Off the Rails

Golden Spike Limited 2014

Congratulations to the Northern Utah Division for hosting this year’s Regional Convention after a long hiatus from regional conventions.

There were some growing pains and a few hitches but we had a great time and got to have some fun.

Visiting Promontory Summit was a highlight for me, to see the Jupiter and 119 replicas.  These locomotives are simply spectacular.

The Central Pacific Jupiter and Union Pacific 119 replicas under steam in position.

The Jupiter with our Tour Guide and his granddaughter.

Union Pacific 119 arriving for the ceremony.

A few of us, including yours truly, also got to partake in the 1869 reenactment, filling in for some of the regular actors.  That was actually pretty neat.  

I was able to operate on some fantastic layouts and visit several more. Bruce Chubb presented several clinics on signaling and his systems which were another highlight. 

The trip for me was also special, joining Al Hovey and Buzz Lenander aboard the California Zephyr to and from the convention, with a few glitches of its own due to a grain silo on the tracks at Omaha and flooding throughout the Midwest.

At the convention we were treated with free access to the local commuter and rail lines, which several of us took advantage.  The area also offered a few model hobby shops as well.

Charlie Getz, NMRA President, gave us his trademark entertaining welcome, and Bruce and Janet Chubb were the featured Banquet speakers. 

Well Done!

National Conventions

Northern Utah also went so far to submit a bid for the National Convention to coincide with the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike, in Salt Lake City in 2019.

National HQ also requested that the Region look at putting together another bid, from Denver or possibly Colorado Springs.   More on that as it develops!

Summer Time

Some of the Divisions may take a break for the summer, as many of us enjoy family outings and get togethers.  Hopefully, everyone still has time for their hobby in between work and yard work at home!  I find myself taking two steps backward at my club (again) as we first started to add a run-around to our Monarch Pass mine and now relaying the track around the (now) expanded (instead of cut-away) tailings.  

New roadbed (1/4” luann plywood) installed for the new run-around

at Monarch Pass at the Scenic Line Modelers layout.

The tailings off the truck ramp now have the track crews re-aligning the rails around the piles.  Originally a cut-away of the hill, it was just not looking as good as we would have liked!

Making my turnouts by hand has become more routine for me these days, especially through the use of Fast Track jigs. I never thought a few years ago I could hand lay track or build my own turnouts, but after trying, I found that I could learn new skills through some trial and error and now can do it pretty reliably.

My Fast Tracks jigs with my under construction code 70 narrow gauge switches.

My original handlaid switches were built without jigs, but these help.

If you have thought about trying something new, go for it!  You never know what you can accomplish until you try it.  You may find another aspect in the hobby that can lead you to who knows where, the possibilities are endless.

I hope everyone has a great summer!

-Gary