[PRR-talk] Cocoa Beach Report?

[Steve Hoxie]

Jerry--You asked for it.  The event was called Prototype Rails 2008;  I went 
and loved every minute of it. Other SPF's included Bruce Smith, Greg Martin, 
and Dick Flock, but there certainly were others.  With 200+ in attendance 
and a very full clinic schedule with sessions offered simultaneously in five 
different rooms for two full days, it would be difficult to meet everyone.

The event was held last Thursday evening and all day Friday and Saturday at 
the Cocoa Beach Hilton.  Cocoa Beach is on the Atlantic coast of central 
Florida, just a few miles south of Cape Caneveral, due east from Orlando.  I 
have a stepson near Orlando so I stayed with him.  Most attendees stayed at 
the hotel;  I can't comment on the room accommodations, but I heard no 
complaints.  The conference rooms and restaurant service were well above 
adequate.

The purpose of this annual meet is to promote and exchange knowledge about 
modeling railroads the way the prototype does/did it.  The meet is not 
railroad or era specific.  Besides the clinic rooms, the epicenter of all 
the activity was the exhibit room.  There were O, HO and N modular layouts, 
manufacturers' exhibits, and model displays by individuals.  Over the next 
several days, I expect several websites with photos.  This is the only one I 
am aware of at the moment, by Tom Byrne:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/111669553XTPuRS
There are four pages of photos at the moment, with more coming, I think. 
There is a page or so of the N modular layout first--work your way thru and 
you will get to some photos of Bruce Smith's really nice 1944 era models.  I 
took along the X29b, DEFENDER, and P70kR you have seen in The Keystone 
Modeler, as well as a pair of much modified P2K E7's and a brass Sunset I1 
with many upgrades.

Among the manufacturers in attendance were BLI/PCM, Branchline, Fifth Ave. 
Car Shops, Funaro & Camerlengo, Intermountain, Southern Car & Foundry, 
Speedwitch, Tangent, Walthers, and Westerfield.

Bruce Smith and I had useful discussions with the BLI/PCM rep regarding the 
I1. Their website will be updated shortly to reflect a new expected delivery 
date. The issue prompting the current delay is well understood with a 
solution in hand.  I think you will be happy. The two test shots (one 
pre-war, the other post-war, both
with short tenders) were on display for any and all to see.

F & C had a full display of their models, had a lot of inventory on hand, 
and were doing a booming business.  Ted Culotta's Speedwitch also was very 
busy.  If you are not familiar with his offerings, see www.speedwitch.com . 
He has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite manufacturers. He 
offers resin kits, Red Caboose and Branchline kits with added parts to match 
specific prototype cars, and exquisite decals.  His X29 decal sheet should 
be legendary by now, with an X31 sheet coming very soon.  I also found B&O 
and NYC decals which I needed.

I attended Dick Flock's presentations on PRR flat cars and on the design and 
building of his very impressive model  railroad.  Our own Greg Martin does 
an annual clinic where he provides a kit from a well known manufacturer plus 
the additional parts and instructions to follow as closely as possible a 
prototype freight car.  This year his choice was a PRR X45 boxcar, starting 
with a Branchline kit.  Operations are also part of accurate modeling, so I 
particularly enjoyed presentations by Bill Darnaby on his Maumee Route and 
by Tony Koester on his under construction NKP.  Bill Welch, the Fruit 
Growers Express guru, gave a very interesting session on the steel reefers 
operated by FGE and WFE.  Other names you may recognize giving clinics were 
Richard Hendrickson, Tony Thompson, Dick Kline, Mont Switzer, Clark Propst, 
and Andy Sperandeo.

I haven't heard that dates for the 2009 have been announced, but expect it 
for the first weekend in January.

Steve Hoxie
Pensacola FL






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Britton" <jerry at pennsyrr.com>
To: "PRR-talk list" <prr-talk at dsop.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 7:33 PM
Subject: [PRR-talk] Cocoa Beach Report?


> Anyone go to the Cocoa Beach RPM? Let's hear about it!
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> Jerry Britton, SPF   Member, PRRT&HS   jerry at pennsyrr.com
> Pennsylvania Railroad, Eastern Region, 1954 in N Scale.
> "Keystone Crossings" - Home of the "PRR-Talk" mailing list!
>     http://kc.pennsyrr.com
> "Merchandise Service" - Model railroad products...
>     https://merchandise.pennsyrr.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> PRR-talk mailing list
> PRR-talk at dsop.com
> http://dsop.com/mailman/listinfo/prr-talk
>