Bay Area Layout Design & Operations Weekend - Jan 24-25, 2009

Sponsored by the NMRA Pacific Coast Region and the Layout Design and Operations Special Interest Groups

The NMRA Pacific Coast Region and the Layout Design and Operations Special Interest Groups will hold another joint Regional Meeting in Santa Clara, CA (approx. 45 minutes south of San Francisco) on Saturday January 24 and Sunday January 25, 2009. A terrific two-day program is planned. The agenda includes clinics, operations discussions, track planning workshops, and visits to local layouts on Saturday. There will also be operating sessions at a number of nearby layouts on Sunday.

The 2008 meeting was a big success, and we hope to do as well again.

RSVPs Requested

In order to insure that we have enough seats for the meeting and so that we can contact you in advance about preferences for operating sessions, please email Bob Jacobsen (jake@physics.berkeley.edu) if you plan to attend.

Saturday schedule

The meeting is planned to start at 8:30AM, and run through about 5PM, with layout tours in the evening. Tenative schedule:

8:00	Registration opens
8:30	Welcome and Introductions	Seth Neumann
8:45	Modeling the Lackawanna in 1/32 (.pdf, 9MB; .ppt, 28MB)	Kermit Paul
9:30	Copper on Rails (.pdf, 115MB; .ppt, 171MB)	Don Marenzi
10:15	Announcements
10:30	Sacramento Belt (.pdf, 9MB; .ppt, 10MB)	Bill Burg
11:15	Birds of a Feather Sessions
11:45	Lunch
1:00	UP Northwest Update (.pdf, 8MB; .ppt, 11MB)	Dave Clemens
2:15	Challenge: Terminal Switching District Layout	Don Marenzi
3:00	The Southern Mountain Railroad (.pdf, 8MB; .ppt, 11MB)	Don Mitchell
3:45	Panel: Large Layouts	Bruce Morden
4:45	Closing Remarks
7:00	Layout Tours Start
10:00	Layout Tours End

Clinics & Panel Discussions

Seth Neumann is again organizing a program of clinics, discussions and updates for Saturday.

Exhibits and Displays

Please bring along your display of layout design or operations related ideas. (Layout mock-ups are particularly interesting). When you RSVP, please let us know what you are bringing and its size.

Track Planning & Layout Operations Help

Byron Henderson is again organizing the design consulting. If you are planning a layout, bring along your "Givens & 'Druthers", maps, sketches, and other materials to get some free consultation from the group! They can also help with questions about operating your layout, including how to get started.

Design Challenge

We're planning to repeat the popular layout design challenge event. More details are available on the layout challenge page; we'll email you updates if you RSVP!

"Birds of a Feather" (BOF)

Would you like to meet with others modeling your region, prototype or era? Interested in DCC, sound, computerized switchlists, or layout CAD programs? Any of these might be a topic for an impromptu "Birds of a Feather" meeting. Let us know if you would like to informally lead a short group discussion on any topic. We scheduled these at the end of the morning so you can continue your discussion over lunch if you'd like.

Layout Tours

David Parks is arranging for a number of layouts to be available Saturday evening to tour and we would like to have more. Remember that SIG groups will be appreciative of seeing your layout in any state of completion. If you'd like to make your layout available, please email David.

The SBHRS is also open to the public Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. Visit the SBHRS via the www at: www.sbhrs.org Phone: 408 243 3969

Cost

We will be asking a $10 donation for this year's meeting. We recommend you bring $4 in quarters to pay the parking meters.

Car Pools

Contact Bob Jacobsen if you need or can offer a car pool seat. Past attendees have come from as far away as Oregon, Nevada, and Southern California.

Contact for RSVP or More Information

To RSVP, volunteer to help out, get names for car pools, etc., contact:

Bob Jacobsen
Phone: (510) 486-7355
email: jake@physics.berkeley.edu

Last updated December 12, 2008
Page maintained by Bob Jacobsen.