Wordless Wednesday #522 - Who's going to the NERPM??

Click here for more info and to register - hope to see you there!

 

Going to Cocoa Beach!

 

Yes, The Valley Local is going to the Cocoa Beach RPM (aka "Prototype Rails") next week! It'll be my first time attending this meet, and not only that, but I'll also be giving a presentation at 1p on Friday Jan. 9 and 8:30p Saturday Jan. 10 (same presentation - two showings).

Modeling the Valley Local: New Haven Layout in HO

The New Haven Railroad was ripe with contrasts - from having a busy 4-track, electrified mainline, to maintaining a dense web of branchlines. We'll focus on the New Haven's Valley Line which illustrates some of that contrast. It includes a slice of the busy Shore Line between NYC and Boston but focuses on the interplay between no less than four local freights that provided "retail railroading" in the lower Connecticut River Valley. From a 71 train per day racetrack to a weedy branchline, The Valley Local provides a sampling of all the New Haven had to offer and this presentation will show how I fit it all in.

Hope to see some of you there!

Wordless Wednesday #506 - MARPM

 

NERPM 2024 Coming Soon!!

Howdy folks! Just starting to recover from the latest legislative session which adjourned this week and am trying to catch up on some life-things quickly so I can get to the hobby things!

But I didn't want another day to go by before I posted a reminder to be sure and make plans to attend the 

New England/Northeast

Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet

May 31 - June 2

I've often mentioned that this RPM (held in Springfield, MA) is, IMO, second only to the Big Railroad Hobby Show (also held in Springfield, MA) on the MUST DO list during the year.

It's really that good.

LOTS of fantastic clinics, inspirational modeling, and great time with friends is the least you'll enjoy if you attend.

So be sure to make plans now to join us - you can find the registration info and all the other details at the website - https://www.nerpm.org

And if you want a little taste of what it was like last year, check out my report here.

Hope to see you there!

Throwback Thursday - NERPM 2016

 

Not sure who took this photo or how it ended up on one of my thumb drives (so if you took it - or know who did - please let me know!), but I just discovered it and it sure makes for a great "Throwback Thursday!"

As best I can deduce, this must've been taken during a "make and take" clinic hosted by Don Valentine during the 2016 NERPM. He was showing us how to convert an Accurail kit into a pretty accurate rendition of a Grand Trunk Western door-and-a-half boxcar. I even finished it - eventually. Click here for the details.

But what really caught my eye - and prompted me to share the photo here - was the now-familiar faces and future friends assembled here. . .

Of course, Don himself (facing the camera, looking down) who I already knew . . . But I'm also seated right next to Ron Poidomani (I don't think we'd even met yet) and at the same table with Jim Dufour (whose layout I'd just seen on a layout tour the previous year).

Since this photo was taken, Ron and Jim have become great friends and fellow collaborators. Little did I know then, while obviously intently focused on what I was doing at the time, that I'd be getting a lot more than an accurate boxcar out of that clinic.

Such stories are testament to what a great hobby this is.

NERPM 2023

I had a great time this past weekend at the 21st(?!) annual New England/Northeast Prototype Modelers Meet. But wow - what a busy weekend it was!

I met my buddies Pete and Pieter for breakfast at Cracker Barrel early Friday morning, and then got to the 'meet in time for the second clinic at 10:30. But as I was setting up, I was surprised by none other than Lionel Strang, who'd driven all the way from Canadia to attend. And the goober never even let on he was coming, despite talking with him on Thursday.

In addition to him and Jim Lincoln (on my right), I was able to see and catch up a bit with a lot of folks. The clinics are typically why you attend a ProtoMeet, but it's the people that make it memorable. It's like a family reunion where you get to catch up on all the goings-on since the last time you got together.

Great to catch up with Tom Jacobs and Bill Chapin who I hadn't seen since the big Springfield show in January.

John Doehring, who's become a fast friend ever since we met at TomStock last summer.

Jim Dufour, who needs no introduction to readers of this blog (or anyone who models the B&M), and Todd Hermann, which was a special treat since he came all the way up from Virginia to attend the 'meet. Like Jim, he and I have a common approach to modeling and his Catasauqua branch layout is one of my favorite layouts.

Bill Schneider, who also needs to introduction to folks here, as well as Marty McGuirk, whose modeling of "The October Scene" in New England is a great inspiration to my own scenery building.

Marty again and Stic Harris, who I've only had the pleasure of hanging out with a couple of times (starting way back in 2018?) but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we're able to keep in touch from time to time - and it was great to see him all the way up from Virginia this weekend!

I was literally on my way out when I was able to take this grab shot of Eric Hansmann, who was such a huge help when I was building and painting my first resin boxcars. Lionel made it in there again too, as well as Ramon Rhodes, who I finally got to meet for the first time this weekend.

Other than the people and, of course, the great clinics (click here to see the lineup from this year), there are the model displays! I always seem to forget to take pictures, so be sure to watch this space or go to FB for photos from this year.

In fact, I didn't even take pictures of my own display(!) Thankfully, it looks like Dave Owens (who heads up the meet) did . . . Thanks so much Dave!

I decided this year not to bring my old warhorse freight cars & cabooses which I've displayed the past bunch of meets. But I did bring the NH diesels I've detailed - and a B&M newcomer...

For more on the RS-2, be sure to click here. The S-2 can be found here.

The RS-1 modeling thread can be found here. I really need to gin up some courage to actually (and finally!) weather these models!

This got weathered though - as a "practice" since it's "just" B&M(!) Click here for more photos, details and the build thread.

To provide it a worthy display - at least something better than just setting it on the table - I made up this scenicked display track, finishing it up the night before the show(!) It was pretty easy to do and a great practice for "speed scenery" which anyone who's read this blog knows is a foreign concept to me. It even spins(!) so folks can see the model from all sides without having to handle it. I plan to do a post later on how I built it.

Also the night before(!) I finally got around to painting the lanterns I got a few months back from my friend Bernard Hellen at Miniprints. I highly recommend them & think they may be the only true scale Adlake lanterns available.

As if the people and the clinics weren't enough, there are always great layout tours during an RPM  weekend. Unfortunately, if you're hosting, you don't get to see the other layouts. But if you're hosting, you DO get to see more great friends - and meet new ones! And as in past years, the Valley Line was on the tour. Despite being the "southern outlier," a lot of folks made the trip down to the end of the Connecticut River to see the layout - and to sign my Guest Book(!) which has become one of the coolest keepsakes of these weekends. I had visitors from 11 different states!

And given that a few friends were coming from WAY out of state and don't often get a chance to operate the Valley Line, I put together a quick op session for after the open house . . .

One of my regular crew, Pieter, was on-hand to help out and pilot first-timer Kevin on the flagship Valley Local. Unfortunately, they suffered the only locomotive failure of the evening when steamer #359 inexplicably decided to quit. Fortunately, diesel #0510 was sent to bail them out.

While not from out-of-state, Mark and David got some first-time experience on the layout - shown here operating the Airline Local with steamer #343 which, fortunately, performed like a champ.

MikeS & MikeR were on PDX-2 with the 0669, working the south end of the Valley Line. MikeS and Kevin came from Chicagoland, and MikeR was up from South Carolina.

It looks like they had fun!

Between our anniversary getaway to the Cape last weekend, and then NERPM this weekend, it's been a fun-filled but exhausting week-and-a-half (has that been all it's been??) since the end of my busy time at work, so I'm actually looking forward to a more relaxed pace - and to leveraging all of this great inspiration to get to some modeling and make some more progress on the layout!

Here's hoping you'll stay tuned and be sure to chime in when you can!

He's Alive! (general post-session update - recent goings-on and upcoming plans)

Last long night of session
(pics by me, unless indicated otherwise)

Pic from CTMirror

After more late nights than I care to remember or recount (except to say, that's 10:45Pm on the clock above - and we got out about 2am the next morning), the 2023 legislative session is finally done as of midnight June 7th and I can turn my focus to fun things. MUCH MORE fun things...

Though this isn't one of them . . .

Got this the last Friday of session - 12 yards of mulch, delivered. That's the recommended amount for the square footage we wanted to do. It ended up being about 7 yards too much(!) If you need some mulch, let me know and I'll hook you up. I moved it all to the backyard for storage...

THIS is more what I had in mind . . .

On recommendation of my good buddy JimD, and totally sight-unseen, I ordered all 3 volumes of "Iron Roads of the Monadnock Region" which arrived just in time for end-of-session. Not only will they be a fine and welcome addition to my collection of New England railroad books, but the set was a wonderful gift to myself to celebrate getting through another tough year at work.

But the BIGGEST celebration is hinted at by the book I took off the shelf to read over this past weekend...

Pic from Amazon

Deb and I made plans early on to take advantage of the fact that our anniversary this year fell on the Saturday after session and we got ourselves over to Cape Cod for a long weekend of R&R and celebrating 28(?!) years married (It'll be 32 yrs together this October. Where does the time fly off to??)

And one of the MANY MANY reasons it's been such a long, wonderful time is that I can do this while away on an anniversary trip...Here are some scenes from Hyannis yard the morning of June 9...

Every successful marriage has its level of compromise - and I'll admit to the fact that all those photos took me less than 20-30 minutes to take ;^)

But wait! There's more . . . Here are some pics of the railroad station in Chatham, MA - along with a NYC caboose. The Chatham Branch of the New Haven RR lasted only 50 years (1887-1937), but the beautiful, and distinctive, station remains and hosts a really nice museum of railroading in the area. Unfortunately, it doesn't open until tomorrow(!)

Now that we're back from the Cape, I can focus on the upcoming New England/Northeast Railroad Prototype Modeler's Meet being held this coming weekend!! Ugh! It really snuck up on me this year, but I'm so glad that the new schedule that Dave Owens and his awesome team have worked out allow me to attend even in "long-session" years (we don't get out until early June in the odd-numbered years). I just hope with the upcoming change of venue that he's able to keep the same schedule!

And - BONUS! - this year I'll be able to give my presentation on "Modeling the Valley Local." Though I'm sure many of you have already seen it at some point, I haven't given this clinic at the NERPM since 2016. So there are a LOT of updates and new photos to share! Even those that saw it when I gave it at the NER convention last fall will find a few new things added.

But, honestly, if you'd rather attend Bill Badger's clinic on converting a BLI light 2-8-2 into a Rutland mikado, I wouldn't blame you. Frankly, I'm bummed my clinic is the same time as his (9am Saturday) since I was looking forward to seeing it.

No worries though - as always Dave & Co. have come up with a HUGE list of wonderful clinics and presentations for the weekend. Click here for the full list.

Besides all this wonderfulness, RPMs are really, first and foremost, about sharing our modeling efforts - no matter what level of skill or finish. I'm debating whether to bring my old warhorses along yet another year (some NH freight cars and a few Alcos), but I'll definitely be bringing the 1109 to show - if only to prove it's real!

And as if that all isn't enough to look forward to, the Valley Line will be part of the Sunday layout tours this year. While a full list and details won't be available except to attendees this weekend, I don't mind jumping on some coattails to let you know that I'm only 20 minutes south of Bill Schneider's NYO&W layout #justsayin :^)

So an awful lot of goodness coming up! I can't believe it's only been since Wednesday that I finished my busy time at work - but I've got to get a move on if I'm going to be ready for all that's next! Which reminds me - I have a powerpoint to review . . .

In the meantime, here's hoping I see you sometime this weekend. Please be sure to say "Howdy!" if our paths cross. And here's to a New Day (of hobby time) Dawning!

Chatham Sunrise, June 11, 2023

NERx in Progress!

One of the few "COVID consolations" that has emerged over the past few years is the increase of online/virtual opportunities to get together with other like-minded folks and share experience and tips. And the latest example of that for model railroaders is the online virtual Northeast Regional NMRA convention known as NERx.

Just like an IRL (in real life) convention, you can expect clinics, layout tours, helpful tips, and camaraderie - and all from the comfort of your home. Unlike an IRL convention, you don't have to travel, pay for lodging, or even pay admission - it's free!

NERx is happening this week (it started yesterday) and goes every evening through Thursday. If you're already subscribed to the NMRA on YouTube (and why wouldn't you be?) and/or follow the NMRA on Facebook, you probably already received a notice about this event.

But if you're not, you don't, you haven't - then you can easily check out the livestream here.

Tonight's lineup is above, but for a full schedule of events, be sure to check out the NERx website here. Thankfully, if you miss something (like last night's programming, for example), everything's being recorded and saved so you can go back and watch later (although I recommend viewing the livestream if only to be able to participate in the on-going chat).

Finally, if you're interested in "The Impact of "New Media" in Model Railroading" you'll want to be sure and tune in at 7:30 Thursday evening for a roundtable discussion. I'm one of the panelists and I know I speak for the others when I say we look forward to your participation and questions!

So if you have an evening or evenings free this week, be sure to tune in!

Friday Eve Fun: ProtoMeet and Scale Sound Systems SW-1

Howdy Folks! You're getting this week's "Friday Fun" a day early since there's a LOT of fun going on tomorrow and this weekend that will keep me too busy to post later...

"What..." you may ask "...is going on this weekend?" Well, if you're a prototype modeler and live anywhere within a couple hours of southern New England you either know the answer already or you've been really out of it... for about 3 years . . .

Yes, this weekend - finally - the

New England/Northeast
Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet

(aka "NERPM) 

is what's going on! After being cancelled for the last two years, and losing its venue, the Phoenix has risen from the ashes and the next 3 days are packed with modeling clinics, displays, layout tours, and general camaraderie. And if you've been following the Valley Local Facebook Group, you know I've been making a major (for me) push to get some scenery and general layout progress done in time for the weekend.

If this is the first time you're hearing about all this, it's not too late to join us! You can register at the door for either or both days - and your registration gets you admission to all the layout tours on Sunday as well. So be sure to click here for the details - and if you're able to make it, be sure to connect with me when you're there!

In other news . . .

If you're up-to-date on the blog, you know I recently acquired an EMD SW-1 (thank you again Philip Taylor!). "Why..." you may ask "... did you get an SW-1 when the New Haven didn't have them?" Well, you can read that story here (it's actually pretty good, if I don't say so myself...).

The next step was for me to install DCC and sound. Unfortunately, the Scale Sound Systems speaker (WLML-SW1X-RC1) didn't quite fit. But to his GREAT credit, owner JT Burke not only offered to fix the speaker, and not only did he issue a recall for other SW-1 speakers that likely had the same issue, but he also offered to do the entire install for me at a steep discount. 

FANTASTIC! 

While I was actually looking forward (at least a little bit) to trying the install myself (and to the blog fodder that would produce), no way was I going to pass up a professional install of such a high-end speaker (not to mention teeny tiny components - an ESU v5 micro decoder, TCS KeepAlive, and microsocket/plug, thanks to Kaylee Zheng!).

So, ANOTHER reason to post "Friday Fun" on Friday Eve is that I just got the SW-1 back in the mail from JT today. I couldn't wait to put it through its paces and hear how it sounds - and I brought you along for the ride!

Hope you enjoy(ed) the video - and if you want to see and hear this engine in person (especially if you've never had the opportunity to hear a Scale Sound Systems speaker in action), check out my model display at the NERPM this weekend. I hope to have it there for you to see - and, if I can figure out the logistics, will have it there for you to hear too!

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend if you're able to make it, and if you're not - here's hoping you're able to get to some modeling!

MARPM Day 4 (cont) - Visiting Bill Aldrich and Joe Smith

I've been a fan of Bill Adrich's work for a long time. He's right up there with John Pryke as an influence in my decision to model the New Haven Railroad. Of course, his choice of the New Haven's famed Shoreline Route has become even more influential to me as I've attempted to model just a small portion of it in Old Saybrook.

I knew Bill lived "somewhere in Pennsylvania" but when I learned at Paul Dolkos' that he was actually right on our way home, well, we just had to give him a call. And he enthusiastically invited us over to visit. Here's just a small sample of the photos I took of his outstanding work . . .

The main city on the layout is Providence, RI and Bill's included the Charles St. engine terminal on a peninsula coming off the main freight yard. It's the only peninsula on the layout, which otherwise goes around the entire basement on an 18-24" shelf.

Among all the many details you'll find here as on other great model railroads, Bill has also fully detailed many of his passenger cars, based on personal experience having ridden in them as a member of the NHRR Board of Directors (pre-McGinnis he'll be sure to point out).

I think the tablecloths are aluminium foil. Amazing. Check out those wall sconces!

We've all seen detailed harbor scenes, but how about detailing what's under water?! Here's a lobster boat with - as you can see - lobster pots below. I didn't have the nerve to ask if there were actual HO scale lobsters in the pots. I was afraid he'd say yes!

An R-3a 3500-series Mountain on the Shoreline. These were 3-cylindered engines, and yes there's a working 3rd valve gear hidden behind the air pumps. Oh, and this steamer - like all the others on this layout - is scratchbuilt. #speechless

View of downtown Providence behind the passenger station. Certainly compressed, but still very effective and - not to mention - seldom modeled.

Mystic station out on the Shoreline

One of the many scenic highlights of the layout is the area around Rocky Neck park. It's not evident in this photo (as you can tell, I was caught a bit off guard by the speed of the train!), but it's shot from the famous overpass which you'll see later.

Another beautiful harbor scene. The New Haven's Shoreline Route crosses dozens of these between New Haven and Providence and they're well-represented on Bill's layout.

"Shoreliner" type Hudson, 1400 series. Scratchbuilt. An amazing representation of a typical Shoreline Route passenger train.

Here's the overpass at Rocky Neck that I mentioned earlier. Prototype photo.

Here's the overpass at Rocky Neck that I mentioned earlier. Model photo. :^)

Drone view of the Charles St. engine facility

I'd almost say I could check Bill's layout off my bucket list, but there was no way I could see & appreciate everything in just one visit. So I hope to be able to go back again soon when we can stay longer!

********

We ended our jam-packed weekend with a quick detour to see our friend Joe Smith and the layout he's building depicting scenes on the Berkshire line.

Here's Danbury, CT and a view not only of the yard, but the well-known and much-photographed freight house, which lasted into the 1990s IIRC.

View the other way, showing the station and part of the City of Danbury.

What is it with the folks I know who scratchbuild their own locomotives?! Yes, Joe scratchbuilt this model of one of the New Haven's unique Ingersoll-Rand switchers. It runs and sounds as good as it looks. What a cool looking engine! Be sure to check out Joe's blog for the build thread.

Danbury was one of the locations for steam/diesel transition to electric on the New Haven. Here's part of the electric facility, with the much-photographed Danbury barn in the background.

Long view of the Danbury yard, looking from the engine facility back west toward the station.

The other towns Joe's modeling aren't as finished as Danbury, so I focused my camera there for the most part. But I'd be remiss if I didn't give you a sense of the room. He's stacked his levels/scenes and they're all joined with multiple helixes (helices??) and set off with black fascia and valences. Very theatrical and very effective. Really causes the scenes to pop. 

While his other helixes/helices are fully enclosed, this one has invaded his workshop and is there exposed in all its glory. There's a truckload of carpentry and engineering that went into this layout and to me this "under the hood" view is almost as impressive as his modeling.

Joe's effort is truly amazing and pretty innovative if you ask me. I know folks that have strung together favorite prototype scenes, but I've never seen them presented in such a theatrical way as Joe's done here - nor with the overwhelming amount of carpentry!

If you want to see more photos - and, even better, benefit from learning how he does things - you're lucky in that he's documenting his builds on his blog at Signal Station 199 (named after the interlocking where the Berkshire line branches off the main).  Be sure to check it out - I think you'll be as impressed as I am.

*******

Whew! I think it's taken me longer to document and share my MARPM weekend as the weekend itself. But hopefully these posts have given you a sense of what a well-run RPM is like and also given you some motivation to seek out other layouts that may not be on the formal tour. I also hope you'll be sure to check out the links in these posts and visit the different blogs and websites for more information and photos. I'm always so impressed with the quality of work and level of dedication these modelers have. It's truly inspirational and I hope, like me, you'll get some wind in your modeling sails too.

Happy Weekend!