Elkhart Model Railroad Club Announcements
The Elkhart Model Railroad Club meets Friday Evenings at 2703 Hawthorne Street in Elkhart, Indiana.
News for March 15, 2019
Members of EMRRC spent Friday the 15th setting up for our annual train show. 
We had one valiant group meet Friday afternoon at Claywood Event Center to help with table and chair setup and solve all the little last-minute problems.
A
few members gathered Friday evening at the club to relax and run trains. On Saturday March 16th EMRRC had our 14th annual train show in Nappanee Indiana. We had 150 vendors and several operating layouts.
People were lined up out the door doublewide starting at 10 am and we had a steady stream of people all day. 
I ate at the restaurant and the food was top notch. Many vendors commented on the
great facility and the many people in attendance. Everyone I spoke with had a great time and there were lots of young kids and teens in attendance which gives me hope for the hobby. A little bit of bad news this week. There is a post on NWSL's Facebook page about closing the business. If there is anything you want you'd better order it before August.
https://www.facebook.com/1470545813221465/posts/2315577498718288/
This week we didn't have as many trains running so the video is a combination of trains from the club and the train show with overall scenes from the show. To see our video Click Here to see all the action. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from the weekend Click Here. We've already scheduled our 2020 show for March 21st so check back here for upcoming info. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
News for March 8, 2019
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Friday the 8th started with a business meeting covering our upcoming March 16th Nappanee Train Show. All of the vendor tables have been sold, the assignments for club members working the show have been made and EMRRC is ready for a great 2019 train show. After the meeting members ran trains and socialized for the rest of the evening.
We had some interesting trains show up for the evening, among them was CSX 3440. CSX created the locomotive decal to honor the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation, which is based in Ravenna, Kentucky. GE ET44AH locomotive No. 3440 has received a Spirit of Ravenna decal along with a Kentucky Steam Heritage logo and a special Louisville & Nashville decal. The ScaleTrains.com Tier 4 GEVo diesel locomotive is the first model in HO scale and is officially licensed by GE.
We also had an Algoma Central passenger train make a run through. The engine is Rapido and the cars are IHC. In the 1960s, the railway began to promote the natural beauty of the District of Algoma to tourists, especially the Agawa Canyon, a canyon carved by the Agawa River, located 114 rail miles (183 km) north of Sault Ste. Marie, and not accessible by road. The Algoma Central developed a tourist stopover here and it proved to be a great success for the railway. Owing to the popularity of the Agawa Canyon excursions, the Algoma Central would run the longest passenger trains in North America, often up to 20 to 24 cars long. During the 1970s and 1980s, around 100,000 people per year would tour Agawa Canyon.
Member Paul Ewing will be conducting a clinic on cardstock modeling, He brought several examples with him Friday night. The Ewing Cafe is based on an actual building in South Bend, Indiana and the walls, roof and floor were cut with a Cricut machine. The 2 story building was downloaded from the internet and made with cardstock. 
Continuing with our look at buildings at EMRRC here is a look at Chateau Paper built by Stan Shatto. For more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. This is the final notice for our 2019 Train Show. We are sold out of vendor tables but CLICK HERE for general information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
News For March 1, 2019
March has come in like a cold lion with some snow and record low temperatures coming. We had a good turnout for Friday with several members showing up for show prep and running trains.
Getting ready for our large train show on March 16th takes a lot of work on all the members part. Just about all 150 vendor tables and operating areas have been spoken for. As you walk into the 14,000 sq. ft. Claywood Event Center we will have folks up front to get you quickly checked in and there will be a video running that will give you some insights into how the club operates showing several trains running on our large HO layout and some looks at our new N-Scale layout that is just getting underway.
One of our great creative friends Jay Freet, look for him shooting racing at the South Bend Motor Speedway this summer, posted a great idea on Facebook for building interiors.
Jay uses old electronics boards inside his N-Scale buildings and from the exterior, it looks like the building is full of equipment.
Member Paul Ewing does the same thing at our club. Here is Jacobson Wood Products and you can see how this great idea brings interesting looks to a couple of buildings both N-Scale and HO-Scale.
We have a ton of buildings on the layout so I thought we would take a look at some of the buildings around the layout that get overshadowed by the trains but add ambiance to the total scene. Here are a few of the buildings in downtown Elkhart to take a look at. We'll try to come up with some history on the buildings but many have been built over the life of the club which extends back to 1950.
Ed's Built by Jay Freet
Sweet Corn Charlies a summer stable in Elkhart and surrounding counties. This guy has perfected the formula for sweet corn
As always we had lots of trains running Friday night Click Here to see all the action for our latest video in 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we are close to selling out 150 tables. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
News for February 22, 2019
The shortest month of the year is moving out fast and good riddance after the weather we have experienced. Friday was our operations session for February and we had a lot of folks trying to solve the puzzle of operations at EMRRC. If you enjoy puzzles we run the biggest electronically interfaced 3D puzzle in the area every fourth Friday of the month.
Operations is a fun and interesting role-playing game where the players (operators) use model trains
to simulate the movements of real trains. Our dispatchers and yardmasters work closely with the members out on the layout to make it an enjoyable and fun experience.
The 14th Annual EMRRC Train Show is fast approaching. If you are a hobbyist this is one of the best shows around to come to and get deals. If you're looking for a family venue that all of the family can enjoy there will be several operating layouts and demos. Food is available on site and kids under 12 can get in free. Over 14,000 sq.ft. of trains and 150 vendors eager to sell.
To check out our operations Click Here to see all the action for our latest video in 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we are close to selling out 150 tables. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
News for February 15, 2019
A quick move into mid-February and we're into our second business meeting of the year. 
Several projects were reported on including a new switch panel installed by member Matt Glassman. This will give approaching and departing trains from Chicago and Toledo running through the Flushing division an easier path through the EMRRC system. Members Charlie Yoakam and Jerry Piatt charged with upgrading the waterways on the layout are building a dam along the Elkhart River with help from Ron Breniser. Probationary member Jerri Cardella was voted into full membership after her probationary period ended. Also, next week is operations at the club and Chief Dispatcher Ron Breniser was making plans for that. On a sad note, it was announced Charlie Yoakum's brother Raymond Yoakum passed away in Texas. Raymond was a member of the club till he moved to Texas where he was a member of the Plano Texas Model Railroad Club. Thoughts and prayers from all the club members for Charlie and his family. 
We had several interesting engines show up for running after the business meeting. A UP Gas Turbine made its initial run at the club. In late 1948 Alco-Ge built a 4500 h.p gas turbine electric locomotive. The dual cab, 84-foot long locomotive burned cheap Bunker C fuel that usually powered oil-burning steam locomotives. The 2019 Spring Issue of Classic Trains has a great article on Gas Turbine Electrics. To see this engine and many more just Click Here to see all the action for our latest video in 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we have over 110 tables spoken for so far. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
News for February 8, 2019
January ran into February with record-breaking cold in the midwest. Actual temperatures were in the -20 degree range with wind chills in the -50 degree range. By the first week of February, temperatures were in the plus 50s settling to 8 degrees by February 8th. Several members and visitors had cabin fever and made our February 8th meeting. But before we get to our meeting a couple of items on members. We lost our lifetime model craftsman Stan Shatto on December 31, 2018. The club and all our members will miss Stan. Please see the remembrance below. Also, member Jeffrey Cain slipped and fell on the ice at the end of January ending up in the hospital for several weeks with some serious injuries. Get well soon Jeff the members miss seeing those beautiful passenger engines of yours on the layout.
As you can see from the picture people were bundled up from the cold Friday Night but the coats came off as people started running trains. We had several interesting trains running through Elkhart on EMRRC trackage including 
Nickel Plate, P&LE, Peabody, Clinchfield, NYC and Virginian. Just Click Here to see all the action for our latest video in 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we have over a 100 tables spoken for so far. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
Stan Shatto September 18, 1951/December 31, 2018
Stanley “Butch” Stephen Shatto, 67, of Elkhart and formerly of LaGrange, passed away on December 31, 2018, at the Lutheran Life Villages Nursing Home in Kendallville, Indiana.
He was born on September 18, 1951, in LaGrange County to Clyde and Lillian (Runion) Shatto.
Stan grew up in LaGrange and graduated from Lakeland High School. In his younger days, his parents ran what was previously known as the Brick House Restaurant on Detroit Street in LaGrange. He also worked as a truck driver and a cab driver. He had a lifetime love of anything Mopar, Race Cars and especially Model Trains. He was a long time member and master model designer at the Elkhart Model Railroad Club. He is survived by his children, Stephanie Shatto-Dennis of Maxwell CA., Tonya Shatto of Aurora Co., Michael Shatto of Long Beach CA. and Michelle Shatto of West Sacramento, CA., step-children; Chad Stahl and Toni Stahl-Brigman, both of Kendallville, IN., 7 grandchildren; Cassandra, Vanessa, Nickolas , Matthew, Amber, Avanelle (Ellie) and Trevor. He is also survived by his previous wives, Betty (Ritzer) Shatto, Pamela (Coney) Newsome and Patricia (Wolfe) Shatto. Stan was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde Shatto and Lillian (Runion) Shatto, half-brothers; Robert, William & James Shatto and half-sister; Anita Jean (Shatto) McNeal.
Graveside services will be private and a Celebration of Life will be planned for a later date.
Any memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Elkhart Model Railroad Club, 230 Hawthorne Street, Elkhart, IN 46517.
Stan was a lifetime member of the Elkhart Model Railroad Club. Older Club members remember Stan joining the club in the 1970s. Stan was an excellent modeler. Many of the areas on the club layout had Stan’s touch and this made for a better more scenic layout.
One of the premier areas on the club is the Chateau Paper factory complex serviced by the Wood Creek railroad.
This complex encompasses a 3’ x 8’ area that includes many lighted buildings and an industrial complex with detail that is hard to believe.
Yes, it’s a model and its 1/87th scale by Stan Shatto.
Several of the water towers and tanks on the layout were built by Stan along with a multitude of buildings scattered all over the layout.
Stan was a joker and liked to subtlety show his humor through playing with words. Chateau Papers is a play on his own name and who can forget famous engines like; Sano Flush, Utterly Pathetic and the infamous Norfolk & Weigh. Some members like to show how precise their modeling is by letting a car roll down a grade on the layout and brag about how smooth it was and how far it would go. One night Stan ran of his cars down the grade and it went further than anyone's. Members watched the freight roll uphill over the next grade. Stan had hidden a small motor in the freight car and had everyone going till he ran it up the hill.
Stan was a valuable member of the club and will be missed by all the club members. Keep Stan and his family members in your prayers. RIP Stan.
NEWS for January 2019End of January 2019 NewsNEWS for January 2019 weeks of January and I thought I would put up some interesting links till regular news from the meetings begins again. From Trains MagazineAn interesting article about the last piece of rolling stock that is left from the May 10, 1869 ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, that appeared in a Clint Eastwood movie.http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/sta
Double Header Souther Railway Steam for Ron.http://trn.trains.com/photos-v
The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the government agency that operated U.S. railroads during the First World War. During its tenure, the agency developed a dozen USRA standard steam locomotive designs for service nationwide. This massive 2-8-8-2 Mallet articulated was the largest of these USRA locomotives. It was 105'-2" long, stood 15'-9" tall, and weighed 531,000 pounds. Mallets were compound engines that used their steam twice: first in the rear high-pressure cylinders and then in the front low-pressure cylinders. American Locomotive Co. (Alco) and the Baldwin Locomotive Works built 80 USRA 2-8-8-2s in 1919 that were allocated to Appalachian coal-haulers. The USRA sent 50 to Norfolk & Western, 20 to the Virginian, and 10 to the Clinchfield. All three companies, plus the Denver & Rio Grande Western and the Northern Pacific purchased additional copies of these locomotives after the war. Many of these big 2-8-8-2s were used until the mid-1950s. 
Another train running through EMRRC trackage was the Empire Builder. The Great Northern Railway inaugurated the Empire Builder on June 10, 1929. It was named in honor of the company's founder, James J. Hill, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately-funded transcontinental railroad. It reached the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century, and for this feat, he was nicknamed "The Empire Builder." Following World War II, Great Northern placed new streamlined and diesel-powered trains in service that cut the scheduled 2,211-mile-trip between Chicago and Seattle from 58.5 hours to 45 hours. The schedule allowed riders views of the Cascade Mountains and Glacier National Park, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. Re-equipped with domes in 1955, the Empire Builder offered passengers sweeping views of the route through three dome coaches and one full-length Great Dome car for first class passengers. Just Click Here to see all the action for our latest video in 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we have over 85 tables spoken for so far. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.
January 4, 2019
Afterward, we had some interesting trains show up. Paul Ewing brought 2 Indiana Hi-Rail RSD15s. #443, was built by Alco in June 1960, #83579, as AT&SF 843, Class 800. It was renumbered 9843, Class 9800, in 1970, and sold to Precision National in 1975. They sold it to SCCCo as 9843 in 1975. It later became Peabody 9843 and then was sold to IHR as 9843 in 1988. It was soon renumbered 443. It became A&TC 443 in 2000 but is leased from a private owner. It was leased to Arkansas Railroad Museum and restored as ATSF 843. I have the engine painted as Squaw Valley 9843 when it was running for Peabody Coal. 
Another RSD-15, the high hood version Bessemer & Lake Erie 883 made a run through pulling a string of ore cars. As we saw all the final moves for 2018 just Click Here to see all the first moves for 2019. If you want to see more pictures of trains and members from Friday night Click Here. Vendor Tables are going fast for the EMRRC 2019 Train Show, we have over 85 tables spoken for so far. CLICK HERE for general and vendor information. For a schedule on train shows and swap meets in the area Click Here (this is the latest list) courtesy of the Grand River Valley Railroad Club in Wyoming, MI. For 2018 Past Announcements at EMRRC Click Here. Have some fun with model railroading.