convention

LSR Convention 2010 - Alamo Rails
One of the highlights of Saturday's banquet was the announcement of the 2010 LSR convention in San Antonio, TX - Alamo Rails. June 2-6, 2010. for more information, take a look at the alamorails.com website.

Super Layout Tours - Steve Willis

We are excited to announce a change in the Super Tours.

James Peterson of Discount Model Trains has graciously offered to provide lunch for everyone at the convention, which includes all of the folks on the Dallas Super Tour, on Saturday June 6th! This has necessitated a change in the tour schedule.

A buy your own meal stop will still be provided during the Fort Worth tour.

Please note the new schedules below in order of visiting:

Fort Worth /Mid Cities Super Tour
Friday June 5th 8:00AM to 4:00PM

Stan Pirzchalski Colleyville HO
    The MDAK is an imagineered steam era railroad of the late 40s and early 50s, featuring heavy duty main line action in a mountainous setting. A 20 foot x 22 foot portion of the layout is 80%scenicked with a portion being reworked as an amusement park. A 27 foot x 47 foot addition is also 80% complete. Craftsman structures and large amounts of detail are highlights of this railroad, which also features eight different types of bridges, including a 3 foot long trestle. Over 2800 feet of trackage is complete, including a double track main line, passing tracks, and sidings. The main classification yard is 16 feet long and also features a 10 stall roundhouse and turntable. A 12 track classification yard has recently been started with some track being laid. A signaling system is 80% complete and working. A beautifully painted backdrop has been added that matches and enhances the overall effectiveness of the railroad. Automated crossing gates have also been added. Several scenes have been enhanced with animation and sound, including crossing gates, a pulp mill, airplanes, factory smoke, a thunderstorm, working traffic lights and a babbling brook.  Big steam is alive and well on the MDAK, including Big Boys, Allegheny's, and Challengers. Smaller steam power is employed in yard and branch line service. Control is Digitrax DCC with sound. This layout was begun 22 years ago as a 4x8 sheet of plywood by Stan and his wife, for whom the railroad is named (My Darling Angel Karen). It is and always will be her railroad. This is one layout you don't want top miss. Be sure to bring your camera.

Jim Packer MMR Colleyville HO
    The Nevadun Railroad is a freelanced steam era Colorado road running through spectacular scenery. Layout features a beautiful backdrop, mountains extending to the floor, and includes many rivers, streams, and bridges. Impressive Lake Mead and Boulder Dam are scenic highlights. Jim is a Master Model Railroader who has won numerous awards for his scratch built structures.  Each of these is designed for a specific location on the railroad. Layout is 17feet x 30 feet and housed in a custom designed basement. The motive power fleet is primarily steam, including articulateds and Super Power, operated by DCC with sound. Jim has added a complex day to night sequence featuring sunset and automatic, random lighting of the structures as darkness gathers. This is another one you don't want to miss.

LMRA Ft. Worth HO
    The Gulf and Denver models an expansive system of railroads operating under one corporate umbrella. Unique layout plan depicts two formerly competing railroads that are now merged. Identity of each line is still evident in separate bridge and depot color schemes, ballast colors, and rolling stock livery.  A small mining railroad and industrial terminal road are also modeled as part of the system. Layout is one of the largest in North Texas, featuring over 1300 square feet of railroading , 7.5 miles of main line and 33 scale miles of trackage overall. . Control is Easy DCC. A signaling system is being developed for traffic control.  Dispatcher control and radio communications also govern traffic. Layout is 85% scenicked, with beautiful backdrops and everything from mountain scenery to extensive cityscapes. All are complemented by detailed structures and beautiful bridges. This one has it all on a grand scale.

Jack Kibbee Ft.Worth HO & HOn3
    The Jasper and Keystone is a 1930s freelanced Colorado railroad. Long a favorite of LSR conventions, this layout has been in existence for 39 years and just keeps getting better. Layout is 12x34 feet with beautiful scenery, a hand painted backdrop, and craftsman structures. Hundreds of lights, lavish detail, and smooth operation make this layout absolutely spellbinding. To improve operation, layout has been converted to DCC. Jack is well known for his enthusiasm for adding to his layout. This year is no exception. A steel mill complex has been added since the last convention. Additional dioramas are suspended under the layout as well.  The J&K is rarely open for viewing, so take advantage of this opportunity to see one of the Metroplex premier layouts

Texas Western Model Railroad Club HO 
    Get ready for model railroading on a grand scale. The Texas Western stretches from New Orleans to Salt Lake City. The era is the late steam to early diesel era. The 600 foot main line encompasses scenes from Houston, Fort Worth, and the Rocky Mountains. At Alamosa, Colorado, the standard gauge line connects to an extensive narrow gauge system that features a 300 foot main line. Half of the layout features nearly complete scenery. Layout features include towering mountain scenery, highly detailed structures, and numerous bridges.  Digitrax DCC is used for control, and many locomotives have sound, further enhancing the overall effect. Operations are guided by ProTrak software and require 16 operators. Long trains operate behind large steam power and multiple unit diesels. Downtown Ft. Worth has been modeled with scratch built versions of the towering T&P passenger and freight stations along with other period landmarks. Substantial progress has been made in the areas modeling Galveston and Houston. Progress on the narrow gauge section of the railroad has also been rapid. Several towns are nearing completion, including those modeled after actual plattes obtained from the towns themselves.  If you appreciate beautiful scenery, urban landscapes, long trains, and realistic sound, make sure to visit the Texas Western.

Dallas Super Tour
Saturday June 6th 7:30AM to 5:00PM  

Jerry Hoverson MMR McKinney HO & HOn3
   The standard gauge Rocky Mountain Central and the narrow gauge Colorado Pacific are freelanced railroads that are based on the Denver and Rio Grande Western in the 1950s. Steam power is still in control of much of the traffic on the railroad. Layout is double deck and 24x34 feet. Lower level scenery is 100% complete and upper level scenery is 90% finished, complimented by a hand painted backdrop.  Other features include a large yard and steam facility, a second dual gauge yard, 4% switchback, detailed structures, and the spectacular Rio Grande Del Norte River gorge which extends to the floor and is spanned by several scratch built bridges. Layout is designed for operation using computer generated waybills. Control is Digitrax DCC with sound

Chip Romig Plano S & Sn3
    The Colorado and Silver River is a 1950s short line operating in concert with the Union Pacific and the Rio Grande. Lots of steam runs on the Union Pacific and Rio Grande. The Sn3 portion of the layout is all steam. Layout is built in a 60x28 room with track work 90% complete and scenery 50% complete. Operation is North Coast DCC with Soundtraxx sound. Special features include awesome rock work and a simulated locomotive cab with a video system.

Allan Gartner Richardson HO/G
         The High & Xiety is an operations based HO freelanced railroad that captures the look and feel of the    Clinchfield railroad. Heavy coal and merchandise traffic are routed through the scenic Appalachians. Railroad occupies 1100 square feet, has four levels and features a 450 foot long main line with five passing sidings, Features many mines, a coal cleaning and processing plant, and numerous other mountain businesses. Track work is complete and scenery is well underway. Special features include the nearly seven foot long Copper Creek viaduct, the Moss Coal preparation plant, and thousands of trees. Control is DCC with many of the refinements to operation that DCC has to offer. Allan authors a DCC website, so this is the place to see what DCC can offer.  Learn more about the railroad or DCC at  HYPERLINK "http://www.WiringForDCC.com" http://www.WiringForDCC.com. Don't forget to visit Allan's G scale railroad while you're there. (See below)

   The Finchfield and Wrensylvania transforms the entire backyard into a whimsical Great Smoky Mountain retreat where all of the structures are bird houses. Three loops of G scale track totaling 550 feet pass through four tunnels and pass over fourteen bridge and trestle systems. Water features include a waterfall, river, and pond. Trains run weather permitting.

James Peterson Coppell HO
    New Layout Just Underway! The Gulf Colorado, and Santa Fe will model Dallas in 1960.  The layout will represent nine miles of Santa Fe main track from East Dallas Yard, near Fair Park, to Hale Siding in Oak Cliff, with focus on local switching, interchange and 40 car freight trains. The railroad room is 25'by 38' above the garage, with staging in an adjacent 14' by 16' room. Construction began in March, beginning with light fixtures, backdrop and lighting fascia. This is an excellent opportunity to view the planning, room preparation, and early construction phases of a large layout. This will be the lunch stop on the layout tour.  James is the President of Discount Model Trains in Addison, and will furnish the meal at no cost to those on the tour. Please be sure to thank him by stopping by his store sometime during the convention.

South Side Railroad Modelers and DFW O Scalers Dallas HO/O
    The South Side and Rio Mesa is a freelance 1950s era railroad with a Texas look and feel. The railroad captures a time when the nation still moved by rail and steam was king but was already being seriously threatened by dieselization.  The railroad is under construction with 50 % of the scenery and virtually all of the track work complete. Layout occupies a room 20x85 feet on the first floor of the old Sears Catalog warehouse on Lamar Street in downtown Dallas. There is about 600 ft. of mainline and more than 200 turnouts. Features include the South Side on Lamar building-the former Sears Warehouse, Dallas Union Station, and Dealy Plaza with the triple underpass and book depository, a major city area, large steel mill complex, and a wharf scene representing Galveston complete with car ferry and underwater detail. Control is Digitrax DCC with most locomotives equipped with sound. The layout is specifically designed for operations and, for the most part, follows typical prototype practices. Operations are governed by RailOp. . Don't miss the full size replica of a control tower that houses the dispatcher. The club web site is www.railroadmodelers.com.

    While you are visiting the HO club, be sure to check the progress of the DFW O scalers, the Texas Midland Railway, located one level below the HO railroad. This railroad is in the construction stage and is approximately 20x45 feet. Trains will be running on the permanent railroad as well as the new modular layout of the DFW O scalers.

Non-Rail - Phyllis Hoverson, Julia Davis, Patti Bullard, Fredda McPherson, Mary Lou Schoenberg, Barbara Smith

RAILETTES! our craft theme this year is "Crossroads of Texas" -- the area of Dallas/Fort Worth has been an interchange, junction or meeting place since the origins of our region. Indian trails, cattle drives, railroad tracks, highways and airline routes have joined our region and our nation. The Trinity River Interchange hopes those of you from Amarillo, Midland, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport will join together at the "Crossroads of Texas" in Irving, TX on June 3, 2009.

We have many and varied activities planned for the ladies.  Starting on Wednesday evening you can share helpful household hints with others, watch a movie.  The clinics during the convention include making book angels, a necklace that matches the 2008 bracelet, a nutcracker decoration, and tying fleece blankets.  Are you interested in visiting a winery and participating in a wine tasting?  That will be available.  Do you like big malls?  Take a self guided trip to Grapevine Mills Mall.  If you want to remain at the hotel, plan to share hobby or special interest during Bring and Brag.  Bring a sample of your grandkids photos, favorite book, hand-work, etc. and tell others about it.  Needless to say there will be the old standbys of door prizes and dominoes and a new riddle game has been added.  A tenative schedule and clinic descriptions are below.
SEE YOU AT CONVENTION!

Barbara Smith
Helpful Household Hints
Wednesday evening we will share homemaking tips.  Everyone knows a way to have more time for the things they love.

Movie Night in the Video Room

Linda White
Book Angels 
Linda has an eye for creating beautiful angels out of hymn books.   We will work with a small book that is 2 1/2 inches tall.   After folding the pages, she will help us add a head, halo, wings, lace and flowers.  You will take home a "Book Angel" to keep or give as a gift.

Phyllis Hoverson
Wine Tasting Tour
Are you a wine aficionado? No; but you would love to learn a little more about wines?

Wouldn’t you love to tour an 18th century French-Style winery with an Italian granite wine tasting bar, a fully operational Tank Room complete with stainless steel fermentation tanks and wine bottling room?

How about sipping 7 delectable wines while sitting on a 1,500 sq. foot covered patio overlooking 10 beautiful acres of vineyard full of grapevines or in the Grand Barrel room with a 40-foot vaulted ceiling?

Guys and gals please join us on Thursday, June 4th for our tour to the Delaney Vineyard in beautiful Grapevine. Meet at 1PM in the lobby. If you do not want to do this tour there are 2 alternate ideas below.

Barbara Smith
Bring & Brag
AKA "Show and Tell".   Share your favorite pastime - handwork, crafts, pictures, stories about grandchildren.
Or  A Self-guided tour of Grapevine Mills Mall

Mary Lou Schoenberg
Jewelry-Necklace, Lunch and Project Linus - $15.00
Rise and Shine! At 9 AM the Non-Rails will meet in the hotel lobby. At Patti Bullard's shop in Southlake, Texas and we will make a necklace that matches our '08 bracelet. After a wonderful lunch, we can visit and make Project Linus blankets. A "no sew" tied fleece blanket that is easy to do and brings smiles to the faces of little children in stressful situations. The material is furnished so all that is needed is you nimble fingers

Mary Lou Schoenberg
Linus Blankets
Project Linus is a national, non profit, 100% volunteer organization that provides new, handmade, washable security blankets to critically ill and/or traumatized children, newborn to 17 years of age. The only requirements are that the blankets be new, homemade, smoke free with no pet hair or dander, and free from scented laundry products. These blankets are distributed to hospitals, fire and police depts, shelters, etc.  After completion and acceptance by a local chapter, a Project Linus label; is sewn on and the following poem is attached:

With Tender Loving Care
“Linus has a blanket that’s all his very own.
It comforts and sustains him when he’s feeling all alone.
He knows that others love him for ‘twas made with special care
And because it means so much to him, it’s carried everywhere.
You too can have a blanket that’s created just for you.
To comfort and support you when you’re rather blue.
It’s yours to keep forever, so you may always know
That others out there love you and to you our wishes go.
By Sam Uhler

Come join us at the convention  Non Rail clinic to make a ‘no sew’ tied fleece blanket to benefit local county areas Fleece in kid friendly colors and patterns will be provided, but if you want to contribute you will need 1yd for a baby or toddler and 1¼yd for a youth or teen.  The only other supplies needed are scissors and a 6” ruler.  At the site of all those colorful blankets piled high, your heart will warm.

Ellen Scott
Flowerpot Nutcracker Clinic
Set a guard in your hallway, or on the tree with these charming nutcracker soldiers. Cozy and fun to make they can be a colorful addition to your decorations.

I got the idea for the flowerpot nutcrackers from a craft brochure at Hobby Lobby. However I didn’t care for the face which was ho-hum and I knew I could do a better one myself. I started out first with a five foot tall nutcracker only because my husband wouldn’t let me get a bigger set of flowerpots. Obviously for safety concerns plastic pots instead of clay have to be used. Once my nutcracker was complete, I went to somewhat larger than dollhouse sized using wooden flower pots much like we will be using in the clinic. These were much smaller to work on and loads of fun to do, but I gave them all away and didn’t keep any for myself. Our church had a Harvest Festival to raise money for charity so I made some 12” tall nutcrackers. Then I made some even larger for the auction for the Homeless and even found some fabric to fur their hats. Again, I never kept any for myself.

The color scheme and decorations are left to your imagination. Each becomes a unique personality in its own right. I also furred the 5’ tall nutcracker that I did keep, with a real light weight, extremely soft fabric. He looks real cool standing outside my door at Christmas time.

I am sure that the ladies will get a kick out of using their imaginations and creative side to make a one of a kind nutcracker for Christmas 2009. Once they have made one, they can go on as I have and make all different sizes. The size limitations are only in the pots you can find.

Virginia Freitag
Christmas Tree
Start your Christmas crafts in June.   These 5 1/2 inch tall trees could be used as table decoration, gift or a fun craft to share with adults or kids.  What a good way to use up your old buttons, jewelry, beads, rhinestones, lace, trim and ribbon.