March 19, 2016 - Meeting Summary
The San Diego S Gaugers held the March club meeting at our new location (304 on the mall map) in Grossmont Center at 10:00am. Attendees were: Mike Forys, Bob Graves, Alex Sibbald, Dale Minard, Ken Sadlock, Don Briggs, Wes Noel, Al Keil and Les Smith.
Introduction of new faces:
Today we were graced with a visitor from the Pacific Southwest Division of the NMRA. Paul Schmitt is the San Diego representative in charge of achievement awards. The club that he belongs to, Short Track Railroad (N scale) is part of the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum located in Vista Ca. The reason for his visit was to award Wes Noel the NMRA’s Golden Spike Award. Paul traveled to Wes’s home to check out the train layout that Wes built in his garage and deemed it worthy of the reward. Congratulations Wes!
Show and Tell:
Dale Minard shared his new brass train cars that he recently painted. They included an RDC, post office car and observation car. Ken Sadlock brought in a foam train car fixture that he constructed for the club. He also brought in a rivet-swaging tool that can be used to attach Flyer trucks. Wes Noel brought in gondola loads that he purchased on Ebay.
Treasurer’s Report:
Bob Graves reported that we received $195.52 from visitor donations in February.
Standards Report:
Raulf is working on new switches for Gilbert Town.
Publicity Report:
Dale Minard provided a copy of IRS 501( C3 ) rules and regulations that he obtained on the internet.
Dale is working to create a Facebook page for the club.
Old Business:
SDSG Website:
Bob Graves is working to add new pictures.
PY3.5 (station expansion):
Mike Forys reported that the module is ready for gluing down the track and the station platforms are in the works. (On hold)
T1 replacement frame:
Mike Forys reported that the replacement frame is ready for track. (On hold)
New Gilbert Town Modules:
Mike Forys reported that the three new Gilbert Town modules are ready for laying track.
Mike has ordered roadbed from a new vendor who will make it to our height requirement of ¼”.
New Business:
Grossmont Center:
Mike Forys removed the winter ceramic city from the window display and replaced it with the Easter themed village. The club has been invited to participate in the Easter celebration at Grossmont Center. Wes and Dale will set up a small train exhibit in the Easter Egg Hunt area and pass out literature as well as direct patrons to our storefront exhibit.
501(c)3 status:
Our application for 501(C3) status with the state of California is being augmented with historical data requested by the state.
Future Clinics:
The club is looking forward to a clinic on DCC and AC operations specific to our layout to allow every member to have the ability to operate the DCC and AC trains. A date to do this is under review. Current procedures for operating both varieties need to be prepared by knowledgeable operators for this clinic.
Window Layout Success:
As of 03/15/2016 the window layout button has been pushed 2,018 times since our last meeting, 20,663 times since we installed it at Grossmont Center and 53,573 times since day one.
Future events:
The April 19 Tuesday meeting will take place at our Suite (304 on the mall map) in Grossmont Center at 10AM.
Current Attendance Figures:
Mike Forys reported that we are seeing about 100 visitors on Tuesday and about twice that on a Saturday. On Grossmont Center special event days we see approximately an additional 150 visitors.
Club Shutdown and Entry Procedures:
Mike Forys prepared and distributed printed entry and departure procedures.
Track Issues:
Wes Noel suggested forming a tiger team to review track issues and come up with correction strategies and he agreed to lead the effort. Coupler height is an issue and Alex Sibbald suggested that we create a fixture with two movable trucks featuring couplers set to the optimum height.
Club House Configuration:
Mike Forys is pursuing design drawings for our suite to determine if additional space is available for layout expansion.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:35 AM.
Next I'd like to read the minutes for: