convention

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 2009
 
You may have already heard the news about Prototype Tours – You get to have a say in what tours we present!  There are so many great prototype things to see in the area we just wanted you to have a say in which ones we go after. 
 
Go to the voting tab and vote for your favorite.  Here is the current list under consideration:

• Dart Facility
• TRE Shops
• Trinity rail plant
• McKinney Avenue Trolley
• UP Intermodal yard
• Age of Steam Museum
• BNSF Control Center
• BNSF Aliance yard
• Grapevine Vintage RR shops
• Grain Elevator
• Garland short line “DINGO”
• Six Flags shops

Les Brandt.

October 2009

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.

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:
 

The auction is always a great place to find something special you’ve been looking for.  It’s also a great place to unload valuable items that you no longer have a need for.  The auction really depends on YOU, the convention-goer.  The more of you that bring items, the bigger and better the auction will be and the more money YOU will make!

So start digging through the storage closets and under the layout or where ever you can think of and bring those treasures to the convention.  Hey, maybe you’ll make enough to start a whole new layout!
 

The Company Store will offer both a committee shirt and an attendee shirt that will be a different color. Items available at previous LSR conventions included patches, caps and coffee mugs should also be available.

If you would like to suggest an item, please e-mail me with information including sources and I will check it out.  RUSSRSTUFF@AOL.COM
Russ

October 2008
I’ll keep this short and sweet since there’s lots of stuff from the “Convention Team Committees”.
Just a reminder the Trinity River Interchange will be the 3rd to the 7th of June, 2009, and the host hotel for your LSR Regional Convention in DFW this year will be the Sheraton Grand,  just north of the DFW airport on Hwy 114.