Official Publication of the

lter A7eunaerz, Wins Best-In-Show at the NER Convention!

Walt Neumen won the Baldwin Trophy for his beautifully scratchbuilt Quinnimont Depot at the recent NER Convention in South Portland, ME. Walter built his model from an article and plans that ap- peared in the September, 1973 Railroad Model Craftsman.

Congratulations Walt, and thank you for giving renewed hope to those of us who also have modeling projects that we know we'll be getting around to some day!

Have a Great Summer!

T H E CANNON BALL IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR BY THE

SUNRISE TRAIL DIVISION, INC. OF THE NORTHEASTERN

REGION OF THE NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION,

INC. FOR THE BENEFIT O F THE MODEL RAILROADING

COMMUNITY. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION IS LISTED BELOW.

Editor: Carl V. Cascone 23 Harborview Drive Northport, NY 11768 63 1-754-2790 Email: ccascone@optonline.net

Circulation Manager: John Jaklitsch 62 Highview Ave. Selden, NY 11784 Eniail: jjaklitsch8erols.corn

President: Anthony J. Capato* 21 2-749-1533 Vice President: Steven E. Perry* Secretary: Joe Vecchione* Treasurer: Ken Szekretar5:

Board of Directors: Femand Washingtonqx, John Jaklitsch*, Dennis Ganderq'$, Al Sohl*:$, Bob Riegl Michael Siegel"', John MacGown's Terms Expire: *:* 2004, * 2003

NER Rep: Bob Riegl AP Chairman: Michael Siegel

87 1 Berkshire Drive Westbury, NY 11590

Publicity Chairmen: Steve PenyIJohn MacGown Contest Chairman: Jerry Clark

Membership Coordinator: Fernand Washington buzfern2@nol.coni

Subscription Ratcs to the Cannon Ball are:

I year .................................................. $5.00

3 years ................................................. $14.00

Plerrse rucrke checksh~ior~y orders puyable ro:The Srmise Trail Division. Send re~lewls , r-erptestsfor subscriprioi~, crr~d c~ddress chcuiges to:

Cannon Ball c/o Joliii J u k l i r ~ ~ I ~ , 62 Higlnliew Ave. Seldeu, NY 11764

We invite all interested parties to subscribe!

please visit our website at www.trainweb.org/std

We invite your comments: std@rrmail.com Mike Ryan, Webmaster

For many of us the summer is not prime Model Railroading season-and that's OK! I haven't checked lately but our Treasurer, Ken Szekretar, will probably once again have three plastic covered MR's ready to be unwrapped and devoured by the middle of this September. We golf, we garden, we get out on the water, we travel ... we don't spend much time in the basement. As my wife keeps telling me, it's all about bal- ance-spending time with the family, doing other things, not becoming selfish and one-dimensional. And yes, you're abso- lutely right my dear! But when the Fall rolls around we'll be ready once again to take up our tools and our OptiVisors and plunge right back into the world's greatest hobby!

But maybe let's don't give up on trains too soon this summer

CAN^ BALL

NEXT CONTRIBUTION

DEADLINE. A UG f 5

FROM T H E PRESIDENT:

As we embark on a new season for model railroading, we have many activities planned for the Sunrise Trail Division. In addi- tion to the usual Meets and the ever-popular Spring Conven- tion, we are doing the initial planning for a regional NER con- vention to be held on Long Island in the Fall of 2003. As you can imagine, all of these projects take up a large amount of time and effort on the part of your officers and directors. And, to be frank about it, some of us in the leadership are beginning to question why we take on these additional burdens when the membership seems to be increasingly apathetic about our ac- tivities.

Let me give you some examples of this apathy. As of May 2002, we can identify 366 members in our divisional area. Of these, 158 have let their NMRA membership expire. That's a dismal 43 %. In the recent election, we sent out about 208 bal- lots to the active membership and got back only 52 in return, of which 45 were deemed valid. That's a sad 21.6 %. And we

(Continued on puge 5)

THE CANNON BALL

ode1 Railroads, Modeli hite Elephant Table, ode1 and Photo Contests, N t Award Judging

At Christ the King High School, Middle Village, Queens.

6802 Metropolitan Ave.

loam to 4pm. Vendors. Refreshments.

e $2.00 for STDINMRA Members. $3.00 General Public

Contact Dennis Gander. 7 18-386-6942 or dgander@earthlink.net. 64-40 60th Rd., Maspeth, NY 11 378

I I Ride the M Train to the Metropolitan Ave. Station

. '

Model Railroading Priorities or less like this:

Take your car to Christ the King Regional High School or...

by Nicholas Kalis 1) Collecting engines and rolling stock -the most pernicious variant being the brassaholic.

If your goal is to be, at some point, the proud owner of an operating layout, 2) Planning. please read on. If not, what follows will be of little value to you. Are you 3) Benchwork. still with me? Good! 4) Finding friends to help.

Whether we realize it or not, we all carry with us a set of priorities toward our goal of creating a nlodcl railroad. To get a neat layout completed, your priorities have to be consistent with this ultimate goal. Mind you, one can create a great collection of beautifully detailed rolling stock and motive power without a grand plan. A layout, however, is a different beast! 1 would opine that most modcl railroaders without an operating layout fail in their pursuit because of the wrong set of priorities.

Collec~ir~g rollirlg stock can become an obsession that soaks up time and money without getting you any closer to your layout goal. Collecting roll- ing stock early on in the process often also has another negative attribute: the stuff you collect often turns out to be somewhat lacking in quality by the time the layout is up and running. Why you ask? Well, we are blessed with manufacturers who are constantly raising the bar in terms of quality and fidelity to the prototype. If you wait to buy the majority of your loco-

In my opinion most model railroaders have hobby priorities that look mole

THE CANNON BALL

SMALL SCALE TREE STUMPS

Here's a tip for N scale tree stumps originally published many years ago in Model Railroader's Kinks Column. Raid the spice cabinet at home, grab a bottle of cloves, and head for the base- ment! Remove the seed from the pod, cut part of the stem and dab it with a foundation color. Now plant along your hillside. You'll have to figure out what to do about the smell.. . ! A1 Solzl, MMR

SMALL WINDOWS

A1 Sohl's recent "Sobo" glue glazing tip got me thinking about Clove Seed P o possible other applications. I've tried it on window screening to make leaded glass windows. Elmer's can also be used for a frosted window look. Lay a small piece of screen on a piece of glass that has been wiped with silicone or oil. (With the Elmer's be sure you use wax paper.) If the screen isn't flat, heat it with a hair dryer to make it pliable. Weight the edges to hold i t tight to the glass and squeegee on your medium of choice, making sure SMALL SPRAY BOTTLES

all the holes are filled. Let dry overnight. Cut into small pieces and glue behind window openings either horizontally, vertically, The art supply store sells little spray bottles approx. 1 " diameter

or on a diagonal for a leaded glass look in that nice Tudor by 3" high. I mix a very dilute mix of greylgreen acrylic paint

house. Screen is usually gray or black but can be painted before when doing scenery on the layout. If any area needs a change in color from your standard ground foams or polyfiber-or if this process is used.

Ken Szekretar you've got any "holidays" left in the scenery- just spritz 'ern. These bottles spray a relatively small area so it's easy to control

HOLDING TOOL FOR PAINTING ROLLING STOCK the results. When done, clean the spray head with plenty of soapy water, but the paint can remain in the bottle for quite

At our HOn3 club layout (the LIMRRE in Farmingville), we some time.

use a handy holding device made from a wire hangar when Ken Szekretar

spray painting our kit-built rolling stock. The wire is folded in the middle making a twisted loop. This allows us to hang it HOLDING JIG

from a cup hanger during the drying stage. Cut both ends of the wire to an even length, anneal (heat to a cheery red) and flatten

Dree an- on an anvil. Bend the flattened ends outward at a 90 de, gle and allow to air cool. Drill clearance holes in the middle of each foot to allow insertion of the car's truck mounting screw.

I was building lighted switch stands for the HOn3 "Western Bay" club layout at Farmingville and had to do some delicate soldering. I needed to solder very fine laquered wire to the ends of "axial" bulbs. These tiny bulbs have leads protruding from each end. I found that pressing the bulb into foam double sided

To use, spread the feet so that the holes line up with the bolster tape held them perfectiy for the soldering job. When the job was

holes and secure with the truck mounting screws. The holder finished, I genth pricd the bulb up from the tape using the tip of

allows you to twist and turn the model for complete airbrush my #11 Xacto blade.

coverage. A1 Sohl, MMR

A1 Sohl, MMR

Foam Type Double Coated Tape

Keep those hints coming. Help your fellow modelers! Send your contributions to:

John MacGown 32 Liberty Blvd. Valley Stream, NY 11580-4834 Phone/fax: 5 16-285-35 17; E-mail: burlyjohn @aoI.com

THE CANNON BALL

A Special Spring Coizvention Thanks!

I would like to thank the following manufacturers and hobby shops for their donation of door prizes. A special thanks as well as to the STD members who also contributed. Here are our benefactors:

A-Line; Athearn, Inc. ; Atlas Model Rail- road Co., Inc.; Bar Mills Scale Model Works; Crown Ccistonz Products; Kadee Quality Products; Life Like Products; Mi- cro Engineering Co.; Micro-Trains; Model Rectifier Co.; Ram Track; Stewart Hobbies, Iizc.; Traiizville; Willis Hobbies and Kalmbach Publishing.

Buzzy

Ed. (Co~iririrted fro~li IRE 2 )

my friends! There are conventions to attend and rail fanning trips to take (just be careful with to- day's heightened security environment).

Sometimes you can get a train fix when you least expect it. Two summers ago, I had the tough as- signment of going through two weeks of job train- ing in San Francisco. Everyone knows about the cable cars of course; perhaps of even more interest is the fleet of electric PCC cars-they run on tracks with overhead wire-and are used in the city as part of the mass transit system.

Each day I picked up a different street car near my hotel in Fisherman's Wharf and commuted to the office south of Market. The cars are all immacu- lately restored in the 30's era livery of the city sys- tem in which they originally operated-NYC, Philly, St. Louis, etc., etc .... even Milan, Italy. They're beautiful, varnished, mahogany and wicker rolling museum pieces and also the best and cheap- est way to get around the city. Talk about a little unexpected bonus for my summer!

Of course, if you're not planning any trips this summer you could always keep the hobby on the front burner with a little plunge into garden rail- roading. Let's see-you get to spend time out- doors, gardening , and with the family ... that would qualify as balance, right???

Carl

Participation Clinic

The "Who & What" are firm but the "When & Where" are not at this time.

The Who is Bob Smith and A1 Sohl. The What is "Tree Making."

Bob will specialize on "Weeping Willows," and Al on various other types. Complete information and registration forms will be available at the Fall Meet and in the Fall issue of the Carzizon Ball.

President (Co~irirnlerl from prge 2 )

can't seem to attract many new candidates to run for the open officerldirector slots. Furthermore, our subscription base for the Cannoiz Ball is on a steady decline. We are fast approaching the point in which we will have to consider a subscription price increase (oh no, shades of the NMRA dues wars!) or face possi- ble termination of this publication.

Well, members, these facts represent the state of our union. What do you think? I think it would be a mistake to assume that the same people will continue to volunteer their time and en- ergy to run this Division indefinitely. They will not! After all, many of us do want to complete that layout we started about ten years ago. It's time for you to get involved. Let me suggest some ways:

If your membership in the NMRA has expired, reacti- vate it now. Plan to attend the events that are painstakingly run on your behalf. They can be fun! Offer to give a clinic at these events. There must be something you have done that you can't wait to share with fellow modelers. Volunteer your time to serve on the various planning1 work committees. Your offer of help will be gladly accepted. Agree to have your name put in nomination for any officerldirector position in the next election. This will give you a chance to say your piece and to make your opinions and ideas count. And, if your Cannon Ball subscription has or will soon expire, re-subscribe as soon as possible.

This is your Division and what happens to it is entirely up to you. It would be a sad day indeed if the STD goes the way of other Divisions that have ceased to exist. Contact any officer1 director. We are waiting to hear from you!

Tony

THE CANNON BALL

The "To01 Junky"

by A1 Sohl, MMR

Last time I talked about some real basics, and we'll continue in that vein for this installment. Pin vises and drill bits are also invaluable additions to your arsenal of fine tools. I have a few sets of the Machinist's 4-piece pin vise set-Micro Mark #81497. I use them for holding the small taps used in the hobby and, of course, for holding small drill bits. The drill bit set I'm most partial to is the one offered in the plastic index-MM #60362. I glued a little cheat sheet on top of the cover, with the decimal size equivalent of bits #61 through #80. Here's a reproduction for your use:

You can cut out and fit this index to the cover of the case as well as glue it to a card to keep near your working area for a handy reference.

The last thing I want to mention in this issue is an electronic vernier caliper ... whoa! That was a big leap! I've got them at home and a couple at the club. (I warned you I was a junky!) Micro Mark's #82556 for under $50 is quite nice! It can read in both inches (to measure those drill bits) or in metric at the push of a button. Comes in handy when working with NWSL mo- tors-all of their offerings are in millimeters. Additionally, you can measure both inside diameters (ID'S) and outside diame- ters (OD's) depending on whether you use the small jaws on the back or the main jaws. A depth measurement can be had by using the flat rod that protrudes from the body. This tool is invaluable!

That's it for this issue. Till next time ... have fun and keep on modeling. A1

Model Railroad Priorities (Continrred from page 3) motives and rolling stock until the layout is open- tional-which could be several years after you start-you have a much better chance of acquiring the highest quality items. Limited production runs of your favorite obscure prototype are, of course, al- ways fair game!

A subspecies of the collector is the well known "brassaholic". This is the fellow who has collected thousands of dollars in brass beauties but can't seem to come up with $200 for that first load of bench- work lumber. He's also not likely to understand how one could spend a thousand dollars on a beautiful backdrop painting. Worse yet, the acquisition budget doesn't seem to stretch to cover re-motoring, paint- ing and weathering, or converting to DCC opera- tions. Don't let this happen to you!

If you don't putplurr~~ing at the top of your priorities list you're missing the boat. But overemphasizing planning and research and being riveted to the arm- chair is equally as bad. By all means collect photos and railroadiana to help you with your planning efforts. Just don't forget to start building! Bench- work goes up faster than you think.

If you leavefinding f r i e d for last on your priorities list, you could be making a fatal mistake. Few of us possess all of the skills needed to get a balanced railroad up and running. Why not take a cue from well known modelers like Allen McClelland, Lou Sassi or George Sellios--each with gorgeous lay- outs-and each with many modeling friends to share the load and lend an expert hand.

I would suggest our modeling priorities should be as follows:

1) A Plan. 2) Friends. 3) Attractive finished layout room. 4) Benchwork. 5 ) Rolling stock.

By plan, I mean a written diagram with tracks, struc- tures, scenery and operational details. Don't start a voyage without a chart. Don't start a layout without a plan!

Friends are those individuals who have agreed to roll up their sleeves and help you. You need some-

one to help you in areas where you are weak and to keep you on schedule. What you don't need is some- one to revise your already well thought out track plan.. ..Join a club, tap the MMR's and veteran mod- elers in the Division, invite people over to see your work-at least one friend is essential to get you go- ing.

It helps to have an uttructive Iuyorrt rnorir as well. Much more conducive to having people over than your typical dusty, dirty, unfinished basement! The Berzchwork for your layout should be well built and sturdy-but 2"x 4"s is probably overkill!

Collecring rolling stock is my last priority. A hard discipline perhaps, but sort of like a desert waiting until you've finished your "meal" and eaten all of your "broccoli".

Whether you agree with me or not, perhaps I've got you thinking. In short, identify your priorities, get started on the layout and have fun. And don't forget to book yourself on an STD Rolling Layout Meet to show off your pride and joy!

Nick

THE CANNON BALL

One Year (4 issues)

Three Years (12 issues)

State Ziv

John Jaklitsch, Circ~rlatiorz Manager 62 Highview Ave., Selden, NY 11784

STD power brokers Tony Capato and Steve Perry caught rail fanning on the F Train's 4th Ave. station in Brooklyn.

It's Saturday, March 16, 2002 and Tony and Steve are going to the Coney Island Shops of the NYC Transit Authority with members of the Long Island Traction Society, who sponsored the trip.

. r 19 TI* ushing NY

62 Highview Ave. Selden, NY 11 784

DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION

July

14-20 NMRA National Convention Ft. Lauderdale. FL Info: 56 1-790-1962

"Tracks in the Sand"

September

14, 15 I0 to 4 LIMRRE Open House

(seminars will also be conducted)

21 10 to 4 STD Pall Meet

1055 Portion rd., Farrningville (114 mi. west of Nicolls Rd)

$2.50/person/ $5 family. 63 1-736-5308

Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, Queens.

Send items for inclusion in "Down the Track" to Joe Vecchione, P.O. Box 751024, Forest Hills, NY 11375.718-847-0732 - -