Day 4 coverage is going to be delayed.... only 236 photos today, but both the TrainMasters TV and MRH "Next 5 Years" clinics were this evening and I just got back to my room. It's midnight.

I'll be taking my laptop in with me tomorrow and we'll see how good the bandwidth at the Convention Center is.

on my layout.

Started to fiddle a bit with scenery.

Now is the part that the layout starts to be really ugly,because it has the blue from the foam, and the brown from the cork, and garbage left all over the place.

The little blue Renault Clio next to the warehouse was not meant to be there... 

336 photos today - most of them from the contest room. Yesterday I'd been worried about the low number of models being submitted for judging, today they broke the Sacramento record for most models submitted. I've got a long ways to go to get them all photographed. Photos will be in the comments.

I left the convention early today to go pick up Joe Fugate and Don Hanley from the airport, and Les Halmos and his friend Jean-Francois rolled in from Quebec last night.

Well, I'm still awake, and that YouTube video is about to finish uploading...

I've attached the Covered Hopper clinic handout to this post - you'll be missing Randy's excellent commentary and the question and answer session that took place during the clinic, but I hope you'll find the slide deck informative on it's own.

The video is done uploading, but it's still processing, but it should show up below when it's done with that. Join me on a bumpy tour of the Operations Roadshow modular layout:

Day 2 found me awake at 5:30am local - which is about 2:30am at home. Still, I was awake, so I spent my extra morning time (my alarm went off promptly at 6:30) getting my gear ready for the convention... as it ended up, I didn't take enough. The contest and display models started coming in today and even though the room is well enough lit for normal purposes, my camera is not normal purposes. Tomorrow I take the flash and tripod with me.

Yes we went of Vacation. I tried to tell cruise director I was always on vacation but that is another story. Work has continued on The Grande Pacific. Installing some of the many bridges that had been put off since 2009. Run trains first. These are the four I am working on. Will have video of this at end of construction project.

To All: My newest Early Rail project is this 34 foot boxcar built circa 1896. I assembled, painted & lettered this craftsman kit put out by John Canfield's Virginia Foundry & Model Works. Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout

The Up Dunes Junction blog is back to regular posts after an extended hiatus caused by work and real life. Some downtime after a breakneck run of travel and other excitement have given me a chance to re-start modeling projects and share my railroad-related thoughts via the blog.