Monday, June 28, 2010 at 9:29PM 
As you know USA Trains has not increased prices since 2008 while the cost of manufacturing products has increased over the past two years. They can no longer continue to absorb these increased costs without raising prices. New prices take effect on July 1, 2010.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 4:32PM Contact: Jennifer L. Hill/tb April 26, 2010
Reece, Carter Railroad museums to celebrate preservation with day of children’s activities, showings of Tweetsie Railroad footage
JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University’s Reece Museum and George L. Carter Railroad Museum, in collaboration with the Archives of Appalachia at ETSU, will celebrate National Preservation Month (May) with a day of children’s activities, as well as two showings of Tweetsie Railroad footage, on Saturday, May 1.
Both museums will be open from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
At the Reece Museum, children ages 3-10 will have the opportunity to make cornhusk dolls, explore their artistic side and participate in 18th century games on the grounds. Indoors, they may play with Lincoln Logs and design their own quilts in the “Kid’s Corner.” These children’s activities are free.
The Tweetsie Railroad footage includes three films from Appalachian State University and one from ETSU. These films, which will be shown at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., include:
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“Going Places: The Tennessee Tweetsie,” a segment from a 1939 entry in Universal Studios’ “Going Places” series of shorts. This documentary about the Tennessee Tweetsie narrow gauge train was shot in Johnson City and follows the train along its route into the Doe River Gorge.
“Tweetsie Railroad Theme Park,” which was produced by WBT television in Charlotte, N.C., in the late 1950s, celebrated cowboy personality Fred Kirby’s birthday and shows the first attack of the train by the cast from “The Horn in the West.” The film features the attractions and festivities at the Tweetsie Railroad theme park in Blowing Rock, N.C., where Kirby’s programs were hosted every weekend.
“Tweetsie Excursion to Boone, N.C.,” which contains footage of a late-1930s narrow gauge train ride between Johnson City and Boone.
“Rediscovered Images of Tweetsie, 1940-1951,” a program of 8mm home movie footage shot by early railroad enthusiasts Vincent Ryan and Jack Alexander. The color film documents the Tweetsie’s travels through Johnson City, Hampton, Elizabethton, the Doe River Gorge, and other locations along the narrow gauge line. This one-of-a-kind collection of film includes World War II-era footage, the employees of the ET&WNC, and the train’s final run in 1950.
Limited seating is available for the railroad films. Patrons are asked to call and reserve their tickets by Friday, April 30, to ensure seats. A $3 donation per seat is payable upon arrival, and proceeds will be divided among the Archives of Appalachia and the Reece Museum, divisions of ETSU’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, as well as the Carter Railroad Museum.
In addition to the activities at the Reece Museum, patrons may head over to the Carter Railroad Museum in the Campus Center Building, where they may view three operating model railroad layouts and displays of historical and modern railroad items. Children may visit the museum’s Little Engineer’s play room, which features Thomas-the-Tank educational railroad toys. Admission is free.
For more information, film showing ticket reservations, or special assistance for those with disabilities, call the Reece Museum at (423) 439-4392 or Dr. Fred Alsop, director of the Carter Railroad Museum, at (423) 439-6838.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 10:14AM 
Day Out With Thomas tickets are selling quickly! The event featuring Thomas the Tank Engine is planned for April 23, 24, 25 and May 1 & 2, but some dates/times are already sold out! Hint: Buy tickets for Friday, April 23 using the special code "FRIDAY2" and save $2 per ticket! Or get a group of 20 or more friends together and save $4 per ticket!!!
Visit the web site for tickets and departure times: http://www.tvrail.com/pages/standard/news.php
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:09AM Message: Greetings from the Office of the Dean of Students at Vanderbilt University,
We wanted to make you aware of a special screening of RR, at Vanderbilt on Saturday, April 10, in Sarratt Cinema on the Vanderbilt campus. The screening is free an open to the public. The director will be present to introduce the film, and will be available for Q&A at the conclusion of the film.
A review of the film that explains it's significance can be found at http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/james-benning-one-of-americas-finest-filmmakers-trains-his-attention-on-the-railroad-in-rr/Content?oid=1492701 .
Although the film has been screened at venues around the world, its exhibition is nevertheless a rare event. We hope that some of the members of the Crossville Model Railroad Club will take advantage of this rare opportunity.
F. Clark
Part of his review: In the first shot in Utah, we see a train clear the screen to make way for cars and pedestrians. In shot 4, we see black tankers bisect a small-town street; shot 15 is a kind of prolonged, real-life magic trick I won't spoil. The landscapes, the colors, the distances, the close-up-blurs-to-extreme-long-shots that intentionally recall the Lionel HO-scale train sets of the 1950s and '60s — Benning's film invites us to spend time looking at a fundamental feature of our world, one from which car culture, Internet life, and our general discomfort with the smell, sound and perceived danger of the rails keeps us separate.
That "danger," of course, used to be the romance of the rails, the urge to hop a boxcar and see where it took you. Today, train enthusiasts set up folding chairs and "trainspot," identifying what's left of North America's rolling stock as a hobby. These rail fans were part of Benning's interest in making RR. But one of the reasons this film, and Benning's work more generally, commands interest beyond the avant-ghetto is the fact that what he is showing us — these trains — are objects functioning at the junction of film form and political economy.
In cinematic terms, RR's unbroken shots are grammatically precise: a static situation with an object being moved from one place to another. But like so much of Benning's work, RR is also displaying vital movement along our nation's circulatory system, or what Woody Guthrie called "that ribbon of highway." (Guthrie appears on the soundtrack, as do President Eisenhower and NWA.) We aren't just watching pure forms moving on a screen. We're seeing capital in motion, and, just as often, stopping dead in its tracks.
RR is a film that requires a degree of patience and an adjustment of customary viewing strategies. But its rewards for that adjustment — and its implications as both an aesthetic experience and social document — are staggering.
James Benning will introduce and discuss RR at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11 see the date above, noted as the 10, at Vanderbilt's Sarratt Cinema. Sponsored by Scott and Mimi Manzler, the screening is free and open to the public.
Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 12:43PM HO & N Scale Ghost Sign Decals
Not too long ago businesses and products were promoted or celebrated by advertisements painted on the sides of buildings. Those that remain today are very faded (which gives them the name of 'Ghost Signs'), but they do give one a glimpse back to some of the products and businesses of a bygone period.
T2 Decals is proud to announce that we now have 35 different sets of Ghost Sign waterslide decals available in both HO AND N Scale. Made from pictures of real signs as they appear today, these pre-weathered decals will add a realistic effect to your layout.
Todd Thornberry - T2 Decals (came in the mail, check out at your own risk)
