With the holidays behind us, Philadelphia Division members traveled this past January 10th to the Haddon Township High School to join with our hosts, the New Jersey Division, for a morning filled with a variety of model railroading activities.
The morning’s program, known as “Works-in-Progress,” was a repeat of a multiple, mini-clinic format that has been utilized at various meets over the past several years, and also at the MER’s 2010 Princeton Junction Convention. It consisted of a variety of clinics run simultaneously and repeated for four sessions lasting 30 minutes each. Members were free to choose to attend any of the clinics, located at various tables around the school’s large cafeteria, in any order they wanted. Folks could leave early or move quietly between clinics. At the end of each clinic, a bell was rung; folks could circulate, get some refreshments, browse or shop at the various vendor tables present, and catch up with old friends. The presenters would take this time to reset their clinics for the next session.
The clinics featured a range of opportunities where you could learn about 1) weathering freight cars (given by our assistant superintendent, Charles Butsch), 2) building a car-float loading bridge, 3) cutting foam with a hotwire, 4) styrene modeling techniques, 5) the latest in using L.E.D.s for lighting the layout, 6) photoetching model parts (given by division member Glyn Thomas), 7) building track work in road paving, 8) modeling automobiles, and several more! In this format the clinic presenter can utilize a more informal approach for presentation and demonstration with appropriate interaction with his audience, much like one would do when showing, describing, and demonstrating at one’s workbench.
There were several railroads open for visiting Saturday afternoon after the meet that were hosted by various members of the New Jersey Division throughout the South Jersey area.
A hearty thanks to New Jersey Division Superintendent Bob Clegg, Director of Clinics John Gallagher, and all our friends at the New Jersey Division for inviting us and hosting the January meet. This March 14th we will meet at the Elkins Park train station for a round of interesting clinics, vendors, and display. If you have a model in any stage of construction or of any prototype that you want to display or share, please bring it with you. There will be more about this event elsewhere in The Dispatcher and on our website. It should be fun and we’ll see you then!