I was wondering if anyone has ever helped one of their local troops to get their 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?
I didn’t know UP was going to unveil a BSA Heritage unit. That is great.
I would start out by telling them why the rail industry is important. If possible, I would show them models of different kinds of railcars in service on today’s industry.
I am a merit badge councilor, but I have never taught this badge yet.
Talk to one of the regular Scout leaders. There should be an official program for the MR merit badge. The Scout leader should be able to help you obtain materials.
Don’t know about the UP 2010 BSA Heritage unit. It’s an area I haven’t kept up on.
Hi RJ.
I am currently working with a handicapped Boy Scout Troop on the MB. If you don’t already, get a copy of the Merit Badge Book for Railroading MB. All the requirements are detailed and set out for you there. As with most merit badges, there are a lot of choices that the Scouts can make to fulfill the requirements. They should have the right to choose which of the choices they want to do for many of the requirements. Really can be a fun MB.
I usually start by asking if anyone has seen FRED? (requirement 7d) The first meeting I do a concise Powerpoint presentation of the requirements outlining what they need to learn and pass to receive the MB. From there, the scouts can decide how they want to go about the badge and can be part of the planning process (in fact that is an important part of what Scouting is all about). Your biggest job is to be sure they do meet all the requirements to your satisfaction. For me, Req. 5, 6, and 7 which concern safety on and around railroads and ROWs are thee most important part of the badge. I used a lot of Operation Lifesaver materials to reinforce the concepts (In fact those materials are part of the MB). Your local RR will most likely be glad to give you materials to help (the FGLK did).
I encourage the troop to visit a RR Museum as a unit when possible. Several years back I did the MB with my old Boy Scout Troop a couple years after I had stepped down as Scoutmaster. We planned and had a weekend camping trip to Scranton, PA. Camped at a State Park about 10 miles North of the Steamtown. Then spent all day on Saturday at Steamtown (almost all the requirements can be found and done at the museum) and took an excursion trip behind the old CN Mike. Scouts loved the whole trip.
The Handicapped Troop I am currently doing the MB with went to the New York Museum of Transportation and the Rochester and Genesee Valley RR Museum in Rush, NY for a
I would start with the old merit badge book on Model Railroading and the current badge requirements for Railroading. From there I would consider what is relevant today as opposed to what was when it was written. I would think that in today’s MR world the basics should include:
Know what is meant by and the difference between scale and gauge. Know the common sizes G, O, S, HO, N, Z. Know the difference between standard gauge and narrow gauge eg. HOn3, On30, etc. Be able to calculate a conversion from a real size to a scale size.
Understand the power systems and control used for model trains (AC, DC, DCC, and other proprietary systems), and the method for delivering that power and control to the trains - battery, track, third rail, voltage control, command control, radio, infrared.
Understand what is meant by prototype. Be able to name some prototypical railroads both current and historical.
Understand the prototypical power systems for locomotives (steam, electric, gas, diesel), and be able to identify such locomotives by sight.
Understand the purpose of various types of freight cars, what cargo each carries.
Understand the purpose of a railroad for moving cargo and the various industries that use rail service. Understand what the interchange system and why it is important for railroads to be successful.
Understand the basic names of track work (crossing, crossover, turnout) and track arrangements (spur, siding, passing siding, yard, RIP, fly over, etc.).
Understand how to read and interpret model track plans. Know what radius of curvature and number of turnouts means.
Hi,
As a life scout, I have to say: Railroading was my first merit badge (and the easiest)[:D].
I really enjoyed it. Here’s a link for the requirements: http://usscouts.org/mb/mb094.asp
As for the heritage unit: I typed it into Google and found some interesting facts…
Rumor has it that the unit is a GEVO and NOT and SD70Ace. Also that the unit “is under a tarp at North Little Rock Jenks, AR” as of today (3/1/10).
I’m looking forward to seeing pic’s of this one,
Jamie
Jamie, thanks for putting up the link. I was going to see if I could find the requirements on line myself.
Zepher, while I like a lot of the things you suggested, the MB Counselor HAS to follow the requirements of the badge in giving out the signed blue cards saying the Scout has earned the MB. Requirement #8 says "Select one of the following areas: a. Model Railroading b. Railfanning. While it is nice to include a bit of both areas, the Scout needs to complete one OR the other. And even with a lot of possible things to do under each of those, the Scout only needs to complete 2 items. The MB has gone under a major revision back in 2003 (and a small word change in 2005). A counselor is required usually to use the most current requirements. The update in 2003 made the major focus Safety around railroads. The OP needs to find and use the 2008 printing of the 2003 revision available at any Boy scout Service center. That said… No reason why he can’t go beyond the requirements as time and interest permit!
Signed… A 32 year veteran leader, Boy Scouts of America. (That includes Scoutmaster, Camping Chairman, Camp Director, and Camp Commissioner. All of which required me working with or overseeing the Merit Badge Program in various ways.)
The new UP unit is going to be an ES44AC and apparently is supposed to be a special logo applied to a unit with a regular UP paint scheme.
Talk about a patch job. Try sewing on the unit number. White numbers on a red square.
[(-D]
Actually I always found the merit badges the toughest to sew on. I would get frustrated and have my mom do it. She worked her magic and made it look right. The good times. She was quite joyful when I made Eagle and she didn’t have to sew any more on.
The Scout should have a Model Railroad Merit Badge booklet explaining what he must do. Read through that booklet and learn from it what you need to do.
Absolutely! And make sure the MB book isn’t the 1946 version (some troops don’t seem to keep their libraries up to date.) We don’t the scouts building any layouts with mountains made out of Asbestos…[:-^][;)] You know in the old Model Railroading MB back then that was a suggested way for making scenery![:O]
I am right now. I have contacted the Utah Coordinator for the UP, and I have arranged a trip with my troop. I will do most of the requirements there, and I will do the Model Train stuff at home. I joke that this is simply a free labor operation for myself.
My troop is notorious for keeping the old MB books on hand for some reason I can’t understand. We used to have an Electronics MB that said one of the requirements was how to rebuild a vacuum tube. The Electricity MB from the sixties said that it would be impossible to have a computer in a house because of the power requirements.