SPH&TS – Sparks, NV

Almost every Fall, the Southern Pacific Historical and Technical Society (SPH&TS) holds its annual convention, usually in a city formerly served by the Southern Pacific and easily accessible to the big populations in urban California (north and south).  This year’s convention was held in Sparks, NV, next door to Reno and site of a major locomotive shop for the SP.  Indeed, our hotel rooms looked out upon the former SP (now UP) yard and the shop buildings.  

 

The SPH&TS convention has long been on my “must attend” list each year.  In the past it was mostly about information gathering from the many excellent presentations.  Increasingly I now find that I eagerly attend the conventions for the opportunity to meet friends from my past or individuals I have met primarily at this event.  

 

Me, Ken C, Wouter deW, Wayne C.  Wayne and I have long attended SPH&TS conventions together or at least coordinated.  Wouter has been a long-time friend from afar and made it to this meet which focused upon his primary modeling interest of Donner Pass and the Overland Route.

 

The presentations tend to focus on topics drawn from the geographic area of the convention. This year was no exception, with topics covering the Overland Limited and the Nevada California and Oregon narrow gauge line that ran from Reno to Lakeview, Oregon.  The NCO line was purchased in 1925 by the SP to form a critical link in what became the Modoc Line which provided a quicker connection for Oregon traffic to the mainline leading to Ogden, Utah.  

 

In addition to the more formal display of models for a popular vote “contest,” the SPH&TS has now added a day of model display for a Rail Prototype Modelers Meet (RPM).  Several SF Bay Area stalwarts of the RPM movement brought models for display and discussion.  Dave Maffei saw me and remembered my RPM interests from prior meets, most recently the Bridgetown RPM Meet in Portland at the beginning of October.  He asked if I had anything to display.  As it happened, I had a passenger car I brought along to discuss with another modeler, so I joined in.

 

Several of the RPM displays with my nearly-scratch-built Cascade sleeper in the foreground and extending to Rick H’s. display in the distance.

 

A hallmark of RPM activity is taking extra effort to achieve closer fidelity to a prototype locomotive, car or structure.  The most common subjects are locomotives and freight cars, but examples of other items such as my passenger car show up and are welcome.  Binding RPM modelers together is the emphasis and effort needed to bring a model closer to what we observe in photos and in person.  

 

My Cascade sleeper is an example of using commercially-produced car sides together with a core kit (roof, floor, ends) for a Pullman Standard car to achieve a model unavailable elsewhere or for far less cost than rare brass models.  My car features interior walls made of styrene strip and sheet-stock welded to the laser-cut sides.  I brought it along because I had arranged to show it and discuss the construction with a fellow modeler who recently developed an interest in doing a similar job.  I was happy to add it to the RPM displays to provide further exposure to the construction ideas it illustrates.

 

Wayne and Ken C. and I had time to catch just one of the Reno area layouts open for tour on Saturday afternoon.  We were well-advised by others to get out to Jim Price’s layout.  Jim is building his vision of the Overland Route from the Oakland Mole up over Donner to Sparks.  His layout occupies comparable space to mine.  He has much of the lower levels of his railroad built and operating (seen by car card boxes and other operating aids around the railroad space) and has begun the climb of Donner Pass up to Colfax.

 

The Oakland Mole on Jim Price’s layout.  The Oakland Mole was the traditional end of the rail line in the SP’s West, with the final miles achieved by ferry service from the Mole to the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

 

Jim Price’s Roseville ice dock.  The ice dock is 18 feet long, making his refrigerator trains similar in length to my operation.  Note the rising benchwork and platform structure behind this Roseville scene.  Jim has more railroad to build!

 

The SPH&TS convention drew over 160 in attendance-a marked improvement from two years ago, indicating we are coming out of the Covid-19 doldrums.  I chose not to partake of the extra fare events on Sunday and Monday.  I had seen them in prior visits to the Reno area.  Next year we meet in Tucson.