Front Range

FRONT RANGE DIVISION

The Front Range Division has a busy summer starting with the annual picnic at the Colorado Railroad Museum in August. In addition to our division, members from the Sunrise and South Suburban divisions were invited to the potluck picnic. We had a perfect day and all had a wonderful time eating and talking trains.

In September Jack Haptonstall, FRD Assistant Superintendent and RMR Secretary, along with Allen Grasmick, presented a slide show of the Rocky Mountain Region Convention in Durango. The men covered the layout tours as well as the narrow gauge train ride to Silverton.

The Front Range Division has started an annual mini layout tour tradition. This is our second year, we visited three layouts in an evening traveling from layout to layout in caravan fashion. This allows the layout presenters the opportunity to see all the layouts, too. 

Visited were Bob Heine’s HO Union Pacific Idaho Division in the transition era (#1), Gary Ratay’s Berlin, Germany layout in N scale (#2) - this layout is a technological wonder - and last was Jack Haptonstall’s HOn3 representation of the D&RG (#3). Jack is a wonderful structure builder.

October’s clinic was a hands on presentation by extraordinary structure and diorama builder Kris Blackmarr. He covered various methods of weathering styrene. Tools, brushes and methods were discussed and tried out by the FRD attendees. All left with more valuable tools in their tool box. Kris is super in this type of clinic.

FRD member Rich Gibson is resurrecting his Maine Central layout after a move from Montana. A call was made for help thru our Boomer group. We were able to build wall brackets for layout support, modify fascia support and lay some track. When Rich finishes this layout it will be exceptional. Below, Chuck Hermes works on the fascia.

The Front Range Division meets the third Monday of the month at 7:00pm at the Colorado Railroad Museum in the Delay Junction building. The meeting starts off with the clinic, followed by a “Show and Tell” session and the meeting is concluded with a short business meeting. We do not hold meetings in August and December. In August, we have the FRD picnic, also, at the CRRM and in December we have a Christmas Party off site.

Paul Brennecke