Month: January 2017

Get your cameras ready! Our first photo contest of the year is next week!

January 31, 2017 Jim Pearson No Comments Jim Pearson

NRHS Chapter Photo Contest Dates for 2017

Below are the dates for this year’s chapter photo contest. During the weeks listed all members are invited to shoot pictures and submit no more than two entries each to webmaster@westkentuckynrhs.org by the deadline listed next to each contest. You must be a paid member of the chapter to participate in these contests.

Jim Pearson will judge the photos and select 1st through 3rd place and the winners will be presented in the PennyRail and on the chapter website. We’ll also view them at the meeting following each contest.

At least the 1st place winners will be used to produce a chapter calendar for the next year.

All submissions must have a caption that lists at least the railroad, location and date with photographers credit and any other relevant information.

Week of Feb 6 – 12, 2017
Submission Deadline: Feb 14, 2017

Week of May 1 – 7, 2017
Submission Deadline: May 11, 2017

Week of July 31 – Aug 6, 2017
Submission Deadline: Aug 10, 2017

Week of Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2017
Submission Deadline: Nov 9. 2017

January 2017 Modeler’s Corner

January 14, 2017 Jim Pearson No Comments Modeler's Moment

Rich Hane came across this Pennsylvania Railroad K4 type steam engine that I saw on a recent trip to the National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. It is built out of 421,250 toothpicks and 40 pounds of glue and is about 8 feet long. It was built by Terry Woodling of Warsaw, In. after 7 years of labor.

The brakes, wheels, siderods, and windows all move. Mr Woodling has, also, built an 8ft. DC3, a Lear jet, a touring motorcycle, and a Huey helicopter and hopes to build a stagecoach.

This is what 5.5 inches of super-elevation on a moderately tight curve looks like from ground level!   The Northern Pacific’s eastbound Mainstreeter leans into a the curve at Peak, North Dakota, while passing a freight cooling its heels in the siding. 

65 miles per hour was the speed restriction for this track segment. Though six inches was NP’s maximum curve elevation, good engineering called for a half inch less here, because 65 MPH, the highest speed to be accommodated, was very near equilibrium  (balanced) speed for that elevation.   

The siding’s curve, where much lower speeds occur (only 15 – 20 mph), is elevated only a half inch.   Engine crews learned to honor this 65-mph limit.   In 1960 the crack streamliner North Coast Limited was going a little fast around this curve when the flanges of the lead locomotive tried to climb the outside rail, nearly derailing the passenger train. 

This was back in the days of “clickety-clack” jointed rail in 39 foot lengths.  The sun angle provides good clarity of the bolted rail.   Why 39’… you ask.?   Old habits are hard to break, and in the really early days 39 foot rails fit nicely on a forty foot flat car.   Today’s  welded rail is toted around in quarter mile or longer lengths.

Submitted by Gary O. Ostlund

Credits:   Pix by Wilbur R. Shannon, text excerpts from the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association calendar, May 2016.

 

 

2016 O Scale Modular Layout was in Hopkinsville at The Polar Express Day

January 14, 2017 Jim Pearson No Comments Photo Section

Our first outing for the O Scale Modular Layout was in Hopkinsville at The Polar Express Day, Carnegie Library.  Chapter members Rich Hane, Bill Farrell, Blair Terry, and Ricky Bivins worked hard to make sure the display was ready to run! 

Blair Terry is pictured with the Polar Express conductor.

 
More from the Polar Express Day in Hopkinsville. Here is a multi-scale modular layout on display.

 

January 2017 Pickin’ the Points by Bill Thomas

January 14, 2017 Jim Pearson No Comments Bill Thomas, Pickin' the points

Opinions and Stories by Bill Thomas, Editor

I WAS enthusiastically looking forward to our modular railroad layout display at Madisonville Square Mall AND I was not disappointed!  Thanks to our president Bill Farrell, Rick Bivins, Rich Hane, Jim Kemp, Wally, and others who helped set up, maintain, and take down the displays.  I am of the opinion that this was a fantastic “touch point” for us with our community. 

Thanks also to those who purchased and prepared modules for our display.  You can see pictures in the following pages of the newsletter. 

If room permits, I’ll include some photographs I took on our family Christmas trip to New York City, December 26-31.  We were fortunate to visit a small RR museum in Huntington, WV (pictured with museum volunteer Jim Pickett, insert), as well as the Transit Museum of NY, and The Railway Museum of Pennsylvania, in Strasburg, PA.  I can thank my wife Angela for scheduling those stops for me along with the visits to Gettysburg, Central Park NYC, and the Independence Hall area of Philadelphia.  I finally saw the Liberty Bell!

Bill Thomas, editor, The PennyRail

 

New Your Transit Museum, Brooklyn, NY

Railway Museum, Huntington, WV

Railway Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, PA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The January 2017 Spill with President Ricky Bivins

January 14, 2017 Jim Pearson No Comments Rick Bivins, The President's Spill
Members enjoy the Christmas Party at the home of Steve and Marilyn Miller in Hopkinsville.

Greetings Everyone.

First and foremost, Thank You for a vote of confidence. With guidance from the Chapter officers, National and Chapter Members I hope to make 2017 a very good year. 2016 was exceptional. Looking back, we can see many events went into our history book. Track side visits, a picnic, meetings, work sessions and of course an excellent Christmas Dinner at the Miller residence. We finished the year with the Christmas Show showcasing the Chapters Modular Layout, Movies, Standard Gauge trains and of course Wally Watts and his steam engines.

I was surprised in several respects with the Christmas Show. The layout while there were some issues, ran very well “right out of the box” and for the first time! Parkway Plaza Mall was an excellent host. Bill’s Standard gauge trains were a hit with the children as were Wally’s steam engines. One thing I was very much pleased with was the level of participation from the membership. Many members helped in various ways. That being said, Bill Farrell gets the prize. Bill put many, many hours into the event as did Rich Hane and Jim Kemp. A special thanks goes out to these guys.

As for 2017, we have a lot of work to do if we are to top 2016! By now you have learned we have a possible meeting place change. Our January meeting will be held in the old court house building, third floor. Enter via the basement entrance located on the buildings east side. Take the stairs or elevator to the third floor. The meeting space is on the north side of the building. Our program will be a guest speaker, Randy Teague. Randy will give us a tour of the proposed Coal and Railroad Museum space within the building. We will learn from Randy, what is in store for the building and of possible involvement with our Chapter. This will be a very interesting night. The Historical Society of Hopkins County has a media center in the building. I will provide refreshments and there will be a train video playing in the background. However, I expect our attention to be directed at the museum and Mr. Teague.

On January 2, 2017 I held an officers meeting at my house. The officers in attendance discussed the newsletter, the web site, dues, membership, programs, the photo archive and a host of other “thoughts’. Most will be brought before the Chapter meeting night.

With that being said, Monday January 16, 2017 will be a good night, an even better night if YOU attend…and bring a guest.

Ricky Bivins, President