The meeting for January 2009 was called to order January 3rd in the historic Moody Depot by Club President Wiley Starnes at 10:35.

Membership attendance was light with many members still participating at the extended Mayborn Museum display. As a result, an inquorate meeting was held. The minutes for December’s 2008 business meeting were presented.

The Treasurer’s report was submitted and read.

Old Business

Ed Neill reported that the club will hopefully have the new bylaws and constitution for February’s business meeting.

The Waco Train show will be held the weekend of January 10th.

The RRHM will be hosting a hobby day from 1000-1400 on January 17th.

New Business

Wylie Starnes announced:

– Ed Neill will continue to chair the Building Committee.
– Betty Neill will continue as Inventory Committee Chair.
– Bill Lancaster will continue to serve as Librarian, Stationmaster, and Bylaw Committee Chair.
– Mike Cleveland will no longer serve as Vice President or Clinic Chair.

Bradley Linda said he had been contacted by a private party interested in donating a train order signal to the club. The prospective donor has offered to deliver the signal to the depot. Bradley will develop an estimate for restoring the signal and Ed Neill will contact the city of Temple to discuss display opportunities.

Wylie Starnes announced that the Board of Directors would meet after today’s business meeting to make the Waco Train Show and extended Mayborn Museum display official club activities.

Wylie Starnes declared the meeting adjourned at 11:01.

The meeting for November 2008 was called to order November 1st in the historic Moody Depot by Club President Wiley Starnes at 10:30.

The minutes for October’s 2008 business meeting were presented. The following corrections were noted:

• “Dan Ladd that all of the …” should read “Dan Ladd reported that all of the …”
• “There were twenty-four votes for, one against, and one spoiled ballot. The proposed changed to the Articles of Incorporation passed.” should read “There were twenty-three votes for, one against, and one spoiled ballot. The proposed change to the Articles of Incorporation passed.”
• “Wiley Starnes made a motion to raise the club dues from $50/year to $100/year effective January 1, 2009.” should read “A motion was made and seconded to raise the club dues from $50/ year to $100/year effective January 1, 2009.”

Ron Miller made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected and Mike Ross seconded. The motion passed.

The Treasurer’s report was submitted and read.

Old Business

Wiley Starnes reminded everyone that The Texas Association of Downtowns will be meeting in Temple on Wednesday, November 12th. Approximately 75 attendees will be visiting the club from 1-4 PM. Contact Wiley if you can help operate layouts for this special open house.

By-Laws – Bill Lancaster said they are still waiting to receive the new bylaws from the attorney.

Building Committee – Ed Neill had nothing to report.

Ed Neill reminded everyone on Noel Cowling’s behalf of the two upcoming Santa Fe facility tours. Only three vehicles can be used per tour. Maps were made available to those that desired them. Participants will meet at the North end of the BNSF yards at 09:00 on the tour days. If you have any questions, call Noel.

Inventory Committee – Betty Neill said each scale will be asked to review and verify their inventory in January.

Clinics – Mike Cleveland was not present to report.

Train Show – Wiley Starnes appointed Jim Bush as 2009 Train Show Chairman. Ron Miller withdrew his motion to extend pre-registration vendor table pricing to vendors that had reserved and paid for 2008 show tables. Bradley Linda made a motion for pre-registration pricing to be extended to all vendors registrations received or postmarked prior to March 15, 2009. Ron Miller seconded. There were fourteen votes for and five against. The motion passed.

Jim Bush said he thinks future train show chairs should be appointed in November instead of waiting until January as in the past. He also suggested that a train show contingency plan be developed in the event that something conflicts with the successful execution of the train show. He also suggested that while the club membership should vote on table and admission pricing for future shows, that other decisions related to show operation be left to the train show committee.

Baylor Show – Please contact Ron Miller if you are available to help load up on November 20-21 and with setup starting November 24th at 09:00 at the Mayborn Museum on the Waco Campus. They have been working just about every day at Ron’s church to prepare for the show. Give Ron a call if you would like to help.

Wiley Starnes discussed a needed correction to the September Special Meeting minutes and read the revised minutes. Ron Miller made a motion to accept the corrected minutes to show the result of the vote as twenty-three votes for, one against, and one spoiled ballot. Ed Neill seconded and the motion passed.

Wiley Starnes reminded everyone of the Christmas Dinner on December 4th at Raymond’s in Lorena. Dinner will begin at 1800 and be followed by a business meeting and a White Elephant Gift Exchange starting at 1900. Gifts should be $10 or less. Members should be sure they have signed up to attend the dinner and how many will be in their party. Contact Wiley if you didn’t get a chance to sign up.

Ed Neill reported they were still investigating Director and Officer insurance coverage.

New Business

Wiley Starnes announced he would be hosting an open house for his home layout from 1800-2000 on December 5th and 6th.

Wiley Starnes said he had flyers available for the January Waco Train Show. Please see Wylie if you are interested in helping hand these out.

Wiley Starnes announced that the Board of Directors would meet after today’s business meeting.

The RRHM is sponsoring a Hobby Day on January 17th, 2009. Wiley Starnes said he will get more information as it becomes available.

Bradley Linda made a motion for the HO group to be allowed to run the HVAC as necessary on November 8th and 29th. Joe Pyland seconded and the motion passed.

Joe Pyland made a motion to adjourn and Randy Hiersig seconded. The club adjourned at 12:00.

The N Scale group met on October 18, 2008 to discuss a direction and build plan for the N Scale permanent layout.

Scenery

The layout was divided into two areas – the Colorado timber area and incline that covers the hidden staging yard and the main layout area.

The Colorado timber area and incline will be set in the 1930’s. Some of the scenery ideas for this area were:

• Rock Quarry
• Sawmill
• Bunkhouses
• Company Store
• Office building in old XM along ROW

The main layout area will be set in the 1980’s and have an overall Southwestern Colorado feel. Scenery and industry options discussed by area of the layout were:

• Northeast Corner – Build a coal loader/conveyor going off layout to service coal trains coming out of hidden staging. Mike Ross’s coal mine modules and a turnaround could also be setup off the NTRAK interface to increase operating possibilities.
• North Side – Build a lift out or swing bridge to make it easier to access the center of layout.
• Northwest Corner (Roundhouse and Turntable Area) – The club already has a second 6-stall roundhouse kit to be built. The proposed third set of six roundhouse tracks could be represented as stalls under construction or a foundation only with tracks representing a portion of the roundhouse torn down.
• Northwest Corner – A railfan scene and Dari-Kreme on an overlook of the curve was proposed.
• West Side – A diesel service facility is being worked on by Bill Lancaster. It was proposed to add eight feet of backdrop with building flats and a track to increase switching opportunities. It was also suggested to add a car shops to the South end of the service facility.
• Southwest Corner – Add pieces of Plexiglas to the front of the layout to protect the town area and finish the town as is. Install a highway overpass over the NTRAK interface. Build a grain elevator across the tracks from the town to also serve as a scenic divider between the main layout and the yard area. This will require a turnout for a siding to serve the elevator.
• Southeast Corner – Build a power plant to function as a scenic divider between the main layout and the yard area.
• East Side – Ballast the track and finish the scenery consistent with the rest of the layout.
• Yard Area – Paint the track grimy black and rail brown and add towers. Rig a blue colored curtain to hang between the main layout area and yard area during operating sessions.

DCC and Wiring

The club has received the Digitrax Super Chief system and needs to install three UP5 Loconet Panels: (1) Inside E, (1) Outside W, (1) Yard area.

A wiring interface to the layout using flush-mount 2-position cinch jones plugs needs to be built to enable switching between Analog DC, Digitrax, and EZDCC systems. An adapter will be required to allow a DCC command stations to control up to five tracks (Red, Yellow, Blue, Mountain, Yard).

Track Plan

Two sets of crossover turnouts to service the yard tracks need to be installed. Just a little bit more is needed to finish wiring the yard.

Peninsula Track Plans

The peninsula adapter has been built and needs to be installed. Three concepts were discussed for the inter-changeable 2’x8’ peninsulas:

• Union Station Passenger
• Intermodal Yard
• Industrial Area

Track plans will need to be designed for each of these themes. The benchwork has already been built.

If you have any other ideas or comments, please see Randy Hiersig, N Scale Coordinator.

The meeting for October 2008 was called to order October 4th in the historic Moody Depot by Club President Wiley Starnes at 10:47.

The minutes for September’s 2008 business meeting were presented. Trace Bowen made a motion to accept the minutes as read and Joe Pyland seconded. The motion passed. The Special Meeting minutes for September 2008 were also presented. Joe Pyland made a motion to accept the minutes as read and Trace Bowen seconded. The motion passed.

The Treasurer’s report was submitted and read. The 2008 Train Show Financial Report was submitted and read.

Old Business

By-Laws – The attorney working on this project has been sick and the board is still waiting to receive these.

Building Committee – Ed Neill had nothing to report.

Library – Bill Lancaster had nothing to report.

Inventory Committee – Betty Neill had nothing to report.

Clinics – Mike Cleveland had nothing to report.

Train Show – Dan Ladd that all of the vendor table fees have been refunded except for four vendors pending correct current address information. He also said that any club members seeking a refund for pre-sale tickets should see him.Noel Cowling volunteered to serve as co-chair for the 2009 Train Show Committee.Next year’s show is scheduled for September 19-20, 2009.

Baylor Show – Ron Miller met with the Mayborn Museum on October 1st. They have space for a 12×40 foot HO Layout, a 12×44 foot N Scale Layout, 22×32 O Scale Layout, and a 24×48 G Scale Layout. There is also some space for the Kiddie Layout and a small Z Scale Layout.

The plan is to load up on November 20-21 and then begin setting up on November 24th at 09:00 at the Mayborn Museum on the Waco Campus. Daily running will begin on November 29th for three weeks with tear down starting on December 22nd. Please contact Ron if you are available to assist with setup, teardown, and/or daily operations.

Noel Cowling reminded everyone of the two Santa Fe facility tours. He has eleven people signed up for the November 8th tour and twelve people signed up for the November 22nd tour. The club has to provide its own transportation and only three vehicles can be used per tour. Participants will meet at the North end of the BNSF yards at 09:00 on the tour days. If you have any questions, call Noel.

New Business

Nancy and Joseph Lathrop and their sons Benjamin and Timothy submitted their application for membership. Benjamin models in HO.

The results of the September Special Meeting ballot were announced. There were twenty-four votes for, one against, and one spoiled ballot. The proposed changed to the Articles of Incorporation passed. The club will pursue 501(c)(3) status.

The Texas Association of Downtowns will be meeting in Temple on Wednesday, November 12th. Approximately 75 attendees would like to visit the club from 1-4 PM. See Wiley Starnes if you can help operate layouts for this special open house.

Craig Lancaster had a heart attack but has quickly recovered.

The deadline for RRHM Railfan Weekend Registration has been extended to October 9th. Anyone interested in helping out with the CentraMod open house portion of the weekend on Saturday, October 11th from 12-2 PM should see Dan Ladd.

Bob Winter said he has the Beverly and Allen Flenge’s old model railroad equipment. Anyone interested in these items should contact Bob.

Wiley Starnes asked for anyone interested in serving on the Board of Directors to see him.

Ron Miller reported that Reliant Energy contacted his church about signing a two-year contract for electricity with no demand charge. With the approval of the Board of Directors, Ron signed CentraMod up for the same two-year plan which amounts to 11.8 cents/kwh with no demand charge. There is a 60-day period in which to cancel the contract after receiving the first bill.

Ed Neill said he would research how much it would cost to add directors and officers liability coverage to the club insurance policy.

Joe Pyland made a motion to adjourn and Mike Ross seconded. The club adjourned at 12:04.