Pictures of Rail Destruction from Sandy

The following link shows some of the rail damage from Sandy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nj_transit/sets/72157631895879101/

More On C&O Clinic

MER Election Results

Thank you to everyone that ran for office this year. 463 valid ballots were received.
The results (excluding write-ins) are: 

President:
Chuck Hladik - 193
John Janosko - 270

Vice President:
PJ Mattson - 446 

Secretary:
Mike White - 448

Treasurer:
Tom Buckingham - 449 

......................................................

Bob Price
MER BOD / Archivist 

MER Convention in Suffolk

The next major event in the area for the NMRA is the MER Convention coming October 18th to 21st.  It is nearby and should provide a good time for all.  Use this link to go to the convention website.

Two Clinics for November

 Clinics for November

There are two clinics for November.  More details will follow.

DCC by Don Wells

Going to War With the Railroad you Have:
Designing and Operating the Chesapeake and Ohio's Olby Branch in 1944
by Gerard Fitzgerald

Geographic Membership Distribuiton

The results from plotting the geographic distribution of the membership was a little different than expected.  There are a few folks in the Valley, Farmville, Danville, Warrenton, Culpepper but the big concentrations are in Richmond, Charlottesville/Fluvanna, Lynchburg and Fredericksburg.  Of the top 4 Richmond has half of that group with each of the other three having about an equal amount.  The unexpected result was the Division having the same membership in Fredericksburg as Charlottesville/Fluvanna or Lynchburg.

Next Division Meet Nov 3rd

The next division meet will be November 3rd in Richmond at Church of the Redeemer.

930 AM - Registration
1000 AM - Meeting

Contest - Maintenance of Way including Vehicles

More Details to come

Directions:



View Larger Map

Northeast Prototype Modelers Meet

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The event runs from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Ted Blum 4-H Center in Bridgewater , NJ. The spacious facility is located just off of NJ Route 202 and easily accessible from Interstates 78 and 287. Best of all, advance registration is only $20, which includes a hot Italian lunch buffet!

Register in advance and save. The cost will be $25 at the door the day of the event.
Line up your plans in advance. Download the 2012 Registration PDF and send it along today.

Everyone is encouraged to bring recent work or works in progress to show and discuss. The model display is the heart of any RPM meet and there will be plenty of tables set to a comfortable viewing height.

A 4-H benefit feature will be a “Tracky Tray” auction. If you have some new hobby items that just aren't on the current plan, bring them along for the auction. Proceeds benefit 4-H.

Set your date and send in your registration for a full day of presentations, models, discussions, a great lunch and a fabulous time.

The NEFF RPM Schedule:

We have the following presenters at this time with more details to come!

  Craig Bisgeier - TBA
  Ted DiIorio - TBA
  Steve Funaro - TBA
  Ralph Heiss - TBA
  Mike McCann - There Was A Railroad There; New Jersey aerial railroad photography
  Mike McNamera - A Free-mo Review
  Dave Messer - Modeling FGEX Refrigerator Cars
  Dave Ramos - TBA
  Bill Schaumburg - Slate Quarrying in Pennsylvania

Any presentations are subject to change without notice.

Just over 100 people attended the 2011 event, and more than 200 models were on display. Check out these galleries for images from the 2011 NEFF RPM meet.

MER Ballot Issue 13 August 2012

The ballots sent out by the Mid Eastern Region NMRA have the incorrect return address on them.  Mine arrived on the 13th and I can confirm the issue. 

Please do not return them.  A new ballot in a color other than white will be mailed shortly for you to submit your vote for officers

Tweeting from Grand Rails 2012

The JRD is tweeting from Grand Rails 2012.  Hear what is going on and what is new.  Follow us on Twitter @jrdnmra

Formal Obit for Bill McMillian, Sr, MMR

William “Bill” Arthur McMillan, Sr, MMR

Master Model Railroader #401, Bill McMillan peacefully joined his beloved wife Carola on July 24, 2012.  He was a retired Congressional Liaison for the Department of the Navy yet continued working as a private consultant to the department and pursuing his love of model railroading.  Bill was a long time member of the NMRA, active in the MER and James River Division, the James River Division On30 Modular group, the Ma & Pa Historical Society and various local groups.  He is survived by his son, Artie McMillan; his daughter Sue McMillan; and his two granddaughters, Alex and Tyler McMillan.  Bill was 85 years of age.

Among his many model railroad accomplishments, he was most proud to obtain his MMR certificate on September 21, 2007.  He was a superb modeler as witnessed by his beautiful HO scale Ma & Pa layout of the Maryland District set in October 1939 between Baltimore, Maryland and Delta, Pennsylvania with staging into York Pennsylvania.  The layout was fully sceniced and operational with a new Dallastown branch nearing completion.  Bill’s Ma & Pa was regularly operated by a devoted group of operators who also volunteered many hours towards construction and maintenance efforts becoming a part of the layout. 

The family graciously allowed a small group of the Ma & Pa operators to visit Saturday July 28 to operate the layout one last time as a tribute to its Chief Operating Officer and creator.  Two “sweeper trains” were run, much like the prototype railroad ran upon its discontinuation of service, to clean out all the sidings and towns.  A final train was run out of Baltimore to Delta with lone Ma & Pa  2-8-0 #41, a Baldwin locomotive built in 1941, pulling coach #20 as the McMillan Memorial Special carrying its fallen leader.  The Special stopped at every station along the line for mourners to pay their last respects. 

As a fitting farewell to Bill, the following poem is repeated from the memorial service bulletin.

Travel

The railroad track is miles away,

And the day is loud with voices speaking,

Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day,

But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn’t a train goes by,

Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,

But I see its cinders red on the sky,

And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,

And better friends I’ll not be knowing,

Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,

No matter where it’s going.

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The model railroading hobby has lost a valued friend and mentor.  He will be greatly missed.

Compiled by Mike Garber