Greg has found a new friend at the annual Rochester Institute of Technology Tiger Tracks Train show. The college mascot was out and about meeting the public and entertaining all the children. FUNTRAK was happy to join in on all the “FUN” with the school’s fine representative and enjoyed joining up with the Genesee ‘N Ontario Model Railroad club to display their exciting layouts at the show. This annual event has become one of FUNTRAK’s favorites and we are looking forward to next year.
The holiday spirit is upon us! Activities for November were many, as usual, and FUNTRAK was right in the middle of all the excitement.
The month started out in Syracuse where FUNTRAK again joined up with the layout sponsor, the Genesee ‘N Ontario club and various other clubs and people to display another exquisite N scale t-trak layout. This year’s layout contained many new and different modules for the public’s enjoyment. Among them was John Fleming’s new double module, ”Abandoned Building” and the club’s ever popular “eyeglasses” double loop. Also included this year was the club’s reverse loop one-trak module. Unfortunately, the software to make this operate got corrupted and we were unable to operate the loop as designed at the show. In addition to the N scale t-trak modules, club member Greg Brockway, brought the HO scale t-trak layout to Syracuse. Here again, new modules were incorporated for everyone’s enjoyment. John showed off his talent here by putting his new HO module into the layout.
Following another successful weekend in Syracuse, FUNTRAK members trekked off to Fulton the next weekend for the Oswego Valley Railroad Association’s annual Holiday Express show. Once more, FUNTRAK set up two layouts, one in N scale and one in HO scale. Included in the N scale layout again was the reverse loop one-trak section. This time, however, the software had been corrected and the loop operated perfectly! John had lots of fun with this section operating and switching out freight to service businesses and sidings on the main layout. After all, train shows aren’t supposed to be fun for only the public. This also shows the versatility of the modular concept, the layout diversity, and the operational possibilities for shows to keep both the public’s and the club member’s interest high. Greg showed up Saturday morning with the HO layout and everyone joined in to help get him up and running. Other contributors to the success of FUNTRAK’s layouts included Rich Petitto and Neal Schantz who both provided modules for the N scale layout.
Upcoming events for December include a trip to Rochester to support the RIT club’s show on the 13 and 14 of December. Then on to the Oneida County Historical Society for our annual Christmas display from December 24 to December 30. Next year will begin with the show at Union Station in January, provided we are invited to attend. Come on out and support the local train shows and enjoy the talents of the many model railroaders who work so hard to make life a little more enjoyable for everyone.
Brian
FUNTRAK was delighted to participate in the 40th Annual Great New York State Model Train Fair.
The annual Syracuse Train Fair saw the introduction of John Fleming’s new HO t-trak module where there is an obvious construction discrepancy. This module is a part of an ever expanding HO module collection that FUNTRAK is promoting with the guidance of club member Greg Brockwayleading the way. Greg has been the driving force behind the HO expansion in the club with other members lending support as much as possible. FUNTRAK is well represented at many shows now with multiple layouts in multiple scales. More pictures from Syracuse and Fulton to come. Come to the shows and join in on the fun!
Charlie and Mark
October is not the premier month for model railroaders. The hobby lost anther great one this October when Charlie Hedrich went to the great model railroad in the beyond.
I met Charlie at the National Model Railroad Convention conducted in Washington, DC in 1982. Charlie was a retired Warrant Officer from the Navy and being a sailor myself, we naturally had a lot in common. During the show we got to know each other pretty well and when I found out that Charlie was originally from North Tonawanda, which was close to where I was stationed at the time, we decided we should get together sometime. One thing lead to another and soon enough Charlie and I did get together. Over the years we developed a long lasting friendship that has endured throughout Charlie’s life.
Charlie was especially talented with track work and electronics. Anything he did was done to perfection. He built two N-trak end loops where he would run a Southern railroad passenger train at full speed around the linear layout: BACKWARDS! This amazing feat was possible because of Charlie’s meticulous attention to detail in assembling the track work. It was remarkable to watch that long passenger train traverse the entire layout, up the curved grades to the mountain line and returning without so much as a hint of derailing over that perfect track work.
Over the years Charlie came to visit me many times. In return, I also visited him in his adopted home of Virginia Beach. While there, Charlie and I built many electrical items to support the local N-trak club including a power supply and a few N-trak throttles. Charlie also built a tee yard that brought all the N-trak lines into a yard inside the main layout. This made making train consists easy for the operators since they were inside the layout and not as distracted by the public as when outside the layout. Charlie also made sure he had a vehicle that would support transporting any modules he had and others that may have needed help.
Charlie was life member of the NMRA, although he often disagreed with many of their policies. Even still, Charlie was a staunch supporter of all model railroading endeavors regardless of scale. Whenever he would visit FUNTRAK and me, he would bring along something to support the show. One year he got together with our mutual friend, Mark Bean, and ran a 150 car train on the N-trak layout just to show that this long train could negotiate twelve inch radius corners with a hitch. As expected, this went without any problems.
One of Charlie’s philosophies was that in his life he had met, if he was lucky, about 100,000 people. Today the population of the United States is above 316 million. So Charlie would say that there were over 315 million people who had not had the opportunity yet to learn to dislike him. Therefore, his time to depart had not yet arrived. So in closing, Charlie I’m afraid you have disappointed some 315 million people by not allowing them the honor and privilege of meeting you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have known you, Thank You Very Much! May you rest in peace and enjoy the great layout in the sky.
Brian
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.
