Events and News
Regularly-scheduled Events
Cinema
Railroad-related videos are now being shown at 2:15 pm in these locations:
The video for October 6 (Ashcroft) and October 13 (Bradford) will be Edmonton to Hinton and Jasper with Michael Portillo.
Train Room
The Train Room is currently open to all Shannondell residents and accompanied guests. It is generally open all weekday mornings and often in the afternoons. You are welcome to stop in anytime the lights are on, or call x8900 (not regularly monitored) to set up a specific time to visit. See Welcome for more detail.
Regular Club Meetings
Regular Club meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month in the Ashcroft Movie Theater. All Shannondell Model Railroad Club Members and Friends are invited and encouraged to attend.
October 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, October 20 at 2 pm
November 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, November 17 at 2 pm
December 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, December 15 at 2 pm. This will be a Special Open House for Members and Friends.
Special Events
Holiday Open Houses
SMRC will hold Open Houses according to the following schedule:
Friday, 2022 November 25 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Saturday, 2022 November 26 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Santa Day, 2022 December 10 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday, December 17 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Sunday, December 18 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Monday, December 26 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Friday, December 30 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Cinema
Railroad-related videos are now being shown at 2:15 pm in these locations:
- First Thursday of the month in Ashcroft Movie Theater
- Second Thursday of the month in Bradford Movie Theater
The video for October 6 (Ashcroft) and October 13 (Bradford) will be Edmonton to Hinton and Jasper with Michael Portillo.
Train Room
The Train Room is currently open to all Shannondell residents and accompanied guests. It is generally open all weekday mornings and often in the afternoons. You are welcome to stop in anytime the lights are on, or call x8900 (not regularly monitored) to set up a specific time to visit. See Welcome for more detail.
Regular Club Meetings
Regular Club meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month in the Ashcroft Movie Theater. All Shannondell Model Railroad Club Members and Friends are invited and encouraged to attend.
October 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, October 20 at 2 pm
November 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, November 17 at 2 pm
December 2022 meeting will be held Thursday, December 15 at 2 pm. This will be a Special Open House for Members and Friends.
Special Events
Holiday Open Houses
SMRC will hold Open Houses according to the following schedule:
Friday, 2022 November 25 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Saturday, 2022 November 26 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Santa Day, 2022 December 10 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday, December 17 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Sunday, December 18 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Monday, December 26 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Friday, December 30 from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Rail Excursions
Reading and Northern Railroad offers rail excursions between Reading and Jim Thorpe, PA most Saturdays and Sundays. Go to www.RBMNRR-PASSENGER.com or phone 610-562-2102 for details and tickets.
Model Train Show
Greenberg Train and Toy Show, Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks, PA coming January 14-15, 2023. Check back to confirm dates.
Reading and Northern Railroad offers rail excursions between Reading and Jim Thorpe, PA most Saturdays and Sundays. Go to www.RBMNRR-PASSENGER.com or phone 610-562-2102 for details and tickets.
Model Train Show
Greenberg Train and Toy Show, Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks, PA coming January 14-15, 2023. Check back to confirm dates.
Special Presentation
Frank Tatnall will speak about the Reading Company and its home ground of Reading, PA in an illustrated presentation scheduled for Friday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Ashcroft Movie Theater.
Frank Tatnall is a locally and nationally known railroad historian. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successor, Conrail, in the freight traffic department. He was the organizer and planner of numerous special trips for PRR executives and excursions for rail fans. He has authored numerous articles for trade and enthusiast publications such as the National Railroad Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society, of which Frank has been a member and held office for many years.
Come and enjoy this presentation.
New to the SMRC Web Site
Bruce Wintersteen's presentations on Railroad Signal Systems are now available on this website.
Frank Tatnall will speak about the Reading Company and its home ground of Reading, PA in an illustrated presentation scheduled for Friday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Ashcroft Movie Theater.
Frank Tatnall is a locally and nationally known railroad historian. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successor, Conrail, in the freight traffic department. He was the organizer and planner of numerous special trips for PRR executives and excursions for rail fans. He has authored numerous articles for trade and enthusiast publications such as the National Railroad Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society, of which Frank has been a member and held office for many years.
Come and enjoy this presentation.
New to the SMRC Web Site
Bruce Wintersteen's presentations on Railroad Signal Systems are now available on this website.
News
Executive Committee Meeting
The Executive Committee met in the Card Room at 2:00 pm on September 29. The results of the meeting will be posted soon.
Watson Presentation
Member Bob Watson spoke to a good crowd on Early High Speed Adventures in the Northeast Corridor -- The Metroliner May 26 in the Ashcroft Movie Theater. Bob's informative presentation was well received. This presentation was repeated on Channel 98 on Thursday, June 30.
Student Contribution
A student and her teacher from somewhere in the United States have contributed a link to a website dealing with many aspects of model railroading. You can find it on our External Links page under Model Railroad Organizations.
Layout Changes
Several changes were made to the Shannondell Model Railroad layout during 2021. Click here for details.
During 2022 many additional improvements have been made to the SMR layout. One of these is the rebuilding of the elevated portion of the high line from the foundation up. This work was recently completed with the installation of railings along this section of track. Thanks to Rich Keckley and Gerry Williams, the elevated section of the High Line was rebuilt and Rich added new railings.
Executive Committee Meeting
The Executive Committee met in the Card Room at 2:00 pm on September 29. The results of the meeting will be posted soon.
Watson Presentation
Member Bob Watson spoke to a good crowd on Early High Speed Adventures in the Northeast Corridor -- The Metroliner May 26 in the Ashcroft Movie Theater. Bob's informative presentation was well received. This presentation was repeated on Channel 98 on Thursday, June 30.
Student Contribution
A student and her teacher from somewhere in the United States have contributed a link to a website dealing with many aspects of model railroading. You can find it on our External Links page under Model Railroad Organizations.
Layout Changes
Several changes were made to the Shannondell Model Railroad layout during 2021. Click here for details.
During 2022 many additional improvements have been made to the SMR layout. One of these is the rebuilding of the elevated portion of the high line from the foundation up. This work was recently completed with the installation of railings along this section of track. Thanks to Rich Keckley and Gerry Williams, the elevated section of the High Line was rebuilt and Rich added new railings.
Rebuilt elevated section of track finished with railings
The SMR layout also has recently been upgraded with a new drive-in movie theater. A 7" tablet is used for the screen. Movies can be shown by download from cloud storage. The image below shows the new drive-in movie theater.
New Drive-in Movie Theater on the Shannondell Model Railroad
Another new feature of the layout is Miss Molly's Diner (following image).
Miss Molly's Diner is a recent addition to the SMR layout
Several other improvements have been made including signals, signal controls, scenery, water features and caboose marker lights.
A new water feature with flow from the upper level along the tracks to the lake at Joyce Recreation Area was developed by Gerry Williams and Joe Hanson
Bob Watson has completed the addition and upgrade of operational marker lights on the SMR roster of cabooses.
Operational marker lights on cabooses in the SMR roster
Updated Train Room Entryway
Betty Smiley provided several new items to dress up the entryway to the Train Room (see three photos below). We have had some pictures on this wall that showed the construction of the room and the early years of the layout. Betty provided a framed collage with new prints of these and other pictures. Above the collage is a nameplate that says "Shannondell Model Railroad Club - Established in 2005". On the angled portion of the wall are two plaques. The top plaque shows a picture of the first Club meeting and honors the four founding members, Marty Umanoff, Bob Port, Dick Joyce, and Bruce Smiley. The lower plaque lists all the past presidents of the Club.
Betty Smiley provided several new items to dress up the entryway to the Train Room (see three photos below). We have had some pictures on this wall that showed the construction of the room and the early years of the layout. Betty provided a framed collage with new prints of these and other pictures. Above the collage is a nameplate that says "Shannondell Model Railroad Club - Established in 2005". On the angled portion of the wall are two plaques. The top plaque shows a picture of the first Club meeting and honors the four founding members, Marty Umanoff, Bob Port, Dick Joyce, and Bruce Smiley. The lower plaque lists all the past presidents of the Club.
New Coal Mine on Horseshoe Mountain
A major project in 2021 was the rebuild of the Horseshoe Mountain end of the layout to facilitate an enlarged fully operational coal mine. The width of the layout on this end was enlarged to permit an increase in the radius of curves through the mountain. This necessitated rebuilding everything in this area, except for the upper portion of the original mountain which was reused. The result is shown in the photos below.
Web Site Update
This year (2022) the Shannondell Model Railroad website, https://www.shannondell modelrailroad.org, is undergoing an update to improve organization and flow of information presented. Look for these changes in the second and third quarters of 2022.