Black Friday and the Weekend at the Mall

Black Friday was very busy at the Mall. The first clue was all the cars in the parking lots when we came in to start the trains. The second clue was the people already leaving with bags and bags of stuff as we walked in.

The weekend was also busy but not quite as frantic as Friday...... And we continue to learn from the children who visit us. There have been several questions about the difference between the Oil tanks (storage) and the water tanks (for steam engines). Yesterday  at different times two kids talked about the American and Canadian flags on the John Jackson Drawbridge. They both said it marked the border between Canada and the United States. Paul Corbett placed these flags and others, partly to recognize our many Canadian visitors during the holiday season

Here are some recent pictures

Cell phone picture of last week's Chimp Escape to Johnny Rockets

New lighted sign at the Super Market

Sunday Tourist Train taking visitors from North Conway to the Circus

Overhead Trolley Wire Repair at North Conway Station

Benchwarmers watching from the Super Market

The next four pictures show the signs  hand painted for our layout by Angel Pettengill. They were  her gift to MGRS. Her husband, Paul Pettengill, is the new Operations Manager for the Mall. Thank you, Angel!

Circus Train Sign

All Aboard sign

RR Crossing sign at front left of Thomas and Percy

RR Crossing Sign at right front of Thomas & Percy

On Sunday the Bon Ton set up a display of trains for sale at the entrance near the layout. They are almost G-scale in size.

Trains for Sale at Bon Ton

We were running the Bon Ton Car (built by Dennis Farrell) at the time, and we showed it to the lady who was setting up the sale display

Bon Ton car on mixed passenger and freight train

We were also running the new Casco Bay Ford car behind it. It is a thank you to Casco Bay Ford for loaning us the big cargo van to bring the layout from Buxton to the Mall. Thanks to Ben Braithwaite for getting the van and Dennis Farrell for making the "car with a car and a truck".

Casco Bay running behind Bon Ton

The next two picture are very nice industrial buildings of a type we don't usually see. The are from the modular Time Saver layout that John Middleton brought to  the Mt. Ararat Show in Topsham this past spring. They are lightweight and covered with paper the looks like bricks and windows. The steps, dock and small bushes are nice details. And they are both serviced by freight lines.

Flavors and Extracts, Inc.

Specialty Fasteners Co.

Please Sign Up to Help at the Mall

We need your help to run the trains. Please sign up to cover any of the Open shifts that need staff or be the 2nd person on a shift. It takes two people to operate the trains, fix minor problems, and talk to our visitors.

The following shifts need your help, and its still fun for children of all ages. You can sign up via the blog or call Sam at 865-4467 to schedule your time. The easiest way to see the available times is to go to the blog, click on the SIGNUP button, and the click on AGENDA to see who is working each day.

Open Shifts

10-3  11/29 Tuesday - covered by Art Shean
3-8    12/2 Friday - covered by Art Shean
10-3  12/6 Tuesday - covered by Tice Leonard and Rich Barrett
11-6  12/11 Sunday
10-3  12/13 Tuesday - covered by Sam
10-3  12/14 Wednesday
3-8    12/14 Wednesday
10-3  12/16 Friday
3-8    12/16 Friday
10-3  12/20 Tuesday - covered by Tice Leonard and Rich Barrett
3-8    12/20 Tuesday
10-3  12/23 Friday
3-8    12/23 Friday
10-3  12/27 Tuesday
10-3  12/30 Friday
3-8    12/30 Friday

Thanks,
Sam

News from the Mall on November 25

We have seen a lot of visitors this week, and large crowds today, which is that big shopping day... People were leaving with bags in hand when we got here around 9:30am.

There were lots of questions about model railroad gauges, what to buy for children & grandchildren, and where to buy model trains. On Wednesday we had a long visit from a reporter, so there may be a story in the Press Herald or Sunday Telegram this weekend. Jim Alberty  from the Apple Store was here today shooting some scenes for the next "Trains in a Mall" video to go on YouTube with the six earlier videos.

Your DPW has just finished the road paving and striping projects for the year.. The Post Office has a new delivery vehicle for the holiday rush, and both the Paradise and Village Fire Stations have received rebuilt fire trucks.

Holiday Postal Delivery Vehicle

Rebuilt Fire Trucks at Village Station

The new lighted sign is up on the Super Market after approval by the Zoning Board. Today several citizens reported seeing Clark Kent changing into Superman in the phone booth beside Triangle Auto.

Lighted Sign at the Super Market

The trolley from North Conway Station to the Industrial Park has increased ridership due to folks going to the Circus. There were two loaded coal cars on the local freight today. They were a delivery for the Polar Express on the Portland Narrow Gauge. Please ignore the rumors that they were for the stockings of certain children. Earlier today the chimpanzees escaped from their wagon before it was unloaded from its flatcar. They were found having lunch at Johnny Rocket's in the food court and escorted back by Mall Security after they had finished dessert.

Trolley heading for the Circus stop

Coal Cars on the local freight

Chimpanzee Breakout for lunch at Johnny Rocket's

A Touching Thanks for the Holiday Train Display

Today at the Mall a boy and his Mom thanked us for providing the Holiday Train Display. He gave us two "Thank You" coins. The coins are silver in color, but scan as gray in the picture below. One of them is on the transformer for the Thomas and Percy trains for everyone to see.

                                                

Thank You. You make the difference!

His Mom said this is how he likes to say thank you, and they are like military challenge coins. Details about how they are used can be found at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin

Westbrook Festival of Trees and Paul Corbett's Model Train Display from December 3-10

The Westbrook Festival of Trees takes place at the  at the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, 810 Main Street, Westbrook, Maine. Information about the Festival can be found at
http://www.westbrookfestivaloftrees.com/

Paul Corbett's model train display is part of the Festival again this year. The train display will be open as follows

12/3 Saturday     8am-12:30pm and 4pm-7pm
12/4 Sunday       1pm-3pm
12/5 Monday      10am-12 noon and 6pm-7:30pm
12/6 Tuesday      10am-12 noon and 2pm-4pm
12/7 Wednesday 10am-12 noon
12/8 Thursday     10am-1pm
12/9 Friday          10am-1pm and 6pm-7pm
12/10 Saturday     9am-12 noon

Model Train Village at L.L. Bean in Freeport

The Model Train Village is part of the L.L. Bean Northern Lights Celebration in Freeport.

Boothbay Railway Village provided the layout, which is in the Children's Department on the 2nd floor. The pictures below show the beautiful snow-covered scene which includes both G-Scale trains and an O-Scale train. It runs from 9am to 9am through December 31st. Buildings, scenery, and decorations are very nicely done.

Village Overview

L.L Bean Store

G-Scale Steam passing Freeport Station

O-Scale Maine Central on upper level

The other parts of the Northern Lights Celebration are outdoors in Discovery Park. They are the Night Sky Dome, Discovery Forest, and Santa's Workshop and Reindeer Barn.

Maine Mall Setup Day 3, November 16

On Wednesday we completed the remaining setup work at the Mall. The ski lift was installed without a riser. It runs from the base station and across the operator area using towers to  reach the other end
Roadways were paved and striped. And the fence around the Thomas platform was solidly braced to handle crowds of small children. Art Shean brought in buildings now placed in the Suburb and Industrial areas.

The Wednesday work crew included Art Shean, Carl Churchill, Mac McLaughlin, Ben Braithwaite, Mike Curry, Dennis Farrell, Sam Carr, and Hunk Erskine.

Thomas and Percy before the Christmas Tree

North Conway with new "All Aboard" sign

Village and Paradise Diner

Industrial Area with Trolley Line

Circus Siding with Circus Train Sign

The link below will take you for a walk around the Holiday Train Display

Video Walk Around the Layout

Drawbridge Dedication Plate

On Wednesday, 11/16 Dennis Farrell and Mac McLaughlin put the dedication plate on drawbridge at the Mall. The drawbridge was built by John Jackson for use at the Holiday Train Display, and the plate reads "John Jackson Memorial Drawbridge".

Drawbridge Dedication Plate

The plate is on one side of the crossbar between the towers, and John's military insignia is on the other.

Crossbar side with military insignia

Trains run across both tracks of the drawbridge while it is down and stop when the drawbridge is raised. That allows members operating the trains to get into and out of the work area in the center of the layout.

The drawbridge is easy to raise and lower because there are counterweights in each tower. Cables run from the end of the drawbridge through pulleys at the top of each tower. From each pulley they go straight down inside the tower to a weight in a tube under the table. The counterweights are plastic bottles filled with BBs.

At the Mall we ask children to help lift the drawbridge to show how easy it, and then everyone gets to see how the trains stop when it is lifted

Mall Setup Day 2, November 15

Track installation was completed today, and trains were run on all tracks. Button boxes for Thomas and Percy are working. North Conway Station arrived at the Mall, and was placed so that trains arrive at the "back" just as they do at the real station. Norman brought in most of the Circus modules. Art Shean and John Middleton put up the poles to hold the wire on the Trolley Line from North Conway Station to the Circus.

We had curious visitors of all ages all day wondering when we were going to open (10am Friday) and asking questions about the setup, trains, and layout

On Wednesday the Ski Lift will be set up and the Christmas Tree placed in the Center of the Thomas and Percy loops.

Today's crew included Art Shean, John Middleton, Mike Curry, Jim Jenkins, Dennis Farrell, Carl, Mac, Terry and Sam

Here are a few pictures from the end of the day Tuesday.

Looking across Thomas to North Conway Station

Trolley and Suburb with Oil Storage Facility

Industrial Area with Circus beyond

Circus with some modules yet to come in

Move-In and Setup at the Mall - November 14

Here are a few pictures John Middleton took at Mall today. Thanks to Ben Braithwaite we had a cargo van to move our equipment from Carl's in Buxton to the Mall.

Today we put the carpet on the tables and laid most of the track. Mac and Terry worked on the wiring. Both the drawbridge and the triple track bridge are in place. Andy and David worked on the Circus track, and John Middleton, Frank Howard and Mary Garland on the Trolley loop.

The crew included Frank Howard, Mary Garland, Carl Churchill, Dennis Farrell, Mac McLaughlin, John Middleton, Terry Norton, Ben Braithwaite, Andy Hendrickson, Sam Carr, and David Blue. And thanks to Walter Fossett for loaning us the 5' curved track we needed for Thomas and Percy!

Terry and Carl working on the Main Lines

Mac setting up power

Holiday Train Display Setup Starts Monday

Setup for this year's Holiday Train Display begins on Monday, 11/14. We will be starting at Carl's in Buxton at 8am. Ben Braithwaite is bringing a van to transport the Club's tracks and trains to the Mall.

Please help us to be ready to open on Friday, 11/18 at 10am

The tables at the Mall are ready to go, thanks to Paul Pettengill, the new Operations Manager.

Tables 12'W x 50'L from the Thomas End

And some of Ernie's buildings are getting ready to go