Touch-A-Train Event on August 19th at New England Steam and Downeast Scenic in Hancock, Maine on August 19th

 Touch-A-Train 2023 sponsored by New England Steam at the Washington Junction Yard, 8 Railroad Siding, Hancock, ME 04640. Hours 9am-1:30pm. This event includes both the restoration of of Maine Central Steam Locomotive #470 and the 1:30pm departure of the Down East Scenic excursion train. For details please visit  https://www.touchatrain.org/or contact Hanna Brooks via email at hbrooks@newenglandsteam.org. 

Locomotive #470 under restoration

• see a 12-foot-long wooden model of Maine Central steam locomotive #470 built by Wooden Alchemy

• blow a real steam locomotive whistle

• chalk a message on Maine Central #470’s original tender

• take a 12-mile, 1-hour and 45-minute train ride on the Downeast Scenic Railroad at 1:30 PM

Prototype Modelling on the 1951 Maine Central by Richard Gibson at the January 2023 Membership Meeting

 The January program will be presented by club member Richard Gibson. Richard will present prototype modeling on the 1951 MEC: a mixture of accuracy, guesswork, and compromise. Richard’s current HO scale layout is a circa-1951 representation of the Maine Central (MEC) Rockland branch, located in coastal Maine northeast of Portland. The aim of constructing this layout is to (1) model key portions of this scenic line so that they are recognizable and (2) to reproduce the operational experience of the prototype. Construction began during 2015 in Billings, MT and the layout was moved to the Denver area after 16 months, where it was re-assembled and expanded to occupy a roughly 1000 sq ft space. In this presentation, Richard will briefly outline the prototype setting and his criteria for layout design. Then, we will take a photographic tour of both the prototype and the model as a basis for discussing the research, uncertainties, and compromises inherent in prototype layout design and construction. Finally, Richard will cover operational aspects, including train control, scheduling, and car forwarding.

Prototype Modelling on the 1951 MEC                                                                                                                                                                

Colorado Railroad Trips in 2019 by Michael Ditkoff at Membership Meeting in November 2022

 This program covers one of his trips to Colorado. In June 2019, Michael rode the rails of former Denver & Rio Grande Western. He rode Amtrak’s California Zephyr round trip between Denver and Grand Junction, going through the Moffat Tunnel. The next day after returning to Denver, he drove to Glenwood Springs, paralleling the railroad as much as possible for photography. After spending the night in Georgetown, a Denver suburb, he rode the Georgetown Loop Railroad round trip between Georgetown and Silver Plume. In the afternoon, he drove to Canon City along the former Joint Line operated by the Santa Fe and D&RGW. The next morning, he rode the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad as far as Parkdale - - in the engine, on a regular excursion. The tourist railroad operates on the now closed Tennessee Pass. The Pass is the original route to Salt Lake City

Colorado Railroad Trips by Michael Ditkoff

Railroad Photograpy from 2018 to the present by Andrew Dale at the November 2022 Membership Meeting

 

Club member Andrew Dale will be showing how he got into trains and eventually photography, the presentation will show the development of Andrew’s photography from 2018 to now.

Andrew Dale Railroad Photography

Steam Engine at the Amherst New Hampshire Mall Entrance

 The Trains on Tracks crew just finished refurbishing and installing a large scale steam engine near the Amherst NH store/mall entrance. The engine weighs 3000 lbs. The effort was led by Ray Dellovo, a long time  Maine 3Railers club member, and his friend John. This project took over two years.

Article and pictures courtesy of Rick Hills

Getting the F Units Ready for the Mass Bay Trip on January 7th

 

Wayne Allen, Eric Grover, Cory Fothergill and Mark Gray brought the F units back to life from their winter hibernation this weekend. Some electrical work was performed to correct the transition in 4266. Several water leaks corrected, and grab irons were installed to the rear of the locomotives to enable easier access to the roof for inspections. The locomotives will be powering the east end of the Mass Bay Trip next Saturday the 7th.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in Maine 2022

 Here is a link to a story with pictures and video about the CP Holiday Train stops in Maine this holiday season.

CP Holiday Train in Maine 2022