rail baron  

Updated 11/30/2009

2009 WBC Report  

 2010 Status: pending 2010 GM commitment

Mark McCandless, LA

2009 Champion

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Event History
1991    Chuck Foster        28
1992    Kevin Quirk        29
1993    Kevin Quirk        38
1994    Bill Fellin        37
1995    Heikki Thoen        63
1996    Heikki Thoen        46
1997    Kim Lemmons        94
1998    Eyal Mozes      100
1999    Heikki Thoen       58
2000    Steve Okonski       69
2001    Steve Okonski       56
2002    Ed Wrobel       75
2003    Mike Zorrer       59
2004     Doug Galullo       66
2005     William Duke       53
2006    Inger Henning       46
2007    Tom Dunning       40
2008    Eve Secunda       49
2009    Mark McCandless       35

 

 Laurels

Rank  Name               From  Last  Total
  1.  Mark McCandless     LA    09    122
  2.  Steve Okonski       MD    01    120
  3.  Ron Secunda         MD    08    101
  4.  Doug Galullo        FL    05     80
  5.  Brian Conlon        OK    04     74
  6.  Mark Kennel         DE    09     60
  7.  William Duke        MD    09     60
  8.  Chuck Foster        TX    08     60
  9.  Ed Wrobel           VA    02     60
 10.  Stan Buck           MD    02     60
 11.  Heikki Thoen        qc    99     60
 12.  Inger Henning       CT    06     56
 13.  Charles Davis       WV    02     54
 14.  Eve Secunda         MD    08     50
 15.  Tom Dunning         NY    07     50
 16.  Mike Zorrer         DE    03     50
 17.  Chester Lanham      MD    09     35
 18.  Donna Balkan        on    08     34
 19.  Angus McDonald      on    09     30
 20.  Bill Crenshaw       VA    03     30
 21.  Larry Kratz         ID    04     24
 22.  David Weinstein     NY    02     24
 23.  Ed Rothenheber      MD    00     24
 24.  Norm Newton         on    07     20
 25.  TJ Halberstadt      IN    06     20
 26.  Phil White          MD    04     18
 27.  James Wicht         NC    00     18
 28.  Tony Newton         on    09     15
 29.  Gary Chamblee       GA    08     15
 30.  Harald Henning      CT    06     15
 31.  Mike Mullins        MD    05     15
 32.  Mike Brophy         NC    04     12
 33.  Mark Oldfield       CA    02     12
 34.  Paul van Bloem      MD    02     12
 35.  Eyal Mozes          NY    01     12
 36.  Dee Gehring         IN    99     12
 37.  Dave Steiner        DE    06     10
 38.  Stephane Dorais     qc    05     10
 39.  Carl Walling Jr     PA    03     10
 40.  Malcolm Robinson    NY    00      6
 41.  Roderick Lee        CA    05      5
 42.  Charles Ellsworth   NY    03      5

2009 Laurelists                                               Repeating Laurelists:

Angus McDonald, Ontario
2nd

Mark Kennel, DE
3rd

Tony Newton, Ontario
4th

Chester Lanham, MD
5th

Bill Duke, MD
6th


Past Winners

Chuck Foster, TX
1991

Kevin Quirk, PA
1992-1993

Bill Fellin, CT
1994

Heiki Thoen, qc
1995-1996, 1999

Kimberly Lemmons, TX
1997

Eyal Mozes, NY
1998

Steve Okonski, MD
2000-2001

Ed Wrobel, VA
2002

Mike Zorrer, DE
2003

Doug Galullo, FL
2004

William Duke, MD
2005

Inger Henning, CT
2006

Tom Dunning, NY
2007

Eve Secunda, MD
2008

Mark McCandless, LA
2009

Whoa! Pete Reese is a closet rail gamer! Who knew? Will the CDWers shun him for missing wargame time?

Stan Buck and Brynn Cmablee check the payoff as Chester Lanham watches in a Preliminary game.

New Faces Prevail

The number of players fell this year, due in large part to the absence of several traditional Rail Baron families who usually bring multiple players. Hopefully, we will enjoy their company next year. Those who did play enjoyed our usual feast of agony and ecstasy.

This year, those that made it into the semi-final did so by wins pretty evenly spread through the three Preliminary heats. A few players kept playing 'till they got a win, and many good, experienced players played in every heat, trying for that elusive win, but will have to wait for next year. A few of you who didn't win can blame Assistant GM Chester Lanham, who this year joined a tiny, elite group of players who managed to win all three of their first-round heats. While he didn't win his semi-final game, his three wins got him seated at the Final. Only one other player, Bill Duke, won more than one heat, taking two.

Two qualifying winners did not appear for the semi-final, as did the top alternate. Tony Newton, one of those who did not win a first-round heat, took a seat at the semi-final as an alternate, and won the game, landing a seat at the Final.

The record for the most hostile destinations in the Preliminaries or semi-final appears to have been won by Scott Chupack. His first five destinations in Heat 1 were friendly, but of his next 15 destinations, only two were, and the remaining 13 were hostile. However, he did win his Heat 3 game. Bill Duke had the most destinations (29) in Heat 2, with Chamblee Shufflebarger close on his heels with 28 destinations in her Heat 3.

Playing all of our games in the Marietta room was a pleasure, and scheduling the games for a longer time frame reduced the stress level for those playing. A few first-round heats went a little longer than four hours, but did not have to be adjudicated. I played in one first-round heat that was completed in 3.5 hours, so with a little effort, many games could be speeded up.

Sadly, not everyone filled in the winner's RR holdings for the various heats on our game record sheets, but here are some interesting observations: Very noticeable was that most winners held the AT&SF, followed closely by the UP. Relatively few winners held the SP. In the Northeast region, owning the PA did not ensure a win. The B&O did just as well, followed closely by the NYC and C&O. In the Southeast, the SAL and L&N did equally well, and to no surprise, most winners held a Northwest RR. Only a half-dozen or so winners held the NYNH&H and/or the B&M, which seems to lessen their importance. Surprisingly, many winners held the CB&Q and/or SLSF.

Our Rail Baron this year, Mark McCandless, managed to win our 5-player Final with the C&O, AT&SF, NP, C&NW, and the IC. The other player's holdings were:
2nd place: Gus McDonald ­ PA, SP, ACL, GM&O, CMSTP&P, SLSF.
3rd place: Mark Kennel ­ NYC, SAL, L&N, MP, T&P.
4th place: Tony Newton ­ CB&Q, N&W, GN, UP, WP, D&RGW.
5th place: Chester Lanham ­ B&O, CRI&P, SOU, NYNH&H, B&M.

Once again, my thanks to Assistant GMs Paul Van Bloem and Chester Lanham for their help, and thanks to all the players who enjoy keeping Rail Baron alive.

The finalists chug away as Paul Van Bloem records the game for posterity.

The finalists get their wood in descending order of laurels from left to right.
 GM      Ron Secunda  [7th Year]   NA
    ron@secundaland.com   NA

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