Whistles in the Woods
________________________________________________________________________
Published by Adirondack Live Steamers
OPERATING 6500 FEET OF TRACK IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ADIRONDACKS
7 ¼” GAUGE 1 ½” SCALE
OPERATING GAUGE 1 TRACKAGE FOR STEAM AND ELECTRIC
SAFETY FIRST
OCTOBER 2012
FALL MEET
Ben Maggi
Wow! What a great weekend we had
for our Fall Meet! It was so nice to see
everyone having a good time out on the
track, inside the station, and lounging on
the benches as train after train rolled by.
While there were moments on Saturday
when the weather drove us indoors for a
bit, thankfully it was around dinner time
anyway, and sixty plus people who
stayed for Pete Petrillose’s Roast Beef
dinner made it a loud and joyous
occasion. In fact, the wind from that
morning helped to keep the bugs away
and all morning and afternoon people
were out and about on the main line.
Friday and Sunday were just as inviting.
New this year was Steve Ianno’s
special house-recipe spaghetti and
homemade meatballs – a feat that he
accomplished with the able hands of Ted
Wilming and a few others. And our
numbers indicate that it was a very
popular meal. Frankly, I wouldn’t want
to roll dozens and dozens of the tasty
meatballs but Steve, who only joined us
a year ago, has jumped into ALS in a big
way. Rich Dean and Ben Maggi also
spent a bit of time in the kitchen just
making sure everyone was well fed.
Special thanks go out to Dan “Red”
Canfield for all of his tireless efforts in
keeping the riff raff out by the
gatehouse. Frankly we could use some
more volunteers down there in the future
as only a few people dropped down to
help him out, but he never stopped
smiling and was quick with an
interesting story. And a good thing he
was there, too, as we had dozens of
guests come and visit us: some from
local model railroad clubs, some just
friends or family of current ALS
members, and some who had visited us
years ago and wanted to see how we
were progressing. All left happy.
Train rides were given to anyone who
wanted one, and we would do well to
remember next year that people should
(Continued on page 7) See Fall Meet
*****
Next Meeting: Saturday, October 13, 10:00 AM
Nomination of Officers
Deadline for November Whistles in the Woods: Saturday, October 20
Same Day as Blowdown
Other Important Dates: See Last Page
Page 2
We had a good Fall Meet, with no rain until Saturday evening. The food
was very good both Friday and Saturday night. Thanks to Steve and his
crew for Friday night’s dinner, and to Pete Petrillose for the Saturday roast
beef meal.
We have two months to go to the end of the season, which means
elections of all offices will be open with the exception of one trustee who
will be the one who will create a list of any Regular member who wishes to
run for any office.
The road to the new tunnel is now complete. The next step is to clear out
the tunnel. I hope we can accomplish this step this year, and then we can
begin laying track.
The track seemed to be in good shape for the Fall Meet. Thanks goes out
to John Camerota, Dick Hosmer, Skip Densing, and Bill Eckert for their help
in keeping up with emergency track repairs during the Meet. Hopefully, we
can get more engines to our Meets next year.
Thanks to all who helped to make the Fall Meet 2012 a success.
Ray Dwyer
President
*****
At the September Meeting, the membership accepted two new members, and we are
happy to welcome them to our club.
Daniel Willis, of Porters Corners, NY joins us as a Regular member.
Keith Rupert, from Schaghticoke, NY has been accepted as an Associate member,
pending paying his dues.
There still remain a number of membership cards for 2012 in the clubhouse. If you
plan to attend Blowdown in October, please pick up yours.
Rich Dean
Membership Secretary
Page 3
BLOWDOWN 2012
Ken Nelson
NEWSLETTER OF THE
ADIRONDACK LIVE STEAMERS
CLUB TELEPHONE
(518) 583-2580
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Ray Dwyer
Phone: (518) 692-7001
E-Mail: ray@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Vice President: Mark Landgraf
Phone: (518) 456-7614
E-Mail: mark_landgraf@yahoo.com
Recording Secretary: Karl Pickles
Phone: (518) 587-5702
E-Mail: karl@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Treasurer: Ben Maggi
Phone: (585) 506-2680
E-Mail: ben#@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Membership Secretary: Richard Dean
Phone: (518) 656-9091
E-Mail: rich@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Director 2012: Ted Wilming
Phone: (518) 654-7108
E-Mail: ted@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Director 2013: Mike Petrillose
Phone: (518) 399-5441
E-Mail: mike@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Past President: Skip Densing
Phone: (518) 663-5507
E-Mail: skip@adirondacklivesteamers.org
NEWSLETTER
Whistles in the Woods
STAFF
Editor: Ken Nelson
Phone: (518) 377-7176
E-Mail: pocovalley@msn.com
Publisher: Pete Petrillose
Columnists: Ray Dwyer and Rich Dean
SUBMISSIONS: Whistles in the Woods welcomes
articles, news items, classifieds, digital photos,
and other contributions. Please contact any of
the staff.
WEB PAGE
Webmaster: Bill Eckert
Phone: (802) 226-7618
E-Mail: bill@adirondacklivesteamers.org
Website: adirondacklivesteamers.org
MEMBERSHIP
Anyone interested in joining the ADIRONDACK LIVE
STEAMERS should contact Membership Secretary Rich
Dean.
Phone: (518) 656-9091
E-Mail: deanelect@roadrunner.com
It is time again for our last gasp of the
season at ALS. On the weekend of
October 20 and 21, we will all get
together for one last official chance to
steam up, fire up, and give up thanks for
another wonderful season. Some of our
events this year have been more
successful than others, but we reach
again our last opportunity to have a good
time at the track. Let’s all hope for some
good weather and a great turnout as we
say goodbye to another year.
As of this writing, nothing is planned
for dinner on Saturday evening, but we
hope to see a majority of our
membership at the track for one or both
days. As always, rides will be available
for those who want them. Visitors,
accompanied by members, are always
welcome; perhaps you know of someone
who might be interested in membership.
In addition we frequently have visitors
from other clubs join us for one more
trip around the ALS trackage.
Plan now to come on out for our
season’s finale.
***
*****
ALBANY TRAIN SHOW
It is time to consider your role in the
Albany Train Show on December 2.
ALS will again have a table, and John
Camerota will head up our part in the
show. He will need your help. If you
would be willing to offer some
assistance, please contact John at 518928-2205,
or
by
email
at
jcamerota1@nycap.rr.com.
This is a great opportunity to
advertise our club, and to show the
capital district who we are and what we
do. Many of our members have come
from this type of publicity.
***
Page 4
A Brief Summary of the Highlights of the June Meeting
President Ray Dwyer called the meeting to order at 7:32 PM.
Secretary Karl Pickles read the minutes of the August meeting. They were accepted as
read.
Treasurer Ben Maggi presented his report. It was accepted.
In the absence of Membership Secretary Rich Dean, Ben Maggi presented the names of
two people who have applied for membership in the club. Daniel Willis as a Regular and
Keith Rupert as an Associate. Both were accepted for membership.
Old Business:
 Tunnel: Estimates for the new tunnel will be given to Don Buesing in the near
future. More information should be available for the October Membership
Meeting.
 President Ray Dwyer suggested that the wood planking under the transfer table
should be replaced with concrete. This could possibly be done at the same time as
the tunnel is poured. Several of the existing boards are swelling and hindering the
movement of the table. This will be further discussed at the October Meeting.
Fall Meet:
 Friday Night Dinner is being prepared by Steve Ianno and Ted Wilming with the
help of Mark Landgraf. The menu will be spaghetti and meatballs with sausage.
 Saturday Night Dinner is being handled by Pete Petrillose who has arranged a
caterer. The menu will be Roast Beef.
 We will run reverse direction on Friday until midnight.
 Anyone needing money for their department should see Charlie Pellock if Ben is
not available.
New Business:
 The question arose concerning ALS’s participation in the Albany Train Show at
the Empire State Plaza in December. The deadline for signing up for participation
by groups is rapidly approaching, and we need a chairman. After some
discussion, John Camerota offered to chair the event for ALS. He will need help
in transporting equipment, and manning the table. Please contact John at 518928-2205, or by email at jcamerota1@ nycap.rr.com if you are willing to help.
 Thanks to a demonstration in North Creek, we will have several visitors from
Canada sometime Saturday of Fall Meet.
The Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.
Page 5
NOMINATION OF OFFICERS
One of our responsibilities as a
member of ALS is to see that the club
has good leaders. This cannot be left up
to others. It is YOUR job. The next two
months will present your opportunity to
play your part and fulfill your
responsibility.
At the end of the October
Membership Meeting on October 13, the
Director 2013, Mike Petrillose, will
present a slate of officers for the next
year. These officers make up our Board
of Directors, and include our President,
Vice President, Recording Secretary,
Membership Secretary, Treasurer, and
Director. (The rest of the BOD is made
up of a second Director and the Past
President. These two offices are not up
for election.)
After Mike has presented his slate,
the floor will be opened for further
nominations. These nominations may
come from any member, Regular or
Associate,
but
there
are
two
requirements. The person nominated
must be a Regular member, and he or
she must give their consent to run.
If you know of a Regular member
whom you think would be a good
officer, speak with them, get their
consent, and nominate them.
At the end of the November
Membership Meeting on November 10,
we will have our annual election.
In many ways, these two meetings are
the two most important ones all year.
Please give serious thought as to whom
you would like to see serve on the Board
of Directors, plan now to attend both
meetings, and make your wishes known.
This is YOUR club. Don’t just sit back
and let others run it.
***
*****
Classified
For Sale
For Sale or Trade
Erie Burro Crane
Includes Crane, well detailed Idler Car,
and Battery box/Rider Caboose
Crane has 12-volt motor for
locomotion only.
(We never use it for motion.)
Boom has manual control.
Asking $1000
Email photos are available
Contact Joyce Sternitzke
845-527-9969
MsLocoLady@aol.com
British Railways 0-4-0 Tank Engine
1½” Scale; 7¼” Gauge
Originally built by Reggie Booth of
New Jersey Live Steamers
Runs well and has current boiler
certification.
Contact Adam Madlinger
732-560-4777
madlinger@gmail.com
Photos available at:
http://www.njlivesteamers.org/njlivestea
merswebsite/NJLS_2012_Photo_Album
s/Pages/Madlinger_040_loco_pix.html
Page 6
FALL MEET ATTENDEES
Don Buesing
With the help of Skip Densing and Dick Hosmer
We were most happy to host many
guests at this year’s Fall Meet. I tried to
visit with as many as I could get to, and
we were delighted when we discovered
that most of our steaming bays were full
as early as Thursday evening. I know I
must have missed some, but here is a list
of those I remember seeing and/or
talking to, along with their equipment.
Dick Cudd – B&O 4-6-2
Jim Leggette – PS&FH 2-8-0
John Lukasavage –
Erie 2-8-2 and PRR 4-6-2
Keith Muldowney –
Allen Models 2-6-0
Adam Madlinger (and family) –
AC&G 2-6-0 and a GP7
Dennis Herrington –
O&W Box Cab Electric
Wayne Sittner –
George Parsons and Ron Cicchini –
LV Doodlebug
Paul Kurtz – DSP&P 2-6-6T
Joseph-Jean Paques –
Two 0-4-0 Saddletankers
___ - Box Cab and FA Diesel
In addition, many of our own
members could be found running
throughout the weekend. Thanks to all
who participated.
***
*****
Ted Wilming and Ken Nelson
It is again the season when we hear shots in the woods. Hunters are again out looking
for their prey, and if you are walking about ALS grounds, it is best to wear bright
clothing, orange hats and/or coats, or at least something that will make you very visible
and appear human. We don’t have a lot of hunters legally on our property, but it only
takes one. Think ahead when planning a trip to ALS during hunting season.
On a different subject, we want to thank all of our visitors at Fall Meet for taking the
extra steps to make the Meet safe. Without saying anything, or making a big
announcement, steps were taken by many to see that young children, as well as adults,
were kept in a safe area, and out of harm’s way. We especially want to express our
appreciation to all of you who took the time to use your whistles and horns at grade
crossings. Many people, children as well as adults, are not always looking for your train,
so we must be looking for them.
***
Page 7
Fall Meet (Continued from page 1)
sign up to volunteer to help pull our
guests. Thankfully, Ken Nelson, Dick
Hosmer, and others, including some of
our guest engineers, served us in that
capacity. Special thanks goes out to
Nancy Eckert who worked all weekend
at keeping the rest rooms clean, and the
trash cans empty. And our ladies in the
Emporium reported that sales were
decent in spite of Saturday’s weather.
Remember that there are some things in
there that I bet you haven’t seen before,
like nice denim long-sleeve shirts, which
will be just perfect for the upcoming fall
weather and Blowdown event.
No safety issues were reported except
for a potential problem regarding the
“reverse-running” schedule. As a club
we agreed at Wednesday night’s
meeting, to run in reverse until midnight,
but apparently someone changed this
without letting everyone know, and
without any help in changing direction.
Thankfully, there were no collisions, but
in the future we must be mindful that our
directional changes don’t just add to the
operating excitement, but also present
safety risks. But enough of that.
I always try to meet someone new or
take a few pictures of a piece of rolling
stock that I have never seen before.
While our Canadian friends have visited
us in the past, I have never seen them
double-head their little Porter engines
before.
What a treat!
And after
spending some time talking with
members from the Long Island and
Montreal clubs, I know I need to start
marking off my calendar in advance for
next summer’s events.
How about your? Did you have a
great time? If so, please write to Ken
Nelson, the Editor of our newsletter, and
let us know what you enjoyed most. If
not, please contact me or anyone else
and perhaps we can make changes to
allow you to have a better time next
year.
Until then, thanks again for a great
Fall Meet!
***
*****
NEW BENCHES
Ken Nelson
For the past few years, the benches
on our property have been showing their
age. Although each of them was painted
just two years ago, they were still
peeling, and beginning to rot out.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to
member Mike Petrillose, who this year
took it upon himself to look into
restoring each of our benches. After a
lot of footwork, and investigating the
plastic material Trex, Mike found the
perfect material for our benches: oak.
He took the time to get the best price,
and then rebuilt one bench completely,
painting it a very nice shade of brown,
and presented it to the membership for
their evaluation. Everyone loved what
they saw, and Mike has been working on
rebuilding several other benches ever
since. This will take some time, but
Mike is doing very well, and has already
completed the restoration of at least four
benches. The next time you are at the
club, take a seat in one of the new
benches, and don’t forget to thank Mike
for a great job.
By the way, the original benches
came from a MacDonald’s store that was
changing them out. Thanks to Ray
Dwyer for being awake at the time. ***
Page 8
A LITTLE MATTER OF GAUGE
Gary Madlinger and Keith Taylor
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the April-May 2005 issue of The Whistle Blast, the newsletter
of the New Jersey Live Steamers. It also appeared in the Late Summer issue of 2012. Since so many
questions are asked about this subject, the article is reprinted here with the consent of the authors.
While US prototype gauge was
established at 4 feet 8½” by Abraham
Lincoln’s signature in 1864, the story of
gauge in the smaller hobby sizes has often
been one of miscalculations and mistakes.
While such discrepancies would prove
disastrous with the prototype, fortunately in
the smaller scales it has proved more of an
inconvenience.
To trace the great gauge debates, we have
to look back to the turn of the century when
scale model railroading as a hobby was in its
infancy in America. The toy train market in
the United States was dominated by German
toy makers, who made expensive toy trains
in heavy gauge
steel, beautifully
lithographed. These imports introduced the
“continental system” for measuring train
gauge into the model railroad hobby. This
system had begun with tinplate trains and
called for measuring gauge from the center
of one railhead to the other. This made
sense, since these toy trains used tubular rail
with no distinct edge to measure to.
However, from the beginning, this
variation in measuring techniques from the
hobby to the prototype was destined to cause
confusion. In the early 1900’s, for example,
the Ives Co., who offered trains in No. 1
Gauge, wished to expand their offerings to
the No. 2 gauge being sold by companies
such as Bassett-Lowke, Maerklin, Bing,
Carette, Karl Bub and the others, so they
asked a European supplier for the correct
gauge for these No. 2 gauge trains. Using
the accepted continental method of
measuring from the top of one tubular rail to
the top of the other, the supplier reported
that No. 2 gauge measured 2 1/8.” Ives
tooled up for 2 1/8,” only to find that their
new trains would not be compatible with the
imported British and German toys built to
the proper gauge set at 2” between the rail
heads. A few years later the Lionel Train
Co. used the same continental system when
referring to their “Standard Gauge” electric
trains as being 2¼” gauge. Measured
correctly from the inside edge to the inside
edge, they were actually 2 1/8 “ gauge.
Such miscalculations didn’t stop there.
Fast-forward to Chicago in 1939, when an
active live steamer decided he wanted to
build a locomotive in the larger, 1½” scale
that was just starting to gain some popularity
in the United States. The problem was, he
had conflicting information to go on in
determining the proper gauge for his new
creation. At the time there were very few
1½” scale models that had been built in this
country, and only a handful had been
imported to the US from Britain. ALL of
these locomotives were built to 7¼” gauge,
measured from the inside edge of one rail to
the inside edge of the other. But, this is
where things get interesting.
One of the American-built locomotives,
the 1½” scale model of a PRR K-4 called the
“Miss Bayshore,” had been written up in the
Modelmaker Magazine. The well-known
builder, Calvert Holt, had constructed it,
with design help from the famous LBSC (L.
Lawrence of the Model Engineer) who was
living on the Holt estate at that time. As
expected, they built it to the British standard
of 7¼” gauge. However, in the Modelmaker
Magazine article, it was incorrectly
identified as being 7” gauge.
Adding to the confusion was another,
later article highlighting a relatively new
1½” track in Michigan. The line featured a
scratch-built 0-6-0 switcher and a 4-6-2,
both of which were built to fit the 7¼”
gauge track. Yet, in the article published on
this new live steam line, once again the size
was noted incorrectly as 7½” gauge!
This leads us back to Chicago where the
new (but eager) 1½” locomotive builder
(Continued on page 8) See Gauge
Page 9
Gauge (Continued from page 7)
was confronted with three possible gauges to
choose from: 7”, 7¼” or 7½.” Having
already chosen to build a 1½” scale Hudson,
freelanced to look like a B&O locomotive,
he decided to confer with a live steam
acquaintance who owned his own track
nearby. This way, the builder figured, he’d
always have a place to run his locomotive
once it was built. When the acquaintance
heard the question, rather than trust his
memory he decided to measure the gauge of
his track so he would be able to give an
EXACT measurement. Out he went and
placed the scale on the tracks. And, this is
where the story takes another turn.
You see, this live steamer was a lover of
all trains, but perhaps his first love remained
the strongest – for the tinplate toy train sets
he was familiar with since childhood. Being
first and foremost a fan of the smaller
tinplate model railroads, when he measured
the gauge of his 1½” scale track, he used the
continental method of measuring track
gauge for tinplate trains.
Instead of
measuring from the inside of the railhead to
the inside of the railhead, he measured from
the center of the rail to the center of the rail!
As far as he was concerned, that identified
his 1½” scale layout as 7½” gauge.
Based on this, the Chicago builder
finished his locomotive to 7½” gauge and,
being an eager hobbyist, began to solicit his
friends to build to the same size that he now
had. In the Chicago area there were some
excellent modelers, and at least two of them
were enthusiastic proponents of the larger
scale steam locomotives. They even decided
to build what proved to be a fabulous layout
in Blue Island, Illinois. Being that they were
friends with the Chicago builder and wanted
him to be able to run at their track, they too
built to the mistaken gauge of 7½”! It didn’t
take long before the Midwest was bristling
with 7½” gauge locomotives, and as
suppliers such as Little Engines got into 1½”
scale, they made sure to design kits to sell to
the largest number of potential customers,
including those in the Midwest with the
“strange” gauge.
Not everyone out West was converted
though. Live Steamers such as Walt Disney
built to 1½” scale using the traditional 7¼”
gauge. Billy Rose, the famous composer
and bandleader, also had a private 7¼”
gauge line at his estate in Hollywood. But
since a number of live steamers in the Los
Angeles area liked to travel around, they
wanted to use the gauge of the largest
number of tracks they might visit. They
converted to 7½” gauge, and that is how the
majority of the USA has come to use a
gauge that is not compatible with the rest of
the world. This is the story told by live
steam author Steve Booth, and at least two
letters that appeared in the fifties in the
Miniature Locomotive Magazine and North
American Live Steamer.
With the introduction of 7½” gauge, it
wasn’t long before many scale sensitive
modelers started to notice that the 1½” scale
proportions seemed to be under scale to the
proportions of the larger track bed. To
compensate, some started designing and
building in 1.6” scale for 7½” gauge, a trend
that continues to this day. Such is the nature
of scale hobbies; you just never know the
effect of an eighth or quarter inch change.
Today, if your riding scale of choice is
1½” and you like to travel, you’d better be
well planned with the right size locomotive.
In the Northeast 7¼” gauge is the standard,
though there are a handful of small groups
and backyard tracks running 7½” or dual
gauge. Head west to Ohio or south to
Maryland and you’re in 7 ½” country, which
extends throughout the rest of the US. That
means if you want to run at Oregon’s
famous Train Mountain, you better be
prepared for 7½” gauge – all because of
some mistaken measurements taken a long
time ago.
***
Adirondack Live Steamers
c/o Peter Petrillose
41 Goode Street
Burnt Hills, NY 12027
First Class
NOTE PAD
October 13 – Membership Meeting
Nomination of Officers
October 20-21 – Blowdown
November 10 – Membership Meeting
Election of Officers
December 2 – Albany Train Show
December 9 – Glens Falls Train Show
October
Meeting
Nomination
of Officers