Out of Bonton

All MGRS material removed from Maine Mall and placed in trailer. Thanks to all that helped.
We will find out our new location later.

MGRS Track Move out from Bonton at 10am on Tuesday, April 30th

MGRS will be moving track from the Mall onto our trailer starting at 10am on Tuesday, April 30th. Please come in and help if you are available.

The Bon Ton space has been rented, so MGRS will be in another location at the Mall this year. Please contact Terry Norton if you have questions.

New Hampshire and Vermont Excursion Trains by Mass Bay Railway Enthusiasts

MBRE has announced two new excursion trains.

May 11 -  Pemigawasset Rocket Excursion on the Winnepesaukee Scenic Railroad sponsored by the Mass. Bay Railway Enthusiasts, departing at 9:30am from 154 Main St, Meredith, NH 03253. Options include bus transportation from Boston to Meredith and the B&M Railroad Historical Society at 1pm at the Plymouth Depot. For details please visit http://massbayrre.org/Trips/PemiRocket.htm, call  978-470-2066,or send e-mail to  trips@massbayrre.org.

June 15 - Green Knight Train on Vermont's Washington County Railroad sponsored by the Mass Bay Railway Enthusiasts. Departs at 10:30am from the Amtrak Station at 102 Railroad Row, White River Junction, VT 05001. There is an option to connect via bus from Boston. For details please visit http://massbayrre.org/Trips/GreenKnightTrain.htm,  call 978-470-2066,or send e-mail to trips@massbayrre.org.

SMMRC 1st Annual Train Show in Westbrook

 

 

 

The Southern Maine Model Railroad Club first annual show was held at the Congin School in Westbrook on April 6th. A short video clip from Portland's Channel 8 can be seen at

Video of SMMRC Show

 
MGRS  members attending include Norman Waycott, Ernie Tarbox, Doug Johnson, Jim Jenkins, David Blue, Grace Miller, Mike Tarbox, Peter Richards, Preston Chadwick, and Ben Braithwaite. The younger members who helped at STRIVE Rocks also attended, including Hunter, Deven, and Lucas Weeks along with Brendan Long.



It takes a lot of power to cook at Howard Johnson's
 (SMMRC HO layout in the Congin School Cafeteria)


Fire Department and Street Scene
(SMMRC HO layout in the Congin School Cafeteria0

N-Scale from Maine N-Track
in the  Congin School Cafeteria


Vendors and Model Trains in the Congin School Gym
 

 

One Track Mind

 

Today's Jumble Puzzle is about model trains

 

Thanks to Art Handman

MGRS Annual Outing and Meeting to be help on Saturday, July 13th

MGRS members and families are cordially invited to  attend the MGRS Annual Outing and Meeting on Saturday, July 13th. We will meet as usual at the Overlook Garden Railway at 82 Carll Road in Buxton. The event will run from 10am until about 4pm when the charity auction ends.

Please plan to visit with friends old & new, run some trains, have lunch, elect club officers, and have fun bidding on items in the charity auction.

Please bring food dishes and desserts to share. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be prepareb  by our well known "member chefs"

We also need volunteers who will
==Call the members to invite them in person
==Bring soda and water for the group (Norman Waycott)
==Bring paper plates, cups and plastic utensils for the group

 

 

 

MGRS at Strive Rocks 2019

 

 

We had fun at the Civic Center on Saturday with the folks who came to Strive, and helped lots of kids run trains.

We had four young members helping at Strive. Brennan Long came with his grandmother and worked on both setup and showing others how to run the trains. Hunter, Deven, and Lucas Weeks helped with setup, running trains and the move out. Their Dad Scott brought them in and stayed with us at Strive.

Brennan and Terry helping a young Engineer

 

Fun the Civic Center Arena

 

Mike Tarbox with Lucas, Deven & Hunter Weeks

 

And we had some celebrity engineers stop by during the day.

 

Just in from filming the latest Star Wars movie

 

"Slugger" from the Portland Sea Dogs

 

"Oakie" from Oakhurst Dairy with Ben from MGRS 

 

 

 

 The train crew included Scott Gould, Dennis Farrell, Brennan Long, Hunter Weeks, Deven Weeks, Lucas Weeks, Peter Richards, Mike Tarbox, Ben Braithwaite, Terry Norton, and Sam Carr

The Sheep Know How to Hitch a Ride

Thanks to Doug Johnson, John Joy and Sherward Farnsworth for sending along this picture taken at the South Portal of Roger's Pass.

The sheep know how to hitch a ride

MGRS Spring Meeting on Sunday, March 10th

 

 

Our annual Spring Meeting will be held on Sunday, March 10 at the Hometown Buffet, 517 Maine Mall Rd, South Portland, ME 04106. We socialize, eat, and meet in the conference room on the far side of the buffet from the cash register.The meeting begins at 1pm. Please arrive early as there may be a line at the cash register before you pick up your meal.

Video of 9th Annual Holiday Train Display

Thanks again to Jim Alberty from Apple, here is the video with music from the MGRS 2018 Train Display at the Maine Mall.

Maine Mall 2018 Video

MGRS Trains at Strive Rocks Weekend on March 16

MGRS will be running trains again on Saturday, March 16 at the Cross Arena in Portland for the Strive Rocks Weekend 2019.

Strive is helps people from age 11-24 who have developmental disabilities. Strive Rocks brings hundreds of them together for a weekend of fun and friendship. We are again providing sponsorship for this event.

Please volunteer to help with the trains. We usually run trains from 10am-6pm. The trailer usually arrives at 7am for setup.

Young engineers will be running trains again. Here is the proposed layout with one loop, a trolley reversing line, and two Eggliners.




Proposal Layout for 2019

Young Engineer at Work in 2018

Your Invitation to Join the Maine Garden Railway Society

We are G-Scale model railroad club, and our trains run outdoors in the garden. Our best known activity is the annual Holiday Train Display at the Maine Mall in South Portland. Please join our model railroading fellowship and help provide fun for children of all ages.

 

 

 Members help each other with their layouts, show them to friends, hold open houses, and display them at train shows here in Maine. We also  host visits from retirement homes, veterans homes, and special education groups at our outdoor layouts.

 

Please visit our blog at http://www.mgrsmembers.blogspot.com. You can see pictures, video, newsletters, and a schedule of upcoming events.

 

To join please print, complete and send in the Application with your check

 

To find out more please contact any of these members

·       Peter Richards in Buxton at 207 232-9701

·       Dennis Farrell in Gorham at 207 839-4887

 

 

9th Annual Holiday Train Display Wrap Up

Our 2018 Holiday Train Display ran from Friday November 16th through Chirstmas Eve on Monday, December 24th. Trains were running for 380 hours over 28 days.

 

"Looking through the fence"

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Jenkins on the Throttle

 

 

Candy by Walter Fossett and Ben Thurlow

 

Campground by the Ski Lift

 

Busy at the Sinclair Gas Station

 

PRR Freight rolls through North  Conway Station

Mathiu running trains with Ben

 

 

 

The Richards Family Christmas Train Set

On Sunday 12/16 Alberta and her sons Peter and Paul came to run trains at the Mall. They brought in the Christmas train set that dad Earl purchased some years ago. It has two sets of locomotives and tenders, one red and one green.

Peter and Paul set up the train, and Alberta was the Engineer.

Alberta, Paul, and Peter

 

Peter and the Red Locomotive

 

Steaming Through....

 

Christmas Train and Terry's New Amtrak

 

 

Chirstmas Train Video

 

 

A Visit to Trains at the Mall

Recently we had a visit from Mathiu, a 14 year old boy, and his Mom Mary. Ben invited them into the Control Area and showed Mathiu how to run the trains.

Mary, Mathiu and Ben

 

Ben had the idea of donating a train set to Mathiu. With help from several other members and the Club, the donation was made this past Sunday, December 16. Mathiu came in with his Mom Mary and brothers JP and Antonie

 

 

 

Santa helped with the gift, which was a surprise to Mathiu

 

 

 

 

Antonie, Mary, Scott Gould, JP, Mathiu, Ben Braithwaite and Dennis Farrell

 

 

 



Model Railroad Celebration at the Maine State Museum

The annual Model Railroad Celebration took place at the Maine State Museum on the first weekend in December. The Great Falls Model Railroad Club, Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Narrow Gauge Railway and the Maine 3Railers O Scale Model Railroad Club  had layouts.

Village with Triple Track Bridge

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train with Lionel Camera Car

 

The Lionel Camera Car is a new product this year. The camera is in the back of the car. It transmits pictures to a tablet so they can be seen by visitors to the layout.

 

 

Polar Express Layout

 

 

Holiday Layout

 

 

Video of Brewery Building Operation

 

 

The Real Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

 

 

 

 

 

 






Model Train Village at the L.L. Bean Northern Lights Festival

Boothbay Railway Village is back for the 3rd year with the Model Train Village in the Children's Department on the 2nd floor of the Freeport Store.

Here are some pictured videos of the fun with train. There are two G-Scale trains on the outside of the layout and a raised O-Scale train in the center.  There is also a working carousel, rotating Christmas Tree, and two skating rinks.

L.L Bean Freeport Store 1920s Era Model

 

Model of Freeport Station

 

 

Trains and Operating Carousel

 

 

Around the Village

 

Trains Crossing at Thorndike Station

 

All Three Trains

 

 

The actual Freeport Station can now be seen at the Boothbay Railway Village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maine Train Lines at the Westbrook Festival of Trees

MGRS provided and staff the Maine Line Trains at the Westbrook Festival of Trees again this year.

The Festival is held at the Westbrook Warren Congregational Church for a week in early December each year. Paul Corbett began providing the Maine Line Trains layout about a dozen years ago, and it continues with the help of MGRS volunteers.

The trains runs during the many activities that happen during the Festival, and all the Kindergarden classes in Westbrook come to

 

visit. This is definitely "fun for children of all ages"



Christmas Tree Stand



Lights Out Video





Village Siding Stop

Passengers at the Station

Snowball Fight

 

 

Behind the Scenes

 

Santa Bear on Skis

 

Moose and Calf near the tracks

 

Thanks to Dennis & Agnes Farrell, Peter Richards,  Paul Schell, Doug Johnson, Paul Corbett and Sam Carr for helping with this event.

 

Paul Schnell also leads the Boy Singers of Maine who performed at the Festival on Saturday evening.

 

Boy  Singers of Maine

 

 

Running Trains at the Mall

 

 

 

We are well into running trains in our 4th week of the Holiday Train Display. Lots of visitors have come to see us, and crowds are sometimes large. The raffle for a Thomas  Christmas set is VERY popular with lots of folks filling out entries for the drawing on December 22nd.

Skating Rink near North Conway Station

31 Circus Elephants mean a lot of Cleanup


Patriot Tool & Die built by Ernie Packard

Canadian Pacific rolls under the John Jackson Drawbridge

 

 

New Food Truck at the Mall

 

Ask Tice Leonard about his patches....

 

"Back to the Future" rides the rails

 

Here is a video of two European Trains

 

LGB Freight and Passenger Trains

 

Used Car lot - vehicles by Terry Norton and building by Ernie Packard

 

 

Thomas & Percy - the Kids Favorite

 

 

Do you see the Fisherman at the Fish Pool?

 

Amtrak passing Packard Lumber Co.