Ducking the Train

Hey,

So yesterday I went to the North Shore Model Railroad Club's Train Show and Open House in Wakefield MA. It was fun. A few small layouts and lots of stuff for sale. While trains and tracks and buildings are what you'd expect, it's the ephemera that always interests me.

There are huge binders full of photographs of trains and buildings along rail lines from the past 20-40 years that modelers can use for inspiration as they build their own track sides models. There are also timetables and route maps and books that focus on the rail operations of various railways. Sadly, of all the actual railroads, I'm mostly interested in the Burlington Northern, but it's not as popular out here as Northeastern roads (which is cool).

There are also stock and bond certificates from railroads past and present and those are always fun. I love the engraved art of stocks and bonds. It'd be fun to play a rail game (like Chicago Rails or one of the 18xx rail games) using actual stock certificates from the companies in the game. Although most of those companies haven't been in business for nearly a century so finding enough certificates would be a challenge.

The single best thing I saw, however, was the technical manuals. In particular, I got to thumb through the operator's manual to a GE Diesel engine. It's more than a throttle, there's a fairly detailed instrument panel. I read up on the procedure to apply sand to the wheels of the engine for additional traction.

The train show was in the local civic hall so I walked up the street a couple of blocks to check out the NSMRC's clubhouse, layout. They've got a location in the basement of a restaurant. The club layout is about 30% finished although all the track appears to be in place. Sadly, the ceiling only just clears my head and the numerous fire extinguisher outlets were a concussion hazard for me. Still, I got to see them run the trains for a bit.

In the evening I helped make a tasty chicken curry dish which we ate while watching Duck Soup. I'm interested in seeing it because Roy Blount Jr. has a new book out about it and I'd never really watched a Marx Brothers film all the way through. Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly who is advanced to the position of dictator of Freedonia thanks to the largess of Mrs. Teasdale. Chico and Harpo play...well, they're spies for the rival nation of Sylvania, but frankly they just agree to do any job offered to them and then proceed to do it badly.

I wish I had a better understanding of the context for Marx Borther films. In particular, it's odd how everyone does their best to act normally in the face of Groucho's wild provocations. I'm not sure if their efforts to maintain a polite facade is the humor or Groucho's outrageous behavior is. The funniest moments are usually when the brothers are interacting with one another since they play off each other in delightful ways.

I think the movie could've used a prequel. I wanted to see the movie where Groucho inadvertently saves Freedonia from Sylvanian subversion and thus wins the country's gratitude and Mrs. Teasdale's unflagging support. It would make Duck Soup fall into place with some explanation of why Firefly is given so much leeway.

Oh, and to tie movies and trains together, there's apparently a movie called Unstoppable coming out in November all about a runaway train loaded down with deadly chemicals and the two brave engineers who have to figure out a way to stop it.

later
Tom

Ducking the Train

Hey,

So yesterday I went to the North Shore Model Railroad Club's Train Show and Open House in Wakefield MA. It was fun. A few small layouts and lots of stuff for sale. While trains and tracks and buildings are what you'd expect, it's the ephemera that always interests me.

There are huge binders full of photographs of trains and buildings along rail lines from the past 20-40 years that modelers can use for inspiration as they build their own track sides models. There are also timetables and route maps and books that focus on the rail operations of various railways. Sadly, of all the actual railroads, I'm mostly interested in the Burlington Northern, but it's not as popular out here as Northeastern roads (which is cool).

There are also stock and bond certificates from railroads past and present and those are always fun. I love the engraved art of stocks and bonds. It'd be fun to play a rail game (like Chicago Rails or one of the 18xx rail games) using actual stock certificates from the companies in the game. Although most of those companies haven't been in business for nearly a century so finding enough certificates would be a challenge.

The single best thing I saw, however, was the technical manuals. In particular, I got to thumb through the operator's manual to a GE Diesel engine. It's more than a throttle, there's a fairly detailed instrument panel. I read up on the procedure to apply sand to the wheels of the engine for additional traction.

The train show was in the local civic hall so I walked up the street a couple of blocks to check out the NSMRC's clubhouse, layout. They've got a location in the basement of a restaurant. The club layout is about 30% finished although all the track appears to be in place. Sadly, the ceiling only just clears my head and the numerous fire extinguisher outlets were a concussion hazard for me. Still, I got to see them run the trains for a bit.

In the evening I helped make a tasty chicken curry dish which we ate while watching Duck Soup. I'm interested in seeing it because Roy Blount Jr. has a new book out about it and I'd never really watched a Marx Brothers film all the way through. Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly who is advanced to the position of dictator of Freedonia thanks to the largess of Mrs. Teasdale. Chico and Harpo play...well, they're spies for the rival nation of Sylvania, but frankly they just agree to do any job offered to them and then proceed to do it badly.

I wish I had a better understanding of the context for Marx Borther films. In particular, it's odd how everyone does their best to act normally in the face of Groucho's wild provocations. I'm not sure if their efforts to maintain a polite facade is the humor or Groucho's outrageous behavior is. The funniest moments are usually when the brothers are interacting with one another since they play off each other in delightful ways.

I think the movie could've used a prequel. I wanted to see the movie where Groucho inadvertently saves Freedonia from Sylvanian subversion and thus wins the country's gratitude and Mrs. Teasdale's unflagging support. It would make Duck Soup fall into place with some explanation of why Firefly is given so much leeway.

Oh, and to tie movies and trains together, there's apparently a movie called Unstoppable coming out in November all about a runaway train loaded down with deadly chemicals and the two brave engineers who have to figure out a way to stop it.

later
Tom