Page 4 - May June 1998

Paul D. Atkinson
President’s Car...
Congratulations
to members of British Region...
Why do I say that?
Well in the past twelve months our standing with Pete Moffat the Achievement Program Chairman has gone up by leaps and bounds.
This has been achieved by the number of AP certificates which have been issued to the Region. I am sure that those who read “Bulletin” (of course that means everybody!) will be aware that the Region gets a mention nearly every month. Well done to all those who have participated - I hope this will encourage more to participate in the future.
In February the NMRA membership rose by 32 but to achieve this required the recruitment of 279 new members, in other words 247 members fell by the wayside for one reason or another! Retention of members is of vital impor- tance so we must all do our best to per- suade any member in danger of derail- ing to renew at the appropriate time. With this in mind the BOD have or are hoping to put into place some ideas which we think will help.
Thanks to Steve’s efforts in America we have secured a number of NMRA new member folders which should be sent on first joining (I know you didn’t receive one - neither did I) but don’t seem to go out very often. Accordingly we are going to put our own pack together which hopefully will be more user-friendly and also provide more information concerning the way the Region is run.
After corresponding about model rail- roading since 1992 with a fireman in Columbia Tennessee, I accepted an in- vitation to visit him, in 1995 en route to the NMRA National Convention in Atlanta Ga. Such was the welcome from his family that my wife and I only managed two days in Atlanta, and since then we spend a vacation each year with them, mainly hunting down examples of surviving Louisville & Nashville (Ellen N) equipment.
This year’s prize capture was one of the last four CSX BQ23-7’s, #3001 in Family Lines colours.
On my return I felt that other members might want to visit Tennessee, particularly Nashville (country music) and Chattanooga, if only to see what HQ do with our subscriptions. (I couldn’t find the two bricks I’d paid for anywhere.) I decided to produce this guide to places I’ve used in search of the creature Genus:- ”Ferroequine.”
Railroad people in Tennessee are proud of their railroad and only too happy to show you around provided your approach is right. Always ask permission to enter railroad property, respect all private property notices, and you will avoid being invited on a trip downtown in a nice shiny police car. Remember “Think Safety” - the railroad jealously guards its safety record. It has to by law - You are a safety risk! With this in mind you should have no trouble obtain- ing good photos to help you.
The following guide starts with CSX - Nashville Area...
Two CSX subdivisions enter Nashville from the north.The Henderson runs 159 miles from Evansville to Nashville. This “HD” sees 14 scheduled trains, plus coal, grain and ore extras, per day. A good afternoon photo loca- tion is the long grade at Baker’s Hill, near the town of Ridge Top.
To reach Baker’s Hill go north from Nashville on US41 through Goodlettsville, and about 5 miles north of that town turn left onto Baker Station Road. It’s 1 mile to the mainline.
Next is the Mainline Sub. which runs 180 miles from Louisville to Nashville, with 12 daily scheduled trains, coal extras and second sec-
At the same time we have increased the size of the advert.’ in Continental Modeller, as I am sure you will have noticed. We were also at the Derby exhi- bition for our bi-annual visit. This is always a good source of recruits but having enrolled them I hope everybody will make a big effort to retain them, so any new member you meet please, please, make them welcome and assure them we really do want them aboard.
It is with regret that I received the resig- nations of two of our Officers a few weeks ago. Bernie and Betty Flower have been in office for a number of years and have given the Region sterling service: Betty with the Ladies Section and Bernie as the Eastern Region Representative and Member Aid Officer. The BOD wishes to acknowledge the effort and enthusiasm they brought to their posts and to thank them for all the hard work they put in.
Finally a plea to Editors of Divisional newsletters. Before going into print on matters concerning the running of the Region will you please check with a member of the BOD that the alleged facts are in fact correct, e.g. the Region doesn’t publish a set of annual accounts, when in fact they are pub- lished in “Roundhouse” in plenty of time for scrutiny before the AGM. This little courtesy would be much appreci- ated by the BOD.
Remember:
MODEL RAILROADING IS FUN
Rail
trading
Recently started by an escapee from the rat race intending to specialize in US Railroad Literature and (initially) N Scale Freight Stock.
Particular needs are to purchase:
1. General US Railroad Books
2. Back issues of Model Railroader, and... 3. Any Modelling Books
...so why not clear those overloaded bookshelves NOW.
Call John Bloom at Rail Trading by phone/fax/snail mail/anyday/anytime. We’re looking forward to hearing from you...!
26 Oxford Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 5EH. Tel/Fax: 01403 263026
4 ROUNDHOUSE
REDNECK