News

Officers for 2026

Officers for 2026 are as follows:

   Bill Hardy President
   Leon Butler Vice President
   Jim Rush Secretary
   Bruce Wintersteen Treasurer

Members At Large of the Executive Committee
Rich Keckley
Rod Randow
Gerry Williams

Ex Officio Members
Betty Smiley
Bob Watson

Layout Changes

Several changes have been made to the Shannondell Model Railroad layout during 2025. Click Layout Changes in 2025 for details.

Several scenarios for Layout Operations have been developed. You can find them here.

2026 April Meeting Minutes

Minutes of 2026 April 16 Meeting - Ashcroft Movie Theater

CALL TO ORDER: The 2026 April meeting of the Shannondell Model Railroad Club was called to order at 2:02 pm by President Bill Hardy, in the Ashcroft Movie Theater. He welcomed 14 Members and Friends to the meeting. Bill then presented the agenda, as follows:

Secretary’s Report
- March Minutes Approval
Treasurer’s Report
- 2026 March Financials
Old Business
- Videos, Visitors
New Business
- Exploratory Projects Updates
- Public Relations
- Coal Car Operations Scenario Introduction
Next Meeting

SECRETARY'S REPORT:

Minutes: Secretary Jim Rush reported that the minutes of the 2026 March meeting were distributed by mail on April 10 and via the SMRC Web site. There being no corrections or additions to the Minutes as presented, a motion was made and seconded to accept the March minutes, and it passed by voice vote of the Members present.

TREASURER'S REPORT:

2026 March Financials: Treasurer Bruce Wintersteen presented the Treasurer’s report, which accompanies these minutes. It indicates Income of $45.00 and Expenses of $176.73. The account balance as of 2026 March 31 was $5,464.26, down 131.73 from the 2026 February 28 account balance. Membership stands at 50 Members and 28 Friends. The Treasurer’s 2026 March Report was approved by voice vote of the Members present.

2026 Budgets: Bruce next presented the following updated budget for Recurring and Maintenance Items. Expenditures for 2026 April 12 are $827.33 (24.3% of the budgeted amount).

The budget for Major Task Items was next presented, as shown below. Expenditures for 2026 April 12 amount to $513.91 or about 20.9% of the annual budget. Bruce noted that the two PRR RS-3 locomotives have not yet been received and there is no firm date when they can be expected. The amount budgeted for these locomotives for 2025 has been carried over to the 2026 budget.

OLD BUSINESS:

Videos: For 2026 March: Ecuador by Train: South America’s Most Spectacular Railroad (Devil’s Nose or Nariz del Diablo). Attendance was Ashcroft 40, Bradford 30. For 2026 April: Africa via World’s Most Luxurious Trains: Rovos Rail, Durban to Pretoria to Cape Town. Attendance was Ashcroft 43 and Bradford 34. The following chart shows attendance by month beginning 2025.

Visitors to the Layout: Visitor totals for 2025 and 2026 are shown in the following graphic.

For 2026 March, Walk-ins 22; By appointment 4.

NEW BUSINESS:

Exploratory Projects Updates:
Rich Keckley reported that new crossing gates and lights are being installed at the level crossing under the shuttle trestle near the drive-in theater. These units need to flash lights, lower and raise a bar and operate whenever a train will enter the crossing from either direction. Bruce helped by building a bread board using an Arduino circuit board and other elements. The following images show the location under development as well as the bread board. Further development is underway.

Bruce has updated JMRI to show the additional track on which the Shuttle can run on the DCC portion of the Layout. The earlier version limited the Shuttle to DC track.

Rod and Bruce are planning a new level of track above the present High Line. The discussion centered on a line from Horseshoe Mountain, around behind Shannondell Station and along the south wall and into the Staging Yard. The following images provide a way to imagine where the new line would reside.

Public Relations:
Bill opened a discussion of ways to attract new members to the Club. One approach he offered is to invite residents to either Build-a-Car, which could include kits or scratch-built cars perhaps using 3D printing, carving or other methods, or in a similar manner residents could Build-a-Building. In either case, the build might be one-off or several items. These approaches to involving more residents in our railroad could involve crafts persons, artists and other “builders”.

Another approach to Public Relations, involves mailing a flier to all residents, inviting them to join the Shannondell Model Railroad Club. Bruce noted that such a flier was used in 2023 and could be updated for 2026. Jim volunteered to work on such a flier.

Coal Mine Operations:
Bruce presented an overview of a scenario he has developed to conduct realistic operations at the Diamond Coal Corporation Mine. This scenario may be studied in detail on the SMRC Website. When you access the site, go to Layout and under this heading, select Layout Operations. Several scenarios are now available for your review.

NEXT MEETING: The next meeting of the membership will take place on 2026 May 21 at 2:00 pm in the Ashcroft Movie Theater.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 3:10 pm.

Respectively submitted, Jim Rush, Secretary

Next Membership Meeting: Thursday, 2026 May 21 at 2:00 pm in the Ashcroft Movie Theater.