INFORMATION


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: December 15, 2009

SUBJECT: Last Day for Train Display in Window

  CONTACT: Robert Bomboy
	          (570) 275-7822

Last Day for Train Display in Downtown Store Window

WILKES-BARRE – Friday is the last day for the holiday electric train display
in the window of the downtown Barnes & Noble King’s-Wilkes College bookstore
on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.
	 The four-foot-square display has lighted houses, a puffing Pennsylvania
Railroad steam engine, a classic red-and-yellow Santa Fe passenger train
that talks, a Gandy Dancer’s work car with a flashing light, skaters on a
pond, an ice fisherman, stylish cars and trucks from the 1950s, telephone
poles, and snowy Christmas trees.
	 “It’s the last chance to run a fascinating model train,” says Robert
Phillip Bomboy, a local author who has been running the trains at the Barnes
& Noble Bookstore since December 4. “Everyone can operate the train, blow
the whistle, and ring the bell.”
	 The train and the display will operate Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The
hands-on display is free and handicapped-accessible.
Bomboy is the author of a novel about the 109th Field Artillery in which two
trains – a puffing steam engine and a fast, cross-country streamliner – play
key roles. The novel is called “Smart Boys Swimming in the River Styx.” He
also operates model train displays year-round in a program called Wheelchair
Engineers at the Columbia Mall on Interstate 80. “This layout in the store
window is the right height so that handicapped people and anyone else can
have fun with it,” he points out.

##

Notice: the Frackville display layout is CLOSED due to Ice.  Most
roads in the area are closed even though the Mall is open. Sorry we
will not be in today.

I will post the next opening.  Thank you, Dave & Wally

"December 17, Thursday, 6 pm -  SOS members will be gathering at the Kast Hotel for their fine food, and later around 7:30 pm, go on a tour of their famous Model Train Museum hosted by Scott Peterson.  Scott is the forth generation owner of this landmark hotel.   . .  <SNIP> . . . .   Call Larry Schmohl for more information at (570) 998-9484."

((I got the organizer Larry Schmohl's permission to post this announcement on the 'RailNet' and 'DanceNet'.))

If you're single and interested in either model trains or interested in good food, you can attend this event as my guest or as Larry's guest.  Advance reservations are not required, but if you know ahead you might attend, you might give Larry a "heads up" at the above phone number.

The 8 attached photos show about about 15% of what there is to see; i.e. there's a LOT MORE stuff to gawk at. 

Note the tour is not "exclusive" for the singles group, but rather is offered to all interested "dining parties" who are present at around 7:30.

As I recall, there is a parking lot in the rear of the hotel, although it can get crowded.  You can also park on Arch Street, or one of the side streets.

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Thanks.               - Jim Ingram       VMS/Land 570.322.7597

Williamsport PA <http://track2.com>  MacBook Pro/OS 10.5

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The Frackville "O" scale 3 rail display layout is OPEN to the public
Sunday December 13th.

We have a 24' x 55' multi-level display, depicting the Anthracite region of
Schuylkill County in the steam era. We have 3 main tracks. (1) is
automatic running of 6 trains 3 in each direction. #2 is command
control MTH DCS & Lionel TMCC. The 3rd level is both conventional &
TMCC. We are based on the Reading and PRR's. Come see the mighty
T-1's, Camelback's, 2-8-0 Consolidations. Easy to get to and worth
the trip. We are the Schuylkill Mall Frackville at the intersection
of Route 81 and 61. Very convenient to get to. We are located in the
Famous Labels wing of the mall across from Pay Less Shoes.
There is shopping for the ladies and kids and a large Antique &
Collectible Co-op with lots of cool goodies available to look at and
buy. Thanks for looking Dave, Wally, Caleb, Jim,Jim,& Jim

INFORMATION


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: December 8, 2009

SUBJECT: Dozens Run Train Display in Window

  CONTACT: Robert Bomboy
	          (570) 275-7822

Train Display in Window Delights Downtown Shoppers

WILKES-BARRE – Dozens of children, with their parents and grandparents, have
been running holiday electric trains in the window of the downtown Barnes &
Noble King’s-Wilkes College bookstore on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.
	 The free display will continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for two more Fridays
before Christmas, on December 11 and December 18.
	 The four-foot-square display has lighted houses, a puffing Pennsylvania
Railroad steam engine, a classic red-and-yellow Santa Fe passenger train
that talks, a Gandy Dancer’s work car with a flashing light, skaters on a
pond, an ice fisherman, stylish cars and trucks from the 1950s, telephone
poles, and snowy Christmas trees.
	 The train and the display are free and handicapped-accessible.
“People in wheelchairs came in and ran the trains,” says Robert Phillip
Bomboy, a local author who operates model train displays year-round in a
program called Wheelchair Engineers at the Columbia Mall on Interstate 80.
“This layout is the right height so that handicapped people and anyone else
can have fun with it.”
	 The Santa Fe Super Chief calls out stations from Chicago to Los Angeles,
through Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Barstow, Arizona. Visitors can blow its
horn, ring its bell, load and unload passengers at the layout’s
green-and-white station.
	 The black Pennsy steam engine puffs clouds of smoke – sometimes blowing
smoke rings – and has a long, moaning whistle.
  	 “It’s a retro return to the days of yesteryear when downtown stores had
electric trains in their windows,” Bomboy says. “This goes that one better.
In those days people couldn’t run the trains themselves. On this layout
Friday, everyone can run the trains. It’s a great chance for some fun. The
kids are loving it, and older people are talking about the trains they had
when they were children, and their fathers and grandfathers who were
railroad conductors and engineers. This was a big railroad town. ”
						 ##

INFORMATION


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2009

CONTACT: Robert Bomboy
                       275-7822

CHRISTMAS TRAINS OPEN HOUSE IS DECEMBER 12

DANVILLE – New trains and a well-known guitarist playing Chistmas music will
highlight the fifth annual open house of the year-round nationally
recognized Saturday Trains program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. December 12 at
Christ Memorial Episcopal Church in Danville.
	 The guitarist, Mark Tomeo of Riverside, will sing and play between noon and
1 p.m. His Christmas music at Saturday’s open house will be one of many
stops Tomeo will make on a month-long holiday tour in which he hopes to
play, for free, every day until New Year’s.
	 “I thought it would be fun to just go to a lot of places, set up, play for
an hour and then move on,” says Tomeo, whose longtime professional credits
include work with Neon Cactus locally and a New England band that was
nominated for a Grammy. “I think live music adds to the Christmas season,”
he adds.
	 The four-hour open house also will include free coffee, holiday treats, and
rare videos of steam engines operating on the local Pennsylvania Railroad
line in the 1930s and 1940s.
	 Since 2005 hundreds of children and adults have run the O-Gauge
model-railroad trains on the 22-foot layout, delighting in the whistles and
horns, the puffing steam engines, the unloading coal cars and log cars, and
the miniature watchman who runs out of his shanty, swinging his red lantern,
whenever a train comes rushing by.
	 “We’re decorated with holiday trimmings, and we have new trains to show
visitors – all of them donated by generous people who love to see the joy in
children’s faces at this time of year,” says Bob Bomboy, who hosts the free
model-railroading program with his volunteer partners.
	 New this Christmas is a 1947 Lionel “bullet” locomotive donated by Danville
train collector Jim Kalmanson and his brother Steve of West Allis,
Wisconsin.
Dale Walker, also a Danville train collector, will show a classic Standard
Gauge model train from the early twentieth-century; and a new flashing
Pennsylvania Railroad sign will greet visitors coming through the door.
Over the years children have built the entire railroad display with its
snow-covered mountains, trees, a ski slope, and a frozen lake with ice
skaters. The church is at the corner of Pine and East Market Streets in
Danville. For information about the program, call the church office,
275-3903, Monday through Thursday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
##

I just added a new member to the Central Pa Mac Users Yahoo Group, and the Track2 RailNet Yahoo Group, named Jeff Schroeder, who lives in Montoursville.  ((Jeff is another MacBook Pro user.))

Jeff has some really impressive photos in his Flickr photo album, located here:
http://flickr.com/photos/jeffschroeder/

You can view Jeff's  "sets" page here:

http://flickr.com/photos/jeffschroeder/sets/ 

which I find a bit easier to navigate.

((Navigating Flickr is something I find confusing. I personally prefer Picasa, but many prefer Flickr.  One nice feature Flickr has, though, is that is allows you to view the photos full-size.  Picasa does not have this feature, unless you download them full-size to your hard drive.))

Jeff has a "set" of 86 photos showing the Clinton Central layout in Castanea here:
http://flickr.com/photos/jeffschroeder/sets/72157616402715550/

Jeff's father, Wain Schroeder, also in Montoursville, is the webmaster for Clinton Central Model RR Club ( http://ccmrr.org ).

You can also see some of his other impressive websites at http://WainsWebs.com  ,

which includes a website for a no-kill cat shelter in So. Wmspt, and also a wildlife rehabilitation center in New Jersey.

Wain is in the RailNet group, but not the Cpamu group, since he uses mainly a Windows computer.

I accused Jeff of "parental abuse" -- for using a Mac for himself, while he lets his father struggle with Windows -- but Wain replied with the following comment:

At 8:27 AM -0500 12/4/09, Wain  wrote:

HI Jim,
    . . .  .  I have used Macs in the past (94 - 98) when I worked with Bellcore, but when I was just starting to really understand them, we switched to the PC platform.  My son owns two Mac laptops (one a Powerbook) and I occassionally use the other one to test out websites.  The only thing I am really envious of him is his 2-" monitor.

1. SUBJECT:  New "Feature": Uploading Show Flyers By Email

Experimental Picasa Photo Album For N. Central Pa Model Railroad Show Flyers

As an experiment, I created a free Google Picasa photo gallery, where we can store club show flyers.

View 2009 Flyers album here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/track2.com/2009#

View Test Album here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/track2.com/Test#

View the "gallery" -- showing both albums -- at  http://picasaweb.google.com/track2.com

Picasa has a feature where you can email an image to the appropriate Picasa email address, and it will be uploaded to a Picasa photo gallery.  

You use the 'subject' line of the email, to specify to which particular album in the gallery, you want the image uploaded.

You can view Picasa's Help page for uploading images by email here:
http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=83342&hl=en_US  

* Region:  Verify the show/open house is within the RailNet geographical region -- see the following "Region" image

* Format:  The format must be a JPEG, GIF, or PNG format.  The PDF format will not work.

(On a Mac, just open a PDF, and do a shift-apple-4 screen capture, which makes a .PNG copy.)

Creating The Email:

Step 1) Open a new email window

Step 2) Use   2009   for the subject of the email.

Step 3) Attach the flyer to the email  (JPEG, GIF, or PNG)
Step 4) Send the email to this address:  track2.com.testing@... .

Picasa should automatically upload the flyer you attached, to the '2009'  album.

View this URL,  http://picasaweb.google.com/track2.com/2009#

and you should see the flyer you sent.

I set up a test album for ANY of you to try, if you just want to see how this works.  You can experiment by using any JPEG, GIF, or PNG image on your computer -- try to keep the size under 200 K if you can.

Creating The Email:

Step 1) Open a new email window
Step 2) Use   test   for the subject of the email.
Step 3) Attach the flyer to the email  (JPEG, GIF, or PNG)
Step 4) Send the email to this address:  track2.com.testing@... .

Picasa should automatically upload it to the 'test'  album.
View this URL,  http://picasaweb.google.com/track2.com/Test#
and you should see the image you sent.

Picasa uses your email's 'subject' to upload the image you send, to the proper album.   For example,if the subject is '2009', it uploads the image to the album named '2009'.     If the subject is 'test', it uploads the image to the album named 'test'.   

If you forget the subject or mispell it, Picasa will upload the image to the 'drop box'.  I.e. the drop box is sort of a "catch-all" bin, for when the subject of the incoming email doesn't match any of the album names.  You can't see the drop box.  Only I can access it, when I am "logged in".

You can view Picasa's Help page for uploading images by email here:
http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=83342&hl=en_US  

 

7. Unanswered Questions ?? 

If the above explanation isn't making any sense, feel free to telephone me, and I'll try to give you a better explanation.

:

December 2, 2009

The Clinton Central Model Railroad Club announces their annual Holiday Open House schedule.  The club will be opening its doors on Tuesday, December 15, 2009, from 6 P.M. to 9 P.M., Saturday, December 19, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. and Tuesday, December 29, 2009, from 6 P.M. to 9 P.M.  Family members of all ages will enjoy the sights and sounds of trains operating on over 800 feet of mainline track on our large HO scale, DCC layout.  Station tours including railroad memorabilia and model railroad displays will be provided throughout the day. 
 
The club is located in the former New York Central railroad station in Castanea.  The club has transformed the old freight room into a continuously growing HO scale model railroad layout. They have developed a collection of railroad artifacts that includes an extensive railroad library.  Donations of railroad and model railroad items are always appreciated to continue the expansion of our displays.
 
In addition to the annual Holiday Open House activities, a project is currently under way by the Clinton County Historical Society and the Clinton Central Model Railroad Club to renovate this historic station to its previous condition in the heyday of railroading.  A new historically correct roof has been installed on the station, and a water tower replica has been erected right outside the station’s main entrance.  Public support for this extensive project can be made through tax deductable donations.  Details are available at the station or the Historical Society.
 
A special feature of this year’s Open House is the opportunity for children to observe and use an authentic telegrapher’s key to send Morse code messages within the train station.  The key is the actual key once used in the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Lock Haven.
 
Please bring the whole family to enjoy the sights and sounds of railroading at the Clinton Central Model Railroad Club. The Station is located at 15 Logan Ave, Castanea, PA.   Take the Lock Haven exit off of Route 220. ((Ingram comment: I believe the highway exit sign is now identified as "Exit #111 Castenea/Lock Haven" on Rt 220.))  Follow the signs to Castanea.  Cross the bridge and take the first left on to Allison St.  Go two blocks and turn left on Logan Ave.  The station is just ahead on the right.  Orange signs will be posted along the route.
 
The Clinton Central Model Railroad Club is also on the web.  Please visit at http://ccmrr.org.  (( Map at http://ccmrr.org/contact.html ))

This is from Dave & Wally of the North Schuylkill High Railers in the
Schuylkill Mall Frackville.

In the past one of the issues stated by possible new members was that
they operated in a scale other
than "O" scale. Well we just had made available to us some additional
space, directly next to our "O"
Scale Layout. There is enough space there for an HO or possibly both
an HO and "N" scale layouts.
So we would like to hear from individuals and or clubs that would be
interested in building or even moving
an existing layout to this facility. It is conveniently located in
the Schuylkill Mall, Frackville PA. Directly at
the intersection of Interstate I-81 and State Highway 61. If you are
interested please drop us an email.

The Frackville "O" scale 3 rail display layout is OPEN to the public
tomorrow! It is going to be a rainy day so please come out and see
us. We haven't had many visitors and to be honest we could use some
donations to hep with the electric and insurance. We have a 24' x
55' multi-level display, depicting the Anthracite region of
Schuylkill County in the steam era. We have 3 main tracks. (1) is
automatic running of 6 trains 3 in each direction. #2 is command
control MTH DCS & Lionel TMCC. The 3rd level is both conventional &
TMCC. We are based on the Reading and PRR's. Come see the mighty
T-1's, Camelback's, 2-8-0 Consolidations. Easy to get to and worth
the trip. We are the Schuylkill Mall Frackville at the intersection
of Route 81 and 61. Very convenient to get to. We are located in the
former Steve & Barry's wing of the mall across from Pay Less Shoes.
There is shopping for the ladies and kids and a large Antique &
Collectible Co-op with lots of cool goodies available to look at and
buy. Thanks for looking Dave, Wally, Caleb, Jim,Jim,& Jim

To really appreciate these photos that Mike sent in the previous email, view them FULL size (assuming you are not dial up).
The full size photos are about 2736x3648 pixels.
When you open the attachment window, there is a link in the lower left corner, titled "original" that you can click -- see attached JPEG below, where the red arrow points.

In my humble opinion, those are GREAT photos.  You should send them in to Model Railroader, or one of those magazines that accepts photos -- particularly Photos 1 & 3.

I should think those should have a good chance of winning a photo contest.

Incidentally, for those of you who don't know, Mike's real job is being an engineer on the Lycoming Valley Railroad which is headquartered (more or less) here in Williamsport.

Yahoo has recently changed their system.  Some of the photos come through as "links" like Mike's did.  Some come through enclosed with the email, as mine below probably will (since I put it in the body of the message).

Most of you use Yahoo or AOL or a similar system where you have the OPTION of downloading large attachments.  

But I know a few of you actually have to wait for the photos to download, so large photos CLOG your system.  

I urge you to get a Yahoo or Gmail address or something that does not force you to download attachments -- for use with this list, so that these large attachments don't inconvenience you.

Please phone me if you need assistance with this.

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Thanks.        Track2 RailNet Yahoo Group Moderator       

- Jim Ingram       VMS/Land 570.322.7597

Williamsport PA <http://track2.com>  MacBook Pro/OS 10.5

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The attached PDF article 'sun9k30waldman.pdf' and the following photo,

are copied from the 11/26/09 Williamsport Sun-Gazette article, 

describing Cletus Waldman's HO Scale Dagus & Rockwood RR in Williamsport Pa.

Article:  http://sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/536024.html

Sun-Gazette Photo

INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2009

CONTACT: Robert Bomboy
                       (570) 275-7822

MODEL RAILROAD EXHIBITORS AT MALL WILL GIVE 3 CHRISTMAS TRAINS

SELINSGROVE – The region’s largest traveling model railroad display will
make its annual holiday visit to the Susquehanna Valley Mall this weekend,
delighting children and adults alike with the variety of its chugging and
steaming toy trains.
        Three lucky children and their families will get free model railroad
trains this Christmas, thanks to the Loose Ties Model Railroad Club
exhibiting at the mall from Friday, December 4, to Sunday, December 6.
	 “Children under 14 accompanied by an adult who comes to our exhibit will
get a raffle ticket on which to write their name, address, and phone number.
On Sunday, December 6, at 3 p.m., we will draw the names of three children
who will win the train sets,” says Jeff Johnstonbaugh, president of Loose
Ties.
	 Donating the three free train sets are English's model train store in
Montoursville, the T & J Train Junction in Danville, and members of the
Loose Ties Model Railroad CLub.
	 The exhibit, in the mall atrium near Boscov’s, will run from 10 a.m. to 10
p.m. on December 4 and 5, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 6.
	 Thousands of men, women and children have been awed by the extent of the
28-by-12-foot mall exhibit with its six common sizes of colorful model
railroad trains, from the smallest – a Z Gauge so tiny it fits in the palm
of your hand, to four G Gauge or impressive outdoor garden-size railroad
trains. Three others more common under Christmas trees are the Lionel O
Gauge and American Flyer S Gauge that your grandfather might have run, and
the HO, which is half the size of O Gauge.
	 Loose Ties members will also be operating toy trains made by other major
manufacturers, such as Weaver’s Quality Craft of Northumberland, MTH, and
Williams. The trains run in and out of a four-track staging freight yard
that adds four feet to the width and eight feet to the length of the layout.
	 Club members’ have added to their landscaping and design work: A
refreshingly blue stream, beginning with a waterfall, and other details
makes trains appear to run in a real setting. HO trains move around the
platform, going through tunnels and over bridges, past a village and a local
freight yard. There are even billboards, which Loose Ties uses to thank
business and other supporters.
	 One more train at the mall display is the hand-built steam locomotive;
though it’s not full-size, at a scale of one inch equal to one foot, it’s
big enough for people to actually ride and photograph children for the
holidays. Two Loose Ties members built it and its accompanying railroad car.
 	 “And just so adults don’t feel left out, we encourage visitors to take
their trains out of the closet and bring them to run on our layout at the
mall,” Mr. Johnstonbaugh says. “You’ll get a chance to see that train you
had as a child actually make a trip around the layout. You’ll be surprised
at how well it will run.”
	 Loose Ties also invites anyone interested in pursuing the hobby of model
trains to get information at the exhibit.

##

INFORMATION


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: December 1, 2009

SUBJECT: In Returrn to Yesteryear, Wilkes-Barre Store Has Train Display in
Window

  CONTACT: Robert Bomboy
	          (570) 275-7822

Downtown Shoppers Can Run Christmas Train at Barnes & Noble Store

WILKES-BARRE – In a return to the days of yesteryear, downtown shoppers can
run a famous red and silver passenger train on Friday afternoons until
Christmas in the Barnes & Noble King’s-Wilkes College Bookstore on Public
Square.
	 The Santa Fe Super Chief, which talks and calls out stations from Chicago
to Los Angeles, will operate in a snow-covered holiday layout of houses,
railroad stations, churches and diners twinkling with holiday lights from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 4, 11 and 18.
	 “It’s in the window and all set up like a toy train layout under a tree,”
says Robert Phillip Bomboy, a local author who runs free public train
layouts for handicapped children all year long at the Columbia Mall on
Interstate 80. “Anyone who wants to run the train – children and adults –
can blow the whistle and ring the bell. It adds to the holiday feeling.”
	 The layout has miniature figures of ice skaters, skiers, snow scenes, cars,
trucks, and evergreen trees, like the Christmas displays that were once
common in the windows of local stores.
	 The train and its display are free and handicapped-accessible.
“Operating model railroad trains is a great joy for many children and
adults, especially around the holidays,” Bomboy adds, “but it’s not
typically something that people in wheelchairs get to do. This layout is the
right height so that handicapped people and anyone else can have fun with
it.”

##

..

Version 2/20/2008

Automatic Join & Reminder Message

[RailNet] Yahoo Group

Dear [RailNet] Listserver Member,

Thanks for being a part of Track2.com's [RailNet] Listserver email network.

This message is sent to all subscribers upon joining, and periodically thereafter to the entire list. If this message hasn't been updated since the last time you read it, feel free to move on to the next post.

 

If you're new to the group or want a quick refresher on how this email group works, please read on! This message contains essential knowledge for all members and will answer MANY common new-user questions, so please take the time to read it through.

 

If you have any questions about any of the below information

please telephone me using the contact info at the end of this message.

Setting up some of the operations described below may require you to CONSULT with someone familiar with them; going into all the necessary details is beyond the scope of this document.

 

 

Sections Below: 1. Introduction 2. Automatic Message Sorting 3. Unsubscribing 4. Re-Subscribing (when your address changes) 5. Additional Listserver Information 6. How You Can Help 'Grow' This Listserver 7. Should You Be Making Announcements ?? 8. Contacting the Volunteer Moderator

---

== 1. INTRODUCTION

This file is being automatically sent to you by the Yahoo eGroup Listserver because you have joined -- or else a moderator has added your name to the group -- or else the Listserver is sending an automatic monthly 'reminder' message.

 ------------------------------------------

WHAT'S A LISTSERVER??

A Listserver (aka Yahoo eGroup) works similar to a newspaper.

When an announcment is sent,

the Listserver automatically distributes it to all 'subscribers'.

 

CONTENT -- This group sends email announcements for model railroad events, primarily in the North Central Pennsylvania area -- such as club events and open houses. Individual modelers are also encouraged to send photos of their layouts.

 

It's an ideal system, because:

• it's FREE to both announcers and readers
• People can SUBSCRIBE and UNSUBSCRIBE themselves as they wish
  • Thus NOBODY should be receiving announcements that does not want them.
• It automatically creates a 'web archive page' of each announcement, that can be viewed by ANYBODY from any browser from any computer anywhere.

.

IDENTIFICATION -- The Listserver automatically adds the 'subject tag' [RailNet] at the beginning of the subject line, so you will know the message came to you via the Listserver.

---

== 2. AUTOMATIC MESSAGE SORTING

We recommend you consider creating a separate email mailbox named 'RailNetEgroup' or similar. Then use your email program to create a 'Rule' (sometimes called 'filter') that will automatically sort any incoming messages with 'Subject Tag' of '[RailNet]' into the 'RailNetEgroup' mailbox.

 

All email programs have this filtering capability. Setting up this Rule will prevent Inbox clutter from Listserver messages accumulating in your Inbox.

---

== 3. UNSUBSCRIBING

You can UNSUBSCRIBE from this group any time

you no longer want to receive announcements from this Listserver.

 

You simply send a blank email (no subject, no body)

to the 'unsubscribe address',

railnet-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com .

 

Then just hit the 'Reply' button in response to the confirmation request that Yahoo will send you.

 

This 'unsubscribe address' will also be in the 'Moderators Notes'

at the bottom of every email, for your convenient reference. 

---

== 4. RE-SUBSCRIBING (WHEN YOUR ADDRESS CHANGES)

You can also SUBSCRIBE a new address to this group any time.

 

You simply send a blank email (no subject, no body)

to the 'subscribe address'

railnet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

 

Then just hit the 'Reply' button in response to the confirmation request that Yahoo will send you.

 

Be sure you send this request using your NEW address, because the Listserver performs the requested action for whatever email address you are using.

 

This 'subscribe address' will also be in the 'Moderators Notes

at the bottom of every email you receive from the Listserver. 

 

Please try to do this 'resubscribing' process yourself. It's not that difficult.

If you and all other members with changing addresses wait for a volunteer to do this task for you, then they have lose time from whatever they were doing, to stop and do this task for you.

------------------------------------------

Options (If you belong to more than 1 Yahoo group)

Alternate Method 1: Yahoo ID -- Note that if you belong to multiple Yahoo groups and your email address changes:

You can update the address ONCE in Yahoo, rather than having to unsubscribe and resubscribe to several groups.

 

To do this, you first need to get a 'Yahoo ID', then 'link' it to your actual email address using your Yahoo 'Profile'. Consult someone familiar with this process for more info.

 

Alternate Method 2: Gmail Address -- Another method is to get a free Gmail address from Google (Gmail.com), and subscribe it to any Yahoo groups you belong to. Then you can forward the Gmail address to your actual address.

 Then if your actual address changes, you just change the forwarding address ONCE in Gmail, and all your Listserver messages are now forwarded to your new address.

 

Hotmail gets bad reviews, and is NOT recommended.

---

== 5. ADDITIONAL LISTSERVER INFORMATION

ANNOUNCE ONLY --

This group is set up to be 'announce only',

so only 'approved announcers' can post announcements.

I.e., it is not a discussion group.

MESSAGE ARCHIVES --

The Yahoo Listserver automatically stores an 'archive copy' of every announcement sent in the "Message Archives", which you can browse by going to the 'Listserver Home Page'

( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railnet ) ;

then use the 'Messages' link in the left menu bar to view messages.

LISTSERVER HELP & OTHER INFO

HELP -- Additional information on how the Listserver operates

is on the Track2 'Listserver Help' web page .

 

CONTACTS for North Central Pa clubs, photos, and some videos are on the Track2 RailNet web pages.

---

== 6. HOW YOU CAN HELP 'GROW' THIS LISTSERVER

Any time you attend a new event you saw on this Listserver,

where you have not been before and are a "new face",

please tell the organizers

"I saw your announcement on the Listserver",

so that they know their announcements are being seen.

 

Encourage your friends to subscribe themselves.

The larger the membership, the better the chances that

clubs will be motivated to announce their events, and modelers will be motivated to post their photos.

 

This should be a "win-win". The more people you motivate to join, the more local model railroad information we should see on the Listserver.

---

== 7. SHOULD YOU BE MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS ??

I encourage anyone who has a legitimate announcement to make, pertaining to model railroading in the North Central Pennsylvania area, to "post" it (send it) onto this list, so that other railroaders can receive it. This can be club functions or personal layout photos (within reason).

 

You need to contact the Moderator (me), and request "Posting Privileges", which will allow you to send announcements. (We have this process to keep out Spammers.)

---

== 8. CONTACTING THE VOLUNTEER MODERATOR

Any questions not answered by this message,
please email me a telephone number,

or leave a message on my below voicemail number.

(I do not like trying to conduct discussions by typing lots of email.)

 

------------------------------------------------------------

THANKS, Listserver Moderator, James R. Ingram, Williamsport PA

Voicemail/landline: (570) 322-7597.

Email address at bottom of Track2 Home Page

..

     Please join us as we will be operating an American Flyer S gauge train display during  Wellsboro' s  "Dickens of a Christmas"  on Saturday December 5, 2009 from 9 AM to 3 PM  as part of the Model Train Show in St Paul' s Episcopal Church, (same location as other years) on the corner of Pearl St. and Charles St. Wellsboro, PA.  Enter the church in rear from Walnut St.
  There will also be a very nice N gage display operating!

Hope you can make it!
Dennis Oberholtzer

(( Refer also to Wellsboro' s  "Dickens of a Christmas"  web page ))

Just a note we will be open this Sunday for visitors from
12-5pm.  Also we have no content as of yet but we just secured the
domain name Anthracitemodelrr.com  So hopefully in the near future we
will have a description, pictures, videos, and updates in hopes of
getting more traffic.  Thanks to all of you who kindly wrote in
response to me plea for help and members.  Dave & Wally

For years, the Lehigh Valley S Gaugers had a terrific S scale module and we set it up many times (Mall's and conventions) to the enjoyment of not only ourselves, but for all the youngsters and Mom's and Dad's who visited the layout! We even picked up new members from the observers.
 
Well, we ran into the same problem, lack of club participation, then we brought in a lawyer to explain to the club our liabilities.
 
We sold the module to John Foley (A new member of our club at that time) He has since sold it to Bill Moore in New Jersey who incorporated into his beautiful S scale layout.
 
It's tough to get members out on weekends; Mothers have different ideas about trains when it comes to Saturday and Sundays.
 
Come visit my Jefferson Central Railroad in Hershey, Pa. before its too late.
Anyone interested in two nearly complete collections of S Gaugians and NASG Dispatches? Only collectors need to apply!
 
"S"ee Ya,
Happy Thanks Giving, and keep running those trains!
Bill Fraley

Dear Railnet members, please excuse the long length of this posting 
and the rambling style of writing. I'm just on a desperate attempt to 
drum up interest in our 3 Rail "O" scale layout in the Schuylkill 
Mall. I personally have hit the wall. It's too large and involved for 
only 3-4 people to maintain. Thanks, Dave
.
 

Dear Railnet members, please excuse the long length of this posting
and the rambling style of writing. I'm just on a desperate attempt to
drum up interest in our 3 Rail "O" scale layout in the Schuylkill
Mall. I personally have hit the wall. It's too large and involved for
only 3-4 people to maintain.  Thanks, Dave

Hi, A friend, his son, and I along with 2 other volunteers maintain
and run a Large model train display in the Schuylkill Mall,
Frackville. The layout is "O" scale 24' x 55' multi-level.  We try
our best to have it historically based on the Mahanoy Valley from the
Buck Mt. Tunnel through the towns and patches of Mahanoy City, St.
Nicholas, Boston Run, Gilberton, Maizeville, Mahanoy Plane,
Girardville, and Ashland. Frackville also sits on top of the
mountain. We model the steam era from approximately 1925-1955. The
Railroads we model are the Reading and PRR.  We would like to add the
LVRR also. We need your help.  First and foremost we need some more
adult members / volunteers with some fresh enthusiasm. The majority
of the work has been done by my friend Wally Fetterolf, his son
Caleb, and myself, Dave. We were blessed to pick up a new volunteer
Jim from Pine Grove who is excellent with building scenery. We have
to other volunteers both named Jim who come when they can and will do
whatever we ask.  But mainly we are manned by 3 of us.

I drive up from Reading which is 1 hour each way.  And I've had 3
back surgeries and 1 neck surgery so just the drive alone takes it's
toll.  We really could use some more help. If you could come and work
with repairing some of the buildings, or rolling stock that has
broken down along the way that would be great.  There is much more
wiring to do and we want to build and add Reading styled Banjo Block
Signals.  A big help would be just to have you there to run the
trains on Sundays from 12-5pm.  Right now we are opened every other
Sunday. But if we had more people to help we could easily be open
Every Sunday and possible Saturdays.

The layout is "O" scale 3 rail Lionel type trains. In order to make
it look more realistic we use Gargraves Phantom track which has a
blackened third rail.  The first mainline has 6 trains  running at
the same time. 3 in each direction. They stop and start automatically
through the use of trigger tracks and passing sidings. The 2nd
mainline is command control using Lionel's TMCC and MTH's DCS. Both
are wireless remote control that allows us to run multiple trains on
the same track. Then there is a second level that can be ran as
either conventional control or command control.  Finally there is an
unfinished 3rd level.  We also have 3 trolleys that travel throughout
the towns.  We can run as many as 12 trains at once.

Our goal train wise is to have the whole layout be wireless control
so we can run actual trains, picking up coal at the collieries,
dumping it at power houses or coal yards, and moving other types  of
freight, as realistically as possible.  The main thing stopping us is
lack of manpower. We would also like our model of the Mahanoy Plane
to actually work, pulling hoppers up and down the Plane.  And have
some operating Collieries which actually dump coal into the
hoppers.  We also have ideas on working slopes that can be seen
through Plexiglass. This can be an amazing layout on the scope of
Roadside America or Choo-Choo barn but with our own local
twist.  Both Wally and I are perplexed that train shows and model
train displays are so well attended. There are several train shops
supported in the area, but in almost 3 years we can't generate more
interest. Honestly if we don't soon get more interest we may not be
there much longer.

For those of you interested in the history, we do want to make it
look as historically correct as possible.  We have engines and
boxcars that need painted and lettered for the Reading.  We also want
to gather images from the area, especially RR & Mining and place them
around the room for the visitors to see. We want to preserve and
promote our rich Anthracite History.  So if you could help please
contact me.  If you can't help, perhaps you know someone who is into
model trains who may be interested. If nothing else it's a place
where they can run their engines that are too big to run on a home
layout. Or perhaps you have a contact at a newspaper or TV station
that could give us some much needed publicity. We run strictly on
donations. The mall donates the space but we must pay for the
electric and insurance plus any maintenance. Lately Wally and I have
had to pay all those expenses out of our own pockets.  This is not a
Train Club for him and I.  Our goal really is to preserve and promote
our history, especially for the younger generation who know less and
less about our Anthracite Heritage. This is not for personal gain, or
for our own enjoyment. Sorry for the long posting. We will be open
this coming Sunday November 29th from 12-5pm.  Thanks, Dave

Emails about this layout have been "floating around" for the past year or so -- so my APOLOGIES if you've seen this already.

This one copied below, that I received from Fred Whitley, has photos and captions.   ((I think Jim King sent me a similar version of this earlier.))

'Miniatur Wunderland' is a HUGE, computer-controlled, automated HO scale public-display model railroad in Hamburg, Germany.  It's size is almost mind-boggling, somewhat on the scale of the huge Northlandz model railroad in New Jersey (northlandz.com), except this German one I think, appears to be quite a bit "higher tech".

(1) The official 'Miniatur Wunderland' YouTube video is here ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA ).

The official website is  http://miniatur-wunderland.com , where you also can find a link to the above video, plus many still photos.

Note in addition to the expected operating trains, this layout also has an operating HO scale automobile system (170 vehicles per the video) -- which I find also mind-boggling, plus moving ships on water, and moving airplanes taxiing on runways.

The whole shebang is controlled by a huge computer system -- more than 40 computers according to the video -- see Photo #14  below of the control center.

If you go to YouTube.com and do a search for  'Miniatur Wunderland', you will find the above-mentioned "official video", plus a dozen or more videos by others.

((Note apparently some people are using the "tag" 'Miniatur Wunderland' on some videos that aren't really about 'Miniatur Wunderland', in an attempt to get you to watch their video.))

(2) This video -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=SfKuhbvBrX4  -- shows some of the operating automobile action on the highways.

(3) This video -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=kriWZVaZBXg  -- is also interesting -- shows a lot of nighttime scenes -- plus at the end, some views of the workshop area where things are built.

(4) This video -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=gLG2K1gYB9A  -- focuses on the Faller Car System.  The audio is in German, but it's still interesting.  This whole system is so high-tech, it amazes me that they can keep it running.  From about 3:56 minutes into the video to 4:12 minutes, they show you "onboard camera video" as seen from a camera in the front of one of the automobiles traveling through the streets.

I watched a few of the other YouTube videos.  Some of them are slide shows to music.

There are probably more good videos, in addition to the 4 that I listed above.

Subject: FW: This is what you call a TRAIN SET!!!
 
This is the world's biggest train set which covers 1,150 square meters (12,380 square feet),  
 features almost six miles of track and is still not complete  
 
 Photo 1
   Twin brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun, 41, began work on the 'Miniatur Wunderland' in 2000  
 
 
 Photo 2
 
The set covers six regions including America , Switzerland , Scandinavia , Germany and the Austrian Alps
 

 Photo 3
 
 
The American section features giant models of the Rocky Mountains, Everglades, Grand Canyon ...  
 
...and Mount Rushmore
 
 
 
 Photo 4

The Swiss section has a mini-Matterhorn
 

 Photo 5
 
The Scandinavian part has a 4ft long passenger ship floating in a 'fjord'  
 
 Photo 6

It is expected to be finished in 2014, when the train set will cover more than 1,800 square meters (19, 376 sq ft)
and feature almost 13 miles of track, by which time detailed models of parts of France , Italy and the UK   
will have been added . 
 

 Photo 7

 It comprises 700 trains with more than 10,000 carriages and wagons

 Photo 8

The longest train is 46ft long  
 
 
 Photo 9
The scenery includes 900 signals, 2,800 buildings, 4,000 cars - many with illuminated headlights.. .

Photo 10

 
....and 160,000 individually designed figures


 Photo 11
Thousands of kilograms of steel and wood was used to construct the scenery...  

 Photo 12
 
The 250,000 lights are rigged up to a system which mimics night and day by automatically turning them on and off

 Photo 13
 
 
The whole system is controlled from a massive high-tech nerve centre

 Photo 14

In total the set has taken 500,000 hours and more than $8 million to put together, the vast  
majority of which has come from ticket sales 
 
 Photo 15
 
Gerrit said: "Our idea was to build a world that men, woman, and children can be equally astonished and amazed in"  
 
Photo 16

Frederik added: "Whether gambling in Las Vegas , hiking in the Alps or paddling in Norwegian fjords -
in Wunderland everything is possible" 
 
 
Photo 17

The world's biggest model train set.   
 

TALK ABOUT YOUR SECOND CHILDHOOD---
"BOYS" AND THEIR TOYS....
 
 
 
 
 Photo 18

 --

Big Train Displays Welcome Santa at Columbia Mall Saturday and Sunday

BLOOMSBURG – One of the area’s largest operating model train displays will
greet the arrival of Santa Claus this weekend at the Columbia Mall on
Interstate 80 at Buckhorn near Bloomsburg.
	 The Loose Ties Model Railroad Club of the Susquehanna Valley will combine
its colorful 28-by-12-foot model train display this weekend with the
adjacent 10-by-8-foot operation of Wheelchair Engineers to open the holiday
season with fun for children and adults alike. Santa Claus arrives at the
mall on Saturday at 1 p.m.
	 “After their visit to Santa on Saturday afternoon children young and old
can see and hear the toy trains and the miniature villages that many of us
remember from holidays long ago,” says Jeff Johnstonbaugh, president of
Loose Ties, whose members will operate their trains on Saturday from 10 a.m.
to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. in the former Lerners store
across from the Pearle Vision Center at the mall.
	 In the adjacent space, next to the pretzel shop, the handicapped-accessible
Wheelchair Engineers layout will allow children and adults to run its
trains, blow its whistles, and play with railroad accessories such as
operating milk cars, cattle cars, and log-loader cars. A gleaming
red-and-white Santa Fe Super Chief streamliner has the real sounds of
railroads – station announcements, engineers talking, and conductors helping
passengers find their seats. Also on the layout is a classic American Flyer
steam engine and freight train.
	 For this Santa Claus weekend, Wheelchair Engineers will be open from noon
to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The free display also shows colorful videos
of steam engines running on the old Pennsylvania Railroad line along the
Susquehanna River. And for tiny tots Wheelchair Engineers has a wooden
Thomas the Train layout with hills and scenery.
      “Our sole purpose in creating this free Columbia Mall exhibit is to
encourage a family hobby that can create good times with friends,” Jeff
Johnstonbaugh says. “Just so adults don’t feel left out, we encourage
visitors and collectors to take their trains out of the closet and bring
them to run on our layout at the Columbia Mall. You’ll get a chance to see
that train you had as a child actually make a trip around the layout. You’ll
be surprised at how well it will run.”
	 The big Loose Ties display features six common sizes of colorful model
railroad trains, from the smallest – a Z Gauge so tiny it fits in the palm
of your hand, to four G Gauge or impressive outdoor garden-size railroad
trains. Three others more common under Christmas trees are the O Gauge and S
Gauge that your grandfather may have run, and the HO, which is half the size
of O Gauge.
	 Jim Ingram of Loose Ties notes that the times listed here are updated from
a previous announcement.

                                          ##

The Loose Ties ( LooseTies.com ) modular layout will be set up, operating, and open to the public this weekend, Saturday & Sunday Nov 21 & 22, at the Columbia Mall at Bloomsburg, during normal mall hours.

It's in the west end of the mall, near Sears.

It right next door to the WheelChair Engineers layout.
For location, you can use this mall location web page from the WheelChair Engineers website.

According to ColumbiaMall.com , mall hours are  Saturday 10 am - 9 pm, Sunday 12 noon - 5pm,

although the Loose Ties may not necessarily be there Saturday evening, if they run out of manpower.

Also this weekend Sat and Sun Noon - 4 pm, is the Toy Train Expo in Williamsport 
( ToyTrainExpo.org  ).