Rick,
The
picture cost less than 20 cents to print. We left it for anyone who was
interested.
Everyone,
I
had been hoping to capture a few minutes of the 3985 video I shot, but that
project got a setback this week. I will ask Hugh to send out his photo
in case anyone wants to have a JPEG copy.
We
enjoyed the show as anyone might have guessed. I was happy to help with
the setup, and I expect to try to keep up my contribution to these shows as a
fair share of the work. Unfortunately, I have also concluded that setup
and one day at a show is about all I can handle, at least until I
retire. I would be happy to look into coordinating one of these events,
but I won't commit until I know exactly what is involved.
.
Now
that we have used almost all of the modules and given that the trailer is
almost overloaded, is there any interest in any additional
modules? Should we first just concentrate on upgrading the ones we
have? I would vote for replacing the switches, as I had the devil of a
time trying to get Hugh's freight train to stay together Saturday. Hugh
wants to work on another module, and I will be ready in about a month to take
one on. Any votes for what we need?
I
have one observation as a result of the L shape layout last weekend. A
rectangle requires four corners and an L needs six. However when we have
an L, one of the corners is always an inside corner. How about taking
the worst of the corner modules and turn it into a specially designed inside
corner--with correct dimensions, Velcro on the right side, and Plexiglas on
the outside?
Another idea I have been considering is a hinged bridge module to
reduce the carpet crawling. I expect to be popping in and out of these
layouts for a number of years, and my arthritis is not going to get much
better. Even if we restrict the bridge opening to use only when the
trains aren't running, we would save a lot of crawling during setup,
etc.
I
would be happy to take on either or both of these projects in my spare
time. If there is any interest, I will try to bring along some sketches
to the fun run at Ed's in March.
Again, thanks to everyone who participated for a lot of fun.
Regards,
Mike
Scott,
Yes, I was behind you and the trailer looked
scary as hell!!!! I bet you were really exhausted by the time you got
home. I think we need another cradle and put three corner mods on the
other side for starters. Ricky said he thought the trailer leaned to
left. At times it seemed okay, even at 60 mph, but that never lasted
very long. Any imperfections in
the road really exacerbated the problem. When you came to the bridge
at Onion Creek, I thought you were going to hit the guy next to you.
Sorry I couldn't stay with you all the way, but Ricky had a meeting at
Wm Cannon & Manchaca at 7:00.
Mike, I have Hugh's picture.
We can get together later if you want