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

Autumn becomes winter

In a couple of weeks we set up the mall display. Please sign up for a time to run the trains.

Open House 2-4 PM TODAY at Amtrak Layover Facility in Brunswick

The Open House at the Amtrak Layover Facility in Brunswick will be from 2-4 pm TODAY, Saturday 10/22

It is located at 2 Turner Street in Brunswick. It can be reached from Route 1 via  Church  Road and from Stanwood Street. Here is a map.

This is short notice, but the hours were not published until Friday. More information at
Brunswick Layover Facility

2016 Holiday Train Display Opens Friday, November 18

The 2016 Holiday Train Display will open on Friday, November 18 at the Maine Mall. We are in our usual place outside the Bon Ton with a 12’ wide x 50’ long layout. Please help us provide fun for children of all ages by running trains at the Mall. And please bring your trains to run while you are there. See the bottom of this page to sign up. Everyone is welcome to help during setup and move out.

We also hope to have an evening when members can get together during a visit to the layout.

The layout includes the “Thomas” area along with a suburb around North Conway Station, a Village, an Industrial Park and the Circus. There will be six trains and four bridges on two levels.

The schedule is

Move In                    Monday, November 14

Setup                         Tuesday, November 15 through
                                   Thursday November 17

Opening Day            Friday, November 18 at 10 am

Running Days           November 19-30 but
                                   closed on Thanksgiving Day

                                    December 1-25 but closed  
                                    on Christmas Day

Move Out                 Monday, December 26 unless extended through January 1. Then move out will be on Monday, January 2^nd

The operating hours will be

10am-8pm                Monday through Saturday.
                                    Shift One 10am-3pm and
                                          Shift Two 3-8pm

11am-6pm                Sunday with Shift One 11am-6pm

Signing Up to run trains

Option #1: Visit the MGRS Blog at http://mgrsmembers.blogspot.com/ and click on the Sign Up button. Then fill in the Form and click on the Submit button

Option #2: Send email to Sam at secarr1@comcast.net

Option #3: Call Sam at 207-865.4467

Here are pictures of the layout, a three-dimensional side view, and the flyer announcing the event

Layout Section 1

Layout Section 2

Layout Section 3

Three Dimension Side View

Flyer

Trailer Voting

The Board of Directors met today and opened the returned voting envelopes. The results: 45 voted to buy a trailer and 5 voted not to buy a trailer.
The trailer committee will now try to locate a suitable trailer.
Thank you for all who returned their votes.
   Terry

G-Scale Items for Sale

Terence Roder has some G-scale items for sale. If  you are interested, please contact him at
207 844 8083 or 520 940 1163. His email is 1911govt@gmail.com

All are NIB (New in box) condition and have never ran.

The road names are uniform, Chicago and North Western (Route of the Streamliners) and in mustard yellow, dark brown livery.

USA Trains 1:29 F3 A and B Units

48 ft steel boxcar

50 ft baywindow caboose (lighted)

An assortment of other 1:29 by Aristocraft and and 1:22.3 Bachman rolling stock for narrow gauge operations, also an highly detailed Accucraft 1:22.3 flatcar, flat red, no road name but all stats silkscreened on unit.  A great standoff to any siding display.

Voting for Trailer

Ballots have been mailed to all members. Please vote and return your ballots in the enclosed, self addressed, stamped envelope.
The Board of Directors (BOD) will count the ballots at the next BOD meeting on OCT 15th. The members will be informed of the voting results by a post on this blog and email.

Terry Norton,  MGRS Secretary

this is a sample of the ballot being sent to all members

For the members:

Should MGRS purchase a trailer to transport and store the club assets (cost not to exceed $2500)?

 

YES                           NO 

Positives for purchasing a trailer:

            Keeps all the track and components in an easy to use condition (carrying the material up and down stairs is serious work that is not shared among all the members)

            Ensures all the assets are on site when setting up (Setup in North Berwick at the Mill Field Festival required a few trips to members houses to get track and supplies)

            Any member can tow the trailer with club contents (presently a few members go to the President’s house and load his truck with the equipment and some even go back after the event to unload his truck)

            Allows for stowage of all the track and components at any members house (now stored at the Presidents house above his garage)

            Trailer can be sold if no longer required

           

Negatives for NOT purchasing a trailer:

            Registration cost every 2 years $100

            Insurance costs yearly $300

            Liability for the person towing the trailer (trailer and trailer contents)

            Large outlay of funds for a trailer for transportation and stowage:

         (1) transportation to event setups:  3 scheduled events in the last year required a lot of assets from the club to be on site: Maine Mall, Strive at the Cross Arena and the North Berwick Mill Field Festival 

                     (2) stowage of clubs assets at other than Presidents 2^nd floor garage space.

Please vote and return ballot in enclosed stamped envelope.

Like To Try A Project Using PVC Sheets?

I've had good luck using PVC plastic sheets for outdoor garden railroad projects.  Pieces can be glued easily with PVC cement to form permanent bonds that are weatherproof outside. The material cuts as easily as wood and sands easily.  Paint sticks to PVC much better than to wood, because no moisture can penetrate behind it to cause peeling or blisters.  The material is waterproof and will last through any number of Maine winters.  Home Depot sells 4' x 8' sheets of 1/2" thickness PVC for about $100, but they do not sell 1/4" thick sheets.  I have found a plastic supply business in Portland that has a 1/4" 4' x 8' sheet available for $77.00.  Is there an MGRS member who would like to split a sheet of this with me (either cross-cut or ripped)?  I can't justify a whole sheet, but half a sheet would make several outdoor models with walls approximately 6" wide in several garden railway scales.  Let me know if you're interested.

Scott Gould, 799-9799 or email at sgould@maine.rr.com

MGRS VISITS NORTH BERWICK MILL FIELD FESTIVAL

           

          This Saturday, August 20, the Maine Garden Railway Society participated for the first time in the North Berwick Mill Field Festival.  The festival is a colorful annual event that celebrates the town’s heritage as a rail junction for the Boston & Maine R.R. and the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth R.R.  Operations began in 1842, when the PS & P first came to town.  Travelers from Boston would take the B&M to North Berwick and transfer to the PS & P for the remainder of the trip to Portland.  The lines were initially competitors, but the B&M eventually acquired the PS & P.

The MGRS display was designed by Terry Norton and historian Lynn Day to resemble the town of North Berwick as it existed when both the B&M and the PS & P ran through the town.  Terry even lettered a train for the PS & P.  Buildings on the MGRS layout were placed in the same relative locations as in the actual town.  The B&M and PS & P lines also were designed by Lynn and Terry to run side by side, just as they did originally.  In addition to this 16’ x 16’ display, Terry also designed a similarly-sized display for the Society’s ever-popular Thomas trains.  A great number of happy children visited this display.

The MGRS display was in the planning stages for nearly a year, spearheaded by Terry and Carl Churchill, with help and encouragement from Mike Macdonald, who coordinates the annual Mill Field Festival.  A number of MGRS members helped run the trains today, among them Ben Braithwaite, Sue Norton, Hunk Erskine, Carl Churchill, and Brian Saunders.  Special thanks go to Terry and Sue Norton and Carl Churchill for the major investment of time and energy they put into making this a very successful event.

Correction to phone number for the Sanford's G-Scale Moving Sale

The correct phone number to reach them is 207-654-2771.

Steel Caboose August 2016 - North Berwick Display on Aug 20, G-Scale Sales, Future Events

The August 2016 Steel Caboose has been sent via email and U.S Mail to all members. The topics include

--MGRS Display at the North Berwick Mill Field Festival on August 20
--Barry and Buckie Sanford's Moving Sale
--Neville Lewis Indoor Layout Trains and Track for Sale
--Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont

See the full edition at August 2016 Steel Caboose

G-Scale Moving Sale at the Sanfords

Barry and Buckie Sandford are moving from Athens to Skowhegan. The are selling trains, locomotives, track, buildings, and controls too numerous to list.

You can visit them on Sunday, August 14 from 9am to 4pm, or call Barry at 207-651-2771.

Their address is 193 Fox Hill Road, Athens, Maine 04912.

Please Help with Upcoming Events at the Overlook Garden Railway

Please help Carol & Pat with upcoming events, starting at 10am on these dates

August 16, Monarch Nursing Home

August 29, Monarch Nursing Home

September 16, Gorham House