This coming Saturday, 29 January 2005, from 1000 Hours (10:00 AM) until 1600 Hours (4:00 PM), the Washington and Old Dominion Model Railroad Club are scheduled to display their trains here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.

This is an event we old soldiers eagerly look forward to each year, and I reckon if any of you all are in this neighborhood, then you'd probably be quite welcome to drop on by.

The display will be in the basement of the Scott Building, between the theatre and the mess hall.

Thank you.

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John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

" - - - the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, and we in dreams behold the Hebrides."

In a previous e-mail, I referred to today's display by the Washington and Old
Dominion Model Railroad Club here at the Ol' Soldiers' Home
(http://www.afrh.gov/DWP/afrh/afrhhome.htm).

Well, it turns out that the Washington and Old Dominion Model Railroad Club DOES
indeed have an Internet web site, and here is the URL:
http://www.trainweb.org/acsg/WOD/WOD_index.html

It was great fun looking at all the choo choo trains running around, with smoke
coming from the stacks of the steam locomotives.

There were whistles and bells, and even recordings of train dispatch orders
being issued and acknowledged.

The size of their model railroad is "S" gauge, which is larger than "HO", but
smaller than the famous Lionel "O" gauge.

The passenger trains they were running were New York Central, Baltimore and
Ohio, and Santa Fe.

There was also a track repair train, and a hand car, and a coal loading chute
that really worked (a bucket picked up coal and deposited it into a waiting
car)!

They even had an Army train there, painted with desert camouflage, carrying
trucks and guns.

Another thing I found especially interesting about their layout was a model of a
Coca-Cola bottling plant, with plenty of Coca-Cola delivery trucks of various
types.

Also, there were numerous miniature cars and trucks, including several vintage
highway patrol cars from various states, such as Georgia, Illinois, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

They also had a hearse!

Anyway, if you go to the Washington and Old Dominion Model Railroad Club
(http://www.trainweb.org/acsg/WOD/WOD_index.html) web site, you can see
photographs of their displays.

They visit us each year here at the Ol' Soldiers' Home, and we really appreciate
the kindness.

They said it takes about an hour and a half for them to set up their display,
and a like amount of time to break it down and pack up.

We exchanged stories of inaccurate portrayals of railroad trains on TV and in
the movies.

One of them told me he was watching an episode of "THE DISTRICT"
(http://www.tvtome.com/District/), which takes place in Washington, D.C., but it
showed a MetroLink (http://metrolinktrains.com/) train in the background, and
MetroLink is in Los Angeles!

I told them about observing a freight train in a movie, "RIDING THE BULLET"
(http://www.ridingthebulletmovie.com/).

The story, written by Stephen King, takes place in 1969, but the train being shown was a double decker
container car unit train, and it didn't have a caboose.

Similarly, when watching the movie, "AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF"
(http://www.hbo.com/films/panchovilla/), which takes place in 1914, the Mexican
railroad train had the vintage steam locomotive and tender, BUT it was pulling
modern steel boxcars with corrugated ends.

The model railroad show was really nifty.

I hope you all get to see it sometime, or something similar, depending on what
part of the country you're living in.

Hey, what's Christmas without electric trains?

Thank you.

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John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400