Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday, November 9, 2024
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location
Brandywine Town Center
4050 Brandywine Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19803
Located near the intersection of US-202 (Concord Pk.) and DE-92 (Naaman’s Rd.)
Held at the Community Center in front of the shopping center near the fountain and pool.
Categories
On November 9, 2024, we return to the Community Center at the Brandywine Town Center, 4050 Brandywine Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19803. The time is 9:00am with doors opening at 8:30.
Our first clinic will be presented by Philly Division Superintendent Joe Walters, MMR titled “Scratch Building a Ballast Tamper.” The ballast tamper is a track machine used to pack or tamp ballast under the railroad ties so that the roadbed is level and durable. Before these ma-chines employees designated as tampers would accomplish the task manually, making sure the ballast was under the ties, and that the rail was straight and level. These machines made the process faster and more reliable. This was even more important when concrete ties came into use. These ties are much heavier than wood and are more difficult to handle manually.
At the most basic level, a tamping machine packs the ballast under the ties while holding onto the rails with rollers/grasping arms, and are used where the ties have sunk or are starting to sag, causing the roadbed to sink and rise when trains pass over this area. They often work with other machines such as ballast regulators and track liners, as well as a small army of section crews.
Ballast tampers are used throughout the modern world by almost every railroad to insure a smooth ride for both passengers and freight.Joe will discuss how he built the model from styrene sheets and resin castings from his own molds. This is not a glamorous piece of rolling stock and therefore not typically seen on most model railroads. This might be something to consider for your layout. Furthermore, scratch building is a great way to add a unique piece of equipment, and seeing the results is very gratifying.
The second clinic will be presented by Barry Rosier of the New Jersey Division titled “CAD Structure Drawings Using SketchUp Free.”
All attendees are encouraged to bring a model to the meet to display and discuss, if you like, during our Show & Tell session. Make sure to include your name and description of your project.
In addition, the Achievement Program Committee is now judging models at the meets. If you wish to have a model judged, please inform either Earl Paine or Joe Walters in advance of the meet.
As usual we’ll hold our 50/50 raffle, draw for door prizes, and offer coffee, donuts, and Philly soft pretzels.
The afternoon fare consists of three impressive division member layouts, one of which is not in the November Open House event and open only to meet attendees. Maps will be available at the meet. For other layouts see ModelRailroadOpenHouse.com. Hope to see you there!
