Maine Veterans Home Outing - No date set

The Maine Vets have been one of our favorite groups to visits us this year. They have enjoyed it a lot themselves and asked Carl if they can come back later this month. Check the Blog for the latest update. Nothing scheduled as of today.

Portland Model Railroad and Hobby Show

Portland's first train show in several years was held on October 3. A number of MGRS members turned out for the event. Manning the tables were Chris Libby, Walter Fossett, Jr., Carl Churchill, John Jackson, and Scott Gould. Pictured above is MGRS member Gerry Smith in front of the society's train table. In the picture below, Grace Miller discusses trains with Carl Churchill (or maybe a fish she caught), while Chris Libby and John Jackson look on. Also visiting the show were MGRS members Sue and Terry Norton, Betty Norton, Hunk Erskine, Richard Cosgrove, Ivan Smith, Ray Parent, Ernie Packard, and Dick Clark.

East Coast Large Scale Train Show 2009 York PA. Photos from 09-25-09

East Coast Large Scale Train Show
2009 York PA. Photos from 09-25-09
Please click here:
Sent to us from Denneth 'tiny' Lee, Thank you!

Speaking of Conway Scenic

Shows you what little I know, I did not even realize that was there. Here is a look at the North Conway Model Railroad Club layout.
Click here:

Fall Colors on the Conway Scenic Railroad

Fall has arrived in North Conway. Above is a GP 7 diesel, arriving at the North Conway station after pulling a train full of enthusiasts on the run from Conway. The 1-hour trip costs $13.50 for coach seating, and offers views of the White Mountains and Saco River in their autumn glory. Color should be at its peak in the next two to three weekends.

MTH Railking One-Gauge

Meet MTH President Mike Wolf at Charles Ro Supply Co.

Malden, MA

11/7/2009

Meet MTH President Mike Wolf at World's Famous Charles Ro Supply. Saturday, November 7 from 9AM to 5PM. See the latest MTH prototypes and releases and a Demonstration of the amazing DCS control system.

Welcome Visitors from Seventy-Five State Street

This afternoon the Overlook Garden Railway welcomed visitors from Seventy-Five State Street, an independent and assisted living facility in Portland. A good time was enjoyed by all, as we basked in the afternoon sun of another perfect day. Visitors also received a tour on a expanded trail system which Carl Churchill and MacMcLaughlin recently completed. Chris Libby and Scott Gould were also on hand to help.

Great Falls Model Railroad Club

When I was at Dick Clark's Open House on Saturday I met one of our old friends, Steve Martelli President and G-scale Division Director. Steve is always fun to talk to and I thought I would pass along the Web Site to those interested. Take a look: www.greatfallsmodelrrclub.org

Thank you Dick Clark

Toot-n-Chug Railroad held a great Open house on Saturday Sept 12th to go along with Greene Village Days. Dick has a great layout and it drew a large crowd all day as many people stopped by to enjoy the sights. His layout is built in beautifully with the landscape and his track work very well done. Dick has made some excellent buildings, people and nice water features to add lots of interest to his layout. It was a beautiful day that many got out to enjoy. Dick said "If you like this, Wait to see what we do on Halloween". Thanks again Dick, great event.

Veterans Visit Changed to Next Week

Just In - The Veterans will not visit today. They will be coming next week.
Sorry - this was a quick change but the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough wishes to uses their rain date instead of today. That will be fine and we look forward to seeing them next week!

Rules are Rules

Sent in to us by 'tiny' Lee : Thank you, How true!

Rules are Rules ... Railroad Style … (OMG!!)
The Good news: It was a normal day in Sharon Springs, KS
when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train
for the long trek to Salinas.

The Bad news: Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

The Good news: A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

The Bad news: The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses.

(In defense of the crew, according to Sixgun Jr., the crew tried to
’splain to higher-ups, but were instructed not to move the damn train!)




































RULES ARE RULES!

(And don’t let common sense get in the way of a good disaster!)

Friends of The Flying Yankee August Newsletter

To view click here:

Wardwell Special Charity Event ~ Thank You

Carl wanted to say Thank you to those MGRS members that he called on the spur of the moment yesterday morning after receiving a call from Wardwell Retirement home is Saco asking if they could come out to enjoy a visit at Overlook Garden Railway. A special Thank you from Carl to Earl and Mac and Walter and Rick and any other members that also responded with quick enthusiasm and joined in to help out for the full day outing. The folks at Wardwell were indeed a pleasure and he thanks them very very much for all that they do in participating with us in these special events. Carl added that the day turned out very well. The Trains, the People, the Weather, and the Golf Carts, Everything worked like it should. Thank you again to the MGRS members that represented the Society so well with their quick and very helpful actions.

Acela - Amazing

Mike and Lucy and Brandon's Acela adventure made me want to look at some of the high speed clips people have posted. . Here is 150 mph sample Wow! What a thrill it must be.

Congratulations

Congratulations are in order. One of our members sent a quick note reminding us he would not be able to make it to Dick Clark's Open House this Saturday. He has a prior engagement and one of the best reasons in the world not to attend. He will be going to his Grandson's wedding! MGRS sends their Congratulation to Doug Johnson's grandson and best wishes to his new bride!

The ACELA Return Trip

Hi Everyone, We returned today on the Acela but this train was not testing WiFi.
So I am posting a short video to give an idea of the speed from home. Regards<>

Forgot to mention how SMOOTH a ride the Acela IS!!

ACELA to DC

Hi everyone. Having decided to make a visit to the Museums of the Smithsonian,the GWRGR crew went by the Amtrak Acela. It IS as fast as they say. Photo from start of trip .

Staying at the Holiday Inn Capitol one block ( 1/8th of a mile ) from the Air & Space Museum,

Brandon & I are treated to a grand view of trains on 3 tracks running thru downtown on an overhead line. Short freight video.

The Acela is testing WiFi on several trains and we will attemt to post a hi-speed video on our return trip tomorrow (9/6) from the train. Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend

Brandon , Lucy & Mike

Happy Labor Day Weekend from MGRS

It is here . . . . Enjoy It ! Beautiful Weather . . Yard Sales . . . .Special Projects . . . . Football Games . . . . . and TRAINS !
Be Safe and Enjoy from MGRS

The "Bark Park"

That is not the full name. I will have to take a picture of the sign that is over the entrance to Carl and his neighbors network of trails and displays. But, for short I think it is OK to refer to it as the "Bark Park". A beautiful flower planter made of large logs is a recent addition as well as the sign post which is based on the original road sign near the Town of Bethel, Maine on Rt 5. I remember stopping there to take pictures of it many years ago. The neat thing about the sign in the "Bark Park" is that it has been done in reference to where it stands, right there in Buxton. The designers used Google Earth to obtain new reference point to measure the distance! How cool that it.
For those who want to see the Bethel sign: click here.

Expanding my Layout

Click image to view, Use Back Arrow to return


This is why I enjoy model railroads of any type. Looking forward to something new! When we first moved in, I was down in the basement with Keith my son in-law and I said pointing to the back wall, along here is where the track will go and over there will be a big trestle with a mountain and a waterfall from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. When I set the track at the level of the windows and had those two little sections of track aimed outdoors, I did not know what it would lead to, but what fun it was to think about. Looking forward to your next project big or small particularly if it is a G-scale project is just great enjoyment.

So, that window which leads outside ended up going to something I labeled Area-1. The 90 degree crossing is what I have always wanted to do to automate two trains running without hopefully crashing into one another.

This is still a long way from becoming a reality but it is now within much better sight. I have not ordered any loam or fill yet, but the hard part (which is the wall itself) of building what I hope to be a garden terrace area with lots of nice flower beds etc is nearly complete. By that I mean 'the wall part' is nearly complete. I have enjoyed the 'digging in the dirt' playing around with the rocks and cement blocks and the 1-1/2 stone which is very heavy to work with. Plus, I pretty much do work the old fashioned way with hand tools. I figure it helps me to exercise and as I said, I really enjoy it a lot. I don't know when any track will go down. I am sure it will be next year before any track crosses the walkway and goes into Area-2. But that is exactly the whole idea, something to look forward to and dream about.

Take a look at a short slideshow of the project to date. click here;