FRONTIER FLIMSY. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA September 2017 Volume 63 No. 3.

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Officer Reports Page 9 Regional Train Orders Page 13 CP

1 FRONTIER FLIMSY The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA September 2017 Volume 63 No. 3 Waybill Executive Reports Page 3 Division Reports Page 6 Officer Reports Page 9 Regional Train Orders Page 13 CP 8763 rests in the yard waiting its turn to run west. Kamloops BC, August 4, 2016 at 8:10 pm. Photo: Stanley Conley

2 The Niagara Frontier Region NMRA Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Volume 63 Number 3 Stanley Conley, Editor 2194 Valley Drive Ottawa, ON K1G 2P8 The Frontier Flimsy is published four times annually by the Niagara Frontier Region of the National Model Railroad Association, Inc. and is distributed openly on the web at Material for publication is welcome. Send articles, coming events, notices, etc. to the editor. Materials including photographs may be submitted by . Materials will be credited at the time of publication and will be returned if requested. Articles appearing in the Frontier Flimsy may be reprinted in other non-profit publications providing that credit is given to the author and the Flimsy. Advertising is accepted in the Frontier Flimsy; please see the region web site for information and rates. Opinions expressed in the Frontier Flimsy are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the NMRA, the Region, its officers, or other contributors to the Frontier Flimsy. Special thanks to the spirit of Diane Dodds for proofreading and nitpicking. notification is coordinated by Richard Sparrow. The Niagara Frontier Region Flimsy 2194 Valley Drive, Ottawa, ON K1G 2P8 The Niagara Frontier Region Regional Officers President Richard Hatton 205 Country Lane, Stayner, ON L0M 1S , moose_caboose@bell.net American V.P. Matt Bierl 146 Los Robles Street, Williamsville, NY , mattbierl@msn.com Canadian V.P. Tim Warris 312-b St. Patrick Street PO Box 1420, Port Dover, ON N0A 1N , tim@warris.com Secretary Vacant Tony Kerr Acting Treasurer Tony Kerr 1361 Creekwood Trail, Oakville, ON L6H 6C , tony.kerr@sympatico.ca Division Superintendents Central Ontario Richard Hatton moose_caboose@bell.net International Richard Sparrow rands.sparrow@sympatico.ca Ontario Trevor Ross trevor@tjrcadd.com Northland St. Lawrence Chris Lyon cnlyon@sympatico.ca Western Ontario Steve Juranics sjuranics@rogers.com Regional Officials Achievement Peter Nesbitt nesbitt@magma.ca Program Convention Les Radvanyi les@larcom.ca Coordination Flimsy Editor Stanley Conley stanley_conley@rogers.com Flimsy Richard Sparrow rands.sparrow@sympatico.ca Distribution Historian Open Membership/ Open Registrar Model Contest Open WebMaster Tim Warris tim@warris.com Page 2 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017

3 Niagara Frontier Region Executive Reports President Richard Hatton Hello everybody Ready, Set Go! Model Railroading season is about to begin. Fall colors are around the corner so look out basement here I come. My layout mainline is almost ready to fire up. It seems like forever that I started this. In early October I will be holding an open house for friends to come by and look at what I have started and hopefully give me some solid feedback on what I am about to curtail. Enough about me! It has taken us awhile but we finally have a location for the 2018 convention. We were very specific as to the space requirements as we are planning coming at this with a different approach. We will still have old favorites like clinics, layout tours modeling contests etc. but we are adding a little twist here and there. There is an ad in This Flimsy with the place and Date. Seating will be somewhat limited so Mark your calendar and get ready for the 2018 convention. Keep your eyes on the NFR website for more information as it develops. If you would like to volunteer to assist, put on a clinic, there is lots to be done and we could sure use the help. Please contact Les Randvanyi les@larcom.ca If you have suggestions as to where you think we should hold a convention in your area please let us know. If you would like an NMRA event in your area and need some direction on how to do it please contact us we are here to help. Our Region is far and wide and your executive is here to listen and help where and however we can but we need you input, your ideas and for those that are willing your time. I fully realize that time can sometimes be at a premium, sometimes you feel like there is no appreciation I can relate. I remember sitting at home wondering why I joined the NMRA and went and talked to someone. His advice to me was simple if you want to get the full value of this Hobby (notice I said Hobby) get involved. So with nothing to lose I volunteered to sit in at a session for modellers corner. It was there that I noticed a difference here compared to other organizations I had participated in. They gave constructive criticism, they were full of encouragement that opened the doors to new ideas and things to try. If I had not got involved I would never have met the many fine people and modellers in this hobby, I would never have been to or operated the many layouts. I have met fellow modellers all across Canada, the US, Germany and England. Sitting in a coffee shop I admired someone s t-shirt and he mentioned he was a model railroader from Nashville we talked for an hour. Same thing standing in line at a Nascar Race someone asked me about my shirt and we talked while waiting then year later I met him again in his basement during a layout tour in Milwaukee. It truly is a small world and I bet every model railroader has this type of story. It is full of friendly people willing to share and there s always time for a good story. Which brings me to my next point Starting in Sept we are going to offer a free NMRA Trial membership to anyone that would like to take a peek into the NMRA and in particular the NFR. We are finalizing the application so it will be available soon. If you wish to take advantage of this limited offer you will need to attend a local train show or event visit the NFR representatives there and they will sign you up. Come join the fun and open the doors to whole group of exiting talented people The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 3

4 American Vice President Matt Bierl Canadian Vice President Tim Warris Secretary Vacant Tony Kerr Acting The 2017 Region s Annual General Meeting was held at Conestoga College in conjunction with the Grand River Express convention. The following are the highlights from the meeting of which approximately fifty members attended. 1) Rick Hatton again reminded the membership that the region still does not have a permanent secretary. 2) By the end of the year the migration of the Region s US members to their respective regions will be complete. At the present time all members in both the Lakeshore and Allegany Highlands divisions have become part of either the North East or Mid-Central divisions. 3) Member retention and the attraction of new members was discussed. Approval was given to enact a program whereby the region would pay the $10 rail pass membership for any new member joining the region. This would be a trial program limited to 200 new members. The divisions would be responsible to make initial contact with the new member and encourage him or her to come out to the next divisional event. To make the sign up more efficient the divisions would be able to provide an immediate registration complete with card and welcome package. The region would track retention of the new members. 4) Clark Kooning reported that there was still little appetite for an electronic copy of the NMRA magazine. A point brought up was that many members outside the US do not subscribe to the magazine do its high cost which can be attributed to distribution and mailing costs outside the US. An electronic Page 4 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 copy would hardly have any cost to produce and distribute. Clark indicated that there may be possibility of posting some information from the magazine on the NMRA E-site. 5) There has been a scarcity of articles being submitted to the Flimsy. It was suggested that a prize be awarded for the best article submitted in each issue of the Flimsy. Quite a bit of discussion ensued with questions being asked who was going to be the judge, what is the purpose of the Flimsy, was this going to quarterly, semi-annual or annual prize and so on. Finally after much discussion it became apparent that there was little interest in the idea. Remember articles in the Flimsy do count towards author s points. 6) It was learned that the Elgin County Railway Museum (St. Thomas, Ont.) had approached the region for a donation as part of a federal government-matching program. A motion was put forward to allow the region to make a donation. Much discussion ensued as to whether the region should at all be considering making donations to any organization even if relates to railway preservation. It was pointed out that region primary purpose is the promotion model railroading. There was concern once we start donating where does it end and who gets to decide who receives what? This was a path that we did not want to embark on and as a result the motion was soundly defeated. 7) Finally, the issue of future conventions was discussed. It was learned that Clark Kooning wished to withdraw his proposal of a convention in the Soo for He indicated that there were only three layouts to tour and that travel costs to the Soo would lead to low attendance. To keep with the present theme of rotating conventions through the divisions a proposal to look into holding a convention at a resort in a northerly location. This would be an all-inclusive affair (room and meals). As convention dates usually fall in May we may be able to get a break on the price, as this is low season for most resorts. It was agreed that this warranted further investigation and the results therefrom would be shared with the membership when they become available. As for 2019 this

5 would probably fall onto the COD s shoulders. At present nothing has been formulated in this regard. With that, no further business was tabled and the meeting was closed. Treasurer Tony Kerr Without providing specific figures be it assured that the region still has significant cash reserves on hand which have increased modestly from However, as indicated in previous reports the Region s revenue streams are now limited to the member rebates received from NMRA HQ and interest income. We cannot rely on sharing profits from conventions as there is a trend for divisions to go it alone when it comes to holding a convention. The advertising initiative has yet to get off the ground and as a result virtually no revenue from this source materialized. A more worrisome issue is as we lose more US members the member rebates that the region has received in the past will shrink considerably. As mentioned in the secretary s report the region is going to set aside $2000 to underwrite rail pass memberships. Despite our revenue situation this was felt to be a worthwhile endeavour and should be implemented on a trial basis. Details as to how this will be implemented will be provided to the divisions in the near future. Finally, it has come time to wind up the life fund. With the elimination of regional dues and the subsequent subscription fees for the Flimsy, life memberships no longer have any relevance. One of the prime purposes of the life fund was to ensure that there were sufficient funds set aside to cover the cost of providing the Flimsy to regional life members. However, since the region has now has eliminated a significant portion of the costs formerly associated with the Flimsy by moving to an electronic format the fund s primary purpose is for all intents and purposes been eliminated. Furthermore, as far as be determined there are no residual monies pertaining to life memberships remaining in the fund. Throughout its life, the fund was never self-supporting as membership dues and later, subscription costs increased dramatically over the years. As a result, the executive believes that no life member has been short changed by purchasing a life membership. However, if as a regional life member you feel otherwise, or have any other concerns relating to its wind-up, please the regional secretary by September 30, 2017 outlining your concerns. If we do not receive any submissions by that date the executive will complete the process to wind-up the fund. Niagara Frontier Region Division Reports Central Ontario Division Superintendent Richard Hatton Hello out there in Model railroad land. Can you believe it almost fall? Speaking of fall why not enjoy a trip through the Muskoka district on September 24th. Also this fall we have 2 modeling sessions booked at Lee Valley (The space is at Lee Valley Tools at approximately highway 400 and Langstaff Ave. in Vaughan.) Sunday September 24 th and Sunday November 12. This is a low key session where you can project you are working on and spend the day modeling with a group of railroaders. There will be all different skill sets available so we can help each other with instruction good advice or just plain old heckling. The idea is to have a relaxing day with your piers.it is open to all model railroaders it is not just for NMRA members. Seats are limited so if you wish to join us please me at moose_caboose@bell.net The cost for the day is $5.00 and remember to bring a lunch as well as a protective pad for the table. Hope to see you there Rick H The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 5

International Division Superintendent Richard Sparrow A small but dedicated group attended our Mississauga Modeling Day on Saturday, June 10 th at the Cornerstone Community Church.

Here are a couple of ID Official Photographer James Whatley s great photos and captions showing some of the activity.

6 International Division Superintendent Richard Sparrow A small but dedicated group attended our Mississauga Modeling Day on Saturday, June 10 th at the Cornerstone Community Church. By a happy accident, this coincided with the Church s Fete Day, and so we were treated to a tasty B-B-Q d chicken lunch. Here are a couple of ID Official Photographer James Whatley s great photos and captions showing some of the activity. Ron Guttman applying Pan Pastel weathering to his O scale Stoney Creek Designs Boarding House kit project. Ron also gave a short talk on his splendid portable work bench / tool chest. Tony Kerr (l), worked on a F&C resin kit for a CNR 8-hatch reefer and Harvey McIntyre (r) continued with his Grimsby Station laser kit project. Congratulations are due to Tony, who won Best in Show at the recent Grand River Express NFR convention, for his scratchbuilt CNR Van. Page 6 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017

homemade Form Tool made from an Excel knife blade. (Photo by Richard Sparrow.) Upcoming Events in the ID Place: Cornerstone Community Church, 3020 Vanderbilt Rd.

7 See event flyers and directions further on in the Flimsy. Saturday, October 21 st, 2017 Fall Meet James Whatley (r) showing Walter Reid how he turned the pantograph insulators for his L&PS L1 project from Delrin rod chucked in a Dremel tool, using a homemade Form Tool made from an Excel knife blade. (Photo by Richard Sparrow.) Upcoming Events in the ID Place: Cornerstone Community Church, 3020 Vanderbilt Rd. (Corner of Winston Churchill Blvd) Mississauga ON L5N 4W8 Time: 9:00 to 1:00 Entrance Fee: Members $5, Non-members $7 Clinics planned: Dave Paterson, MMR Scratch Building Structures. Al Welch Sprucing up a Brass Steam Locomotive Dave Howard Slide presentation of Steam in Southern Ontario. Other Activities ID Executive Elections (see below). Popular Choice and Display-Only model tables We are working on possible layout visits for the afternoon Saturday, September 9 th, 2017 Railfanning Day at Bayview Junction Rain or Shine. Place: Laking Gardens Footbridge Time: 8:30 to 12:00 Lunch: Burlington Model Railroad Club has their Open House on this date, where you can visit their layouts, and buy a great B-B-Q lunch. There are also plenty of local restaurant choices. The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 7

8 Saturday, November 25 th, 2017 Modeling Day Place: Smithville Station, (home of the West Lincoln Historical Society) 288 Station St., Smithville, ON L0R 2A0 Time: 9:00 to 3:30 Entrance Fee: Members $5, Non-members $7. Bring whatever projects you are working on and spend an uninterrupted day doing what you love to do with a bunch of likeminded people. We might also see a real train or two. Please avoid the use of any sprayed liquids. Pizza and Pop lunch available for $5, or bring your own. We will also do a Coffee Run during the morning. Closer to the dates, flyers for all our upcoming events will be published in the Flimsy, the ID Cinder Cruncher, and the ID website ( ) with full details. ID Elections to be held at the October 21 st ID Fall Meet. We will be holding elections for the Divisional officers at our Fall Meet on October 21 st. (See above for Meeting plans). Nominations and voting are open to all paid up members of the International Division. Please consider putting your name forward, to help out with making Divisional Meets and other events happen. Up for election will be Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Clerk (Secretary), and US and Canadian Paymasters (Treasurer). If you are participating in the NMRA Achievement Program, or plan to in the future, Executive positions can earn points toward AP certificates for Volunteer and/or Official. Please forward your name, or the name of a fellow member (with their permission of course) and the office you/they wish to run for, to: Nominations Chair, Chuck Faist at cfaist@bell.net We welcome any questions, comments or suggestions that you may have for the ID. links are on the ID website at Remember to play safe, Richard Sparrow St. Lawrence Division Superintendent Chris Lyon I am very much looking forward to our upcoming season with the Saint Lawrence Division. We have a full slate of activities centring on the Track theme. Our membership is encouraged to take part in learning how to build hand laid turnouts. We are going to cover Fast Tracks methods and there will be presentations as well as hands on experiences. The key is that even if you have no plans to lay track in the near future you will learn how to build turnouts using jigs and gauges thus expanding your abilities as a model railroader. This will be great for helping others with layout projects. Also we will be doing complete turnout building from scratch including stub switches as well as conventional switches. These methods can be applied to every scale and I was pleasantly surprised to learn we had so many members with the skills who are willing to teach you how to do it. Grant Knowles has taken the lead. Fred Adams, Ron Newby, Bill Scobie and Steve Watson will assist him. For all those who are in the Ontario Quebec area you are welcome to join us. Our Saturday gathering always includes a display table, two clinics and layout tours. SLD is very much involved in our local model railroad community. CARM is hosting a big layout tour in Ottawa this fall. Thank you for those who volunteered by opening their layouts and assisting with Page 8 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017

9 the organization. Visit the SLD website to learn more about our schedule and activities. Chris Lyon Ontario Northland Division Superintendent Trevor Ross Western Ontario Division Superintendent Steve Juranics Niagara Frontier Region Officer Reports Achievement Program Chairman Peter Nesbitt I m pleased to say that since my last report the following AP certificates have been earned. Graham MacDonald Cars John Wagner Electrical Congratulations to you both on your fine achievement. Fall and then winter, prime modelling seasons, are approaching. A great time to give the Achievement Program some thought, and perhaps get (further) involved. It is a wonderful way to improve your modelling skills and give back to the hobby. If you have questions or need more information, please feel free to ask me. Peter Nesbitt Editor s Note: Beginning with this issue all spelling, grammar and typographical errors are the sole responsibility of the Editor. On the masthead of this publication has been the small note Special thanks to Diane Dodds for proofreading and nitpicking. Dane was capable of putting more red ink on a page than I thought was possible, but over the years her corrections must have sunk as there tended to be fewer required by the time I presented my drafts lately. Diane was my best friend for 35 years, my partner for 25 years and my wife for one and a half years but on August 26, 2017 she was taken from me in a matter of minutes as she neared what was to be hoped to be the successful end of her yearlong battle with Multiple Myeloma. I miss her dearly. The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 9

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11 Huge Model Train Sale September 24 th , 7 th Line Beeton As well as our large home HO scale TH&B model railway layout being open we are planning to have a sale of a few peoples collections of model railroad items including some books railway artifacts. This will take place at the home of John Spring in conjunction with the Muskokian Layout tour on Sept 24 th There will be a lot of O & HO scale model railway items. Also many books and some railway artifacts in these collections and estate sale. The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 11

12 Page 12 The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Your Local Micro-Mark your small tool specialist dealer

13 Regional Train Orders September 9, 2017 ID Railfanning Day at Bayview Junction Rain or Shine. Laking Gardens Footbridge, Time: 8:30 to 12:00 See ID report for further details. September 9, 2017 Burlington Model Railway club Fall Open House at the Burlington Model Railway Centre, Hidden Valley Park, Aldershot. See flyer in this issue for more details. September 24, Vaughan, ON. COD Modeling Day. Lee Valley Tools at approximately 400 and Langstaff Ave. September 24, The Muskokian The 13 th annual Muskoka and Simcoe County Model ailroad layout tour. See flyer in this issue for more information. September 30, Ottawa, ON. SLD Meet. Info sldnmra.ca October 21, 2017, Mississauga, ON. ID Fall Meet. Cornerstone Community Church, 3020 Vanderbilt Rd. (Corner of Winston Churchill Blvd) Mississauga ON L5N 4W8. 9:00am to 1:00pm. Members $5, Non-members $7. Clinics planned: Dave Paterson, MMR Scratch Building Structures. Al Welch Sprucing up a Brass Steam Locomotive. Dave Howard Slide presentation of Steam in Southern Ontario. Other Activities popular choice and display only model tables, ID Executive Elections Info: Spirit and Life Centre, 184 Wellington St. W., in downtown Chatham. Adm $5.00 which includes door prizes. Tables available at 8:00 am, auction sale starts at 10:00 am. Contact is Gary Shurgold, 37 Holland Ave., Chatham, ON, N7M5X8, , gshurgold@gmail.com November 12, Vaughan, ON. COD Modeling Day. Lee Valley Tools at approximately 400 and Langstaff Ave. November 18-19, Whitby ON. Model Train Show sponsored by the Pine Ridge Railroaders, Inc. Located at the Father Leo J. Austin School, 1020 Dryden Boulevard near Anderson Street. Saturday 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Adults $7.00, Children under 14 $3.00, under 5 free. Info pineridgemodelrialroaders/club prrshow@gmail.com or Facebook.com/pineridgerailroaders. November 25, 2017 ID Modeling Day. Smithville Station, (home of the West Lincoln Historical Society) 288 Station St., Smithville, ON L0R 2A0. 9:00am to 3:30pm. Members $5, Non-members $7. Bring whatever projects you are working on and spend an uninterrupted day doing what you love to do with a bunch of like-minded people. Please avoid the use of any sprayed liquids. Pizza and Pop lunch available for $5, or bring your own. Info: November 25, Ottawa, ON. SLD Meet. Info sldnmra.ca September 28-30, Huntsville, ON. NFR 2018 Convention. The Portage Flyer. Info to be announced. October 25, Ottawa, ON. SLD Modeling Day. Info sld-nmra.ca October 28, Chatham, ON. Annual Boomer Auction sale of Model Railroad Equipment and Materials. At The NFR Frontier Flimsy September 2017 Page 13

FRONTIER FLIMSY. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA June 2017 Volume 63 No. 2. Waybill

FRONTIER FLIMSY. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA June 2017 Volume 63 No. 2. Waybill FRONTIER FLIMSY The Quarterly Newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA www.nfr-nmra.org June 2017 Volume 63 No. 2 Chris Lyon captures number nine in full steam at St. Jacob s after the rain. See