News
The next regularly scheduled Quarterly Business Meeting is set for Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 8:00 PM in the Club Rooms at 854 E. Broadway, San Gabriel, CA 91776.
Members whould have received a copy (via email or US Mail) of the April 14 meeting agenda and the minutes of the January 2021 Quarterly Business Meeting. Also incldued was a copy of a Proxy Form. Please return the signed Proxy Form to Marc Thrasher, Chief Clerk, if you are unable to attend the meeting.
After a dreadful and disappointing Model Railroad Month last November, the club is planning a virtual Open House to be held sometime next spring.
COVID-19 conditions permitting, we hope to have an in-person Open House.
Stay tuned to this bat-channel for bat-times and bat-dates.
After considering how to safely open our mighty Highland Pacific Railroad layout to the public in these times of COVID-19, we had decided it would be best to hold a live-streamed Open House. In retrospect, we have decided to POSTPONE the Open House until later this fall or winter.
We are continuing to plan a virtual visit to our model railroad. Stay tuned for further information.
After considering how to safely open our impressive layout to the public in these times of COVID-19, we have decided to hold a live-streamed Open House. While there will be no public gathering of hobbyists or fans of model railroading, we will be hosting an Open House via a live-streamed broadcast on our Facebook page. We will host this live-streamed event on Saturday, November 7, 2020 from Noon to 5 PM.
The link for the live streaming will be posted shortly. In the meantime, enjoy our website and Facebook listing.
The next regularly scheduled business meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2020.
What: Quarterly Business Meeting
When: Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 8 PM
Where: Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc.
854 Broadway, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Last night, just as we were beginning to operate the mighty Highland Pacific Railroad according to Timetable 10 (thanks to James Keena for his prep work in developing this version of the timetable and for staging all the trains, including extras, that run according to plan), Dave Flynn asked, “Do you know the name of the mining railroad on the layout.”
I thought, “Yes, but … uh, I don’t remember.”
That started a small research project to find the name of the Highland Pacific RR’s mining railroad. It took a couple of hours until I found what I was looking for, the original brochure which contains information about the concept and philosophy behind the Highland Pacific Railroad. That same concept and philosophy guides us still, more than 72 years later since the founding of the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc., April 1, 1948.
So here’s the information about our mining railroad (still in formation and waiting for someone to take it and move it towards completion. Any takers?).
“The first station after Bayshore on the mainline is Rockdale Junction. It’s the interchange point and servicing facility for both the branchline and narrow gauge. A large percentage of traffic originates on these two lines, which are really dual-gauge lines part way into the hills. When they split, the narrow gauge, called the Highland Rock & Mineral Railroad (emphasis added), serves various mines through the use of extensive switchbacks. While the branch line serves the large sawmill and logging operations (called the Blue Lake Timber Company, emphasis added) in the vicinity plus many small industries.”
More familiar to members may be the street-running trolley line through Del Mar city which ends at a station a few blocks from the large Union Station. Since the location of Del Mar and the port city of Bayshore are along a peninsula, an interurban line Bayshore Valley Traction Company, “prospers moving commuters and freight. It shares the trolley station in Del Mar and runs from this point to Bayshore where it interchanges freight traffic with the Highland Pacific. Many industries are served by the interurban line including the dock area and Bayshore, an Industrial Park, and industries in the streets of Del Mar.”
So there you have it. The rationale, and names for, three subsidiary railroads of the Highland Pacific Railroad.
The National Model Railroad Association is planning a virtual national convention during the pandemic. NMRA plans to bring “an entire national convention right to your home.”
According to NMRA, the NMRAx team is proud to present the first ever virtual National Convention, Gateway-X. Because the pandemic means the meeting cannot be held in St. Louis this year as hoped, the National Convention will be presented virtually via the NMRA Facebook page & YouTube channel. Starting on July 12th at 8:00am EDT and running through 11:00pm EDT on July 18th, Gateway-X will be streaming 105 hours of content.
Click here for a complete guide to the Gateway-X!
If you are unable to tune in live, all presentations will remain available on the Facebook page + each individual presentation will be uploaded to the YouTube channel once editing has been completed.
Full event details ➡️ https://bit.ly/GatewayX
NMRA Facebook Page ➡️ https://bit.ly/NMRAFacebook
NMRA YouTube Channel ➡️ https://bit.ly/NMRAYouTube
The Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc., operators of the Mighty Highland Pacific Railroad, will be hosting their 72nd Annual Open House on the following dates:
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M.
Saturday, November 7, 2020 from 12:00 to 5:00 P.M.
Saturday, November 7, 2020 from 7 to 10 P.M. – Night Ops!
Sunday, November 8, 2020 from 12:00 to 5:00 P.M.
Start at the Highland Pacific Railroad and take in other model railroad events during Model Railroad Month.
Heading Out on the Rails
A miniature picture of Heading Out on the Rails has won an Third Place Award for Arie Korporaal. The miniature print, mounted on an easel, won the award in the Photography category of the Miniature and Small Works Show at the Whittier Art Gallery.
Arie has won awards in the same show 4 years in a row, all images were taken on the club's layout and feature Bayshore Depot, Greely Diesel Facility, and this one, at Vista Yard.
After 5 days and more than 25 hours of showing off the Highland Pacific Railroad the 71st Annual Open House has come to a close. Did you miss it? You can catch up on a video tour of the mighty Highland Pacific that has just been released.
Ray Olesen, unofficial HPSMRE videographer, has produced another stellar look at an Open House of one of the better known layouts in the greater Los Angeles area.
See the video in the Photos/Videos section of this website.
Memberships available. Call (626) 285-1031
