Golden Spike Railroad

December, 2017 Volume 24 Number 12 Mailing address: P.O. Box 50428, Mesa, AZ. 85208 Visit at: www.azbigtrains.org Jim and Joanne Gardner Golden Spike Railroad Photo by Don Sorenson IN THIS ISSUE President s Message Christmas Open House Information November Membership Meeting Photos Addendum to ABTO By-Laws Treasurer s Report November Meeting Minutes

President s Message for December, 2017. Well, after two years of Director at Large, two years as Vice-President and now the end of two years as President, it ends a good run. Thanks to my board of the last two years, for all your hard work and participation. Ginny for all your knowledge to keep things going and keeping me out of trouble. To Steve for all your work keeping the financial things in order. You two are the backbone of the club. Daryll, Darrell and Colin your help keeping all the functions going without too many hitches at all the functions we put on and participated in. Thanks to Daryll Smith for overseeing the modules, Darrell Woolfolk for managing the Open Houses and Colin for taking on the monthly drawings. Thanks to Dave for your help in all things of technical nature and things in diplomacy and general goings on. Thanks to Dennis, Rich, Don and Jim for your experience in this club and expertise in general and helping to keep things running smoothly. I hope the membership will help the new board with your support for all events in the upcoming years. The final event for my term will be the 2017 Christmas Party December 3 rd. Hoping to see all who have signed up, we have a good program lined up for all. Chief Engineer Ken Hawkins CHRISTMAS DINNER INFORMATION Sunday, December 3, 2017 Iron Works Restaurant 17233 N. 45th Avenue Glendale, Arizona 85308 5:30pm Happy Hour and Social Gathering 6:00pm Dinner NEW 2018/2019 BOARD President: Darrell Woolfolk Vice President: Danny Farrow Treasurer: Steve Lewis Secretary: Ginny Morris Director at Large: Colin Criswell Jim Gardner John Paeth Congratulations to Everyone CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Sunday, Dec. 3 5:30pm ABTO Dinner at Ironworks Restaurant, Glendale, AZ Sat. & Sun. Dec. 9 & 10 5:30pm-8:30pm Christmas Open Houses Sat. & Sun. Dec. 16 & 17 5:30pm-8:30pm Christmas Open Houses Wednesday Jan 17 6:00pm Board Meeting Location TBA Saturday, Jan. 20 TBA Membership Meeting @ Danny Farrow s Residence 2

CONTENTS President s Message... 2 Calendar of Events.......2 Christmas Dinner Information...2 Tentative Meeting Locations.....3 Darrell Woolfolk s Thank You........3 Joanne Gardner s Recipe...3 November Meeting Minutes.....4 Addendum to ABTO By-Laws.5 & 6 SIG Budgets are Due Info.....6 Superstition Mtn. Article & Photos...7 Christmas Open House Information. 8 Daryll Smith s Article... 8 New Board of Directors Information...9 Metal Wheels For Sale...9 November Membership Photos.10 Tentative Membership Meeting Locations for 2018 January 20-Danny Farrow February 17-Florence Quaintance March 17-Steve & Judy Lewis April 14-ABTO Auction May 19-Dave & Sharon Kitchin June 16-??? July & August-Dark September 15-Wesley & Allison Schriver October 20-Ken & Kris Hawkins November 17-Jim & Joanne Gardner THE ABTO GAZETTE Due to unexpected circumstances, the Treasurer s Report will be sent as a BLAST in the near future. I wish to thank everyone for their confidence and trust to elect me as your new ABTO President for 2018 & 2019. Your support is greatly appreciated and I will not let you down. We have many obstacles to overcome, and my number one goal is to increase our volunteer base at all of our public events. We cannot shine as a group without much needed support in all area s. I hope to reignite the passion in our SIG groups so that we can all benefit from them. A whole lot of small steps will hopefully turn into great strides. Our new board will start working on these goals starting January 1st. If anyone has any idea s concerns or suggestions, please do not hesitate to call, text or email me but please understand that I may not reply instantly since I work from 4am to 5pm Monday thru Friday. Thank you once again, Darrell Woolfolk ABTO President for 2018-2019 dpwoolfolk@yahoo.com Cell 480-818-1715 Welcome Back to ABTO Brenda and John Clark 5421 S. Eucalyptus Drive Gilbert, AZ 85234 480.204.3024 2018 DUES MAY BE PAID NOW: Please mail your check to: Steve Lewis 925 East Saddleback Place San Tan Valley, AZ 85143 You may bring your payment to the Christmas Dinner and the January Meeting. (No credit cards will be accepted for payment at the Christmas Dinner) $30.00 Members $35.00 New Members Make checks payable to ABTO or Arizona Big Train Operators Credit Cards are accepted and a fee of $1.00 will be applied Dues must be paid in full by February 28, 2018 Joanne s Spaghetti Salad Recipe (as requested) 16oz. American Beauty Spaghetti (cut in half) 3 or 4 Tomatoes 1 package of green onions 2 cucumbers Salad Supreme Seasoning 16oz. Kraft s Zesty Italian Dressing Got questions or need help? Call Joanne at (602) 989-0464 3

ABTO MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES Saturday. November 18, 2017 held at Jim and JoAnne Gardner s Residence Ken Hawkins, President, opened the meeting at 4:05pm and introduced Jim Gardner and he welcomed members and guests (53people). It was Joanne s idea for the layout. There is an HO layout inside the house. Jim had published a book with photos, etc. of the layout and it was passed around. The bridge was purchased from a past member, Ed Dunshie, Jim also thanked Don Sorenson for the photos. Jim offered to take a video of any members railroad and Jim would like to make a library of the railroad layouts. Joanne thanked everyone for attending the meeting. OLD BUSINESS: 1. October Minutes: Were approved as written in the November Gazette. Approved by Vince Simpson and David Kitchin. 2. Treasurer s Report: Was approved as written in the November Gazette. Approved by Darrell Woolfolk and Danny Farrow. 3. Christmas Dinner Payment Due: Today is the last day to pay for the dinner and to choose your entrée. NEW BUSINESS: 1. David Kitchen: Has resigned from the nomination of President due to health issues. David wants all of his votes to go to his opponent, Darrell Woolfolk. 2. By-Laws-Don Halver mentioned that the By-Laws should be reviewed every 2 years. Steve Lewis, Treasurer, wanted the By-Laws fine tuned. Don presented the changes to the members and then were voted on by the members and the changes were accepted. 3. Sig Budgets: All coordinators please present your budgets to Steve Lewis by January 1, 2018. 4. Christmas Open Houses: Darrell Woolfolk, coordinator of the open houses explained a few items and asked if any of the exhibitors needed help. Pam Morris needs help. Also, Phyllis Woolfolk suggested different areas to display the COH flyers. 5. Auction: Will be held after the January meeting at Storage Unit 250 in Apache Junction to sell Helen Lewandowski s donation items. 6. Annual Auction, April 14, 2018: Please note that the Auction has been moved up 1 week and it will be held in the ramada at Adobe Mountain. 7. Annual Round-a Bout: will be hosted by ABTO and the dates are open to be coordinated with the Tucson Club, tentative dates February 24-April 7. 2018. 8. Bluegrass Show: will be held Saturday, March 10th from 10am-5pm and Sunday, March 11th from 10am-4pm and this will be a module event. 9. This will be the last meeting with this present board. Items from the Floor: Steve Lewis, Treasurer reminded dues are due by March 1, 2018. Also mentioned that ABTO received a large donation that included 2 moguls, cleaning car, power pack, track and other misc. items. Last chance to pay for your Christmas dinners. This is the last meeting for President, Ken Hawkins. Roy Towne is doing well. January Meeting will be held at Danny Farrow s Residence. Door Prize Winners: 1. Jack Johnson 2. Helen Lewandowski 3. Mary Smith 4. Vince Simpson Raffle Winner: John Mazzoli The meeting was adjourned at 4:40pm by a motion by 1. Daryll Smith 2. Darrell Woolfolk Minutes submitted by Ginny Morris, Secretary 4

ADDENDUM TO ARIZONA BIG TRAIN OPERATORS BY-LAWS ARTICLE VI MEMBERSHIP DUES: - (revision) Club dues are reviewed annually by the Executive Board at the November Board Meeting. The price of the Annual Dues will be announced at the November General Meeting. They shall be collected by the Treasurer on an annual basis and are due by the end of February for the current calendar year. Members, who do not submit dues prior to 1 March of the current calendar year, will be removed from the Membership. New members will pay the current annual dues fee plus the current cost of the name tag rounded to the nearest dollar. New Member Application is required. New members who join after September 30, do not have to pay for their membership the following year. ARTICLE VIII TREASURER: - (revision) To properly transact all Club expenses and to endure that all bills which have been pre-approved by the Executive Board are paid in a timely manner. To maintain accurate accounting and records of all Club income and expenses. To collect dues, moneys, and payments made to the Club income and expenses. To collect dues, moneys, and payments made to the Club and maintain the Club checking account, saving account (s) and investments. All pre-approved and budgeted bills and expenditures must have proper documentation at the time of payment. Budget approved expenditures with proper documentation do not require Executive Board approval unless they exceed $1000.00. The Executive Board must pre-approve all budgeted expenditures of $1000.00 or more. All non-budgeted bills must be approved by the Executive Board before they are paid. All non-budgeted bills must have proper documentation when presented to the Executive Board. All non-budgeted bills, exceeding $1000.00, must be approved by the General Membership at a regularly scheduled General Meeting. In October of each year, two Club Members or outside consultants, as necessary, will be appointed by the Club President to audit the Treasury Books and statements of the Treasurer and present his/her findings to the General Membership at or before the November Membership Meeting. ARTICLE XIII DONATIONS: - (New) A DONATION is any gift of money or article(s) TO ABTO or the CLUB or GIVEN BY ABTO or the CLUB to another organization or entity. OUTGOING DONATIONS: 1/ All requests for donations must be submitted in writing to the Executive Board by the organization or entity stating a specific need or purpose for the donation. 2/ The organization requesting the donation, must be a non-profit or not for profit institution or group preferably with IRS 501 3 Organization or other IRS recognized non-profit or charitable Group. 3/ The Executive Board will investigate the request and decide if it needs to be forwarded to the General Membership for approval. 4/ Upon presentation to General Membership, the request for Donation will be open to discussion. At the end of the discussion, the General Membership must approve the Donation by majority vote at a regularly scheduled meeting. 5/ The Treasurer will disperse the funds after the Donation has been approved and make necessary documentation of the donation. INCOMING DONATIONS: 1/ Any member can accept a donation from another person, business or organization as outlined below. 2/ The donation must be G SCALE or Garden Railroad related and scale. 3/ On large donations the Executive Board should be consulted to determine if additional storage space needs to be rented. 4. A donation slip will be provided to the donor at the time donation is acquired. On larger donations, a list of the donated items will be provided to the donor. 5

Addendum to Arizona Big Train Operators By-Laws-Continued-page 2 INCOMING DONATIONS: (Continued) 5/ Under no circumstances will the CLUB provide the donor a statement of value for their Donation. According to IRS regulations, establishing a dollar value for donated items is the exclusive responsibility of the donor. 6/ Under no circumstances will ABTO allow the donor to establish any conditions of use for donated items. The Club retains exclusive right to the use and the disposal of all donated items. ARTICLE XIV-EVENTS: (New) An EVENT is any Arizona Big Train Operators, ABTO or CLUB sponsored display, function or open house to which the general public is invited to attend and participate. Any person participating in or hosting any event, must be a Club member of good standing whose dues and all fees have been paid for the calendar year in which the event occurs. Fees include all donation received from all previous events. Any MEMBER may open their private layouts and displays to the public and use the CLUB name as the sponsoring body. The CLUB name as the sponsoring body. The CLUB will provide signage for the event. Any donations received by a hosting club member, must be sent to the CLUB Treasurer in a timely manner after the conclusion of the event. All expenses associated with a MEMBER S OPEN HOUSE shall accompany donations and the member will be reimbursed for these expenditures after approval of the Executive Board. MEMBER s should strive to make their layout accessible to all visitors. Plus members should take the necessary precautions against any liability toward themselves and ABTO. These by-laws were presented by Don Halver, By-Laws Committee to the Membership for approval at the November 18, 2017 Membership Meeting.. A Vote was taken and passed by the membership. Ginny Morris, Secretary ATTENTION SIG LEADERS You must submit your budgets for 2018. Budget expenditures need to be listed in detail and the expenditures need to be reasonable and qualified. SIG budgets need to be returned to any board member by January 1, 2018 for board and club approval. Steve Lewis, Treasurer SIGs and their Coordinators 1/ Modules Daryll Smith & Steve Lewis 2/ Painting/Airbrushing Jim Gardner 3/ MTH 1/32 Scale Roy Towne 4/ Gandy Dancer Roger Crooks 5/ Cardon Children s Medical Center Bob Rauperstrauch & Don Halver 6/ Euro Trains David Kitchin 7/ Live Steam Stan Cornforth 8/ Model Building John Meyers 6

THE ABTO GAZETTE Photos by Daryll Smith Modules Event: The Modules SIG had a year-end event at Superstition Mountain Museum (SMM) on November 4, 2017. This event was to celebrate the 1year anniversary of the SMM Railroad. The core members of our SIG were up at the crack of dawn to pull the large trailer to the Museum and start setting up at 7AM for this one day event. Thanks to the handy computer track layout work by Steve Lewis, we assembled a new layout scheme that included the large corner pieces from our large layout. This was a relatively easy to setup, looked nice, and was easier on the trains than the small red Thomas the Train layout that we have usually used. Speaking of Thomas, due to the low turnout of kids at this event we were able to run real trains. Ernie Broughton and Danny Farrow brought their own trains to run while Thomas was in a time-out. Percy stayed out for the occasional kid to operate if Thomas wasn t out. It was a great day to run trains and I appreciate those club members who came out for the day to setup, hang around to visit, and tear down at the end of the day! Daryll Smith Modules SIG Co-Chair 7

Christmas Open Houses December 9, 10, 16 & 17th from 5:30pm-8:30pm COH time is here once again. We had a good turn out last year, but hopefully this year will be better. If you have some free time during these four nights, please help represent ABTO at one of the open houses. We all could use a little support from time to time and your help will be much appreciated by those who have opened their train set ups to the public. The evenings might get a little chilly, so please wear something warm. Darrell Woolfolk Dear Club members, As the Modules SIG Co-Chair, I wish to thank the efforts of all who have volunteered to come out to the various events this year. If not for your help and support the Modules SIG would have had a very tough time attending and manning our events. From the short Arizona Railways Museum and Falcon Field type of events to the multi-day Mesa Main Library event, we would not have been as successful without the involvement of these members. In case you didn t know, the Modules SIG is the educational-arm of this club and without it the club could not maintain its 501(c)3 charity status. This year, the SIG has seen a few new faces helping out and really jumping in with both feet! Ernie Broughton became a new member and right away started working with the Modules. He is a hard worker and fast learner and I appreciate the time he has devoted. Danny Farrow is another relatively new member who has joined the ranks of this SIG and he too works tirelessly during setup and tear downs and engaging with the public. Ken Hawkins, Darrell Woolfolk and Colin Criswell are also members who have contributed countless hours (and travel time) to attend and work at our many events. Lately, Pam and Craig Morris have been helping out when they ca n and although new to the SIG they too contributed to our success. There are MANY other members who attend and contribute to the success of each event. The public always seems impressed by our member s efforts to setup our layout and educate them, including the young children, on trains, the model railroading hobby, and the other events that the Club hosts like the Christmas and Spring Open Houses and our work with the Children s Medical Center and Ryan s House. Lastly, there are two members of the SIG that not only contribute countless hours to each event but they insure we have the admin portion of the SIG under control. They also insure we have water and ice, extra tools, when needed, etc. Steve Lewis and Ginny Morris and not only Club Officers that carry out their demanding duties, but they are Co-Chairs of the Modules SIG that do most of the planning, attend nearly every event, and give their all to help insure our success. I, and the Club, owe them a debt of gratitude for their dedication! Please consider attending as many of the SIG events in the coming 2018 year as possible. It is rewarding to see all the happy people and their interest in our model train hobby. Thank you! Daryll Smith Director at Large Modules SIG Co-Chair 8

2018/2019 Officers/Board of Directors President: Darrell Woolfolk 480-818-1715-celll dpwoolfolk@yahoo.com Vice President: Danny Farrow 970-426-9197 azfats0761@msn.com Secretary: Ginny Morris 610-256-1121-cell putterm@cox.net Treasurer: Steve Lewis 605-660-6911-cell srlewis47@cox.net Directors at Large Colin Criswell 602-765-9585 cecriswell@gmail.com Jim Gardner 480-844-1956 jim@gardnergraphics.net John Paeth 480-883-3326 allaboardaz@q,com Metal Wheels For Sale: Bachmann #92421, 31.0mm Blackened Metal Wheels Purchase a case with 6 cards of 8 wheels is $76.00 paid by cash or check and $78.15 paid by credit card Purchase a card with 8 wheels is $12.67 paid by cash or check and $13.03 paid by credit card Please contact Steve at srlewis47@cox.net or Ginny at putterm@cox.net if you would like to purchase. I would like to wish everyone a nice Holiday Season and a Happy 2018! Ginny Morris, Editor SWAP MEETS & SHOWS February 18 Winter Cactus Swap Meet, Phoenix, AZ March 17-Swap Meet-Phoenix, AZ Check www.arizonamodeltrains.com for addresses, etc. 9

THE ABTO GAZETTE Membership Meeting Photos by Don Sorenson 10

Arizona Big Train Operators 1633 E. Lakeside Drive Unit 1 Gilbert, AZ 85234 ARIZONA BIG TRAIN OPERATORS OBJECTIVES Membership in Arizona Big Train Operators (ABTO) is open to anyone with an interest in gardening and the creation & operation of large scale model railways. At our meetings, items of mutual interest associated with the hobby are discussed and demonstrated. Meetings are typically held at member s homes, where they have the opportunity to showcase their railway creations. General meetings are usually held on the third Saturday of the month. ABTO BOARD MEETINGS ABTO MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION The renewal fee is $30.00 per year and the new membership fee of $35.00 per year entitles you to attend all meetings and events, to receive the monthly newsletter, to have one name badge created for you. Additional badges may be purchased. ABTO CONTRIBUTIONS Members are encouraged to contribute articles, letters, illustrations and/or photographs related to garden railroading for inclusion in the newsletter and/or posting on the club web site. Board meetings will be held on Wednesday prior to the general meeting of each month. Board meetings are open to members who are current on their dues and have an item for the agenda. If you plan to attend, call a Board member to confirm location, time and date Members who have hobby-related items for sale or trade may submit an advertisement for publication and/or posting at no charge. Please limit each ad to a maximum of four lines. Accompanying photos will be considered for publication as space allows. 11