Happy New Year !!

Be Safe and have a Great New Year.

Here is something from "tiny" if you missed the countdown! Click here:
(After you finish the 'count down' Note what happens when you keep clicking) Boom. . Bang...Boom!

To all

The very best of wishes to all our members and their families as we begin a brand new decade together.

Fresh from Lowe's after Christmas sales are a couple of G scale figures that will soon go from the kitchen table to the layout downstairs. I like the outdoor theme and the father and son "Fishing Lesson" along with "Didn't see anything" hunters will fit right in.

Battery question ??

I know you can pick up power from the track. But I guess that you are getting around 17 volts DC. At least that is what I think. My train transformers put out variable DC output up to 22 volts. I want to eliminate using batteries (3 AAA = 4.5 volts) in the tender of my Keystone/Bachman engine that provides power to the chug-chug and whistle sounds. My question: Is there "something" that I can wire in that will reduce the track voltage to 4.5 volts to eliminate the batteries? I do not want to blow out the sound board by blasting it with higher voltage then I should. Has anyone done anything similar? The engine I want to modify is pictured in the video of the Christmas tree train I put on the blog last week.

Happier days on the railroad!!!

Steam and Coal must be favored by the railway gods!!!

the Victorian Christmas train at the WW&F Railway two weeks ago.

Thanks to Denneth "tiny" Lee

MGRS is lucky to have a member that likes to look on the Internet and receives lots of interesting emails that he passes along. He is one of MGRS best sources. Following are a couple of recent train stories (Tank Cars and Maintenance Truck)that 'Tiny' sent me and I was waiting until after Christmas to post. The people involved must be very thankful that no one was hurt. Remember: Click on small pictures to enlarge (most of them) :)

Petroleum-filled tanker cars derail

December 15, 2009 Valley Herald
ANACORTES — Six tanker cars filled with liquefied petroleum gas on an 18-car train serving industry derailed Monday night on March Point. No injuries or fuel leaks were reported, according to railroad officials. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crews were working Tuesday to right the six tanker cars, which were tilted at an angle, fallen on their sides or flipped on their tops, said Gus Melonas, railway spokesman. The tanker cars worked as designed, preventing fuel leaks, he said. Liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of propane and butane. The 18-car train was traveling at a slow rate of speed, and the derailment occurred at the point where the railroad tracks join tracks owned by the refineries.

CSX Track Maintenance Truck

December 19, 2009 ~ Two maintainers were working pole line issues on the New River Subdivision when a tree fell from the opposite side of the track hitting their Signal Maintainer’s Truck. "Always expect a tree, at any time, in any direction, on any track." Fortunately, no one was injured.

History: In the late 1940's the New River Gorge in West Virginia ranked as one of the most heavily industrialized places in the world. Steam engines chugging through pristine wilderness contrasted with the harsh reality of a coal fired manufacturing region. Today, many of the mines and facilities are no longer there. Nature is gradually reclaiming the site. The Chesapeake & Ohio lives on in the form of CSX whose trains still haul coal and other products through the beautiful gorge.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train 2009

This is a very colorful and special Holiday Train by the Canadian Pacific Rail Road. The link to this video will take you to many other videos about this train if you want to see more. To view click here:

Hope you enjoyed Christmas Day

If you want to try out the animated Christmas Tree Train again, then here it is. It is from Ashland Univ. Choir. Follow the instructions on what to click on and when it is done, you can right click and zoom in on the train (or the fireplace) It is pretty good! Click here to begin. Have fun.

The Night before Christmas

Poem by Clement Moore

Merry Christmas from Phippsburg

With the little snow we had over the weekend, conditions were right for a little snow plowing. As I was playing in the snow, I took some video of the progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkQlr2KFcPo&feature=channel

From Maine Garden Railway Society

To all our Members and their Families ~ and to the Friends of Maine Garden Railway Society

Christmas focus

Used to be I hated wearing glasses. But as the years wore on, I noticed how much more beautiful the lights were becoming on the Christmas tree. Here's a picture of that rosy blur for those of you who aren't as blessedly blind as me. Beneath the tree, that blur of trains is the runaround I most like to see.
Originally Posted by sgould

Here are some MORE Train Videos ( The list of Videos just keeps growing and growing). ~

This photo is from our son and his wife in Buxton Maine from Christmas 2009

Here are some other peoples train videos posted on You-Tube.

Christmas G scale in the Living room

This is a nice O Guage 5x12 layout in the basement.

Indoor Trestles at Christmas Time ~ G scale

Christmas Train Village

Our Friend and Member Eric Schade makes some excellent postings on You-Tube. Here are some examples:

Christmas on the WW&F

Steam up 2009

Winnegance and Quebec Dec 2009


Here is a short clip of John & Gigi's Christmas Tree Train -2009
Merry Christmas



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Small Train Repair

Yesterday my wife complained that I am hard to buy anything for so I said well OK, I would like a 153 infrared controller. I said they are about $30 at Small Train Repair in Cumberland. I could see her eyes go wide. She liked the idea and wanted to find me a birthday gift so when we got home she called him up and yes he was open. After lunch we went over. It was great to walk in his store. It smells like trains! I mean that to be a compliment. He has a great store and is all decorated this time of year. He had on his Conway Scenic shirt and I found out he is a conductor on the Polar Express! We talked about trains and clubs. He does know 'tiny' and we both agreed what a great guy Denneth Lee is. He is a builder by trade and it turns out he did all the molding and interior work on the Conway dinner train car which we rode on this year. It was fun to visit and see George Small again.

More on Expert Craftsmanship - continued

When I was looking at the following post in detail it lead me to two more related sites:

First is a video tour of the Joe Martin Foundation Craftsmanship Museum where Mr Park's model is located.
Please click here to view.

Here is a link to other models on Craftsmanship Museum: Home Page

Absolutely Incredible !!!

Denneth Lee sent me this. I have never seen anything that compares to this man's ability to craft a model. It is 1:16 scale and is all hand made from aluminum. Mr Young C. Park model maker extraordinaire, his work speaks for itself.

Please click here:

Be sure to go down to the bottom of the article and click on the small pictures to see the amazing detail and craftsmanship. (see sample top right)

Maine Narrow Guage ~ Polar Express~

Here is a composite of pictures taken on December 10th a few days ago which was my grandson Jameson's birthday. My daughter took him and his best friend on the Polar Express. She sent me these pictures and they are in no particular order but you can get an idea of what it was like. I know that they had a very good time and they did enjoy it.

Five to Six Hundred enjoyed watching our Trains run

Well let me say this, If you are a member of MGRS you should be proud to hear how many folks, young and old really did enjoy watching our display which Paul hosted along with the support of several members.

You could see and hear their delight as people came through the door. It was a very successful exhibit and the environment of the Festival of Trees is an excellent setting for us to set up a Christmas time train display.

I know Paul is tired because he ran the whole exhibit and was there every hour. But he is also sincerely pleased to have met hundreds of new people and had the opportunity to tell them about a hobby we all at MGRS truly do enjoy. Yes, it is a very good time of the year!