Our modular layout is up and running

Neat Ray, looks like fun.  What are you using for track and turnouts?  I sure wish there was a S-mod here in Maine.

Tom Stoltz

in Maine

That is fantastic news Ray. Our Houston club is in a similar situation. We need a place to set ours up semi-permanently. Maybe I should try asking some HO clubs.

Tom, The track for the most part is hand laid rail, code 148. At the present there is only one switch and it is also scratch built, but plans are to add a couple AM turnouts.

The club here was actually started when one S enthusiaste ran a newspaper add to find if there was interest in forming an S gauge group, he got nearly 20 replys to the ad.

Chuck, Yeah, what can it hurt but, also check with other gauge clubs. With our club the previous leadership did very little in attempts to find a home for our layout but, I will admit our clubs average age is probably well over 60 and will no longer travel to shows with this layout. We still attend shows with an all American Flyer layout.

Ray

The Club BSG use to own  2 sets of ends, and a few straight sections (all hand spiked on wood ties) , the membership owned the rest ( I think I had 24 to 30 " of straight modules , when I left S scale  .   The modular committee assembled the ends and many of the straight sections for the membership as well the wiring. The first few years at Trainfest , the layout had to be 30-40' long, and 10' wide, it was nothing to run 100 car trains

Great news!

Great layout and nice video!

Peter

We, the BSG leadership, have been notified by our host club that they may want us to move our layouts one more time within the present facility, hopefully this would be the final move. It is better than an eviction notice, this is not a move that would need to be done in one afternoon and may not happen at all. 

Ray

Hey Ray,

Great to see you posting again!  I love your home layout, it's better then most S clubs.  Our club is struggling with the age thing and an over-built layout.

Francine, The age of our club and physical limitations pretty much forced me to look for a place to house our clubs layout or it would have been scrapped. I could no longer keep it under my home layout. It does give some members a place to run their trains. Sure would be nice if other S gauge clubs could find a home.

Ray

@Francine posted:

Our club is struggling with the age thing

@Rayin"S" posted:

The age of our club and physical limitations...

This discussion about age of club member got me thinking about the old Maine S Gaugers group.  I dug out the old (about 20 YO) mailing list inquiring how everybody was and what they were up to.  There are 23 names, including 6 NASG members, with email addresses on the list.  Only 1 addressed bounced which really surprised me.

Guess how many responded?

Tom Stoltz

alone in Maine

From the end of your post I would think your still alone in Maine, sad.

Ray

Nice and inspiring video! I'm a 3RS O-gauge guy at home, but stumbled into becoming the track master for the NMRRC S travel layout. At our 2-week public Festival of Trains in December, a number of visitors were attracted to the S size and didn't know that S products are still made. Our LHS doesn't do S, which doesn't help. I re-tracked our travel layout last fall, stripping out the GarGraves, using American Models for turnouts and straights, and MTH flex on curves, hand-ballasted. Our FoT experience this year informed us that we really need to acquire more contemporary locos and rolling stock, not running more than 50% vintage AF product or re-issues, and get more serious with scenery and accessories. Fortunately, we have a new member and his son who are into S.

--Karl

Northern Michigan RailRoad Club

www.nmrrc.org

@Francine posted:

Hey Ray,

Great to see you posting again!  I love your home layout, it's better then most S clubs.  Our club is struggling with the age thing and an over-built layout.

Francine,

When l saw your post it was then that I realized that with the efforts we put into our layout in our club house l had been busier than I thought. I enjoy the forum so much and never or almost never miss viewing it each day, it's a place for friends, distant, but friends.

Ray

You are right, Ray - friends that we never see, but cheer us so much.

I really miss Rusty Trax, he was interesting.

Francine,

Rusty, he and I communicated so many times on the forum, and he was one that attended the S Tests as did I. He had kind of a trademark with the hat that he wore, I would look for him at the Fest but never met him in person until the 2020/21 fest. Again I looked  for the polka dotted cap and found it at that fest, a very interesting and a very nice man.

I also miss him here, he has so much knowledge of our hobby and that is lost to us here. I miss  Mark also, his handle was "BANJOFLYER", l finally met him at the Fest in St. Louis, another of the nicer people in S gauge.

Ray

@Rayin"S" posted:

I also miss him here, he has so much knowledge of our hobby and that is lost to us here. I miss  Mark also, his handle was "BANJOFLYER", l finally met him at the Fest in St. Louis, another of the nicer people in S gauge.

Ray

Ray, did Mark BANGOFLYER leave the OGF?  I have noticed not seeing his post for quite awhile.

Tom Stoltz

in Maine

Hey Tom,

Yes Mark left, I think better than two years ago. Just wanted to leave, not sure if there may have been some health issues.

Ray