Note: I was the Clinic Chairman for PR'13, so my opinions are obviously biased.

Prototype Rails 2013 (January 10-12) is now behind us. Here are my thoughts:

Highlights:
+ The weather. It was unseasonably warm (10 degrees warmer than average), meaning that it was about 80 degrees and sunny on the beach. It's pretty hard to complain about that!
+ The clinics. We had a very nice lineup of clinics this year. As Clinic Chairman, I had nothing to do with this; the fine clinics are the result of the hard work of the individual clinicians. I attended several.
+ Frank Peacock's analysis of UP Freight Train Consists in Spring 1947 was quite interesting to me. Several folks were amazed that an interesting presentation could be given based on what could have been very dry data.
+ Perry Sugerman's clinic on Car Cards, Waybills, and Car Forwarding was very interesting. It was good to see an approach that is different to the one that I used (which I based on Tony Thompson's approach). I learned some good stuff [I like his concept of "itineraries", and will apply them to the way I do things.
+ Jim Dick's clinic on Car Service Orders was also good. He showed the diversity of CSO's and how they affected the appearance of trains. I look forward to getting a copy of his presentation so that I can study the text of the CSO's in detail.
+ Charles Hostetler did a nice clinic on the ICC 1% Waybill statistics. Unfortunately, he discovered that the statistics are not able to answer all of the questions that we'd like, since much of the data has been lost due to averaging. Nonetheless, there are some interesting trends that can be used, which he illustrated with examples.
+ Ken Tendick built a Westerfield resin kit right before our eyes. I've never seen anyone build a kit so quickly. He certainly went a long ways to cure "Westerfear". We used a camcorder + LCD projector so that everyone could see exactly what he was doing.
+ Mike Rose showed how he built the largest HO scale structure I've ever seen. It was very interesting, and very informative. He also show how he developed a town scene. Both are prototypical, of course.
+ Marty Megregian showed a film from 1937 (!!) of the Virginian Railway, including the re-building of their hoppers. Wow!
+ There were a bunch of other great clinics, but those were the only ones I managed to attend.
+ We had a lot of fine models on display in the ballroom, and manufacturers including Archer Rivets, SC&F, Yarmouth Model Works, Intermountain, Rapido, Paired Rail Publications, F&C, and many others who I can't recall at the moment.
+ The people. That's why we come to these things - the other modelers!

Lowlights:
- The illness of several attendees (including my wife) put a damper on the meet (at least for me). Fortunately, Connie started feeling better on Saturday, so we were able to enjoy Sunday and Monday.
- Attendance was only 247; I was hoping for 250-275.
- The website didn't have more details about each topic, nor a section where one could look up a particular person and see when s/he was scheduled. The Clinic Chairman for PR14 (me again) will have to work on this. He should also get the schedule published a bit earlier.
- Hotel food is S... L... O... W... Not bad tasting, but slow. On the other hand, there are many other dining options, including Sonny's BBQ, Roberto's Little Havana, and the Lobster Shanty.
- I only got a cookie on Thursday night :( It's silly how much I looked forward to a $0.65 chocoloate-chip cookie.

Jeff Aley [ Prototype Rails Clinic Chair notes:

"The website didn't have more details about each topic, nor a section where one could look up a particular person and see when s/he was scheduled. The Clinic Chairman for PR14 (me again) will have to work on this. He should also get the schedule published a bit earlier."

I'm the meet boss and I approve of this message <G>.

"I only got a cookie on Thursday night :( It's silly how much I looked forward to a $0.65 chocoloate-chip cookie."

The secret, of course, is to hang around the meet boss [ me ] just prior to cookie arrival. I agree that it is amazing how attendees covet a free cookie...somewhat like a door prize. On one occasion I feared someone might be injured in the onrushing hoard coming from the ball room to the cookie station.

It is interesting that Jeff listed quite a few clinics that I wanted to attend but did not manage to. I was able to see most of 4...a bit higher than usual for me. However, it does show that the plan for this meet has been successful. Back in 2000 I sat in a hotel in Jacksonville with John Wilkes during an NMRA regional convention lamenting that there was nothing to do....dead time. I can recall that we concluded that we should come up with something better, a meet in which there is always something to do...like a circus. The solution? Prototype Rails. I never get to do or see even a small part of what goes on. And, unfortunately, time seems to fly by. However...there's always next year...

Mike Brock

Again Jeff, Great JOB!
Fenton Wells

On Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 11:38 PM, Aley, Jeff A <Jeff.A.Aley@...>wrote:

**


Note: I was the Clinic Chairman for PR'13, so my opinions are obviously
biased.

Prototype Rails 2013 (January 10-12) is now behind us. Here are my
thoughts:

Highlights:
+ The weather. It was unseasonably warm (10 degrees warmer than average),
meaning that it was about 80 degrees and sunny on the beach. It's pretty
hard to complain about that!
+ The clinics. We had a very nice lineup of clinics this year. As Clinic
Chairman, I had nothing to do with this; the fine clinics are the result of
the hard work of the individual clinicians. I attended several.
+ Frank Peacock's analysis of UP Freight Train Consists in Spring 1947 was
quite interesting to me. Several folks were amazed that an interesting
presentation could be given based on what could have been very dry data.
+ Perry Sugerman's clinic on Car Cards, Waybills, and Car Forwarding was
very interesting. It was good to see an approach that is different to the
one that I used (which I based on Tony Thompson's approach). I learned some
good stuff [I like his concept of "itineraries", and will apply them to the
way I do things.
+ Jim Dick's clinic on Car Service Orders was also good. He showed the
diversity of CSO's and how they affected the appearance of trains. I look
forward to getting a copy of his presentation so that I can study the text
of the CSO's in detail.
+ Charles Hostetler did a nice clinic on the ICC 1% Waybill statistics.
Unfortunately, he discovered that the statistics are not able to answer all
of the questions that we'd like, since much of the data has been lost due
to averaging. Nonetheless, there are some interesting trends that can be
used, which he illustrated with examples.
+ Ken Tendick built a Westerfield resin kit right before our eyes. I've
never seen anyone build a kit so quickly. He certainly went a long ways to
cure "Westerfear". We used a camcorder + LCD projector so that everyone
could see exactly what he was doing.
+ Mike Rose showed how he built the largest HO scale structure I've ever
seen. It was very interesting, and very informative. He also show how he
developed a town scene. Both are prototypical, of course.
+ Marty Megregian showed a film from 1937 (!!) of the Virginian Railway,
including the re-building of their hoppers. Wow!
+ There were a bunch of other great clinics, but those were the only ones
I managed to attend.
+ We had a lot of fine models on display in the ballroom, and
manufacturers including Archer Rivets, SC&F, Yarmouth Model Works,
Intermountain, Rapido, Paired Rail Publications, F&C, and many others who I
can't recall at the moment.
+ The people. That's why we come to these things - the other modelers!

Lowlights:
- The illness of several attendees (including my wife) put a damper on the
meet (at least for me). Fortunately, Connie started feeling better on
Saturday, so we were able to enjoy Sunday and Monday.
- Attendance was only 247; I was hoping for 250-275.
- The website didn't have more details about each topic, nor a section
where one could look up a particular person and see when s/he was
scheduled. The Clinic Chairman for PR14 (me again) will have to work on
this. He should also get the schedule published a bit earlier.
- Hotel food is S... L... O... W... Not bad tasting, but slow. On the
other hand, there are many other dining options, including Sonny's BBQ,
Roberto's Little Havana, and the Lobster Shanty.
- I only got a cookie on Thursday night :( It's silly how much I looked
forward to a $0.65 chocoloate-chip cookie.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--
Fenton Wells
3047 Creek Run
Sanford NC 27332
919-499-5545
srrfan1401@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

If someone can connect me with Marty Megerian, I would like to see if I can view his video.
 
THank you,
Brad Andonian


________________________________
From: "Aley, Jeff A" <Jeff.A.Aley@...>
To: "STMFC@..." <STMFC@...>; "PassengerCarList@..." <PassengerCarList@...>
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 8:38 PM
Subject: [STMFC] Prototype Rails 2013 trip report


 

Note: I was the Clinic Chairman for PR'13, so my opinions are obviously biased.

Prototype Rails 2013 (January 10-12) is now behind us. Here are my thoughts:

Highlights:
+ The weather. It was unseasonably warm (10 degrees warmer than average), meaning that it was about 80 degrees and sunny on the beach. It's pretty hard to complain about that!
+ The clinics. We had a very nice lineup of clinics this year. As Clinic Chairman, I had nothing to do with this; the fine clinics are the result of the hard work of the individual clinicians. I attended several.
+ Frank Peacock's analysis of UP Freight Train Consists in Spring 1947 was quite interesting to me. Several folks were amazed that an interesting presentation could be given based on what could have been very dry data.
+ Perry Sugerman's clinic on Car Cards, Waybills, and Car Forwarding was very interesting. It was good to see an approach that is different to the one that I used (which I based on Tony Thompson's approach). I learned some good stuff [I like his concept of "itineraries", and will apply them to the way I do things.
+ Jim Dick's clinic on Car Service Orders was also good. He showed the diversity of CSO's and how they affected the appearance of trains. I look forward to getting a copy of his presentation so that I can study the text of the CSO's in detail.
+ Charles Hostetler did a nice clinic on the ICC 1% Waybill statistics. Unfortunately, he discovered that the statistics are not able to answer all of the questions that we'd like, since much of the data has been lost due to averaging. Nonetheless, there are some interesting trends that can be used, which he illustrated with examples.
+ Ken Tendick built a Westerfield resin kit right before our eyes. I've never seen anyone build a kit so quickly. He certainly went a long ways to cure "Westerfear". We used a camcorder + LCD projector so that everyone could see exactly what he was doing.
+ Mike Rose showed how he built the largest HO scale structure I've ever seen. It was very interesting, and very informative. He also show how he developed a town scene. Both are prototypical, of course.
+ Marty Megregian showed a film from 1937 (!!) of the Virginian Railway, including the re-building of their hoppers. Wow!
+ There were a bunch of other great clinics, but those were the only ones I managed to attend.
+ We had a lot of fine models on display in the ballroom, and manufacturers including Archer Rivets, SC&F, Yarmouth Model Works, Intermountain, Rapido, Paired Rail Publications, F&C, and many others who I can't recall at the moment.
+ The people. That's why we come to these things - the other modelers!

Lowlights:
- The illness of several attendees (including my wife) put a damper on the meet (at least for me). Fortunately, Connie started feeling better on Saturday, so we were able to enjoy Sunday and Monday.
- Attendance was only 247; I was hoping for 250-275.
- The website didn't have more details about each topic, nor a section where one could look up a particular person and see when s/he was scheduled. The Clinic Chairman for PR14 (me again) will have to work on this. He should also get the schedule published a bit earlier.
- Hotel food is S... L... O... W... Not bad tasting, but slow. On the other hand, there are many other dining options, including Sonny's BBQ, Roberto's Little Havana, and the Lobster Shanty.
- I only got a cookie on Thursday night :( It's silly how much I looked forward to a $0.65 chocoloate-chip cookie.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In STMFC@..., "Aley, Jeff A" wrote:

Lowlights:

...

- Attendance was only 247; I was hoping for 250-275.

Yet, the Hotel sold out of rooms at the special rate. They tried very hard to sell me a room at $165 a night. If I couldn't have found a less expensive hotel, that would have meant driving home Saturday night, missing the banquet and evening presentations. Expedia to the rescue! With "only" a 3-4 hour drive home, that last night stay is tough to justify to the Cheif Financial Officer.

- Hotel food is S... L... O... W... Not bad tasting, but slow. On the other hand, there are many other dining options, including Sonny's BBQ, Roberto's Little Havana, and the Lobster Shanty.

Ugh. Agreed. Even the morning breakfast buffett. I thought waiting to pay your bill was supposed to be a Russian thing.

- I only got a cookie on Thursday night :( It's silly how much I looked forward to a $0.65 chocoloate-chip cookie.

I heard rumors of cookies. I also heard a lot of people wishing there were sugar free cookies, also. I didn't see either, but REALLY appreciated the free coffee. It was surprisingly good.

I also wanted to "put a shout out" to all the other modelers that brought models to display. It would be nice if more had "in process" models. I was a little self-conscious, but this was also the first time I've paraded my work like that.

Everyone I spoke to was very encouraging and supportive. What a terrific environment to immerse yourself in for 3 days!

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, Florida