[PRR-talk] Cocoa Beach Report?

[Greg Snook]

I would certainly echo all of these comments above, except the weather was
great if your from anything north of Virginia.  Greg Martin's Shake and Take
clinic was outstanding, as was Branchline's generous and appreciated box car
donation for it, but even the non PRR content was very useful regardless of
your era or prototype.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone who can
make it next year!

Greg Snook



On 1/7/08, Steve Hoxie <stevehprr at cox.net> wrote:
>
> 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
> >
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>
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