Blogs

October 2008

How many times has this happened to you? You’ve come to a model railroad convention and you want to go see some layouts. But they all seem to be too far away, you aren’t familiar with the city, traffic is terrible, and gas prices are outrageous.  You just feel like you ought to stay in your room What a mess! Ever wish there was a better way? Well, thanks to the use of space age technology, there is a better way. It’s the Trinity River Interchange Layout Tour!. Let us tell you how!

This year, we are planning to bring you over 30 home and club layouts in the Metroplex. Better yet, we are working to find innovative ways for you to see as many as you want. The Dallas Ft. Worth area has been well known in the region for the large number of fine railroads and generous owners who open for the convention, many only for the LSR. One of the biggest limitations of so many layouts in such a large metropolitan area is that the distances limit the attendees’ ability to see more than a few during the open house hours. We are working to amend that in a number of ways. These include:

• Scheduling layout tours throughout the convention
• Trying to have layouts grouped in the same area to minimize driving time
• Scheduling around common rush hour bottlenecks or timing the tour to avoid them completely
• Scheduling popular layouts more than once.
• Early and late tours on Wednesday and Sunday so you can see layouts on your way in and on the way home
• Finding the fastest routes to get you from one layout to the next.
• The Super Tour (s) where you can relax and leave the driving to , well, someone else.

We hope to have something for everybody. from N scale to G scale. There are popular favorites from past tours planned. Some of these layouts have made lots of progress or undergone changes since the last time the LSR was in town. There have even been some expansions… There will also be new layouts on the tour, including at least one large layout that was begun after the last LSR and is already progressed to the scenery stage… There are rumors of another large layout that has recently been begun. Layouts… We got ‘em for 2009!

And, there will be another big bonus that comes with your 2009 registration. It’s a Guide to Local Dining.  We’ll have great food at the hotel in quantity at reasonable prices. You won’t have to leave if you don’t wish. But what if you get an appetite for something different? Or more importantly, what if your spouse wants something different? We have put together a compendium of dining establishments in close proximity to the hotel. These embrace all manner of cuisine from casual to elegant dining, from local to eclectic. We’ve included favorites of some of the local modelers, too. And we even have a blue ribbon panel sampling the fare at these restaurants to ensure quality. Lotsa’ good food… We got it for 2009!

Steve Willis.

October 2008  
 
Here’s just a taste of the clinics we’ve got lined up:

Easy Backdrops by Gary Rush. Learn everything you need to paint your own fantastic backdrops.

Control that Tortoise by Jerry Hoverson.  Learn how to build a 556 based circuit to control a tortoise machine from more then one location.

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Making Aspen Trees by Charlie Kirk.  Learn how to make a forest of Aspens for that Colorado                        scene.

Operations 101 by Fred Bock and Tom Crosthwait.  If you missed this in Houston, here’s your chance to attend this outstanding clinic.

And as of this writing, two more great clinics have been added!! Be sure and check the next Trinity River Interchange Gazette for the details. The rumor is that at least one is being given by a MMR.  
 
Paul Richardson

We’ve already given away the first door prize at the Iron Horse-8. Roddy Wilder of Georgetown won FREE Registration for him and his wife to the Trinity River Interchange. They said they can’t wait for 2009!
Larry

July 2008
Wow, what a great convention in Houston! Those Iron Horse-8 folks really know how to put on a Texas Style Shindig!. All of the regular activities and a catered Bar-BQ at Zube Park where we each had the opportunity to ride live-steam trains… What great fun!  Guys & gals of Division 8, you did a fantastic job and certainly set the bar high for us next year!

July 2008
Already lined up a bunch of clinics. How would you like to be able to paint a back drop without one drop of artistic ability in your bones?
Paul Richardson

July 2008  
 
See one of the biggest new layouts in the DFW area. Can you guess who is building it?  
 
Steve Willis