The Passing Track

Newsletter of the Rogue Valley Model Railroad Club
PO Box 1362—Medford, OR 97501

April 2004

home page http://rvmrc.railfan.net/

Thank You From Klamath

A Thank You from…Judith, Lynn, Nancy, Susan, Elida, Anne, Chris (the soup lady), and all the rest of the Museum train gang!

The staff and volunteers of the Klamath County Museum welcomes you to our ranks since your model railroad displays at the Museum last weekend certainly exemplified volunteerism at its best. Doing something you love and in doing so, bringing benefit to others, is the basis for successful volunteering, and your activities here at the Klamath County Museum can definitely be described as successful. Our Museum set new attendance records, sales records, and even attendance income records. People have been coming in all week and saying how much they liked the model trains. Thank you very much, everyone of you, for your generosity with your time, your trains, your travel and other resources that were necessary to make the train weekend so successful. We hope you will come back next year. We have plans for Trolley train tours, map displays, even model depots. We welcome suggestions for ways to make our environment more hospitable to you and your displays. Please send announcements of all your activities to the Museum so we can share them with Klamath County train buffs. As you saw last weekend, this county has alot of people who really like your model trains. And remember to count the staff and volunteers of the Klamath County Museum as some of your biggest fans.

April Board Meeting Summary

The RVMRC Board met on April 14. Bruce reported a very successful swap meet (see story, next page). We have received many compliments on our t-shirts and jackets, both at the public run session and at the swap meet. There will be a second order on jackets as soon as we get another half dozen orders. We must order in batches of 12, and the board is not comfortable tying up club money on 7 extra jackets (based on current additional orders). Signups for the public run sessions are sufficient at this point for the next several shows. Remember, the sign up sheets are on the bulletin board here at the clubhouse. Our DCC test was successful, but there is a problem. First, we encountered a faulty booster, which caused us to detect shorts in the system. When it was replaced by another member’s power unit, the shorts went away, and the system was operational. We successfully ran a 56 car 4-unit train without a hitch. However, steamers stall on every switch, and diesels hang up on a couple of switches. The DCC committee will look into the problem which may be the result of electronics routing within the switches themselves. At worst, we may have to place a relay at each switch to provide proper electrical routing.


Go to page 2 The Medford-Butte Falls Railway

Railroad Time Cards -2004

May Calendar of Events

All events in the Clubhouse at the Railroad Park unless otherwise noted.

New Layout Construction
Saturdays— May 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Construction/Cleanup Sessions:
Thursdays—May 6, 13, 20, and 27
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Public Run Session
Sundays—May 9 and 23 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM

Board Meeting:
Wednesday, May 12 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

General Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 26 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

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That also means cutting additional gaps. A ceiling was installed in the shed, as well as lights. Our club building (and the shed) need to be painted, and the board authorized the expenditure for paint. The shed will have battens installed prior painting. We will need to sand/brush some of the facia where the sun has been particularly direct. Joe Brick’s membership application was accepted. Joe is a tremendous supporter of the Club and a good contact for us in Klamath Falls. Chris Fawcett (Brad Fawcett’s wife) is having back surgery again. The board asks everyone to keep Chris and Brad in your thoughts and prayers. Sadly, Art McKee’s wife passed away last month (see story, next page). Grace Christian School will be visiting the Club on May 27. The Lane Society of Model Railroaders has invited club members to their annual picnic, August 15 in Junction City. Stan McCollough brought in a Keystone bandsaw mill kit, originally donated by Duncan Campbell, available for a volunteer to put together for our layout. E. Don had Club hats made when he fell into a deal he could not pass up, nor had time to contact the Board for approval. The Board agreed to reimburse E. Don for the hats (they go quite nicely with our green apparel, and will sell for $10.00 each).