table as well as clinic presentations.
  • November: Model Railroad Tours: November 10, 2019. Division 12 will showcase some of its members’ layouts. We are hoping for better weather this year!
  • December: Christmas Party: December 14, 2019 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM at Hoss’s Steak and Sea House in Erie again this year.

NMRA Partnership Program

The NMRA Partnership Program is a member benefit that truly has a tangible payback. The NMRA has partnered with model railroad manufacturers of all sizes, giving them exposure on The NMRA website in return for receiving generous discounts for NMRA members all year long. Some provide members with special codes, others prefer a phone or email order, but all appreciate the additional business from our members. And of course, our members appreciate the extra savings…savings that can actually pay the cost of NMRA membership!

For complete descriptions of the partners, the discount they offer, and instructions on applying the discount on your order visit the NMRA Partnership Program web page. If you are not signed in as a member, you will only see a list of the partners offering the discounts. To see the instructions on how to apply the discounts you need to register or log in as a registered member. If you have not registered, here is a FAQ with instructions for how to register at the NMRA website.

 

Operations: Call Board for Bill Schopf’s Baltimore and Lehigh

Bill has scheduled an op-session on his railroad in Cambridge Springs for the afternoon after our August 11 membership meeting and would like to open it to members of Division 12. For those participating, he suggests going to the new general store in Venango for lunch (excellent sandwiches and craft beers) and then coming over to run some trains.

The railroad runs best with seven operators (it’s the number of throttles available as well). It’s an NCE DCC system with a strong coal hauling flavor of eastern PA in the late 1940s. Mostly early diesel, some steam on occasion. If anyone wanted to get more of a sense of the railroad they could also look at the video that’s listed on the “Links and Layouts” page of the website.

He has three or four positions open, one of which is a smaller yard. The other two or three positions are running trains on the mainline, using switch lists rather than car cards. He will fill the call board on a first contact/best chance basis. He can be contacted at opshost1@div12mcr.org. All positions are now full for August 11.

June Membership Meeting: Between the Rails

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Division 12’s June Membership Meeting will be followed by a picnic lunch, meeting other railroaders, and train watching.

A short membership meeting will be held on June 9th at 11:00 AM at the North Gale Street picnic area in Westfield, NY. After the meeting, we will sponsor a picnic and train watching, joining with other railroad groups in our division’s area: the Conewango Switch Tenders and the Independent Railroaders. We will have information about our new NMRA Division 12 and a donation jar. We look forward to meeting with new folks who are not yet part of the Alleghany Western Division, but who share an interest in model or prototype railroads.

Food service will be at 12:30 PM. Hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, and condiments will be provided. Please bring a dish to share, table service and drinks for yourself and guests, and outdoor chairs if you have them. Please consider carpooling.

Please RSVP to Dave Ellis clerk@div12mcr.org or 206-310-1453 by June 2nd with the number of people attending, so we can estimate the food purchases.

Membership Meeting: April 14, 2018

Membership Meeting at the Trolley Station

Division 12 held a membership meeting on Saturday, April 14th at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. The minutes of the meeting are available on the Documents page.

During the business segment of the meeting, the three appointed officers were elected by an election of acclimation, keeping us in alignment with our even-year election cycle. Also, a motion to amend the Regulations put forth by the clerk and recommended by the board of directors passed unanimously. The amended Regulations and the minutes explaining the rationale for the amendments are both available on the Documents page.

One of the ongoing features of our membership meetings is the Bring and Brag segment. Five members (including a brand new member) shared a variety of structures, rolling stock, and plans that they have been working on recently:

  • Doug Sandmeyer shared an On30 queen post bridge built from an S scale Hunterline kit.
  • Brad White shared a Lasercut kit of an elevator and a cement hopper.
  • New member, Ray Goetz shared a heavily kit bashed box cab HO locomotive as an example of the crazy things he builds in his basement.
  • Dave Ellis shared a hand drawn, 1″=1′ track plan of an addition to his attic layout.
  • Mike Hauk shared several really nicely weathered Bowser F-30 flat cars with Owl Mountain lumber loads.

Photographs of the Bring and Brag projects are on our Facebook page.

Blaine Hays

Our presentation, by Blaine Hays, got us off to a great start for having interesting and informative presentations at our membership meetings. He presented information, great photographs, and even some personal stories of his researching trolleys and interurban systems of the Erie area over the years.  Despite our having to troubleshoot dimming the light in the trolley station for our presentations, the topic and quality of his presentation couldn’t have been more appropriate.

Division 12 at Railfest 2018

Division 12 will have an information table at Railfest, an NMRA sponsored show presented by Division 5 of the Mid Central Region. It is one of the largest train shows in Ohio including dealers, operating layouts, and displays. Railfest is held at Lakeland Community College, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland, Ohio 44094. It is open on both Saturday the 17th of March and Sunday the 18th of March from 10 AM until 4 PM.

Meeting and Event Schedule 2018

  • February: First Membership meeting on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at the Quality Inn and Suites in Erie, PA.
  • March: Board of Directors meeting Saturday, March 10 at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Planning for 2018 meetings and activities.
  • April: Membership meeting: Saturday, April 14th at 1:00 PM at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Presentation: Blaine Hays on Erie Interurban transit.
  • May: Membership meeting: Saturday, May 12th at 1:00 PM at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Presentation: Dick Bradley on short lines of the 1960s.
  • June: Membership meeting and Event: Saturday, June 9th Picnic and train watching at Gale Street in Westfield NY. Membership meeting at 11:00 AM and picnic beginning at 12:30 PM.
  • July: Membership meeting: Saturday, July 14th at 10:00 AM at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Presentation: Dave Ellis on model railroad backdrops.
  • July: Event: Division 12 Information Table and T-Trak Layout at the Jefferson Historical Society’s Train Show on Saturday, July 21st from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM.
  • August: Membership meeting: Saturday, August 11th at 10:00 AM at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Presentation: Brad White on model railroad operations on the Chautauqua Branch.
  • September: Membership meeting: Saturday, September 8th at 1:00 PM at the Salamanca Railroad Museum. Details to be confirmed
  • September: Board of Directors meeting: Saturday, September 29th, at the Cambridge Springs Trolley Station. Planning for November Division 12 events: Erie Train Show, T-Trak Displays, NMRA Layout tours.
  • October: Membership meeting: Tentatively, Erie area meeting with presentation on operations on a model railroad and then operating on the railroad after the meeting. Details to be confirmed.
  • November: Public Event(s): Erie Train Show and possible other public demonstrations of Division 12 T-Trak layout. NMRA only event: Layout tours.
  • December: Break and holidays.

Erie Train Show

Division 12 had a table at the March 4th, Erie Train show displaying our new signs and banner. Several visitors with interest in the NMRA, or our local division, stopped by and took hand-outs such as brochures and applications. The regular NMRA application and the RailPass (9 month discount application) are always available online at the NMRA website. 

As several members gaining an interest in T-Trak were gathered together, we started discussion on “guidelines” for our modules. Members of the I-80 group visited our table to share their insights into building and operating T-Trak. Having some trains running on T-Trak modules could add another layer of interest for visitors at future events.