Division 8 is Heading North on the A-Line

If you missed the Division 8 meeting on November 2 at Kingsland, Georgia, you missed a lot

Need more train action on Saturday, November 9? Then consider taking a ride up to Columbia, SC for the Train Show at the Jamil Temple. Find information on this show and others at Carolina Train Shows.

On Saturday, November 2, 2024, the Atlantic division of the Southeast region of the NMRA gathered at the Golden Isles Model Railroad club in Kinglands, Georgia for their quarterly meeting. Twenty modelers attended the meeting. Many are members of the Golden Isles club, but some members from the Sunshine Region (Florida) of the NMRA were also there. Things got underway at 10:30 in the morning.

The Golden Isle building if full of railroad history. Behind the building is the old ACL mainline on which the Florida Special ran, carrying Northerners away from snow and clouds to the land of sunshine.

The meeting started with three clinics. The first was a presentation by Lloyd Bloom concerning the Oahu Railroad & Land Company. Lloyd has a personal interest in this railroad, as he and his wife own a timeshare on Oahu. From his window, he can see operations on the existing trackage of the line. He gave an excellent history of the railroad and other railroading on the island of Oahu. At one time the railroad had over 200 miles of trackage that extended around the leeward (West) end and then up the north coast of Oahu. Principal commodities hauled by the railroad included sugarcane and pineapple. The first half of the 20th century, it provided transportation for passengers. During World War II it was very busy supplying the needs of the military bases at Pearl Harbor and around the Oahu.

Currently, 7 miles of trackage are preserved by the Haywain Railway Society. Excursion trains run on their trackage on Wednesday and Saturday, as well as scheduled dinner trains. Lloyd said that the round-trip takes about two hours. There is also a VIP car for small group excursions.

The next clinic was presented by Paul Speich and members of the Golden Isles Model Railroad Club. They discussed how they have been making control panels for the club’s new layout. A pass around example was provided. The frames for the panels are made from wood picture frames which have been modified. Indicators consisting of three lead LEDs are utilized, and the wiring of these LEDs was discussed. A great deal of the wiring comes from old telephone wiring.

The third clinic was presented by district superintendent Rick Fulkerson. Rick was provided with a slideshow concerning the upcoming NMRA national convention in Chattanooga Tennessee. The dates for this are July 27 through August 2, 2026. Superintendent Fulkerson questioned how many members present had attended a national meeting, and surprisingly, the number was low. Highlights of the Chattanooga area were presented to those in attendance. It was also pointed out that Chattanooga is in close driving distance to approximately 30% of the NMRA membership. Mention was also made of next year’s national convention in Novi, Michigan from July 14-19, 2025.

At 12 o’clock, the Division provided a pizza lunch for members in attendance. Soft drinks were also served. While the pizza was rapidly consumed, a business meeting was called to order at 12:05 PM. The Secretary’s report from the last meeting, which is available on our website, was approved. The Treasurer’s report stated that the division had a balance of $415, prior to payment for the pizza lunch. A portion of that balance came from a recent contribution to the Division of $53 by the Region.

Superintendent Fulkerson had noted that his position in the Secretary’s position had not been reappointed last year. An election was held for both positions for two-year terms, commencing as of this meeting. Superintendent Fulkerson was unanimously reelected as was Secretary Casey Bartman.

Having completed all division business, the business meeting was adjourned at 12:18 P.M.

Having concluded activities in Kingsland, members proceeded to two layout tours. The first stop for most of us was at Richard Pistler’s home. He and his wife, Nancy, greeted their guest with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Richard has a beautiful layout on the second floor of his home that represents the Norfork and Western and set in the 1960s. Richard’s motivation for this model was that he grew up in southeastern Ohio. He said that the trackage that ran by his home is now gone, but the right-of-way can still be visualized. The layout is basically a folded over dog bone plan, with a short branch line. The fold over is on different elevations, with the tunnel for the lower level.

Leaving Richard’s, we proceeded to Paul Speich’s home for tour of his HO Western Pennsylvania Railroad logging operation set in the early 1900s on the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad. Like Richard, Paul has selected to model an area from his younger days. He talked about using a metal detector near sports complex by his home. He kept getting a signal in one area, and with some minor digging on the spur of this now abandoned line. Paul has built several beautiful scratch-built structures that represent logging and lumber mill operations. A lot of time has been spent adding details to the interiors of buildings. Besides mainline operations steam, he has both a Shay and Climax locomotives to haul logs to the mill.