Spring Meeting

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
MGRS Spring Meeting MARCH 21, 2015
Hometown Buffet at the Maine Mall
Saturday at 1 O'clock.

Mini Garden Railway from Paul Smith

Here are some photos and a video of Paul Smith's Mini-Garden Railway

Paul said , "Brenda and I are at our winter residence in Ft Myers, FL and we have very limited opportunity to have a garden. Since Brenda is an avid gardener, she got first dibs on the space we are allowed in our park, so we planted a nice little palm tree and some native scrubs in that space. I was longing for some way to have a model railroad and indoor space was also at a premium, so I came up with this idea for a garden railway in a plant pot. The plant pot is 21" in diameter and the train is N scale built with Kato Unitrack with a 8.5" radius. I found several species of succulents at the local Lowes as well as several small asparagus ferns and a spike moss to put on the summit of the "mountain" scene break which is made from two Tennessee fieldstone pieces. Here are some photos of the end result"

Blog inputs

We all have the ability to post to this blog. Please share with the rest of us your pictures and stories.

Maine Mall 12/20/14

Last night I had a terrific time at the mall.  Mike and I ran a double header for part of the time which the people liked and asked questions about. I made another video, be sure to watch it in high definition to see the true quality. The camera hits a few times, but it was just a bump, and no trains were harmed during filming.

Thanks for watching,
Jake

Ivan at the Mall

Finally brought the car to the mall. It ran GREAT (probably because it had Ivan's name on it.

Mall 12/6/14

Hello all, this is a video I made last night while running the trains.

Hope you enjoyed,
Jake

Happy Thanksgiving

The Maine Mall was quiet Thanksgiving Eve because of the early snowstorm.  But that didn't stop some intrepid kids from visiting.  Pictured below are two lads from South Asia and two from Pownal, Maine.  The Mainers are Mason and Parker Hall, whose father worked as an engineer for many years with Gilford and with Amtrak.  Mason and Parker have a Lionel set around their Christmas tree, and they helped get the old Marx train running around our tree.

If you haven't signed up yet to run the trains at the Mall, you should plan to do so.  You will meet lots of appreciative visitors, and you will be able to feel the spirit of John Jackson, who planned so many of our Holiday displays.

An AmtrakTrain did go to Rockland

Yesterday Gordon and Lynne Konrath visited the layout. They told me about the Amtrak train that went to Rockland last week and showed me the pictures on their phone. They have a G-scale layout and took a membership application.

Here is the newspaper story from the Boothbay Register

Did you see Amtrak in Wiscasset

And another story from the Bangor Daily News

Amtrak Train Makes Stop in Rockland

Thomas the Tank Engine Raffle and National Model Railroad Month

The raffle for Thomas the  Tank Engine has started. The forms and entry box are at our layout.

November is National Model Railroad month  NMRA National Model Railroad Month page

We  have some information at the layout that visitors can pick up including

• MGRS Membership Applications and "business" cards with the location of our blog.

• Model Railroad Show List - upcoming local and regional shows  Model Railroad Shows

• 2014 Holiday Train Rides and Events - this includes Paul Corbett's G-Scale layout at thne Westbrook Festival of Trees and the G-Scale layout at the Bootbay Railway Museum during their holiday events.  Holiday Train Rides and Events

• Scenic Railroads, Railroad Clubs and Musems - Everything but Model Ralilroad Clubs, which will be a separate list Scenic Railroads, Railroad Clubs and Museums

• Sample copies of newsletters from MGRS,Maine 3Railers, 470  Railroad Club, Great Falls Model Railroad Club, New England Chapter of the Train Collectors Association Seacoast Division of the NMRA, and Cirus-related items including Circus Modelers, Little Circus Wagon and Little Red Wagon.

Yesterday there was a lady visiting the layout with her son. They were over by the Sawmill.

She saw John's picture and said that he had been very kind to her son.

Mall Videos from Wednesday, 11/17

Some different engines and rolling stock are on the layout now. The original Amtrak has been replaced by Engine 204, which has the darker trim like the DownEaster. And freight is now the New York Central. A second Thomas the Tank Engine is on the trestle. Dennis Farrell mad a Bon-Ton car since we are outside their store, and its running on the high bridge with Engine 14.

Amtrak Engine 204 and New York Central Freight

Thomas on the Trestle

Bon Ton Car on the High Bridge

Circus Panorama One

Circus Panorama Two

Circus Panorama Three

We Really Need Help at the Mall - updated 11/19 AM

We are into the third week of operating our layout at The Maine Mall.  Unfortunately at this late date there are too many empty slots to be filled to host and operate the display.  That fact has caused several of us to have to work many extra shifts to cover the holes in the schedule.  This is grossly unfair to those of us who signed up and have to serve those many extra hours.  It is also indicative of the lack of support for the Society by those who could physically (considering location and health) to come in to host but choose not to.

I urge those members who haven’t as yet signed up who can to IMMEDIATELY go to the Blog site or call Carl at 929-3655 and sign up for one or more times that are available.  You will feel better about it and so will we who won’t have to put in extra hours.

Thank you for your participation and club spirit.

Carl Churchill, President

Art Handman, Vice-President

P.S. Mac and Carl are at the Mall almost every day to check on the layout and fix problems with track and engines. So they may not be on the schedule much, but they are making sure we are up and running. They were changing engines when I stopped by yesterday, and Carl came in on Sunday to provide some backup.

Sam 

Video of the Mall Display from Monday 11/17

Here are some short videos of the Mall Display.

Amtrak

Amtrak around the Circus

Thomas and Percy in the Living Room

Steaming Through the Village

Amtrak and Steam at North Conway Station

Amtrak Around the Circus

Steam Around the Circus

Circus Train and Practice Areas

Circus Parade

Engine 14 on the High Bridge

Trolley on the Trestle

A Walk Around the Layout

26 minute video of Rotary Snow Plow Operations in the western Rockies in March 2011, thanks to  Tiny and Judy Lee

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365218614/

Mall Schedule Change as of Wednesday, November 12

As of Wednesday, November 12 our operating schedule at the Mall will be

Noon to 8pm, Monday thrhough Saturday with shifts from Noon to 4pm and 4pm to 8pm

All the times on the sign up calendar will be changed to match the new shifts.

Pictures from Operations on Thursday, November 7

Amtrak and Trolley

Amtrak leaving North Conway Station

Amtrak at Village Shops

Amtrak passing Gorham Station

Engine 14 at the Fire Tower

Engine 14 at the Log Cabin

Circus Train

Circus Parade One

Circus Parade Two

CMP Crew Fixing a Light Tower

Thomas and Percy

Great Falls Model Railroad Club ExTRAINaganza and Surplus Inventory Sale

The GFMRC just announced two events, both at the club facility at 144 Mill St., Auburn, ME 04210.
Their web site is www.greatfallmodelrrclub.org

Their annual ExTRAINaganza is open for five days as follows

Saturday, November 22, 10am-8pm
Sunday November 23, 10am-4pm
Monday November 24, 4-8 pm
-----------------------------------------
Friday, November 28 10am-8pm
Saturday November 29, 10am-4pm

They are also holding a Surplus Inventory Sale on Saturday, December 13 from 8am-5pm.
Items available to buy include

Train Sets
Railroad Memorabilia
Books
Time Tables
Pictures

Mall Display will open on Thursday, November 6, as planned

We will be opening on Thursday at 10. There are some minor items to be fixed by the Mall  and by us, but we are ready to go. I hear the whistle blowing......

New pictures to follow later today! And here they are.

Circus Train 1

Circus Train 2

Circus Train 3

Amtrak with sawmill on right

Percy and Log Cabin Up High

Thomas End with O-Scale Train

Maine Mall Setup on Deco Day 2 - November 4, 2014

Here we are with the turf rolled out and some buildings in place. Mainline and Thomas tracks are powered up

Thomas end with rug, fireplace and Christmas tree

Valley Shopping Center

Log Cabin Under the Bridge

Landscaper Working Near Gorham Station

Whitefield Lions Club Model Railroad and Doll House Show, Feb 15, 2015, Augusta National Guard Armory

This show runs from 10 am to 3:30 pm at the Augusta National Guard Armory on Western Ave in Augusta, Maine,  The contact is Steven P. Laundrie, slaundrie@roadrunner.com or (207) 441-5401. Admission is 4 for adults and children under 12 are free.

Here is the show flyer

Whitefield Lions Club Model Railroad and Dollhouse Show Flyer

Mall Display Setup Day 1 - November 1, 2014

We made good progress today on tracks, trestles, bridges and the circus. Here are some pictures taken at the end of the day.

Mall Day 1 Thomas End

Mall Day 1 Circus End

Mall Day 1 Trestle and Bridge