July 30-31 NH Garden Railway G-Scale Live Steam, Heritage Park, Wakefield, NH

 July 30-31, Live Steam Returns to Union Station.  Noon-4pm both days Unique opportunity to view NH Garden Railway Society’s traveling outdoor display of live-steam G-scale locomotive and freight cars 12 Noon to 4:00 PM at the Heritage Park Railroad Museum, 1 Chapel St., Union, NH.

Free admission.  www.historicwakefieldnh.com

Another MGRS - Minnesota Garden Railway Society from Jim Muthig

For the past seven summers I have been working for a nonprofit educational organization (Project Lead the Way- PLTW) training teachers across the country in high school engineering curriculum.  Basically PLTW sends me to a participating university to teach teachers their curriculum.  This year I was sent to the University of Minnesota at Mankato.  The training lasts two full weeks so I always have the weekend in between to venture out.

This year I found the Minnesota Garden Railroad Society which just so happens to share our initials :)  So I drove up to Wayzata Minnesota and was treated to a weekend of Garden Railroading AND railfanning.  In speaking with the club members on hand Wayzata is the only public garden railroad display of its kind in the midwest. 

Every Sat and Sun from June to Oct Club members sit alongside the layout and assist.  Inside the railroad, museum adjacent to the layout, are shelves of  rolling stock and engines donated by club members.  I sat alongside a few club members and watched as local kids brought out and made up a train and then walked around with the wireless throttle.  The kids were junior members of the club and the senior members did provide guidance as the trains made their way around the layout.  As shown in the picture below the layout sits alongside an active BNSF line and both days coal trains rolled by as expected. 

Inside the museum/depot a volunteer mans the stations telegraph office.  He answers visitors questions about all the old refurbished equipment in the office that includes a vintage working antique Coke machine while also watching a display on a laptop computer that uses ATCS (Advanced Train Control System) feed that shows the local BNSF subdivision train activity.   Every once in a while I would wander inside the old station and inquire of the status of the next train.  Right on schedule both coal trains, really longgg trains came slowly rolled through town. 

On Sunday two of the club members invited me over their houses to show their home layouts.  Quite the hospitality!  So if anyone is headed to the St.Paul/Minneapolis area be sure to visit the Wayzata Depot.  

MGRS Outing and Annual Meeting Recap

We had  another sunny day for the Outing with a nice breeze so it was cool in the shade. It all starts with getting here, and here is one of our antique auctioneers arriving in his antique vehicle.

Then its time to check in with Terry, vote for officers, buy raffle tickets, and talk to old and new friends over coffee

Lunch comes out but everyone saves rooms for all those desserts.

That gets everyone a little sleepy for the Annual meeting.....

• Election results were announced
• President Carl Churchill
• VP Art Handman
• Treasurre Dennis Farrell
• Secretary: Terry Norton
• Directors: Hunk Erskine, Mac McLaughlin, Norm Waycott, Frank Howard, & Paul Corbett
• The discussion on purchasing a club trailer will be continued
• Carl proposed a donation of $1,000 to Angel Flight, which takes WWII Veterans to visit the veterans memorials in Washington, DC. The club approved the donation

Raffles were drawn

• 50/50 Raffle for $100
• Members Only G-Scale Freight Car
• Child's Railroad Quilt
• Adult Railroad Quilt with Pillowcase

The auction this year had a large number of items. Terry Norton and Frank Howard, our regular auctioneers, brought on Ben Braithwaite to help. Ben has a great "patter" and helped moved things along.

 There was a spirited bidding competition between a group of New Hampshire members and certain well-known members from Maine. Comments like "Walmart Shopper" and "I made that in rehab" were made and accepted in good fun.

One "blind auction item" box was met with great interest. Another proud winner took home a complete set of Model Railroader Magazine in bound volumes - what a find! Side deals were made to trade already purchased items as the auction moved along.

And then was time to pay up!!

Norm had a large circus rail yard with a parade as the circus began to unload

Steel Caboose July 2016 on the way via email and U.S. Mail

The July edition is on its way to members via email and U.S. Mail. Topics include

--Open House and Annual Meeting this Saturday, July 16
--North Berwick Historical Society Train Display on August 20
--Scarborough Veterans Home
--Holiday Train Display
--Passing of Dick Soderberg
--Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
--Toy Train News

See the full edition at Steel Caboose July 2016

MGRS supports Maine Veterans Home

Paul Corbett has been maintaining a small train layout at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough. He visits frequently to clean the track and on a regular basis will change the railroad theme from cityscape to western theme to others he has in his inventory.
Today Frank Howard and I had a chance to meet up with Paul at the Vets Home to update the rolling stock. I installed a push button similar to the ones at the mall to allow some interaction. Frank set up the small Piko steam engine that the club purchased and it sounded awesome.
The staff liked the push button and the Veterans were taking turns pushing the button. 
The attached photo is Don, one of the Veterans, who sat with us while we upgraded the layout.

Passing of Richard "Dick" Soderberg

Richard "Dick" Soderberg, a friend of many in MGRS and the well known owner of  Dick's Trains, passed away earlier this month. He was known for attending train shows throughout the Northeast and attending the MGRS Summer Open House and Annual Meeting in Buxton each July.

Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

Amtrak Exhibit Train in Brunswick on Saturday,June 11, and Claremont, NH on Saturday, June 18

The Amtrak Exhibit Train will be visiting Brunswick Station this Saturday from 1-5pm. The consist includes 2 diesel locomotives. 3 cars of exhibits, and an Amfleet car as a gift shop. There will be a model train display inside the station, vendors outside, and specials in downtown Brunswick stores that day. The location is 16 Station Ave, Brunswick, ME 04011.

The train will also appear in Claremont, NH on Saturday, June 18 from 10am to 4pm. The location is at Plains Road and Maple Avenue, Claremont, NH 0374.

These visits are sponsored by the Northern New England Passenger Railroad Association, NNEPRA Web Site. The full Amtrak Exhibit Train schedule can be seen at Amtrak Web Site

Proposed Club Trip on the Mount Washington Cog Railway in September

Dennis and Carl have proposed a club trip on the Mount Washington Cog Railway this coming September.

The Cog is a three hour guided round trip to the top of Mount Washington and back with a one-hour stop at the top of Mount Washington. More information can be found at http://thecog.com/

The trip will be a topic at the Annual Outing and Meeting on July 16. If you are interested, please contact Carl or Dennis.

Steel Caboose Published to Members

The first edition of the Steel Caboose will be published this week. It follows the Iron Horse, and is sent to all MGRS members. You will receive it by electronic mail or U.S. mail.

Topics include

• MGRS Display at the Great Falls Topsham Show April 30th
• MGRS at March 12th Strive Rocks Dance Day 2016
• Open House and Annual Meeting on Saturday, July 16
• East Coast Large Scale Train Show
• Condolences to Norman Waycott
• Trailer Committee Formed, to Report at Annual Meeting
• 2016 Holiday Train Display Update
• G-Scale Items for Sale and for Free
• Upcoming Railroad Events in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

 Read the Steel Caboose now

Please find railroad-related items for our annual charity auction

Part of the fun at our Open House and Annual Meeting on July 16 is the Charity Auction.  Please find things about railroads you no longer need or want and bring them to the auction.

Our auction is conducted by the famous auctioneers Frank Howard and Terry Norton. They will choose the top three "best in auction" items for the day. The members who bring them will get a free lunch at the Paradise Diner.

They can sell just about anything, so please bring them some challenges....

MGRS Had the Only G-Scale Layout at the Topsham Show

John Middleton's Cape Porpoise Industrial Railroad got attention at the only G-Scale layout at the Great Falls Model Railroad Show in  Topsham this past Saturday. 

John,  David Blue, Mike Curry and Jim Jenkins talked with a number of folks during the day. We had both the time-saver layout and a “movie” running of the combined Holiday Train Display videos from 2011-2015. Handouts included the Winter 2016 Iron Horse and the Kalmbach "Beginning Garden Railroading" brochure with an MGRS membership application inside.

Thanks to Scott Gould, Terry Norton, and Carl Churchill for their help with the show. The Fall Topsham show is scheduled for November 5th.

MGRS Layout at the Great Falls Spring Show on April 30th in Topsham from 10 am to 3pm

MGRS will have a layout at the Great Falls Spring Show on April 30th in Topsham from 10am-3pm. The show is at the Mt Ararat High School Gym, 73 Eagles Way (off Route 201), Topsham, ME 04086.

We will have John Middleton's modular switching layout, the Cape Porpoise Industrial Railroad.  And there will be a place for members to talk to visitors about MGRS. Please come to the show, see the layout, have a chance to see your old friends and make some new ones.

We need some help with the show. The three modules, one 8' and two 3', need to be moved from Kennebunkport to Topsham and set up on Friday, April 29th, and back again after the show. If you can help, please contact Sam at 865-4467.

MGRS Open House and Annual Meeting set for Saturday, July 16 - please save the date

The MGRS Summer Open House and Annual Meeting will take place at Carl & Pat Churchill's, 82 Carll Road in Buxton on Saturday, July 16.

This Open  House is a chance for members to meet, run trains, have a great lunch, visit the Circus, bid on good stuff at the Auction, and elect officers for the upcoming year.

The Quilt Raffle will be back along with our two famous Auctioneers, so be ready to bid!!

MGRS Events Listing Updated

The MGRS Events Listing is up to date as of today. 

MGRS Events are shown in red. 

Other events include train-related activity in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Future dates are included for Amherst, York, and the East Coast Large Scale/All Scales shows into 2017.

Future Greenberg shows are not announced until late summer.

The Friendship and Gratitude Trains - G-Scale Friendship Train Car Available

This story begins with the French "40 and 8" wooden boxcars, built to carry 40 men or 8 horses. They were well known to American veterans of WW I and WW II. 

Maine Merci Train Car at Boothbay Railway Village

The 40 and 8 society for veterans was formed after World War I and was associated with the American Legion. More information can be found at  http://www.fortyandeight.org/ 

Last year at Togus I met a 99 year old veteran of WWII who remembered riding on them during his service in France as a tank driver.  He also remembered growing up in Maine when they did not plow the roads between towns in the winter because everything came in by train.

                                                                                                                                                         

The Friendship Train was the brainchild of columnist Drew Pearson just after WWII. It send 270 freight car loads of donated supplies from America to the children of France and Italy  in 1947. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Train

France responded in 1949 with the Merci Train of 49 40-and-8 boxcars, one for each U.S. State plus 1 to be shared by DC and Hawaii, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merci_Train

MTH issued  several Friendship Train cars in 2011.  The O-Scale versions are available on the internet under stock numbers 20-93522, 20-93523, 20-93524, and 20-92331.

The G-Scale version is New York Central and the link is http://mthtrains.com/70-74072. MTH Club Members get a discount if they order and pay by phone

East Coast Large Scale Train Show

This past weekend four members of the MGRS visited the East Coast Large Scale Train Show in York, Pennsylvania.  When Carl Churchill, Norm Waycott, Terry Norton, and Scott Gould arrived in York last Thursday, the temperature was in the 70's, while southern Maine was getting snow.  Along the way the four visited Steamtown USA in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Terry wanted to take a F3 home, but there was only room in Carl's monster pickup for a Reading Northern 4-8-4.  York itself was beautiful, as street trees in the historic downtown were all in bloom.  The downtown also has a train shop that is surely the most evocative of childhood memories in the country.   Here are some pictures of the trip, which concluded with a tour of Gettysburg, where Carl, Norm, and Terry posed by a monument on Little Round Top, where Joshua Chamberlain's charge did much to turn the tide of battle.

Maple Syrup Time

Sue Norton sends us this picture she took in Eliot.  Syrup from a phone pole?  Sue wonders what Fairpoint could get from a turnip.

Neville Lewis Spring 2016 G-Scale Scale

The spring  sale includes engines, rolling stock, MOW cars, buildings, track, switches, accessories, electronics, scenery, bench work and a collection of model railroad books. Contact information is at the end of this post.

LGB 995001 Locomotive $125

LGB 992015 Locomotive $125

D.S.P. & P.R.R Locomotive #18,  $200

Pardee & Curtin Lumber Company #11, $200

Handcar with Trailers, $40

S.R. & R.L Coach #1, Lot of 4 $175

S.R.&R.L Coach #2, Lot of 4, $175

S.R.&R.L, Combo, Lot of 4 $175

S.R. & R.L. Baggage, Lot of 4 $175

SOLD-Bangor & Aroostook Boxcar, $40

SOLD -Two  State of Maine Products BAR 4067 boxcars, $50 each or two for $90

SOLD-Two State of Maine Products BAR 4067 boxcars, $50 each or two for $90

SOLD-Boston & Maine 72000 Minuteman woodside boxcar $40

SOLD-Boston and Maine 42890 woodside boxcar $40

72

Railway Express Agency REX 4071 Refrigerator, $40

Coca-Cola Coke is it! boxcar $40

Westside Lumber Co. 11 woodside boxcar, $35

SOLD-Southern Pacific #4067 boxcar, $35

LGB Express 4059 flatcar with 2 Mercedes Sedans, $35

SOLD-Denver and Rio Grande Western flat with 3 generators, $35

SOLD-LGB 4058 depressed center flatcar with transformer

LGB 76826 High Side Gondola with doors, $35
Southern Pacific Low Gondola with steel load, $35

LGB 4024 low gondola with scrap barrel load, $35

Southern Pacific 4060 Stake Car with Log Load, $35 

SOLD-NY Central 555 depressed center flatcar w/cable $35
SOLD-Pennsylvania 65556 Depressed Center Flatcar $25
Lot of 3 Small LGB Cars with farm equipment $35
LGB 20T Crane Work Car, $30


LGB 4011 Work Car with opening hatches, $25
LGB Work Gondola with opening doors and sand load, $25
SOLD - Stationmaster Building, $50

Additional Items

--Track, electric switches and a turntable

--Buildings and station platforms

--Figures of people and farm animals

--Scenery and bench work

--Misc. small building kits, fences, etc.

--Other stuff that is cheap and cheerful.

--Some is free.

--Come and see!!

Everything is in good condition. Most items have been on an indoor layout. All couplers are hook and loop. Please contact Neville about items you like or to set up a visit to see them. He can be reached at207-354-8055 (home), 207-650-3510 (cell), or email barometershop@roadrunner.com. 

Directions and a map can be found at http://www.barometershop.net/directions.htm

Partial Book List –many more available

A Century of Model Trains

Atlas of the World’s Railways

American Narrow Gauge Railroads

Living in the Depot

When Beauty Rode the Rails

Mixed Train Daily

Highball – A Pageant of Trains

Steel Trails

Railroad Avenue

The Art of Railroad Photography

Steam Trains of the World

Steam’s Finest Hour

Rio Grande Narrow gauge

On the Main Line

American Locomotives

Hear the Train Now

Model and Miniature Railroads