I started my day 2 by wandering around the Layout Design SIG/OP SIG room. You can view interesting layout design examples in this room - here's one that's near-and-dear to my heart: a mushroom club layout design! (click image to enlarge)

As many of you may know, I have helped popularize the mushroom design concept with my January and February 1997 articles on mushroom design in Model Railroader. For those who may not know, a mushroom puts the two layout decks above each other and facing in opposite directions. The upper deck side can include a raised floor, which allows you to keep both decks at near the same relative height from the floor. My own HO Siskiyou Line layout uses a mushroom configuration, and it enabled me to fit an 1100 sq ft layout into an 810 sq ft space.

A traditional double-deck design, where both decks face the same direction, is often an exercise in compromises. You'll find neither deck will be at optimum height - while the mushroom allows you to keep both decks near an optimum distance from the floor. The magic height from the floor for a layout deck is from your navel to your armpit. Belly-button height and above gets the trains up closer so the details can be seen and appreciated, and anything above armpit height will make it difficult for you to reach into the scene to uncouple or manipulate things in any way.

 Here's one very cool part of this mushroom layout display - a 3D model of the layout! (click image to enlarge) Multideck layout design in general can be tricky, and building a 3D model helps you better visualize what you're trying to do, as this little model illustrates! I also favor mocking up your design deck heights while still in the planning stage. Your mockup doesn't need to be fancy, just some scraps of track, a few pieces of rolling stock, some cardboard boxes, and some books on the dining room table should be sufficient. Try various deck heights and different deck separations until you find what you like. Then measure it with a tape measure and you'll have values that you can start planning with!

Speaking of the LD SIG room, it's also a great place to go and get some layout design consultation from the members! The LD SIG has over a hundred experienced members at the convention, and we try to take some time in the room to give layout design consultation. We feel that's a great service to our fellow modelers, and it helps them see the value of being and LD SIG member more than any amount of retoric we might offer.

 In the photo on the left, LD SIG members Bruce Notman (on far left) and Bruce Morden (on far right) offer their design advice to a convention-goer (in the middle in the New Haven shirt) on Monday morning in the LD SIG room. (click image to enlarge) I'm sure this convention-goer got some great new layout design insights as a result of the conversation. This is just one of the many ways in which the LD SIG helps out at the National Conventions. On Wednesday, I will be going on the LD SIG layout tour and then blogging about it here with photos! I look forward to the LD SIG layout tour as a highlight of the convention. The SIG does an excellent job of chosing noteworthy layouts in the area, both large and small, unfinished and finished. You can be sure I'll pass on some of the best of this tour here in my blog!

As to the clinics, I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Chandler's clinic, Making Commercial Turnouts Operate Reliably. I'm a firm believer that one key to total layout satisfaction is to become an expert on turnouts. You can either build them yourself (my personal preference these days) or you can tune commercial turnouts to get  optimum performance. Paul bravely took a daring approach to his clinic - he tuned up a commercial turnout right in front of a room full of modelers! Talk about gutsy! I thoroughly enjoyed Paul's clinic and he did a marvelous job demonstating his methods in front of a room full of critics! (click the photo on the left to enlarge)

Tomorrow's a big day for me - I have three clinics in the afternoon. First, there's my Siskiyou Line Potpourri, where I talk about the latest on the Siskiyou Line, including some news of my latest projects (which will include a plug for the new MRH magazine). Then comes DCC, the good, the bad, and the ugly - where I share out of my 15 years of DCC experience. The clinic, as the name suggests, includes my ah-ha's, my uh-ohs, and my OH-NO's.

Finally, I'm on an LD SIG panel discussion about the latest trends in layout design ... should be fun! See you on tomorrow's blog!