February 21, 2015 - Meeting Summary
The San Diego S Gaugers held the February club meeting at the home of Les Smith. Attendees were: Mike Forys, Bob Graves, Alex Sibbald, Ken Sadlock, Les Smith, Raulf Polichar, Wes Noel, Al Keil, Jim Patterson, Raulf Polichar and Mark Reinhard.
Introduction of new faces / Show and Tell:
During show and tell the following items were introduced:
Wes Noel displayed the wood texture paper floors that he installed in boxcars. He obtained them from the internet and printed them out. Mike Forys brought in the new Flyonel Elf Handcar with reversing feature and an American Flyer 1953 catalog boxcar. He also brought in a Gilbert Heritage Book that he obtained at the White Elephant Sale in Oakland. Ken Sadlock displayed the Sante Fe “B” unit that he had rechromed by Port Lines Hobby Supply and then he repainted and applied decals. He also brought in an American Flyer unpowered Atlantic Locomotive that he had modified with a front coupler to be used for double heading.
Treasurer’s Report:
Bob Graves reported that we had a quiet January with the only income being the yearly dues that were collected.
Standards Report:
Raulf Polichar brought in a MicroMark catalog featuring connectors that we could use for installing lighted buildings on the layout.
Publicity Report:
Dale Minard reported that he had printed labels with our information and applied them to our club handouts.
Old Business:
Future Clubhouse Status:
Mike Forys reported that his search at Clairmont Square was curtailed by our insurance limitations and the fact that the management asked how much we were willing to pay. He will pursue our insurance limitations and see what it would cost to comply with the management’s requirements.
SDSG Website:
Bob Graves is working to add the latest GTE photos to the website.
New Clinics:
New clinics open to the public are restricted due to the club’s lack of a clubhouse. Until we have a location, clinics would be restricted to the membership and would cover subjects such as engine repair and information important to consider when starting a layout.
New Business:
Future events:
The March 21st meeting will be held at the home of Raulf Polichar at 2:00 PM. Future meetings time and locations will be determined at that meeting.
The Great Train Expo:
The show featured 18 layouts this year. The visitor turnout appeared to be light partly due to the choice of Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day weekend. The display this year included all 24 of our modules including the two new modules created by Dale Minard. The setup layout required all the time that we were allotted and the club discussed methods that could be used to reduce setup time.
New clubhouse characteristics:
Mike Forys has asked for input as to what the club would seek in terms of a clubhouse location. The members agreed that the location at Grossmont Center was just about optimum however a site without foot traffic would also be useful for us to work on the layout rather than entertain the public.
501(c)3 status:
Mike Forys reported that any landlord donating space to a 501(c)3 organization that is only a portion of that structure would not be able to deduct that donation on his taxes. He could deduct the donation on his taxes if he donated an entire building.
Future Projects:
The club discussed the possibility of expanding the Gilbert Yard to allow for a passing siding and the possibility of train operations. Mike Forys asked Bob Graves to investigate what could be accomplished with the current configuration and that with deeper and/or additional modules. Currently the popular, visitor friendly layout is used in a static mode to allow for the demonstration of American Flyer Accessories.
Layout Skirting:
Several suggestions were presented on how to connect the skirt sections together at the bottom. Both Velcro and magnetic closures were discussed.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:00PM.
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