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THE COUPLERA PUBLICATION OF THE NORTHEASTERN REGION • NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION

I S S U E N O . 2 3 1 • J U LY- S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8

The St. John Society of Model Railroaders - Talented folks north of the border! - Steve McMullin . . . . . . 5

Next stop, Empire Junction! - The latest details on the 2008 NER Convention - Jim Heidt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Empire Junction 2008 Official Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12

Last Run On The V&O! - Allen McCellend moves on to the next challenge! - Otto M. Vondrak . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

DEPARTMENTS AND L-C-L

NER Brass Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

NER President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . 3

NER News and Events . . . . . . . . . . 4

NER Division Spotlight . . . . . . . . . 14

NER Empire Builders . . . . . . . . . . 15

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

NER New Members. . . . . . . . . . . . 15

VISIT WWW.NERNMRA.ORG

W AY B I L L S A N D M A N I F E S T

Heading westbound for Syracuse! The Central New York Division is pulling out all the stops for the upcoming Empire Junction ‘08 convention, to behosted in Syracuse. A special train headed for the convention hustles over a truss bridge on Jim Heidt’s fantastic HO scale model railroad, just one ofthe attractions to be seen on the extensive layout tour. PHOTO BY JEFF PASTON

• TH E COU PLE R • 2 • I SSU E 231 •

PRESIDENTKENNETH MAY71 Buff Cap RoadTolland, CT 06084(860) [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENTPAUL ALLARD, MMR53 Rollin Irish RoadMilton, VT 05468(802) [email protected]

TREASURERLARRY CANNON, MMR516 Pond RoadLewiston, ME 04240(207) [email protected]

SECRETARYKEITH F. SHONEMAN21 Freedom Farme RoadActon, MA 01720(978) [email protected]

NORTHEASTERN REGION BRASSNER OFFICERS AND STAFF

CONNECTICUT & RHODE ISLANDVINCENT GALLOGLY105 Woodhaven DriveTrumbull, CT 06611(203) [email protected]

NEW JERSEYROGER OLIVER61 Franklin RoadDenville, NJ 07834-1558(973) [email protected]

LONG ISLAND & NEW YORK CITYANDREW WASOWICZP. O. Box 863320Ridgewood, NY 11386-3320(718) [email protected]

MASSACHUSETTSWILLIAM BARRY36 Blaiswood AvenueMarlborough, MA 01752-3910(508) [email protected]

NORTHERN NEW ENGLANDTERRY KINGP. O. Box 188East Livermore, ME 04228(207) [email protected]

NEW YORK STATEMIKE EVANS838 Mason StreetMorrisonville, NY 12962(518) [email protected]

NMRA EASTERN DIRECTORKEVIN FEENEY831 New Norwalk RoadNew Caanan, CT 06084(203) 966-5175

EASTERN CANADAVacant

NUTMEG DIVISIONPRESIDENTJOE SOKOL1170 Hartford Tpke #E-51Vernon, CT 06066(860) [email protected]

HUDSON-BERKSHIRE DIVISIONPRESIDENTPAUL HOFFMAN128 Woodfield BlvdMechanicville, NY 12118(518) 899-5707

CENTRAL NEW YORK DIVISIONSUPERINTENDENTBRIAN CURRY3594 Chamberlain RoadWeedsport, NY 13166(315) [email protected]

SEACOAST DIVISIONPRESIDENTBRUCE ROBINSON19 Hunt Pond RoadSandown, NH 03873(603) [email protected]

HUB DIVISIONPRESIDENTRICHARD JOHANNES40 Pelham StreetNewton, MA 02459(617) 244-0068

SUNRISE TRAIL DIVISIONPRESIDENTWALTER NEUMEN149 Clark BlvdMassapequa Park, NY 11762-2636(516) [email protected]

GARDEN STATE DIVISIONPRESIDENTTOM WORTMANN68 Carmel AvenueStaten Island, NY 10314(718) [email protected]

GREEN MOUNTAIN DIVISIONPRESIDENTCHRIS CARFAROPO Box 8Richmond, VT 05477(802) [email protected]

HUDSON VALLEY DIVISIONACTING PRESIDENTRALPH GABLER(845) 876-4930

METRO NORTH DIVISIONSUPERINTENDENTVINCENT GALLOGLY105 Woodhaven DriveTrumbull, CT 06611(203) [email protected]

LITTLE RHODY DIVISIONSUPERINTENDENTJUSTIN MAGUIRE233 Narragansett AveBarrington, RI. 02806-1336(401) [email protected]

INACTIVE DIVISIONS★ PIONEER DIVISION★ MARITIMES DIVISION★ DIVISION ALOUETTE

The official publication of The Northeastern Region of the National Model Railroad

Association.

Issue No. 231

EDITORPHIL MONAT

3125 Independence Ave.Bronx, NY 10463(718) 884-0261

[email protected]

WORDSMITHFRANKLIN LANG

Stamford, [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORTOM BARTLEY

Pleasantville, NY

COPY EDITORBARRY ABISCH

Somers, NY

ART DIRECTOROTTO M. VONDRAK

Harrison, [email protected]

©2008 Northeastern Region NMRA.The editorial policy of The Coupler,the official publication of theNortheastern Region, shall be to con-tribute, wherever and whenever pos-sible, to the promotion, growth, andunderstanding of the hobby of modelrailroading. The Coupler is publishedfour times a year by and for the mem-bers of the Northeastern Region ofthe National Model RailroadAssociation. Subscription rate is$7.00 per year. Any items related tothe activities of the NortheasternRegion and its member divisions aregladly accepted. Please address allcorrespondence, news, photos, anddrawings to the Editor. Any submis-sions sent by mail will be gladlyreturned if the sender provides aself-addressed stamped envelope.

NER REGIONAL DIRECTORS

NER DIVISION SUPERINTENDENTS

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR COUPLER #232 IS AUG. 15We want to hear from you—Contact Editor Phil Monat for more information

OFFICE MANAGERVACANT

ADVANCEMENT PRGM. CHAIRPAUL ALLARD, MMR53 Rollin Irish RoadMilton, VT 05468(802) [email protected]

MODEL CONTEST CHAIRBOB HAMM, MMR460 Grand AvenueSaratoga Spgs, NY [email protected]

PHOTO CONTEST CHAIRROGER OLIVER61 Franklin RoadDenville, NJ [email protected]

CONVENTIONS CHAIRVACANT

NER HISTORIANJOSEPH LECAROZPO Box 7150Newburgh, NY 12550(914) [email protected]

NER OPSIG COORDINATORAL ONETO327 Springer RoadFairfield, CT 06430(203) [email protected]

NER WEBMASTERMIKE ROQUE60 High Manor Drive, Apt 1Henretta, NY 14467(585) [email protected]

www.nernmra.org

THE COUPLER

As we all begin thesummer season thereare many things goingon in our personal livesto compete with ourenjoyment of this won-derful hobby. Summeroffers unique opportu-

nities that don't occur during the rest of theyear, however. The vast majority of us takeour vacations in the summer and oftenthose vacation destinations provide theopportunity for some unique railroad/model railroad experiences, if we are onlywilling to look for them.

Recently I was browsing the internetlooking a places that offer railroad historyopportunities, and I was amazed at howmany museum or historical operationsthere are within the United States thatinclude something related to railroads. Ifyou choose to do any traveling this sum-mer, do a quick scan for railroad relatedplaces of interest near your destination oralong your route. You may be surprised atwhat you find! Take some pictures, relaxand enjoy the moment — who knows whatmodeling inspiration may result!

This summer the Mays have two excur-sions planned — one to northern Michigan

to visit our son Bob and his wife, and theother to the west coast and back viaAmtrak with our friends the Davis'.Hopefully, I'll have lot's of experiences toshare with you in the Fall.

Please take a few minutes to vote on therepeal of the current Constitution and By-Laws and acceptance of a new set of By-Laws. The ballot should have beenreceived in a separate mailing. If the voteis accepted, we will have a more modernset of official documents to guide theNortheastern Region.

Volunteers: The NER depends on volun-teers to serve you! No one within theNortheastern Region is paid for the jobthey do for the organization. So, while sev-eral have served for many years, there isalways some turnover. Often some of us(guilty as charged!) can not say no and biteoff more than we can chew. One of thepositions that needs a volunteer is theCT/RI Director position. Vin Gallogly hasfilled this position well, but as GeneralChairman for HN2009 he feels that theNER position may be suffering a lack ofattention. So, if there is a volunteer willingto serve the remaining 2+ years of thatterm, please contact me to volunteer.Another position open is Convention

Chairman. I would like to have someonewith experience on a Regional ConventionCommittee to serve in this capacity. We donot need a new convention until 2011 sothis is NOT a 'throw them in the fire' situ-ation. There will be time to get comfort-able in the position. There are other posi-tions available as well. So, would you beinterested in volunteering to help our yourfellow modelers?.

Conventions: See elsewhere in thisissue for registration materials to the con-vention in Syracuse. Expect a action-packed weekend beginning at noon onThursday and continuing thru Sundayafternoon. See all of you there!

Lastly, I offer my sincere sympathies toBill, Judy and Steven Brown from theCentral New York Division. In mid-Maythey lost their home and their model rail-road to a fire which destroyed their home.Bill has vowed that they will recover andwe will see him at the Syracuse conventionin September. My thanks to all those inCNY Division and the NER who ralliedaround the Brown family and providedsupport. That just may have been one ofthe finest hours in the history of the NER.Thanks to you all!

—Ken May, NER President

I just returned from a 10 day trip to SanFrancisco and environs – part family visit,part wine tasting and part model railroad-ing – and every time we go there my wifeand I say, “What a beautiful area to live!”Yet New England is better. Although thistrip was not loaded with visits to differentlayouts, I did have a full day with two longtime friends, Rick Fortin and Jim Dias,both of whom have large and well donelayouts – Rick’s in Santa Fe country andJim’s Western Pacific. We talked about allaspects of the hobby, got some new ideasto help me complete my layout andlaughed over many things – teasing eachother as we have done for many years. Justbeing with them speaks volumes aboutwhy this is such a great hobby. It’s knowl-

edge, it’s thought, it’s skill and many otherthings, but mainly it is friendships.

One of the things we talked about ishow to get younger people into the hobby.Rick said that every division etc. brings upthis subject, but that is not where sustain-ability or growth will come from. He felt,and I tend to agree, that younger peopledon’t have the money or time to becomemodel railroaders and that the hobby’ssustainability is based on those in theirforties or fifties who have money to spendand more time to devote to the hobby. Idon’t think we should cast aside efforts toget younger members in the NER etc, norshould we be overly concerned that ourhobby is in a downward cycle. If we seeattendance at conventions declining, it

may not be reflective of fewer model rail-roaders, but more a direct relationship tothe cost of attendance. Our hobby is chal-lenged by increased costs as are almostevery business and household. It is a diffi-cult challenge to lower costs for large con-ventions and equally challenging toincrease value to offset cost. I think thequestion is can we do both.

The leadership of the Hartford National’09 is working hard to do both. Even mycompatriots on the West Coast are think-ing about attending because they knowthat, like the PCR, the NER is an activeand solid group of model railroaders.

—Franklin Lang,Wordsmith

Recent observations on the hobby


NER President’sLetter

Quarterly news and editorial commentary regarding thegoals and activities of the Northeastern Region NMRA, andits member divisions.

BY KEN MAY NER President

FROM THE EDITORS


NER News andEvents

Schedule of model railroading events from around theNortheastern Region. To have your event listed here (spacepermitting), please contact Phil Monat, Editor.

COMPILED BY THE COUPLER STAFF

GARDEN STATE DIVISIONAugust 3 – Northwest Jersey Train-O-Rama,Dover High School, 100 Grace Street,Dover, NJ. 9am – 3pm, $5 if preregistered,$6 at the door. Visit: dovertrainshow.com.

August 8-9 – Greenberg’s Train & Toy Show,New Jersey Convention & Expo Center, 97Sunfeld Ave, Edison, NJ. 10am-4pm, Adults$7, Children under 12 free. For more info:www.GreenbergShows.com

August 10 – Annual Railroad Day, MaywoodStation Museum, 269 Maywood Avenue,Maywood, NJ. Noon to 3pm. For more info:www.maywoodstation.com.

August 24 - Summer Rolling Meet and BBQ,hosted by the Garden State model RailwayClub, 575 High Mountain Road, NorthHaledon, New Jersey. Donations accepted,www.gsmrrclub.org.

October 25 - Fall meet held in conjunctionwith the New York Society Model Engineers(NYSME), Sale and Swap Meet at St.Josephs school, Carlstadt, new Jersey.Clinics, model judging and a white elephanttable. Donations only accepted as there isa $5 fee for the Sale & Swap Show.www.ModelEngineers.org.

Kids Day At Lake Mohawk, watch websitefor details, www.train.com.nergsd, or callthe president at 718-494-0388.

METRO NORTH DIVISIONSeptember Division Meeting - Date andlocation TBA. Visit metronorthnmra.org orcontact Vin Gallogly at [email protected].

SEACOAST DIVISIONJuly 12 - Seacoast Division quarterly meet-ing with clinics and model showcase at theGreat Falls Model Railroad Club inMonmouth (Auburn/Lewiston area), Maine10:00am-2:00pm

July 17 - Great Falls Model Railroad ClubMeeting

July 19 - Giant Yard Sale at Great FallsModel Railroad Club in Monmouth. ContactTerry Kink at [email protected].

October 18 - Seacoast Division quarterlymeeting with clinics and model showcase inthe Manchester, NH area. Location to bedetermined. 10:00am-2:00pm

NUTMEG DIVISIONDue to a sprinkler problem at theWethersfield Police Station the March7,2008 meeting was pushed to March14,2008. Ten members were treated to twogreat videos. Ken may showed “RailsAcross America” featuring CSX across SandPatch. Great shots and long trains withhelper service, a train tape worth having.George Reitze showed two videos featuringsteam in Portugal, Madrid and Lisbon. Itwas great to see different style of enginesthat we do not see in the USA. The secondvideo showed trolleys in Portugal andMallorca. Sure was different watching trol-leys travel through tight curves. George'svideos not only showed engines and trolleysbut some fantastic scenery. The Divisionthanks Ken and George for sharing theirvideos with us.

July 13 - Nutmeg Division Meeting andAnnual Picnic will be Sunday, July 13 atCrandall Park Pavilion, Tolland, CT 1:00-4:00pm.

September 19 - Nutmeg Division meeting atWethersfield Police Station at 7:30 PM.Make and take clinic using Bar Mills fencingin different scales. Nominal cost for kits.Contact: Joseph Sokol 860-872-2240 or e-mail: [email protected]

HUDSON BERKSHIRE DIVISION

September 5 - Division Meeting at DickElwell’s HO scale Hoosac Valley layout.

October 10 – Division Meeting at theColonie Youth Bureau.

November 11 - Division Meeting at JohnMcBride’s layout.

For more Info, contact Paul Hoffman, [email protected].

SUNRISE TRAIL DIVISION

October 4 – Meeting Saturday, 9am at St.David’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, soClark Blvd., Massapequa Park, NY.Featuring ‘Build A Signal Driver’ by DavidMetal. All material provided, you will learnwire wrapping methods and other electronicskills. NMRA members $15, others $20.For more info contact Steven Perry, (631) 744-6462.

CENTRAL NEW YORKJune 8 – CNY Model Railroad Club meeting,Hartlot, NY. Clinics will be a continuationon ‘Layout Operations’ series.

August 16 – 1:00-4:00pm, Brian andDenise Curry, Weedspor t, NY. AnnualPicnic. Brian has added an interurban linewith operating overhead wire to his layout.Enjoy live clincs by Brian on handrails andmodel showcase of weathered models.MOW Servide Award presentation as well.

September 11-14 – 2008 NER RegionalConvention, Holiday Inn, Syracuse, NY.See registration packet in this issue.

November 9 – Meeting at Cy Diamond,Ovid, NY. Cy’s N scale layout depicts theFinger Lakes region. Get a full report on theconvention as we begin to prepare for ourbi-annual auction.

December 6 – Bi-Annual Auction,Fayetteville, NY. Bring your auction itemsand a wallet full of cash because you neverknow what will turn up here!

Meeting times are 2-4pm unless noted. Alldates and locations are subject to change,please visit www.cnynmra.org.

OTHER EVENTSJuly 23-26 – 40th O Scale NationalConvention, DCU Center, Worcester, MA.Visit www.2008oscalenational.org.

August 5-10 – 2008 National Associationof S Gaugers Convention, “MountaineerLimited,” Doubletree Hotel Lowell, 50Warren Street, Lowell, MA. For more info:www.nasg2008.com.

FOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT

www.nernmra.org

FOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT

www.hn2009.comWE NEED YOU TO VOLUNTEER


The St. John Societyof Model Railroaders

By Steve McMullin

What brings together a group of about 30people in Saint John, New Brunswickwhose varied interests include rail photog-raphy, operations, model construction, tin-plate collections, and a large collection ofoperating HO and N-scale modules? Theanswer is the Saint John Society of ModelRailroaders, a group that meets monthly,organizes an annual public model railroadshow at a local high school, and meetsinformally in homes to construct modulesand operate model railways. Within theclub, modellers like Gerry Gilliland andBob Boudreau are well-known for their

award-winning models, and scores ofBob’s photos have graced the pages ofmost model railroad publications. LouMcIntyre is our local scenery expert, and isoften in demand for scenery clinics atshows and conventions. His HO scaleHampton & St. Martins Railway offersamazing scenic views of apple orchardsand rural landscapes.

Two of our club members have base-ment-size operating HO scale layouts.Both use NCE’s DCC system. DougDevine’s Island Central Railway(www.geocities.com/islandcentral) is afreelance, contemporary-era version of theprototype NB Southern Railway between

Saint John and McAdam, NB. His operat-ing sessions, held every three weeks, bringtogether a dedicated crew of 10 or morepeople who have come to enjoy the chal-lenges of moving long trains across the320’ mainline between the large classifica-tion yard at McAdam and the railway’s ter-minus (and multiple yards) at Saint John.The Island Central Railway has been oper-ating regularly for more than 20 years, andscenery is as complete as it gets on anymodel railway. The urban scenery in theSaint John area replicates many actual loca-tions. The railway’s dispatcher (the “RTC”)also makes use of a signalling system tomanage traffic across the busy system.

We’re north of the border! VIA F40s sneak under Mill St Viaduct on Doug Divine's HO scale Island Central, a freelance, contemporary-era version ofthe prototype New Brunswick Southern Railway between Saint John and McAdam, NB. Doug is a member of the well known St. John Society.


Steve McMullin’s Carleton Railway(www.carletonrailway.blogspot.com) is afreelance 1960s-era railway that is set inrural Carleton County, NB that requires acrew of 8-12 people for an operating ses-sion. Most of the trains are way-freights,so crews must be patient as they moveamong the several rural towns deliveringand receiving a multitude of predomi-nantly agricultural products. The layoutis double-deck with a 280’ mainline plusstaging yards at each end. The scenery,which is about 90% complete, is quiterural with lots of farms, fields, andscratchbuilt potato storage warehousesalong the right-of-way.

Other club members have home layoutsin various stages of completion, includingDon Fitzpatrick’s O-scale empire locatedin its own railway-station-replica building,Foster Parfitt’s large 027 layout (whichclub members refer to as his “sound andlight show”), and Bob Boyce’s basement-size replica of railway locations in SaintJohn. Bob also has a G-scale railway in hisback yard.

The club can assemble a large modu-lar layout for public shows. The modu-lar layout was the original reason forthe club, and many of the membershave constructed and maintained mod-ules—several of which were featured inan article about the club in ModelRailroader magazine several years ago.Currently, several new modules arebeing constructed to provide forexpanded operations possibilities. Mostrecently, some N-scale modellers whohave become part of the club havebegun constructing N-scale “mini-mod-ules” for display at public shows. Theportability and flexibility of thesesmaller modules have attracted a lot ofinterest from the public.

Most of the members of our club arealso members of the Maritime Federationof Model Railroaders, the main modelrailroading organization in AtlanticCanada. Our Saint John club successfullyhosted the Maritime Convention in 2004,and is scheduled to host the MFMR con-vention again in 2010. Since some of ourclub members are also members of theNER, the club has agreed to invite theNER to join us for a great joint conven-tion in Saint John in May 2010. There isgreat model railroading on both sides ofthe U.S.-Canada border, and a joint con-vention that brings model railroaders

together from both the Maritimes and theeastern U.S. should prove to be a memo-rable and enjoyable event. Members ofour club are already busy with prepara-tions for a high-quality convention. Wehope that many of you can join us in SaintJohn in May 2010! ■

TOP: Two crews catch up on the news on LouMcIntyre’s HO scale Hampton & St. MartinsRailway, offers amazing scenic views and rurallandscapes. ABOVE: A pair of Canadian NationalAlcos rumble across Gully Bridge. Lou is justone of the talented members of the St. JohnSociety of Model Railroaders. PHOTOSCOURTESY STEVE MCMULLIN

By Jim HeidtCentral New York Division

Looking for some relaxation and modelingfun in the midst of NMRA national con-vention preparations? Well, as we did in1986, when we helped give Boston con-vention planners a breather by hosting theNER convention in Utica, N.Y., theCentral New York Division again invitesyou, on the eve of Hartford National 2009,to have a good time on us at EmpireJunction ’08. You’ll find it all Sept. 11 - 14in Syracuse, N.Y. Here are some of thehighlights, visit www.empirejunction.orgfor details and updates.

Our Host HotelWe are at the Holiday Inn Syracuse/Liverpool, directly across from Exit 37 onI-90 (NYS Thruway), and only a quartermile from I-81. We were here in 1992, butit is now much larger and is well-main-

tained. Features include 275 rooms andsuites, free unlimited parking, airport van,cable, business center, room service, heat-ed indoor pool, whirlpool, fitness center,sauna, lounge, the Niagara Room restau-rant in the hotel, serving three squaresdaily, and more for a full service hotel.

With a combined 15,000 square feet infunction space set aside for us, we have theroom to provide a full NMRA regionalmodel railroad convention experience. Thehotel’s location offers easy access to allpoints in EJ’08’s long weekend while pro-viding all amenities on-site or nearby.

Call (315) 457-1122 to reserve directlywith the hotel, or log on through the linkfound at www.empirejunction.org. If youcall, be sure to say you want the “NationalModel Railroad Association block.” Callnow; the hotel is already taking roomreservations. And check in on Thursday fora full shot at what we have to offer:

Layout ToursAs of May 15, we have 54 confirmed layouts in 48 locations, open at varioustimes from Thursday afternoon untilSunday evening, a 23 percent increase overthe NER’s last Syracuse visit in 2002.


Next Stop, Empire Junction!An engineer performs his firing procedure on his Southern Railway 4-6-2 in preparation for a nighttime run at the Finger Lakes Live Steamers inClyde, New York. The FLLS is just one of the great attractions at this years EJ ‘08 convention! PHOTO BY MIKE WALSH


N scale layouts on tour include:• Brian Curry MMR, with some 3-foot nar-

row gauge logging, a new overhead trol-ley line, and multiple Baldwin Trophymodels

• NEW! Sandy Colabufo with hisAnnaville and Adirondack, located closeto the convention hotel

• NEW! Don Dennis and the Not-Yet-Named Railway in his fabulous home...and many more.

HO layouts abound, in all sizes, stylesand configurations. We’re sorry to reportthat MMR Bill Brown and his family losttheir home in early May to a fire thatdestroyed his LARC layout featured inModel Railroader. But we have many ter-rific privately owned layouts open forviewing, including:• Mike Shanahan’s, arguably the finest

HO-scale home layout in the area, and a“must see”

• Drew and Karel James’ Canada, Spokane& Pacific, new to our tour and operating

• Dave Martini’s CSX Northeast, a modernsystem, featured in Scale Rails this yearalong with his dad, Dick Martini, whoseCSX layout almost fills the basementwith organized operations

• Bernie Messenger, operating a greatlyexpanded, freelanced modern system

• Lenn Amrhein, driven by John Allen’stalents and vision for his own Wauroad &Glorre

• Russ and Val Schiller, veteran modelerswith beautiful steam power on theirOtisco Valley

• Dick Lautenslager, whose NorthernCentral steamers are legendary

• Ed and Judy O’Rourke, modeling urbanNew Haven passenger and freight opera-tions;

• Martin and Brenda Collard’s exceptionalstandard and narrow gauge modeling onthe Borodino & Southern.

Permanent club and modular HO lay-outs will also be open. They include:• Central New York Modelers’ award-win-

ning, well-known modular display, fullyassembled and operating at the down-town Museum of Science andTechnology (MOST)

• The Lowville & Beaver River, featuredin Railroad Model Craftsman many yearsago, now home again and running

• CNY Model Railroad Club’s Delaware &Ontario system in the historic Hartlot

railroad station• Syracuse Model Railroad Club’s fully

scenicked layout in Eastwood.

We also have O and larger scale offer-ings, too! Check these out:• Tom Scibetta’s O-scale masterpiece of

selective compression recently featuredin the Coupler

• Steve and Wendy Boslet..and Ed Bernat,two separate O-scale layouts, open forthe first time

• Dick and Karin Thomas, experiencedmodelers well-known in G-scale gardenrailroading

• Other G scale garden railways, includingRoger and Susan Caiazza, Gordon Davis,and the huge Leatherstocking LineGarden Railway on display at Drivers’Village in Cicero

• Multi-scale, live steam action at theFinger Lakes Live Steamers complexnear Clyde, N.Y.

As in 2002, our layout tour book will beseparately mailed, starting early in August,to those who register and pay for the book.We have refined the book to include:1. For those with “global positioning sys-tem” (GPS) capability in your vehiclesthrough laptop computers or in-vehicleGPS devices, the book will have GPScoordinates for all locations.2. The book will include a companion CD(for PC or Mac), with written detailed driv-ing directions to go from any one point inthe book to any other point.3. For computers with QuickTime 7.0 orlater, the CD will also have a 360-degree“virtual” video tour by VRT computer filesof specific layouts. If you have QuickTimeon your home computer, again log on towww.empirejunction.org and, on the topbar, click on “layouts.” For now the Website gives you a “preview”of DaveMartini’s and Jim Heidt’s layouts in an on-line virtual tour.4. Finally, we will have a “Dispatcher’sDesk,” a staffed location at the hotel with aposted telephone number to be an “EJ’08 -411” number, if you will. By telephone,that staff member can help you with driv-ing directions, assistance, answer ques-tions, etc. Now, how can you NOT lookforward to touring the layouts at EJ ‘08!?

OperationsSpecial Interest Group (OPSIG)

Our Layouts and OPSIG subcommittee,

headed by Bill Brown MMR and DaveMartini, has worked to improve this attrac-tion, which is growing in popularity atNER conventions. To maximize slots forour guests, CNY Division members willnot be eligible to register for OPSIG.Obviously, OPSIG layout owners will takepart, but the rest of the OPSIG throttles atthis convention are for visitors.

EJ’08 plans on 80+ slots for operation.Locally, we need to know, far in advance,who’s operating on which layout so we canmail details that will familiarize you withthe layout before you arrive. So you mustregister early enough for the NERRegistrar to get the information to us so wecan mail the layout details in time for yourreview. The first-come/first-served calcu-lation of choice is determined by conven-tion registration number, so please registeras soon as possible so this gets done ascleanly as possible. Right away! There isno separate fee for the OP-SIG sessions.

Live Rail ClinicsA fleet of quality clinicians will start workThursday afternoon and continue throughSaturday afternoon, presenting almost allclinics twice. Many will be filmed/record-ed on DVD and sold during the conven-tion. The specific clinic schedule anddescription will be in the convention hand-book, but a summary of clinicians and theirsubjects, confirmed or planned, include: • Earl Smallshaw: (First time!) “Deep River”;

“Mystic: 1925 - A tour of the layout”• Lou Sassi: “Developing a scene”;

“Developing that scene”• Gustav Verderber: “Innovative manual

turnout control”• Jim Heidt: “Designing and building a

helix”; “The Obsolete and Never Run”;• Bill Brown MMR: “Creating realistic

backdrops with photos”; “Digital photog-raphy and model railroading”; “TheLARC, through its demise”

• Ed Olszewski: “Manual TurnoutControl”; “CNY Railfanning Primer”

• Lenn Amrhein: “Two bits, four bits detailparts” - part 1 and 2;

• Mike Tylick: “Scenery Design”;“Scenery Construction”; more

• Jeff Paston: “Building the Lowville &Beaver River”;

• Mike Fuller: “Building scale vehicles”• Sheldon King: “Upstate New York rail

extravaganza”• John Taibi: “The NYO&W Northern

Division in upstate New York”


• Allen Foote: “In Service Aboard aPrivate Car”; and many more.

Modeling with the Masters (MWTM)With thanks to Bar Mills for donating thekits, we will have a MWTM sessionThursday evening and Friday morning.Brian Curry, MMR starts Thursday withparticipants building, detailing, paintingand weathering the HO scale structure, andBill Brown, MMR finishes the project on

Friday with modelers building a scenicbase for their structure. With these twoconcentrated sessions, you can have asuper--and completed--model with sceneto take home. In addition, we will recordthese modeling techniques on DVD, avail-able for sale at a reasonable price with pro-ceeds to the CNY Division. Like OPSIG,MWTM is free, and limited to the first 20non-CNY Division NER members whoregister requesting MWTM. The next 10

registrants for both will be held on standby.All 30 will receive instructions before con-vention to bring specific modeling tools. Ifsome of the initial 20 do not show upThursday, some from the standby 10 willbe called, literally on five minutes’ notice.Making sure that we have 20/10 ready togo at the start requires us to have thoseinterested in MWTM register right away toallow us to correspond early and maintaina database through the NER registrar.

Contests: Model and PhotoHere’s your chance to bring those modelsand photos for judging and NMRA APpoint consideration. Judging may be“open” and, in addition, the NER will havea “People’s Choice Award.”

The “Model Showcase” is just for dis-play along with a short written description.EJ’08 is broadening this program in threeways: (1) Every participant in the “ModelShowcase” will receive a framed certifi-cate of participation to take home; (2) allmodels will be shown on the big screen atthe banquet when the contest awards arepresented; and (3) we have a “joint ven-ture” with the Raffle for a program we call“Build and Donate It.” More on that later.

Prototype ToursA convention like this makes schedulingtough, because there’s too much to do!Details are subject to change, but beyondthe casual railfanning opportunitiesthroughout central New York, we have,thanks to your help with live and on-linepolling of options, two prototype tours:

Crucible Materials Corp.: Knownlocally as “Crucible Steel,” it traces itslocal history back to 1876. In 1906,Crucible produced steel from the first elec-tric arc furnace in the United States. Aftermaking the world’s first commercial pow-der metal tool steel here in 1971, Cruciblelater expanded to become one of theworld’s most technically advanced produc-ers of superalloy powder. Each tour is lim-ited to 20 people (hardhats, safety glasses)with multiple groups possible in short-duration waits. We are restricting the totalto 94, the limit of our two-bus capacity.This tour is Friday, Sept. 12, only. Weboard buses at the hotel at 8:30 a.m. sharp,and arrive at the plant for a short introduc-tory film about Crucible and steelmaking,followed by a walking tour of the 65-acresite. Our tour includes the furnace build-ing, forge shop (still have blacksmiths) and

Dick Lautenslauger’s HO scale Northern Central is just one of the beautful layouts that willbe open for tours during the upcoming EJ’08 Convention. PHOTO BY SCOOTER YOUST

Well, the folks in the Central New YorkDivision are pulling out all the stops andit looks like Empire Junction 2008 isgoing to be a great convention. The staffof the model contest would like to takethis opportunity to add a new twist to thecontest. As the saying goes, “what’s oldis new again”. We are bringing back thePeople’s Choice (or Popular Vote) butwith some changes that should appeal toeven more people.

In the past, to be eligible for thePeople’s Choice, you had to enter theregular judged contest. Now, you canbring in a model just for the People’sChoice contest. Minimum paper work, noformal judging, no pressure, just displayit and if it tickles the conventionattendee’s fancy, you could win anaward. Awards will be given for the loco(steam/diesel), car, structure and diora-ma that receive the most votes.

So now you have three flavors tochoose from: the regular Judged Contestfor those that have gone the extra mileand want their models subjected to tech-nical judging in accordance with theAchievement Program guidelines andpoint scoring system (these models areautomatically entered in the People’sChoice as well), the People’s Choicewhere every convention attendee gets tovote for the model in each category thatthey like the best, and the ModelShowcase for those who are not interest-ed in competition but just want to sharewhat they have built, or are in theprocess of building, with other interestedmodelers.

Wouldn’t it be great if everybodybrought a model? With three options topick from, there are no excuses! Bring amodel to share with the rest of the modelrailroaders.—Bob Hamm, Contest Chair

Bring a model for the People’s Choice!


rod and bar mills. Some will be HOT! Soif you register for this, be prepared for thephysical demands of the tour. Sorry, nohandicapped access for this tour. We planto return to the hotel by 1 p.m. The cost:$20 per person.

Finger Lakes Railway: This day-longtour is Saturday, Sept.13, only. Total num-ber is limited to 94 because of two-buscapacity. Buses are required; no self-driv-ing allowed. We’ll board buses at 8:15 a.m.sharp to nearby Solvay, and a railroad-employee-guided bus tour of SolvayPaperboard, Trigen, Solvay Yards (CSX),and Church & Dwight Yards (NYS&W).Since these are non-FGLK properties, wewill remain on the buses. Continue on toAuburn for a tour of on-line customersthere and off bus for photos: Austeel, ascrap yard, and the old Alco facility.Reboard buses and continue on to Genevato tour the FLGK yards and shops, withequipment available for photography, andon to the team track and NS junction.Lunch in Geneva is on your own at the ren-ovated Geneva Station and “Sticky FingersBBQ Restaurant” in the station.Downtown Geneva is a short walk away.Reboard the buses at 2:00, with expectedreturn to the hotel by 3:00. The cost:$20.00 per person.

Non-Rail ProgramsWe are pleased to offer a full weekend

package of activities for those interested,based on your responses to our early liveand on-line polling of options. Thanks foryour help. Our tour packages:

Luncheon Cruise: On Friday, join uson beautiful Skaneateles Lake, one of theFinger Lakes. Our boat, the Judge BenWiles, departs from the dock in the pictur-esque Village of Skaneateles at noon for atwo-hour tour of the lake. You may choosean onboard luncheon of Cold SeafoodSalad - Shrimp and Crab, or Deli SandwichPlatter, with a choice of ham, turkey, orroast beef. Lunch includes fresh fruit salad,soup du jour, coffee/tea, lemonade anddessert. The boat is fully enclosed in caseof inclement weather. After the cruise, visitthe upscale village shops or nearby attrac-tions. The cost of the cruise is $20.00.Travel to Skaneateles, about a 45-minutedrive from the hotel, is on your own. Mapsand directions will be provided. Visitwww.midlakesnav.com for more info.

Finger Lakes Winery Tour: Thisalways-popular tour at CNY Division-hosted NER conventions goes again onSaturday. We will provide transportationand designated drivers and depart the hotelat 9 a.m., make a coffee stop at Dunkin’Donuts and head to the wine country. Wewill visit four wineries on the Cayuga/Seneca Lake Wine Trail, with a stop forlunch. Each stop on the tour will offer atasting of several wines and an opportuni-ty to purchase wine and gifts in the winerystore. We will return to the hotel at 4 p.m.Cost of this escorted tour is $20. Tastingfees and the cost of lunch are on your own.

Our in-hotel non-rail activities will fillout your long weekend. Thursday andFriday evening clinics include a loomsdemonstration, fabric Origami, a quiltingdemonstration, making cards and horticul-ture for large-scale garden railroads.

Finally, the EJ’08 Spa Event: tentative-ly scheduled Friday from 10:30 am to 9p.m., and again on Saturday from 11 am to4 p.m., we will have at least two techni-cians to provide facials, hairstyling, mani-cures, pedicures... the whole spa deal... ATNO COST. In conclusion, there is no rea-son for our non-rails to stay home!

RaffleThe CNY Division hosts the weekend-

long raffle of donated rail-oriented andnon-rail interest items. Closer to conven-tion, you can log on to the web site to seephotographs of donated items (with creditto their donors) as they come in. Also, atconvention’s end, when the winning tick-ets are drawn, we will have the winningnumbers and photo of the item displayedon large screen to make it easier for every-one to know the results. The CNY Divisionwill later advertise in Scale Rails its thanksand appreciation to the donors.

In addition, we have the “Build andDonate It” program, which encourages thebuilding of Model Showcase items anddonating them into the raffle. However, ifyou come from another NER division and“build and donate it,” the proceeds fromthat specific item will be split 50/50between the CNY Division and your homedivision, a win-win for all.

The Banquet...er, the “Saturday NightCarving Station Social Event”

Following the traditional social hour,

our Saturday evening meal continues witha flexible arrangement of serving by carv-ing stations. The menu will be steamshipround of beef or roast turkey breast, withbuns and condiments; hors d’oeuvres withcheese/crackers, fresh fruit garnish, veg-etables with blue cheese dip, baked brie,franks in puff pastry, and spanikopita; apasta station with penne pasta with alfredo,marinara and vodka sauce, antipasto saladand garlic pizza; and a dessert station withfresh fruit fondue and hot fudge sauces.

We selected this option mainly to keepthe convention as economical and attrac-tive as possible and allow for a more “free-form” event with greater movement andflexibility.

Sometimes at NER conventions, atten-dees rush to the contest room after the ban-quet is over only to find that the modelshave been cleared out and they’ve missedout. So, during our “banquet,” but follow-ing the presentation of contest and APawards, we will open the side wall separat-ing the “banquet” from the contest and“Model Showcase” room. Food and drinkwill not be allowed in the model area, butyou will have a greater chance (during the“social event”) to enjoy and inspect thedisplayed models at your leisure.

Finally, our guest speaker will be LouSassi. Many of you know that Lou’s layoutis now gone and that he and his wife areleaving the NER to be closer to family, sothis is a great chance to wish them well andjoin in his experience as a model railroadambassador.

Conclusion“If you build it, he will come.” Nice

movie line, but also true! In knowing thatyou further east are working hard forHartford National 2009, we have done thesame here…to strut our stuff, and to givethe rest of you in the NER a break. This isthe only NER convention scheduled before2009, and we have worked almost twoyears to present a fully enjoyable, and

EJ‘08FOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT

empirejunction.org

NORTHEASTERN REGION of the NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION

EMPIRE JUNCTION ‘08

September 11 - 14, 2008

Hosted by Central New York Division

Fall 2008 NER Convention Syracuse, NY

Registration FormFees and Activity Numbers are ListedConvention Info Website www.empirejunction.org

Primary Registrant Registrant 2

Name ______________________________________ Name

Address Address

City State Zip City State Zip

Telephone ( ) Telephone ( )

NMRA # Division NMRA # Division

Is this your first convention? Yes No Circle One Is this your first convention? Yes No Circle One

Registration Fee # _______________ Amount $ _____ Registration Fee #________________Amount $

Banquet # ____ Desc _____________ Amount $ Banquet # Desc Amount $

Activity # Desc Amount $ Activity # Desc Amount $



41 Modeling With The Masters Yes No Circle One 41 Modeling With The Masters Yes No Circle One

OP Session Choice 1st

2nd

3rd


2nd

3rd

Email address Email address

Total Primary Registrant $ Total Registrant 2 $

Registrant 3 Registrant 4

Name Name

Address Address

City State Zip City State Zip

Telephone ( ) Telephone ( )

NMRA # Division NMRA # Division

Is this your first convention? Yes No Circle One Is this your first convention? Yes No Circle One

Registration Fee # Amount $ ______ Registration Fee # Amount $ _____

Banquet # Desc Amount $ Banquet # Desc Amount $




41 Modeling With The Masters Yes No Circle One 41 Modeling With The Masters Yes No Circle One


2nd

3rd


2nd

3rd

Email address Email address

Total Registrant 3 $ Total Registrant 4 $

Payment in US Funds only. Sorry, NO credit cards. Make check payable to "NER Conventions.Terms and Conditions are on page 2.

Total (add all registration and activity fees) $_________________

#_____

Check/Amount_____________ M__ I____ D_______NER REG FA08-2 5/18/07 JCC

Office Use Only

A___________

REGISTRATION11 NMRA members (Prior to Aug 15, 2008) $ 20.00 12 NMRA members: Regular (After Aug 15, 2008) $ 25.00

13 Non NMRA members (Prior to Aug 15, 2008)1 $ 30.00

14 Non NMRA members (After Aug 15, 2008)1 $ 35.00

15 Spouses / Family accompanied by a member $ 10.00

SUBCRIPTIONS21 NMRA Bulletin Subscription $ 22.00 22 NER Coupler Subscription $ 7.00

MAP PACKAGE ADVANCE MAIL31 Map Package Advance by Mail $ 5.00 Everyone planning to drive to an op session WILL NEED TO ORDER this item.

BANQUET (Saturday Night,) No Social Event Tickets Sold After Sept 1, 2008

101 Saturday Night Carving Station Social Event $28.00

EXTRA FARE ACTIVITIESPROTOTYPE

201 Crucible Steel (Fri, Sept 12, 2008) $20.00 202 Finger Lakes RWY (Sat, Sept 13, 2008) $20.00

NON-RAILFor Lake Cruise Please Select Either 203 0r 204

203 Lunch Lake Cruise (Fri, Sept 12, 2008) with Cold Seafood Salad — Shrimp & Crab $20.00 204 Lunch Lake Cruise (Fri, Sept 12, 2008) with Deli Sandwich Platter — Ham, Turkey, & Roast Beef $20.00 205 Winery Tour (Sat, Sept 13, 2008) $20.00

OPERATING SESSIONS (Pre Registered)YOU MUST PRE REGISTER TO GET AN ADMISSION TICKET

By ruling of the NER Board, operating sessions will be assigned in order of convention registration number (the lower the number the higherthe priority). Given that there are activities such as tours and Modeling With The Masters which happen at the same time as some operatingsessions. The following priorities will be used in making assignments unless you request otherwise (see box below regarding making suchrequests): Contact OPSIG Coordinator Al Oneto who is making the assignments ([email protected] or 327 Springer Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824)by Aug 12, 2008. All Layouts are HO with over 80 slots available.

Thursday Sept 11, 2008 Miles 150 CNY Model RR Club Layout 22 1-4 PM151 Mohawk Valley Southern Bernie Messenger 40 1-4 PM152 CSX Syr. Division Dick Martini 7 7-10 PM153 Canada, Spokane & Pacific Drew James 8 7-10 PM

Friday Sept 12, 2008 154 CSX Syr. Division Dick Martini 7 9AM-Noon 155 Mohawk Valley Southern Bernie Messenger 40 1-4 PM156 CNY Model RR Club Layout 22 7-10 PM157 CSX Northeast Dave Martini 2 7-10 PM158 Canada, Spokane & Pacific Drew James 8 7-10 PM

Saturday Sept 13, 2008 159 CSX Northeast Dave Martini 2 9AM-Noon 160 Syracuse Model RR Club Layout 8 9AM-Noon

Sunday Sept 13, 2008 161 CNY Model RR Club Layout 22 1-4 PM

Send your completed registration form and payment to:John Campbell Jr. 63 Alexander Drive East Hartford, CT 06118

E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (860) 568-5075

All activities are ala carte including the banquet. Parking is FREE at the Hotel.1 Non-NMRA members fee includes a 6 month NMRA Membership (Rail Pass Program).

Non-NMRA members attending, who pay the $9.95 NMRA introductory fee, will receive a 6 months NMRA Membership.Payment must accompany registration form.

Bounced checks will not be put through twice - you will be required to pay your entire fee by money order or cashier's check through the mailor in cash at the convention. You will be responsible for all bank fees charged. DO NOT enclose hotel room reservation requests with yourregistration. If you pre-register and later need to cancel, a full refund will be given only if the registrar receives the request by Aug 15, 2008.

Allow 4 - 6 weeks for the processing of your refund.DO NOT mail a registration after Aug 15, 2008; register at the door. DO NOT staple your check to your registration form.

41 MODELING WITH THE MASTERS FREE

Your Registration # will be used for request prioritization.

There are a total of 20 seats available for this FREE activity. An additional 10 standby seats will be taken inthe event that any of the selected participants cannotattend. If you are on the “Stand By” list you should plan to be at the convention Thursday evening so thatyou are available to fill any last minute openings.

The program consists of two sessions. Session #1 isThursday evening, 9/11/2008, 7 PM to 10 PM. Thissession will focus on building a craftsman stylestructure kit supplied by Bar Mills Scale Models.Session #2 runs Friday, 9/12/2008, from 8 Am toNoon. In session #2 you will place your structure in adetailed scene creating a highly detailed display diorama. You MUST plan to attend both sessions ifyou sign up.

A list of tools and materials you will need to bring withyou will be provided to the 20 participants and the 10 people on Stand By. All materials will be provided except for those listed on the required tool sheet.There will not be any extra tools available should you not bring something on the list so please be sure topack everything you are asked to bring.

1. You will first be assigned to tours and “Modeling.”2. Then you will be assigned to your highest choice(just ONE) operating session available that does notconflict with your tour and/or “Modeling.” assignment.3. Needing a month to finalize operating sessiongroupings, deal with special requests and get lists andtickets out as needed, August 12 will be the cutoff forprimary operating session assignments.4. On August 12 any remaining operating session slots will go to people (in registration number order)who have requested a second op assignment.5. If any openings still remain, people will be assigned (in registration number order) to their third choice.6. If any openings still remain they will go to lateregistrants.7. Examples of special requests

a. Person “X” and I are driving together, could webe assigned to the same operating session(s). (Thismay be done if space is available when we get tothe person with the higher number).b. I prefer operation at my first requested layoutto my tour or “Modeling.” request. Please give methe operating assignment and take me off the other.


NER EmpireBuilders

Occasional news and photos of layout construction progress,showcasing the work of NER members as they go aboutbuilding their empires—large or small.

BY FRANKLIN LANG Wordsmith

MID-ATLANTIC & NEW ENGLAND

When I talked with Dave Myers of Waterbury Center, Vermont,I noticed that he had a bit of a southern accent. I wasn’t sure, butas we talked more about his layout, the truth came out. Dave isoriginally from Maryland and his railroad is a freelance 29’x18’aptly named the Mid Atlantic & New England or as his friendscall it “The MANE Railroad.”

Dave has 5 steam and 12 diesel locos carrying the fallen flagsof the CV, B&M, MEC and the WM, the latter part of a WesternMaryland layout left to him by a good friend who passed away.His era is the late 1960s with most of the rolling stock (all steel),reflective of a broader period. All cars are weathered and manyrusted out as the MANE Railroad sees lots of operation and allhis equipment is heavily exposed to the Vermont winters. Theyroll on Code 100 rail with Peco turnouts, all manually operated,with Code 83 used for sidings and yards at an altitude between50 and 58 inches. It is located in a real Vermont barn that wasrebuilt inside just for the layout. Because of the high price ofdiesel fuel and coal these days, Dave powers up with the NCEDCC system operating with four to six friends at least twice amonth mainly between September and April. The summermonths are too nice to stay indoors.

The layout scenery is about 50% completed. Dave says that“art” is his big thing which one can see in the beautifully weath-ered buildings he has built and the creativity he has put into hismountain sides. He uses chop sticks and the steeple bush weed,the latter native to Vermont, and other plants, along with commercial products to fill his mountains with greenery. Heeven has a port situated on “Lake Champlain” to round out awell-designed and executed point-to-point layout. Dave’sempire is six years new and well worth seeing. ■

Scenes from Dave Myers beautiful HO scale Mid Atlantic & New England, based on several northeastern prototypes. PHOTOS BY DAVE MYERS


In February of1966, at therequest of FrankSkutsch of GardenCity, New York, a

dozen model railroaders met at the homeof Ira Rothberg in Westbury to discuss theformation of a new division to be calledthe Sunrise Trail Division of NER NMRA.The group, which constituted itself as asteering committee, had invited the late,great Paul Mallery, then Secretary of theGarden State Division, to attend the meet-ing and outline what Garden State haddone when it organized. The group sched-uled its first Meet on Saturday, March 25,1966 at the Levittown Public Library.

In 2007 the Sunrise Trail Division(STDiv) designated those twelve individu-als as its Founders in preparation for a cer-emony honoring them at the Division’sannual convention in November.Unfortunately, in the intervening years,four were found to have passed away,including Ira Rothberg, and the status oftwo, Alfred “Tom” Prange and RalphThomas, could not be determined. Theremaining six, including Frank Skutsch,were each honored with a certificate andplaque designating him as a Founder, andeach was given a lifetime pass to all futureSTDiv events, as well as a lifetime sub-scription to the Division newsletter, theCannon Ball.

From these modest beginnings, theSTDiv’s ranks would swell to 397 at itspeak in 1984. By 1999 when the Divisionswitched to a policy that required NMRAmembership to be a Division member, theDivision faced a set of problems that otherdivisions making the same switch hadprobably encountered or would eventuallyface. Membership in the division hadshrunk to 214, of which only 60 wereNMRA members. Unfortunately, some ofthe most active and, thus, importantDivision participants were not members ofthe NMRA, and the division, therefore,lost their services as officers and directors.In return, the STDiv’s rolls were swelled

by NMRA members who, though living inthe Division’s geographical area ofresponsibility, were not previous divisionmembers. These additions, unfortunately,were less likely to be active participants indivision affairs. We were faced with asmaller pool of active members and a lesseffective means of communicating withthe membership at large.

The ivision has done a number of thingsin an effort to turn the membership tide,particularly with regard to communicationwith the membership. To offset a steadilyshrinking newsletter subscriber base, fouryears ago the Cannon Ball was madeavailable for free via Internet. And whenthe Division schedules a Meet that is opento the public, more than 280 get a pair ofemails announcing the event spread overthe month prior to it.

To encourage NMRA membership andenhance the division’s image withprospective members, the STDiv initiatedits “Sign-up With Sunrise” (SUWS) pro-gram at the beginning of 2007. Under theprogram, the division sees to all paper-work and absorbs the entire cost of a RailPass membership for anyone in the divi-sion’s area who has never been an NMRAmember and wants to join. Our programputs the division in contact with a newmember up front, rather than a month ortwo after he or she has applied and theNMRA has processed the application.Application via SUWS requires just atwo-minute phone call, after which theDivision immediately adds the new mem-ber to its rolls with all related Divisionrights and privileges. Thus far the STDivhas spent about $350 in attracting 32 newindividuals who now enjoy full NMRAmembership. To our knowledge, we arethe only NMRA division nationwide tooffer such a program.

Despite these efforts, STDiv member-ship now stands where it did ten years ago,

at 214, and the division continues to seekways to increase its rolls. To combat theloss of members, STDiv managementvoted recently to spend additional funds toexpand the SUWS program and alsoincrease new member benefits. “Sign-upWith Sunrise Rerail” is aimed at formermembers of the NMRA whose member-ship expired 5 or more years ago.

Allowing modelers who are not mem-bers of the NMRA has been part ofSTDiv’s outreach program for manyyears. The idea is to encourage modelersby giving them a non-competitive plat-form with NMRA standardized judgingfrom which to evaluate their modelingskills. No awards are given, but the mod-eler receives a certificate with the pointsearned by the model and an indication ofhow it would stand relative to MeritAward status, if the modeler were to be anNMRA member.

The STDiv schedules between four andfive Meets a year, which are open to thegeneral public, as well as NMRA mem-bers. Our Spring Meet and AnnualConvention in the Fall feature a modelingcontest, a photo contest, clinics, operatingrailroads, and a white elephant table. TheWinter Meet is a clinics only affair, and aParticipation Meet or Rolling Meet (orboth) usually fill out the schedule.TheSTDiv is proud of the contributions madeto the hobby by many of its members. Weare proud of the ten who, during theirmodeling lifetimes, became Master ModelRailroaders, including our current presi-dent, MMR No. 225, Walter Neumen. Weare proud of the members who haveserved as NER President. But, most of all,the STDiv is proud of the service we’vebeen able to provide the metro New Yorkarea railroad modelers for the past fortyyears, and we hope to continue the samefor at least the next forty.

—Walter Wohleking

NER DivisionSpotlight

Highlighting the accomplishments of Divisions across theNortheastern Region NMRA, profiles are encouraged todescribe the actitivies and community outreach of every group.

COMPILED BY THE COUPLER STAFF

Innovative Sunrise Trail Division swells ranks

SUNRISE TRAIL DIVISION - serving Long Island and NYCWalter J. Neumen, President - [email protected]

www.sunrisetraildiv.com


NER NewMembers

List of new members joining the Northeastern Region NMRA,compiled by the regional office manager. Please send corrections and additions to the Office Manager.

COMPILED BY DON IRACE NER Office Manager

New Members as of 3/16/08

NEW JERSEYBob Hans-MiddletownJohn Curtiss-StewartsvilleGeorge Wiesner, Sr.-BerlinThomas Griffiths-HowellWilliam Meola-Glen RockRobert Rathgeber-Ridgefield

NEW YORKBradley Whitman-New RochelleWilliam Estes-RochesterRobert Thon-WalworthL. E. Reed-BrooklynDennis Bulan-TroyDonald Erlenbusch-Ballston SpaGeoffrey Oldfield-SyracuseTheodore Miskell-GeneseoBill Bender-Central SquareDale Bauman-Ithaca

Robert Wynne-Grand IslandJoseph Janos-BaysideRay Buteux-SuffernLarry Williams-LiverpoolTimothy Warren-LiverpoolAnthony Siano-LarchmontJoe Furst-New YorkEric Hovater-Camillus

CONNECTICUTLouis Papineau-WallingfordThomas Hirsh-MysticRobert Falkevitz-East HartfordRaymond Chappell-WallingfordDennis Fennessy-MiddletownStewart Fritts-North Haven

MASSACHUSETTSMark Camire-AyerWilliam Boyden-SpringfieldRobin Weaver-Southampton

Paul Martin-BrocktonScott Cremer-ConcordJames Crump Iii-NatickJay Stradal-Orleans

RHODE ISLANDLouis Krue-Cumberland Paul Brown-Middletown

MAINEDennis Collins-Freeport

VERMONTVincent Jackson-RichmondRobert Davignon-East Middlebury

NEW HAMPSHIRERichard Hinkley-Derry

GEORGIAPaul Voelker

PENNSYLVANIARoger Hetrick

CALIFORNIAGeorge Holmes

TENNESEEMichael Ciarimboli

PENNSYLVANIAThomas MurrayDominic BartholomeoFrank Moltz

VIRGINIAScott Amoroso

CanadaPaul Smulders-Kirkland, Ontario

WELCOME ABOARD!

For the past six yearsthe tireless and hardworking Don Iracehas served as theNER’s dedicatedOffice Manager, acritical job for ourorganization and a

truly thankless one. Don kept the NER’smembership records, Coupler mailing listsand office operations running smoothlyand did his best to assist anybody dealingwith our Region. On behalf of the NERboard and myself I want to thank Don forhis much appreciate hard work. Now getback to work on that layout, Don!

—Phil Monat, Editor

The national NMRA headquarters hasrequested that Life Members contact themto update their contact information. Anymembers who have been deactivated willrecieve all back issues of ScaleRails andhave all membership benefits restored oncetheir contact information is updated.—Lou Ann Suits, Administrative Associate

Phone: (423) 892-2846Fax: (423) 899-4869

Don Irace retires!

With model railroading legend AllenMcCellend looking to reduce expenses andenjoy retirement with his family, he hassold his house and dismantled the secondversion of the Virginian & Ohio. His latestlayout was fully operational with somerudimentary scenery started here and there.A final open house was held on March 16,a special joint event hosted by MCRDivisions 3 (Dayton) and 7 (Cincinnati).Over 200 model railroaders from aroundOhio and distant parts of North Americafor this special event. Visitors were givenpasses good for a 25 minute visit to the lay-

out, so that everyone would have a chanceto walk through and talk with Allen. Someof Allen’s equipment was on sale duringthe open house, certainly some lucky visi-tors purchased their own piece of historythat day. Allen Keller was there producinga segement for his Great Model Railroadsseries, and well-known author and andlong-time friend of Allen’s Tony Koesterwas on hand as well. It was a fitting send-off for one of the most famous road namesin our hobby’s history!

—Otto M. Vondrak with thanks to GregMcCartney (MCR Div. 9) for the photo.

Hey, Life Members!

Last run for V&O Gauley Division!

NON PROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSTAMFORD, CT

PERMIT No. 1245

THE NORTHEASTERN REGIONNational Model Railroad AssociationN.E.R. OFFICE MANAGER11 ROAD CNORTH SCITUATE, RI 02857

REQUESTED IN MAIL BOX BY JUNE 20

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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