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Volume 49, Number 4 Winter 2019-2020

Official publication of the Sunrise Trail Division of the National Model Railroad Association, Inc.

Save the date

Sunrise Trail Division

Winter Meet

February 29, 2020

Location: 445 Jefferson St., Westbury NY

February 29, 2020

Time: 1:00 PM Information will be posted at the Sunrise Trail website

http://sunrisetraildiv.com

Albuquerque-bound Amtrak on Nicolo Platas’s New Mexico regional—see page 3

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president’s corner perspective / DENNIS DEANGELIS

Have a you got a story to tell?

Send it to the Cannon Ball

-Layout progress---Pictures

-New Products--Tools—Tactics

-Operating news-Club news

Please send to: stdivcannonball@gmail.com

EDITOR Dan Shepard

(718) 224-9278 djshep@verizon.net

THE CANNON BALL

is published quarterly by the Sunrise

Trail Division of the National Model

Railroad Association, Inc. for the benefit

of the model railroading community.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

U.S/. and possessions: $7.00 per year.

Please make check or money order

payable to Sunrise Trail Division. Send

requests for new subscriptions,

renewals or address changes to

Walter Wohleking 5 Howard Drive

Huntington NY 11743-3032 (631) 757-0580 wgw5hd@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTIONS

Articles, photographs, and artwork are

welcome in either hardcopy or as

computer files. Copy is due by the 1st of

February, May, August, and November

and should be sent to the Editor at the

above address. Submitted material will

be returned upon request.

OFFICERS

Dennis DeAngelis, President rs31556@yahoo.com

Michael Bowler, Vice President

bowlerm26@yahoo.com

Rick Mazzola, Secretary

rpm253@gmail.com

Steven Perry, Treasurer seperry@optonline.net

DIRECTORS Michael Siegel (2017) viamdlr@hotmail.com

David Metal (2017) dmetal@juno.com Joseph Bux (2018) buxjoe@aol.com

Kevin Katta (2018) boxcarny@yahoo.com

Ed Koehler edwardmkoehler@nyc.rr.com Representative on NER BoD

Kevin Katta ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

Michael Siegel CONTESTS

John Feraca MEMBERSHIP Steven Perry

WEBSITE www.SunriseTrailDiv.com

Richard Mazzola

The holiday season has come to an end for another year. There was no football for us New York fans in the post-season, Buffalo notwith-standing. Baseball is three months away and it is too cold to work outside. Now is model train season. I have just completed six days--over two weekends—of model railroad activity with HOTrack (www.hotrack.org). We set up a large display, one of the largest we have ever done, at the Bethpage Resto-ration Village. Hundreds of people of all ages saw it. Since we were there for such a long time we were able to conduct an operating session. The public seemed just as in-terested in watching cars be-ing switched as they were watching the long trains run. Hopefully, we were good am-bassadors of the hobby and maybe inspired one or two to get involved. The Winter Meet is coming up at the end of February. This is our official business meeting under our By-Laws.

The election of officers and three trustees will be held at that meeting. Anyone interest-ed in serving on the Board, should contact us and let us know. Nominations may be made at the meeting. Accord-ing to our By-Laws, a nomina-tion from the floor requires two NMRA members who give their NMRA numbers. In addi-tion to the elections, there will be two clinics, details to fol-low. This meeting will be short, Come down and spend some time talking trains with your fellow members. Many of us went to Spring-field for the Amherst Train Show. This is the largest train show in the northeast. If you haven’t been there, it is defi-nitely worth the trip next year. Our Spring Meet in April. More information to follow. My sincerest best wishes to all for a happy & healthy New Year! Dennis

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Modeling the Open Spaces of

New Mexico

BNSF doesn’t run much freight these days on the old Santa Fe line north of Albuquerque toward Raton, but

the area is still well served by Nicolo Platas’s NPSF railroad that still keeps run-through and local rail service alive, along with Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, during monthly operating sessions. According to Nicolo, the idea to model the southwest came about gradually. He knew he wanted to model something different. “I liked the Santa Fe. I like stack trains.” The Santa Fe’s Warbonnet and blue and yellow paint schemes also played a role, and the whole southwest landscape and the Route 66 “look” also helped him settle on a locale. Ultimately, the idea evolved to create a regional carrier, akin to the Montana Link or the Arizona and California. As it turned out, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe joined, and started spinning off unprofitable lines. “The pro-totype followed me,” Nicolo says, and although BNSF still retains control on the prototype, “they don’t want to run over a line with three percent grade.” Sharp curves, the steep grade, and tight clearances have long favored the Southern Transcon line, built as the Belen Cutoff. And while Amtrak still uses the line, they too have made rumblings about running buses between Albuquerque and Dodge City. So the NPSF came into existence in Nicolo’s basement. And while the railroad’s letters match his initials, Nicolo said the railroad’s name is the Navajo, Pueblo and Santa Fe, paying homage to the New Mexico setting. The double-decked layout, in a 25’x36’ basement, is 25 years in the making. Nicolo considers himself about “80 percent rivet counter,” taking liberties to bend the prototype to “make it believable.” While there is very little freight these days north of Albuquerque, the NPSF is set in the present and the line exists on bridge traffic, shuttling grain cars and overflow traffic from BNSF, and some relocation of industries along the line to generate traffic. The layout also provided the region with some new opportunities for economic expansion, such as the

THE CANNON BALL 4

development of an ethanol plant (even before Walthers came out with a model). A real etha-nol plant actually exists in southeast New Mexi-co. Some areas of the layout are modeled faithful-ly, industry for industry. There are a few distinc-tive landmarks, such as the Albuquerque sta-tion, a chapel in Lamy, and a water tank in Ribe-ra. Nicolo says that while the layout is in his base-ment, the layout has been developed with a lot of help from friends, each bringing key talents that contributed to the design, scenery, elec-tronics and rolling stock. Some of the contribu-tors go back a long time, some to the days of the now defunct Nassau County Model Railroad Club in Williston Park. Recognizing all the contributions, Nicolo said it was still his job to move progress forward. Layout construction began 25 years ago when the Platas’ moved into their home. The basement was always intended for a model railroad, and modifications were made to allow for maximum use. The railroad runs through a mechanical room as well as the dispatcher’s office (also the workbench.) The layout design has evolved over time, with the original concept calling for a fully scenicked upper level, and continuous staging. Today both levels are fully scenicked with the lower level ac-curately representing the prototype, and with the

upper deck providing more of the open spaces of the southwest. The connection between the levels is achieved by a long 1.4% grade. The lower level is used as a major yard and industrial area with numerous switching opportunities. The idea of open space is im-portant on the NPSF. Nicolo said he wanted to give the idea of space so visitors would not see one train with its engine in one town and its caboose in another. The longest trains on the line are 30 cars and most trains are pulled by two con-sisted locomotives. The aisles are wide, and the railroad affords dedi-

The massive Albuquerque station is a major transportation hub on the prototype as well as on the NPSF. Amtrak, with its Super-liner cars, and Rail Runner commuter trains serve the city.

Intermodal is a major source of revenue for the NPSF.

Abengoa Bioenergy, an ethanol plant, is a major source of traffic. Modeler’s li-

cense allowed for the slight relocation of the plant.

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cated switching areas where operators can go about their business without unnecessarily tying up the main line. Rolling stock is all free rolling with metal wheels; and much of the fleet is tastefully weathered by some of the contribu-tors. Modeling the modern era provides many op-tions. In addition to running modern stacks, eth-anol and grain trains, he also runs a Boeing train carrying fuselages and a military train. There is still an excursion train, inspired by the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad near Santa Cruz, California, pulled by a 2-6-0 steam engine. The Amtrak trains run, as well the color-ful local Rail Runner commuter trains, and a din-ner train with varnish also appears. The scenery, which depicts the dry but not shrub-less landscape, is chock full of mini-scenes and vignettes giving a flavor of life in the south-west. Some of the scenes show workers, rail-fans, passengers, and people who helped build the railroad. The railroad has always been DCC, as Nicolo explains that he had been an early DCC adopter. “The layout was built with DCC in mind. It is not a retrofit or redesign.” The railroad runs on the NCE system. Operating sessions take place once a month, with anywhere from 12 to 19 people showing up. “I never envisioned this,” he says. The railroad runs best, he adds, when there are between 12 and 14 people, and after that, two-man crews are needed. The operating sessions use switch lists and Nicolo says he likes to make sure no two sessions are the same, with different industries being switched, and different numbers of cars moved. There are usually about 300 cars on the layout at any given time, with about 28-30 en-gines. The NPSF looks like a finished railroad, but Nicolo says there are still projects ahead, such as adding signals. But he says he wouldn’t do any-thing much differently, except perhaps add two inches to the lower level, to give a little more clearance. And there are constantly tweaks to the operating system, which Nicolo says is always be-ing refined.

There are many vignettes on the layout that bring the layout to life.

Operating session action at Lamy on the top level and Abajo yard on

the lower. 12-19 operators join the sessions.

Industries in Rio Bravo allow operators to focus on

switching unimpeded by main line traffic.

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Nicolo runs a number of different kinds of trains—this one

is the wine train with a consist of varnish.

Rail Runner locomotive servicing area just outside

Albuquerque station.

Excursion train, pulled by steam during operating sessions,

was based on a California narrow gauge ride

Nicolo Platas explaining operations on his New Mexico re-

gional line, the Navajo, Pueblo and Santa Fe. 25 years in

the making, the double-decked layout takes up a 25’x36’

basement.

The Hahn turn switches a prototype-based industrial com-

plex that includes General Mills, a major shipper.

Much of the upper level depicts the wide open spaces of

New Mexico. Peeking out on the lower level is the Hahn

industrial area. The upper and lower levels are connected

by a long ramp.

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By Jamie Soberman

I was attending Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, in the early 1970’s. The campus sat on the banks of the Hack-ensack River. With a short walk south or going into Hackensack, you could still watch freight operations on the New York and Susquehanna Railroad. If you walked east on Cedar Lane you could stand on the overpass and watch the Conrail freight trains moving at full throttle on the old New York Central West Shore Line.

Most of those trains were lead by three or four GP40’s painted in the Conrail blue alt-hough occasionally there were locomotives that had a yet to be shopped engine still in the Penn Central black. Most of these trains were long drags of sixty cars or more and all of them had a bay window caboose on the end. You could hear them coming up or down the line from miles away. My favorite place to watch was on the steps down to the abandoned platform of the Teaneck Commuter station. With my friend Richie, who also enjoyed train watching, we would stop at the Seven Elev-en and get coffee and a big chocolate chip cookie. Then we would sit down and watch the trains go by for an hour or so. This was the main line along the Hudson River to the Selkirk yard. There was lots of action both north and south bound.

At this time you could still explore the right of way by walking or driving along the adjacent roads. Occasionally I would take a ride along the right of way just to see what was there. What I found were stations that were either abandoned or being re-purposed. One became a doctors office, another, an architects office. They became bars and restaurants, boutique clothing stores, and one was a deli. These old structures survived their original purpose and found new lives in the 1970’s. This was the time where I was first discovering model railroading. Once in a while, when I am in this area I go back and see if these old structures are still there. They are still there, but they are being used differently.

Today, as a seasoned model railroader, I think about the modeling options the passing of time can give us. Many modelers build their layouts to reflect modern railroads. New motive pow-er, huge rolling stock, all of the new high horsepower equipment used by the industry. Rarely do I see any remains of the era of seventy or eighty years ago when Rails were a daily reported class of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. Railroads were a major part of our national economy. Many vestiges of this industry are there if you look for them. They also offer additional modeling opportunities.

Three places come to my mind. The first is off the interstate (I-78) in Bethlehem PA. Just off the exit are the remains of an old rail yard. If you look at it you will see that it is still in use but back in the day it was a much larger yard and probably moved a lot of coal from the mines in the Allentown area. Tucked in the corner and

highly visible is the remains of a small concrete engine house and a turntable pit. It has aged poorly but is still easily recognizable. A model of this abandoned structure may be worth consideration as an addition to your modern service area.

As a modeler still in the planning stages of my terminal (meaning last) railroad, I spend a lot of time thinking about the “spirit” of the era I am modeling, particularly the steam and early diesel eras. Many turn of the 20th century structures would still be in use. If I move these structures into a more modern era things like wooden warehouse doors would be replaced with more modern doors. Wood loading docks may no longer be used and show signs of de-terioration or replacement. Rails and track bed may be gone or buried and old signs faded. ( My American Buggy Whip Company building is now a commercial electrical supply.)

Another find is in Syracuse, New York. It was part of the New York Central Railroad facilities after they built the elevated by-pass around the city to remove the operations from Washington Ave-nue through downtown Syracuse. It is an old locomotive service yard just off the current mainline. It is still in use as a holding and MOW supply yard. And the long out of service concrete coaling tower is still there. I have been told that many of these concrete structures are still around because they are strong and are difficult to remove in an active yard. It took the LIRR many years to finally remove their old coal tower from their Queens yard for that very reason. The expense and degree of difficulty are high. These tow-ers have lived on long after their functional life has gone.

These old structures present modeling opportunities. I do not recall ever seeing a model of a repurposed station on a layout. I do recall a couple of modelers who have removed stations from their railroads and left the sites vacant. I have also seen modelers who have parked coaches next to a station and labeled them as restaurants. The repurposeing your old stations and station sites

Watching Time Go By

Freight coming into Hackensack on the SuzyQ—Wikipedia

THE CANNON BALL 8

could add interest to your layout. Think about what is happening with the repurposing of old city stations.

Washington, DC, renovated Union Station into a magnet of shops, meeting venues, restaurants and it is still a major regional rail hub. The magnificent head house in St Louis is part of a hotel. Kansas City and Denver use their stations for expanded local commuter rail service as well as public space and private development. Reading Terminal in Philadelphia links to the convention Center and Reading Market. Many other smaller cities are doing the same thing with their old stations. Some cities have taken old freight houses and turned then into shopping malls, farmer's’mar-kets and art galleries. One of my favorites is located in Nashville, TN. The old station and headquarters of the L&N is now a magnifi-cent hotel located on Broadway, the city’s main street. The build-ing has been restored to its former glory. A working train yard abuts the building.

Richie and I had a few great adventures train watching back then. Some of them involved positive encounters with railroad employees and local police. It was the time before 9/11 and pho-tography was allowed and enthusiasts were not viewed as poten-tial threats but rather as nuisances. I am not sure we could do the same train watching today. I will tell you other stories of kindness railroad crews extended to us years ago. There are more adven-tures with Richie to come.

By the way, while you are on your way to Bethlehem on I-78 lo-cated in Clinton NJ, stop at the Clinton Diner. You can’t miss it. It is right next to the highway. The observation car from the Central Railroad of New Jersey Blue Comet Atlantic City train, still in Com-et paint scheme, is parked right there and used as a dinning room. The food, baked goods and décor is excellent. Model trains run along the ceiling in the diner and paintings on the wall reflect the era. Say hi to Costas, the manager.

Additional Note of Warning:

WHEN SURVEYING OR STUDYING ANY PROPERTY YOU MUST OB-SERVE THE LAW. TRESSPASSING IS ILLEGAL. ASK PERMISSION TO ENTER IF YOU INTEND TO APPROACH PRIVATE PROPERTY. ALSO NOTE THAT WE ARE IN AN AGE OF HIGH SECURITY. YOU MAY BE ASKED NOT TO APPROACH OR PHOTOGRAPH SOME AREAS.

I HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN ASKED TO LEAVE AND NOT PHOTO-GRAPH RAILROAD INFRASTRUCTURE EVEN WHILE BEING IN A PUB-LIC AREA. YOU MAY ALSO BE ASKED FOR IDENTIFICATION.

CARRYING YOUR NMRA. MEMBERSHIP CARD DOES PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT TO THE REASON YOU ARE STUDYING AND PHOTGRAPHING THE AREA. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ASKED TO SUR-RENDER ANY ACQUIRED MATERIAL.

ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL TO PROPERTY OWNERS, RAILROAD REP-RESENTATIVES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT.

The late afternoon summer sun pouring into Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station.

WINTER 2019 9

Sharing the Hobby

in College Point

By Joe Bux

In addition to enjoying model

trains in my basement, I like

to let other folks know about

our hobby.

Each year, I bring a couple of

my large scale train sets to our

local College Point, Queens,

OKTOBERFEST, sponsored by

the community's historical

Poppenhusen Institute Asso-

ciation.

Conrad Poppenhusen was

the first President of the

Long Island Railroad and his

portrait is displayed along

with a model of College

Point's first trolley.

Model Railroading is fun!

THE CANNON BALL 10

By Jamie Soberman

It’s been well more than two years since Ringling Bros.

and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed its last show, on

May 21, 2017, at the Nassau Coliseum. The end of the

Ringling circus brought an end to the circus trains that-

were long part of the New York scene, laying up in

Sunnyside Yards in Queens and near the Nassau Collise-

um.

I have always felt a connection to the circus trains.

Here why:

First, the larger circuses moved as rail units that con-

tracted the railroads to move the train. I had a college

friend who grew up with the Feld family in Maryland.

Her brother Arnie was given a job with Ringling Brothers

as a Transportation Manager. Arnie administered the

Train. (He is listed in the old programs.)

Second, several circus train sets were released by ma-

jor manufacturers such as Lionel, Gilbert American

Flyer and Bachmann.

Historically, the circus trains ran as extras and the

railroads made plenty of money moving them. Back in the

day, the advertising department was critical in letting people

know that the Circus was coming to town.

Railroads moved the circus, and the circus provided ongo-

ing revenue to the railroads. It was a seasonal business.

Spring to Fall. Most circuses layed up in winter. Some main-

tained there own shops. Performers lived on the trains.

Elephants sometimes did the local switching.

The advertising department

worked independently of the per-

formance.

Lastly remember, everybody

loves a circus. Today, the circus

rides by truck.

The advance cars

They called them advertising cars

or advance cars because they trav-

eled weeks ahead of the show.

The circus called them bill cars or

just “the car.” They were loaded

with circus bills and posters. The

“car” was the rolling home and

works base of a crew known as

“billers” who aggressively managed

to paste circus posters and date

sheets on pretty much every flat

surface in town.

Twenty to thirty men lived on and

The Circus Came To Town! But First Came the “Car”

Sunrise Trail’s Spring Meet featured a highly detailed circus parade

Circus-themed modules were displayed at the Amherst Railroad show in Springfield

WINTER 2019 11

worked out of a typical advance car. Most shows ran a sin-

gle car but the biggest shows ran two to four cars ahead of

the show. The circus usually had one day at each stop. The

bill car had to complete its work in one day in order to stay

ahead of the show. Billing crews would post 6,000 –10,000

sheets per day.

The cars were often combines, converted baggage cars or

old RPOs. Their sides were painted up as rolling billboards

for the circus. There were so many configurations of win-

dows and side doors that they can only be generalized as a

car type.

Interiors were outfitted as a combination working

shop and living quarters for the crew of billers. There

were great long tables over the storage lockers that

were filled with posters in many styles and sizes.

Above the tables were standard Pullman births where

the crew slept when they were done with their day’s

work. There was an office for the advance car manag-

er and often there was a smaller office for the con-

tracting press agent. At one end of the car there was

an upright boiler where the paste maker doubled as

the cook that fed the crew. A few cars attached a

steam calliope to the boiler adding even another way

for the bill car to call attention to the circus coming to

town.

The crews made up their loads, termed “hods,” of

posters for the next day’s work on the worktables

that lined the car. Signage that would be placed in

shop windows would have strips with local perfor-

mance information attached. The billposters would set up

the materials that would be pasted onto the buildings; and

fences would have larger informational signs pasted onto

them before being set out. The crew also carried a group of

specialists called bannermen who would climb tall ladders or

dangle off roofs to reach high walls where they tacked up

printed muslin circus advertising.

The advance car manager mapped out their work for the

towns. Men were assigned to specific streets or neighbor-

hoods and others were assigned to country routes. The

billers walked the streets with their hods around the towns

placing signs in windows. Billposters used horse and wag-

ons that were usually rented locally from livery stables. Lat-

er they used pickup trucks and stationwagons that fanned

out from the car.

A team of billers were assigned “railroad work.” In which

they rode local passenger trains out of a main city. They

would post bills at each station stop along the route. They

carried their hods, buckets of paste, and their long-handled

brushes that were checked as baggage. They paid their fares

with script that was covered by agreement with the rail-

roads.

When the train got into town the billers would detrain

with all their gear and go about covering fences, coal sheds,

barns and any flat surface with circus posters. A one or two

man team could post a small town in time to board the next

train through town. Then they rode to the next town and

started again. At the end of the day they would return to

the advance car and get ready for the next day’s work. This

system continued to be used by the circuses as long as there

were local trains running. After that motor trucks were used

to cover the advertising duties. This plan allowed the area

people to know that the circus was coming to town and they

would come out when show arrived and the ticket wagon

was open for business.

For a more comprehensive look at circus train operations

you may want to look at the book The Circus Moves By Rail

by Tom Parkinson and Charles Phillip Fox. This book was

first published in 1978. I have seen it for sale at train stores

and Museum souvenir shops. It is also available through

inter-library loan.

Reference

The Circus Moved By Rail Tom Parkinson and Chares Phillip

Fox. © 1978 Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder CO.

An extraordinary circus and carnival scene on N-scale modular lay-

out at Springfield. Lighting was done by LEDs and fiber optics.

THE CANNON BALL 12

I was introduced to the NPSF during Island Ops and

since, I have participated in many of Nicolo’s monthly

operating sessions. It’s an impressive layout, a double

decker, that works very well. Mechanically, the engines

run smoothly, the trackwork is solid, and the rolling

stock all has metal wheels. But what initially struck me

was how well the railroad nailed the prototype. Just

the summer before, my wife and I took the Southwest

Chief from Albuquerque to Chicago, boarding in Albu-

querque, after a whirlwind tour of the Colorado narrow

gauge and scenic railroads—it was all quite a trip.

After Albuquerque, there really are no major towns—

it’s rural and dry, with some spectacular rock for-

mations. It was my first time in the area and I spent a

good chunk of time taking pictures out the back win-

commentary / DAN SHEPARD

WINTER 2019 13

dow (the window washer came back just to clean it for me.)

Even before the train started, there was freight switching to the

west, and there were Rail Runner facilities. Nicolo’s layout cap-

tures the feel of the area, modeling actual places and industries.

He has brought some economic development to the line that

provide switch opportunities, but it’s all plausible.

Grand Central Terminal— I work near Grand Central, and it’s

not unusual for me to go over there to pick up the latest rail-

road magazine (The Hudson News in the MetLife lobby has

them.) Holiday time has another benefit— the Transit Museum

has its layout up and running. It’s a Lionel layout (which is really

big for an N-scaler like me) with a lot of really nice New York

scenery, including a remarkable

model of Grand Central itself.—

the prototype is on top and the

model below. There is an ele-

vated subway line, and even the

old Carnegie Deli.

THE CANNON BALL 14

The Transit Museum also

has a nice book selection

and while there, I spotted

Shortline Railroads of

Long Island, coauthored

by Sunrise Trail member

Ed Koehler. An account

of the last railfan excur-

sion to Degnon Terminal

in Long Island City, an ar-

ea of complex trackage

that seemed to reach into

impossibly complicated industrial territory, caught my

eye. As the book relates, the railfan excursion was

probably the last on the trackage—in the following few

days, the switch coming off of the Montauk Cut-off was

removed.

Springfield—It was a cloudy, damp Saturday with a for-

bidding forecast for the way home, but still, a good

number of Sunrise Trail Division members made the

trip to the Amherst Train Show on January 25-26. The

show is, by any standard, the premier model railroading

activity in the Northeast, spanning four building, with

more than 20,000 people attending. There are manu-

facturers, vendors, clubs, tourist railroads and historical

societies, and in one day, it is pretty impossible to see

everything. Every scale is represented.

There are a lot of things that stay the same from one

year to the next, but there are often some subtle and

not so subtle differences. Manufacturers showcase

new models and new offerings; there are new techno-

logical advances; and there are many examples of crea-

tive and first-rate modeling.

Winter meeting—Coming up on leap day, February 29

at 1 p.m. First order of business is the official business

of electing officers, which is followed by clinics. It’s at

the Westbury Free Public Library and for more info, see

http://sunrisetraildiv.com.

Springfield continues to showcase craftsman kits.

Interest in LCC, the next wave in layout control, is growing.

The large scale Becket & Chester offers realism and whimsy.