Estes Valley

ESTES VALLEY - DIVISION 5

Winter is finished. Spring officially came in March and it will be May when this is published. Model railroading is a four-season hobby, where the activity takes place moves around a bit as the seasons change.

After a busy February and another successful Rails in the Rockies © (the 18th!) it was time for a bit of a party, mixed with some work. The place was the Estes Park Library.

This photo shows Laura Trump, Rails in the Rockies director, preparing the pizza from Poppy’s Pizza & Grill in Estes Park.

While Laura prepares the feast, Estes Valley Division Secretary Mary Oldberg and Division Superintendent Steve Andersen confer on matters relative to the just completed President’s Day weekend show. Just who was coaching who cannot be said? 

As the last of the pizza was dispatched, the obligatory bit of business was taken care of by Division Superintendent Steve Andersen.

We take Rails in the Rockies © quite seriously and are already thinking of how to make next year’s 19th annual show more enjoyable and educating for the visitors. A relentless pursuit of excellence is not a wasted effort, but being marvelously mediocre is.

Before the pizza party celebrating the successful 18th annual Rails in the Rockies, we had a short planning meeting and were able to visit Jim Mount and his HOn3 layout. The railroad was HO standard gauge, but Jim is making great progress in converting to HOn3. Perhaps his several trips to Chama and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad have had something to do with his changing from ‘broad gauge’ to Colorado Standard Gauge.

This photo finds Estes Valley Division Superintendent Steve Andersen, Webmaster Lynn Patten, Moffatt man and NMRA life member Richard Oldberg, and Jim Mount discussing Jim’s expansion to newfound territory to the West.

This photo of the log pond and sawmill reveal that Jim's talents are not limited to scenery and rolling stock. It is obvious that he can handle all the various tasks of layout building.

This photo shows the progress of a major area on Jim’s HOn3 layout. A roundhouse with turntable and adjacent car shop and RIP track is situated between the coal dock and a ranching scene. The coal dock is similar to the D&RGW structure that was at Sargents, Colorado but it was actually build from Moffat road plans provided by Richard Oldberg. A large water tank is out of the picture to the right. Nice work Jim, we will try to keep up with your progress as you share what you are doing.

Sharing knowledge are hallmarks of the hobby and of the NMRA. The Estes Valley Division intends to “… promote the hobby of model railroading and to bring the functions of the NMRA and the RMR to the individual modeler.” We also intend to “Promote teamwork and fellowship among members to stimulate, foster, and encourage the art and craft of model railroading.”

I found this posting from the British Region in November of 2013 and saved it. It seems that goings on the other side of the Atlantic are not a great deal different than what we see here in the Estes Valley Division.

“Turning to attracting new members, we do try to get out at shows with a display stand extolling the qualities of membership of the NMRA. Here in the UK the unique selling point is North American railways. We use a strap line of "Sharing Know-How". New members join because they want to add to their knowledge and experience of USA and Canadian railroads/railways. Our average membership age is around 64 and is not getting any younger. We seem to appeal to those in their 40s and 50s who have more disposable income.” Mike Arnold, Vice President British Region

SHARING KNOW-HOW

We could make similar small posters to promote the NMRA and most especially the NMRA Rocky Mountain Region, RMR Divisions, and RMR 100% NMRA Clubs. Wherever, whenever, and whomever, the NMRA is about “sharing know-how” just like the people in the British Region say on their label. The text and URL could be a pointer to NMRA National, An NMRA Region, an NMRA Division, or a 100% NMRA club. The QR code would link directly to an appropriate web site.

Perhaps the small poster could be made 3-1/2 by 8-1/2 inches to fit in the hundreds of visitor information racks that are all around Colorado. A catch phrase could be written across one end so that it would be visible when the poster was in an information rack. The phrase would pique the interest of those who might have a latent interest in model railroading. There would be enough space on the 30+ square inch poster to point the potential member toward meeting time and place information.