spring newsletter - river city modelers
TRANSCRIPT
Our Newsletters are available on-line at www.RiverCityModelers.org
River City Modelers’ Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012 ���� Spokane, Washington
Timetable
RCM Business Meeting ................................ Thursday, April 5
PNR 5th
Division Annual Meeting ............... Saturday, April 14
RCM Business Meeting ..................................Thursday, May 3
National Train Day ....................................... Saturday, May 12
Open House......................................................Sunday, May 13
Clinic (topic to be announced) ......................Thursday, May 31
RCM Business Meeting ..................................Thursday, June 7
For more information call River City Modelers at (509) 535-
3462 or email us at [email protected].
Seen Around the Layout
A passenger train is about to exit the tunnel at Overlook. Not a
very safe place for a railfan. The light in this tunnel is
definitely an oncoming train!
River City Modelers on the Internet
River City Modelers has a very active page on Facebook
where visitors can enjoy updates on scenery, operation,
railroad history, building and bridge construction and other
activities of the club. We also routinely post ideas, tips and
techniques for the home modeler.
If you have a Facebook account you can easily search for
River City Modelers by using the search feature that is located
at the top of your home page. If you don’t have a Facebook
account, and would prefer not to open one, you can still visit
our page by typing http://www.facebook.com/pages/River-
City-Modelers/239469499448220 into your browser or by
visiting our website at www.RiverCityModelers.org then
follow the link to our Facebook wall.
Questions about the River City Western HO scale railroad,
model railroading in Spokane, problems with home layouts, or
other topics can be addressed on our blog which may be
located at www.RiverCityModelers.org.
River City Western Open House The members of the River City Modelers Club will host an
open house in conjunction with National Train Day which is
on Saturday, May 12th
. The club’s layout will be open for
visitors on Sunday, May 13th
from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is
free and donations to support the hobby of model railroading
are gratefully accepted.
The layout is located at 1130 East Sprague near downtown
Spokane. There is street parking in addition to a somewhat
limited parking lot located on the west side of the building.
There is also an elevator for the use of those who require
accessibility options.
Crew Report
Meet Gene Sponcler. Gene
joined River City Modelers five
years ago and has witnessed the
moving of the layout and all of
the construction at the new
location on Sprague Avenue in
Spokane. Gene is a long-time
resident in the Spokane area and
has been interested in railroading
for – well, just about forever. His
interest may have begun with a
Lionel train set that he had as a youth. His interest in HO scale
began around 1965 and he has had several home layouts that
didn’t satisfy his interests.
Gene didn’t confine himself to the smaller scales, however. He
was a brakeman and conductor on the Great Northern, later the
Burlington Northern and BNSF after mergers. He retired in
2004 after 41 years of service. Most of Gene’s experience was
with freight service between Whitefish, Montana, and
Wenatchee, Washington. But he also worked passenger
www.RiverCityModelers.org
service between Whitefish and Seattle. Gene was nicknamed
“Spanky” by his fellow workers on the railroad – presumably
because of a photogenic similarity to the character in Our
Gang. At River City Modelers he is more often referred to
simply as “Geno.” Not surprisingly, Gene’s favorite prototype
railroad is the Great Northern.
Why does Gene like being a member of River City Modelers?
Besides the camaraderie, he enjoys an environment where
there are a lot of people working on the model railroad. He
enjoys coming in a couple times a week and seeing progress
being made even during his absence.
What does he like to work on? “Mostly scenery,” he says.
Gene and his frequent modeling partner, Mike Hirsch, are
building a steel mill at Fort Morgan on the upper level of the
layout. They are also adding a cityscape in relief along the
backdrop leading to the steel mill. But Gene has what may be
an unusual interest – he enjoys building tunnels. There are
many tunnels on the layout so this latter interest has definitely
been in the club’s best interest!
It is always great to see Gene coming to the club to work on
the railroad!
Mile Posts
Roger Pepper has
joined with other
members to work on
the port at Coldwater.
This is a major project
that will eventually
feature a draw bridge at
the entry of a port
facility, a grain elevator
and loading dock and
other railside industries. The bridge will be located in the
foreground where the benchwork dips to accommodate the
port entry.
Mike Tietz has been getting the hang of using new rock molds
from Bragdon Enterprises (www.bragdonet.com) to form
canyon sides in the Whiskey Creek area. Using Hydrocal®
these new molds provide a very realistic impression of the
basalt formations that are so common through much of the
Inland Empire. Mike Tietz and Mike Hartung have
discovered some very effective painting techniques and the
rock walls on the layout are impressive.
As reported in the last newsletter, the wiring of signals and
turnout controls is proceeding. Bob Deem and John Langlot
are installing the signals on the layout and that part of the
project is nearing completion. Meanwhile, Kevin Chain is
progressing on the computer programming (using Microsoft’s
Visual Basic®) and is coordinating with Bob and John to get
the wiring connected into the proper panels. The club has a
very complex signal system and a lot of testing will be needed
before full operations can begin.
Gene Sponcler and Mike Hirsch are continuing to work on
the cityscape a Fort Morgan. The building reliefs are attached
to the backdrop and project only a couple of inches into the
layout. The effect will be very nice when the project is
completed. The Fort Morgan branch line runs near the city.
Interested in Joining RCM?
Model railroading is one of the most diverse hobbies. Our
activities routinely encompass construction, history, art,
computer programming electronics, logistics, photography and
much more. As a club there is also a need for writing, fund
raising, promotion and project management. Our members
bring many of these skills as a result of their personal
experiences, either from their past vocations or their
participation in other activities. No experience in model
railroading is required. Our motto is “Learn, Build, Enjoy.”
For more information about joining River City Modelers,
email [email protected] or visit the club.
Passenger Information River City Modelers meet each Thursday evening at the club
layout, 1130 East Sprague Avenue, near downtown Spokane.
The first Thursday of each month is reserved for our monthly
business meeting. Members are also at the club to work on
various projects during many days and will gladly stop to give
you a tour.
Visitors may drop by the club to see the layout and get
additional information about club activities. Call (509) 535-
3462 or email [email protected] for additional
information or directions.
River City Modelers also encourages groups to schedule
special tours of the layout ([email protected]).
Trains on the Main: One of John Langlot’s Great Northern fast freights emerges from a tunnel near Summit, the highest
point on the River City Western HO scale railroad. This model features an A-B set of EMD F-7 units
(270A and 270B) that would set the date of this scene in the 1950s or early 1960s.
The model is based on the Great Northern No. 5 that ran between Spokane and Seattle six nights each
week. The consist in this train includes piggy back freight as well as mail cars (Railway Post Office).
An RPO can be seen behind the B unit.
A mail carrier, No. 5 was a Class 1 freight that had priority over most other traffic on the route. This
train was discontinued in the mid-1960’s when the mail contract was lost. Watch our Facebook page for
movie clips and additional still photos of this train. In particular, watch for GN decorated piggy back
trailers that are non-existent today.