Winter 2023 President’s Letter
Greetings Seacoast Members,
It`s hard to believe it’s already February. I hope you are all staying warm and making progress on your railroads this winter.
Annual Meeting Summary
We held our Winter 2023 Event and Annual Meeting at the Westbrook Community Center in Westbrook Maine on January 7th. During the Annual Meeting segment of the Event the 2022 Division status was presented and the three Directors were formally elected per the bylaws. Bob Kotsonis completed his term on the Board of Directors and we all thank him for his service. Jay Ehlen, Guy Mason and Tom Oxnard, MMR were elected to three year terms as Directors. Many of you already know Jay and Tom who were incumbents. Guy Mason is a new Seacoast Member as well as a new Director. Congratulations to all three and thank you for volunteering.
Here`s the 2023 Seacoast Division Leadership Team:
Financially, the Seacoast Division had a good year. The 2022 beginning balance was $5,878.83 and the ending balance was $6,529.34. The major source of income was the sale of donated items at the Silent Auction in April and at the "for sale" table in July.
The Faulter Fund made a major donation ($1,000.00) to the First Baptist Church of Shapleigh Train Club. Several teens are building a modular layout and the Seacoast Division is happy to support them. If you know any young modelers who could use some financial help, have them take a look at our website where an application form is available to down load.
2022 was not a great year for increasing the Division’s membership. Membership dropped from 174 to 157. We lost 20 members and gained only 3. If you know anyone who dropped out, please contact them and encourage them to rejoin, or at least ask the reason why they left.
The Achievement Program gave out only one AP Certificate for the year. Hopefully we`ll see an increase in 2023.
Dave Delorey continues to do a great job with our website athttps://www.seacoastnmra.org. The website has an incredible number of resource documents and clinics linked to it. Please take a look when you can.
Geoff Anthony, the Switch Tower Editor, is always in need of articles for the Switch Tower. Even a few photos of your latest project will be a welcome addition to the Switch Tower. The January 2023 edition of the Switch Tower was recently added to the website.
Four quarterly Events were held in 2022. The Winter Event was hopefully our last "Zoom only" event. The other three were live with Zoom. Jay Ehlen has stepped up to be the Activities Coordinator. Thank you Jay! We need a second Activities Coordinator to work with Jay who is knowledgeable in MS Excel and Word, Zoom, and computers in general. Please think about stepping up and taking on this role.
Eight Seacoast members attended the 2022 NER Connecticut Yankee Convention in Windsor CT. Seacoast members John McHugh and Jim Gore. MMR gave clinics at the convention.
Winter 2023 Event
Besides losing Bob Kotsonis as a Director, he also stepped down as the Audio/Video coordinator for the events which included broadcasting them on Zoom. Tage and I tried to get everything working at the event, but we were only partially successful. Our A/V skills need improving and we are looking for a member to step up and take Bob’s place as the A/V coordinator. If you have computer skills, please consider volunteering.
Dan Pugatch gave a great clinic on Modeling Brick and Concrete, and the rest of the Winter Event focused on Operations. Included were a clinic by Bruce Robinson, a hands on demonstration by Chuck Hastings and the Southern Maine Model Railroad Club, and a panel discussion/presentation on operations with panel members Matt Keiser, John Newick, Bruce Robinson and myself. Rob Selberg opened his St. James Sub (N) following the Event. I would like to thank all of those above who participated in and supported the Winter Event.
Seacoast Spring 2023 Event
The Seacoast Division Spring 2023 Event on April 15, 2023 and the location has not been finalized yet. Watch for the Event notice. Jay Ehlen is organizing the event and we are in need of clinics and presentations. Some feedback which we received at the Winter Event was for more variety in the clinics/presentations. We are planning the Spring Event with more variety in mind. Having been the Activities Coordinator for several years, I have always looked for clinics in these four general categories:
Member’s Layouts - Concept, Design, Construction, Prototype, Operations: If you have built or are building a layout, take some photos or a video and tell us about it. We’re always interested in seeing what everyone has accomplishedOne clinic in each category makes a great Event! At this time, we do not have any clinics lined up for the Spring 2023 Event. We need your help. Please consider giving a clinic at the Spring Event and subsequent Events.
Other Upcoming 2023 Shows and Events
The Maine 3Railers Model RR & Dollhouse Show is February 18, 2023 at the National Guard Armory, 179 Western Ave., Augusta ME.
NERx - The Northeastern Region (NER) will be holding another NERx event on March 20-23, 2023. NERx is an "on-line convention" held in the evenings of the above mentioned dates. Anyone can join in and watch on- line clinics, video layout tours, roundtable discussions and model showcases. Look for it on the www.nernmra.org website.
The Southern Maine Model Railroad Club is hosting its 3rd Train Show at the Westbrook Community Center, 426 Bridge St., Westbrook, Maine, on April 22, 2023. Details for the show are available athttps://southernmainemrc.wordpress.com. The Seacoast Division needs a few members to man a Membership Recruitment table at the event. Chuck Hastings is also looking for clinicians to give presentations during the show. Please contact me if you can work the table or give a clinic at the show. I hope many of you will attend the show and support the SMMRC.
The Great Falls Model RR Club show will be held at the Mt. Ararat High School, 68 Eagles Way, Topsham ME on April 29, 2023. Details for the show are available athttps://www.greatfallsmodelrrclub.org/train-shows/great-falls-spring-train-show-saturday-april-29/.
Seacoast Division 2025 NER Convention Exploratory Committee Status
The Seacoast Division 2025 NER Convention Exploratory Committee continues to investigate the possibility of the Seacoast Division hosting the 2025 NER Convention. Earlier, while waiting for another Division’s plans to firm up, we were considering either 2024 or 2025, but the Lake Shores Division has recently committed to host the convention in Rochester NY in 2024. At this time we have located one feasible venue in Concord NH and we are continuing to look at other options. Each of the four major committees (Overall Convention, Inside Activities, Outside Activities, and Publicity) will be co-chaired in order to share the workload. At this time two Seacoast members have volunteered to be a co-chairman for the Inside Activities Committee and the Publicity Committee. We are still in need of at least one volunteer for each the co-chair positions in the Overall Convention Committee and Outside Activities Committee before we can commit to hosting the 2025 NER Convention. Please think about stepping up and becoming a Committee Co-chairman.
Once again, consider volunteering. This is your organization and we need help in several areas.
Enjoy the winter and I hope to see you at the Spring Event.
Glenn Mitchell
Seacoast Division NMRA President & Director
Published:28 February 2023
Fall President`s Message 2022
Greetings Seacoast Members,
President`s Message November 2022 Greetings Seacoast Members, It`s hard to believe it`s already late November and Thanksgiving is just two days away. I just finished raking and blowing leaves and mowing the grass for the last time. I am glad that is over. The mover has been put away and the snow blower is fueled and ready to go. Now it`s time to get down to fun things like Thanksgiving Dinner and working on the railroad.
The Seacoast Division Fall Event was a huge success. Vice President Jay Ehlen organized the event which was held at the Stratham Fire House on October 8, 2022. Thanks again to Mike Grahame for providing the venue. James Van Bokkelen, Vice President of the Seacoast Trolley Museum, gave a presentation on the relocation of a layout that was donated to the museum. But, before they could install the layout, they had to build a building to house the layout. Tom Oxnard, MMR gave an illustrative presentation of how the Achievement program works. Rich Breton gave the third presentation on general photography and adding a video camera to a locomotive or rolling stock. After the event, Dave Kotsonis and Dick Fralich opened their layouts for visitors. I would like to thank everyone involved in putting on the Fall Event. Great job!
Summer is not usually the time for train shows, however, the Concord Model Railroad Club puts on their show every year on the second Sunday of August (Aug. 14) at the Everett Arena in Concord, NH. This show is the best show in New Hampshire and the Seacoast Division will be represented. Stop by at our table and say hello. I look forward to seeing you there.
After all of you have finished your Thanksgiving festivities, you can spend the weekend visiting layouts that are part of the Tour de Chooch tour. 36 layouts in Massachusetts and New Hampshire will be open on Saturday and Sunday, November 26-27, 2022. See thewww.tourdechooch.orgwebsite for details. Several of the layouts belong to Seacoast members. The Heritage Park Railroad Museum in Union, NH will have their Boston and Maine -1909 layout, built by a group of Seacoast members, open on Sunday as part of the tour. This is a great opportunity to see a lot of outstanding model railroading.
The Seacoast Division Winter Event and Annual Meeting will be held on January 7, 2023 at the Westbrook Community Center in Westbrook, ME. Watch for event notices in your email.
The Northeastern Region (NER) will be holding another NERx event on March 20-23, 2023. NERx is an “on-line convention” held in the evenings of the previously mentioned dates. Anyone can join in and watch on-line clinics, video layout tours, roundtable discussions and model showcases. Look for it on thewww.nernmra.orgwebsite. Last March, we got to see several Seacoast members` layouts which were video-taped by Bob Kotsonis. The organizers are currently looking for clinicians and layouts to videotape for 2023. If you are interested in giving a clinic or having your layout videotaped or even just showing off your work in a short Model Showcase, contact me and I will connect you with the NERx coordinators.
The Seacoast Treasury remains stable with a balance of $6599.34. The Chip Faulter Fund has a balance of $9663.85 after making a $1000.00 donation to a church youth group that is building a modular layout in Maine. We continue to look for worthy recipients of funding from the Faulter Fund. If you know any young people that could use funding to support their model railroad activities, contact Tage Erickson or me and I will make sure that information will be sent to you.
Our 2024 NER Convention Exploratory Committee continues to look for an appropriate venue for the convention. Portsmouth and Laconia are the primary areas of interest at this time. I recently sent out a request for volunteers to help with the convention. I thank all of you that have volunteered. The email contained a “strawman” list of positions that needed filling. The convention chairmen roles are well defined in the NER Convention handbook, but the rest of positions were made up by me based on what I know and have observed at other conventions. Given that, I hope that you will not get too concerned about the specific positions listed on the chart. I am sure the specific needs might change and everything will be dependent of the final choice for a venue. At this time I ask all of you this question: “Are you willing to help with the convention?” I hope many more of you can answer YES and volunteer. We will sort out the roles and positions so that every volunteer feels comfortable with the job that they take on.
That`s all I have for now. I wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I hope to see you at the Winter Event!
Best regards,
Glenn Mitchell, Seacoast Division NMRA President and Director
Published:11 November 2022
Published:11 November 2022
Summer President's Message 2022
Hello Seacoast Members.,
The summer has flown by and once again I am late getting this letter out to you. I recently thought back to last winter, when I had planned several model railroad tasks that needed to be done in the warmer weather. Most involved rolling the table saw out on the driveway and slicing up sheets of plywood or Masonite. Fortunately I bought most of my stockpile before the prices jumped due to Covid. Unfortunately, that also tells you how far behind I am with construction. Regardless, I have not had the saw out yet. Before I begin I need to create my master "cut list." Once I know what I need, I can usually roll through it – the key is to not over think it. I’m guilty of doing that a lot. So the message here regarding building your railroad is – don’t over think it – just do it!
As my layout progresses, I find that mixing up the tasks is helpful. After a lot of layout structure work, track-work, and wiring, I needed a change. Time for some scenery. I really admire the scenery created by Pelle SØeborg and Lance Mindheim. I think one of the reasons I like their styles is that they both model "modern" eras. I think most of their scenery style would fit in my 1975 era layout with the correct vintage of motive power, rolling stock, and vehicles. I chose a section of the layout to begin scenicing that is 16 ft. long and one foot in depth with a backdrop. Just a double track mainline with a slight grade going through Illinois corn fields. I started the "landscaping" with Styrofoam insulation. I purchased a Woodland Scenics hot wire foam cutter which makes shaping foam so much easier and neater that using a knife and a rasp. Just make sure you have proper ventilation. I’ll post some pictures as things progress.
Summer is not usually the time for train shows, however, the Concord Model Railroad Club puts on their show every year on the second Sunday of August (Aug. 14) at the Everett Arena in Concord, NH. This show is the best show in New Hampshire and the Seacoast Division will be represented. Stop by at our table and say hello. I look forward to seeing you there.
Eleven years ago, in 2011, I went to my first North East Region Convention – the Roger Williams Express – in Warwick Rhode Island. I was able to sign up for multiple operating sessions. Model railroad operations is one of my favorite aspects of the hobby. First, I was able to operate on a club layout (I don’t remember the name.) on the way to the convention. I got to experience the dynamics of a club layout, which has to meet the needs of the many members. The second layout I toured was Don Irace’s Providence & Worcester Railroad. Every aspect of the layout – multi-level benchwork, track, scenery, and prototype modeling- was very well executed. It was also the first layout that I have encountered to use JMRI Panelpro signaling and dispatching. Don’s layout provided a lot of inspiration for my own layout design. I was lucky enough to operate on it again at the 2017 NER convention. Unfortunately, this layout was dismantled a few years ago when Don moved. Ever since that first convention, I have been signing up for as many operation sessions as possible at successive NER conventions. Seeing how other modelers have constructed and operate their layouts always provides me with new ideas.
This year I signed up for two layout tours at the Connecticut Yankee NER Convention in Windsor, Connecticut. I expect additional operating positions to become available prior to the start of the convention. Clinics are another big part of any convention. The Connecticut Yankee has 51 clinics available from Thursday thru Saturday. There are a lot more activities than I want to mention here. More information is available at ner-conventions.org/connecticut-yankee. I encourage every Seacoast member to attend the Connecticut Yankee Convention which runs from Sept. 15 thru Sept. 18. Enrollment is open!
Lastly, the Seacoast Division Fall Event is scheduled for October 8, 2022 at the Stratham Volunteer Fire Department. I want to thank Mike Grahame for providing the venue. Vice President Jay Ehlen will be organizing and running this even. Watch for the event notice.
That’s all I have for now. Enjoy the rest of the summer and I hope to see you at the CMRRC Show or the Connecticut Yankee NER Convention.
Take care,
Glenn Mitchell, Seacoast Division NMRA President and Director
Published:02 August 2022
Spring President's Message 2022
Greetings Seacoast Members,
It`s hard to believe that it`s been a month since I was elected by the Board of Directors to the office of President. It`s an honor to serve the members of the Seacoast Division. I hope I can perform up to your expectations. It`s time for me to reach out and speak to you, the Seacoast Membership. I`ll talk a little about myself and then discuss where we`re going as a division.
But first, I want to thank Tage Erickson and Mike Pedersen who have completed their 3 year terms as Directors and have chosen to step down. Tage served as a Director for 5 years and as the Seacoast President for 3½ years. Mike served 3 years as Director. We all greatly appreciate all of the good work and support to the division that Tage and Mike have given. We also know that they will both continue to support the Seacoast Division in the future. Tage has already stepped up to manage the Chip Faulter Fund. Mike has volunteered to organize and run the silent auction at the Seacoast Division Spring Event.
A Brief Introduction
While I know many of you from the Events over the past years, I also know there are many more of you that I have not met. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with all -of you in the future. I have been an NMRA member since 2008 and a Director for 5 years. I have served as Vice President and Event coordinator for 3½ years prior to becoming President.
My interest in model railroading began at an early age when my parents gave me an American Flyer S gauge trainset. Soon after that, I was at the throttle on my uncle Russ`s amazing HO layout which had hand laid track and many NMRA contest winning scratch built structures. It was my inspiration to model HO gauge.
I grew up in the small western suburb of Chicago named Berkeley. Berkeley`s northern border abutted the massive Chicago and North Western Proviso yard (the largest yard in the country until the mid-1950`s). The Chicago Great Western Railroad bisected the town. I remember counting the cars on the typical 100+ car CGW trains when I should have been paying attention in grade school. Needless to say, these two railroads would play a part of my future plans.
After college and starting a family, we moved to New Hampshire in 1981. I joined the Bedford Boomers Club in 1985 and spent many years building two modules which were part of the club show layouts for almost 30 years. Having moved several times since 1981, I never got that home layout built even though I started a couple of times.
Around 2008 after joining the NMRA, I got my first taste of serious operating and I have been hooked since. Besides operating regularly on several friends` home layouts in southern New Hampshire, I have attended several NER conventions and have always signed up for as many op sessions as I possible could.
After working for a major defense contractor for 34+ years, I retired in 2015. My fiancée and I both sold our houses and we bought one together in Concord, NH. One of the criteria was it had to have a useable basement. (I was going to say “large basement†but it will never be large enough).
The ambitious home layout that I am currently building models the C&NW in 1975. The Elgin & Joliet Eastern Railroad is modeled as well and interchanges traffic with the C&NW. The EJ&E gives me a connection to the steel mills in Gary, IN that will be modeled. The layout design is a two level around-the-room bookshelf style layout that is being designed for operations. I am designing it in XtrakCad, a free model railroad CAD tool available from JMRI.org. It will include a PanelPro computer based CTC panel, Block detection, and signals on the C&NW main line. (remember â€" I said it was AMBITIOUS!) So far, I am still working on the first phase of the layout and have a couple hundred feet of track and about 50 turn-outs installed. Stand by for updates and possibly a clinic as construction proceeds.
The Seacoast Division Going Forward
The major goal of the Seacoast Division is to serve the membership and promote the hobby. The quarterly Events have been our primary way of accomplishing this. We work to make the events educational as well as entertaining. They also provide a venue to meet and socialize with other members. We continue to look to the Seacoast membership for clinic and presentation ideas as well as for volunteers to give the clinics and presentations. We need your help. I have been the Seacoast Activities Coordinator for the past for 3½ years. I cannot continue in that position and be president. Besides, it is time for a new coordinator to bring in new ideas for the division events. One option that has been discussed is to have a member organize and run a single event. If anyone wants to give it a try, but is not sure how to do it, don`t worry, you will be supported. If you`re interested, please contact me.
An Election Update
Every year, 3 of the 9 Director positions are up for re-election. The voting is conducted prior to and the results are announced at the Annual Meeting held at the Winter Event held in January. This year we had 4 candidates for 3 Director positions. After the election was over it was discovered that one of the winners was not eligible to run for or hold the position of Director because that individual was not an active member in the NMRA. Article VI para. 1 of the Seacoast Division Bylaws states that a Director must be a member of the NMRA.
A Special BOD meeting was held via Zoom on Feb 11, 2022. The seven BOD members present unanimously certified that the remaining three eligible candidates Dave Kotsonis, Geoff Anthony, and Jim Seroskie won the three Director positions. Please join me in congratulating them.
An Election Update
I would like introduce the new Seacoast Division Leadership Team:
| Jay Ehlen | Director and Vice President | ||
| Dave Kotsonis | Director and Treasurer | ||
| Nelsen LeMay | Secretary | ||
| Geoff Anthony | Director and The Switch Tower Editor | ||
| Dave Delorey | Webmaster | ||
| Tom Oxnard, MMR | Director and NH AP Chair | ||
| Larry Cannon, MMR | ME AP Chair and ME Registered Agent | ||
| Bob Kotsonis | Director | ||
| Ralph Brown | Director | ||
| Jack Lutz | Director & Clinic Historian | ||
| Jim Seroskie | Director and NER Webmaster | ||
| Bruce Campbell | Membership Chairman | ||
| Tage Erickson | Faulter Fund Chairman | ||
| Steve Russo | The Switch Tower Assistant Editor |
As I stated earlier, the Activities Coordinator position is open. Please consider stepping up and taking on this role.
Spring Event April 23, 2022
As the number of covid cases in New Hampshire and Maine diminishes, the prospect for a live Spring 2022 Event is improving. At this time we are planning on the Spring event being live with Zoom at the Newington Old Town Hall on April 23, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 pm. We need 3 more clinics to round out the agenda. Again, I ask for your help to make the Spring Event a success. We will also be holding a silent auction as a fundraiser for the Seacoast Division. We are asking members to donate their un-needed model railroad items. Details will be announced soon. I hope to see many of you at the Spring Event in person or on Zoom.
Best regards,
Glenn Mitchell
Seacoast Division NMRA Director and President
Published:03 March 2022