Carolina Piedmont Division 13
of the
NMRA Mid-Eastern Region

NMRA Achievement Program (AP)

 
Getting Started
Go to a Regional or Divisional meet. Take a model along and enter it in the model contest. Contest results will provide you with a good benchmark of your current skills. If you score enough points you will be presented with a Merit Award that you can use towards your Certificates of Achievement (see below). If you don't earn a merit Award the judges will be happy to advise you on how you might improve the model or build a better one next time.

If entering a contest doesn't appeal to you, contact your local AP Chairman to arrange for merit Award judging to be performed on your model at the next Division or Region meet separate from the contest.

AP judges will make house calls. If you are applying for a Golden Spike Award (see below) or for categories like Scenery, Civil or Electrical which cannot be transported to a contest, your local AP Chairman will send judges to your home at an agreed time for Merit Award judging. Talk to your local AP Chairman about the items you will need for the judging.

The AP Chairman for the Carolina Piedmont Division 13 is Vic Bitleris. Vic can be contacted as follows:

Vic Bitleris
2636 Iman Drive
Raleigh, NC 27615

Phone: (919) 870-7558

Click here to send an Email to Vic.

The AP Chair for the NMRA's Mid-Eastern Region is:

Charlie Flichman
6909 Crandall Court
Clemons, NC 27012-9056
Phone: (336) 766-8353
Email: cwflich@aol.com

This section provides examples of how to fill in the AP submission forms. Right mouse click on these links and select "Save Link As..." to save it to your local computer.

Submission example for House on the Hill — Houseonthehillr2005.doc — 24 KB
houseonhill1.jpg
houseonhill2.jpg

Please contact AP Chairman Vic Bitleris for the article on House on the Hill project.

Gene Sing Earns Master Model Railroader No. 544
March 2013

My first memory of owning and operating a model train was during my early teens. Although there must have been an earlier use, because I have a Lionel 027 train set that I brought with me from my parents’ house. The train layout was a simple oval built on an eight foot by 8 foot plywoo d table with a four foot by 12 foot addition for a two track yard. I use to get help from my friend Frank Maher to go down to the local hardware store to help carry the 4 x 8 sheets of plywood to my parents’ house. The original purpose of this table was
to support playing WWII war games using AHM Minitanks and AIRFIX Minimen.

The motive power I used was an Athearn 40 ton switcher which used rubber bands to transfer the power from the motor to the trucks. Those were the good old days! The layout stayed up
through high school and college, but like many others, the trains took a back seat to the progression of life. I got married, had kids, served in the Army in several active duty tours at various stateside and overseas assignments in Germany, South Korea and the Sinai. Even throughout this busy time there was an occasional train purchase (sure signs of an addiction).

1999 saw the greatest change in my hobby activity when we moved from Bangor, Maine to Cary, North Carolina. Getting a new job as a
construction project manager and joining the local train club sparked the model railroad construction bug. I constructed a five foot diameter helix for the club. The house we bought in Cary had a great crawl space. Over a three year period I hand dug out over 2,400 five gallon buckets of clay and put in a multi-level 4 inch reinforced concrete floor, also all hand mixed and poured ( I know, I have to be crazy to do all this)!

Encouragement from MMR David Lynam, and MMR Richard A. Genthner got me into the NMRA Achievement Program (AP). I have earned AP certificates in the Volunteer, Civil, Electrical, Scenery, Dispatcher, and Structures and Cars categories.

The journey started by supporting my son’s Boy Scout Troop 216. Helping the troop as the equipment quartermaster, I also was the merit badge counselor for collections, coin collecting and railroading. As such, I organized through the train club, classes so the scouts could achieve the merit badge in a single day. Along with presenting classes, I coordinated the paperwork so the scouts could take their completed blue cards back to their troop. Over four years I helped over 200 scouts obtain their railroad merit badge. For this service, I earned the Volunteer certificate.

Construction is my focus area. I enjoy the construction part of the hobby, especially creating the benchwork and hand laying the track. I don’t think I would have completed the MMR if I didn’t do what I consider the “easier” AP areas first.

I model the Maine Central and Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. Presently I have about 500 feet of hand laid code 83 track and about
130 hand laid switches. The layout I am building is only 20% complete at this time.

I became interested in hand laying track when I first saw hand laid track at the Eastern Maine Model Railroad Club in Orland, Maine.
When I first saw it I thought it would be very difficult to do, but also a challenge to myself to try to master. I find hand laying track is both fun and therapeutic. It is very relaxing as long as you don’t set a quota to lay x feet of track during a certain time period.

It was a struggle completing the structures because of how each person’s interpretation of what was supposed to be in the structure.
The cars AP didn’t prove to be as difficult as I feared, once you learned how to construct the car base.

I find it an interesting area to model and I am now working on a Fleischmann Transportation Company vinegar car (RR Model
Craftsman, March 2005). The car is a combination of a brass frame with a wooden tank. I think it will prove interesting when I finish it!

A good friend, Stephen Wood, who recently received his MMR knew how close I was and challenged me to complete the MMR
requirements sometime this decade! Sometimes you need some good-natured needling and encouragement to focus on completing the job.

I am a firm believer in the philosophy of “Pay it Forward” in our hobby. Lately I have been offering Saturday clinics once a month to the Carolina Piedmont Division 13 membership and soon will offer it to patrons of several local train shops. Classes had been on constructing a basic wood Bar Mills craftsman structure, how to make a styrene building not to look like plastic. Future classes include how to scratch build a wood boxcar (AP related), proper use and cleaning of an airbrush, weathering techniques, and how to construct a 2’ x 4’ modular. The sky’s the limit!

Completing the MMR has been a rewarding accomplishment which has made model railroading even more enjoyable, but I look forward
to continuing to grow and develop my interests in this fascinating hobby. Today I am on the verge of retiring from full time work and starting to concentrate on developing a train themed park for the greater Raleigh, NC area. When ultimately completed, we hope to have an 87,500 SF building housing N, HO, O scale layouts with LGB, 7 ½” live steam and 2 foot narrow gauge on 40 to 100 acres of land. Come see us at www.PiedmontRailroadMuseum.org

I am also interested in Maine’s 2 foot narrow gauge railroads. In particular, the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Narrow Gauge Railway located in Alna, Maine which has two original WW&F steam locomotives and is being rebuilt in its’ original right of way. They are doing such a fabulous job restoring and rebuilding the original railroad that I now have a life membership with the organization and intend to assist them as much as possible. If you are in Maine for a vacation, try dropping in. They are really friendly and willing to show you around.

Stephen Wood Earns Master Model Railroader No. 507
March 2013

My entry into railroading and model railroading began as a young boy in New York when my grandfather took me to Harmon Yards for my birthday in 1965. It was an experience that lit a fire under me. My first train set was a 1966 Christmas present from my parents. It included a small HO scale NYC switcher and several cars, and it still runs. In 1970 we moved again. This house had a small room next to dad’s home office, where I set up a sheet of plywood for the layout and could run two trains at the same time. Dad began to teach me how to make the old plastic kits. At seventeen this was put on hold and the trains were put into boxes: I enlisted in the Army, serving overseas and then returning to the States.

There were numerous civilian jobs and home relocation's. In 1998 I settled into my present location. Then came the fourth layout, which I called the CLSC&W Railroad. The property has a building which is perfect for a train layout. It is forty five foot long by twenty five feet wide. In 2004 both dad and I joined the NMRA. It was also time to get some help building a new layout and I called dad. His name is Charles L. Wood and that accounts for the CL in the name of the railroad.

I studied several books on L-girders and DC. I had not yet heard of DCC. It took 12 years to complete that layout, which had two freight lines on the lower level and two passenger lines (including curves with a 42 inch radius) on the upper level. The layout was free standing and had a dreaded pop-up area. After about four years, the yard was added onto with more than 20 classification tracks. With this expansion and other issues I realized it was quite difficult to reach many places on that layout. That layout was torn down in the spring of 2012. I am now building my fifth and final layout. It features four main lines, a coach yard, freight yard, a freight staging area and over 15 industries/sidings. Best of all, it will be DCC.

In my personal life, I have a very understanding wife from the Republic of Panama. I am grateful for her allowing me time, not only at home but away at conventions and operating sessions, all of which helped me to complete my MMR. Also, I have three wonderful girls.
I would also like to thank all the men and women from the Carolina Southern Division 12. They allowed me to attend and take part in operating sessions, and signature programs. I thank also all the people who judged my models, cars and layout, and I really appreciate all the great feedback they gave me over the years. I appreciate my mother allowing dad the time to help me and teach me and also her driving the hour and a half each way to bring dad to the layout. In closing I would like to thank our Regional AP Chairman, Charlie Flichman who guided me and who helped me through all the paperwork.

Stephen earned the following AP Certificates: Master Builder-Cars, Master Builder-Structures, Master Builder-Scenery, Model Railroader Engineer-Electrical, Chief Dispatcher, Association Volunteer, and Model Railroad Author. 2006

David Lynam Earns Master Model Railroader No. 354
October 2005

David Lynam, former Division Superintendent and Current Assistant Superintendent is the Carolina Piedmont Division's second Master Model Railroader (MMR), No. 354 in the NMRA. The following article appeared in Scale Rails's July 2006 Bulletin.

My entry into model railroading began as a young boy in Tampa, Florida. The garage in our back yard contained many items of interest. On the back wall of this garage were some old HO boxcars and refrigerated cars. They were quite beat up, some missing trucks, others missing wheel sets, but all sporting couplers that had a hook and a ring of metal. But most importantly, my family had a great deal to do with my entering the hobby.

My Uncle Bobby was a modeler. He became a deaf mute from a childhood illness and only my Dad and he could communicate with their own sign language. He would gladly show me his latest project and I would do my best to understand and share his enthusiasm. Although our conversations weren't totally clear, I conveyed my appreciation for his skills the best I knew how. And he always seemed to understand.

Then there was my Uncle Joe. He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was in pain all the time. However, he had a basement workshop full of HO trains. Knowing what a young boy liked, he would invite me down to the workshop and show off some of his past achievements from Bowser, Varney, and Penn-Line. Hundreds of parts separated into jars and boxes fueled my imagination. I'm sure if he had been able, he could have built a beautiful layout in that basement.

After visits like those, I was eager for my own HO trains. My first engine was a Christmas gift from Mom and Dad. It was a Santa Fe U25C by AHM with built-in sound! The sound was simple the gears and motor. I now needed a track, so Dad made a 4x6 table that hung on the wall and could be folded up when not in use. I wasn't into scenery, so this arrangement worked out fine. My brother, Bruce, was a modeler and taught me about airbrushing, detailing and scratchbuilding. Then came the discovery of a certain little hobby shop called Chester Holley's. There I saw my first brass engine, Marklin trains, Lionel, American Flyer, and tons of books, kits, and of course HO trains! I became acquainted with Dave Frary, John Olsten, Malcolm Furlow, and of course John Allen, John Armstrong and Lynn Westcott.

All this fun was put on hold while I graduated from high school, did four and a half years in the Army, got married to my wonderful wife, Brenda, went into the family business, and dabbled in R/C airplanes. I later became a Registered Nurse. During school I learned about the dangers of skin cancer and how I was a perfect candidate. So, the planes were sold and trains again came back into the picture. I learned about the NMRA, and the Achievement Program. I discovered the Sunshine Region and got involved for the first time in a regional convention as model contest entrant. The people were great! Bill Porter showed me the ropes of filling out the forms. I made a lot of new friends and saw some awesome models.

When we moved to North Carolina, I checked on the NMRA Web site for a division in the Raleigh area and discovered the Carolina Piedmont Division of the MER. The Division Superintendent was Dick Genthner, and he invited me to his operating group and the division meeting. Through this group of folks, I made many life-long friendships and was inspired to continue in the AP program. Three years ago, I was elected superintendent of the division. Last year, our division sponsored our first MER regional convention called "Rails to Raleigh."

All along the way were family, friends and mentors helping me improve my skills and helping me to achieve my goal of MMR. A big thanks to my wife, Brenda, for her critical eye and support. And to all my buddies in the CPD13, thanks for all your support and encouragement. This hobby is fun, but sharing the hobby with others makes lifelong friendships and memories. Give it a try! You'll be a better modeler and gain friendships for a lifetime. I hold the following AP Certificates: Master Builder Cars, Master Builder Structures, Model Railroad Engineering-Civil and Electrical, Association Volunteer, Chief Dispatcher, and Model Railroad Author.

Richard Genthner Earns Master Model Railroader No. 330
January 2004

Richard Genthner, Charter Division Member, former Division Superintendent and Current Division AP Chairman is the Carolina Piedmont Division's first Master Model Railroader (MMR), No. 330 in the NMRA.

Following is the write-up from Scale Rails:

Dick Genthner first got involved with model railroading, as so many others did, via the Lionel train route. The first train he remembers is a Standard gauge Lionel set followed by other O gauge tinplate trains. The whole family was involved. Dick, his older brother Glen and their dad Glen Sr. moved ahead with an O scale layout on the second floor of a two car garage while the brothers were in high school. This model railroad was called the "Glenwood and Dixon" line. After college and marrying his childhood sweetheart, Pat, plus a tour in the Navy during the Korean War, Dick constructed a portable HO scale layout that folded up and could be stored under a double bed. With the wiring hanging out underneath, the movers always thought it was a large stereo set like those of that time. This was the first "Arpee and Western" railroad.

Following the military tour, there were numerous civilian jobs, home relocations and the arrival of three daughters, all of which slowed down the model railroad activities. However finally in the 70's the newest home had a basement with space for a workshop and an HO layout. This became the third of five reincarnations of the Arpee and Western.

Finally, after retirement and a move to North Carolina, the dreams of a larger, operating railroad came to be realized. The retirement home had to have a suitable basement (plus be near a golf course) and thus the fifth version of the Arpee and Western came into being. About the same time Dick became associated with Jack Frame and his "Monon" operating group and became hooked on building a model railroad designed for operating. In 1995, Dick started the AWOGs (Arpee and Western Operating Group) with only four members. As the railroad expanded, the AWOGs grew to a group of fifteen or so operators who now enjoy operations on three different local model railroads. The AWOGs operate the A&W at least once a month plus operating two other railroads that are part of the group, Dil Huey's Brandywine Valley and Ed Dougherty's Pennsylvania Railroad-Eno Division.

The Arpee and Western is a free-lance model of a 1930s steam powered railroad operating in the Catskill mountain area of New York. It interconnects with two other regional railroads called the Glenwood and Dixon and the Ulster and Delaware. Presently, the A&W is fully operational and the scenery is complete. The newest addition is an operating cable car railway called the Otis Elevating Railway, based on a prototype from up state New York in the early 1900s. Negotiations are underway for a future expansion into the work shop area.

Dick first became a member of the NMRA in 1945. Although a member of the NMRA and the NER for many years, making a living kept Dick from being active in the associations. He is a charter member of the Carolina Piedmont Division of the Mid Eastern Region and this has turned out to be a very rewarding experience. He served as Superintendent for over two years as well as being the Achievement Program chairman twice. Dick and his wife Pat have found time to travel to three national conventions and numerous MER conventions. Serving as an apprentice judge at several MER convention model contests provided him with the inspiration to move ahead in the AP. His thanks go out to all those who been such patient teachers and supporters, including Dil Huey, Ed Dougherty, Jack Frame, Dave Lynam, Jim Kellow, Roger Cason and Ray Bilodeau. Most of all he is most thankful for the help and support of his understanding wife of fifty-one years.

Dick holds the AP certificates for Master Builder-Cars, Master Builder-Scenery, Engineer-Electrical, Engineer-Civil, Chief Dispatcher, Author and Association Volunteer.

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Last updated: Thursday, August 28, 2014

Carolina Piedmont Division

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