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My apologies for the lengthy post.
In lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf, Mike Poindexter writes:
> Well, for the first meeting, we have some things to discuss - major things
> that are hard to change later on. We need to set up standards
<snip>
This is good.
> There will be some input I will seek from people on ideal layouts for my
> garage, considering that I want something nice to run at home while also
> being compatible for running at train shows. Remember that the main
> perspective changes 180 degrees! Rather than being inside the loop,
> spectators are outside the loop, so some modules will have to be reversed.
It's always uglier *inside* the monkey suit.
I've been putting backs on my buildings, and one building I've hinged in case
people really want to see the inside (for whatever reason). Maybe some hinged
buildings can be opened to make them look bigger.
> I think that the 6 vs. 8 wide discussion will be the least of our problems,
> considering that if you build for the eights, you can still run the sixers
> on the lines. I have yet to begin module construction because I don't want
> to have to rebuild anything and I don't have an official club standard to
> adhere to.
I have built only very crude 8-wide cars just to experiment (can we start our
own gauge-naming convention? L6, L8, or L10 ? :-) trains yet. Though if we are
to plan for any 8-wide, wouldn't that make a major diff in track layout
considering that curved pieces couldn't be contiguous for (I think) 4 track
segments?
> More likely, our debate will be over module depth
Okay: who wants to be the first to build a subway Russell? :-) At least we'd
have a place for any RockRaiders stuff too... ;-)
> number of
> tracks, distance between, normal track height, maximum car dimensions, off
> limits color schemes (see the "paradisa railroad crossing" from WAMALUG and
> you will understand), etc.
You don't like that crossing Mike? ;-) Actually, the only color schemes I'm
against are those you wouldn't see in several towns in real life (there are
some anomolies, which is why I say "several"). While I don't want a pink level
crossing, I'd like to contribute a small pink candy/ice cream store (or
someone else could make it, cuz I don't have any of those "ice cream" pieces).
> We also should try to figure out who can build what and see what we need and
> don't need.
To get some possible meeting preliminaries out of the way, should we start a
list of what buildings folks already have made, and what kind of footprint
they have with and without baseplates? That way, we can get an idea of what's
made and what it sits on, so no one duplicates unnecessarily. Also, being that
some buildings don't take up an entire baseplate, there could be some
provisional adjustments in modular landscaping so that some landscaping could
be easily moved around on say 6x6 plates, or small baseplates, or whatever, to
accomodate track layouts, or for ease of relocation of a building should it be
desired.
> We would feel silly showing up with three roundhouses and no
> train stations.
Heheh... I propose there be a thumb-wrestling tournament to settle the
roundhouse issue. Either that or, whoever can give away the most bricks to
fellow club members in equal amounts is the winner. ;-)
I've still got a lighted train station. It's kind of a country-looking
station. I'm kind of loathe to rewire it given that I never seem to have
enough time to do it. But eventually I want to.
> A "Town Plan" should be drafted up so that lot dimensions
> can be established. Perhaps we can find room for (eventually) a business
> district (skyscrapers/high rises), China town (where else do the Ninja sets
> go?), freight harbor, industrial complex, suburbs, etc.
As a layout is agreed upon, and general size and location of buildings are
confirmed, it might be good to post all this graphically on a webpage.
Also, given the fact that some people might not make it to a meeting or a
show, it might be good to work up some complete layouts that don't include
certain people's stuff. For the missing pieces, maybe we could lay down a
layer of astroturf under the layout? :-D
BTW, here's something else for the agenda: what name should we give the town?
Legoland? My train station says that, but I'm not married to it.
> Zonker Harris <ba-lego@cinnamon.com> wrote in message
> news:v03130307b4c0ec53adcf@[157.57.198.196]...
> > Mark Benz typed his opinions thusly;
> > > I think we should have both together, particularly if there is (or not?) • a
> > > meeting in Albany as well. The room is big enough, and we can get lots • of
> > > tables. LMK what you think. I would like to also have a kids (and adults)
> > > brick pile like we did at the first meet.
> >
> > I think having separate meeting for BayLUG and BayLTC is OK. (Since
> > trains take up a lot of room, and a combined meeting would mean that
> > trains would be sharing the space, and tables, with the other themes.
> > Another potential difference is that BayLUG meetings are fairly loosely
> > organized, and some of the founding BayLTC members have expressed an
> > interest in meetings being a bit more formalized...maybe the two styles
> > wouldn't work well in the same room at the same time.)
I think separate meetings are better as well. Those folks that don't want to
have anything to do with all the details of "Traindom" can still have fun at
BayLUG GTG's and bring their trains there too.
There are quite a few variables to be discussed if one of the goals is
publicly showing our layout at NMRA, or any other "real" show. While I'm not
against having family/kids come to BayLTC meetings and playing, I think folks
should know that a real meeting needs to go on and be given priority if such
goals are to be continually met.
IMO, (FWIW) I see it like this:
BayLUG is for general get-togethers; displays and demonstrations of all Lego
kinds; mass trade/sell sessions; open to the public (if desired); open
conversation; wandering around; general fun.
BayLTC is for train/town layout oriented meetings; displays and demonstrations
of only those kinds as they relate to the layout; trade/sell sessions, open
conversation, wandering around, and general fun reserved for after club
business as time permits; any attending members/family not participating in
the meeting should be quietly occupied (playing with a brickpile) or observing.
It might sound strict to propose it like this, but I think the point that Mike
P and Z are trying to make is that BayLTC has a lot to discuss in order to
make this work. I agree. Consider how fast time flies when we're playing at a
BayLUG GTG, and it'll fly just as fast or faster when we're all discussing how
a layout should look at BayLTC meeting.
> > I think that Fremont, having the larger room, and at least 14 tables,
> > would be the best place for the first BayLTC meeting.
Agreed. Assuming that the Albany location doesn't work out, there's nothing
preventing us from having a separate BayLUG GTG at the same location.. it's
just that it'll be on a different day.
> > Considering that we'll be trying to organize a club, and formalize our
> > particiation in the NMRA show, and having the show & tell of rolling stock
> > and other stuff, I don't know whether we will have time for a trading
> > sessions or play pile at the meeting. (Once the bricks get spilled at
> > the BayLUG meetings, it has seemed to me that it was pretty hard to get
> > everyone's attention for discussions.)
I'm almost in favor of having no bricks get spilled at the first BayLTC
meeting, except for a kids' playpile. Again, I'd like to see trading/selling
limited to after the meeting.
> > Of course, I'm just one person. What do the other BayLTC hopefuls
> > want to see happen at that first meeting next month?
One thing I'd like to see is that no one gets pushed out of shape or made to
feel like they're less important. I don't think it'll happen, but I hope we
can have a happy, snappy train club. :-)
-Tom McD.
who has exceeded his smiley/winky quotient for today.
Note: Lugnet and rec.toys.lego are family forums
The San Francisco Bay Area Users Group
http://www.baylug.org
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Next BayLUG Meeting / First BayLTC Meeting
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| Well, for the first meeting, we have some things to discuss - major things that are hard to change later on. We need to set up standards for module construction, track locations, spacing, number of lines, etc. These are critical, since it determines (...) (25 years ago, 5-Feb-00, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf, lugnet.org.us.baylug)
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