Layout Design / Operations Special Interest Groups
Operating Sessions Coordinator: David Parks
The Layout Design SIG and Operations SIG will host a clinic track all day Thursday on layout design and operations, open to all convention registrants, followed by an evening of roundtable discussions.
SIG Clinic Track
| Brewster Bird – Visalia Industrial Park | |
| Brewster Bird – Shelf Layout Prototypes | |
| Paul Ingraham & Steve Wesolowski – 21st Century Layouts: Why Modules have Made Traditional Layouts Obsolete | |
| Paul Ingraham & Steve Wesolowski – Where's My Station Today?: Modular Waybill Operations | |
| Bill Kaufman – Operations for Dummies | |
| Bill Kaufman – Planning and developing the State Belt | |
| Tom Knapp, MMR – Nn3 Pacific Coast Railway | |
| Ed Merrin – Nuts and Bolts of Planning and Building the NWP | |
| Bob Pethoud – Building and Operating the Fall Creek Branch | |
| and others... |
Meet and Greets – Thursday
Each SIG will hold a "Meet and Greet" Thursday evening. ALL convention attendees welcome!
| 7:00 PM | Bill Kaufman | LDSIG Meet and Greet |
| 8:30 PM | Bill Kaufman | OPSIG Meet and Greet |
Operating Sessions
All Coast Rails 2014 convention registrants are eligible to participate in Operating Sessions. These sessions are offered with the intention that many who normally do not participate in these structured operating events will take advantage of this open enrollment. No previous operating session experience is necessary, just a desire to run a model railroad as if it were a real transportation system. This is not a special club or special interest group (SIG) event. It is open to all PCR convention attendees and tour participants.
How Do I Sign Up?
To sign-up for these sessions, send an e-mail to David Parks at bearwestern@comcast.net or call him at (650) 961-7644. These are the only ways to sign up for an op session.
Please list the layouts and session times in your order of preference. You may signup for as many sessions as you wish, but you may not get them all. You may include special instructions, such as “only one session” or as “many as I can get or” or “if I get this one – not that one”. We will try to get you your first choice and then allocate the space from there.
Generally all crew positions are open to guests, although some jobs, such as Dispatcher require experience. All crew assignments are by advance reservation only. List the order of preference of your choices and how many sessions you want. There may be minor adjustments in the times.
Operating Sessions
| Paul Deis | Paso Robles | 28 miles North |
| Los Osos Valley Railroad | HO |
| Friday | 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM |
| Friday | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Sunday (after PCR meeting) | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM |
The Los Osos Valley Railroad is an HO scale 400 sq. foot double-deck, point to point layout. It represents the Southern Pacific Coast Line from San Luis Obispo to San Miguel in 1949. The layout is designed for operations and features hand-laid track, NCE DCC and sound equipped locomotives. Both ends of the layout have off-layout staging areas.
| Hilding Larson | San Luis Obispo | 7 miles South |
| Yakima Valley Transportation Co. | HO |
| Wednesday | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Thursday | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Friday | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Saturday | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM |
This 12' x 20' HO layout represents the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington featuring Union Pacific and Northern Pacific trains. In overall concept, this layout exemplifies the UP from Hinkle Yard in Oregon to Spokane, WA. At Wallula there is a branch line running up the Yakima Valley, through Zillah, to Yakima. The NP main line parallels the Union Pacific up the valley. This is the visibly modeled portion of the layout. The UP branch interchanges with the NP and Yakima Valley Transportation Company at Yakima, and has a large amount of adjacent trackage with the NP in Zillah. The UP, NP and YVT locals and switch crews move freight on the layout.
The layout features staging, operating yards and traction. Operations are point-to-point with up to three crews required to move trains. Control is NCE DCC.
| Terry Taylor | San Luis Obispo | 8 miles South |
| AT&SF Ry Co | HO |
| Friday | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
The Santa Fe in the San Joaquin Valley from Calwa (near Fresno) to Richmond, circa 1953. The visible layout runs from Empire (just east of Riverbank) to Holt (just west of Stockton) with the balance in staging. Also included is the “mind's eye” Tahoe & Tidewater Railroad which is loosely based on the prototype Central California Traction, Sierra and Yosemite Valley Railroads. Tahoe & Tidewater runs from Stockton to an area near Lake Tahoe. Numerous industrial switching locations for both the Santa Fe and Tahoe & Tidewater Railroads. Major interchange yards with the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific in Stockton with their respective tracks going to major staging yards in both the east and west. There are minor and interchange tracks and staging yards for both the Modesto & Empire Traction Company and Sierra Railroads. 1200 feet of staging yard with 100 turnouts. NCE DCC.
The SIGs
The Layout Design SIG's prime purpose is to help modelers design and build a model railroad to enhance future operations with minimum space and cost, while avoiding common design flaws, and include prototypical and model design features that maximize operating interest and visual interest.
The Operations SIG is devoted to furthering the simulation of prototypical operating practices by using the forms, procedures, communications, and train schedules on model railroads.
Members of other NMRA SIGs are welcome to participate in Coast Rails 2014.
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