FunTrak puts on a show for the locals at the Oneida County Historical Society, over Christmas break.

Brian, in conjunction with Mark Bean and David King, has been steadily persevering at the software program to operate the reverse loop for the N scale T-trak one trak project. It seems that the simplest things are not as simple as they might at first appear. The overall concept of the reverse loop is to have a train enter going in one
direction and exit going in the opposite direction. Automating this means that the software has to recognize where the train is at any given time, what the power requirements are at that time, and changing any necessary hardware to
accommodate the train as it moves along. All this is pretty straightforward, but implementing it with the software and getting it to operate the way it is planned is nowhere near as simple as it sounds.

First, the hardware does not always cooperate. Checking the polarity is not always reliable, so the software needs to
be written to compensate for possible misreadings. Then the magnetic sensors have to be checked and again compensated for any misreadings. Finally, all the action has to be timed perfectly, and put together in one complete package designed to operate without failure. Sounds easy enough but in reality, it is much more difficult and mostly, time
consuming than it at first would appear. Persistence is the order of the day and Mark, David, and Brian will keep at it
until finished. A photo of the temporary setup is pictured below.

Temporary test setup

FUNTRAK‘s usual interesting layouts were the center of attention again this year at the annual Valley Rail Sights show in Ilion. In addition to the layouts this year, FUNTRAK also had vendors with trains and supporting equipment for sale. The vendors were pleased and promised to return next year. Attendance was good and everyone had a great time.

FUNTRAK member Gene Beirne smiles broadly as he graciously accepts the Service Person Of The Year Award from former FUNTRAK recipient John Fleming. This award is presented each year to the person or persons who have significantly contributed to FUNTRAK’s continuing success in the model railroading hobby. Gene’s tireless efforts over the past year in getting more and more recognition for FUNTRAK in the community did not go unnoticed. Thank you, Gene!

FUNTRAK club members gather to celebrate the club’s 20 year anniversary and launch their latest addition, the HO T-Trak module.

FUNTRAK members gathered at the Family Fun Center for the annual club dinner where the new HO t-trak modules were assembled for the enjoyment of all. The new 20th Anniversary shirts were distributed and modeled by club members in attendance at the dinner. The food was excellent and plentiful as always and everyone had a great time!