NMRA Achievement Program |
November 2, 2020 |
Master Model Railroader |
|||
![]() |
George Konrad #44Master Builder-Motive Power Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Master Builder- Scenery Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author |
In 1972 George changed scales from HO, and a new layout in On3 was built. George changed scales again to F (1:20.3) in the late 1980's when he and Trudie's home was sold. The trains moved into the garden in their new home. A move to California in 2004 saw the building of another garden railway, and an indoor layout in On3 was built as well. George is very active in the hobby, and consults for the industry. He does most of the narrow gauge pre-production research for the Accucraft Company, and is a member of Dremel Link, which involves pre-production tool testing, etc. George has a most understanding wife who he met through the hobby. |
|
![]() |
Allan Phillips #114Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Master Builder- Scenery Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Model Railroad Engineer-Electrical Association Official Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author |
I grew up in southern California where I had the requisite Lionel train set as a boy. For my thirteenth birthday my parents gave me a mantua "Belle of the Eighties" locomotive kit. BIG mistake for a 13-year old with no metal working skills. Over the years, sticking with HO scale model trains, I re-built that model three times and it still wouldn't run worth a darn. After graduating from UC Berkeley I took a job that required moving to North Carolina. While there I joined several model RR clubs and met many terrific modelers who became good friends. Those fellow modelers helped improve my modeling skills a lot. After joining the NMRA in 1973 the circle of modeling acquaintances grew tremendously. Unfortunately, at that time our regional NMRA had the reputation of being elitist and clique-run. I decided that if I was going to be a member of this group, I would have to become actively one of "them". We started a local division and I was "railroaded in" as Superintendent. Getting to know all of those new people at our meetings was terrific but, it was still not "them" enough. I ran for region secretary and won, surprisingly. After a couple of terms, it was on to director, vice president and finally region president. There it was, I was "them"! The things I learned along the way are that it is not a clique. It is a bunch of people that have a common interest in model railroading and are willing to take their time to share their interest with others. The way to get the most from this hobby is to give back and share what you do with others. |
|
![]() |
Edwin Hall #242Master Builder-Motive Power Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Model Railroad Engineer-Electrical Cheif Dispatcher Association Official Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author
|
I have been building models since I was 5 years old (please don't add up the years). My Dad showed me how to paint back then. As time went by my interests changed and I turned to cars, from time to time I kept building models. After I lost interests in cars I got back into the hobby in 1982, deciding to enter a contest, I was told I had to join the NMRA to enter, the rest is history. I started to work on my certificates for the Achievement Program and completed them in November of 1995. I have certificates for Motive Power, Cars, Structures, Electrical and Civil Engineering, Author, Volunteer, Official, and Dispatcher. Part of the joy of being in the hobby is helping other people by sharing what I have learned, and serving in the NMRA. |
|
![]() |
Brian Block #353Master Builder-Motive Power Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Master Builder- Scenery Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author |
||
![]() |
Gary Butts #552Master Builder-Motive Power Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Master Builder- Scenery Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Model Railroad Engineer-Electrical Association Official Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author |
Like most model railroaders, my foray into model railroading began at an early age with a simple Lionel train set and an circle of track set around the Christmas Tree. Of course, not being satisfied with watching my train go around and around the tree, I convinced my boat builder father to make me a layout for the Lionel set. That first layout was a standard 4' x 8' plywood sheet but soon featured a large loop of track with a passing siding through the center with two turnouts and the requisite number of home made buildings, etc. I remember cutting a hole in the center of the layout and installing a pie tin lake with real water. How prototypical can you get? As I grew older the details that were becoming available on HO scale models caught my eye. My father picked up on my desire to build a Mantua 4-4-0 General kit and one appeared at Christmas shortly after my 12th birthday. I was thrilled with the kit and had the unpainted engine running on a 6 volt battery that night (We had to go for track the next morning). Well, suffice to say that I sold the Lionel layout and have been in HO ever since. Fortunately, my wife: Sandy, was not only tolerant of my sometimes latent hobby but actually took an interest in it and we had a layout in the basement of her Long Beach, California house before we were married. Our latest layout: the G&S Railroad, resides in our front room and has earned a Golden Spike and can be viewed in a past issue of the Cajon Division Order Board and in the Featured Layouts section of the NMRA national website. I joined the NMRA at the Sacramento National convention Train Show in 2011 on a Rail Pass and started participating in the Achievement Program about 5 months later. I enjoy building models and have had a great time advancing through the MMR program earning each Achievement Award. |
|
![]() |
Dennis Ivison #636Master Builder-Cars Master Builder-Structures Master Builder- Scenery Model Railroad Engineer-Civil Model Railroad Engineer-Electrical Association Volunteer Model Railroad Author |
I am the archtypical model railroader in that I received my first train set, Lional of course, for my first birthday. We set it up every Christmas, usually a week or two before my dad bought the Christmas Tree. Next was an Arnold N-scale train set that I ran on the carpet until the wheels were so full of fuzz that it couldn't move anymore. I took the locomotive apart, and started all over again. I took a hiatus during my teen years while chasing girls and racing cars (any of this sound familiar!). Then rediscovered the hobby and spent the next 35 years building several different N-scale layouts. Towards the end of my career with the Anaheim Fire Department I received a severe injury while fighting a fire and needed to set modeling aside for a couple of years while recovering from several surgeries. After my retirement and recovery I got back into model railroading, but made a change from N-scale to On30. My current layout: the South Pacific Coast Line, is going on five years old and is based on the SPC in the early 1900's. I also model 1/35th scale armor and 1/72nd scale aircraft, both from the WWII era. |
Achievement Awards |
|
Master Builder- Motive PowerGeorge Konrad, MMR, 1972 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1989 Randy Wilson , 1992 Brian Block, MMR, 2003 David Dewane , 2012 Gary Butts, MMR, 2015
Master Builder- CarsGeorge Konrad, MMR, 1972 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1982 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1990 Brian Block, MMR, 2003 Gary Butts, MMR, 2014 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2018
Master Builder- StructuresGeorge Konrad, MMR, 1972 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1982 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1991 Brian Block, MMR, 2003 Robert Wescott, 2005 Harold Helland, 2018 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2019 Gary Butts, MMR, 2020
Master Builder- SceneryBill Flinn, 1989 George Konrad, MMR, 1972 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1984 Brian Block, MMR, 2005 Bill Flinn, 2007 Lawrence Dewsnup, 2011 Gary Butts, MMR, 2013 Fred Lewis, 2018 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2018 Gordon Ramala, 2019 Jeff Herrmann, 2019
Model Railroad Engineer- CivilGeorge Konrad, MMR, 1972 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1982 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1994 Brian Block, MMR, 2005 Lawrence Dewsnup, 2012 Gary Butts, MMR, 2013 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2018
Model Railroad Engineer- ElectricalAllan Phillips, MMR, 1981 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1994 Lawrence Dewsnup, 2011 Gary Butts, MMR, 2013 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2018
Chief DispatcherDavid Dewane, 2011 Lawrence Dewsnup, 2011 Richard Fulkerson, 2011 Edwin Hall, MMR, 2011 Bill Jacobs, 2011 Gary Wilson, 2011 Harold Helland, 2017
Association OfficialAllan Phillips, MMR, 1986 Edwin Hall, MMR, 2001 Janice Wescott, 2005 Carl Heimberger, 2013 Per Harwe, 2018 Gary Butts, MMR, 2020
Association VolunteerJohn Hachey, 1987 George Konrad, MMR, 1972 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1982 Curtis Roos, 1993 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1994 James Kociemski, 2002 Janice Wescott, 2002 Robert Wescott, 2002 Brian Block, MMR, 2003 Bill Jacobs, 2003 Charles Nauman, 2003 Jane Jacobs, 2005 Marty Judd, 2005 Carl Heimberger, 2009 John King, 2009 Keith McMillen, 2011 Morrie Fleishman, 2014 Gary Butts, MMR, 2015 Dain Leese, 2018* Per Harwe, 2018 Gary Stenberg, 2018 Dennnis Ivison, MMR, 2019 Annette Palmer, 2019 John King, 2019 |
AuthorGeorge Konrad, MMR, 1972 Edwin Hall, MMR, 1992 Allan Phillips, MMR, 1982 Brian Block, MMR, 2002 Jan Wescott , 2002 Bill Jacobs, 2005 James Fuhrman, 2009 Charles Nauman, 2009 Gary Butts, MMR, 2015 Carl Heimberger, 2018 Per Harwe , 2018 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2018 Morrie Fleischmann, 2020
Golden SpikeJack Kenefick, 1996 Robert Wescott, 1999 Lynn Austine, 2002 Brian Block, MMR, 2002 Roger Clarkson, 2002 Bill Flinn, 2002 Stan Hayes, 2002 Dennis Ivison, MMR, 2002 Michael Kresen, 2002 Robert Obert, 2002 Art Tonnessen, 2002 Ron Tucker, 2002 Dave Dunaway, 2003 Charles Nauman, 2003 Robert Olds, 2003 John King, 2005 Dave Arendes, 2006 Hal Carlson, 2006 James Furman, 2006 Carl Heimberger, 2006 Ted Johnson, 2006 Joseph Villaryo, 2006 Harold Whiteley, 2006 Rick Fulkerson, 2007 Bill Meyer, 2007 Charlie Abbott, 2008 Lawrence Dewsnup, 2008 Mike Grippo, 2008 Gary Butts, MMR, 2012 David Pantoja, 2012 Morrie Fleishman, 2013 Ed Treaster , 2014 Marty Treaster , 2014 Joel Morse, 2015 John Taranto , 2017 George De Frank, 2018 Fred Lewis, 2018 Richard Hock, 2018 Gordon Remala, 2018 Paul Stoner, 2018 Mark Carnighan, 2019 Kenneth Hecker, 2019 David Okamura, 2019 Gerry Bill, 2019 Jeff Herrmann, 2019 Henri Sevanaeve, 2019 Mike Allee, 2020 Sandy Butts, 2020 |
Merit Awards |
|
Merit Award- Motive PowerBrian Block, MMR (5) Gary Butts, MMR (3) David Dewane, (3) James Fuhrman, (1) Ed Hall, MMR (3) George Konrad, MMR (3) Robert Olds, (4) Norm Suydam, (1) Joe Villaryo, (5)
Merit Award- CarsBrian Block, MMR (4) Gary Butts, MMR (4) Sandy Butts, (6) David Dewane, (4) Bill Flynn, (1)* Donald Gale, (2) Edwin Hall, MMR (5) Carl Heimberger, (2) Dennis Ivison, MMR (8) Ted Johnson, (2) George Konrad, MMR (4) Arnt Tonnessen, (1)*
&nsbp; * Not a current Cajon Division member |
Merit Award- StructuresCharlie Abbott, (4) Lynn Austin, (2)* Brian Block, MMR (8) Gary Butts, MMR (6) Larry Dewsnup, (1) Steve Flanigan, (2) Richard Fulkerson, (1)* Carl Heimberger, (5) Dennis Ivison, MMR (4) Bill Jacobs, (5) Jim Kociemski, (1)* George Konrad, MMR (6) Joel Morse, (1) Robert Parcell, (1) Gary Thompson, (1)* Robert Wescott, (8)* Sandy Butts, (1) Morrie Fleishmann, (1) Richard Hock, (1)
Merit Award- ModulesJanice Wescott, (1)* Terry Howden, (1) Mike Stanstedt, (1)*
|