February, ARS meeting: March 14, 2018, 7:30 pm. next meeting: Wednesday, March 14, :30 pm Amherst Railway Society clubhouse, Palmer, MA

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1 Eight & Sand February, 2018 Amherst Railway Society 1130 South Main Street Palmer, MA amherstrail.org The mission of the Amherst Railway Society is education regarding and the promotion of hobbies related to railroading Switch List Rails of War - March 14 February Clubhouse Hours Volunteers Needed - CT WW&F Photo Days Belt Lines Update Dry Hill Update Battery Power - for HO-scale Membership Dues Memberships expire on the anniversary of your membership term. Regular adult memberships are $60 for one year, $150 for three years, and $240 for five years. Student, Prospective, and Family memberships are also available. Click here for the complete list of membership options. a regular publication of the Amherst Railway Society ARS meeting: March 14, 2018, 7:30 pm The Military Railway Service was a remarkable team effort between the US Army Corps of Engineers and commercial American railroads that proved vital to Allied victory in World War II. Known as the Affiliation Plan, commercial American railroads sponsored and trained specific units for the Military Railway Service. During World War II the service operated and maintained railroads in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific that totaled more than 22,000 miles of track. Some 43,500 soldier-railroaders, most with years of experience, served in the Army in every theater of operations moving personnel and freight, often under enemy fire and through extreme weather conditions. One of those soldier-railroaders was Rails of War Steven Hantzis next meeting: Wednesday, March 14, :30 pm Amherst Railway Society clubhouse, Palmer, MA Notice of meeting changes or cancellations are posted on: Amherst Railway Society web site - amherstrail.org Amherst Railway Society Facebook page 1

2 February Clubhouse Hours In February, the Amherst Railway Society clubhouse is open every Saturday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The clubhouse is located at: 1130 South Main Street Palmer, Massachusetts James Harry Hantzis who served with the 721st Railway Operating Battalion in the China-Burma-India theater. On March 14th, James son, Steven, will recount his father s experiences building, maintaining, and operating 700 miles of railroad through some of the most inhospitable conditions in the world. Steven is the author of Rails of War, the story of the 721st Railway Operating Battalion. He is a retired labor union administrator and a former brakeman/conductor for Penn Central Railroad. Volunteers Needed in Connecticut January 26 & 27, 2019 The Amherst Railway Society has been contacted by a family in Connecticut that would like to complete an HO-scale layout that their grandfather started some years ago. The grandfather passed away before the layout was finished and the family would like to honor his work by completing the layout. Family members have limited model railroading experience and are looking for advice and guidance. They need an evaluation of the unfinished layout, and a plan for completing the work. If you live in the Storrs, Connecticut area and would like to help with the project, please contact Eight & Sand editor, Greg Maas, at: greg.maas@icloud.com. The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum plans to hold two one-day photo excursion events on April 14 and 21, Both events include day-long photo opportunities starting with the fire-up of steam locomotive No. 9 at 6:00 a.m. Throughout the day the museum will set up stationary and run-by photo opportunities with both freight and mixed train consists. WW&F Photo Days Costumed train crews and civilians will participate, and vintage motor vehicles may also be used in some scenes. 2 The April 14 event will be daytime only, concluding at 4:30 p.m. The April 21 session will include a staged night scene with professional lighting at 6:00 p.m. The April 14 event will be limited to 25 people, and the April 21 event will be limited to 20. A minimum of 15 reservations by April 2 is required for each event to proceed. For additional information, contact the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum at: , or wwfry.org.

3 Amherst Belt Lines 50th anniversary HO-scale SW1500 Once again the Amherst Belt Lines modular layout took center stage in the Better Living Center at the 50th Anniversary Railroad Hobby Show. Consisting of over 100 modules and covering more than 4500 square feet, the Belt Lines layout drew large crowds throughout the weekend. Belt Lines operators ran a variety of trains - freight, passenger, diesel, steam - all to the fascination of show-goers. The long trains attracted particular attention as visitors followed them around the twelve scale mile layout. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Railroad Hobby Show, the Belt Lines also had the photos: Gary Munsey commemorative HO-scale SW1500 locomotive running all weekend, along with the 50th anniversary show cars. The Belt Lines trailer is now decorated with the Amherst Railway Society, Amherst Belt Lines, and Railroad Hobby Show logos and web addresses. As the trailer travels around New England, it will visually promote the Amherst Railway Society. Next up for the Belt Lines is the Worcester Model Railroaders show on February 25 in Auburn, Massachusetts. 3

4 Dry Hill Model Railroad Club update Athearn demos new locomotive on Dry Hill layout The Dry Hill Model Railroad Club once again was in the Mallary Complex, running 100+ car trains, unit trains, and passenger trains to the delight of visitors at the 50th anniversary Railroad Hobby Show. As an added bonus, Athearn asked Dry Hill to demonstrate their new First Responder and Veterans Appreciation locomotives on Sunday. The new engines attracted a large crowd. For the remainder of this year, the Dry Hill crew is building several new sections for the 2019 show. If you are interested in learning more about building sectional model railroads, contact Joe Albano at: dryhillmrrc@gmail.com. Hands-on experience is a great teacher, and everyone is welcome. Once again, I would like to thank the members, volunteers, and guests who assisted in setting up, operating, and dismantling the Dry Hill layout. The Railroad Hobby Show is a spectacular event, but it only happens because of the time and effort that a lot of people donate. Thank you. Joe Albano, President Dry Hill Model Railroad Club Cameron and mom, Kara, operate a train on the Dry Hill layout 4

5 Battery Power... for HO-scale locomotives Battery-powered model railroad locomotives are not new, particularly among G-scale, outdoor railroads where weather makes track maintenance a headache. But now, advancing battery technology is bringing battery power to HO-scale locomotives as well. Among the smaller-scale, battery-power pioneers are Amherst members Joe Biagioni and Carlton Rohmer. I started using battery power for garden railroads about 10 years ago, says Biagioni. As batteries got better and smaller, the idea of running HO-scale locomotives with batteries has become a reality. So Biagioni and Rohmer started working on an experimental battery-powered engine set. We used one engine, a dummy, to carry the rechargeable battery pack (about $40) and built a two-wire connector system to provide electricity to the powered locomotive. The connecting wires looks kind of like prototype MU cables. The experimental engine set uses Ring Engineering s RailPro decoder and controller. The decoder, including sound, is installed in the powered 5 locomotive the same way that any other decoder would be installed. The only difference is that the two wires that would normally pick up electricity from the wheels and rails are connected to a plug system embedded in the engine s frame, next to the coupler. The battery pack is installed in the dummy locomotive with a similar two-wire plug system to provide electricity to the powered engine. The battery pack also adds weight to the dummy locomotive to help the engine track well. We use the same two-wire plug system and a universal charger to re-charge the battery pack, says Biagioni. There is no on/off switch. When the two engines are connected, the engine set is powered. People have asked me how long do the batteries last between charges, and I don t know, says Biagioni. We ve never had a battery run out. We ran the engine set all day Saturday at the Railroad Hobby Show and they were still going strong at the end of the day.

6 Eight & Sand February, 2018 Board of Directors John Sacerdote President Kurt Jellinek President-elect David Royce Treasurer Bill Meier Jr. Secretary Gary Donnell Joe Biagioni Railroad Hobby Show John Sacerdote Director David Royce Show Office Show Committee Dick Joyce Chair Kurt Jellinek Tom Laware Sr. Tom Laware Jr Rudy Versailles Strategic Planning Ken Harstine Co-chair Kurt Jellinek Co-chair Joe Albano Jr. Dick Joyce Tom Laware Sr. Bill Meier John Randall David Royce John Sacerdote Marketing Committee John Sacerdote Chair. Greg Maas Webmaster Greg Maas Newsletter Membership Committee Tom Laware Sr. Bill Meier John Sacerdote Amherst Belt Lines Robbie Cabrerra Jim Fenner Dry Hill Model Railroad Club Joe Albano, Jr. Lithium batteries keep going at the same power level until the charge runs out. They do not slow down like other batteries. The next step in the experiment is to connect a three engine set - the dummy battery-carrying engine in the middle with powered locomotives on either side. This has been an interesting experiment, says Biagioni. It has really helped us see indoor model railroading in a different light. In theory, you could build an entire layout with no track wiring - at all. That s a fascinating prospect. EIGHT & SAND - what it means Eight & Sand is a railroad term used to wish train crews a quick, uneventful journey. The term comes from notch 8 - the highest power setting on modern locomotive throttles - and the ability to apply sand to prevent wheel slip. Reader contributed railroad stories and articles can be considered for publication in EIGHT & SAND. Please discuss article ideas with EIGHT & SAND editor, Greg Maas. Greg can be reached at: greg.maas@icloud.com. 6 From the Treasurer As Amherst Railway Society Inc. is a 501 C(3) tax exempt organization, your donations (of either cash and/or property) may be deducted on your Schedule A, Form 1040 of your Federal income tax. Consider the Amherst Railway Society in your estate planning. Your gifts can be restricted or non-restricted (you can pre-determine how you want your donation used). Upon request, and proper documentation, the Treasurer will issue a letter to be used as justification for your tax deduction.