SHMRRC Minutes for the Monthly Meeting
Date: August 27, 2024 

The meeting was held at Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church, President Jeff Graybill presiding. 

Attendees:
           Jeff Graybill, President     
Dave Bodnar, Treasurer
Rich Aubel, Secretary
Dave Murphy
Dave Maynard
Dale Vilsack
Bud Brock
David Damp
John Kolonay
Bill Davies
Ray Farabaugh 

 
 Presidents Report:
The Greenberg Train show went very well.  We were able to combine with Div 2 modules to make our complete loop with their wye and the trains ran well all weekend.  We were given a $150 stipend from the show operators. 

 
We are still waiting on a definite date for the Mt. Lebanon show but we are assuming based on past years that it will be the first or second weekend of December.

 
Locomotion Weekend at the Science Center is scheduled for January 18th and 19th, 2025 with setup on Friday, January 17th

After some discussion, we decided to propose to the Carnegie Library a show date of Friday, April 4th and Saturday, April 5th with setup on Thursday, April 3rd.  We will contact the library to confirm these dates. 


 
Treasurers Report:
Total amount in the treasury is $5,862.25 which includes $5,152.25 in checking and $710.00 cash on hand.  These totals do not include the $150 stipend from the Greenberg Show. 

 
Program:
Dave Bodnar reported on the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in Cass, West Virginia.  The park is about a 4 hour drive south.  They have a four and a half hour train ride as part of the logging railroad attraction. 

Dave also brought in a 10 to 60 volt DC Motor Speed and Direction Controller which cost $7.99 on Amazon and could be combined with a power source to control a DC railroad layout.  In addition, he brought some super strong disc magnets that have many uses on a model railroad.  

Dave passed around a 3D printed dinosaur that he made with the new 3D printer which was discussed at the last meeting. 

Bud Brock reminded everyone about the Narrow Gauge Convention at the Marriott Hotel in Greentree for the weekend of September 11th to 14th.  Discounted tickets can be purchased through the Div 2 website (https://www.keystonedivision.org/). 

John Kolonay had some questions about replacing couplers on freight cars.  Members provided information regarding coupler types, mounting suggestions, and body mounted versus truck mounted couplers. 

Ray Farabaugh passed around a replica of a cardboard train set which was suggested as being printed during WWII due to lack of metal at that time. 

As a wrap up of the introduction to scratch building program, Rich Aubel passed around some file folders that he uses to keep scratch building materials sorted for easy access. 

Next Meeting:

The next SHMRRC meeting will be at the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church at 7:00 pm on September 24, 2024.