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Badgerland S Gaugers News

"…. A social club for the promotion of model railroading—
especially S gauge including American Flyer, hi-rail, scale
and other facets...

Badgerland S Gaugers Charter

A. Doty, D. Goeke, D. Goeke, D. Goeke, J. Goeke, M. Goeke,
D. Kloes, L. Lechner, S. Lunde, J. Madden, L. Marotz, R. Meissner,
B. Nelson, K. Pilon, C. Porter, R. Puls, R. Schlicht, R. Shimon, D. Stoll,
F. Vergenz, R. Wade, J. Young.

Jeff Madden opened the December Christmas party of BSG. He filled in for Dave Smukowski who is recovering from recent knee surgery. This would have been Dave’s last BSG general meeting as the incumbent, seven consecutive terms, president of the Badgerland S Gaugers. Unfortunately he fell two years short of Jim Brown’s nine consecutive year mark. (Jim also served two other years for a total of eleven terms.) The word "terms" is often used for prison sentences. Let’s see now, there’s being the BSG president and there is being in prison. What’s the difference.) I’m sure in hindsight, that Dave was not crushed by the thought of not breaking Jim Brown’s long-standing record.

Jeff mentioned some of the Christmas movies that are currently running on television that have trains in them.

(Editor’s Note: If you really want to get a flavor for the trains of the past, just stay tuned to Turner Classic Movies. I recently viewed a couple flicks on the tube. Most films with train scenes are in black & white, but you do see the railroad mode of transportation shown in its entire splendor. What a way to travel. Admittedly it took a longer time to reach your destination, but the accommodations in the diner cars and the lounge cars were just spectacular. The Alfred Hitchcock film "North by Northwest" with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, wow what scenery. And the train stuff was pretty good too. This movie has a lengthy passenger train scene in it.)

The Christmas Meeting gives us a really good excuse to have a short meeting. This means you will have less bathroom material in this newsletter. Dick Kloes, Jeff Young and Ron Schlicht gave a very brief swap meet report. Dick could still use a body or two on swap meet days. This would apply to those of you who are early Sunday morning risers, around 6:30am.

Ron Schlicht is handling the State of Wisconsin, Department of Revenue Tax Issue. The panic is over. The sky is not falling. The eminent death of the small club swap meets will not happen. Exactly how or why this all started, is of little or no relevance. It simply boils down to BSG filling out a form listing the names of all sellers at our events. That spread sheet has to be sent via U.S Postal Service or email to the Department of Revenue in Madison. This falls under the rules for Temporary Events and is not a big deal for our club. Most of our vendors are "Mom & Pop" dealers who sell under $1,000.00 dollars per year. This means that no tax numbers or sellers permits are required. There is also no need for the collection of sales tax. Of the dealers who sell over the $1,00.00 amount per year, those have tax numbers and report their income anyway. Our only obligation is to submit the list of names within ten days of each event. If we fail to do this we (BSG) are subject to a $200.00 fine for the first offense and $500.00 for subsequent events. Some small swap meets in the area have received notification from the state. The Lionel club is also complying with this directive. There are a few other tax issues that will be coming up prior to Fall S Feat 2008. The BSG officers and directors will handle these issues and the results will be reported at subsequent meetings. No lengthy general meeting discussions, filled with uninformed speculation, are necessary. Thank God.

Ron also gave a report on the donation of model railroad stuff given to our club a couple of swap meets ago. This has turned into a significant amount, which will be going into our treasury.

Rick Wade has gotten an ad for our swap meets placed on the Time-Warner Channel 96 community link message board for the Racine and Kenosha areas. Time-Warner has eliminated this service in the Milwaukee area.

Art Doty gave no report at this meeting, in order that everyone could feast at the buffet, which was set up for the meeting.

Doug Stoll gave a brief report on the new BSG website. If you have not checked it out recently, it changes on a weekly basis. We will be adding Fall S Fest 2008 information in the near future.

The meeting was adjourned. This was one of the shortest meetings in club history.

I hope that Steve is unaware of our no term limit policy. Our members are already practicing the usual chant of "Two more years", "Two more years",

What a surprise and he ran against "Unopposed" and absolutely annihilated he, she or it. (Say that fast three times.)

23 years and still the reigning, undefeated and unopposed, BSG light-headed, secretary and newsletter editor, champion, RRRRon……Sccchhhlicht.

This is Ray’s first election to a BSG club office. It’s only three years, or so he thinks.

Call Ron Schlicht, if you wish to host a General Meeting. There is no specific criterion for hosting a meeting. Weekday evenings, Saturdays or Sundays are acceptable. If you want to schedule for next year it’s not too early.

*We try to keep away from a BSG swap meet Sunday, but that might be unavoidable.

Jim Starosta hosted the December annual Christmas meeting of the Badgerland S Gaugers. The long awaited pool table move had taken place earlier and much of his railroad memorabilia was on display. The BSG membership once again assisted in making the "final" and I repeat "final", move of Jim’s layout. The six-foot by twenty-foot layout only took a short journey this time, of six inches or so in two directions toward the South West. With all of the food and drink on hand, there was an added incentive to get this task completed. The move being only a short distance, very few of the 3,700 plus little people, suffered injuries. No fatalities were reported. Prior to the meeting his 45-car train had a derailment and casualties were reported. Once again, thanks to Jim for hosting this annual event.

Remember the 50 LIRE Allied Military Currency note that I found in one of the books that was donated. Well just for the fun of it, I decided to auction it off at our meeting. I started the bidding at $1.00. If any of you were at the Fall S Fest banquet you will remember the friendly contest that took place on the first item. Well about the same thing happened at our gathering. We made more than expected. It was certainly entertaining and added to the BSG treasury.

After the meeting we were treated to a slide show presentation by Jeff Madden & Chuck Porter. Both featured many pictures of the layouts that they visited while at the NASG convention this past year. There were also many shots from some of their rail fanning visits to the area museums. You can always get a railroad history lesson, when you watch one of Chuck Porter’s presentations. It is always fun to have some form of presentation at our meetings. We thank them both for the entertainment that they provided.

Every meeting should have videos, slide shows, clinics or talks on either model railroading or real railroading subjects. Our club is always open to guest speakers. If any of our members have any ideas or guest speakers in mind, just line them up for a future meeting. By the way any BSG member who would like to give a clinic, feel free to call your BSG newsletter editor.

We also had a couple of guests at our meeting. Marty Moskoph who is an S gauge enthusiast and Michael Wade. Mike (Rick Wade’s son) is readjusting to the 18 inches or so, of snow that Kenosha County experienced this past week. Going form 140 degrees in Iraq to single digits at home is a bit of a shock. Mike is up for the awarding of the Purple Heart as a result of injuries he sustained as a result of a car bomb. I’m sure that he is glad to be home. Thank you Mike.

For those of you with computers, please, please go to our website. It is really good and is updated all of the time. If you want information of the Mad-City show there are links. Just go under Public show events. There is now so much information on our site you don’t have to call me anymore to find out what is going on in our club. If you want to see pictures of some of our member’s layouts like Chic Hartert’s in Oconto, you only have to click on scale layouts. Perhaps some day all of our member’s layouts will be on the site. All of the BSG members that have visited the site have been raving about it. Perhaps if we needed a spark to energize us, the BSG website is it.

I hope that everyone had a joyous Holiday Season. I hate using the term Holiday Season. The 4^th of July is a holiday, Memorial Day is a holiday. In December I celebrate Christmas. So now I’ve probably offended someone, so what’s new? Last year with the house being renovated, I had the largest red dumpster that I have ever seen parked in my driveway. I put lights on it and a Santa inside and converted it to the biggest Santa’s sleigh that you have ever seen. This year I added a train to my normal, pagan outside decorations. I felt it was much more appropriate than last years decoration.

Thanks to Jeff Madden for the CTT’s that he donated at the last swap meet, I sold all but one. Gene Linden has donated two, new, in the box, Plasticville Trestle sets. These are for sale at our swap meets.

The Badgerland S Gaugers received a Happy Holidays greeting and a complimentary bottle of Challenger Smoke Fluid from Fred Jester of Fred’s Train Parts. This will be for use at the model railroad shows that we attend. This is not to be used for consumption by anyone other than an American Flyer engine. It might not be able to be used in Madison however. Someone was offended by it and we were asked not to use it. Yes this is fact in Madison, WI, the city of the perpetually offended. My concern that after the smoking ban, and perhaps the trans-fats ban, they will come with the beer ban and I will have nothing to live for. How could you rewrite a song for a Big Mac using tofu ingredients?

I will be repeating the following message in subsequent newsletters, since many of our member’s donations have resulted in a generous sum being added to the BSG treasury.

If you have any items like old issues of Classic Toy magazines, S Gaugians or other model train related items that you no longer have need for, you might think about donating them to our club.

Jim Starosta gave me a great tip for stripping parts. He takes a half-gallon plastic milk container and cuts a rectangular hole on one of the sides by the handle. You now have an excellent container for stripping paint from desired items. (I use brake fluid.) One of the nice things about the container is that you have a nice handle on it. Also when you remove the cap, you have an easy drain through which you can empty the container and strain the fluid for reuse. The rectangular shape gives it a level surface to rest on and the size is about right for an AF car body.

I know that everyone has his or her favorite helpful hints site. Here is one that I’m sure that you have all gone to, but I think that it is worth repeating. It’s the Port Line Hobbies site. Some times wading through a site can be tedious. I typed in Soldering American Flyer Track and the number 2 listing read AMERICAN FLYER with tips listed under the title. Open this and you will get 31 repair tips. I then set it as a favorite. If there are additional sites let me know. I personally do not enjoy surfing the net.

The 13,219 record attendance on Saturday is a mark that will be hard to top in the future. Let’s hope that that record is not a long-standing one. The over 21,000-attendance mark for the two day event is also very encouraging. Can model railroading be making a comeback?

I will be not be handling any of the modular layout details or be responsible for any of the necessary equipment being there. Dick Kloes is the modular layout chairman.

Joel Lebovitz and Wil Holt brought their modules and DCC system from Illinois. This worked well on the outside rail. With the size of the layout, it is imperative to have more than one train running around the track. Otherwise the layout has too much of a static look. The following comments will not make any friends for me.

Editors Opinion: There is talk of adding DCC to the modular layout. Before we start this project let’s not stick a lot of money into a layout with more serious deficiencies.

It has been mentioned "time and time again" that Dick needs a little help with the modular layout. The last show we ended up with a box that would not fit in Dick’s van or mine. Thank God that Ray Puls still had room in his truck.

Before I converted the 24 feet of S&S modules to a more child friendly layout, I maintained "two" sets of the corners. They had quaint little scenes on them, painted backdrops, and in general, had an attractive appearance. Now they look rather bleak. (I’m trying to remain charitable in my choice of words. Bleak is not the terms that I use at home in describing them now.) "One" set of corners would easily fit in the back seat of a mid-sized vehicle, perhaps even two sets. The corners need work and a volunteer to transport them to the two shows per year that the layout is setup at, Trainfest and Madison.

The following has also been mentioned in past newsletters. Dave Sengenberger who passed away a few years ago used to handle the stanchions. Dave was a fine gentleman who survived a lung transplant and had some other health related issues. In spite of all that, he volunteered to haul and set up the stanchions and rope barriers for the modular layout. They are also used only twice a year at Trainfest and Mad-City. This is a task that Dave performed well until he passed on. For setup and breakdown at a show, the process takes less than an hour. An individual only has to be there after the layout has been setup on the first day after 6:00pm or so and shortly before breakdown on the last day of a show around 4:45pm. All of the stanchions amount to three boxes. They could fit into a trunk or back seat of a mid-size automobile. Dick Kloes should not have to handle this task in addition to all of the other responsibilities of the modular layout. Room in his van for all of the BSG equipment is the major problem, not to mention storing it and hauling all of the equipment up and down his basement stairs. Dick is kind of an old fart.

Since I am no longer attached to the modular layout, I can sit back and critique it. If some BSG individuals do not wish help out and take part in any of the above tasks, in my humble opinion, the modular layout is destined to crash and burn. Some major decisions have to be made regarding its future. Heaven help the BSG modular layout, if some other organization with a really nice S gauge layout approaches Trainfest with a request to display their layout.

My major focus is on the small AF, Hi-Rail layout. For the second year in a row the small layout was featured on the local television stations for promoting Trainfest. (A lot of my friends stopped by and mentioned that they saw me on TV. Yes I still have some friends.) The layout being on TV has been a real honor and thanks to John Tews the name of the Badgerland S Gaugers gets real media play and more club exposure than we could ever ask for.

The day after Trainfest, I started on some revisions for subsequent shows. The small layout has its own set of stanchions now, which I haul. The small layout has made improvement for nearly every show since its introduction. It is a matter of pride. The small layout has progressed. The modular layout has regressed.

All of the information was given in the last newsletter regarding the Mad-City show February 17^th & 18^th being held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI. There will be a limited amount of "free" passes available. Those helping out will receive more information on getting in and out of the building and when to be there.

For more information on the show, go our website and click on Public Shows Events, then click on the poster. We will be setting up Friday, February 16^th. I will be there around 12:30pm.

I’m still peeved about the chirping UP Northern. Has anyone taken one apart yet to rectify the problem? Right now I’m too busy to attempt it, unless it is not that difficult. The last few locomotives that the Lionel Corporation has manufactured have had repair tips on how to improve their smoke units and their performance in general. Who wants to buy a product and then have to repair it, in order for it to perform properly? We all know what happened to the A.C. Gilbert Company when they started to turn out junk. But I will admit it looks great on a shelf. Big Deal.

Remember to send me your updated email addresses to insure that I change it on our group listing, add it to the newsletter and change it on the roster.

Lately it has been musical email addresses for our members. If I have noticed any trend it is that Road Runner is getting a lot more business. It is expensive though, but now I can bug you on the phone since I have unlimited long distance phone service.

If any of our members would like to receive the newsletter via email please contact Ron Schlicht via email.

If you are interested in using the For Sale column give me a call. I would like to limit the amount of different items to a maximum four per member.

I will list items under "Wanted" for two or three newsletters. Please contact me if you want a listing continued or it will be dropped. The same applies to the "For Sale" column. If you sell an item contact me so that I can remove it from subsequent newsletters.

I’ve asked for the same thing year after year with no response, so I’m not asking anymore. Santa has not been kind. This must mean that I am a bad boy. Perhaps he reads these mean spirited newsletters. I have nothing to report, as usual. By the way, in the past this column has worked for other members. If you really are looking for a particular item try this out for a couple issues. It’s free; it’s your newsletter.

I know of one individual who constantly attends to our swap meets and is looking for the Lionel (48020) Milwaukee Road GP-9 "304". The price guide lists them at $200.00. I think that they are worth a little more. I hope that he finds one. He is driving me crazy.

American Flyer Franklin Engine
#20 Coach, #30 Baggage, #40 Combine
Condition: Excellent Plus
$150.00
Harold Immekus
108 High Forrest Drive
Cedarburg, WI 53012
(262) 375-3775

American Flyer Docksider 21158.
This engine has won a box full of ribbons and has never been beat in the S Fest races.
Price $160.00 plus $7.50 shipping.
Glenn Eisenbrandt
435 W. Starin Rd.
Whitewater, WI 53190
920-723-1125

2004 Fall S Fest Cars
Milwaukee Road "Blue Ice" Reefer. Manufactured by S Helper Service
$45.00 each. *The BSG Club member discount price is $35.00 each.
Four car sets $160.00.
BSG members four car set $130.00
For details and car availability contact:
Ron Schlicht
5274 S. 49^th St.
Greenfield, WI 53220
Phone: (414) 421-8512
Email: rschlicht2@wi.rr.com

The Badgerland S Gaugers also have some past years Fall S Fest Cars For Sale, Year one through year ten and a couple others. Call me for pricing or information.

Any member who fails to pay their dues by January 31st shall be dropped from membership and receive no further correspondences from BSG.

Definitions of membership
Participating Member
Dues $20.00 per year.
1. Receives club newsletter.
2. Receives club membership discount card.
3. Has complete voting rights on all issues
4. May be in attendance at "all" general meetings
5. May attend all swap meets at "no charge".
6 Eligible for participation at club sponsored model railroad shows.
7. Receives BSG patch and membership badge.

Associate Member
Dues $10.00 per year
1. Receives club newsletter.
2. Has no voting rights on any issues.
3. May attend "one" general meeting per year.
4. Must pay admission to all club sponsored events.

*Must be accompanied or sponsored by a Full Participating Member. Junior members do not have voting rights.

Participating membership $20.00
Spouse membership $10.00
Family membership $35.00 *

*Family rate regardless of number of immediate family members. Immediate family member definition is: spouse and children under the age of 18.

All family members have full membership rights.
All family members will receive a club patch.
All family members will receive a membership badge. (Blue Pin)
All family members will receive a club membership card, which entitles them to full member privileges.

Make your check payable to: Badgerland S Gaugers
Send it to our Treasurer
Jeff Young
W150 N8329 Saxony Dr.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
=======================

For any new members who are interested in club hats or shirts
Contact Jeff Young.

If you "have not" received a club patch or a membership card
Contact Ron Schlicht.

The views and opinions expressed in the Badgerland S Gaugers newsletters are those of the editor, unless otherwise credited, and do not necessarily represent that of the club, it’s officers, directors, or the membership.

The Badgerland S Gaugers do not offer any warranties, guarantees, nor assume any liability from information contained in this publication.

2005/2006 FISCAL YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT		SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 TO AUGUST 31, 2006
EXPENSES	AMT.	INCOME	AMT.
BSG LIABILITY INSURANCE	$ 503.00	DUES COLLECTED	$ 1,470.00
NEWSLETTER PRINTING	$ 158.35	SWAP MEET INCOME	$ 4,176.00
NEWSLETTER POSTAGE	$ 256.79
NEWSLETTER SUPPLIES	$ 30.52	MISC. CLUB SALES R. SCHLICHT	$ 647.00
PICNIC	$ 232.42	TOTAL INCOME	$ 6,293.00
SWAP MEET HALL RENTAL	$ 2,450.00
SWAP MEET JOURNAL AD	$ 369.76	INCOME	$ 6,293.00
CHARITIES	$ 300.00	EXPENSES	$ 5,029.47
MEMBERSHIP BADGES	$ 92.60	NET GAIN	$ 1,263.53
BSG MEETING HOST STIPENDS	$ 125.00	BALANCE FORWARDED
BSG EQUIPMENT PURCHASES		IN SEPTEMBER OF 2006	$ 5,185.52
WESTPHALS,		THE ABOVE FIGURES COMPILED
S-HELPER STEAM ENGINE		BY R. SCHLICHT FROM BSG LEDGER
AMERICAN FLYER DOCKSIDER		NOTE
TRACK FOR PORTABLE LAYOUT	$ 417.09	SOME OF THE ENTRIES
MISC. EXPENSES		PAID IN SEPTEMBER 2006
POSTAGE, STICKERS, TABLE FEES		WERE FOR EXPENSES
HARDWARE, WI FEE, NASG AD	$ 93.94	INCURRED IN 2005/2006
TOTAL EXPENDITURES	$ 5,029.47	FISCAL YEAR