9

Effective at 12:01 AM, E. D. T.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014

FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF MEMBERS

AND FRIENDS

TIMETABLE No.

P I E D M O N T D I V I S I O N

NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION

J. P. YOUNGBLOOD……………Superintendent

W. LILES……….……………………..Operations

J. SULLIVAN …………………………... Finance

C. G. WHITE ….…………………Administration

P. RANKIN…………...………………...Personnel

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 2

As we begin 2014, let me wish eve-ryone a healthy, safe and prosper-ous Happy New Year. My thanks and gratitude to all who turned out to vote in Novem-

ber and for entrusting me as your new Superintendent. I will try hard not to disappoint. A tip of the hat to my predecessor aand now Superintendent Emeritus, Char-lie Crawford, MMR, and to all officers and BoD mem-bers. Also to the 2013 Peachtree Express Convention Committee and the many volun-teers who stepped up to help us realize a terrific NMRA National Convention in addition to another successful Piedmont Pilgrimage organized by Director at Large, Gary Jarabek and his committee. Also to all who lent a hand with all other scheduled events and out-reach programs. We are truly a remarkable division with an enviable history of achievements and community involvement, a tradition I’m certain we will con-tinue to uphold this year. We mourned the loss of Bob McIntyre, an inspiration to all of us as he tenaciously fought the debilitating battle that even-tually took him away. It’s no secret that one of his great pas-sions was the Achievement Program, a self-help skill improvement opportunity which he chaired. Lucky for us his passion is shared by Randall Watson who, by BoD appointment, will inherit Bob’s AP Chair. Congratulations to our newly elected officers and directors. I look forward to working with you and all BoD members. And to all candidates who were not elected, thank you for offering yourself. Not being elected this time around in no way diminishes your ability to serve your division in other capacities and I encourage your contributions as we move ahead. By the time you read this the BoD and various committees will have come together for the annual

Strategic Planning Meeting. This meeting serves to es-tablish scheduled dates for traditional events and pro-grams for 2014. New ideas are discussed and how they can be best implemented to favorably benefit our divi-sion. Walt Liles, Director of Operations, will keep you up to date on any new events decided upon. The division’s annual budget will also have been discussed with line item estimates given to establish the expected operating expense totals for the year. Newly elected Director of Finance, Joe Sullivan, assisted in an auditing capacity by Director at Large, Alan Mole, also

newly elected, will monitor, report to the BoD, and publish a summary of our monthly financial status throughout the year. Both gentle-men are well qualified to oversee and review our division’s finances. At our division meetings new members and potential new members will be encouraged to visit the “New Member” table where Director of Personnel, Paul Rankin will have forms for joining the NMRA, handout materials, information about both the NMRA, our division, and for any upcoming activities or events. Speaking of upcoming events, our division is present this month at “Trains, trains, trains!” at Kennesaw’s Southern Museum, and March 15 & 16 is our annual “The

Model Train Show” at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Under the direction of veteran Show Manager, Joe Gelmini, MMR, and his professional-grade volunteer staff, this highly popular event keeps growing, attracting an ever-increasing number of nationally known vendors. Don’t miss it. If you want to help, please see Director at Large, David Gelmini, the show’s Volunteer Coordinator. You’ll even get in free while earning AP Association Volunteer time units! So this column is titled “Division Point”, which most of you already know are locations where railroads changed crews and also administrative personnel. The

DIVISION POINT

Peter Youngblood, MMR, Superintendent

With a surplus of enthusiasm, outgoing Superintendent Charlie Crawford passes the Whistle of Office to incoming Super, Peter Youngblood.

Continued on Page 6

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 3

PIEDMONT DIVISION

TIMETABLE VOLUME 14, NUMBER 9

The TIMETABLE is published quarterly by the

Piedmont Division of the National Model

Railroad Association for the enjoyment for Members and Friends.

STAFF

Doug Alexander Editor Bob Wood Associate Editor James Bando Photographer

CONTRIBUTORS

Tom Gordon Howard Goodwin

Mike Deaton Joe Gelmini

Christopher White Peter Youngblood, MMR

PRINTED BY

John & Betsy Kelly’s

The UPS Store 1750 Powder Springs Rd, Suite 190

Marietta, GA 30064-4850

770-514-7299

store2280@theupsstore.com

January Issue Deadline: Tuesday, November 19,

2013 For updates between issues, see

the Division’s Web Log at: http://piedmont-div-

timetable.blogspot.com/

To receive the Timetable

by email, go to: http://www.piedmont-div.org/

and click on “Timetable”

Remembering Bob McIntyre By Christopher White [Robert Lee “Bob” McIntyre passed from this life on October 7, 2013. A testament to his great work for Model Railroading and this Division is that one of the eulogists at his Homecoming Service at Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church on October 10th was our own Chris White, who spoke to Bob’s love of trains and his fellow modelers. What follows is a slightly abridged version of Chris’ heartfelt sentiments. — Editor]

A s I am sure you all know, there were three major passions in Bob McIn-tyre’s life – his wife and his family, his church and his love of God, and

model railroading. And of course, prior to his illness, he was an avid run-ner, cyclist, and fly fisherman. I am here today to talk about Bobby on be-half of his many model railroad friends. I asked myself what are the main things I will remember about Bobby. First and foremost, he was so very positive in everything he did - whether it was selling water treatment systems, convincing others of his dreams and his ambitions, and in more recent years, his fight with his illness. He was never critical, and was never negative. Bob did not have one mean bone in his body. He never met a stranger. He showed great fortitude during his illness never letting his difficulties affect his cheerfulness or separate him from his friends.

Bobby was a native of Pennsylvania, and therefore he quite naturally decided to model the railroad of his boyhood years – which he called the Susquehanna Valley and South Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Bobby joined the Piedmont Division in the late 1990’s and immediately became a very involved member. Because of his cha-risma and drive, he was soon elected to one of the senior officer positions - the Director of Personnel, whose major re-sponsibility was to recruit new members to the NMRA and the Piedmont Division. I was attending a Train Show in Atlanta in 2000

and Bob was at the membership booth encouraging the Show attendees to join up. Bob was a born salesman and an excellent one – working with General Electric until his early retirement. Yes, Bob signed me up and we immediately became great friends. He very soon asked me to his house where he and three others were just starting to build his model railroad. He had started this operating group in early 2000 and called it the Chattahoochee Express. This group has now grown to ten members and we all meet every Thursday to either construct or operate on one another’s model railroad. Bob has continued to actively lead this group for over 13 years, culminating with the relatively recent construction of his new railroad in Connie’s and his new house. (I am sure that you are all aware, as if Bob did not have enough problems,

Continued on Page 5

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 4

The Piedmont Division presented the fall session of our ever-popular, full-day Railroading Merit Badge clinic program for Boy Scouts on Saturday, October 5, 2013. The event was hosted by our partners at the Southeast-ern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA. With 24 enthusias-tic Scouts attending and completing their work on all of the Railroading Merit Badge requirements, the Division has reached a new milestone, with 750 merit badges earned through our pro-grams to date. Scouts come from BSA Councils from all over North Georgia and be-yond to participate in our popular program, and this one had two Scouts vis-iting all the way from Weaverville, NC. One of the other attending Scouts had already earned the rank of Eagle Scout, but was continuing to work on additional merit badges that were of interest to him. In addition to the 24 Scouts, 15 adult Scouters came along with boys. We also had a special out-of-town guest on hand to observe and learn from our successful program. Kevin Kohler came all the way from Newark, DE, on a business trip, and made arrangements to come see how we do it right, with hopes of starting a similar program back home. Our program coordinator John Stevens reports that “Kevin was impressed with the great job that the counselors did and hopes he can apply some of his new found knowledge when he gets home.” As always, we had a capable staff of ten volunteer merit badge counselors manning various “stations” for the different merit badge requirements. These stations cover a wide range of prototype railroading topics; eve-rything from how a locomotive works to how to plan a rail journey on Amtrak. Modeling subjects range from learning about the different modeling scales to oper-ating a model train while solving a rail car switching puzzle.

Cameron Bryars joined us for his first program at our Duluth location. Cameron has previously worked with our merit badge clinics over in Kennesaw, GA. It was planned that he would be on hand only as an observer, but needing one more counselor to help man the model switching layouts, he was pressed into service to make our program staff complete. Thanks to Cameron and all of the Division members who

served as counselors for the day. The Piedmont Division currently presents a Rail-roading Merit Badge clinic four times a year, alternating locations between the S.R.M. in Duluth, and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw. John Stevens coordinates the Duluth program (John is also the NMRA’s national coordi-nator for its Boy Scout program), and Bill Ello is the coordinator for our program in Kennesaw. Both of these men are

also active Scout leaders themselves, as are many of our volunteer counselors. If you would like to help out with this great pro-gram, or for information about future clinics, please contact John Stevens via email at scouts@piedmont-div.org. And remember our motto: “It’s a great day for Scouting (and Railroading, too)!”

Rick Coble

Stephen Leydon and Perry Lamb make a quick repair to a switching module at the Spring BSA Merit Badge Clinic.

Railroading Merit Badge Program Rolls on for Scouts

By Mike Deaton Railroading Merit Badge Counselor

March 15th and 16th, 2014

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 5

Remembering Bob Continued from Page 2

that their previous house burnt to the ground in 2009, including Bobby’s almost complete first railroad.) This new railroad was specifically designed to allow him to move around and work on his railroad from his wheelchair. The members of the Chattahoochee Ex-press are now very close friends and we hardly ever miss our Thursday sessions. Bob founded the group and was fully instrumental in its growth and its success for more than 13 years. Following his two terms as Director of Personnel with the Piedmont Division, Bobby ran for the leading Division position – known as Superintendent. In this position, he showed considerable leadership and foresight, growing the Division to where we now have more than 100 members attending our Tuesday monthly meetings. He also initiated the Piedmont Pilgrimage where Pied-mont Division members open their railroads to the public during the month of November. This started with 12 layouts open in 2002 and has grown to more than 80 this year. Because of the success of Bob’s own oper-ating group, he strongly encour-aged other groups to start up, and there are now operating groups in all areas of metro Atlanta . Bob has been an enthusiastic supporter of the NMRA’s Achievement Program for many years and when he completed his term as Superintendent he was appointed to oversee this Achievement Program. In his usual style of setting tough but realistic objectives he challenged members of the Division to become Master Model Railroaders. Bob himself was very close to completing all elements of the Program. During Bob’s tenure as chairman, he encouraged and support-ed six Division members to achieve their MMRs, which in itself is an outstanding contribution. The Piedmont Division hosted the National Conven-tion in Atlanta in July this year. With Bob as Convention

Chairman, he selected a Convention Committee that worked extremely hard, meeting at least monthly for more than 3 years to organize this huge event. 1,200 NMRA members from throughout the world attended this convention – and by all accounts was described as one of the best conventions ever. Bob was again very instrumental in providing direction and leadership for this highly successful convention. What I have just described about Bob’s achieve-

ments during the last 12-13 years are even more remarkable because during the majority of this period he has been fighting a rare blood dis-ease that he vowed would not im-pact his achievements and goals. He has undergone a myriad of treatments and visited hospitals and specialists all over the country in his fight to live. On a personal note, I have had a couple of relatively minor bouts with cancer. But when I would get down and depressed I would always think of Bobby. I would tell myself if Bobby can stay so positive with his major problems, then I surely could remain positive. He was and continues to be my inspiration.

I am very aware that his faith in God was a major contributing fac-tor. However, I am convinced that Bobby had something very special in his internal make-up. It is very difficult to describe. It was this very strong positive belief that he could and would beat this disease and this conviction was so intense

that you could actually see it having a positive impact on his progress. During the last couple of years, Bobby and I spent quite a lot of time together driving to Marietta to attend monthly Convention Committee meetings. He was lim-ited to a wheelchair and his van that took him every-where and I went with him. We would stop at McDon-alds and he would zoom in and out in his wheelchair with remarkable efficiency. I would offer to assist, but he was adamant that he wanted to do everything him-self – which he did very well. He would always talk about the future – when he was going to walk again – when he was going to cycle again – he was always so

Bob’s wife of 22 years, Connie, graciously opened her house during the Piedmont Pilgrimage in November. Here she hold the plaque that Bob received recognizing his work as Chairman of the 2013 Peachtree Express convention. Connie says that Bob was the more proud of this honor than any other he received.

Continued on Page 7

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 6

Look Yonder Comin’ Dept.

The Model Train

Show Returns !

Joe Gelmini Train Show Chairman

After a one-year hiatus (so that we didn’t compete with the 2013 Na-tional Train Show) The Model Train Show, sponsored by the Piedmont Division, returns to Cobb Galleria in 2014. Dates for the show are March 15-16, with set-up on March 14 We’ll be looking for about 60 Piedmont Division volunteers to once again help make this show successful and enjoyable for all. So mark the dates! Sign-up sheets will be available at our monthly division meetings beginning in January.

Division Point Continued from Page 2

new year brings to our division such changes. The column’s intent is my quarterly opportunity to share with you what goes in the Piedmont Divi-sion. As members, you’re always welcome to let me know your likes, dislikes or suggestions to improve what all we do. Your comments will be shared at BoD meetings. Be fore-warned that once your suggestions are determined by consensus to have merit and be the greatest thing since DCC, you might find yourself “voluntold” to form and chair a committee to bring it to fruition. Yes, I do speak from experience! To all new members and first time Timetable readers, welcome aboard, and to all our members and friends, you can look forward to another great year at NMRA’s Piedmont Division!

Piedmonters make Model Rail Magic

By Howard “HOrn” Goodwin

Piedmont Division members (L-to-R) Mark Thomann; Walt Liles; I.D. Jackson; Howard “HOrn”

Goodwin; Bill Zawacki, MMR; and Bob Wood were among the members of the North Atlanta Rail

Barons operating group who built the layout at Home Depot in Woodstock, GA.

Photo by Wellstar Foundation’s Dawn McEachern

Early in 2013, the NMRA came up with an idea to advance the cause of model railroading during National Model Railroad Month in November. The plan was to have groups across the country build 4’ X 4’ HO layouts accord-ing to a plan outlined in its “Build a Memory” project book. For some logis-tical reasons, NMRA could not initiate the plan as hoped and were forced to postpone the project until 2014 when they get all the “bugs” worked out. The 100% NMRA North Atlanta Rail Barons operating group had been contacted to participate in the program, but when it became apparent that it was not getting off the ground nationally, the Barons decided to take on the project anyway. Calling theirs “Model Railroad Magic”, in 3 ½ weeks completed the project and displayed it at the Home Depot store in Wood-stock. The project is designed to show how easy it is to build a model railroad while telling the story of the hobby and promoting it. The Barons were suc-cessful in soliciting materials for the project from a number of national manufacturers and Home Depot donated all the base materials and allowed us to participate in their “Children’s Workshop” held every month in the Woodstock store. Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA-TV covered the event and ran a story on the morning news not once but twice on Sunday, December 15th. The Barons were excited about the great coverage they received from Fox and were particularly pleased that that the station thought enough about the effort to show it twice. The completed layout has been donated to the Wellstar Foundation

Continued on Page 7

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 7

Remembering Bob Continued from Page 5

absolutely positive this was going to happen. One conversation I remember vividly. He had begun to have trou-bles with his legs and realized he was losing much of his muscular strength. So he decided to go to a physical therapist to work on build-ing up his leg muscles. He told me about their first session. The thera-pist was apparently somewhat neg-ative about the chances of success. Bobby told me that he really laid into that therapist. He told him that it was difficult enough for Bobby to remain positive about his chances; he did not need negative input from the therapist. He emphatically told him that he should be just as posi-tive as Bobby. I remember recalling again the incredible inner strength and positive will power that Bobby had. I know that up until now I have inferred that Bobby did this all by himself. But he had another huge inspiration – his wife Connie – his constant support and the major factor in Bobby’s incredible desire to get better. I want to finish with part of a poem that I have plagiarized and

Children’s Cancer Center in Atlanta and will also be displayed at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw on January 25th. Plans are underway to build a second layout which will eventually be donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta when com-plete.

modified because it reminds me so much of Bobby: “A lonesome train on a lonesome track

Seven coaches painted black

He knew how hard the fight would be

And he liked the idea of being free.

His heart was as taut as a railroad tie,

He was made of stuff that doesn’t die.

He was made of hopes.

He was made of fears,

He was made to last a million years.”

Bobby, we all love you and will miss you so very much. We will never forget you. I know that where you are now you can run along the beach for as long as that great heart of yours desires. Model Railroading is indeed the World’s Greatest Hobby be-cause of people like Bob McIntyre. Note: I wish to thank my wife, Gill, fellow Chattahoochee Express member Joe Sullivan, and incumbent Superinten-dent Peter Youngblood for their invalu-able assistance in the preparation of this eulogy.

In addition to the conscientious and hard work of the Rail Barons volunteers, the Piedmont Division wants to recognize and thank the following for their support in mak-ing the magic real: Athearn Trains, Bachmann Trains, Blue Ox Trains, Scenic Express, Signarama, Train-master Models, Home Depot and Woodland Scenics. Thanks to everyone who helped in creating Model Railroad Magic!

A Note Of Thanks

To the Editor: First of all Dottie & I want to thank all those responsible for nom-inating and rewarding us the Divi-sion’s 2013 Brakeman Award For Outstanding Service. Quite frankly we can name a number of others that are also deserving of such an award. Yes it may be true that there were times when we may have devoted our time and efforts; still there are many others within our division that do the same. It is for that reason we are so proud to be part of a group of indi-viduals that are so dedicated. I personally am thankful for the privilege of sharing this award with my partner recipient who is also, as you all know, my partner in life.

Sincerely, Joe Maiuro [The Timetable is happy to run Letters from Members on most any subject. As with all submissions, the Editor reserves the right to edit as needed, if needed. Send your letters for the Timetable via email at timetable@piedmont-div.org.]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Making Magic Continued from Page 6

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 8

Signals – Should You? I was going to do this column later, but after a great operations session on my layout a while back, I figured the time was right. This is about signaling – and should you bite the bullet. A few weeks after the convention, the Intown Operator’s Group had an infor-mal operating session (no switch lists or real assignments) on my layout. Granted my layout isn’t huge, but we set up only one basic rule: “Obey the Signals”. There was a bit of modification within yard limits due to some yet to be in-stalled masts, but otherwise that was the rule. We simultaneously ran 2 passenger and 2 freight trains in various directions, and the operators had to pay attention to those little lights beside the track (I let the computer do most of the dispatch-ing). It was not only fun, but allowed for a bit more informal discussion and gen-eral having of a good time. I’ve done several columns about detection and block-ing – and will do a clinic next summer on basic signaling. Signaling requires planning and preparation, so, if you want to be ready to dive in and put some of these things on your layout, here are some ideas on what you can do now to get started: Block the layout These are detection blocks that tell where a train is. There is not near enough room here to cover how the blocks should be determined – but there is some good information in Bruce Chubb’s ‘Signaling

Made Easy’ in the March 2004 issue of Model Railroader magazine (MR). Please be aware that blocking for Cen-tralized Traffic Control (CTC) is somewhat different from the blocking needed by Automatic Block Signals (ABS) or Automatic Permissive Block (APB) signaling systems. The basic difference is that with CTC, each turnout on the main should generally be its own block (or OS—“On sheet”—in CTC lingo.) You can bend this a little bit since layouts are seriously smaller in scale from the proto-type. Install occupancy resistors Basically, make sure each car can be detected. Each car you ask? Yes, if you leave a car on the main, you want it detected before the ex-press passes through at full speed! I can attest to the necessity of doing each freight car, and now I also do

each truck if the car is more than 60 scale feet long. Make sure you can install occupancy detectors somewhere. Mine are central-ized at power district boards, but you can put them anywhere needed. Determine your technology The technol-ogy you use for signaling can vary. I use C/MRI (Computer/Model Railroad Inter-face), but a number of manufacturers have their own systems that work well. Read all the instructions on how this should be handled with your chosen technology. Actually, it’s best to read the instructions before purchase to make sure what you buy will meet your needs.

Start buying signals They aren’t cheap, and some can be scratch built or constructed from kits. See what types your prototype used, and copy that. I waited until signal masts went on sale, and bought one or two at a time. This lasted about 3 or 4 years, until I collected enough to handle the layout. You say you don’t have or want signals? OK, maybe put them on a part of your layout, or, for that matter, enjoy someone else’s layout that does. Just be forewarned: functional signals are very addictive!

Join us at Facebook/Piedmont Division, NMRA

and see what’s new before it’s new!

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 9

Four Members Earn Golden

Spike AP Certificates Under the leadership of our late AP Program Chairman Bob McIntyre, the Piedmont Division has become well-known for promoting the NMRA Achievement Pro-gram. With Bob’s passing, Randal Watson has taken the helm of the program, and he hit the ground run-ning at the December Division meeting by presenting four members with their Golden Spike Awards. Randall is pictured here handing the Certificates to (top) Brian Chapman, (center) Paul Schenk, (bottom left) John Travis and (bottom right) Bill Ello. The Golden Spike is the easiest, and for many, the first AP award that they earn. It is designed to demon-strate familiarity with different areas of the hobby, rather than expertise in a particular area. Contrary to legend, the Golden Spike is not ward-ed for completion of a layout; it’s actually much sim-pler than that. To earn a Golden Spike, you must “display” six (6) pieces of rolling stock; construct a minimum of eight (8) square feet of layout; build five (5) structures and properly install and ballast three (3) types of trackage. Why not take a look at the requirements (they are available on the NMRA web site) — you may find that you have met most, if not all, of them already. Randall is looking forward to presenting each member with their Golden Spike Award soon!

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 10

HOBBY SHOPS IN THE PIEDMONT

Italics indicates a NMRA member shop ___________________________________________________________________________

American Hobby Supply 349 North Cobb Pkwy N Marietta, GA 30062 678-290-5305

B & B Sales 2332 Henry Clower Blvd Snellville, GA 30078 770-972-2328

Blue Ox Trains 425 Market Place Roswell, GA 30075 404-312-6467

Buford Junction 359 W Shadburn Ave Buford,GA 30518 678-772-7949

Free Time Hobbies 4167 East First Street Blue Ridge, GA 30513 706-946-1120

HobbyTown - Cumming 911 Market Place Blvd Cumming, GA 30041 770-651-8170

HobbyTown - Duluth 3360 Satellite Blvd Duluth, GA 30096 770-418-0850

HobbyTown - Kennesaw 800 Earnest Barrett Pkwy, NW Kennesaw, GA 30144 770-426-8800

Legacy Station 4153 Lawrenceville Hwy Lilburn, GA 30047 Toll Free 800-964-8724 Phone 770-339-7780

Riverdale Station 6632 Georgia Hwy 85 Riverdale Plaza Riverdale, GA 30274 Phone 770-991-6085

Trainmaster Models 601 East Main Street Buford, GA 30518 678-546-3600 _______________________________

ELSEWHERE IN GEORGIA

Bull Street Station 307 Kentucky Ave Savannah, GA Toll Free 800-611-8521 Phone 912-236-4344

LINESIDE DETAILS A lot of realism can be added to our model railroads with simple and inexpensive one-evening projects. Many are so common to the prototype they’re easily overlooked by us as modelers, a case of “hiding in plain sight.” Let’s look at some of them and how they can be modeled. Whistle Posts

The whistle post is one of the best known of all railroad signs. Although some designs are railroad and era specific, the most common is a post mount-ed square or rectangular panel

with a black W on a white or aluminum field. About 7 – 8 ft. tall, these are located lineside on the engineer’s side of the track approximately 10 ft. from the nearest rail and well ahead of a grade crossing or sta-tion. If approaching a station, some posts will also display a black S on a square panel mounted on end in a diamond shape. Mod-eling whistle posts from strip styrene stock and alphabet decals to match your rail-road’s prototype is a cinch and you can make a bunch at a time. You’ll also find several commercially manufactured types in different scales. Grade Crossing Signs What better known railroad sign than the simple grade crossing “crossbuck” to warn vehicles to “look and listen” before cross-ing the tracks? This traditional rural sign is one we all know as two white boards (or blades) lettered RAIL ROAD CROSSING in black mounted at a 90 degree angle to one

Continued on Page 12

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 11

ME M B E R S H O N O R E D F O R D E D I C AT I O N T O P I E D M O N T D I V I S I O N Since 2006 it has been the custom at the Division’s Annual Christmas Party to recognize exceptional volunteers who go “above and beyond” in their commitment to the success of the Piedmont Division. Three awards are presented to members who have distinguished themselves over the past year. The Brakeman award recognizes members relatively new to the Division who have made significant contributions. The Conductor award is for those having made on-going contributions for several years. The Engi-neer is the Division’s top award. It is given to recognize a member who has made lifetime contributions to the Division, the Region and the NMRA. Pictured from top left, Awards Chairman Joe Gelmini presents the 2013 Brakeman Award to Joe and Dottie Maiuro; Perry Lamb and David Gelmini (top right) were then recognized for their efforts on behalf of the Division with Conductor Awards; in the bottom right Rick Coble is honored with the Engineer Award for his distinctive service to the Division in roles too numerous to list. But we didn’t finish there! In a surprise move, Superintendent Charlie Crawford presented Joe Gelmini with an Engineer Award for his dedication to the Division and the hobby! Congratulations to all our honorees! Photos by James Bando

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 12

Lineside Details Continued from Page 10

another either side of a white post to form a “cross.” Another post mounted panel will indicate how many tracks are to be crossed if more than one. Grade crossing signs are located from 14 – 20 ft. from the nearest rail. You can buy model crossbucks by several manufacturers, but

your favorite prototype may have variants based on your railroad’s safe-ty practices, state laws or city ordinanc-

es. For example on the Santa Fe, a Kansas state law require the words “Look Out For The Cars” be written vertically on the crossbuck post. Depending on your layout’s geographic area, you might dis-cover your plain vanilla crossbuck needs additional signage if mod-eled prototypically. Speed Signs Speed signs may indicate speed limits using numbers or colors to signify a rate of travel (or stop) as dictated by the railroad’s oper-ating rules. Speed restriction signs are used before bridges, sharp curves, intricate trackwork, junctions, and communities that restrict train speeds. These signs are typically located about 2,500 feet ahead of the point of restriction (2 feet is plen-ty in HO scale) and placed 7’-6” from the nearest rail, facing the direction of traffic for which the restriction is intended.

Fall Model Contest Winners Recognized

Alan Mole took 2nd Place in On-Line Structures David Rever won1st Place and a Merit Awards in Off-Line Structures

AP Chair Randall Watson congratulates How-ard Goodwin on his1st Place in Non-Revenue

Randall beams as Ovidiu Trifanescu shows off his1st Place & Merit Awards in the Freight Cars contest.

Regis Brooks displays his 3rd Place Award in the On Line Structures contest.

Tom Gordon smiles for his 2nd Place Award in the Freight Cars contest. Continued on Page 12

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 13

Lineside Details Continued from Page 12

Prototypically they come in a variety of panel and post styles, so it’s best tocheck which kind is used by the railroad you model. When signs show two pairs of numbers, the higher numbered pair applies only to passenger trains. Mileposts

Mileposts are key markers very im-portant to everyday railroad operation and safe-ty. Slow orders and special

track conditions are given train crews using mile-post locations via verbal or written orders. They’re also used by railroad maintenance and signal departments for record-ing the location of the railroad’s bridges, signals and structures. The most common way to count mile-age is to start with zero at a major

terminal and number consecutive-ly out from there. Another method indicates dis-tance to the next terminal. Branch lines connecting to a main line begin numbering at zero from that connection regardless of whatever the main line mileage is. Posts (markers) are generally placed on one side of the right-of-way, usu-ally the right side, leaving the zero mileage terminal and have identi-cal mile numbers on both sides so they can be read from either di-rection. The numbers are 5”- 6”, black on a white background, and are displayed either horizontally or vertically. Concrete or stone markers have traditionally been popular with eastern railroads, post or tele-phone pole mounted markers with those in the west. Milepost markers are positioned 7 – 10 ft. from the outside running rail and spaced at 1 mile intervals. In our constrained model distances, in-tervals of 3 ft. for N scale or 6 ft. for HO scale work reasonably well to create an acceptable illusion. State Line Markers My model railroad runs through

portions of three states. To visually mark the state lines, I followed pro-totype Santa Fe Railway’s practice. The markers, “monuments” for prototypical correctness, are five-sided, 6 ft. tall concrete posts

mounted on 3 ft. square, 6 inch thick concrete pads. Paint-ed white, lettering is black and the states crossed into

are displayed on two opposite sides of the post. Two other sides show the counties being entered, the fifth side remaining blank. The markers are placed facing the main line ap-proximately 10 ft. from the nearest track’s center line. So here we have just a few exam-ples of simple lineside details you can add to your model railroad to enhance its authenticity. I’m sure you’ll discover a few you hadn’t noticed before in photographs you can find in your own railroad library or online—you just have to look past the trains!

Saturday, February 15, 2014 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Hobbytown USA 800 Earnest Barrett Pkwy, NW Kennesaw, GA 30144 770-426-8800

New Member Orientation

If you joined the NMRA anytime in the past 12 months, please feel wel-come to attend and learn all about your local Piedmont Division, and the NMRA and all the great opportunities that are available! For additional info, contact Perry Lamb at: Perry_Lamb@mindspring.com

One of the great traditions of the Annual Division Christmas Party is the arrival of jolly ol’ Santa Fe Claus! Mr. Claus hosted a rail-themed Bingo contest and gave out prizes and candy canes, and many of us learned a thing or two about Rail-road history! Thanks, Santa Fe Claus! See you next year!

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 14

Around the Division

This elf, who looks a lot like our own David Gelmini, was spotted assisting Santa Fe Claus at the Annual ChristmaHannaKwanzmas Party in December

Photo by Walt Liles

Santa Fe Claus had a special gift for outgoing Piedmont Division Superin-tendent Charlie Crawford. Sadly, it was not the pony that Charlie has been asking for ever since he was three.

Photo by Walt Liles

MASTERS DEGREES Eight of the Division’s nine Master Model Railroaders gathered for a group shot during the November meeting . The only one missing was Charlie Brown, but your Editor found a picture of him and was able to Photoshop him in (left). This being Georgia, we think that Master Model Railroaders ought to wear green jackets just like they do in Augusta.

Photo by James Bando

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 15

Around the Division

Timetable staff photographer Gregg Williams has moved away to Tennessee, but came back for the December meeting/party to be with all his friends. Superintendent Charlie Crawford took the opportunity to present Gregg with a plaque thanking him for his service to the Division. And your Editor wants to thank Gregg for all his great work as our Photographer! We are all sorry to see him go.

Photo by James Bando

That the 2013 Piedmont Pilgrimage was a huge success was due in no small part due to the decade of work and vision put into it by its late Chairman Bob McIn-tyre. But we cannot for one moment take away the hard work that those members who so graciously open their layouts to the public. Here are some images of some of the 90-plus layouts that the public got a chance to see.

PIEDMONT PILGR-IMAGES

Brian Sandberg took these images of Brian Glock's HO scale Sugar Valley and Sweetwater Railroad. This 13’ x 25’ pike models Tennessee in the 1950s and is loaded with steam power.

This hogshead of tobacco (top) is being weighed on Dr. Revis Butler’s beautiful Live Oak, Perry & Gulf Rail-road. Below, a farmer tills his field of tobacco plants.

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 16

Around the Division PIEDMONT PILGR-IMAGES Continued from Page 15

Walt Liles caught the action on George Bloodworth’s HO scale H&K Railroad. George models Maryland, West Virginia & Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania and B&O railroads in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Here’s another vignette on Revis Butler’s pike. You can almost here the little girl yelling “G’wan you silly ol’ goose! Git!” Like the other photos of Revis’ layout, this was taken by your Editor with the camera in his iPhone3.

Deep in the hollers of W. Virginia on Mike Devaney's N-Scale Ashland, Huntington and Hinton Divisions of the C&O Railway, a lone freight station is keeping the railroad’s business moving in this photo by Andre Jackson. The fidelity that Mike has achieved in 1:120 scale is truly magnificent. If one didn’t know it was N-scale, the pictures would not give it away. The photo below, which we lifted wholesale from the Layout Design Special Interest Group web site, shows the signature piece of Mike’s pike, the uncom-pressed 1,550 foot-long bridge at Limeville, Ohio. The model bridge is almost ten feet long! For more about the bridge and Mike’s pike, check out the Win-ter 2011 edition of the SER’s “SouthErneR”. You’ll be glad you did!

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 17

Superintendent Peter Youngblood, MMR (2014) 770-966-1661 santaferailway@aol.com

Director of Operations Walt Liles (2015) 678-896-6311 wliles.crrman@gmail.com

Director of Finance Joe Sullivan (2015) 770-664-4725 jwsullivanjr@aol.com

Director of Administration Chris White (2014) 770-594-2618 chrisgwhite22@gmail.com

Director of Personnel Paul Rankin (2014) 770-849-9659 paul_r@mindspring.com

Board of Directors

Scott Chatfield (2014) 678-467-6480 blindog@mindspring.com

David Gelmini (2014) 770-707-5019 atcgel@bellsouth.net

Gary Jarabek (2014) 770-509-6941 gjarabek@bellsouth.net

Norman Lundin (2015) 770-251-8035 elkriver@numail.org

Alan Mole (2015) 770 813-1769 alanmole@bellsouth.net

Joe Nichols, Jr. MMR (2015) 404 257-1564 alpinerr@mindspring.com

Chuck Hoesch (2015) 828 837-9686 hoesch@brmemc.net

Superintendent Emeritus

Charlie Crawford

PIEDMONT DIVISION OFFICERS

Meeting Information

The Piedmont Division meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Elks Lodge located at 1775 Montreal Rd. in Tucker,

Georgia, and is open to everyone.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE for the 2nd Quarter edition of the

TIMETABLE: FEBRUARY 11, 2014

Send Articles & Photos to timetable@piedmont-div.org

PIEDMONT DIVISION TIMETABLE

JAN - MAR 2014 PAGE 18

PIEDMONT DIVISION COMMITTEE, PROGRAM & ACTIVITY CONTACTS

Achievement Program Randall Watson 770-831-5736 randallvwatson1@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Advertising & Promotion Gary Jarabek 770-509-6941 gjarabek@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Audio-Visual Production & Promotion Peter Youngblood, MMR 678-920-8818 santaferailway@aol.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Apparel Gary Jarabek 770-509-6941 gjarabek@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Auction Howard Goodwin 770-529-2103 horn69@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Boy Scout Clinics John Stevens (SERM) 770-632-0753 snevets4@bellsouth.net

Bill Ello (Kennesaw) 678-570-4449 wje4420@gmail.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Coffee Coordinator Dr. Revis Butler, Jr. 404-255-9578 revisb@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Good & Welfare Chuck & Mary Ann Hoesch 828-837-9686 hoesch@brmemc.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Library — Books Stephen Leydon 770-338-4966 sleydon1@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Library — Video David Gelmini 770-707-5019 atcgel@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Member Aid Dr. Joe Nichols, Sr., MMR 770-396-6447 deltarr@mindspring.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name Tags James Bando 123-456-7890 horailroader@comcast.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Operations Experience Milt Burge 678-344-7500 eecircus@aol.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Piedmont Pilgrimage Vacant

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Raffle Layout I.D. Jackson 770-926-4261 idj49@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Refreshments George Masak 770-945-6488 gmmasak@charter.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SERM Layout Bob Wheeler 770-887-0072 bohalwhe@bellsouth.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Special Projects Scott Chatfield 678-467-6480 blindog@mindspring.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TIMETABLE Doug Alexander 404-272-2986 timetable@piedmont-div.org

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Train Show Joe Gelmini, MMR 770-460-8873 papagel@comcast.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Volunteers Walt Liles 678-896-6311 wliles.crrman@gmail.com

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Webmaster Scott Povlot 770-569-4678 povlot@bellsouth.net

PIEDMONT DIVISION National model railroad association

1 ST QUA RTE R 2014 S CHED ULE Tuesday, January 14 Piedmont Division Meeting Elks Lodge 7 pm — 9:30 pm 1775 Montreal Rd Clinic: Ovidiu Trifanescu Tucker, GA “Model Railroading with your Smart Phone” Theme: Track Plans: Bring your layout track plan design Saturday, January 18 46th Annual “Golden Spike” Model Train Show North Atlanta Trade Centre http://www.gserr.com/shows/2014AtlantaJanFlyer.pdf 1700 Jeurgens Ct Norcross, GA 30093 Saturday, January 25 “Trains,Trains, Trains!” Southern Museum of Civil War Contact: Walt Liles or Paul Rankin and Locomotive History 2829 Cherokee St Kennesaw, GA 30144 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Saturday, 8 SER Board of Directors Meeting Greenville, SC. 10 am - 4 pm Tuesday, February 11 Piedmont Division Meeting Elks Lodge 7 pm — 9:30 pm 1775 Montreal Rd Clinic: Perry Lamb Tucker, GA “Modern Diesel Locomotives and Details” Theme: Modern Diesel Locomotives Saturday, February 15 New Member Orientation HobbyTown USA Contact: Perry Lamb 800 Earnest Barrett Pkwy, NW Kennesaw, GA 30144 Saturday, February 22 Boy Scout Merit Badge Clinic Southern Museum of Civil War Contact: Bill Ello and Locomotive History 2829 Cherokee St Kennesaw, GA 30144 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Tuesday, March 11 Piedmont Division Meeting Elks Lodge 7 pm — 9:30 pm 1775 Montreal Rd Clinic: Dr. Joe Nichols, SR, MMR Tucker, GA “Functions of a Steam Locomotive” Theme: Favorite Steam Locomotive Sat & Sun, March 15 & 16 The Train Show Cobb Galleria Contact: Joe or David Gelmini 2 Galleria Pkwy SE Cobb County, GA 30339 __________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: The Spring Division Model and Photo Contest has been moved to the April 8th meeting so as not to conflict with the Train Show __________________________________________________________________________________________