You Are Invited to a Member Social at the Mall on Saturday, December 1st at 5pm

Members and families are invited to join us at the Holiday Train Display on Saturday, December 1st at 5pm.

This is a chance for everyone to visit some old friends and make some new ones.

At 6pm we will head over to the Old Country Buffet to dine together.

And there are some new things to see

New Circus Wagons



Patriot Tool and Die

 

Tank Cars Rolling by the Skating Rink





Packard Lumber Log Delivery

 

Video of G, HO, and N Scale Trains from the Great Falls EXTRAINANZA Event

Here is video by the Lewiston Sun-Journal of the annual EXTRAINAGANZA event for children at the Great Falls Model Railroad Club. Its shows G, HO, and N Scale trains with several cameo appearances by our own John Middleton.

EXTRAINAGANZA Nov 2018

Mall Setup Almost Done - please sign up to help once we open

 

As of this evening the MGRS setup for the Holiday Train Display is nearly complete. All the train lines and buttons for the kids are working. And the buildings have been put in place. On Tuesday afternoon the Mall Staff will begin putting up the fence around the layout and getting the rest of "Winter Wonderland" ready to open on  Friday.

Please sign up to help when the trains are running between November 16 and December 24. They will be running every day except on Thanksgiving when the Mall is closed.

Shifts are 10am-3pm and 3pm to 8pm Monday through Saturday, and 10am-6pm on Sunday.

You can sign up by clicking on the Sign Up button on the Blog.

The first thing you will see is the schedule for the current month - as shown below.

 

Below that is a form for you to sign up for time. Fill in your information and click on the Submit button

 

 

Here are some pictures of the 2018 Layout.

 

Traffic Jam at the Mall Today

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Thomas and Percy Platform


North Conway Station and Village


Mountain Train

Patriot Tool and Die

 

Village Mall beside main lines and trolley track

 

 

Horse Tent at the Circus

EIMSKIP Containers with Campground Area
behind to be set up

Operator Area with Jackson Drawbridge Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mall Setup Report for November 1-2

Setup began at 10am on Thursday, 11/1 with the arrival of Terry with the trailer. We unloaded the trailer and brought in the buildings loaned by Ernie Packard for the Holiday Train Display.



Bill Goodrich, John Middleton, Norm Waycott, and David Blue



The tables were ready and work began with added the new "over the rail" split jaw clamps to each track. Members took sections to work on once the John Jackson Drawbridge was in place to provide a starting point for the main platform.
Dennis-Thomas and Percy
John M - Inner and outer main lines
Ben- Mountain Track
Norm - Circus
Peter - Trolley
Terry-transformer, button box, and electrical setup



Terry Norton and Ben Braithwaite

Setup crew included Terry Norton, Ben Braithwaite, Dennis Farrell, Peter Richards, Norm Waycott, Bill Goodrich, Jeff Jacobs, David Blue, Carl Churchill, Mac McLaughlin and Sam Carr.

Dennis Farrell and Peter Richards

This layout will be left in place once we close so it can be used next year. The club will purchase new track for other events.

Setup continued on Friday 11/2 with Terry Norton, Ben Braithwaite, Peter Richards, and David Blue. By noon all tracks were complete. Terry and Dave were putting in electrical runs for tracks and buttons. Dave made excellent use of the "creeper" dolly he brought to the Mall.

Westbrook Festival of Trees from December 1-8 -Volunteer Train Engineers Wanted

The Festival of Trees will return to the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church this year from December 1-8.  The trees are donated by local businesses and decorated by charitable groups. All business and visitor donations go to local charities.

The Festival is an opportunity for visitors  to view the trees and take part in a variety of events. Full details can be found at

Westbrook Festival of Trees 

 

 

MGRS Member Paul Corbett has provided a G Scale Train display at the Festival for a number of years. All of the kindergarten students in Westbrook come to the Festival and visit the trains.

 

 

 

Other MGRS members volunteer as Engineers for the "Maine Line Trains" layout at the Festival. It is a simple loop with lots of Christmas decorations and lights. The magic starts when we turn off the ceiling lights and start up the trains.

 

Maine Lines Train Schedule

 

Day                 Hours             Activity

Mon, 11/26     9am                 Move in

Sat, 12/1          8:30-11am      Santa Breakfast

                        5-7:30pm        Public Dinner

Sun, 12/2         1-3pm            Teddy Bear Tea

Mon, 12/3       9am-Noon      Congin School

                        6-7pm            Public Hours

Tue, 12/4         1-4pm            Mad Hatters Tea

Wed, 12/5       10am-Noon    Sacarappa Schol

                        2-4pm            Public Hours

Thu, 12/6        10am-1pm      Public Dinner

                        2-3:30pm       Care Facilities Visit

Fri 12/7           10am-1pm     Charity Lunch

                        6-8pm            Boy Singers of Maine

Sat, 12/8          10am-Noon   Mystery Gift Tree

                        Noon             Move Out

Volunteer Engineers are welcome. Here is the Train Schedule. If you would like to join us please contact Sam Carr or send email to mgrsadmin@gmail.com

 

 

 



Neville Lewis has Engines, Track and Accessories for Sale

Neville Lewis has G scale engines, track and accessories for sale. You can contact him at (207) 354-8055 about the G Scale items and arrange a visit to see them in Cushing, ME.

Sale Table Available at the Mt. Ararat Show in Topsham on November 3rd

There is a sale table available at the Mt. Ararat Show in Topsham on November 3rd. The MGRS member who rented it will not be able to attend the show. Any MGRS member can have this pre-paid table at no cost - first come, first served

If you want to sell trains at the show, please contact Sam Carr to use this table

Holiday Train Display Update

The 9^th Annual Holiday Train Display will start with Santa  on November 16th and run through December 24 except on Thanksgiving Please come and help us with setup starting at 10am on Thursday, November 1^st . Opening Day is  Saturday, November 17.Trains will run through Christmas Eve except on Thanksgiving when the Mall is closed. The plan this year is an “L” shape. The lower platform with  Thomas and Percy are at the top (Santa end). The higher platform has has the Main, Trolley, and Mountain Lines with the Circus at the left. The layout is shown on the next page. Please bring your trains to run and don’t forget your Eggliners!!!

 

Please use the SIGN-UP button on the blog to schedule your time to help at the layout. Shifts are 10-3 and 3-8 except Sunday which is 10-6.

Denver & Rio Grand Western Offset Caboose for Sale

Doug Johnson has an MTH Railking One Gauge Offset Caboose for sale. This is model #70-7704 and is new in the box with the original plastic bag. The price is $50.

If interested, please contact Doug at  drj1me@yahoo.com or (207) 839-2946

MGRS Special Event at the Westbrook Festival of Trees

Paul Corbett and MGRS have provided a small operating train display at the Westbrook Festival of Trees for a number of years. The trains run when the Festival is open to the public. And each of the kindergarten classes in the Westbrook Schools comes to the Festival to see the trees, visit the trains, and have StoryTime.

This year setup is on the morning of November 25, and the Festival runs from December 1-8.
If you can help with setup or running trains for visitors, please contact Sam Carr (secarr1@comcast.net)

Here is a picture from the 2017 Festival. The layout is in separate room, so we turn the lights out when we start the trains. This allows the visitors to see the lights on the trains, buildings and holiday decorations.

MGRS Trains at the Fall Model Railroad Show in Topsham on November 3rd

MGRS will have an operating layout at the Fall Model Railroad Show in Topsham on Saturday, November 3rd. Sponsored by the Great Falls Model Railroad Club, these Fall and Spring events are the largest model train shows in Maine.

We have participated in this show for the last several years, staring with John Middleton's Time Saver layout and now with a larger layout managed by Art Shean.

The show takes place on Saturday, November 3rd from 10am to 3pm. Setup begins at 4pm on Friday

If you can help with setup, operation, or move out, please contact Art Shean. ArtShean@comcast.net

MGRS Trains at the Model Train & Hobby Fair in Phillips, ME on Saturday, September 30th.

MGRS will have and operating layout at the Model Train and Hobby Fair at the  Phillips Area Community Center, 21 Depot Street, Phillips, Maine 04966. Hours 9a-3p. Sandy River and Rangeley Lake Railroad trains will be running out of Sanders Station from 11am-3pm. For details please visit http://phillipspacc.org or contact Pam Matthews, pam15river@gmail.com or 207-639-2630. For the trains please visit http://www.srrl-rr.org/

If you can help with this event please contact Art Shean, ArtShean@comcast.net

Here is a picture from last year.

MGRS at Phillips Area Community Center 2017

Making an MGRS Club Car

Are you interested in making or having an MGRS Club Car,? If so, please contact Doug Johnson (drj1me@yahoo.com) or Sam Carr (secarr1@comcast.net). Once we know who is interested, we can decide what to make along with the theme, letters and decals Then you can come to a workshop to paint, decorate, and decal your club car. Each member will pair for their own car.

Please let us know if you have ideas for this club car including sources, painting, decorating, and customizing. here are a few of the cars we might use

 

LGB 4074-02 Reefer

 

Bachmann 93270 Blank Reefer

 

USA Trains 1938 Box Car

 

9th Annual Holiday Train Display Dates and Plans

The 2018 dates are

Move In Begins Thursday, November 1st

Opening Day is  Friday, November 16th

Trains will run through Christmas Eve except on Thanksgiving when the Mall is closed

Please use the SIGN-UP button on the blog to schedule your time to help at the layout

The plan is year is a "L" shape as shown below

• Thomas, Percy & a new Trolley are at the top (Santa end)
• Main platform has the Main, Trolley, and Mountain Lines
• The Circus is at the left

Aristocraft RDC-3 Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines for Sale

This Aristocraft M415 RDC-3 is available for $300.

Please contact Jim Jenkins at 207-657-9218

 

It has been running well on Jim's garden railway this summer.

Twenty Eggliners at Doug Johnson's Open House in Gorham on August 25th

We had twenty Eggliners on the tracks at Doug Johnson's Garden  Railway in Gorham. Here is how it looked on video. The weather and the company made it an excellent afternoon.  Doug's visitors included Dennis & Agnes Farrell, Terry & Sue Norton, Jim Jenkins, Carl Churchill, Mac McLaughlin, Sam & Peg Carr along with Dan, Ann and Rivet ("The Hardware Store Dog" )Johnson.

 

Video Eggliners Rule in Gorham

 

 

 

Terry, Doug & Ann setting up with help from Ben's grandson Josi

 

 

Three Tracks of Eggliners

 

 

The weather was perfect  and the trains ran well. The Eggliners ran in groups because 20 is too much for the power on a single track

 

 

Watching Trains from comfortable seats

 

 

Wharf with a Seagull on the Lobster Traps

 

Biergarten at the top of the mountain

 

 

The "Lineup"

 

 

The Water Fall down to the Pond

 

"Bumblee on the Bridge"

 

 

 

Freight on the Village Siding

 

Doug's "Side" Layout. He says its Number 5...….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MGRS Train Display and Parade Float at the Mill Field Festival in North Berwick

We had both a good crowd and good weather at the Mill Field Festival. The rain held off except for one brief shower around noon, and we had visitors all day. Kids had the chance to "drive a train" on either the main loop or the Thomas track. And they could push a button to run Percy on the trestle.



Apprentice Engineer Brennan Long running three trains

 

We also had a float in the 9:30am parade courtesy of Peter Richards and his brother. The float was built by their Dad Earl, who was also a member of the club

 

Garden Railway Parade Float Side View

Garden Railway Parade Float Rear View

 

Ben Braithwaite & Grandson Josi on Crew Lunch

Pirates at the Festival - and yes, that is a real Parrot!!

 

 

North Berwick Center

 

Thomas and Trolley with Percy on the Trestle

 

North Berwick Passenger and Freight Trains

 

North Berwick Fire Department had their salt and vinegar in hydrant-shaped holders

 

Trains ran from 10am-4pm. The evening rain held off until we were done packing up around 6:30pm.

Thanks to our members who supported and visited the event. They included Terry & Sue Norton, Art Shean, Jim Jenkins, Ben Braithwaite and his grandson Josi, Carl & Pat Churchill, & Sam Carr. Special thanks to Mike McDonald from North Berwick. He and his crew put up our tent and platforms on Thursday before setup. Mike stayed with us all day on Friday to help with wiring and overall setup!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MGRS at the 2018 Mill Field Festival on August 18

Our 3^rd annual visit to the Mill Field Festival will be on Saturday, August 18.

Setup will be on Friday, August 17 starting at 10am, and Festival runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday. We need your help on both days. Please call Terry at (207)-748-3009 and let him know when you can help.

We will be running 5 trains and a trolley line. The Festival will be selling “Be an Engineer” tickets so the kids can run one of our trains. We may also have an entry in the parade with Garden Trains running on top of a car.

Jacob the Engineer at the 2017 Festival

Please join us for fun with garden trains. The Festival Hours are 10am-5pm with the parade starting at 9:30am. The address for GPS is 14 Market St, North Berwick, ME 03906.  

 

Directions from the north are

-Follow the Maine Turnpike south to Exit 19 in Wells

-Turn RIGHT at the end of the ramp onto Route 109/Sanford Road

-Turn LEFT onto Route 9A/North Berwick Road. It becomes Wells Street. You will   travel 6.5 miles to Market Street.

-Continue past the Pratt and Whitney plant on your right

-Market Street will be on your left after you pass the Post Office

-If you reach Elm Street where Wells Street ends, you have gone too far.



 

Doug Johnson's Open House on Saturday, 8/25 - Bring Your Eggliners

Your Eggliners will be part of a contest for the Longest Eggliner Train. The contest will continue at other MGRS Events.

An Eggliner in the Garden

Please join us to socialize with other members and have fun with G-Scale! The event begins at 1pm. The address is 8 Lawn Ave., Gorham, ME 04038. Doug can be reached at 207-839-2946. Please park “head in” on the lawn & driveway. Drinks and some desserts will be available.

Directions: Follow the Maine Turnpike to Exit 47 for the Westbrook Arterial/Route 25

·       Turn LEFT at the end of the ramp onto the Westbrook Arterial/Route 25. It becomes William Clark Drive

·       Continue past Route 237

·       Lawn Avenue will be your first right AFTER the Gorham Flag Center.

·      If you reach the turn to Route 202 you have gone too far

MGRS Annual Meeting, Cookout and Charity Auction held on Saturday, July 14th

We had excellent weather for the club's annual event on Saturday, July 14th at the Overlook Garden Railway in Buxton.

 Members and guests began arriving around mid-morning. Member check-in, officer ballots, door prize raffles, quilt raffles, and 50/50 tickets were handled by Terry Norton, Joanne Tarbox,  Sue Hoffman and Cheyenne Hoffman (Sue's granddaughter).



Terry Norton and Sue Hoffman



Joanne Tarbox



Cheyenne Hoffman

 

 



Important Sign at Registration

Just past registration we found Norm Waycott with a Circus Modelers Workshop.

A New Tent for the Circus

 

The next stop was coffee, visiting with other members, and both watching and running trains on Carl's new raised layout.



Philip Lentz, Frank Howard and Sue Norton

Steam Train at Gorham Station



Freight and Seam Trains Passing the Overlook Hotel

 

 

 

 

Track Crew at the Section House

 

Our next stop was lunch with David Blue at the grill, assisted by Ernie Bay. Members provided both side dishes and desserts in quantity. Thanks to Norm Waycott for providing the drinks and to Andriana Colucci for the plates, cups, plasticware and napkins.



Ernie Bay and David Blue

During lunch there were also non-rail visits to Shaggy Bark Park and other places....




Carl and Ben in the ATV

Dennis gets a driving lesson from Ben's grandson Malik



Terry's brotherTom Norton, Sue Norton and Tom's grandson Liam

After lunch we moved on to the Annual Meeting and Charity Auction. We heard and accepted the Treasurer's Report and the Secretary's Report.

 

The result of the annual election of officers was as follows. Thanks to non-members Cheyenne Hoffman and Tom Norton for counting the ballots.

 

President: Carl Churchill

Vice President: Art Handman

Treasurer: Dennis Farrell

Secretary: Terry Norton

Trustees: Hunk Erskine, Ben Braithwaite, Mac McLaughlin, Norman Waycott,  and Frank Howard.

 

During the discussion on Membership, Terry introduced our newest and youngest member. He is Teyian Tarbox, grandson of Joanne Tarbox. His parents are Dawn and Tyson Tarbox.

 

The member, quilt and 50/50 raffle winners were

 

First club drawing (USA TRAINS reefer): Doug Johnson

Second Club drawing (PIKO boxcar): Hunk Erskine

Third club drawing (USA TRAINS reefer): Terry Norton

First quilt (Thomas): Dennis Farrell

Second Quilt (Modern trains): Hunk Erskine

50/50 raffle: Bill Goodrich

 

The charity auction began after the Annual Meeting adjourned. This year Frank Howard and Ben Braithwaite were assisted by past auctioneer Barry Sandford. He is known for the trestles he built at several Holiday Train Displays. He also operates Pine State Drilling, so if you need any drilling (or blasting) to build your Garden Railway, he can help you out!

 

 

 

Members pick up their Auction Ticket Numbers from Joanne.

The auction started with small items, and then moved on to bids for the Brooklyn Bridge and a very nice, white Mustang convertible owned by one of the members.



Ben and Barry hard at work

Thanks to the members who attended, including Ernie & Julie Bay, David Blue & Grace Miller, Ben & Sophia Braithwaite along with their grandson Malik, Sam Carr, Preston Chadwick, Mark Christopher, Carl & Pat Churchill, Mike & Julie Curry, Hunk Erskine, Dennis Farrell, Bill & Robin Goodrich, Scott Gould, Art Handman,  Suzanne Hoffman, Frank Howard & Joanne Tarbox and grandson Teyian, Doug Johnson, Philip Lentz, Tice Leonard, Mac McLaughlin, Terry & Sue Norton, Peter  Richards, Dick Rubin, Barry Sandford, Paul & Rebecca Schnell, Michael Tarbox, and Norman Waycott.

 

 

Special thanks to Sue Norton and Scott Gould, the roving club photographers who took most of these pictures.