emerald coast garde lub emerald coast garden railway club · t garden r herford. temporary ength. 2...

P

Emerald

www.ecg

October -

Novembegratitude

Page

1 Nov

2 Pres

3 Milt

4 Stor

5 Stor

6 Bald

7 Snea

8 TailgVete

9 Even

10 Birth

11 MunStati

12 War

13 Rem

14 Rem

ECoast Garde

grc.com

- November

er brings ma.

C

vember Than

sident’s Mes

ton City Cou

rage Building

rage Building

dwin County

aky Gnomes

gate Swap Merans Day

nts, Health &

hdays and A

nson, Jay Coion

rehouse Gon

mote Uncoup

mote Uncoup

meen Railway C

2012

Noany things to

Contents

nks

sage, RR Br

uncil

g

g (continued

y Fair

s Pop Up

Meet, Oct Clu

& Welfare

Anniversaries

otton, Atmor

ne, Caboose N

plers

plers (continu

raldRa

Club

www.E

ovemo be thankful

ridge

d)

ub Meeting,

s, Tall Chair

e Williams

Notes

ued)

d Cailw

- 1 -

ECGRC.com

ber Thl for and, for

Fall bsummgreatland huFall aour gain a wcoverbountbount

NovemRemeboth tof the

To theheartycarefu

Novemchancowe s

Coasway

m

hanksrtunately, som

brings coolermer days. Thly enjoyed b

humid summalso brings darden railroa

whole forest red our railrotiful harvest.tiful meals su

mber also brembrance Datoday and me veterans, ou

e cooks for ty thanks. Toul and enjoy

mber bringsce to give maso much.

THANKS!

st G Clu

O

s me occasion

r temperatureose cooler tey many folk

mer this 2012own many, mad. Looks likof trees all c

oad tracks. F. Our tables urrounded b

rings Veteraay, for our st

many, many yur collective

the Thanksgo all folks tray Thanksgivi

s many pleasany thanks to

! VERY MUC

Garub

October - Nov

Vo

ns to express

es after the hemperatures

ks after a sco. And, of coumany leaveske more leavcame down aFall also brinoverflow wi

by our famili

ans Day, or tout hearted years past. Soe thanks.

giving dinneraveling, be sang dinners.

sant changeso so many th

UCH, THANKS

rdenWFRM

vember 2012

ol 2012-5

s our

hot are

orching urse, s onto ves than and ngs the ith the es.

veterans o to all

rs, our afe and

and the hat we

KS!

n M

2

E

w

TmsSytPhcCra Ifwup

WBCr

Emerald Coa

www.ecgrc.c

Presid

This fall lookmuseum andshows at DotStation Day)yet. Ed is lothe Jay CottoPensacola Inhome our newcompletion. Christmas wrunning scheand talk that

I know everyfrom the injuworking on tused to beingpainful than

We now havBridge that wCharlie scalerailroad brid

ast Garden R

com

dent’President

ks to be our d away. We than, Munso) and Baldwioking to set

on Festival onterstate Fairw storage shAnd, of coueekends are

eduled for boup to your f

yone wishes ury incurred the shed. Asg, the idlenesthe injury.

- - Ja

RR Bve a brand newas made byed the bridgege of about

Photo by Paul

Railway Club

’s Met: Jack Grill

busiest everhave already

on, Atmore (in County anup a couple

on Nov. 24. r, who needshed is well ourse, the twocoming up w

oth Saturdayfriends and n

Art a speedywhen he fel

s busy a persss is probabl

ack - -

ridgeew Jordan Loy Charlie Rete from a con350 feet in l

K. 20 Oct 201

b

ssage

r, both at the y supported Williams

nd it isn't oveof loops at As to the it? Here at n its way to

o Lionel with night

ys. Be sure neighbors.

y recovery l while son as he is ly more

e ot Garden Rtherford. temporary length.

2

- 2 -

e

er

R

Charliof detslendto repof themetalthen wAnd tbridgewish a CharliOrlanprimefeet lopair o And fecleaneonto tbeing The raon exfor a bimprereal ra

ie did an immtail facilitateer strips of epresent the de steel work.l pieces werwelded in plhere are a we. You are wa challenge.

ie had the fido Gomez, aer and then tong to nestlof five‐foot b

ear not, thoed up and rethe new big g three bridg

ailroad bridgxisting railroabridge of abessive heightailroad bridg

New bridge w

Octob

mense amoued by lots of expanded mdiagonal bra. Lots of little cut and salace by Charwhole lot of wwelcome to cDouble‐dog

nished bridgand then Chthe final silve into the oubridges.

se five‐foot epainted andbridge. So t

ge sections o

ge is prototyad bridges about 350’ in lt is within prges.

with steam train

ber - Novem

unt

metal acing e anded rlie. welded jointcount them, g Dare ya!!!

ge sand blasharlie paintedver. It is almuter ends of

bridges will d installed lethere will enon the upper

ypically scalecross the colength. So itroportions w

running through

WFRM

mber 2012

ts on this if you

ted by d it in ost 12 f the old

be eading d up r line.

ed based ountry, s with the

h it

Emerald Coast Garden Railway Club WFRM

www.ecgrc.com - 3 - October - November 2012

Traffic up on bridge and low in the yard ‐ Photo by Keith Rapley

The new railroad bridge was installed Saturday, 13 Oct 2012 after much work by Orlando and Charlie and some other folks (I am sure). They removed the old center bridge pier since the new bridge spanned the entire space that the two old five‐foot bridges and center pier occupied. Then they tweaked the old end bridge piers with their precision grinding wheels to carve up the concrete so the new bridge would easily fit into the piers and keep the track level with the approach trestles. Paul Karzcewski: “IT'S one FINE BRIDGE!!” Yes, the new bridge is very prominent. But it does grow on you. Charlie built the bridge so it handles all kinds of G scale train traffic. So bring your oversized equipment and give it a try. Those double‐stacked containers, high Evans boxcars, the USA trains car carriers, and those huge K‐27 locos. Look for the new bridge to be sporting some Christmas lights this coming Christmas season. It is just too, too tempting. Spot lights have been discussed to highlight the new bridge's superstructure. There

is an immense amount of fine detail that is not easily seen at first. Again, Thanks very much, Charlie and Orlando. A job well done.

Before being harvested and sold, an individual cranberry must bounce at least how many inches high to make sure they aren’t too ripe?

a) 1 inch b) 2 inches c) 3 inches d) 4 inches

Milton City Council

Wesley Meiss was sworn onto the Milton City Council, 9 Oct 2012. This is Wesley's very first elected governmental office.

Wesley is the youngest city council member ever, which has members now of age 59 to 82

Wesley was past president of the Santa Rosa County Historical Society and is a frequent face at the RR Museum. On several occasions, Wesley was running the riding mower to battle down the high grass on the empty lots north of the boxcar‐flatcar‐caboose track and across Henry Street.

Wesley along with Bob Cole gives the RR

Museum two friendly faces in Milton City Council

and Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners.


www.ECGRC.com ‐4‐ October – November 2012

Storage Building Much, much progress has been made with the new

Storage Building at the Jordan Lot. It has not been as

quick and simple as some expected.

In the Beginning, there was a slab ‐ cleaned up by Ian Sinclair

And trusses were at the ready

Saturday, 27 Oct 2012, was the start of final

construction with many folks coming together to get

the walls up and the trusses up on top.

The initial construction crew included Art Tuttle,

Orlando Gomez, Tom Walkup, Frank Paine, Bob Cope,

Andy Sloan, Bill Carrington, Mike Stokes, Tom

Augustine, Keith Rapley, and Jack Grill. There may have

been others helping out (besides the sidewalk

supervisors) not included here in this crew list. If you

are not included, it was not a deliberate slight. Busy!

Stud walls up during construction ‐ Photo Mike Stokes

Then there was a building started

By the end of that first day of construction, the walls

were up, sheathing in place, and trusses hauled over,

lifted up and secured in place on top of the new Storage

Building. The new Storage Building was taking shape.

And a nice shape it is!!!

Later in the week, Tuesday, 30 Oct, George Wilson and

Art were working on the roof panels and outlookers. In

the process, Art was up on a ladder working on the

under eave outlookers and had a misstep or reached a

bit too far.

Art took a bad tumble and fractured or cracked his

pelvis. Painful but he did not require any surgery or

pins. Fortunately, Art fell only about 6 to 7 feet and not



from the top of the building. And Art did not land on

any stumps on the ground, but he did land on his tool

belt. Still a painful fall.

Ryan Sanborn of Sanborn Construction came later with

a small crew to finish the roof decking and got the

tarpaper tacked on the top. They also got some of the

plastic building wrap put up in place.

Decked, wrapped and ready for shingles

Then, a crew of Museum folks tackled the shingles for

the roof on Saturday, 3 Nov. After a long day, we got it

finished. Ever present in our minds was not to reach

one nail too far. Roofing crew included Orlando Gomez,

Mike Stokes, Ed Dice, Frank Paine, Mike Moore, Paul

Weston, Bill Carrington, George Wilson. Not counting

the sidewalk supervisors, if someone got missed our

apologies.

New red roof on Storage Building

Finally, on Monday, 5 Nov, George Wilson and Tom

Augustine with a little help from Ed got the building

wrap finished. It was like a jigsaw puzzle fitting the

plastic pieces so it would cover the building properly. In

the end, the Storage Building was completely wrapped.

Then they put the outside door in, shimmed and locked

up. Finally, all dried in and ready for the rain.!!!!

George Wilson with Storage Building all dried‐in

On Saturday, 10 Nov, Mike Moore adjusted the new

door and its shims so it closed easily without any

dragging and plumbed up so the door seals nicely all

around. Thanks, Mike Moore, no light shows around the

new door now and it closes easily and locks just great.

What is next you ask?

Well, we are glad you

asked. Lots more work to

do. The forest green metal

siding was installed 17

Nov, just like on the Train

Shed at the Jordan Lot.

Orlando was busy hanging

the metal panels and not running trains even while

other folks ran their trains. Next up, the milled 2x4 mid‐

wall board. Next the hardy board or milled board siding

like on the top half of the Train Shed. After all of that

work is done with the outside, the electrician Ron

Armstrong will get an electric supply line, circuit breaker

box and 8‐foot ceiling light fixture installed. Then some

painting will need to be done. Final stages inside will be

getting the electrical outlets installed and wired

followed by the inside walls. Then lastly, with the inside

walls up, install shelving for all of the G Club materials

stored in the Third Railcar. That includes track, tubs,

rugs, dioramas and buildings and such. Lots of things.



Answer: D

Baldwin County Fair A new event for the club is the Baldwin County Fair in

late September. The Baldwin County Fair has been

running for 61 years. So this was their 62nd Fair. This

year's fair ran from 25‐29 September 2012. The

Baldwin County Fair is very much like the Santa Rosa

County Fair and not quite like the Pensacola Interstate

Fair. This is another family‐oriented fun fair.

Panoramic view ‐ photo by Paul Weston

Ed Dice, Paul Weston and Tom Walkup set down a total

of 12 tracks, for a busy 700’ 1.5” of track with at one

point 13 trains running all at one time.

Lots of finger pointing at the trains

Favorite Trains voting was initiated. Little ballots and pencils so folks can write down their favorite train. A total of 290 votes/comments were collected during the show. While Paul, Tom and Ed estimated 870 visitors (felt like more than that) based on 33% voting participation estimate. However, later at Atmore Williams Station Day show, the favorite train participation was only 4.6%. Thus, it may be that the

Baldwin County Fair visitors to the train layout were more like 6,300 people which is more in line with what the fair managers were extolling as the attendance numbers to expect. While I do not know the final attendance figures, I did get a clear idea that the fair had a great turnout of folks to the Fair and they were very happy.

Paul's cartoon train got lots of attention, so did Ed's pumpkin train

The favorite train voting was interesting to see what

trains folks liked, it was most important to use as a

barometer of visitors. Something to keep statistics on in

the future shows. Maybe some time we will have a

head counter able to count everyone visiting the show

layout. Difficult to count heads while also watching

trains and people and answering questions, too.

Paul's cartoon train derailment fouling three tracks ‐ tsk, tsk, tsk

Fair arrangements were great and accommodating.

Being inside with the air‐conditioning was great and



sure helped speed set‐up work along very well. Parking

was very close just outside the building. The building is

the Baldwin County Civic Center. It was built after

Hurricane Ivan stomped over our countryside back in

2004. This was built to be the hurricane storm shelter

for the entire Baldwin County. It is rated for a category

five hurricane and has lots of security features added by

FEMA guidance and lessons learned. The building

generator is HUGE!!! Can run a whole lot of trains!

Fair food was good, albeit pricey. Typical for fair food.

Paul and Ed found the shrimp basket to be tasty and

just a little spicy.

Cupcake cafe inside the auditorium ‐ lots of frosting on cupcakes

Something different at the fair was a huge antique

tractor exhibit, including one‐cylinder 25 HP “Titan”

tractor – plowed the fields, then powered a sawmill.

About 80 different antique tractors and farm

equipment. And there was an operating gasoline

powered washing machine, too. Paul got to see it

operate.

Plus a nifty blacksmith and coppersmith working their

wares and skills. They sure made working with metal

look so easy.

Midway with just a few rides in place, during set up

Saturday rain closed the midway early and resulted in

the carnival rides and trucks packing up very early and

out on the road Saturday evening. Trucks loaded with

many different rides departed the fairgrounds area for

other shows all during the afternoon and evening, and

likely on into the night. Most were gone by morning the

next day, Sunday.

Sneaky Gnomes Pop Up

Gnomes at the Baldwin County Fair

Well, those sneaky Gnomes popped up again. Not at the

Jordan Lot Garden Railroad this time. The Gnomeville

village magically appeared at the Baldwin County Fair.

They showed off their little village to the fair folks.

Gnomeville at the fair

Keep your eyes sharp for their next appearance. They

just might bring you some good luck.

Q: What was the turkey suspected of?

A: Fowl play

The cupcakes were works of art

with almost more frosting than

cake. And what wonderful frosting,

including a mint flavor!! MMMMM!



Tailgate Swap Meet The Fall Old Fashioned Tailgate Swap Meet was held Saturday, 20 October 2012. And it started early at about 6:30 AM with Lorene and Bob Fasnacht setting up on the inside Baggage Cart.

Swap Meet Oct 2011 was a busy, busy place

Had sellers arriving and setting up all morning. The end

result: sellers 31. This is the most sellers ever at one of

the Old Fashioned Tailgate Swap Meets. We ran out of

space in the Museum Courtyard for vehicles by 10 AM

because of some non‐seller vehicles parking

inappropriately. At the end, most of the sellers seemed

very happy with their sales. No clear idea of how many

folks visited browsing the seller tables and buying. A

couple from Baton Rouge get the prize for most distant

attendee. Things pretty well wrapped up a little after

Noon.

Beautiful weather blessed the swap meet. The morning

chill gave way to sunny warmth. Could not have asked

for a better day with better weather. Fantastic!!!

Due to the record turnout of sellers and use of space,

we may have to take different measures for the next

swap meet in April 2013.

The Diner Cafe had coffee (set up by

Art) and donuts, 2 doz., all eaten up,

money for that made (and I did not get

even one donut), and still got $5 for

Museum coffee. So that was a success.

Donuts all gone. Coffee all gone by late

morning.

CSX sent four large trains by

on the mainline for all of the

swap meet folks. And with

everything, there was a rush

of humanity for the tracks. Thanks, CSX. Now, can we

talk about a loco on static display at the siding?????

October Club Meeting The October Club meeting was originally rescheduled for 3 PM, so that most club members could attend Dan Hayden's Open House for his HO layout. However, President Jack Grill at the behest of many members decided to go ahead and hold the October Club meeting about 12:45 PM instead of the planned 3 PM. Any inconvenience to Club members was apologized for by Jack. Most folks present were about to leave for the day and would not have been available for a 3 PM meeting. And no one seemed to have gone to Dan Hayden's open house anyway. So, Jack decided sooner was better than later.

At the meeting, we did get a new member to join. His

name is Rodney Rich. Rodney is from Panama City. Bob

Cope had been working on him to join up for a while.

Now we have three members in the Panama City area ‐

Bob Cope, Mike Stokes and now Rodney Rich.

Veterans Day

There was a small group of folks at the Jordan Lot for

the 12 November 2012 Veterans Day gathering. Ian and

Barb Sinclair, Bill Carrington and Ed Dice met to run

some trains. The weather was great but threatening.

Rain was predicted but did not show up at the Jordan

Lot during the morning or Noon times.

Ed ran 19 RoadRailers around on loop #1 for a while. Bill

put up a small steam loco that he recently bought from

Fayne over on Airport Rd, Milton. It sounded great.

Ed and the Sinclairs went off to lunch, intending to get a

free lunch at Roadhouse Grill. But the large groups

standing outside clearly indicated a long wait for any

sort of table. So we headed on down the road to

Mama's and had a good meal there.



Calendar Events 13‐14 Oct ‐ Munson Heritage Festival Logging heritage events with G scale RR POC: Ed Dice 20 Oct ‐ Tailgate Swap Meet Tailgate Swap Meet starting early. POC: Ed Dice 20 Oct ‐RR Museum Annual Meeting Annual RR Museum membership meeting 20 Oct ‐ Club meeting Monthly meeting at 3 PM. POC: Jack Grill 18‐28 Oct ‐ Pensacola Interstate Fair Annual Pensacola fair 27 Oct ‐ Atmore Williams Station Day Atmore, AL ‐ Williams Station Day train show 4 Nov ‐ Daylight Savings Time ends 17 Nov ‐ Club meeting Monthly meeting at Noon in Dining Car 22 Nov ‐ Thanksgiving 24 Nov ‐ Jay Cotton Festival Jay Cotton Festival and Christmas Parade, Jay FL POC: Ed Dice 1‐2 Dec ‐ St Anne's Christmas Market Christmas arts and crafts market POC: Ed Dice 7‐8 Dec ‐ Lionel Christmas Fri 10am‐3pm; Sat 10am‐8pm 14‐15 Dec ‐ Lionel Christmas Fri 10am‐3pm; Sat 10am‐8pm 15 Dec ‐ Club meeting Monthly meeting at Noon. POC: Jack Grill Christmas luncheon

25 Dec ‐ Christmas 31 Dec ‐ New Years Eve 1 Jan 2013 ‐ New Years Day 13‐20 Jan 2013 ‐ Diamondhead Steamup I‐10 Exit 16, Diamondhead Resort POC: www.Diamondhead.org 19 Jan 2013 ‐ Club meeting Monthly meeting at Noon. POC: Jack Grill 16 Feb 2013 ‐ Club meeting Monthly meeting at Noon. POC: Jack Grill

Health & Welfare

Couturie ‐ Ed very busy with medical courier job, runs all over the

area to hospitals, doctors' offices and medical clinics. You may see

him out and about.

Jim Neidermayer ‐ Doing OK, just slower than before. Jim

Stephanie Carrington ‐ Stephanie is getting along fine. She had a nasty red eye back in early October. Very scary it was. Not painful

but ghastly to look at. All better now. And no vision issues.

Paul Karczewski ‐ Paul has finished the first loop of 7‐1/2 inch track. It was reported he was scurrying around like a kid at Christmas. Congrats, Paul.

Rapley/Dorner ‐ Bobbie Dorner having issues with her leg. ”They are about ready to cart her off to the glue factory. Read that as

more tests and another MRI in her future. ... Not much else

newsworthy.” – Rap “Leg, amputate at neck.

Show....GREAT! Several sales, a paid commission and several things

to work with........B” ED: See Keith's 250 ton crane?

Sloan ‐ Beth and Andy traveling in the Sicily and Italy area. Seeing the sights.

Mary Caraway ‐ Still getting things ready to sell her house and move up to Iowa to be with her son and family. She is very grateful

for the packing material and boxes that Orlando and folks have sent

her.

Carol Stewart – suffering bouts of TMJ. Best wishes from

everyone that the pain gets less and even goes way away, Carol. Get better!

Emer

www

MargThank

OrlanOrlandafter s

Jack to get

Art Tthe ne

pelvis

sched

determ

house

Johnso

at a ti

Jim Cthis su

Nation

of Oct

allows

grand

OK, Fo

annive

into o

tell sp

email

come

10 ‐ K

29 ‐ A

26 ‐ J

6 – S7 – Ja10 – 14 –

rald Coast Ga

w.ECGRC.com

garet Bryant ‐ksgiving, so expe

ndo Gomez – do reports: “Theseven days of he

Grill ‐ Has caugt over it in short

Tuttle - Tumble

ew Storage Build

. “I am able to

uled to go back

mine how well t

e bound. I have

on and today Ge

me. – Art”

Crabb - "Havinummer, I left wh

nal Wildlife Refu

tober and expec

s me to be close

daughter."

Birthdaolks, below is the

ersaries that we

ur Secretary, Ed

pecifics, let Ed kn

is EdwardDice@

GET YOU!!!

Kathy Perry b

Andy & Beth

Jim & Carolyn

usan Cope biack Grill birthJerry StewartEd Couturie b

rden Railway

‐ Our snowbird iect to see her in

Suffered throug

e kidney stone hell.”

ght a bad cold (Is

order, if not soo

ed off of a ladde

ding. Recuperati

function a little

to the orthoped

he bones are kn

had visits from R

eorge and Tom A

g spent 5 month

hen the snow fle

uge (60 miles eas

ct to be here thro

to my young wi

ays ‐ Ane known list of C

know about. If

d Dice, please do

now so we don’t

@aol.com, so dro

birthday

Sloan annive

n Rush annive

rthday hday t birthday birthday

y Club

s travelling sout

December.

gh a bout with k

as finally passed

s there a good c

oner.

r at the Jordan L

ng with a fractu

better each day

dist on 5 Decemb

nitting up. As of

Ron Armstrong a

Augustine were

hs at the Nationa

w. I've been at

st of Houston) s

ough the winter

idowed daughte

nniversaClub members’ b

you have not go

o so. Even if you

t keep bugging y

op him a line. Do

rsary

ersary

th after

kidney stones.

d. All better now

old?) and hopes

Lot working on

red or cracked

y. I am

ber for Xrays to

today still

and Jerry

over. One day

al Elk Refuge

Anahuac

ince the middle

. This also

er and 9 yo

aries birthdays and

otten your info

don’t want to

you for it. Ed’s

on't make him

‐10‐

w

s

21 – 22 –23 –

17 –20 –22 ‐

OrlaLot.

Orlaplacetrip t

The susplikelyoxyg

– Ethel & Ed C Lorene & Bo

– Kathy & Tom– Ted & Nancy

– Carol Stewar– Carol & JerryEva Dice birth

Tndo Gomez mIt is a bit talle

ndo made it fe. Those boatthru transpor

chair is greatpect more chay always be ogen for the hig

Couturie annivob Fasnacht am Perry annivey Batchman a

rt birthday y Stewart annhday

Tall Cmade a new ter than the on

from scraps ots go throughrt and shippin

t and very nicairs will be neoccupied. Andgh altitude, t

October – No

versary nniversary ersary anniversary

niversary

Chairtall chair for tne Jim Rush m

of lumber froh a lot of lumbng.

e. Thanks, Oreeded since thd we may neeoo.

Cup holders,

WFRM

ovember 2012

he Jordan made.

m his work ber with their

rlando. I hat one will ed Stephanie'

, too

M

2

r

s



Munson Heritage

A new event for our participation, the Munson Heritage

Festival, was held 13 ‐ 14 October 2012. This is the ninth

year to celebrate the logging heritage of the Munson

area. There were lots of historical craftsmen and

artisans set up at the Krul Lake Recreation Area.

Frank's logging train and sawmill

Frank Paine and Ed set up and ran the small G scale

display at the Munson Heritage Festival. We got down

two medium sized ovals. Frank ran his logging train by

his sawmill on the outer loop. Ed ran a mix of Santa Fe

passenger, coal/pumpkin train, Hershey chocolate, air‐

powered flyer, and an eggliner.

The Florida Forestry folks seemed very happy with it all.

They talked about some of the food vendors selling out

of things. The BBQ guy was very happy with all the BBQ

he sold out with. Saturday was busy all day long, but

we did not see any crush of crowds like we were told to

expect. Guess it is a difference in point of view. Sunday

was a bit slower, but that is the usual situation.

We talked about the RR Museum, the riding train,

Jordan Lot Garden RR, birthday parties, swap meet and

Lionel Christmas. Ed did pass out lots of the website

slips that Andy Sloan made up and let those folks know

that they could find a flyer on the website.

The weather was clear and only a little wind. But that

little wind did cause the Museum info board to topple

over. We had good running, in spite of all of the

problems.

Jay Cotton Festival This coming Thanksgiving Saturday, 24 Nov., is the Jay

Cotton Festival and Christmas Parade in Jay, Florida. The

RR Museum has been requested to participate with a

planned set up in an outside parking area. The RR

Museum will set up the Museum information table

including Tom Moody's history books for sale. And with

some luck on the weather, we will also get the N scale

layout up there and running.

With that, a small G scale railroad is also being set up to

help honor the cotton industry heritage for Jay and to

entertain the kids. Many details are still to be worked

out and planning is in progress. So far it looks like a 10' x

15' oval and possibly a second oval inside of it. About all

that can be set up in a couple of chilly hours Saturday

morning.

This is a one‐day show. And is the third time (2009 &

2010 before) that the Jay museum has hosted this and

are hoping it will catch on this time for the folks of Jay.

If you wish to participate, contact Ed Dice for further

info.

Atmore Williams Station Ed Dice went to Atmore AL for their reviving of the old train show at the Williams Station Day celebrations. This was held 27 Oct 2012.

Atmore Williams Station Day train show kids



Ed was able to set down two tight ovals, the cloverleaf and a single back-n-forth. It still provided everyone with lots to see and take in. The kids were enthralled with the running trains.

Favorite Train voting collected 36 votes. But Ed was able to accurately count all visitors to the gym at 782 folks stopping by to see the train show. Besides the G scale railroad, the show organizers had a newly built HO modular layout with two tracks plus a slide show of prototype rail fan pictures, DVD videos of trains, and Operation Lifesaver information. No sellers at this train show this time, but expect some in the future. In past years, the gym was totally packed with seller tables.

It was a long one-hour run up there and another hour back. But it was a good time. Glad that the G railroad was inside given the very chilly and damp Saturday morning. Brrrrrr!!!!

Warehouse Gone The old Warehouse building over by the CSX mainline and the Museum passenger cars is gone.

Empty lot where the Warehouse was standing

Sanborn Construction has finished dismantling, not

demolishing, the old Warehouse building. They carefully

disconnected the myriad of boards and beams, so as to

maximize the salvage value. Lots of hard work by the

Sanborn crews.

Have heard various stories as to how the Warehouse

was used by different businesses over the years. One

thing is that the Warehouse building was about 110

years old. Older than the current Depot building.

Besides the recent use by Sanborn Construction for

storage and unfulfilled ideas, it has seen many other

uses. Remember we do know of some vagrants or

homeless folks setting up camp inside until they were

sent packing. During the clean out, the contents

revealed a very varied collection of items including

theater seats, many old business furniture items like

cabinets for small parts and office files, and even a

bunch of bed frames. It was used to store canoes for

Adventures Unlimited. Earlier on it reportedly was part

of a hardware warehouse. Also heard that it was the

only Sears & Roebuck store in the area. I am sure better

and more authoritative sources can tell of the "accurate

history" for the Warehouse building much better than

my recount of various conversations and stories

overheard.

So history can be interesting and is around us

everywhere. Go ahead and DIG IN. Mr. Jernigan has

lived in the house across the street from the old

Warehouse for his entire 80+ years. So he knows a lot of

facts and history and would LOVE to talk with folks

about it.

Well, hope you enjoyed this newsletter and its pages

and pages of content. We are always looking for more

material on just about anything. Product reviews, train

show reports, special weekend summaries, or anything

related and pertinent to our garden railroading

community. Keith could write up his new 250 ton crane

and its support cars. Someone can chat about their new

sound system in a loco. So, put fingers to keyboard and

click away an article.

Enjoy the newsletter - Ed and Eva

Caboose Notes



Remote Uncouplers

It appears that someone has been listening to the

groans of G‐scale railroaders popping joints and

aching backs whenever they have to bend / crouch /

crawl to uncouple cars in their trains. There have

been rumors and rumblings (like thunder over the

horizon) in the model railroading industry for quite

some time now about remote uncoupling and lots

and lots of guesses about what all it would entail

and be capable of. And folks have chatted about

how they could do it on their own using parts from

here and there.

Kadee Remote Uncoupling Systems

Well, now it is here via Kadee. Shortly, Kadee says

that #1 Gauge (G‐scale to the rest of us) remote

uncoupling system will be available. This is offered

under their new brand name of Kadee RC. While

not offered in other scales yet, there is a strong

possibility that it may develop there.

There are videos available from their website

www.RemoteUncoupling.com under Video Help

menu selection at that home page.

Garden Railways lists some prices (very pricey);

however, Kadee says the prices will be different and

lower than what was shown in the Garden Railways

article.

The starter kit includes the handheld transmitter,

body‐mount coupler kit, and receiver kit.

The handheld transmitter works off of two AA batteries.

The receiver kit includes the radio receiver, four-AA

battery holder and wiring harness.

The body-mount coupler kit includes #906 Kadee coupler,

trip-pin linkage collars, linkage rods, shims, large servo kit, mounting screws and hardware.

The large servo kit contains a hobby servo, servo tray and, mounting screws and hardware.

Looks like multiple uncoupler subsystems can be

addressed via the handheld controller, thus you

could mount two separately controlled couplers on

a loco. One on the front and one on the rear.

The Kadee videos did show a flat car with the

uncoupler system working on it (a top down look)

and the knuckle DID MOVE. It is obvious that it will

not uncouple with any strain on the coupler

knuckles. So just like the track mounted uncoupling

magnets, slack in the couplers is required for the

uncoupling operation. Other videos show the

system being installed on a G scale railcar which all

looks very simple, quick and easy.

Expect to see it at the Jordan Lot in the near future.

Who will be first? The race is on!!!!



From Sam Clarke of Kadee – 9 Oct 2012

Presently we are in the middle of the final

stages before we put the remote system on the

market. We are still working on packaging,

instructions, warranty, and such. Final pricing is

still being worked out but nearing completion.

There will be a number of installations and operational options. One set up is mainly for rolling stock with a mechanical actuator that can operate one or both couplers at the same time the other set up is a self contained coupler with the actuator inside the draft gear box. This coupler has the same mounting holes as the common body mounted #830 and #906 coupler boxes but the box is slightly narrower. With some modeling skills both systems can be fitted into most locomotives. I've used both systems under flat cars but the self contained units will be best. We are hoping to release the remote in November and more info will be available then.

Massoth Automatic Uncoupler

In the Garden Railways Dec 2012 issue, the Massoth

Automatic Uncoupler was listed on page 55. The

website, www.massoth.com, has a website link to a

video.

It appears to be only a hook‐and‐loop type coupler.

Looks like it uses a standard hook‐n‐loop on the

rolling stock and does not require removal of the

rolling stock's hook part of the coupler.

The uncoupler does require connection to a

decoder of the user's choice be it Massoth, Digitrax,

LGB, Aristo‐Craft Revolution or other onboard

decoder unit. Looks like the price is $129 for a

2/pack.

Massoth’s literature compares its uncoupler to the

LGB offering that dates back to 1993, a Duo Loco

with a large motor‐driven uncoupler device which

worked off of track voltage as it started to come up.

It could accidentally uncouple your train if you

stopped and then started up again. This was also a

hook‐n‐loop type coupler.

So, if you lack a well‐trained elf with young joints to

uncouple your trains for you, you now have some

alternatives.

emerald coast garde lub emerald coast garden railway club · t garden r herford. temporary ength. 2...

Documents