Late Spring 2025 President's Message
Greetings Seacoast Members,
Seacoast Division Late Spring President`s Message
Greetings Seacoast Members,
It`s almost June and summer is around the corner. We`ve had a lot of rain, but we`ve also had a surprising number of warm clear days that I took advantage of to get out on my bicycle and hit the road. I`ve ridden 150 miles so far which is a great start for my 32nd year. Much better than the last five years..
The Concord Flyer continues to be the major focus of the Seacoast Division. Tage, Peter and Will continue to do a great job leading the team in getting ready for the convention. There have been 77 primary registrations plus 24 spouse/family registrations so far. That`s a great start. The hotels are getting filled up and we continue to add rooms. It is shaping up to be great convention and I hope to see many of you there.
The convention is in need of people to work it. We`re talking about working one or two 4 hour shifts during the convention. For example we need members to work in the raffle room or to support the clinicians during their presentations. I`m sure there will be other tasks that need support as we go forward.
If you have already volunteered we have your name on our list, but if you haven`t volunteered please contact me and I will add you to our volunteer list.
The Seacoast Division Spring 2025 Event was held on April 5, 2025 at the Stratham Firehouse from 10:00 to 2:00. Thanks again to Mike Grahame for providing the venue. There were two clinics at this event:
Tom Oxnard, MMR showed how Helicon Focus can improve your compositions and ability to get crisper images. Tom makes use of his Iphone as his camera and a downloaded app that takes a series of shots which progressively increase the focus distance with each step. The process of using Helicon Focus keeps getting easier. It was a great clinic and you can see it on the Seacoast Youtube site at https://www.youtube.com/@nmra-seacoast-division/videos
Glenn Mitchell presented the inspiration for the design of his C&NW Illinois Division layout and discussed the planning phase using XTrackCAD. His layout plan was the basis for his operational documentation which helped him earn his Chief Dispatcher AP Certificate.
Chris Carfaro gave a presentation on the photo contest for NMRA members. The winning photo will be on the cover of the summer edition of The Coupler. Chris will outlined the contest rules. Check out The Coupler to see the winning photo. Bill Huebner opened his layout for the first time for the Seacoast Division. It’s a great layout. Thanks again Bill for sharing your work with the Seacoast Division.
After several attempts to find a venue in southern Maine, in July or early August, for the Seacoast Summer Event failed, the board has decided to cancel the summer event. We kept having to look later and later in the summer and were getting too close to the Concord Flyer dates.
Instead of a traditional Summer Event, Peter McKenney has offered to host an open-house at his home layout on July 26, 2025 from 10:00 to 2:00 Peter will present the development of his layout from the inspiration through the planning and the construction. Peter models the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in Maine and we will all get the opportunity to see his progress so far. Peter has requested that those planning to attend RSVP as soon as possible. His contact information is listed below:
I`m looking forward to seeing Peter`s layout and I hope to see you there
Respectfully Submitted,
Glenn Mitchell
Seacoast Division NMRA President & Director
Published: 31 May 2025