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Woods Foundation Gathering Held June 27-28, 2008 Posted July 15, 2008 The Woods Foundation gathering was held June 27th and 28th, 2008, it was a great weekend of fun and trains for the whole ATT&NW crew and all who attended the event. Friend's members present were Alex Beams, Don "Tennessee" Angles, Steve Haack, John Caples (Friday only), Mitch Houk, and Alex and Jenny Vaughn. Friday morning, while Tennessee and Alex V. were using engine 17 to make up 801's train, Alex Beams, Mitch Houk, and Jenny Vaughn along with John Caples and his daughter Kristy polished and readied the 801 for the day's activities. Since there were numerous young members of the Woods family in attendance, a bounce house had been brought in to provide entertainment for the children during times like this when they weren't riding the train. Around 11:30 a.m. the 801 was brought out and coupled to its train beside the car barn where it remained while everyone enjoyed lunch. A delicious lunch of bar-b-que ribs, hamburgers, & hot dogs, along with all the fixings was provided by Cecil and Pearl Stites. After lunch, Alex Beams and Steve Haack got the 801 fired back up and pulled it out to the mainline to give the guests a few rides around the railroad. After several runs down the line, 801 was put away for the day and the train put back in the car barn. Saturday morning while Mitch Houk and Jenny Vaughn cleaned 801, Alex Beams and Steve Haack were down at the Ozark Mountain Tunnel repairing some signal equipment that was damaged by lightning the night before. One of the special activities that had been requested of the crew was to set up a "Quadruple Caboose Diamond Hitch" for purposes of a photo shoot - Tennessee and Alex V. went about switching up the "Quadruple Diamond Hitch". Using four of the ATT&NW's cabooses, one was to be set on each track leading away from the diamond in the yard - lots of switching practice! Since the 801 was to be pulled out of the roundhouse in the late morning, the diamond hitch could not be completely set up in the first switching "shift". After all the switching that could be done was accomplished, Tennessee got the new Davenport (#27 - from Hillcrest shops) out and hooked up a small train (2 gondolas and the new Hillcrest caboose) for the kids that were present to be taken on a ride. After one run around the railroad, that train was absorbed back into 801's train as 801 was being pulled out to the mainline. After the 801 was out of the yard, Tennessee and several other Friends finished setting up the Quadruple Diamond hitch. After a short photo session, Tennessee and Alex V. quickly "undid" the Diamond Hitch in light rain. Lunch was once again provided by Cecil & Pearl Stites. When the rain cleared off in the early afternoon, the 801 was hooked up to its train and more rides were given around the railroad. Around 5 p.m. the 801 was "tied down" in front of the station. The people from Frisco's Restaurant in Cuba had arrived to set up their grill and other equipment needed to prepare the catered meal which would be served at dinner. More new arrivals at this time were Roy Howard and Cindy Woods to set up and provide a sound system, and the parents (Dennis & Robin) and little sister (Allison) of Alex and Jenny Vaughn. Alex, Jenny, & their parents are a bluegrass band known as "The Ozark Alliance" and they were scheduled to provide live bluegrass music while the other guests were being served their steak dinners. The Ozark Alliance began playing at around 6:30 p.m., and the delicious meal was served shortly after. After playing for 50 minutes or so, the band took a break to eat. The stage was turned over to various members of the Woods family who had organized a very entertaining talent show. A wide range of talent was displayed by youngsters and the "young at heart" alike. When the talent show concluded, it was decided to fire the 801 up and take everyone out for a "late evening run". Tennessee suggested that the musicians hop on the train and play while on the ride, so the band all got on one of the flat cars with hay bales on it and played through the whole trip (except while in the tunnels). After the train arrived back at the station from the first night run, the band disembarked. After a short pause the train departed for the second night run. It was full dark by now, which made the steam from the 801 beautiful as it drifted in front of the colored lights from the signals, etc. When the train got back from that run, the guests were ready to put the children to bed and call it a night. Tennessee, Mitch Houk, Alex V., and several others went about breaking up the 801's train and putting things away, which took until about 11:30 p.m. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend of family, friends, and running trains - well done, crew! Death of Sandy Perdue Posted July 7, 2008 
Sandy Perdue, wife of ATT&NW webmaster David Perdue, passed away on June 9, 2008. Sandy was born January 17, 1958 on Long Island, New York, she and David were married August 20, 1977 in Woodbridge, Virginia. Sandy is survived by her husband, David, of Rolla, Missouri, daughter Rebecca Kirk and husband Jesse, of Springfield, Missouri, son Andrew Perdue and wife Heather of Kansas City, Missouri, and sons Scott and Daniel Perdue of Rolla, Missouri. Sandy served as director of the Phelps County Missouri Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at the time of her death. The Perdue family wishes to thank all of the Friends of the ATT&NW who sent prayers and condolences. Boy Scout Troup 677 Outing at ATT&NW Posted February 12, 2008 
Boy Scout troup 677 learned about railroading at the ATT&NW with about 40 scouts and 20 adults in attendance on the weekend of February 9-10. Alex Beams did a great job as instructor, and Dan Witthaus of the Union Pacific did a great job drawing parallels of the miniature railroad to the full size railroad (Dan is in charge of right-of-way maintenance for the UP in the St. Louis Division). As a result of the generosity of Alex, Wilbur Ness, and John Woods, most of the scouts in attendance will be earning their Railroading merit badge. Miniature Railroad Convention Posted October 16, 2007 The Miniature Railroad Convention (or Grand Scales Convention) proved to be a most enjoyable event for both Judy and myself. The weather couldn't have been better for not only the convention days but also the week leading up to the convention when the last minute preparations were taking place. Activity picked up sharply  on Monday September 10th when volunteers, vendors and “Friends” of the railroad started arriving. Each day through the week the activities and the pace quickened as more miniature railroad fans arrived. Vendors as well as individuals who brought their own 15” gauge locomotives created an exciting…….almost electric….. atmosphere.
A spirit of teamwork characterized the activities which included some hard work like track and ballast work as well as some last minute efforts on our brand new roundhouse. Many of the photos on our photos page reveal the hard working volunteers and friends. The preparation week culminated on Thursday with a pig roast bar-b-que thank you dinner which included some entertainment and a lot of fun for the vendors and volunteers. Registration on Friday was very heavy but our registration table volunteers kept waiting lines to a minimum. Saturday and Sunday had additional registrations for those unable to attend the entire convention. Judy and I would like to thank all of the attendees, whether a rail fan, a spouse, child or just a friend of an attending rail fan for being such nice guests. We truly felt a special, warm feeling and would only apologize that we couldn't have spent more time with each of you. With something on the order of 325 total attendees, hopefully you will understand. We have received many photographs and videos from those in attendance and we thank you. Our web master, Dave Perdue, who was on the photo team has been posting them to our web site. Please let us hear from you if you have other suggestions regarding the photos. Our good friends, professional photographers, Linda and Michael Dunn from the Chicago area took a number of photographs and for those interested they may be purchased from the Dunn’s through our web site. All in all we can say it was a most enjoyable event and hope each of the attendees had as much fun being with us as we had being with you. Thank you, John Woods We thought our viewers might like to see letters sent to our Volunteers and our Contributors as they were somewhat responsible for the success of our convention: Volunteers | Contributors Passing of Marjorie Riner Hawkins Woods Posted June 19, 2007 
We are sad to announce the death of Marjorie Riner Hawkins Woods (Tee Tee) on June 13, 2007. Tee Tee was the driving force and impetus behind the building of our railroad. While this project started when she was at an advanced age, Tee Tee was a fan of railroading all her life. Her husband, James Holloway Woods, and her father, John Laurence Hawkins, undoubtedly nurtured her love of trains and railroads. While living in the Glendale suburb of Cincinnati, her father took the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad to work also called the CH&D R.R. (sometimes called the Charges High and Damn Rough Riding) …….an old family joke. Tee Tee and her family moved to from Glendale, Ohio to St. Louis, Missouri when she was 14. James Holloway Woods started his career as a railroad bond analyst in the early 1930’s when many railroads were in receivership. He would bring home railroad literature, pamphlets, schedules, timetables, annual reports, photographs, etc. for his family’s consumption. Both mother and father took their children on many train rides and excursions. They also spent many hours with their children watching trains, not only in the St. Louis area where they lived, but around the country on their travels. One of Tee Tee’s favorite trips was the St. Louis to Phoenix, Arizona route on the Golden State Limited. Before starting construction, Tee Tee’s son, John Woods, and Tee Tee visited both in person and in print, a number of miniature railroads. Tee Tee had a creative flair and was most helpful in the designing process of the ATT&NW. Tee Tee’s fingerprints are evident throughout our railroad. She enjoyed her visits to the railroad and, in fact, less than 2 months before her death she was riding behind the (4-8-4) Northern steam locomotive the 801. She will be missed by her family, her friends and all who knew her.
New Videos Coming Posted May 15, 2007 
The week end of May 11 – 13 we were visited by ATT & N/W RR "Friends" Linda and Michael Dunn from Riverwoods, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. Michael is a professional photographer. A number of the photos on our web page were the product of Michael’s cameras and skills. ( Linda keeps him focused…. No pun intended!) We filmed well over an hour of live steam….. some at nearly twenty MPH. We will be sending DVD’s to our web master Dave Perdue for inclusion on the VIDEOS page. The 801 barks well and really pounds the chest when in full throttle uphill mode. We hope you’ll like what you will see and hear.
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The Woods Foundation attendees consisted mostly of members of the Woods family, about 25 - 30 descendants of Tee Tee Woods (John Woods' mother -- the "T.T." in ATT&NW). There were also a few associates on hand Friday to assist with the business to be conducted by the Woods Foundation.