JRD Meet Summary from February 5th
This past Saturday was a very good JRD meet near Zion Crossroads, VA. The two clinics cleared up the misconception that water is water and paint is paint.
Gerard Fitzgerald cleared up the what most modelers assume in relation to what goes into the boiler of a steam locomotive is just water. Gerard gave the history of how railroads and in particular the C&O began in the 1920s in studying and treating the water that was put in the tender. With an average of 5 lbs of solids per 1000 gallons it would not take long for impurities to accumulate and impair the efficiency of steam locomotives. The growth of the treatment plants was in the 1920s which could be as simple as a storage shed and as large as the storage tanks themselves. Several photos of the different types of treatment plants for both the C&O and the N&W and Gerry gave modeling ideas which may be incorporated into a future how-to model the infrastructure clinic. The audience interrupted the talk at numerous times with questions about water systems and implications for modeling. Thanks Gerard
The recent demise of the old standard paint lines in the model railroad hobby has led to much wailing and moaning about the decline of the hobby. Believing that this was more being stuck in the mud and behind the times (read behind military and figure modelers along with most other modeling hobbies) the organizer of the event asked proprietor Bret Jones of Rail Tales to demonstrate the Vallejo paint system. Bret gave a quick overview of the various Vallejo paints lines and went into a demonstration of how to use the line to weather a locomotive. This included using both a brush and an airbrush. Many of the attendees were impressed with the paints and washes including one lucky winner who won the door prize and took home a set of the paints and washes used in the demos compliments of Rail Tales. Thanks Brett. 
