We meet again on Thursday, May 17, 2001 at 07:00 p.m.

We will still be at the JOHN C. WOOD Municipal Center, which is located at 3730 Old Lee Highway just behind the Fairfax City Police Station. We’ll be in Room #1 and the meeting will start at 07:00 p.m.

We were very pleased to have Mike Solly, Chairman for the LOTS National Convention appear at our April meeting and inform the club on the activities planned for the LOTS (Lionel Operating Train Society) convention planned for August in Baltimore. Mike also addressed some concerns that various members had governing the logistics of the event at the Baltimore Civic Center. To ease congestion at the loading docks, tracker Mike Fistere offered the club the use of his panel truck to transport modules from a central meeting point. Ed Beaver will be coordinating this activity and will have more information by the June newsletter.

The first joint exhibition by the Trackers and the Crescent Model Railroads (a local hi-rail club) took place the weekend of April 28-29 at the B&O Railroad Museum. The final configuration consisted of two independent layouts thus eliminating the problem between module height, electrical connections, and two versus three mainlines. It was a great weekend for both groups. The Crescent Model Railroads got the opportunity to exhibit at the B&O Railroad Museum and to interact with the Trackers.

The Trackers, had the pleasure of getting to know the hi-railers a little better and both clubs benefited from the event. Already talks are underway to do more joint appearances in the future.

A big thanks to Ted Rabusseau of both the Trackers and the Crescent Model Railroader who served as Trackmaster for the hi-railers and Joel Wasserstein of the Trackers who acted as Trackmaster for our club.

There have been some changes at the B&O Museum since last year’s All Aboard Days. The William Mason (a.k.a. The Wanderer from the Wild, Wild West movie,) has been renumbered and will henceforth be known as B&O #25. And it looks great.

And so did the double loops on the turntable. The Trackers shared the roundhouse with the Crescent Model Railroaders, thanks to Ted Rabusseau, who suggested the "lash-up" when the calendar put the TCA York meet on the same weekend as the B&O event. Setup went smoothly, but trackmaster Joel Wasserstein earned a demerit for forgetting the donuts. The Tracker’s loop had modules from Rick Eudy, Richard Myers, Bob Wilson, Parks Schaeffer, Joel Wasserstein and Ed Beaver. C&O, B&O and Chessie dominated the rolling stock. The C&O 1604 Allegheny out in the museum yard was represented in miniature versions, courtesy of Claire Eudy and Parks Schaeffer. Bob Wilson combined his US Navy locomotive and consist with B&O Geeps and cabooses. Ed Beaver’s 5 Geep Chessie lash-up was particularly impressive, and was used to run an equally impressive consist of thirty-four freight cars and a caboose. Rich Myers brought his collection of Lionel centennial box cars, and a VERY impressive Lionel centennial SD-90. Rick Eudy ran his Railking Y6B with proto 2 sounds, an engine he fondly referred to as "scrubbing bubbles." (Listen to it the next time you see it run.) Joel Wasserstein managed to get his little Railking B&O 2-6-0 steamer to pull six Chessie freight cars and thirteen Lionel aquarium cars (Thanks, Clare, for loaning your Shed Aquarium car to this consist.) And Wes Rabusseau ran his collection of MTH construction cars. Late on Sunday afternoon, still recovering from York, Skip Scheetz joined fellow trackers in one of the quickest takedowns on record (50 minutes!.)

Over on the Crescent loop, Trackers Jim and Joanne Stapleton and Crescent trackmaster Ted Rabusseau combined their modules with Crescent Model Railroaders Gary Matthews, Chris Smith, Simon Cain, Bret Shook and Paul Joula. Other CMR’s in attendance were Garry Matthews, Sr, Kim Smith, Kelly Edwards, Ian Rabusseau and Andrew Joula. Jim Stapleton brought four of his yard modules from the USGS show and ran his MARC AEM-7 and commuter car consist. Other motive power included MTH’s Santa Fe DL-109, a Williams Brass Big Boy, a B&O steamer. One of the most impressive consists was their double-headed CSXt locos tugging sixteen fully loaded coal cars.

As the event came to a close, Ted Rabusseau noted that the two groups, despite their philosophical differences, had gotten along very well. "There were only two fistfights and no stabbings!" said Ted, tongue firmly in cheek. There was a lot of kidding around the groups’ ideological differences, and everyone had a great time running trains and interacting with visitors.

As always, the museum staff and volunteers were friendly and helpful, providing power, chairs, lunch, and anything else we requested. Many thanks to Skip Scheetz and Ed Beaver for their mentoring of this first-time trackmaster. And a special tip of the hat to Ted Rabusseau for rallying the Crescent Model Railroaders designing the two loop layout, making contact with the Museum Staff, and mailing out maps and layout diagrams to the participants.

We owe a big thanks to the Train Depot for printing our newsletters and brochures. Stop by their Manassas store for all your train needs and check out their very attractive and extensive Dept. 56 display. While you are there, say thanks to Dennis Driscoll.

-------------------------- 2001 ------------------------

May 20, Beltsville Day, Beltsville, MD (NCT is scheduled to appear)

June 02 Manassas Railway Festival, Manassas, VA (NCT is scheduled to appear)

June 08-10 Fairfax County Fair in Fairfax, VA (NCT is scheduled to appear)

July 21 Martinsburg Roundhouse Rail Day (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Aug. 3-4, LOTS convention at the Baltimore Civic Center (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Aug. 12, Montgomery County Fair, Fairgrounds (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Aug. 18-19, Greenberg Show at Capital Expo Center in Chantilly, VA (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Sept. 15-16, Culpeper Train Days (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Sept 23, Olde Towne Gaithersburg Day, Gaithersburg, MD (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Sept. 29, Fall for Fairfax at Fairfax Government Center, Fairfax, VA (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Oct. 6-7, Brunswick Railroad Days, Brunswick, MD (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Oct. 19-20, York TCA Meet

Dec. 01-02, Fairfax Station Train Show (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Dec. 22-31, B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore (NCT is scheduled to appear)

Dec. 29-30, Greenberg Show at Capital Expo Center in Chantilly, VA (NCT is scheduled to appear)

-------------------------- 2002 ------------------------

Apr. 19-20, York TCA Meet

Oct. 18-19, York TCA Meet

-------------------------- 2003 ------------------------

Apr. 11-12, York TCA Meet

Oct. 18-19, York TCA Meet

-------------------------- 2004 ------------------------

Apr. 16-17, York TCA Meet

Oct. 15-16, York TCA Meet

In May, plans are once again proceeding for the Greenbelt Day exhibit (Ed. We think its really Beltsville Day) on May 20th. We will again be in the same location with a 16 x 24 foot setup. Set-up at 8:00am; exhibits open at 11:00am. Brandon Seyfried is the Trackmaster.

Everyone knows that GM's Electro-Motive Division (EMD) made their mainline diesels in the "F" series with 4 wheel trucks and in the longer "E" series with 6 wheel trucks to support the additional passenger heating equipment.

Many may also realize that American Locomotive Company (ALCO) did this with their FA and PA series. Did you know that Baldwin also did this with their Sharknose series which were styled along similar lines to the Pennsylvania T-1 Steamers? Sharknoses were in use as late as 1958 on the Pennsylvania Railroad. (Cedco Publishing).

The fourth diesel builder was Fairbanks Morse known mostly for their Trainmasters in the 1950s. They built a series of mainline diesels which had rounded flat hood noses similar to the ALCO PAs but with a sharper curvature and aluminum ribbing on the nose sides to match the aluminum streamlined passenger equipment. These were assembled by GE Erie and were simply known as "Erie Builts". The units were rated at 2000 HP each so that an A-B-A combination would provide 6000 HP. The Milwaukee Road used them on their Olympian Hiawatha between Chicago and Seattle. (Withers Publishing).

At a recent business meeting, a member made an impassioned comment reflecting his views on a particular manufacturer's product as "junk". Perhaps it was a case of being overly enthusiastic about high end O-scale. Or perhaps it was a case of not thinking how it sounded to the many members who have that particular manufacturer's product in their collection.

One definition of "junk" might be unreliability. My particular experience with a 1996 $500+ product from one manufacturer that has required 4 repairs in 4 years to keep it running is one definition of fragile equipment or junk.

Another definition of "junk" is probably the lack of scale, prototypical features on the engines and rolling stock. But this is a matter of compromises. The National Capital Trackers realize we have made some collecting and operating compromises by failing, at times, to use ...
- 1:1 scale equipment
- scaled live steam, diesel-electric, or catenary power
- correct 1:24 scale equipment on our beloved Standard Gauge products
- only 2 rails with individually hand spiked steel rails and ties
- 256 inch diameter curves
- true 48:1 scale with prototypical rail heights, couplers, and wheel flanges
- consistency by mixing post war, MPC, and modern era O27, O31, near scale, and scale
- Etc.

I have noticed we all love trains in variety of forms. We each have particular areas in which we focus. I believe our strength is in championing our own interests without belittling other's interests. Bottom line is that since we are all compromisers, the National Capital Trackers has always welcomed all forms of 3 rail equipment on our layouts.

Please review this list of upcoming shows. We need a few more modules for some of them. Please contact the respective trackmaster if you can exhibit in these shows.

Signed up:
Skip Scheetz - 1 tee, 1 straight
Jack Frost - 3 straights
John Zampino - 3 straights
Bob Wilson - 2 straights
Steve Gobel - 1 straight
Keith Webb - 6 straights (yard)
Joel Wasserstein - 2 straights
Carl Condon - 2 straights
Ed Beaver - S curves or corners

We are pleased to welcome aboard Stephen Kehn and Dean Reesey who joined our club at our last meeting.

- For those who attended the Spring TCA meet in York, PA, one of the highlights was the hospitality offered by Tracker Jeff Battles who hosted members for coffee and donuts (donuts supplied by Carl Condon) in his new Winnabago RV (A condo on wheels). Thanks Jeff.

With their continued participation in Tracker events, Don Aston, Allen Crotts, Michael Fistere, and Richard Myers have moved from Passenger Status to Partner Class. Congratulations gang!

The Beltline is published 10 times a year on a monthly basis excluding the months of July and August. Its purpose is to provide notices of timely events, and information to its members. All inquiries, questions, and submissions should be addressed to the editor at: National Capital Trackers c/o Bill Buschmeier 15145 Wetherburn Dr. Centreville, VA 20120-3925 or e-mail at bush9@erols.com