MGRS VISITS NORTH BERWICK MILL FIELD FESTIVAL

           

          This Saturday, August 20, the Maine Garden Railway Society participated for the first time in the North Berwick Mill Field Festival.  The festival is a colorful annual event that celebrates the town’s heritage as a rail junction for the Boston & Maine R.R. and the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth R.R.  Operations began in 1842, when the PS & P first came to town.  Travelers from Boston would take the B&M to North Berwick and transfer to the PS & P for the remainder of the trip to Portland.  The lines were initially competitors, but the B&M eventually acquired the PS & P.

The MGRS display was designed by Terry Norton and historian Lynn Day to resemble the town of North Berwick as it existed when both the B&M and the PS & P ran through the town.  Terry even lettered a train for the PS & P.  Buildings on the MGRS layout were placed in the same relative locations as in the actual town.  The B&M and PS & P lines also were designed by Lynn and Terry to run side by side, just as they did originally.  In addition to this 16’ x 16’ display, Terry also designed a similarly-sized display for the Society’s ever-popular Thomas trains.  A great number of happy children visited this display.

The MGRS display was in the planning stages for nearly a year, spearheaded by Terry and Carl Churchill, with help and encouragement from Mike Macdonald, who coordinates the annual Mill Field Festival.  A number of MGRS members helped run the trains today, among them Ben Braithwaite, Sue Norton, Hunk Erskine, Carl Churchill, and Brian Saunders.  Special thanks go to Terry and Sue Norton and Carl Churchill for the major investment of time and energy they put into making this a very successful event.

Correction to phone number for the Sanford's G-Scale Moving Sale

The correct phone number to reach them is 207-654-2771.

Steel Caboose August 2016 - North Berwick Display on Aug 20, G-Scale Sales, Future Events

The August 2016 Steel Caboose has been sent via email and U.S Mail to all members. The topics include

--MGRS Display at the North Berwick Mill Field Festival on August 20
--Barry and Buckie Sanford's Moving Sale
--Neville Lewis Indoor Layout Trains and Track for Sale
--Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont

See the full edition at August 2016 Steel Caboose

G-Scale Moving Sale at the Sanfords

Barry and Buckie Sandford are moving from Athens to Skowhegan. The are selling trains, locomotives, track, buildings, and controls too numerous to list.

You can visit them on Sunday, August 14 from 9am to 4pm, or call Barry at 207-651-2771.

Their address is 193 Fox Hill Road, Athens, Maine 04912.

Please Help with Upcoming Events at the Overlook Garden Railway

Please help Carol & Pat with upcoming events, starting at 10am on these dates

August 16, Monarch Nursing Home

August 29, Monarch Nursing Home

September 16, Gorham House

July 30-31 NH Garden Railway G-Scale Live Steam, Heritage Park, Wakefield, NH

 July 30-31, Live Steam Returns to Union Station.  Noon-4pm both days Unique opportunity to view NH Garden Railway Society’s traveling outdoor display of live-steam G-scale locomotive and freight cars 12 Noon to 4:00 PM at the Heritage Park Railroad Museum, 1 Chapel St., Union, NH.

Free admission.  www.historicwakefieldnh.com

Another MGRS - Minnesota Garden Railway Society from Jim Muthig

For the past seven summers I have been working for a nonprofit educational organization (Project Lead the Way- PLTW) training teachers across the country in high school engineering curriculum.  Basically PLTW sends me to a participating university to teach teachers their curriculum.  This year I was sent to the University of Minnesota at Mankato.  The training lasts two full weeks so I always have the weekend in between to venture out.

This year I found the Minnesota Garden Railroad Society which just so happens to share our initials :)  So I drove up to Wayzata Minnesota and was treated to a weekend of Garden Railroading AND railfanning.  In speaking with the club members on hand Wayzata is the only public garden railroad display of its kind in the midwest. 

Every Sat and Sun from June to Oct Club members sit alongside the layout and assist.  Inside the railroad, museum adjacent to the layout, are shelves of  rolling stock and engines donated by club members.  I sat alongside a few club members and watched as local kids brought out and made up a train and then walked around with the wireless throttle.  The kids were junior members of the club and the senior members did provide guidance as the trains made their way around the layout.  As shown in the picture below the layout sits alongside an active BNSF line and both days coal trains rolled by as expected. 

Inside the museum/depot a volunteer mans the stations telegraph office.  He answers visitors questions about all the old refurbished equipment in the office that includes a vintage working antique Coke machine while also watching a display on a laptop computer that uses ATCS (Advanced Train Control System) feed that shows the local BNSF subdivision train activity.   Every once in a while I would wander inside the old station and inquire of the status of the next train.  Right on schedule both coal trains, really longgg trains came slowly rolled through town. 

On Sunday two of the club members invited me over their houses to show their home layouts.  Quite the hospitality!  So if anyone is headed to the St.Paul/Minneapolis area be sure to visit the Wayzata Depot.  

MGRS Outing and Annual Meeting Recap

We had  another sunny day for the Outing with a nice breeze so it was cool in the shade. It all starts with getting here, and here is one of our antique auctioneers arriving in his antique vehicle.

Then its time to check in with Terry, vote for officers, buy raffle tickets, and talk to old and new friends over coffee

Lunch comes out but everyone saves rooms for all those desserts.

That gets everyone a little sleepy for the Annual meeting.....

• Election results were announced
• President Carl Churchill
• VP Art Handman
• Treasurre Dennis Farrell
• Secretary: Terry Norton
• Directors: Hunk Erskine, Mac McLaughlin, Norm Waycott, Frank Howard, & Paul Corbett
• The discussion on purchasing a club trailer will be continued
• Carl proposed a donation of $1,000 to Angel Flight, which takes WWII Veterans to visit the veterans memorials in Washington, DC. The club approved the donation

Raffles were drawn

• 50/50 Raffle for $100
• Members Only G-Scale Freight Car
• Child's Railroad Quilt
• Adult Railroad Quilt with Pillowcase

The auction this year had a large number of items. Terry Norton and Frank Howard, our regular auctioneers, brought on Ben Braithwaite to help. Ben has a great "patter" and helped moved things along.

 There was a spirited bidding competition between a group of New Hampshire members and certain well-known members from Maine. Comments like "Walmart Shopper" and "I made that in rehab" were made and accepted in good fun.

One "blind auction item" box was met with great interest. Another proud winner took home a complete set of Model Railroader Magazine in bound volumes - what a find! Side deals were made to trade already purchased items as the auction moved along.

And then was time to pay up!!

Norm had a large circus rail yard with a parade as the circus began to unload

Steel Caboose July 2016 on the way via email and U.S. Mail

The July edition is on its way to members via email and U.S. Mail. Topics include

--Open House and Annual Meeting this Saturday, July 16
--North Berwick Historical Society Train Display on August 20
--Scarborough Veterans Home
--Holiday Train Display
--Passing of Dick Soderberg
--Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
--Toy Train News

See the full edition at Steel Caboose July 2016

MGRS supports Maine Veterans Home

Paul Corbett has been maintaining a small train layout at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough. He visits frequently to clean the track and on a regular basis will change the railroad theme from cityscape to western theme to others he has in his inventory.
Today Frank Howard and I had a chance to meet up with Paul at the Vets Home to update the rolling stock. I installed a push button similar to the ones at the mall to allow some interaction. Frank set up the small Piko steam engine that the club purchased and it sounded awesome.
The staff liked the push button and the Veterans were taking turns pushing the button. 
The attached photo is Don, one of the Veterans, who sat with us while we upgraded the layout.

Passing of Richard "Dick" Soderberg

Richard "Dick" Soderberg, a friend of many in MGRS and the well known owner of  Dick's Trains, passed away earlier this month. He was known for attending train shows throughout the Northeast and attending the MGRS Summer Open House and Annual Meeting in Buxton each July.

Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

Amtrak Exhibit Train in Brunswick on Saturday,June 11, and Claremont, NH on Saturday, June 18

The Amtrak Exhibit Train will be visiting Brunswick Station this Saturday from 1-5pm. The consist includes 2 diesel locomotives. 3 cars of exhibits, and an Amfleet car as a gift shop. There will be a model train display inside the station, vendors outside, and specials in downtown Brunswick stores that day. The location is 16 Station Ave, Brunswick, ME 04011.

The train will also appear in Claremont, NH on Saturday, June 18 from 10am to 4pm. The location is at Plains Road and Maple Avenue, Claremont, NH 0374.

These visits are sponsored by the Northern New England Passenger Railroad Association, NNEPRA Web Site. The full Amtrak Exhibit Train schedule can be seen at Amtrak Web Site

Proposed Club Trip on the Mount Washington Cog Railway in September

Dennis and Carl have proposed a club trip on the Mount Washington Cog Railway this coming September.

The Cog is a three hour guided round trip to the top of Mount Washington and back with a one-hour stop at the top of Mount Washington. More information can be found at http://thecog.com/

The trip will be a topic at the Annual Outing and Meeting on July 16. If you are interested, please contact Carl or Dennis.

Steel Caboose Published to Members

The first edition of the Steel Caboose will be published this week. It follows the Iron Horse, and is sent to all MGRS members. You will receive it by electronic mail or U.S. mail.

Topics include

• MGRS Display at the Great Falls Topsham Show April 30th
• MGRS at March 12th Strive Rocks Dance Day 2016
• Open House and Annual Meeting on Saturday, July 16
• East Coast Large Scale Train Show
• Condolences to Norman Waycott
• Trailer Committee Formed, to Report at Annual Meeting
• 2016 Holiday Train Display Update
• G-Scale Items for Sale and for Free
• Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

 Read the Steel Caboose now

Please find railroad-related items for our annual charity auction

Part of the fun at our Open House and Annual Meeting on July 16 is the Charity Auction.  Please find things about railroads you no longer need or want and bring them to the auction.

Our auction is conducted by the famous auctioneers Frank Howard and Terry Norton. They will choose the top three "best in auction" items for the day. The members who bring them will get a free lunch at the Paradise Diner.

They can sell just about anything, so please bring them some challenges....

MGRS Had the Only G-Scale Layout at the Topsham Show

John Middleton's Cape Porpoise Industrial Railroad got attention at the only G-Scale layout at the Great Falls Model Railroad Show in  Topsham this past Saturday. 

John,  David Blue, Mike Curry and Jim Jenkins talked with a number of folks during the day. We had both the time-saver layout and a “movie” running of the combined Holiday Train Display videos from 2011-2015. Handouts included the Winter 2016 Iron Horse and the Kalmbach "Beginning Garden Railroading" brochure with an MGRS membership application inside.

Thanks to Scott Gould, Terry Norton, and Carl Churchill for their help with the show. The Fall Topsham show is scheduled for November 5th.

MGRS Layout at the Great Falls Spring Show on April 30th in Topsham from 10 am to 3pm

MGRS will have a layout at the Great Falls Spring Show on April 30th in Topsham from 10am-3pm. The show is at the Mt Ararat High School Gym, 73 Eagles Way (off Route 201), Topsham, ME 04086.

We will have John Middleton's modular switching layout, the Cape Porpoise Industrial Railroad.  And there will be a place for members to talk to visitors about MGRS. Please come to the show, see the layout, have a chance to see your old friends and make some new ones.

We need some help with the show. The three modules, one 8' and two 3', need to be moved from Kennebunkport to Topsham and set up on Friday, April 29th, and back again after the show. If you can help, please contact Sam at 865-4467.

MGRS Open House and Annual Meeting set for Saturday, July 16 - please save the date

The MGRS Summer Open House and Annual Meeting will take place at Carl & Pat Churchill's, 82 Carll Road in Buxton on Saturday, July 16.

This Open  House is a chance for members to meet, run trains, have a great lunch, visit the Circus, bid on good stuff at the Auction, and elect officers for the upcoming year.

The Quilt Raffle will be back along with our two famous Auctioneers, so be ready to bid!!

MGRS Events Listing Updated

The MGRS Events Listing is up to date as of today. 

MGRS Events are shown in red. 

Other events include train-related activity in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Future dates are included for Amherst, York, and the East Coast Large Scale/All Scales shows into 2017.

Future Greenberg shows are not announced until late summer.

The Friendship and Gratitude Trains - G-Scale Friendship Train Car Available

This story begins with the French "40 and 8" wooden boxcars, built to carry 40 men or 8 horses. They were well known to American veterans of WW I and WW II. 

Maine Merci Train Car at Boothbay Railway Village

The 40 and 8 society for veterans was formed after World War I and was associated with the American Legion. More information can be found at  http://www.fortyandeight.org/ 

Last year at Togus I met a 99 year old veteran of WWII who remembered riding on them during his service in France as a tank driver.  He also remembered growing up in Maine when they did not plow the roads between towns in the winter because everything came in by train.

                                                                                                                                                         

The Friendship Train was the brainchild of columnist Drew Pearson just after WWII. It send 270 freight car loads of donated supplies from America to the children of France and Italy  in 1947. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Train

France responded in 1949 with the Merci Train of 49 40-and-8 boxcars, one for each U.S. State plus 1 to be shared by DC and Hawaii, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merci_Train

MTH issued  several Friendship Train cars in 2011.  The O-Scale versions are available on the internet under stock numbers 20-93522, 20-93523, 20-93524, and 20-92331.

The G-Scale version is New York Central and the link is http://mthtrains.com/70-74072. MTH Club Members get a discount if they order and pay by phone