Seacoast Division 2019 Fall Event Report
October 15, 2019
The Seacoast Division Summer Event was held on October 12, 2019 at the Stratham Fire Station, 2 Winnicutt Rd., Stratham NH. The Seacoast Division would like to thank Mike Grahame and the Stratham Fire Department for providing the venue.
The Board of Directors Meeting was held at 8:30. Acting Secretary Chip Faulter will submit a separate report for BOD meeting.
Glenn Mitchell kicked off the Event at 10:00 AM. 32 people attended and all are NMRA members. Geoff Harris was welcomed as a new attendee to the Seacoast Events. After welcoming everyone and giving opening remarks, Glenn introduced President Tage Erickson.
Tage welcomed the attendees and thanked everyone for coming to the event. Currently the Division Secretary and Maine Activity Coordinator positions are vacant and need to be filled. Tage presented Larry Cannon with a Certificate of Appreciation for serving on the Seacoast Division Board of Directors for 21 years. We all greatly appreciate all that Larry has done for our organization.
Next, Tage gave a great presentation about his experiences at the North East Region (NER) NMRA Convention in Liverpool (Syracuse), NY. He showed photos of each of the layouts that he toured and operated at. He talked about the various clinics, the banquet, and the breakfast that he attended. Thanks Tage for a great presentation.
Mike Pedersen, the organizer for the Maine Model Railroad Tour that was held September 28-29, 2019, gave a brief talk about the event. This year the Tour was a two day event organized by county. 17 model railroads were open for tour this year. We want to thank Mike and all of the hosts for another great tour!
The first presentation was given by James Van Bokkelen and was titled Lineside Signals for the B&M Eastern Route. James` layout models the 1950`s and 1960`s. His track work closely follows the prototype and is based on B&M documentation and the 1961 Rulebook. James showed how he designed and built multiple types of signals and how he designed a simple but effective break-a-way mounting for the signal masts. Olin`s Depot OC-1 and Chubb DCOD circuits were utilized for occupancy detection. James custom designed the signal control based on the track configuration at each location and used Circuitron and Paisley commercial logic boards combined with diode and relay logic to implement prototypical operation. Great presentation James!
Scott Lindquist was the second presenter and his topic was Making Open Car Loads. Scott`s technique uses a Masonite slab ith a paper mache applied to one side in the shape of the coal or aggregate pile. After the paper mache dries the mound is painted and the appropriate ballast, coal, or rip-rap is applied. This low cost technique is great for one carload or dozens of car loads. This was Scott`s first presentation and we hope to see him present again in the future. Thanks Scott!
Scott Lindquist's Open Car Loads
After lunch Larry Cannon, ran the Seacoast Division event raffle. Thanks again Larry for running the raffle.
The third presenter was Mike Grahame who gave Polyurethane An Alternative Bonding Agent for Scenery. Mike uses water based, satin polyurethane for numerous projects requiring bonding. For bonding track ballast, Mike first wets the material with a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. Then he applies a 50/50 mix of urethane and water with an ear/nose rubber bulb syringe. The urethane water mix is a much cheaper alternative to white glue/water or other ballast cement/water adhesives. Mike also demonstrated how to apply ground foam to near vertical surfaces. He mixed 100% urethane with the ground foam, forming a ground foam paste. With a gloved hand he applied it directly (without pre-wetting) to the steep surface. Smooth it out as desired and it`s done. Great presentation Mike!
Mike Grahame Polyurethane Scenery Bonding
The fourth presenter was Rich Breton who gave Casting Small Parts. Rich presented how to make masters of parts to be molded. He also showed how to make single part open molds and two part closed molds. He reviewed the materials and sources for the materials needed to make the molds as well as the resins needed to make the parts. Rich showed many examples of molds that he made as well as the parts made in the molds. He concluded his program by casting a few parts. Outstanding presentation Thanks Rich!
Rich Breton Resin Casting
The Show, Tell and Ask session was kicked off by Dave Kotsonis. Dave recapped how at the Summer event, several attendees bought a Palmer Ice House Kit and were tasked with building, customizing, or kit-bashing the kit and bringing it back for presentation at the Fall Event. Five members - Dave Kotsonis, Jay Ehlen, Rich Breton, Jack Lutz, and Mike Pedersen brought their creations in and presented them. Outstanding work by all Thank you. Next Tom Nelson showed his scratch built search light signals that he had made for his railroad. Very nice job Tom! The last item at Show, Tell and Ask was Tom Oxnard`s entry in the 2019 Square Foot Diorama Derry Fun Night Contest. Once again we got to see Tom`s outstanding modeling skill. Tom scratch built a thru truss bridge that spanned a creek. Tom used multiple HO scale figures to tell a humorous story in one square foot of space. Tom was awarded the First Place Certificate by Bruce Robinson.
Dave Kotsonis' Ice House
Jay Ehlen's "J. Gillum & Son"
Rich Breton's "Parker Supply"
Jack Lutz "Microbrewery"
Mike Pedersen's "C L Bubbs"
Tom Oxnard's One Sq.Foot Module
The meeting was closed with comments from Tage Erickson and Glenn Mitchell. It is important to reiterate that the Seacoast Division needs members to volunteer for open officer positions and be presenters/clinicians for the future events. Again, we thank Mike Grahame and the Stratham Fire Department for hosting the event and all the presenters for their time and effort.
During the event many model railroad sale items were available for purchase by members.
Fall Event was adjourned around 2:15.
Following the Event Dave Kotsonis opened his Greenland Valley Railroad layout and James Van Bokkelen opened his B&M Eastern Rout layout to the membership. We thank Dave and James for their support to the Fall Event.
Upcoming events:
Seacoast Division Winter Event - January 4, 2020
Westbrook Community Center
426 Bridge St., Westbrook, ME
Respectfully Submitted,
Glenn Mitchell
Seacoast Division Vice President, Director, and NH Event Coordinator