Crew Call for Timetable Operation

The next Time Table and Car Card operating session on the Highland Pacific Railroad is scheduled for 7 PM, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Passenger and Freight Operation will between 7:00 and 8:00 P.M. and continue until about 9:30 to 10:00 P.M.

Crews are needed for the following positions:

• Dispatcher
• 5 Mainline Engineers
• Brakemen/Conductors
• Vista Freight Yard
• West End Freight Yard
• Greeley/Highland Freight Yard
• Underhill Yard/Castlegate
• Doering/Arcadia Tower
• Blue Island Operator
• Pinehurst/Casper Tower
• Bayshore Dock Operator
• Passenger Terminal
• Round House/Diesel Shop
• 3 Local Freight Crews

NEC/DCC as well as conventional DC will be used for this Timetable Operations session. Attached is the Dispatcher Train Line-up Schedule for this session.

Great Train Show This Weekend

All Aboard for the Great Train Show!
Saturday & Sunday July 18-19, 2015
Pomona at Fairplex
10 am - 4pm
Click on the link above for additional information.

Kids 11 & Under are Free! Tickets at the Door are $9. You can save $2 off admission if you click here.

Annual Business Meeting July 8th

The regularly scheduled Annual Business Meeting of the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc., will be held on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in the club rooms, 854 Broadway, San Gabriel, at 8:00 PM.

If you are unable to attend please submit a proxy form so a quorum can be met to conduct business at the meeting. 

Timetable Operations Underway

Panoramic view of the Highland Pacific Railroad layout

Posted live during the operating session …

A small but dedicated crew of operators has been called to work by the crew caller and dispatcher Bryan Hunnell.

Train 804, an eastbound freight, left Vista Yard and hit the mainline another an hour behind schedule. Engineer Bryan Hunnell made up some time on the schedule by while switching at Bayshore Docks.

In the meantime Cab Operator Pat Keegan fired up the 805, a westbound freight on track 363, an began the long journey to the western terminus of the Highland Pacific Railroad. Picking up some cars at Bayshore Docks slowed his arrival at Vista Yard.

Train 806 Engineer Arie Korporaal made up time on the schedule running the First 806 out of Vista eastbound as a through freight. Even so, this priority freight with Western Pacific on the point arrived at its Greely Yard destination just under an hour late.

Lindsay Smith worked as Eastside Brakeman with Ron Wardwell serving as the critical Vista Yard Operator. Bill Chappell got the session underway by staging trains around the layout.

The next operating session governed by timetable is scheduled for July 29, 2015. Be there or be square.

Timetable Operating Session Scheduled for April 29th

Night has fallen on the Highland Pacific Railroad

James Keena, Paymaster and Head of Operations, has announced a full-scale timetable operations night on Wednesday, April 29th.

“Arrival and departure times on the timetable are closer than they appear.” So said Pat Fluhrer after one of the club's timetable operating sessions. Club members will have the opportunity to run the Highland Pacific Railroad like the model first-class railroad that it is. There are plenty of operating stations for every member in attendance. The railroad will need a dispatcher, locomotive engineers, yard operators, Blue Island local operator, and brakemen.

The group is getting better at using the car card system around which our timetable operations are organized. All in all, running trains based on principles of real railroads will make the session more than “Christmas tree” running.

Our next Timetable Operations session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2015. Come on down and join in the fun.

Wardwell Gets Kudos for Work as a Volunteer

Ron Wardwell, long-time active member of the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, has been recognized for his shining work as a volunteer. Ron's volunteerism was recently recognized by the City of Hope in Duarte.

You can hear Ron's own description of the important work he does. Watch:

Happy Birthday to you …

Today the Highland Pacific Railroad is 67 years old.

April 1, 1948 is the official founding date of the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc. Thanks to the farsighted men who got together and formed the club, still going strong 67 years later.

Here's a special shout out to George Boggs who is one of the founding members of the Society. He is the only surviving member of the original group of founders. Thanks George!

Video page now live. Again.

After a brief hiatus the Videos page is live again. These are mostly videos of or about the layout over which the mighty Highland Pacific Railroad runs.

While we feature videos shot and produced by club members, we will include videos taken by non-members that visit the layout. Let us know if you have some video worth sharing.

Annual Open House Dates Announced

The 67th Annual Open House for the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc. has been set for:

Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 7 to 10 PM
Saturday, November 7, 2015, Noon to 5 PM
Sunday, November 8, 2015, Noon to 5 PM

Mark your calendars.

New Keys Required

The locks in the club rooms have been changed. Your current old key will no longer work. Bring your old key and trade it for a new key to the club.

That key and access is a privilege of membership. Don't lose your key and don't give it to or bring non-members into the club to run trains. Breeches in security require a rekeying of the locks and that now costs the club in excess of $200.