FUNTRAK‘s annual PicNik is just around the proverbial corner, so with this in mind, preparations for the big event are underway. FUNTRAK club members Doug Davis, John Fleming, and Brian King gathered
together over the course of Saturday, May 10 to move the N-Trak layout out of storage and into Brian’s basement. This only made sense since having the layout reside outside in storage and not be used was a waste of space and usefulness. After much grunting and groaning, the modules were all moved to the basement and assembly began. Of course, more preliminary preparations were required as Brian was able to obtain some carpet to put under the eventual layout. Finishing up this minor task, the final setup of the layout began in earnest. All went well until it came time to put the legs on the last module. Where were those legs? Finally, a different set of legs ended up being used so the layout could be completed. We still don’t know where the missing legs are located. Next came placing all the connecting tracks in the layout. This is a rather tedious job with only a few people, but success was accomplished after a relatively short time. Now the moment of truth, would everything run? The red line had some problems because the yard was not properly lined up for trains to pass through from one end to the other. The line ran alright, just not through the yard. The yellow and blue lines were properly aligned and ran well. There were some issues with the yellow line, but those were figured out and dealt with appropriately. Minor adjustments were made later and the N-Trak layout is back!

Pics from our basement work session, May 10.

Here it is April already! FUNTRAK’s annual Valley Rail Sights show is just around the corner. Activities leading up to this show have been hectic, to say the least. New modules in both HO and N scale have been under construction and most have been completed. Many of these new modules will be in the show at the Masonic Temple in Ilion. This is where FUNTRAK club members efforts really shine. The ingenuity, craftsmanship, and creativity all come out in the new modules. What is not so apparent is the effort behind getting all these items to the show. The setup before and the tear down after the show are not noticed by anyone except the club members. There are many hours spent doing the preparations for this show and the time and work involved is extensive. All this work is rewarded by the attendance of the public at the show. The smiles and discussions generated by the displays are the “pay” for most of the FUNTRAK members. The many questions about how this or that was made, the ideas behind many of the unique modules, and the general theme of model railroading all tend to bring out the best in everyone.

Every show brings new visitors as well as old to the displays. It is always refreshing to meet new people and reminisce with the old friends. The children always bring smiles with their excited looks and amazement at the trains. Parents are always happy to see the trains because they know there is nothing offensive about Thomas the Tank and his friends. With so many different facets to model railroading, there is bound to be some point of interest for nearly everyone. One point of interest has been watching a train go around and come back on itself in a reversing loop.
FUNTRAK has been working on an automatic reversing loop system for over a year now without any complete success. It seems the simplest problems have the most complicated solutions. This has turned into an international issue with help coming from all parts of the world. Eventually an acceptable solution may pop up, but it surely is taking a long time to arrive. Whenever the problem is solved, FUNTRAK will be there with the module for everyone to see. Hopefully, this will happen in the very near future! Meanwhile, the show must go on and FUNTRAK is preparing for exactly that at the end of this month. Come on out to the annual Valley Rail Sights show and enjoy the fun. See you there!

Brian

FUNTRAK club member John Fleming assembles another t-trak unique layout at the Family Fun Center in Mohawk where FUNTRAK conducted its March monthly meeting. John has been responsible for much of the scenery work on many of the recent modules FUNTRAK has constructed. His artistic talent is truly “magic” on many of these wonderful modules. More examples of the before and after effect of John’s handiwork are illustrated inside. Keep up the great work, John!

FUNTRAK returned to Fisher Elementary School in Mohawk over the weekend of 22 and 23 February to support the Fisher Parent Teacher Organization. The winter weather actually cooperated for this weekend show. Saturday was a pleasant day with unseasonably warm weather which fortunately carried over to Sunday. Attendance was up over the last show
FUNTRAK did here. All the layouts were expanded from their last showing and all ran well, as expected. All the visitors were in awe of the size of the layouts and the fine details displayed. The variety of layouts in multiple scales added to the excitement for the spectators and the smallest of the observers were pleasantly surprised by the height of the layouts as this allowed them visual access which can be a problem at some shows. Everything ran wonderfully for the entire weekend. Another great show now in the books for FUNTRAK. Hope to see you at FUNTRAK’s next outing.

FUNTRAK was delighted to participate in the 33rd Annual Toy Train Collectors Society Utica Show on January 19.

FUNTRAK finally returned to the Toy Train Collectors Society annual train show held in Union Station in Utica, New York after an eight year hiatus. Much of the difficulty in providing the N scale N-Trak layouts that the public was so appreciative of stemmed from the fact that the N scale layout was hard to accommodate because of its size. FUNTRAK’s adoption of the t-trak concept has made it possible to reduce the footprint of the n scale layout, diversify the design of the layout, and better tailor the layout to the needs of the public. Additionally, the t-trak system is easier for the club members to transport and set up. This makes for a win-win situation for both the club members and the show promoters. The presentation of an N scale layout is also in the best interests of the vendors since they now have a venue that is visible for prospective customers to see right at hand. This year’s show was a success as expected and FUNTRAK was a big contributing factor to that success. FUNTRAK is looking forward to next year and another great show at Union Station.

Here is FUNTRAK club member Lorenzo Franchi preparing FUNTRAK’s newest addition, a crossing loop, for its initial run. Next is the train traversing the loop as designed. This arrangement makes for very interesting operations as the train can only be a certain length so as to not cause accidents!