I was wondering if anyone has ever helped one of thier local troops to get thier Railroading merit badge. I was asked to be a councilor for one and am glad to do it. The only thing is, I have NO IDEA where to start!
Also, Does anyone know when the UP 2010 BSA Heritage unit will be unveiled?
RJ
"Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go." The Explorers - Rudyard Kipling
http://sweetwater-photography.com/
I'm a member at the Midland Railway in Baldwin City KS. We have had several scout camps every spring/fall for many years. The troops will come out to learn about railroad safety and history then go out to do trackwork, using hand tools only, and then camp at the railroad's halfway point. At the end of the weekend they will take a test of what they learned and will be given their merit badges. The program is very popular and can be sold out up to a year in advance.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Link now 'clickable'.
RABEL http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/meritbadges/railroading.asp
Which leads to a worksheet, at -
http://usscouts.org/mb/worksheets/Railroading.pdf
I used to have a 1960's or so edition of the guide book. But the pages linked above are so far advanced and updated - wow, somebody's been paying attention there.
- Paul North.
I got my badge around 1960. The BS Council in North Jersey at the time had to go out and find a counselor who turned out to be a retired CNJ/Wharton and Northern/Mt. Hope Mineral RR Trainmaster. This was the first time such a badge was sought so no one really knew what was needed beyond the Railroad Merit Badge Book. So he just winged it. Fascinating man and stories. I was really a DL&W afficianado but he made me a CNJ branch line fan for life! Oh, the badge required some basic knowledge of safety hand signals, simple knowledge of the types of cars and locomotives, and simple knowledge of basic train and station crews plus some knowledge of modeling including scale guages, etc. Neither he nor I were into modeling that much, so we concentrated on how the CNJ operated out of HO Jct. to Picatinny Arsenal, Green Pond Jct., the mines at Mt. Hope, and the line through Dover to Hibernia and how the Camelbacks were replaced by RS3's.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
When i earned the RR merit badge in the early 90s, my councelor was a yardmaster in the Baton Rouge KCS yard. It was pretty straight forward since i already had a 4x8 layout underway. He mostly went over the safety and signals and gave me a couple of old SLIC books and such. The rest was just a quiz that i blew through.
A merit badge councilor should go by the requirements in the book, not just make something up. When the scout goes up before the review board they may open the book and ask him questions on what he did to meet the requirements. It would be a diservice to the boy not to have prepared him for by not using the proper reqirements.
You can do extra stuff with the boy, but make sure he does the actual reqirements.
Richard looking at MP 242 while working for the FEC Rwy.
I have been teaching the Boy Scout Merit Badge class for 3 years now here in Cleveland, MS. Click on this website www.boyscouttrail.com and in the left column look up Merit Badges. We have a railroad museum with a O scale layout here in town and they accomplish two of the requirements by utilizing the museum. I use the internet a lot to help illustrate what is in the merit badge book. This makes the class more exciting for the scouts than just sitting through a boring class and it gives them a visual image of various railroads, equipment and crossing safety.
Ron Hill
marysara@cableone.net
I used to be a RR merit badge counselor several years ago. I did training on individuals and in groups where we had several counselors working with 50 or more Scouts at a time. When they dropped the model railroading part of the training and requirement, it was the last straw for me. They used a small, select group of counselors to rewrite the book and did not canvas the rest of us for input. Likewise, they ignored any following comments that were made after the new books came out. The beginning of the end for me was that merit badge counselors don't have to have ID cards like the other committee members and officers and they also were not required to go through the Scout Protection classes to weed out any undesireable and potentially dangerous people. After my repeated questions to both local and national Scouting officers and getting a 'don't bother me' and 'don't make waves' attitude, I gave up my certification as a counselor. Do I miss teaching the young in (all aspects of) railroading? Yes! Will I go back to the Scouts as a counselor in the future? No! Since I am a member of about a dozen railroad-related clubs, museums and organizations, including the oldest model railroad club in our area (began in 1938), I am happy enough to be helping local kids of all ages with learning about railroading.
Ken Rimmel
You need to look into railroad companies that trade in the stock market and look up the executives.
Some times the old senior managers love to teach the kids the love for trains in history and may even
help start a railroad club in your area.
WOW! I’m just now chiming in. I have the railroading merit badge. (First one to earn it in my troop!) You should perhaps get the official BSA book on it. I wish we had some sort of program here in western Indiana that would allow Boy Scouts to see an in depth view of the rail industry. I’m the only one in our troop that cares about trains though. I try to get them interested, but they just aren’t into it.
Good luck!
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Hi I hope that this helps. I'm looking into doing thinks with my den as well and found the following information. If you contact railroad museums they often have programs that also help earn them their badge
Steven
Railroading Merit Badge
Contents
Railroading Requirements
Railroading
Merit Badge Workbook
This workbook can help you but you still need to read the merit badge pamphlet (book). No one can add or subtract from the Boy
Workbook developer:
Scout’s Name:
Counselor’s Name:
1. Do THREE of the following:
a. Name three types of modern freight trains.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explain why unit trains are more efficient than mixed freight trains. __________________________________________________
Explain what major cities it serves, __________________________________________________________________________
the locations of major terminals, service facilities and crew change points, ___________________________________________
and the major commodities it carries. ________________________________________________________________________
c.
_____________________ ________________________________________________________________________________
Railroading p. 2 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
d. Explain how a modern diesel or electric locomotive develops power. _____________________________________________
Explain the terms dynamic braking __________________________________________________________________________
and radial steering trucks. _________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do the following:
a. Explain the purpose ___________________________________________________________________________________
and formation of Amtrak. __________________________________________________________________________________
Explain, by the use of a timetable, a plan for making a trip by rail between two cities at least 500 miles apart. List the times of
departure and arrival at your destination, the train number and name, and the type of service you want.
Depart Location Time Arrival Location Time Train# Service
_________________________ _________ ______________________ ________ _______ __________________________
b. List and explain the various forms of public/mass transit using rail as the fixed-guide path. _____________________________
3. Do ONE of the following:
Department Describe what each department does.
_________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________
Railroading p. 3 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
Rail Support Industry Describe the function of each one.
__________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
does _________________________________________________________________________________________________
and how this person became interested in railroading. ___________________________________________________________
Find out what type of schooling and training are required for this position. ____________________________________________
4. Explain the purpose of Operation Lifesaver and its mission. _________________________________________________
5. Do THREE of the following:
_______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
train.
Railroading p. 4 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
Explain the dangers of trespassing on railroad property. __________________________________________________________
and list three things an automobile driver should never do at a grade crossing.
6. Explain the appearance and meaning of the following warning signs and devices:
advance warning sign, ___________________________________________________________________________________
pavement markings, _____________________________________________________________________________________
crossbucks, ____________________________________________________________________________________________
flashing red lights, _______________________________________________________________________________________
crossing gates. _________________________________________________________________________________________
Railroading p. 5 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
7. Do EACH of the following:
b. Explain the meaning of three whistle signals.
c. Describe a way to signal a train for an emergency stop. ________________________________________________________
d. Explain the use and function of the EOTD (end-of-train device) or FRED (flashing rear end device) used on the last car of most
trains. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Select ONE of the following special-interest areas and complete the requirements.
a. Model Railroading - With your parent's and counselor's approval, do TWO of the following:
different routings. Include one of the following: turnaround or terminal or yard or siding.
correct way to clean and oil model train equipment.
Railroading p. 6 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
Gauge Name Scale Track Gauge Gauge Name Scale Track Gauge
1
2
products and services and discuss the information with your counselor.
and make the surrounding area on the diorama scenic.
and operate a train. Describe what you enjoyed most.
b. Railfanning - With your parent's and counselor's approval, do TWO of the following:
videotape, or sketch items of interest. Explain what you saw and describe your photos, sketches, or videotape.
counselor the historic significance of the operation.
purpose of each group. Talk with a member of one of the groups and find out how you might help.
Purchase the tickets and make the trip. Explain to your counselor what you saw.
Online Resources
Boy Scouts of America:
►
ExpertVillage First Aid Videos
Video Lessons:
It's been a few years since I was a counselor along with another Scout leader counselor on the Railroading merit badge at a local Merit Badge Jamboree. This was generally an all-day event. I remember that we:
1) Had the merit badge candidates prepare a plan beforehand for a potential layout that they might construct. It was interesting, to say the least, to see the variances as to what extent each of the candidates put into working their layout plans.
2) We usually had a regional representative from Operation Lifesaver come give a presentation the first thing in the morning. This satisfied the safety requirement.
3) We showed the candidates the various track gauges for model railroading available, as well as a freight car that matched that gauge.
4) I had a video from Pentrex, "Workin' on the Railroad" that I showed the candidates portions of, that illustrates the requirement to show what careers are available working for the railroad.
Wade Rice
Glenno You need to look into railroad companies that trade in the stock market and look up the executives. Some times the old senior managers love to teach the kids the love for trains in history and may even help start a railroad club in your area.
Some times the old senior managers love to teach the kids the love for trains in history and may even help start a railroad club in your area.
Yes - I believe Robert W. Downing of the Burlington Northern (formerly Great Northern, pre-AT&SF merger, natch) is still alive and kicking at age 96 or so in the Spokane, Washington area, and still very interested in his railroad . . . .
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.