As Labor Day approaches and the end of summer is nigh, I reflect on the activities of the past month. Model railroad wise, there was not too much going on. FUNTRAK members managed to assemble a rather large N scale t-trak layout in my basement in preparation for the PicNik as well as a smaller HO t-trak layout. The HO layout was compliments of one of FUNTRAK’s newest members, Greg Brockway. Greg did an outstanding job of finishing, scenicking, and detailing this small layout. The N scale layout used nearly all of FUNTRAK’s available modules and consisted of five separate loops. With the crossovers in use, a train was able to traverse four of the five loops making a total running distance of over three scale miles! See trains in action below.

Other activities include the ongoing construction of new t-trak modules in both N and HO scales. Specialty modules are the order of the day for the N scale modules with two being constructed to accommodate a new one track line and plans for a reverse loop addition to the one track line utilizing standard corners for the return side of the loop. All these are currently a work in progress. Hopefully they will be completed soon and allow FUNTRAK to use them in the upcoming fall model railroading season. More HO modules are underway to expand the size and scope of the HO side of the hobby with FUNTRAK. Specialty modules are being considered as well. Transportation, as always, seems to be posing the biggest obstacle to the expansion of the HO portion of the hobby. All of these issues will be addressed and eventually a solution will be derived and acted upon to solve these problems.

Problems aside, the N and HO modules are being assembled for display again this year at the Fonda Fair. A full review of this event will be forthcoming. Following the fair, FUNTRAK has a fairly rigorous schedule for the fall season. September 8-9 will see FUNTRAK in Clayton with the West Winds group. October will see the annual dinner and then on to November with Syracuse the first weekend and Fulton the following weekend. December may see FUNTRAK back at the Oneida County Historical Society. T-trak in all scales is becoming more and more popular and appears to be on the way to becoming a staple of the model railroading scene. FUNTRAK fully supports this effort and is looking forward to a bright future with many shows and lots of interaction with the public.

If model railroading is one of your interests, this is one of the easiest ways to get involved. The modules are small, inexpensive, and simple. Most important, they are easily transportable. This makes them ideal for people with limited space and transportation means. If you build it, they will come! Keep on training.

Brian

WOW! What else can be said? The annual PicNik this year was a rousing success. The crowd was large, the trains were great, the weather was acceptable, the children were well behaved, everyone had fun, and, as always, the food selection, quality, and quantity were fantastic. Well over fifty people were in attendance for what has become the premiere event of the summer for FUNTRAK. Visitors from Albany, Rochester, and Canada brought diversity to the PicNik and kept things lively. David King did his usual wonderful job of providing chef service, club members John Fleming, Greg Brockway, and Lorenzo Franchi set up the trains, and My family provided the facilities and services necessary for another great PicNik. Watch for next year as it will be very special celebrating numerous different remarkable events. See you there!

Check out photos from the PicNik.

Brian

So, summer is well on the way to the halfway point and so far it has proven to be a rather pleasant one. Much needed rain has arrived recently and the weekends have managed to escape torrential downpours despite the overall precipitation. None of the weekends have ended up as a complete washout, anyway. With the rain through the week, this leads to a reason to stay inside and, naturally, work on much needed model railroad items. Of course, I haven’t been taking advantage of this “free” time to accomplish the myriad of necessary things, but fortunately, one of FUNTRAK’s newest members, Greg Brockway, has been industriously employed and assembled the newest FUNTRAK addition in the form of a new HO T-trak layout.

Our newest club member has proved to be most industrious

Greg has managed to finish and scenic four corners and four modules in record time and make it all work. He displayed his handiwork at the most recent club meeting held at his home. The layout was up and running when we arrived and all looks wonderful. Everyone commented on Greg’s remarkable progress and the way the layout ran. This layout will be up and running at the PicNik this month. Do not miss this opportunity to see Greg’s craftsmanship in action. Speaking of craftsmanship, Brian Curry has given us some good news and some bad news. First the bad news. Brian will not be at the PicNik because of some other family obligations. We certainly will miss him and all the expertise he would bring to the event. On the other hand, the good news is to supply his T-trak module for the layout at the PicNik. As mentioned last month, we are all anxiously awaiting its arrival to see what the rest of us should be doing! Thank you Brian for your time, efforts, and consideration. Next year’s PicNik will be on the fourth of August. Don’t say you haven’t had enough time to plan ahead!

Other events this month include the Fonda Fair where FUNTRAK will be setting up a large T-trak layout in addition to the other layouts already there. Greg may bring the HO T-trak division as well. Plans are incomplete at this writing, but intentions are to have the new layout at the fair for everyone to enjoy. More future plans are in the works such as a show in Mohawk over Columbus Day weekend supported by the local schools and PTO. More details will be forthcoming as soon as they are available. Since this will be an inaugural show, it is difficult to predict how it will go, but FUNTRAK always hopes for the best and enjoys displaying trains for the public regardless of the obstacles that may present themselves.

Next on the agenda for FUNTRAK will be the annual show in Clayton the weekend after Labor Day. Again this year FUNTRAK anticipates bringing some N-trak modules and a T-trak layout. The rest of the West Winds group has promised to supply a few modules to enhance the T-trak layout with some new and exciting scenery. Come on out and support your local model railroad club. See you at the shows!

Brian

John and Lorenzo dress for the occasion, as they celebrate Golden Spike Day at Fisher Elementary School

FUNTRAK members John Fleming and Lorenzo Franchi dressed for the occasion as FUNTRAK provided the trains for the students at Fisher Elementary School to enjoy and celebrate Golden Spike Day. The display saw over four hundred students come to view the setup and enjoy the operation of numerous trains. Tim Brien, another of FUNTRAK’s members, provided a gorgeous Lionel layout in addition to the T-trak layout at the school. Everything finished up on Saturday with the PTA’s fair being conducted throughout the school and the trains remaining until the fair closed. FUNTRAK thanks all involved!

In this case, children were encouraged to 'touch' in this interactive display

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 instituted a new concept into its t-trak layout at its annual “Valley Rail Sights”
show in Ilion over the weekend of April 21 and 22. The double inside loop added much
interest to the operation of the trains as they traversed the above mentioned double bubble.
This intriguing layout design allowed trains to travel nearly twice as far in the same amount
of space, giving the illusion of a very long run. See the complete layout diagram, more
pictures, and information on our Extas! page.

Thanks to everyone who came out for our train show. Everyone had a great time.  See video below and check back for photos and details from our event.

The FUNTRAK annual train show, Valley Rail Sights, is this weekend! Bring the whole family and let’s see some trains! Food vendors will be on hand for snacks, retail vendors will be on hand for train enthusiasts. Saturday and Sunday—it’s going to be great fun for everyone!

Operation! Remember when you were younger and you played the game where you were supposed to remove parts of the body from the game board without killing the patient? You had a metal pair of tweezers that you used to remove organs, bones, or whatever without touching the sides of the cavity and setting off the alarm.

Well, with train operations the difference is that you need to move all your rolling stock into the right position in a given amount of time so your railroad doesn’t lose revenue. Sounds like a pretty simple concept, doesn’t it? Hold on a minute, though. You need to remember that there may be other equipment located where you need to put your rolling stock, there may be other trains coming that won’t allow you to block the tracks, or any of a variety of other difficulties you need to overcome just to get your equipment to where it needs to be. And on time! Remember, time is money. Wait a minute. What about other freight that you have to pick up? Now not only do you have to drop off freight, you have to figure out how to pick up freight too. All of a sudden, things aren’t quite as simple as they first appeared.

Let’s see, drop off freight at various places, pick up freight from different places, go to the next delivery or pick up point, continue on until you get back to a yard somewhere where you can transfer all the incoming freight to some responsible entity for further movement. My head is beginning to spin. This wasn’t all that hard when I started. What happened? Why can’t this be simple? How do the real railroads do all this?

The answer, of course, is that they use modern equipment, programs, computers, and trained personnel to accomplish this seemingly simple task that has become a logistical nightmare. So, we too, can use the same modern equipment to do the same simple job. The difference is that we will have to accommodate our own railroad and develop the software and computers we need to run the operations on our railroad. This is what keeps model railroading interesting. Like to just watch trains run in a circle? Okay. Watch the passenger train that stops rarely and continues from point A to point B and back continuously. However, while the passenger train is running, the freight delivery must be accommodated and not interfere with the passenger train that has priority on the tracks. Your job now could be to move all those cars destined for delivery and pick up without holding up the passengers on the train trying to get to their destination on time. You also need to do your job in a timely fashion. The products you are delivering may be perishable or time sensitive so you cannot waste too much time or you will not only lose money, but business as well.

This is the concept of model railroad operations that has been epitomized by the model railroaders involved in RailRun in the Boston area.FUNTRAK members Lorenzo Franchi, John Fleming, Brian King, and fellow model railroader David King from Canada recently completed operations on four layouts during RailRun XXIV. FUNTRAK members have been fortunate enough to be involved in this extraordinary event since its inception and have enjoyed the camaraderie and excitement this provides each year. Now FUNTRAK is in the process of attempting to develop an operations schedule to use with the T-trak layouts created at shows. Come to our annual “Valley Rail Sights” show this month and see how we make out. Hope to see you there!

Brian

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