Re: train show

["Ira Schneider" <ira_schneider@iname.com>]

Hi Steve,

The show started out as a disaster, but ended up great.

We were supposed to set up on Friday at 6:00 PM.  We started getting concerned
when the trailer wasn't there by 6:30 PM.  Around 7:00 PM, we confirmed that the
trailer was still in Cedar Park!

Scott agreed to tow the trailer down to New Braunfels on Saturday morning.
We started setting up around 7:30 AM.  We had one major mishap - Rick's
bridge module got severely damaged.  However, we were up and running by
around 9:15 AM.

We set up a 6 x 3 layout.  The scenery included Ricky's station and
city scene, my carnival rides, and the trolleys.  I also set up the laptop so
people could watch the train camera.

The rest of the day was pretty normal for us.  We had about a dozen members
running trains during the day.  Once or twice someone panicked and hit
the Halt button, but that is not uncommon.  Allan reported that his TMCC engine
was out of control for a while.  Perhaps we were getting interference from somewhere.
DCS appeared to be working normally.  Late in the day, we noticed that we could
not shut down one of the tracks by hitting AUX1-0, but turning the speed
wheel turned the voltage down.

Most of the time, things were running OK.  As I said, we had a lot of people
running trains.  We had a large variety of engines and rolling stock and several
very impressive passenger trains.  Several times, Hunter and I switched tracks
(between tracks 2 and 3) using my new switching module.  Ricky and Allan
switched between tracks 1 and 2 manually (since my switching module only covers
tracks 2, 3, and 4).

There were a fair number of visitors to the show.  There were several dealers
who had O-gauge equipment for sale.

Orlando and Buddy sold personal items at a table in front of our layout.

From my point of view, the show was a total success, even though it had a
rocky start.

I am sorry, but our photographer (me) was too lazy to take any pictures at this
show.



Ira