The N-Scale Convention
Jul 07, 2016
Whew! What a busy couple of weeks!
The National N-scale convention was in town and the layout was on tour for two days AND I hosted two operating sessions during the week! It was a busy, but fun week.
The tours were uneventful, if you don't count the one bus that got lost and never showed up at several of the tour stops! Long story, that one.
The operating sessions were nerve-wracking, as usual, and i learned a good lesson - the layout does best with a crew of 8, especially if the operators are go-go visiting operators. On Thursday, we had a crew of 11, and they all wanted a train RIGHT NOW. So the dispatcher put about 5 trains on the layout, and promptly brought the session to its knees! The main got plugged with a couple of local and the autorack train in St. Charles, and it was pandemonium for a while. It eventually got smoothed out, but "whew" it was a dicey start to the session!
The trade show was great, and I got a couple bargains. It was awesome to see an entire exhibit hall filled with nothing but N-scale merchandise! A rare sight indeed!
I'll post a few photos in the photo section.
Pat Lana gave me this great CRANDIC custom-decalled trailer, that is now proudly hauled on the Westbound Pig Train!
Pat and others work to get caught up in Franklin Yard
The National N-scale convention was in town and the layout was on tour for two days AND I hosted two operating sessions during the week! It was a busy, but fun week.
The tours were uneventful, if you don't count the one bus that got lost and never showed up at several of the tour stops! Long story, that one.
The operating sessions were nerve-wracking, as usual, and i learned a good lesson - the layout does best with a crew of 8, especially if the operators are go-go visiting operators. On Thursday, we had a crew of 11, and they all wanted a train RIGHT NOW. So the dispatcher put about 5 trains on the layout, and promptly brought the session to its knees! The main got plugged with a couple of local and the autorack train in St. Charles, and it was pandemonium for a while. It eventually got smoothed out, but "whew" it was a dicey start to the session!
The trade show was great, and I got a couple bargains. It was awesome to see an entire exhibit hall filled with nothing but N-scale merchandise! A rare sight indeed!
I'll post a few photos in the photo section.
Pat Lana gave me this great CRANDIC custom-decalled trailer, that is now proudly hauled on the Westbound Pig Train!
Pat and others work to get caught up in Franklin Yard