CONTEST PAGE

Wood has been an important part of railroads from the very beginning. The wooden ties and even wooden rails with metal bands on top of the rails so trains had something to run on. Wood was used to build the cars, both freight and passenger. Wood has been and still is a major commodity that the railroads transport. The subject matter for the October Contest was loads from the wood industry. There were over a dozen entries in the contest with wood just out of the forest to the finished product represented as loads on rail cars. Winning entries in the models found a first time participant, Rick Tall, taking first place. Joe Kurilec took second place with his entry and Ken Orchard logged a third place win. Diorama entry winners were Joe Filipiak with a lumber mill scene. John Puch reached out from an island in the Atlantic to enter his work that came in second place. Thank you to everyone who entered an item in the contest and to all those who voted for their favorites.

The November Contest is a tip of the hat to the resourcefulness of the short line, backwoods railroads to meet a need. The railroads needed to move people and materials but neither were in great quantities. Their solution was to take half the seats out of a passenger car, build a dividing wall (out of wood) and use the open space to haul freight. These cars were referred to as combine cars. Bring in your version of a combine car, whether it's straight out of a box or kit bashed or even scratch built. Let's see what you've got. Remember, the dioramas are not mini layouts, they are simply a railcar in a small environment scene. Well, now that the cold winds and rain are upon us, we can find time to do something that's really fun, model railroading. Remember, a little model railroading a day keeps the doctor away, unless, of course, you are a doctor.

Pictures from October Meeting: