New England Chapter News
Your 2012 Membership Renewal was due before January 1
Renewal notices were mailed to you separately (if you receive The East Wind electronically) or with your East Wind by mail on September 30. Please mark any changes on the form and return it in the envelope provided with your $15 check to continue your membership. If we did not receive your renewal, your membership benefits ended December 31. If you can't find your renewal bill, please use a new member form.
Membership for 2012 is up to 83 as of January 22, 2012. Of this, 74 are renewals, 2 joined this year, 7 joined in the fourth quarter of 2011, and 1 is honorary. Of them, 49 are Society members. We encourage all our members to join PRRT&HS
Membership Growth
Membership for 2011 ended the year at 110. Of this, 81 are renewals, 3 joined in the fourth quarter of 2010, 25 joined in 2011, and 1 is honorary. Of them, 58 are Society members.
Winter East Wind
Volume 8, Number 2 was emailed to online members on January 3 and was mailed to paper members on January 4. Articles cover a 1952 financial analysts' trip, the bridge in Whitford, Pa., and The Metroliners.
Upcoming Events
POSTPONED DUE TO SNOW – To be rescheduled
Saturday, January 21 – Operating Session – Pennsy Day
South Shore Model Railway Club – Hingham, Massachusetts
Sponsored by the SSMRC, this operating session focused on the PRR will give us a chance to run a variety of PRR equipment on the club's spacious HO layout. The club will be open from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Bring your DCC-equipped PRR equipment. Members running DCC equipment should de-consist their locomotives before running them on the layout. The club uses a Digitrax system. If you have Digitrax controllers, please bring them. The club is located in Building 51 of Bare Cove Park, 19 Fort Hill Street, Hingham. For directions to the club, visit www.ssmrc.org.
Saturday, March 10, 2012 – Model Railroading Event
SPRING TRAINing Clinics and Model Railroad Show – Holiday Inn, Taunton, Mass.
This annual event sponsored by the HUB Division of the NMRA features clinics from fundamental to advanced, dealer tables, and operating layouts. Noted modeler, John Pryke, is the featured clinician. It runs 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $6 for 12 and up. For more information about the show, visit www.hubdiv.org.
Saturday, March 17, 2012 – Spring Chapter Meeting
Providence Northern Model Railroad Club, Warwick, RI
This operating session will give us a chance to run a variety of HO-scale PRR equipment on the club's new 35 by 60 ft. layout with a 400 ft. double track mainline. Don't model in HO, come anyway. Chapter members will provide you an HO PRR train to operate. We'll arrive around 11:30 am, order in lunch for our our brief business meeting, then run trains along side PNMRC members for the rest of the day. The layout is DCC, so make sure any equipment is "de-consisted" before you arrive or that all units in your consist have the same unit address. For directions to the club, visit www.providencenorthern.org.
Saturday, April 21 – Informal Chapter Meeting
O-Scale Trains and Videos at Lew Schneider's – Waban, Mass.
Chapter member Lew Schneider has an O-scale hi-rail layout with a collection of PRR equipment (E6s, K4s, M1, T1, GG1, FP7). He invites members to arrive at his home at 3pm, play trains, watch PRR videos, and take some O-scale PRR publicity photos. Afterwards, the group will adjourn for an optional dinner of burgers and ice cream at Cabot's in Newton, Mass. Please let Lew know if you are coming by email to lewrail@comcast.net no later than April 15 and he'll give you the address and directions.
The PRR GG1 was arguably one of the finest electric locomotives ever built. Produced from 1934 to 1943, it was powerful, reliable, easy on track, and able to move trains at 100 miles per hour. It pulled passenger and freight trains well into the 1980's and many are saved in museums across the country.
PRR photo
