Hi All, Bob Chaparro has been working on setting up a Layout Tour in the San Bernardino Mountains. Those who are participating will be holding Open Houses for our Layouts, Saturday & Sunday, June 25 & 26th, 2011. This tour is sponsored by Bob's, Yahoo Group, Model Railroads of Southern California. This will be the twenty-fifth tour sponsored by the group since 2006. Over 300 layouts have participated in these tours. The usual format will apply and that is, the tour will be self-guided and free. Looks to be, that myself and others in Big Bear Valley and Green Valley Lake will be participating. Stay tuned. RickH
Here's the link to the 25th layout tour info: [groups.yahoo.com] If you're not a member, it's free to join. Andy Jackson Bellflower CA
Rick, I do look forward to dragging some of the Nland Pacific guys up the hill to see you. Will there be a G scale Christmas train running around a nice tall pine?:tb-tongue::mwacko::ru-tongue: I crack myself up.
Christmas in June? LOLlaugh: Funny! It's not impossible. I could accomodate you with a set-up on my patio. Gosh! We do have a number of G scale garden railways up here. They are still plowing snow off the main and didn't want to open up. The ground is still mushy as we haven't had any real warm winds or weather to dry us out. I should be home by 2:30 p.m. Saturday, I can open for you guys. Warning, my layout doesn't have scenery and I won't have the time to add any between now and then. Don't leave early as we all want to get together at IHop Saturday at 5:30 p.m. A good chance to get better acquainted and to talk about what you saw. Looking forward to visiting with you.
As we get closer to the fourth weekend of this month, June 25 & 26, 2011, I will post updates on the road conditions, closures and the likes. Right now Hwy. #330 is closed from Highland to Running Springs, due to a number of serious wash outs. Last years first winter storm washed out the roads. The culverts backed up from the lack of having been cleaned out and maintained, resulting in the subroadbed being saturated and it gave way. CalTrans hopes to have it open in time for 4th of July. The latest report has Hwy #330 being closed except to one way traffic on weekdays until the middle of August. That's the news, with the news and all about the news...ahh...history. Grin! The best route up here from Redlands, is Hwy #38. You can also come up Hwy#18 out of San Bernardino the Rim Of The World Drive. Coming from Barstow, Victorville through Lucerne Valley you can take Hwy#18 up what we call the back grade or to say it correctly, Cushenbury Grade. Areas of this back grade was once surveyed for tracks up to Big Bear. The mines and lumbering played out and the dream unrealized. Bring a coat the morning and evenings can be cool. Edited add on: My computer crashed and I wasn't able to fulfill my promise. Sorry about that. Looks like I wasn't alone. Good that we are all back up and running.
The Layout Tours went off without a hitch. Saturday, I lost count at 20. I suspect well over 35 fellow model rail fans visited my layout. The highest number recorded was by John Acosta at 38. Sunday, was an easier day with 5 visitors. I did end up with 13 kids from my trailer park who wanted to see the layout. The old stern protective dad in me came out. The kids had fun and want to come back and "Race" the trains.... ahh...I don't think so. I had a number of visitors that wanted to see "Rick's layout," that was built oddly enough in a metal shed. Kind of like a freaky carnival side show. Grin! Well, it is a odd place to build a layout. John Paulson, if you came up... I some how missed you. You can always call me and if I'm home I will open-up the layout for visitors. I like what I have...despite the environment it's in. More then happity (Making up words are we?) to share it with you. This winter and now the summer heat is taking it's toll. More later. It all went by to fast. Thank you, to all who attended. You all come back...you hear? Oh, and Hwy. #330, according to locals, is open full time. How about that?
Hi Rick, I can only throw poor excuses as to why I did not show. I would love to come up and spend some time "racing" YOUR trains in your phsycadelic layout home. Who cares where the layout is though, as we build'em where we can and get to deal with the highs and lows. I for one simply don't do much durring the summer months as my layout is in the garage in Riverside. As you know. Its too late for snow action , but maybe I could bring the teenage daughters plus the little woman and make a family day of it. I don't think they have ever seen the valley from the Rim. I do like the mountain region here in the Inland Empire, but hot its not. Come on now Rick, it gets to what 85 degrees and you's guys are sweat'n it.:tb-tongue:
You know it doesn't get as hot here as the one time I visited your layout. Gosh almighty, we could have roasted a turkey. Grin! Inside the metal train shed it can reach 90 degrees or higher when the temperature outside is 80 degrees. We have seen 101 during the hottest of summer days. Not very pleasant when no one has air conditioning and the stores turn them way up to keep the cost of utilities down. You won't find air in any of the restraunts. On a day when the layout gets above 80 degrees the rails on the tracks start to push upward and outward. I will need to cut in additional expansion gaps to ease things up a bit. In the winter we see something you don't. We can get down to sub-zero weather. Extremes that can tear a layout apart. I do keep a frost watch heater going and that helps. What you need to do is come up, rent a boat, ski's, life jackets and hire a ski coach so the girls can learn how to water ski. Great fun...until I hurt my back. Now I sit and watch the girls go by in their skimpy bathing suits, dreaming of the day when...well...never mind...that doesn't have anything to do with trains. Thanks for the come back. Now get your @$$ up here and bring the guys and gals from the Free-Mo group. I'll show you how to run trains...grin!
Sounds like a family trip to the mountains is in order for sure. Besides one or two members I am not sure if any of the others would join in because of various reasons. I don't doubt for a minute your metal shed gets quite hot once the sun gets a ray or two on it. Also, I too have cut many expansion gaps to compensate for the expansion/contraction issues as my temps range from 110 down to 30. When you visited I think it was about 105, but having the door into the kitchen open with a fan blowing the AC into the garage took the edge off for sure. I love the snow, but when I get to work in it I can become, well challenged. I have been stuck a few time and did you know it costs anywhere from $450 to $750 to get pulled out of the snow/mud. Once I simply moved to the side of the highway avoiding the dirt and snow to let others go by as I had my chains on over on the east side of Baldwin Lake and barely hit mud and it sucked me into the ditch. The truck was at about 35 degrees. So there I sat waiting for the big hook and the sun went behind the mountain and the temperature dropped dramatically to about 18 degrees. One of the nearby hill billies(oops, did I say that) offered me his home and some coffee for the second time and I had to go in. These mountain folks are quite friendly as I thought he took a big risk allowing a stranger into his home with a beautiful wife and daughter. Well the coffee was good and the company was great, but the hook got me out and on my way. The tow driver told me road conditions were good and that I did not need chains because the ice breakers I had on the rear would suffice. Well driving down the back side without chains in 5 inches if ice had me pissed at that guy. Anyway, 'nough said about off topic stuff. Sounds like you guys had a good showing and I hope some inspiration came from it.
Winter's snow and ice isn't fun when you have to work in it. That's for sure. We mountain types know when to stay home and inside....the train shed that is. COL Yep, feel free to come see me. Not to worry those Free-Mo guys and gals have loads of fun operating their layout. A trip to the mountains to see a skeleton of a layout doesn't make much sense. I can understand that. More about the comaraderie. You know Steve and I absolutely enjoyed visiting your layout. Not much, even extreme heat is going to stop us. Yep, that fan and airconditioning felt good and it did take the edge off. Still I wish I had thought to bring a Turkey, Oh, wait that was me. LOL
Really wish I could have made this. I miss the A&W on Mentone Blvd (Hwy. 38) Growing up in Yucaipa, Big Bear was just a short drive away! Maybe one day I'll get back there to attend a show!
