Lisa's Ford Model Railroad Club

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I guess my story has a little different twist. When you receive a train for Christmas
it creates memories. My story is one that brought memories back. I call it,
" A soldier goes home "
A friend of mine's daughter teaches history to children with learning disabilities.
We were talking about the curriculum one day and she told me that W.W.II was part of
the fall subject matter. I asked her if they welcomed W.W.II vets to come and talk to
the students. "Of course we do, But you do realize that these are children with ADHD and
other special needs problems." "Sometimes they have difficulty focusing for long periods of time. I said, "No problem, I have the perfect person for the job " Enter my neighbor George, who is not only a war hero ( 2 purple hearts, 3 bronze stars and was also in the Battle of the Bulge ) but also a retired elementary school principal. He was also bestowed the honor of having the last elementary school built in our community named after him.
Who better to talk to these kids. Well I don't have to tell you that the lecture went well beyond
everyone's expectations. The lecture was in the auditorium during the last hour of class. When the bell rang to go home, nobody left. That is until the bus driver came in and wanted to know where everybody was.
Yes I'm getting to the train part now. It was getting near Christmas time and I knew George collected Santa Claus figures and also liked trains. So what better of a thank you gift than a Christmas train.
We all pitched in and purchased the Lionel traditional Christmas set. One of the main reasons being it's G gauge and has a remote control. George is 83 so this would be the easiest for him to operate. So, one Sunday morning my friend Bob and I went into his house while he was at church and set it up for him.
Well I don't have to tell you the look on his face was the same as mine when I received my first train set at five years old. We went through all the functions as we read the directions.
I think we made an old man feel like a kid again.
About a week later I went back to check up on the new railroad next door and asked Melba ( his wife ) if he was showing off his new train set . " Oh yes. Every one that comes over has to see it and watch all the functions, but no one is allowed to touch it. Not even the grand kids." Then quietly she said.
" I think he plays with it when I'm not home "
We both laughed and I went on my way.
A couple days later I received a thank you letter from George and it made me realize that indeed he was running the train. Unlike so many of our first train sets that create memories, this one brought back memories of W.W.II. I call it
A soldier goes home
In 1946 I arrived in New York after a 14-day voyage from the port of Le Havre, France.
This was across the north Atlantic in February. The seas were stormy and I was seasick the entire trip. From New York to my home in Missouri where my family had moved during the war to escape the dust bowl in western Oklahoma. I received a train ticket home. A steam engine with that wonderful steam engine whistle. The rails were not welded together then, and you could hear that rhythm....
clackety-clack, clackety-clack, clackety-clack. I'm going home, I'm going home, I'm going home.
I was lonesome, I had lost my platoon, and I felt alone and unsure of my future.
Trainloads of thanks

George.

At age 5 I had my first Lionel Christmas.

At age 83 George had his first Lionel Christmas.

At age 53 I've had my second Lionel Christmas.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

A Little Bit of Russian from the Wallstreet Journal.....

High Speed Rail Keeps Train Markers on Track.
By: Paul Glader
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703790404574473534243457304.html

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—As an engineer pulls the throttle, villagers track side gawk at the bullet-shaped train as it gathers speed. Soon, forests and wooden shacks are a blur as a dashboard display reads 250 kilometers an hour (155 miles per hour)."

"Ten years in the making, Russia's state-owned railway is testing eight aerodynamic trains that in December will rush travelers from here to Moscow in less than four hours. With fancy kitchens and leather seats in first class, the Sapsans (Russian for peregrine falcons) mark a change in Russia's egalitarian rail tradition."

"More broadly, though, Russia's new trains mirror a global push in high-speed rail that spans from China to the U.S., an effort that is buffering Siemens AG, Hitachi Ltd., Bombardier Inc. and other industrial giants against the economic slump."

"Global spending on trains, tracks and equipment is expected to reach €122 billion ($182 billion) this year, flat with last year, but up 18% from 2004, according to Unife, an international trade association. It projects that the figure will rise to €150 billion by 2016, propelled by stimulus projects and environmental concerns."

"Rail spending "has a short-term effect on unemployment as well as a longer-term effect on economic growth," says Michael Clausecker, Unife's director general. Rail lines, he says, tend to anchor development of new towns, companies and jobs while increasing travel between cities."

"A high-speed rail link between Madrid and Barcelona that opened last year has stolen former air travelers, cutting daily flights between the cities in half to 35. Spain plans to surpass Japan with the world's largest network of high-speed routes in 2010, and India and China plan to surpass Spain before long. France hopes to double its high-speed track to about 2,500 miles by 2020."

"Denmark is shifting transportation funding from roads to public transportation, the bulk of which will be spent on rail.In the U.S., President Barack Obama has vowed to spend $13 billion over five years to build high-speed rail links between major cities, including $8 billion under the economic-stimulus plan."

"The spending is aiding the fortunes of train makers."

"Bombardier's rail-division revenue in the quarter ended July 31 rose 5% from a year earlier to $2.55 billion while total company revenue was flat. The Canadian manufacturer recently reported a $190 million order for 30 tram-trains for Karlsruhe, Germany, and a $2 billion contract to send 80 Zefiro high-speed trains to China by 2014."

"China "is making the strategic investments" to build a high-speed rail network and sustainable transportation system, says Jianwei Zhang, president of Bombardier China. The country wants to build "the most advanced rail network in the world.""

"Japan's Hitachi shipped six high-speed bullet trains to the U.K. this summer and plans to build rail cars there. Revenue for the unit that includes rail rose 19% for the fiscal year ended March 31, making the business one of Hitachi's strongest."

"Alstom SA's transportation sales increased 3% to a record €5.69 billion for the year ended March 31 as its order backlog climbed 13% to €19.51 billion. The transportation division, which makes up roughly 30% of Alstom's business, received a boost in train orders from Italy and the U.K. recently. The company projects continued strong demand, citing stimulus packages in the U.S., France and elsewhere in Europe, says Chief Executive Patrick Kron.Patrick Kron. The French company in March formed a joint venture to develop products in Russia, the largest railway market in Europe with 85,000 kilometers of electrified track and 1.3 billion passengers a year."

"And while General Electric Co.'s rail operation primarily makes locomotives for freight trains, executives plan to sell fuel-efficient locomotives for faster passenger railroads in the U.S., Mongolia, Kazakhstan and elsewhere. GE wants to sell Amtrak more engines that go as fast as 123 mph, replacing "20-year-old locomotive clunkers," says Stephan Koller, a spokesman for GE Transportation. Trains that are even faster are further on the horizon as they would require expensive track upgrades."

"For the Sapsan project, Russian Railways spent nearly $1 billion for its eight Siemens Velaro trains. "The market is really developing," says Edzard Lübben, the company's vice president for high-speed trains, sales of which are growing around 8% a year. "That's a huge growth rate during these times.""

"The Sapsans will trim the Moscow-to-St. Petersburg trip to three hours and 45 minutes from 4½ hours, running about 60 mph below their capacity because of difficulties upgrading tracks. The trip is expected to cost about $100 one way, which is roughly the same as the average plane fare."

""It makes everything more convenient," by removing airport security lines and the need to travel between an airport and the center of town says Irina Darienko, a delivery-operations specialist for Alcatel-Lucent in Moscow.She travels to St. Petersburg about three times a year for work and plans to ride the new trains."

"Russian Railways says its eight-hour "night trains" between Moscow and St. Petersburg will continue to offer service to budget travelers. The Sapsans will replace the faster trains that run during the day."

""I'm sure they'll push away aircraft," says Alexander Dumnich, a captain of the famous Red Arrow train, which was introduced by Joseph Stalin in 1931 and pressed into military service during World War II."

"Alexei Daibov, an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in St. Petersburg, is more skeptical. "I travel by plane," he says, expressing but he hopes a price war will lower the cost of plane tickets."

Write to Paul Glader at paul.glader@wsj.com

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Other Train Show's a Hit!

Trains circle around a track at the Model Train Expo at the D&N Event Center on Saturday

Little Trains, Big Show
By: Mark Young
Published Sunday, September 20th, 2009
NP Teleagraph.com
North Plate Nebraska

As Rail Fest continues to grow and draw worldwide attention from railroad enthusiasts, so do all of the individual activities. This year's Model Train Expo is three times larger than last year's and is expected to grow, according to Original Town Association's Bernie McNulty, who organized this year's expo.

"We have 13 vendors selling their wares this year and have five layouts," said McNulty. "We have people from five different states with the farthest ones coming from Texas and Illinois to participate in the show."

The vendors have everything a model train enthusiast can imagine, from modern to antique pieces and everything in between. Trains, tracks, culverts, miniature people, cars, houses, grass, hills and everything imaginable is available to create your own railroad line and own city.

What one could imagine to do with all these things is evident in the layouts at the D&N center that extend out for up to 30 yards with multiple trains steaming through mock towns that feature downtown 1950s parking. There is nothing left to the imagination as a lone fisherman angles in his catch atop a hill overlooking the speeding trains.

There's a good reason why train lovers and model train lovers flock to these shows and spend a lifetime collecting pieces to build their own railroad lines. There's a good reason, but no one really knows what that reason is.

"It just is," said McNulty. "There's a real fascination for it. Trains play such an important part of our history and people love the sounds and the power that trains have. But why the fascination gets to this point, I don't know, it just does and it reaches all ages. I'm 70 years old and I have a big layout in my basement."

http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2009/09/20/news/70000283.txt

Sunday, September 13, 2009

FMRC summer workshop

It's train season again and the FMRC is ready to roll. I found a great website and made a new
friend over the summer. Take a stroll over to Joe's website and see where we stole the animation
idea from. ( http://www.josephrampolla.com/mowing.htm )
Remember to look around at his other great idea's and drop Joe a note.

Start with expanding the trolley module and a bear chasing a jogger....

Now add a little background......

Add a little more scenery, notice the photographer on the left. Guess he's
not to interested in helping out the jogger....

I wonder if he knows he's about to be lunch ?
then finally the animation.....
See you at the shows....
Bruce....