| Volume 39 Issue 2 | October 1999 |
| Volume 39 Issue 2 | October 1999 |
On September 18, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Division 3, about 30 members of the Division, family and friends ventured to Connersville, Indiana to ride the Whitewater Valley Railroad to Metamora and return. Just as he did the first meeting of Division 3, Lone Eagle Payne, our first Superintendent, was our conductor for this trip as well. He also arranged for a photo runby at the bridge over the Whitewater River. The weather was fantastic, as was the company. I certainly had a great time. We did, however, cancel the "Best Picture of the Super" contest (something about the high cost of film). Maybe we can have a Whitewater Valley Railroad Contest later in the year.
The Division has been slowly drawn into the computer age. I began mailing my monthly column to J. Hedge on disc, and currently e-mail it as an attachment. Now the Division has well and truly arrived on the virtual scee. At the September BOG meeting, Norm Courtney was unanimously appointed to the new Committee level position of Division 3 Webmaster. The Division's web page is now on line at no cost to us. The URL is: "http://netcolony.com/entertainment/raildayton/" (do not plug in the quotation marks). Norm, with an assist from Steve Hood, has done a super job. While some areas are still under construction, there is much to see there. Norm is looking for photos of Division 3 layouts to scan and upload to our website. If you wish to contribute, please contact Norm or Steve. If you have a photo disc (I just got my first one of my Whitewater Valley photos and they are neat) it will be easy to e-mail them for inclusion on the web page. Upcoming events, show information, points of contact, and recent Call Boards will now be available electronically as well. Norm will pass on any e-mails to Division officers. There is a prototype photo page as well. This is a chance to get your work seen by a wider audience, so pass those pictures of prototype railroading in the Division 3 area on to Norm.. There are links to other local sites as well as other MCR sites and to the NMRA national site. From there you can jump off to literally hundreds of railroad sites. It is hoped that by being on the web, maybe we can interest more young people to whom computers are the rage.
One of the links is to my own brand new web page dedicated to my layout. After months and months of trying (and the sacrifice of a goat during the vernal equinox in Bill Gates' back yard), it is now working and linking. Visit me at "http://hometown.aol.com/bpetroz/index.html" (again, omit the quotation marks).
August was the first Region Meeting for new President Marty Vaughn. It was a long meeting, with many items on the agenda. The Region is also getting into the Web page business, and should have an active site soon. Ray Persing was appointed as the new Region Contest Chair, and presented a lot of ideas to increase participation in the contest room. A new region project will be underway soon. This one will be a new departure for the region. More will be reported on this as things get underway in the future. There is another round of personnel changes occurring at the National HQ.
The October meeting will be at the Wright Library in Oakwood. The clinic will be by new Region President Marty Vaughn, on casting detail parts. I saw a preview of this at the Morgantown Convention and this is a must see clinic. Ever complain about not being able to find just the right detail part for your layout? This clinic will tell you how to make a master, and multiple copies. The contest will be rolling stock. We will probably be able to put Marty on the spot for a region Update.
This will also be the last meeting before the November show. We are still seeking people to do demonstrations, pass out tour guides, man the door, get vendors in, and to have layouts open. Don Kriegbaum is definitely looking for layouts for the tour guide. The number of open layouts has been dwindling of late with moves, tear downs and the like. If you haven't been open in a while, this is a chance to do your part to promote the hobby.
Until next time, happy modeling.
Brian Petoziello
Superintendent
© 1999 Division 3, MCR, NMRA