The annual FUNTRAK dinner was a huge success, as usual. The food was outstanding, the trains ran well, and new modules were introduced. All this, and a meal included. This annual event has become one of FUNTRAK’s favorite times where everyone can relax and have a good time with no pressure to ensure anything is necessary to entertain anyone but FUNTRAK members. On another note, FUNTRAK attended a show in Little Falls sponsored by the Little Falls Historical Society. This was FUNTRAK’s first show with this organization and everything went well. There are pictures inside from this fun occurrence. We are looking forward to attending many more shows with these fine people. This was also the first successful running of FUNTRAK’s one trak reverse loop where John was able to do some switching and freight maneuvering on the updated one trak tee and following loop. John was very pleased with the overall operations and had a great time sharing his experiences with other club members and the public. FUNTRAK’s other interface module is a work in progress, but should be completed soon.

Fall has arrived and the model railroad season is upon us! FUNTRAK’s adventures in September started out with a trip to Clayton, New York on the Saint Lawrence River. FUNTRAK and pal, Rich Petito, team up to form the “West Winds Train Club” and showcase their joint layouts.

FUNTRAK will next be setting up a small layout at our annual dinner in Mohawk at the Family Fun Center on Sunday, October 12, 2014. Setup should be around noon with dinner planned for 2 o’clock. This traditional event has become a favorite of club members and affords us the opportunity of introducing new modules that may not have all the bugs worked out yet but still want to be tested. 

Club members John Fleming and Brian King recently updated the one-trak tee module with some replacement track to alleviate some problems with the trains entering and leaving the one-trak portion of the tee. A new module is in the works that is more automated than the original, but that is still in the works for the future. The one-trak interface project is a joint effort with Canada, Australia, and America all involved in its construction. Progress is being made but delivery of some hardware items has been a problem. We will keep you informed of the progress on this project as it moves along. Meanwhile, John and Brian also managed to build a new double module that John is installing another crossover on and finishing up with scenery. We are looking forward to seeing it at the aforementioned dinner in October.

FUNTRAK is scheduled for a new show in Little Falls in the middle of October. The future looks bright as Syracuse approaches with FUNTRAK and the Genesee ‘n Ontario group along with other contributors from various places including our Canadian friends from Ottawa Valley. Next will be Fulton and then on to the Oneida County Historical Society for the annual Christmas display. ‘Tis the season so come on out and enjoy the displays.

See you at the shows!
Brian

FUNTRAK and pal, Rich Petito, team up to form the “West Winds Train Club” and showcase their joint layouts. Everyone had a great time in Clayton, New York on the Saint Lawrence River running trains at their annual train show.

Model railroading is certainly not limited to one gender as this picture attests. FUNTRAK’s recent acquisition of an Army airfield fascinates the ladies with the fine detail and animated objects. The girls are intently watching the spinning propeller on the small airplane and eagerly await the arrival of the train bringing supplies and armament to the Army. This was only a small portion of the layout the West Winds group presented at Clayton this year.

The annual show is a laid back treasure for model railroaders. There are numerous dealers as well as layouts. There is little pressure to keep things going all the time. The public is always accommodating and easily entertained with our fine running trains. This has been especially true with the t-trak concept since no two layouts ever seem to be the same. This is a huge advantage over many other methods of displaying trains since there is always something “new”.  Further contributing factors to the success of t-trak are the ease of transportation and the small size of the modules. The challenge of scenery has been pretty much overcome by most of the participants in this concept of modular railroading. The myth of long trains has also been dispelled. The small radius curves do not deter folks from running realistic length trains on these layouts.

August saw a full and exciting month for FUNTRAK!

The month kicked off with the 12th Annual FUNTRAK Picnik! Brian was delighted that all of his children and King nephews were at the family function. Attendance was up this year with almost 100 guests. Everyone had a great time and we’re already planning for next year. Mark your calendar: Sunday, August 2, 2015.

FUNTRAK was pleased to host the small fry from the local day care facility and share trains with them. FUNTRAK has long been an advocate of education and hands on participation in model railroading and will continue to promote the hobby in whatever venues present themselves.

Next up for FUNTRAK is the Fonda Fair. This week long event has become an annual ritual for FUNTRAK and club members are looking forward to it again this year.

See you there!
Brian

Local Cooperstown neighbors were treated to a personal tour of the FUNTRAK layout and running trains when Brian hosted some children from the nearby day care establishment. The children were fascinated with the trains and had many, many questions. Brian did his best to answer any and all that he could. The trains ran well with a few problems that were quickly remedied without too much fuss. Each of the children was given a flashlight which they found useful in investigating the details on the layout. This is where the future of model railroading is going to come from so it was a great opportunity to entertain them and answer their myriad of questions. Hopefully, this will peak their interests and get them more involved in model railroading in the future. It is always a pleasure to see the smiling faces of happy children who are having a good time while learning new things.

The 2014 FUNTRAK PicNik has come and gone. As usual, everyone had an outstanding time. Prizes were awarded to all the participants so nobody left without some kind of memento. These ranged from tarps to multimeters to screwdriver sets. There were enough prizes to go all around and one and all received something. The food was plentiful and cooked to perfection by our Canadian friend David King. There was the possibility of some confusion with names this year—What was the confusion? Brian’s brother and nephew were both in attendance, along with our Canadian friend: all three are named David King! Folks did manage to figure out who was who after a while.

With all three of David King’s boys in attendance, along with all of Brian and Roseanne’s children it made for one big happy King family. Attendance was up this year with total population somewhere near the century mark. The fifty-fifty went extremely well and helps support the PicNik. Bobby Miller was this year’s lucky winner.

Besides the fun and games, food, and camaraderie, there were plenty of trains running too. FUNTRAK club members kept six layouts operating in the basement for the entire PicNik. Friends Mike and Al from Albany supplied some additional T-trak modules which enhanced the overall size and running capabilities of the layout.

All in all, another fantastic time for all the revelers at the annual event. Number twelve is scheduled for August 2, 2015. Mark your calendar and don’t miss this exciting event.

FUNTRAK made the tedious journey to the Boston area to visit some of the finest model railroads around. This is a picture on the Franklin and South Manchester of George Sellios in Peabody. Whirlwind III was a tremendous success and everyone was impressed with the entire trip. Stay tuned for more details of our trip.

We anxiously await the next outing for Whirlwind IV!

Model railroading is all about running small trains on scenicked layouts. Sometimes, though, it is good to be inspired by real trains, running through real landscapes.

David and Brian went on a short train ride with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Utica to Forestport for a lunch at the Buffalo Head restaurant the next day. This was a relaxing diversion from all the travel on the previous day. It was a rather gloomy day but at least it was not unbearably hot as it sometimes is this time of year. The meal at the Buffalo Head was marvelous, as expected. Pictures along the way up and back provided a different view of the railroad. A pleasant surprise found FUNTRAK’s friend, Adam Brunet, as the engineer on the trip. David was glad for the respite from driving. See the photos below.

FUNTRAK‘s automatic reverse loop is finally finished and operational, thanks to our Australian club member, Mark Bean. Mark’s diligence and John’s scenic abilities make great additions to FUNTRAK’s arsenal of t-trak modules. After over a year of research and development, it was gratifying to finally succeed in reaching the desired goal.

FUNTRAK set up a smal layout at Dave’s Diner in the beginning of June at Dave’s weekly Cruise In.