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ProRail 2008
 April
24-26, 2008. ProRail. 88 diehard model
railroaders heavily into operations, from all over North
America, converge on Houston to operate 3 days on 22
different area layouts. One of these was ours.
It has come and gone. It was intense.
When we were asked to be a part of ProRail in April 2007
we were relatively novice at operations, having had our
first official operating session only a few months
before in February 2007. Could we do it? We
weren't sure. We had a lot to do and not a lot of time.
To prepare for this event we initiated regular monthly
operating sessions. In addition to getting further
up on the learning curve with the switchlist program
RailOp, and learning how to set up an interesting,
realistic and challenging schedule of trains that would
satisfy these "pros," we had to get a fleet of
locomotives and rolling stock up to a higher standard to
make for a reliable event. We also wanted the
layout to stand out. We challenged ourselves to
get more scenery and signaling in place in time for the
event.
Did we succeed? Click on the photo and go through
the photos of the ProRailers that operated on our
layout. From the looks on their faces, I'd say we
did.
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Past Photos of the month:
 At
an operating Sessions this month we incorporated one of
the longest trains to date. Although not that long
by prototypical standards, a train this long would
overwhelm all but the largest home layouts. And
although there is plenty of room for it to stretch out
on the APN road, during an op session a train this long
is a special challenge for the Dispatcher who has to
arrange for meets with trains coming from the opposing
direction, a feat made more difficult when this train
won't fit on every one of our sidings, making it
necessary to do a saw-by. Good thing we don't run
multiple trains that are this length at the same time,
requiring
double-saw-by meets. But who knows, maybe it
won't be long before we do, increasing the challenge to
our engineers!
When running this train,
Roger also
discovered that a helper was a necessity over some of
the 2% grades. Adding an engine to the rear not
only made the train better for rail fanning, it also
resulted in an extra bonus - with locomotives at both
ends of the train, making set-outs and pick-ups were
easier to do. Although we probably could not do
this if our layout had DC control, DCC makes it easy.
And with an
NCE dogbone throttle it is a breeze to break an
engine out of the consist, use this engine to make the
train movements, reassemble the train and put the engine
back in the consist. Click on the thumbnail to see
a series of photos taken as this train snaked it's way
around our layout.
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 February
2009. Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!
President's Day is held this month, and rather than a
sale at the mall, at APN we'd rather celebrate it in a
railroad theme way. Like running this
pair of Santa Fe EMD SD45-2 units painted in a
bicentennial paint scheme, shown heading up this coal drag coming
around the bend near Valley Junction on APN's layout. During an
operating session coal is an important revenue
generating commodity, and there
will be several trains scheduled to make the haul over the road
from the mine to the power plant, and to make the return
trip back to the
mine with the empties to pick up another load.
Although the
prototype for lead unit 7601 has been repainted at least
once, renumbered several times and has been converted to
a B-unit, She along with her sister unit 7500 live on at
APN as they were in their glory days in their splendid
patriotic red, white and blue paint scheme. They
are a sight to behold and seeing them pass by makes you
want to stand a little more erect and give them some respect.
They are not Old Glory, but they are a very striking
reminder of our
United States Star-Spangled Banner, and
the pride we should all have for this great country of
ours. And
they are also trains! All the more reason for us
to take stop and take notice, and admire them as they
pass by. It is enough to raise goose bumps! Click on the thumbnail for a larger
photo. |
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January 2008.
 As
this picture shows, there are a lot of scenery elements
packed into a small space at the waterfront.
Although it is still taking shape, and the water itself
needs to be put in, it will still take your eye a long
time to take in all the details in this area of our
layout. Barry is the creative energy behind the
"scenes", so to speak, that put all this together into a
very nice looking package. But don't be surprised
when you come to visit APN if the scenes are different.
Barry won't hesitate to change things around to make the
scene even better. But even if he doesn't, and
you've seen it before, come by and look at it again.
There is so much there, you'll probably find some new
detail you missed on your first visit. Click
on the thumbnail to view a page of additional pictures
from the water's edge.
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 Shown
in this thumbnail is member
Moe January receiving the
prestigious 2007
President's Award during the awards portion of APN's
annual 2007 Christmas Party. Along with our annual
Birthday party held in July, the Christmas Party is
an All Points North tradition, as is the presentation of this
Award to the deserving member chosen by our Club's
President for his contribution to APN during the current
year. In addition to receiving a plaque to take
home, a second plaque is hung in our Clubhouse, to
further recognize the recipient. This year, in
addition to the President's Award,
John chose to create
other categories of awards, to recognize other members
for their efforts. And whether they received an
award or not, all attending members and
their spouses had the opportunity to partake of way more
food and drink than they really needed - even before
dessert was served!
Click on
the thumbnail to view a page of additional pictures from
the Christmas Party. |
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 November
is National Model Railroading Month, and as a part of
this event it has been a tradition around the country to
invite the general public to view layouts and allow them
a glimpse of what we do in our hobby. In the
Houston Area we have to tip our hat to the
SanJac Model Railroad Club for coordinating an
annual tour of many of the layouts the region has to
offer. So many that the tour actually starts in
late October and spills into early December - just to be
able to fit all the layouts in. As it always does,
APN opened its doors, and we were rewarded by a turnout
of about 100 visitors over the 2 day weekend event.
This picture shows a few of the younger visitors,
admiring the stable of steam power posing in the
roundhouse under construction on our layout. Note
the modern diesel consist sweeping around the curve
behind the roundhouse. We ran a variety of
locomotive types and vintages to appeal to a large
audience. We even had a separate layout set up for
the smaller engineers to operate a
Thomas the Tank
train.
Click on the photo for a larger image (51k) |
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 Another
new scene going in on APN's layout is this station for
the little town of Neath. Although small in size,
the town's Mayor, Johnnie Krezinski has packed in a lot
of details into Neath. This is evident in the
super-detailing done to the station inside and out, from
the luggage and other clutter standing on the end
platform, the calendar on the wall, all the way down to
the fresh roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. To
show off the interior details,
Johnnie did
some cut-away magic, which allows visitors to peer
inside to view the details in the station, including the
rafters in the attic, and the bustle of activity in the
station as patrons await the arrival of the next
passenger train. With all the details, it is not
yet complete, as Johnnie has more items planned for
inclusion inside the station. Come visit us at our
November open house and see the progress Johnnie makes.
Click on the photo for a larger image (225k) |
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  This
recently completed scene is a handsome addition to APN's
narrow gauge line and the best scenery work yet by our
own Moe January (inspiring
John to suggest the name "January Falls"). In
addition to the spindly scratch-built wood trestle, and
the signature waterfall cascading down the rugged rock
cliff, other details in this tranquil scene
 include
a paddling of ducks enjoying the creek in
the foreground, a couple of nearby moose, and a family
herd of grazing deer. If you look around, you'll
even spot an eagle perched in one of the hand-made
trees. These pictures
don't do justice to all the details available in the
scene, so come by the
clubhouse and see them firsthand. The only thing missing from this scene is a
diminutive but sturdy narrow gauge train being led
gingerly across the trestle behind a vintage
mudhen or
shay steam locomotive. But we'll soon rectify
that. Who knows, maybe one will make an appearance
while you are present, and you'll not only be able to
take in the sights, but you'll also get to hear the
whistle blow!
Click on any of the photos for a larger view (72-114k) |
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Smoke and Mirrors
(or, "Where oh where has my little train gone")
 July
2007. One
of the "features" of the APN track plan is a section of
mainline that starts on one side of a sky-board scenic
divider, enters and climbs up a helix, and then comes
out of the helix on the other side of that same
sky-board. Unless an engineer walks around the
peninsula containing the helix, when the train emerges
on the other side of the sky-board it is out of view.
If our steam locomotives
made smoke, you'd be able to tell where
they were by their plume. Sound helps, but a few members
wanted more. A solution that was implemented was
to put a "butt-crack" in the sky: a gap in the sky-board
about a foot wide, that gives a glimpse of the passing
train from the other side. What we never figured
out how to do effectively was to disguise this
improbable gap, which is in the middle of a city
industrial scene in the making. What we've come up
with as an alternative to the gap is a mirror
strategically placed over the layout. Now an
engineer can look up at the mirror and see his whole train at once,
instead of just a glimpse through a gap. And now we can
say, "butt-crack be gone!" and not have to
explain a nearby rock formation that looms in the middle of
(and towers over) a
city skyline that has the appearance of being many city
blocks deep. Both the juxtaposition of the two
incongruent scenes and their difference in apparent
depth perspective destroy the illusion of reality. These two pictures show
the mirror and the gap, prior to being closed.
Click on either picture for a larger view (Picture sizes
= 40k size each). |
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June 2007. Bob
Miller's C&O
class H-8 Allegheny cruises past Meyer Junction with
a string of coal cars in tow. This magnificent
2-6-6-6 monster was one of the most powerful steam
locomotives to roam the rails in North America, capable
of 7500 horsepower (vs. the Big Boy's 6200 HP). It
is also the heaviest reciprocating steam locomotive
(when excluding the tender) built in North America.
APN is adding a steam facility that will include a
turntable to be able to handle this and other large
locomotives to get them turned around, and when needed,
into the roundhouse (also under construction) for
servicing.
Click here for the image (size=48K)
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 May
2007. Mike,
Charlie and Bob discussing various options on how to
install a pair of bridges. The area at Oakley is
one of the first vistas that a visitor sees upon
entering the layout room, so they want to talk it out to
try to get the best results in realistically merging the
2 bridges that will go at this location with the
surrounding scenery. They have to consider not
just how the results will look, but how to cut the
mainline and install the bridges with minimum downtime
to
the layout, and at the same time, end up with rock-solid
and reliable track work. No mean feat.
Click here
for the image (size=244k) |
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April 2007. This close-up photo shows a recently
completed scene by
Johnnie Krezinski
of a pair of tunnel portals bored under a dramatic
rock outcrop. Working from photos his wife
found of rock formations in Arizona, Johnnie worked and
reworked this scene until he achieved the texture and
color variation he wanted. Although this photo
doesn't show it, even the ballast inside the tunnel was
sceniced to match the prototype. Johnnie is
relatively new to model railroading, but his work shows
that with practice, perseverance and by reading up on
techniques, even a beginner can gain proficiency in the
various aspects of model railroading.
Click here for
the image (size=102k).
Photo by
Larry Stella |
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March 2007.
David, Dennis, Rich, Errol and Bob form an assembly line
for the inspection of rolling stock. We made a recent
purchase of 130+ freight cars and made this concerted
effort to make sure they met our standards before
turning them loose on the layout.
Click here for
the image (size=47k)
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John and Charlie were among the half-dozen or so members
that manned our booth at the Annual SanJac Train Show
in Stafford, February 10, 2007. We had a good
turnout of visitors to the booth, so it was well worth
our time. One surprise, though, is that SanJac was
passing out a flyer telling the more than 1300 adults
that attended the show that APN was having an open house
that evening and the next day! So a few phone
calls were made and we got other members to "man the
fort" and accepted the visitors we had come by the
clubhouse both days. Next year we'll be prepared!
Click here for the image (size=38k)
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Rich and Barb graciously offered their home to host the
2006 version of APN's annual Christmas Party. In
addition to over 30 guests, there was also a surprise
visit from Santa! VP Mike won the President's Award, and
everyone was treated to gifts from Santa, and abundant
quantities of food and drink, including eggnog
(Borden's, of course). Barb offered that since Rich was
the one who decorated the house for the holiday, and not
her, that she wants to host more parties. All's we can
say, is February too soon?!
Click here for the
collage (size=676k)
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November 2007. Scott draws the Dispatcher's job as seen in this
photo. During the Open House we broke out the radios and
held an impromptu operating session. The layout can be
run under ABS or CTC control. During the latter, the
Dispatcher has control of all mainline turnouts, unless
he agrees to temporarily grant local control to a crew. It won't be long before Operating Sessions are a
regularly scheduled event on our railroad.
Click here for the image (41k)
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After the October 2007 Business Meeting, Mike, Charlie, along
with help from his grandson, assemble APN's newly
acquired "Topside Creeper." This piece of
equipment will support APN members on its height
adjustable padded platform as they work over and above
the layout, allowing comfortable access to otherwise
hard to reach portions of the back of the benchwork.
Click here for the image (41k)
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September 2007.
This photo mosaic shows the helix arrangement inside
Mount Stephens, named after two of our deceased
members, Messrs. Foster and
Hashagen. Sometimes an operator has to scratch
his head to remember where the train that just went into
the mountain will reappear. This photo may help
de-mystify just what is going on inside there.
Click here
for the image (106k)
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 August
2007.
The scenery committee at work.
Mike,
Richard, and our
other scenery committee member Mike are busy making
mountains. Mike
is creating the basic form of the mountain by stapling
and hot-gluing together a lattice of cardboard strips.
This is covered with a layer of paper towels soaked in
Hydrocal. Richard and Mike are smoothing on the 3rd
layer - Sculptamold. Later plaster rock castings
will be added, then stains, paints, dirt and ground
cover. Sound like fun? Come and join us!
Openings are available for Club membership and
membership on the Scenery Committee.
Click here
for the image (52kb)
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 25th Birthday Party. This month's picture is a
little bigger than most months, but it also commemorates
a big event! On July 15th, 2006 we celebrated our 25th
Birthday as a club and the 5th anniversary of our
Clubhouse dedication. We also re-dedicated the Clubhouse
in memory of Steve Hashagen who passed away earlier in
the year. Steve was the guiding force that made our
ownership of the Clubhouse a reality.
Click here for the
montage (size=207k)
Also find here a copy of a Testimonial made to Steve at
the event, and the Program.
Click here for the Testimonial (43kb)
Click here for the Program (61kb)
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 June 2007.
Artist Brian Chapman shows his work. APN Alumni
and former resident artist Brian Chapman at work on his
masterpiece, Ded Hoarse Gulch on July, 9 2005. Ded
Hoarse Gulch is the striking scene that visitors see as
they first enter the APN Clubhouse. Brian was meticulous
in completing this vista, spending months of Saturdays
working on it. Even though at the end of every Saturday
members could look at his work and consider it beautiful
and complete, Brian would return the following Saturday
and put in another full day, adding to it, and making it
look even better (or in his words, "making a mess with
plaster and paint"). Brian is now a member of the
Amarillo Railroad Museum.
Click here for the image (52k)
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Structure Kit-Bash Clinic. As members look on,
John conducts a clinic on kit-bashing structures at the
May, 20, 2006, meeting. Duane commented that if John
were to find the "perfect" model kit, John would not be
able to resist the temptation and build it without
changing something on it. The proliferation of
warehouses in the Port area stands as a testament to
John's productivity.
Click
here for the image (32k) |
Ops Session at Don Bozman's. APN members look on
as Don explains how to make setouts on both trailing
point and facing point sidings. Don and his wife
graciously invited us into their home April 22, 2006 for
an operation session on Don's Great Great Northern
layout. APN members attending where John C, Richard Cl,
Rich Cu, Steve D, Jim D, Kevin G, Mark H, Johnnie K, Mike
Kr, Charlie R, and Jerry W.
Click here for the image (42k) |
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Retaining Wall Clinic. Greg & Jane Butler,
members of the N.U.T.S. Club, presenting a clinic at our
April Meeting. APN members watch attentively as Greg
demonstrates 5 different techniques for building
retaining walls. Afterwards the Butlers invited APN
members to their home to view the retaining walls
adorning their layout.
Click
here for the image (48k)
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Electrical Committee handiwork.
Scott, our
Electrical Committee Chairman, performing maintenance on
the 3-way switch at the west end of the ladder into
Conroe Yard. In addition to the wiring needed for new
construction on the layout, there is always plenty to do
taking care of electrical work needed after
modifications are made to existing track, or just for
repairs needed due to normal wear and tear on the
layout.
Click here for the image (36k)
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Weathering Clinic.
Richard had APN members' rapt
attention as he presented a weathering clinic in the
clubhouse meeting room on February 18, 2006. The tips
shown included using chalks, ink washes, airbrush and
aerosol can techniques.
Click here for the image (48k)
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APN Booth at WGH Train Show.
Charlie (in the
green vest) with prospective members at the booth APN
hosted at the
World's Greatest Hobby Show January 7-8,
2006 at George R. Brown Convention Center. Other members
that assisted with the booth included Errol, Duane, John
C and Mark H. We gave out several hundred flyers.
Click here for the image (46k) |
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Dispatcher's Desk.
Duane standing at our
Dispatcher's Desk demonstrating the DCC programming
track and the software DecoderPro to new members Moe,
Rich and Mike after the January 2006 Meeting. DecoderPro
allows APN members to program their DCC equipped
locomotives via a graphical interface on the club's PC.
Click here for the image (34k)
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