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Coast Dispatcher
December 2013CoastDivision Web Site: http://www.pcrnmra.org/coast
Pacific Coast Region Web Site: http://www.pcrnmra.org
WelcometotheCoastDivisionofPCR
Division MeetDecember 8, 2013
Boy Scouts of America Headquarters1001 Davis St, San Leandro, CA.
9:00AM............Doorsopen.FreeDoorPrizes.BuyRaffleTickets.
9:30AM............GetAuconCards.
10:00AM............C/MRImeetsArduinoSethNeuman&ChuckCatania
11:00AM............TheAdventuresofWP668KatyDickinson
11:00AM............ModelRailroadRoundtablemoderatedbyHowardMcKinney
12Noon..............BusinessMeeng
~1:00PM*.........Auconstarts,Roundtableconnues
1:00....................ModellingVideo/Q&AwithFrankMarkovich
1:30PM............Model/PhotoContestResultsaerwardAuconconnues
3:30PM............TimesaverResults,RaffleaerwardAuconconnuesifrequired
9:30AM1:15PM:
ModelContest: FavoriteModel
PhotoContest:FavoriteModelRailroadPhotos
AllenFentonTimesaverSwitchingContest(unl3:15)
*AuconactuallystartsassoonasBusinessMeengends.
DireconstotheBoyScoutsofAmerica
From the North:
Take Highway 880 south.
Take Exit 34, Davis St.
Turn Left on Davis. Go 0.7 miles to the BSA Head-
quarters, 1001 Davis St.
From the South:
Take Highway 880 North
Take Exit 34, Davis St.
Turn Right on Davis St. Go 0.7 miles to the BSA
Headquarters, 1001 Davis St.
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Coast Dispatcher Page 2 December, 2013
Coast Call Board
InThisIssueUpcoming Events .................. 1Call Board ............................. 2Editors Notes ........................ 2Superintendents Report ... 3-4Directors Cut ........................ 4Layout Tours ......................... 5Nominations Committee ........ 5Help Wanted ......................... 5
Publicity ................................. 6Registrars Report ................. 6Model/Photo Contest ..... 7-11Working on a Model Railroad
in Oklahoma ........... 12-13NMRA Infolink ..................... 14
EditorsNotes:
Weneedtoputsomenewlifeintothe
Dispatcher.IcompilewhatIget,but that
isntverymuch.IlookatotherDivision
newsleer,andIamimpressed.
Our Superintendenthasputforthachal
lengetomodelclubstoprovideusinput.I
loveit.
Iwouldreallyliketoseemorestories
aboutclubslayouts,andsomepersonal
layouts.Ifyouwouldlikeyourlayouttobe
highlightedintheDispatcher,puttogether
astoryandIwillpublishit.Ifyouneed
help,Icanworkwithyou.
ThisDispatcherhasthesecondinaseries
byTomVandenBoschaboutworkingona
layoutinOklahoma.Letmeknowwhat
youthinkaboutserializedstories.Ifyou
likethem,IhaveagreatstoryfromJohn
MarshallthatwouldtakeawholeDis
patchertoshowwithnothingelsein
volved.
TomCrawford
DispatcherEditor
Director:MarkSchutzer
Ph:6503690481
Email:[email protected]
Superintendent:FrankMarkovich
Ph:4085052727
email:[email protected]
ChiefClerk:DarleneFergusonPh:9252315883email:[email protected]
Paymaster:BobFerguson
Ph:9252286833
email:[email protected]
Achievement:KermitPaul
Ph:9259351859
Aucon:JohnMarshall
Ph:9254610206
email:[email protected]
AuconAccounng:BillSwindell
Ph:9253726996
email:[email protected]
Clinics:DaveFalkenburg
Ph:4084253936
email:[email protected]
Publisher,CoastDispatcher:
TomVandenBosch
Ph:6503698305
email:[email protected]
Editor,CoastDispatcher:
TomCrawford
Ph:5107900371
email:[email protected]
RoundtableFacilitator:
HowardMcKinney
Ph:4089961581email:[email protected]
ModelContest:JimEckman
Ph:6509966728email:
Nominaons: DaveConnery
Ph:9257350134
email:[email protected]
PhotoContest:KeithWandry
Ph:4085076469
email:[email protected]
Publicity:SteveWesolowski
Ph:4082524192
email:[email protected]
Quartermaster:StanKeiser
Ph:5107911504email:[email protected]
Registraon:TedStephens
Ph:6508564202
email:[email protected]
SwitchingContest:EricMoe
Ph:5104254915
email:[email protected]
WebMaster:JohnSing
Ph:6503720765
email:[email protected]
MeengSites:SteveWesolowski
Ph:4082524192
email:[email protected]
LayoutTours:DaveParks
Ph:6509617644
email:[email protected]
Membership:DarrellDennis
Ph:5103033431
email:[email protected]
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Coast Dispatcher Page 3 December, 2013
CoastDivisionSuperintendentsReportFrankMarkovich
IwenttoanopenhouseoftheBlackDiamondMinesClubinAntiochandnoticedthattherewereno
NMRAmemberspresentIthinkthatthereare2NMRAmembersthatbelongtotheclubthough.Ithink
weneed
todomore
tosupport
the
various
clubs
and
get
more
NMRA
members
associated
with
these
clubs.Todothisweneedtoreachout.Iwouldlikeanyonewhoisamemberofanymodelrailroadclubto
giveusawriteupaboutyourclub,withpictures,andwewillpublicizeyourclubintheCoastDispatcher.
Also,ifyouwouldliketobringaposterorsimilarpublicitymaterialtoaCoastDivisionMeet,wewouldbe
happytodisplayit.
AtthisnextmeetattheBoyScoutsHeadquarters,wewillagainhaveaverylargeauctionwithover50
highendbrassitemsfromanestateinadditiontotheregularitems.
TheModelContestsubjectwillbeFavoriteModelandthephotocontestwillbeFavoriteRailroadRelated
Photo. Ireallywanttoencourageentreesintothecontestsotherewillbeanextradoorprizeagainforeveryentryinmodelorphotoevenifitisjustshowandtell.OntopofthatIwillgiveaspecial
Superintendentprizetoonemodelofmychoosing. Nospecialcriteriabutamodelthatismostartisticin
myjudgment. Iwillbebringingacoupleofmodelsmyselftothenextmeet. Atthistimetheclinicsare
notfullydecidedbuttherewillbeonebyMasterNScalebuilderTomKnappIcantwaittoseeitashis
workisincredible.
AgainIamgoingtoshowsomevideosafterthebusinessmeeting. Iamopenastowhattoshowbut
planondoingmoviesfromtheKalmbackseriesDream,PlanBuild. Theseareexcellentmoviesandthe
onesIwillshowwillbemainlyonmodeling.
AttheSeptemberMeettheauctionmadeasizeableamountduetothelargeestate. Thismeetwewill
continuewiththeestatesale. Lotsofbrassleft! Theauctionisveryimportantasitisthemainmethod
ofraisingmoneyforourdivision. Thishasallowedustonothavetochargeadmissionasmanyother
divisionschargepermeet.Theclinicsarestillinprocessbutwewillhave2clinicsandofcoursethe
roundtable. Howardisworkingonthesubjectforthenextroundtable. Theroundtableatthelastmeet
wasonsound.
Theswitchingcontestwillhavesomeexcitingnewstopresentatthenextmeet. Beprepared. Weare
goingtoexpandit.
TherearestillsomeopenpositionsinthedivisionandIamlookingforpeopletovolunteer. Ifyouare
interestedinhelpingpleaseemailmeatfrank@frankmarkovich.comoranyoftheotherCoastboard
members. ThreeofthesearethecommitteechairfortheAuction,forregistration(criticalposition)and
thewebmasterJohnSinghasbeendoingthatbuthenowlivesinFloridaandweneedtofindsomeone
local. Alsoifthereareideasofthingsyouwouldliketoseeatthemeetsletmeknow.
ThemeetafterthiswillbebackinSanFranciscoattheJanetPomeroyCenter
(Continued on page 4)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 4 December, 2013
207SkylineBlvd,SanFrancisco,CAonMarch23,2014. Markyourcalendar.
Ateverymeetwecanjudgefortheachievementaward. LetmeknowbeforethemeetandIcanlineup
judges. IcanalwaysbeoneandJimEckmancanalso.
HeldamidmeetclinicinLosAltosVerysuccessful. Clinicswere:
Topics: Brickandstone,classicandcomputercreatedforstructuresgivenbyJimEckman.
EasyWeatheringofFreightCars,Locomoves,andStructuresetc.byFrankMarkovichMMR.
Herearesomephotosfromtheclinics2ndoneispostedontheCoastWebsite
TheDirectorsCutByMarkSchutzer
ThemidyearBoardofDirectorsmeengwasheldonOctober12th
,2013attheSandsHotelinSanLuis
Obispo. TheBoardhadachancetoseethelocaon,andheartheplansfortheCoastRails2014
convenon. Itsoundslikeitwillbeagreatconvenonwithallsortsofplannedacvies. Makeyour
hotelreserva
ons
early
asSan
Luis
Obispo
isasmall
town
with
limited
hotel
rooms.
IalsowanttopassalongsomenewsconcerningtheBranchline. Forthefirstmeinabout20yearsthe
subscriponrateoftheBranchlinewillbeincreasing. Prinngandpostagecostshavebeengoingup
regularlyandforalongmetheBranchlinehasbeenrunningayearlydeficit. Theboardvotedtoraise
theyearlysubscriponratefrom$6dollarsto$8dollarseffecveassoonaspossible. Thisincreasewill
notcovertheenredeficitbutreduceittoamanageablenumber.
NowIllgetbacktoarecurringtopic,volunteering. TheCoastDivisionisrunenrelybyvolunteersandit
alwaysseemslikethesamepeoplearedoingallthejobs. Aerawhilethisstartstogetoldandfolksstart
togetburnedout. IfyouthinkyoucanhelpwithajobatthemeetspleasecontacteitherFrankMarkovich
ormyselfandwecantalksomemoreabouthowyoucanhelp.
IhopetoseeallofyouatournextmeetonDecember8thattheBoyScoutHQinSanLeandro. Wehave
somegreatclinicslinedup,andthereisgoingtobealotofbrassintheAucon.
Seeyouthere,
Mark
(Continued from page 3)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 5 December, 2013
Coast LayoutToursByDaveParks
The next Coast Division Layout Tours will be Saturday evening January 25, 2014 from 7:00 to 10:00 PM in conjunctionwith the PCR/Sig meet January 24 thru 26. The tours will be focused in the North East Bay area. Contact your areacoordinator to have your layout on tour for the PCR convention or future Coast Division Tours. Prototype operating
layouts will host op sessions on Friday evening and Sunday for those registered for the PCR/Sig meet. Layoutdescriptions and locations will be published on the web site. http://www.pcrnmra.org/coast/
Chair David Parks [email protected] (650) 961-7644North East Bay Bob Osborn [email protected] (925) 420-6094
Andy Schnur [email protected] (925) 283-4476South East Bay Don Marenzi [email protected] (510) 794-3469North West Bay Pete Cressman [email protected] (650) 728-7681South West Bay Steve Williams [email protected] (408) 857-6787South Beyond the Bay Chuck Catania [email protected] (408) 846-5857 Gilroy/Santa Cruz
North Beyond the Bay Ernie Simard [email protected] (707) 762-9163Web Coordinator Steve Williams [email protected] (408) 857-6787
PCRDIRECTORFROMCOASTDIVISIONDaveConnery
TheCoastNominaonsCommieeplanstonominatepresentPCRDirectorfromCoastDivision,Mark
Schutzer,toasecondterminthisposion.Markisdoingagreatjobrepresenngusandhasagreedtostand
forasecondterm.InaccordancewithourBylaws,addionalnominaonswillbeopenedtotheflooratour
December8thMeet.AnyonenominatedeitherhastobepresentattheMeetandexpresstheirdesireand
willingnesstorunfortheposion.Ifapersonisnominatedwhoisnotpresentthenawrienstatement
fromthemaesngtotheabovemustbeprovidedtotheNominaonsCommieeChairman.
TheeleconofDivisionDirectorswillbeconductedbyPCRandaballotwillappearintheJanMarIssueof
theBranchLine.
CoastMeetRaffleDaveConnery
RecentlywehaveseenadeclineinparcipaonintheraffleheldatCoastquarterlyMeets.TheCoastBoard
of
Opera
ons
is
ques
oning
if
this
is
s
ll
an
ac
vity
of
interest
to
a
endees
and
will
be
carefully
following
thedegreeofparcipaonatcomingMeets.Ifthisissomethingyouenjoy,besuretoparcipatesothe
Boardknowsitissllofinteresttomembers.
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Coast Dispatcher Page 6 December, 2013
PublicityReportSteveWesolowski
EnjoyaFREEDayModelingWithaMaster!
You'velikelynocedmoreme&inkspentonHowtoaractmoreModelRailroaderstobecomeNMRAmembers.Iagreemore
membersaredesirable,becauseeveryoneI'vemettaughtmemoreaboutthisfunhobbyofours,andImeetandlearnfrommany
modelersatNMRAevents.
Althoughwe've
volunteered
much
me
and
energy
the
last
13years
atlocal
train
shows
trying
toa
ractnew
members,
we've
mainlysignedupreturningmemberswhosemembershipslapsedformanyreasons,andaracngnewmembersappearsmore
challenging.
WhatittakestorecruitbothnewandreturningNMRAmembersiswillingnesstoputyourselfoutthere,tomomentarilyset
asideyourshyness(We'reAllShy)andtalkwithothermodelersyoudon'tknow(yet)learnwhattheirinterestsintrainsare,then
tryingtohelpthemfindandconnect withothermemberswhosharesomeoftheirinterests.
Somevolunteershavefoundtalkingwith&meengnewtrainfriendseasierbybringingmodelingtoworkonduringshows,
includingpainngscalefigures&animals,buildingstructures,upgradingDCCthroles.Modelingatshowsdemonstrateshoweasy
andfunourhobbyis,mostespeciallytopotenalmodelrailroaderswhothinkmodelingmustbeharderthanitreallyis.
Recently,ourNMRAhasdecidedtotrydoingwhatI'veseenvolunteersinBakersfielddo:builda4x8footlayoutinonedayata
trainshow.AttheGreatTrainExpo,attheAlamedaCountyFairgroundsinPleasanton,Saturday,November23,FrankMarkovich,MMR,iscoordinangandbuildingalayouttogiveaway.
Ifyou'denjoyafundayModelingWithaMaster(withoutpayingforaconvenonclinic!)IknowFrankwillenjoyworkingwith
youandhelpingyoulearnhowtobuildascalelayoutincludingscenery.IknowFrankwouldenjoyafewmorevolunteers,because
withYourhelpworkingtogetherwithFrank,allofyouworkingtogethercanbuildanevenmoredetailedminiatureworldalucky
familywillenjoylater,whileeveryoneaendingthetrainshowcanseehoweasyandfunourscalemodelrailroadinghobbyis.
Whilethepaint,glue,sceneryorwhateveryouareworkingwithisdrying,ORifyouwanttositatourMembershipRecruing
tablestoworkonpartsofthelayoutproject,ORifyoujustwant/needabreakfromlayoutbuildingtobeerabsorbwhatyou're
learning,you'rewelcometohelpourVolunteersmeet&talkwithbothnewandreturningModelRailroaders,includingsharingthe
newskillsyou'vejustlearned/areslllearningworkingwithFrankandtheothervolunteersbuildingascalelayout.
Also,volunteeringSaturdayand/orSunday,November23rdand24thtohelpFrankbuildalayoutSaturdayand/orvolunteering
SaturdayorSundayforourCoast/PCR/NMRAInformaontable,you'llenjoytheGreatTrainExpoAdmissionfree.
ToVolunteer,orformoreinformaon,pleasecontactFrankMarkovich,MMR,ourMembershipVolunteer,DarrellDennisor
myself.OurcontactinformaonislocatedelsewhereinthisCoastDispatcher.Ihopeyoucanjoinusforsomemodeling&trainfun
inPleasanton.
FormoreinformaonabouttheGTE,visittheirwebsite:www.grearainexpo.com
HappyTrainstoYou,UnlWeMeetAgain!
RegistrarsReport
TedStephens
WiththeSeptembermeetattheJanet PomeroyCenteronSeptember22ndtheaendance wasatotalof62
PCRDivisionmembers. Thebreakdownincludes: 57fromCoast,3fromSierra,1fromRedwoodEmpirealong
with1Guest. HopetoseemoreonDecember8th
.
Thanks,
Ted
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Coast Dispatcher Page 7 December, 2013
ModelContest/PhotoContestJimEckman
Hereisthe ContestReportfortheSeptember22nd
,2013 meet.
Steam
1stPlaceFrank
Markovich
Heisler
2ndPlaceTomKnappNn3040Porter Judgedformerit
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Coast Dispatcher Page 8 December, 2013
Diesel1stPlacePatLaTorresBuddRDC,WP376
Passenger
1stPlaceKennethMarnCB&Q60'BaggageMail#1892
PhotoContest
1stPlaceVeronicaLaTorresMP13034atTrainMountain
2ndPlaceTiePatLaTorresLastRun andFrankMarkovich WestsideCaboose3rdPlaceRodSmithCaboose
(Unfortunately,wedonothaveanypicturesofthephotocontestwinners.)
(Continued from page 7)
(Continued on page 9)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 9 December, 2013
ShowandTell
MikeBlumensaadtCivilWareraManassasGapRailroadmoduleinNscale
CharlieGetzFSMStaonkit
(Continued from page 8)
(Continued on page 10)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 10 December, 2013
EarlGirbovanCalaverasCement Judgedformerit
FrankMarkovichSteam
Donkey,placedatNNGand
farmanimals
(Continued from page 9)
(Continued on page 11)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 11 December, 2013
Pat
LaTorres
Bulldozer
PatLaTorresTwoofthesame,
differentscales
(Continued f rom page 10)
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Coast Dispatcher Page 12 December, 2013
EditorsNote:Thisisthesecondinstallmentofaserialstory.
WorkingonaModelRailroadinOklahomaTomVandenBosch
Part2One of the things that excited me about my sons model railroad in Tulsa (actually in Coweta a suburb) was the intended adherenceto the prototype track arrangement. This was facilitated by one of Steves railfan friends, Frank Bryan; you Santa Fe devotees mayrecognize the name. Frank supplied a 1982 KCS SLIC chart for the third sub listing every track, main, siding and industrial and thebusiness on them. Wow! This was going to be fun.The layout design process revolved around Steve proposing a track plan and myself and a couple of his Tulsa model RR friendscriticizing, commenting and suggesting on possible changes and improvements all done via email. Being a hardcore prototype guy,I wanted to model all the track in the SLIC chart and argued for a two level layout to do this. Steve being somewhat moreconservative and incorporating as much of our ideas as he could, elected to build a layout with peninsulas and what he calls amushroom along two sides; sort of a one and a half level layout. He ultimately did this because he wanted to be able to build in thegrades along the mainline that existed on the prototype. The mushroom provides space for the last three towns/locations on thenorth end of the 3rdsub. Here are the layout drawings.
Drawing of layout main level. North is to the left. Staging is to the right. Blue lines indicate branches to Ft. Smith and Waldron, as
well as the Missouri Pacific(mostly hidden trackage)
(Continued on page 13)
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Drawing of the mushroom trackage above the north and east sides of the layout.Steve then elected totake the shop space inhis barn and divide itwith the layout partgetting most of theroom but leaving a
reasonable sized shoparea. When completedthe layout room hadinsulated walls andceiling and a separateair conditioning unit forthe layout room. Thelayout room is at asteady 75 degrees yeararound while theoutside weather rangesfrom icy cold to plus100 degrees.With the layout roomoriented north/south therailroad starts at thesouth end with a 12-track staging yardintended to stage trainsfor both north and south
operation. The staging yard is on a east/west peninsula with the south end of the main yard in Heavener. The Heavener yard alsohas 12 tracks laid out like the prototype. Heavener also has an engine house and three industries, a clay loadout, auction house anda wood lot. The Waldron branch leaves south from Heavener and travels to Waldron which is located above the staging yard. Notethat the staging yard, Heavener yard, and all sidings are designed to hold a 25 car train of 50-ft cars plus two locomotives and acaboose. It is 1982 and all KCS trains use cabooses.The north end of the Heavener yard is located along the east wall. Going north from Heavener the railroad rounds a curve intoPoteau with three industries including a grocery warehouse and cold storage and a carpet plant. The branch to Fort Smith begins in
Poteau. The only tunnel in Oklahoma is on the Fort Smith branch and is modeled as the railroad rounds a peninsula and turns north;the branch is climbing and is inside the mainline. The branch enters Fort Smith with about six industries including a grain and feedmill, two furniture warehouses, a steel facility and a BN interchange. Ft. Smith is about 4-inches above the mainline, but themainline is climbing. The railroad makes another 180 degree turn south into Spiro. Spiro is on the other side of the peninsula withFort Smith. Spiro has two feed operations, an oil unloading spot and a lumber yard. The 3rdSub leaves Spiro over a through trusshighway overpass.Railroad north of Spiro the railroad again turns 180 degrees in a curve on the opposite side of the backdrop from the tunnel to FortSmith. The turn takes place on a eight section deck truss high over where a navigable portion of the Arkansas River will bemodeled. Exiting the bridge, the railroad enters Sallisaw with two industries (Holley Carburator and Crown Zellerbach woodtreating), team track the Mopac interchange and a yard. The six-track yard is for 10-car cuts of 50-ft cars. At the north end ofSallisaw the KCS crosses the Missouri Pacific at an interlocked crossing. Sallisaw yard receives and dispatches cars for industriesin Sallisaw and those north of there on the rest of the 3rd sub.After crossing the Missouri Pacific, the railroad continues to climb and after a short straight turns layout south. As it climbs, the
railroad passes through Marble City with a siding and two tracks for receipt and delivery of covered hoppers to St. Clair Lime Co.The lime company spur from Marble City rounds the end of the peninsula, crosses a 7-bay through truss bridge over Sallisaw Creekand enters the lime plants small yard. From Marble City the mainline continues to climb and is high above the lime plant afterrounding the end of the peninsula and turning layout north.The mainline climbs to the level of the mushroom section and turns east into the city of Stilwell which has a bakery, twowarehouses and another feed facility. Stillwell is located above the short straight north of Sallisaw. Continuing east and roundinganother corner brings us to Westville and another three industries, all related to grain and chicken feed. North of Westville is alocation called Feeder with facilities for receiving chicken feed . The railroad then enters a helix and returns to the staging yard.Thats enough for now. In the next installment Ill try to include pictures of the layout construction and write about trying to find
information on business 30-years in the past.
(Continued from page 12)
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NMRAInfoNet
Welcome to the InfoNet-News For October, 2013
NOTE: Please forward this email to your newsletter editor and officers, mention it in your editorial, bring it up at meetings.
Your members like to know whats going on at National!
Build A Memory Project Information:In November, during National Model Railroad Month, the NMRA is launching a new
endeavor that it anticipates becoming a yearly tradition.In conjunction with Athearn Trains, Woodland Scenics and Walthers, the NMRA is unveiling the Build A Memory initiative. Thisseminar is designed to show the public how one might start a model railroad layout for themselves. Everyone loves the holidays andeveryone loves trains and the memories that they evoke.In concert with a national building and home center and the target date of November 16th, this years pilot program will be aSaturday How To class. The intent of the seminars is to show our guests how to build the basics of a starter layout that the ownercan either continue to expand or use yearly as a holiday memory with expansion in the future.Please visit our website atNMRA.Orgor contact our Marketing Representative at [email protected], The potentialDivisions needed for this years event are being discussed and will be contacted shortly.Page Martin NMRA Marketing Manager
Message from Kathy Millatt, NMRA Atlantic District Director:
How to sell the NMRA?As a new Director, I attended the Train Show in Atlanta and was really impressed with the HQ team and their sales technique. Assomeone who has stood at NMRA stands at large events in the UK wondering what to say that will encourage people to join, it gaveme some great ideas.The team start by asking passers by "are you a model railroader?" Given that they are at a train show, the normal response is "yes".The teams next question is "are you a member of the NMRA?" If the answer is "no" then the team tell them about the rail pass andits benefits. The pass is for six months NMRA membership and only costs $9.95. The team have a pile of nickels lined up ready togive as change although potential members can also pay by card. At the Train Show, the team were also able to give out a fewgoodies such as pens, mugs, Convention bags and badges to encourage signing up.The conversion rate from rail pass to full membership is 78%. This is a hugely successful route to new members having started
people on a membership for six months.Of course, having started a new member on a six month package, it may be worth recapping what we have to offer as it is easy tooverlook the benefits that we do have. I personally have found the strongest benefit is the local Divisions. At our local UK show, Iadded a map of the UK showing where all the Divisions are based and it drew a lot of attention. Unfortunately, there were a fewcomments of no one in my area but on the whole it shows just how many groups we do have actively modelling.The National Convention is just one in a busy calendar of events. Divisions and regions run their own meets and conventions whichalso draw in the public and potential new members. Other benefits are the magazine, calendar, website and recorded clinics. On amore practical front, the NMRA runs Modelling with the Masters at conventions and meets. The Achievement Programme can addchallenge and structure to a members modelling. There are so many more that I havent mentioned such as insurance, books,standards or library.For those wondering, why bother with new members, my answer is simple. We are all getting older and I want to pass this amazinghobby down to new generations for them to enjoy as much as I have.
If you have any questions or comments about any of the above, please send them directly to a Director or Officer. Youll find those
addresses at www.nmra.orgon in the NMRA Magazine.
If the person holding a region or division office changes, or their email address changes, please contact me at [email protected]
with the corrected information
Regards,
Tom Draper HLM, DSA, FADirector Support Services
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