FUNTRAK was extremely pleased to give this module to Brian in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions to model railroading. Of course, there is a catch. With the upcoming annual Picnik, FUNTRAK will be setting up a small T-trak layout at the Picnik and expects Brian’s new module to be the star of the show. The August cover will tell the story. We’re all rooting for you Brian!

Brian Curry was kind enough to invite Funtrak members to visit his exquisite N scale home layout. This layout will provide inspiration to anyone who has even the slightest interest in model railroading. See his exquisitely detailed layout below.

The unofficial summer has arrived! Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and FUNTRAK members Greg Brockway, John Fleming, and I have begun a new chapter in FUNTRAK’s future. The HO division has been revived in the form of T-trak HO. The first of eight planned modules were constructed over the weekend, so there are now two corners awaiting track and electrical connections. Plans down the road include finishing two more corners and then building four straight modules. This will provide a minimal layout in HO of approximately four by eight feet. Club members are eager to support this new effort and look forward to the completion of the first layout. As usual, there are some minor issues that accompany any new endeavor. The first is transportation. Although HO is not really huge, it is considerably larger than the N scale modules used in T-trak. The larger size of these modules makes them more difficult to transport, but this is a problem that will eventually have a solution. Hopefully, it will be a simple solution!

Greg has volunteered to be the HO coordinator for the T-trak division and everyone in the club has promised to help him with whatever he may need to get things up and running. If you are interested in the HO side of the model railroad effort, get in touch with Greg or any club member and information, guidance, and help will be forthcoming.

In other FUNTRAK news, Golden Spike Day, May 10, saw FUNTRAK setting up an interesting layout back at Fisher Elementary School. Over four hundred “visitors” got to see FUNTRAK’s handiwork on Friday with more visitors on Saturday when the school hosted a PTA family fair. One of FUNTRAK’s newest members, Tim Brien, provided a beautifully scenicked Lionel layout for the students to enjoy alongside the FUNTRAK T-trak layout. Both of these displays were big hits for everyone from toddlers to senior citizens. This was a great learning experience for the students as well as adults as the importance of railroading was acknowledged in America’s history, both past and present. The miniature world of model railroading provides a hands on experience as well as an academic challenges for all the participants. It is a great way to learn about a myriad of skills, information, and history for both student and teacher alike. If you want to try a new approach to having fun while learning a variety of new things for yourself, your children, and your friends, try model railroading. You won’t be disappointed!

Brian

Constructing the first of the necessary modules for the revived HO division of FUNTRAK began over the Memorial Day weekend. Two corners were completed with more to follow. Greg, one of FUNTRAK’s newest members, proudly displays one of the completed corners.

FUNTRAK’s annual “Valley Rail Sights” show in Ilion has come and gone. This year proved to be a rousing success. Attendance was up, manufacturers were available, food was plentiful, and trains of all sizes were up and running. Much of this success is attributable to the club’s efforts at advertising the show this year. This helped promote better attendance and more interest from the community as well as other clubs. Train buffs from Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany all showed up to support the show in various ways. Everyone involved was elated at the way things ran so smoothly.

The N-trak layout was downsized somewhat this year to accommodate the larger T-trak layout, which was a huge success. The main T-trak layout consisted of five loops including a large over three scale mile long mainline along with the double bubble. This kept everyone fascinated with the trains as they made their way around this complex arrangement. The N-trak layout provided more trains to keep the public happy. Additionally, there were G scale trains running and Z scale trains on a small layout. For the younger set, there was the Lionel layout on another floor where the trains could be operated by the visitors. This always piques their interest as they are able to actually run the trains and blow the horn.

Parents and children alike appreciate the opportunity to interact with the trains. Most of FUNTRAK’s trains are set at a level that allows the youngest visitors to see the trains without having to find some means of rising up to a higher level to observe the trains. This makes it much easier on parents and grandparents since they do not have to pick up the children. Hopefully, these little things will help keep the smaller visitors interested and influence their decisions later to join a model railroad club.

Brian

FUNTRAK members Jim Domser, Lorenzo Franchi, John Fleming, and Ron Hudson all made it to Brian’s on Sunday, March 18 for the work session. They also managed to bring along the newest additions to the T-Trak stable of modules. These two modules are sized to fit in the same area as a tee module which will allow making many new configurations for the traditional T-Trak layout. Great work folks! Check back for more construction pictures of FUNTRAK’s latest modules from the Sunday session.

March is upon us and there is very little model railroad activity in the works. However, the future holds a lot of promise. The end of the month brings RailRun, an annual activity in the Boston area where many of the FUNTRAK club members have had the good fortune to be participants in the past. A number of the local model railroad layouts are opened up to a select group of modelers for operating sessions over a weekend at the end of the month. This year, Brian, along with club members Lorenzo Franchi and John Fleming, as well as our Canadian neighbor David King, have been invited to attend this event. This experience tends to excite the participants and often leads to many ideas about operating personal model railroads including club layouts. This makes for much more interesting train running when there is actually a purpose for the trains other than to just go in a circle.

FUNTRAK has attempted to incorporate this idea of operations into the T-trak displays. This has been a slow and arduous task, but progress is being made and hopefully will be more successful in the future. The RailRun experience should provide encouragement for club members to help develop more operational ideas to use in our club layouts when the opportunity arises. The idea of having a purpose has lead to the construction of specific modules that have particular industries on them to support railroad usage and encourage operations. With industry, schedules, and a purpose, it is easier to develop a plan for operations. DCC adds to the enjoyment of operations because this added feature allows trains to operate in a much more realistic fashion than having to accommodate conventional DC methods. It is more difficult to “block” a T-trak layout than to use DCC. The great advantage of T-trak is that no two setups ever have to be the same and the diversity of modules means operations will be ever changing to maintain more interest and challenge for operators.

With all of these things in mind, FUNTRAK has managed to keep ahead of the power curve by planning ahead in the design of many of the T-trak modules, anticipating the inclusion of the modules in a layout design to accommodate operations using the features mentioned. These considerations have made FUNTRAK‘s layouts both interesting and fun for both operators and viewers. The annual “Valley Rail Sights” club show coming up in April should prove to more fun than ever this year if many of these operational ideas are included when setting up the T-trak layout. Come on out and see how the club does in this endeavor.

Brian

FUNTRAK has a scheduled meeting at Brian’s on March 18th. This meeting is in preparation for our upcoming annual show in April. Hopefully the weather will be a little warmer. We will be discussing the layouts, manning requirements, and necessary equipment for conducting the show. If you have any questions or suggestions, this is the time to bring them up. See you there.