Re: April 25, 26 Fun Run at Bill Lohman's Layout

[Steve Wise <swise@aoot.com>]

I'm in for at least Saturday.  Sounds like fun!

Steve.


Bill Lohman wrote:
> TTAT Members
>  
> You're cordially invited to participate in the TTAT's April 09 Fun Run 
> to be held on Bill Lohman's Overland Pacific Railway.
>  
> We'll conduct railroad operations on Saturday, April 25, 10 am to 6 pm 
> and Sunday April 26, noon to 6 pm.
>  
> Door prize is a rare, brand new, never out of the box, 0-27 K-Line 
> Limited Edition Shiner Bock Wood-Sided Reefer, number 276 of 495 
> sponsored by Clay Kinsner of Lone Star Trains and Collectibles in San 
> Antonio a few years back.
>  
> We'll have fun running your trains and mine.  But, it also might prove 
> useful for those of you planning layouts to see a moderate sized 
> layout in a mult-use room.  And also to gain some hands on experience 
> with DCS, TMCC or Legacy in a laid back, user friendly environment.   
>  
> In addition to running trains, we'll burn some burgers and there'll be 
> an ice chest for your favorite beverage.  I'll throw in the first 
> batch of beer and bottled water.  Bring your favorite beverage if you 
> like.
>  
> While we're operating, train video's will be shown on the trainroom 
> flat panel TV.  A slide show of Sherman Hill and my one-on-one tour of 
> the Cheyenne Steam Facilities last fall with Lynn Nystrom, famous UP 
> Steam Team Engineer of UP3985 and UP 844, will be on the PC Flat 
> Panel.   What a gentleman he is.
>  
> Please let the me know soonest if you plan to attend by signing up on 
> the Coordination Document on the TTAT website or emailing me  -- so I 
> can work out the logistics.
>  
> The OP is located in the Lake Hills Area about 4 miles west of Bee 
> Caves Road and Loop 360.  See the Coordination Document for written 
> driving instructions or I can email them to you.  And Ira has placed a 
> Mapquest hot link on the club schedule.  Thanks, Ira.  Just click on 
> my name on the club schedule and the map will pop up.    There's 
> plenty of off-street parking and plenty of room in the trainroom 
> for the usual turnout.
>  
> Thanks,
> Bill Lohman
> Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
> The Overland Pacific Railway
>  
>  
>  
>  
> Details Follow Below   --  for those of you interested.    
>  
> The Overland Pacific is a mythical railroad owning a small segment of 
> one of the transcontinental routes somewhere in the rural, small town 
> western U.S.  -  in Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Territory  -- 
> between the small towns of Cache City and Ft Logan.  The era is 1930's 
> to the end of the steam to diesel transition in about 1960.  The OP is 
> primarily a railroad service company and gains most of it's revenue by 
> collecting fees from trains of the various western railroads 
> using it's tracks and services. 
>  
> The OP management encourages railroads from all era's, ancient to 
> modern, and all geographical areas to use it's facilities during this 
> Fun Run!  That would be YOU!  We desperately need the revenue in these 
> hard times!
>  
> The OP is an around the walls shelf type layout housed in a 17 ft. X 
> 32 ft. multi-purpose room.  It has two levels and enough mainline 
> tracks and switches to run two or three moderate length trains while 
> staging an additional one.  We can parade trains on the Highline 
> Mainline and bring them into the valley and the OP facilities at 
> Overland Junction.  And at the same time we can run a point-to-point 
> switching operation in either direction for about 60 feet between two 
> turntables on the OP Valley Line.  
>  
> We'll have to work together  --  as a team   -- to run two or three 
> trains in a more or less realistic manner!!!
>  
> We can run easily run a mixture of MTH DCS and Lionel TMCC and Legacy 
> trains.  Analog trains can be run separately but can't be mixed with 
> command trains.  
> Minimum track diameter is 090 and all switches are #5's or #7.5's 
> allowing the OP to handle the largest known locomotives and cars.  
> Ditto with the two 128 ft (32 inch) turntables. 
>  
> The OP at this point operates very reliably, but, is a work in 
> progress.  There are 20 plus switches.  The mainline ones will be 
> automated and signalled in the future.  Yard switches will remain 
> manual.  All are manual at this point.  This means we'll have to pay 
> attention and have a real railroading experience!  Many buildings are 
> in place as place holders.  Scenery and detailing will be added after 
> the final modifications and the electronics are proven rock solid. 
>  
> The following may interest some of you. Come over and see what you 
> think.  There's room for improvement and I'll welcome all 
> suggestions!!  I've attempted to take a balanced approach to my train 
> room.  On the one hand I want a model railroad with enough trackage 
> and operating detail to make for interesting operations.  On the other 
> hand I want to have a multi-purpose room which is comfortable and has 
> room for plenty of people and for other activities and other hobbies  
> -- and for that often neglected item -- plenty of storage.  Achieving 
> this balance in a moderate amount of space has been and continues to 
> be a real challenge for me.  For example, at one point I had a 20 ft X 
> 4 ft center peninsula which I removed in an attempt to regain the 
> balance.  Also, I've proven to myself over the years (this is my 10th 
> layout) that the more track you have the bigger maintenance effort it 
> takes.  Some of the eternal trade-off's for model railroaders!!  
>  
> Hope to see you on on the 24th and 25th!   If you have any questions, 
> you can call me at 512-663-4599 or email me at 844bill@gmail.com 
> <mailto:844bill@gmail.com> .
>