[Accrs-ho] ACCRS HO-scale Meeting Minutes - 01/05/24

[Wayne Toigo]

ACCRS HO Members,

Greetings! Here are the minutes from this month's HO business meeting.

Skills Training Classes
Jorg has sent out a list of upcoming training classes. They occur once a month, on a Friday near the middle of the month. Check Jorg's email for the current full schedule.

The next class is for Soldering training. It will be held in two weeks, on Friday, January 19, beginning at 7:00 pm. We'll have trainers and soldering stations. Please let me or Jorg know if you'll be attending (if you haven't done so already).

Please note: In April we'll have a DCC Decoder Installation class. You must attend the Soldering class in order to attend the Decoder Installation class (no exceptions, per Jorg). More details on that class will be coming later, but if you think you want to attend it, then be sure to come to the upcoming Soldering class.

It was also suggested that we add a class to cover Dispatch training. Look for details on that soon.

HO Operating Rules
Jorg has asked once again that everyone review and adhere to our published HO Operating Rules (which were sent out again last Spring). I'm working on getting this and other documents posted to our Groups.io site.

In particular, Jorg and I want to remind everyone of the following:


  *   During "shows" (such as Good Guys, the Fair, the Great Train Show, and other events where we are open to the public), we need to pay attention to our actions and behaviors during the show and to "put our best foot forward". Shows are not our regular Friday night "play" sessions. Shows are for the public and the better our performance, the more our guests will be entertained (and donate). We want to present a "Good Show".


  *   During "shows", if you must use one of the "pop-up" access holes in the layout to fix a problem, do so quickly and return to the operating area. Do not linger in the pop-up. You are not to scale with the HO equipment and it looks bad to our visitors. Get in, fix your problem, and get out.



  *   Keep the trains running. Guests will decide in the first 30 seconds if they are going to stay. (We've watched this over many years and we know this to be true.) If nothing is running, the guest will leave. Guests typically stay for 5 to 10 minutes (which is not time for even one train to make a full loop). So, it's very important to always have trains visible and running. If there is a problem, especially one that stops the whole layout, fix it and get trains running again quickly.



  *   And once again, most importantly, NO NEW UNTESTED EQUIPMENT is to be run on show days! We have seen over and over again that members, old and new, young and senior, keep bringing equipment for a show day that has either been in your closet for years or has just been purchased, and has not been properly tested on the layout for reliable operation. TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT on the Friday before a show, prior to its operation on a show day.

Jorg and I cannot stress this point strongly enough. Failing, untested equipment causes delays and often stops the entire layout for long periods while the member diagnoses the problem in real time, while visitors are watching nothing but us fixing trains. That's not good show. In fact, it's terrible! It must stop!

In fact, if this continues, Jorg and I are discussing some kind of penalty for members that have continued to violate this operating rule. Don't make us go that far. Simply test your new equipment prior to a sure to ensure its proper operation.


We had some reports that we didn't perform well on the Saturday of the Great Train Show. We need to improve; not just for model train enthusiasts, but for all our shows. That's why we have a club. Regular Fridays are for "play". Show days are for "performance". 'Nuf said.


Scavenger Hunt
Paula is ready and anxious to produce our newest version of the Scavenger Hunt. She'll put together our recent suggestions and produce the list for approval by our next meeting. We urgently ask that if you have any more suggestions or changes to the list of items, please get those to Paula ASAP.

We've tried to eliminate scavenger hunt items that were too hard or too expert specific to be found by the general public. (Remember, most visitors aren't train nurds like us.) We also want to include hunt items which currently exist on the layout. We can add more scavenger hunt items in the future, if we add a new feature. But for now, we'll use what items currently exist.

Turnout Repair
We approved the purchase and replacement of a couple failing turnouts. One is near the Summit area near the right side of the bridge (which has been a continuing problem for years) and the other is in the Freight Yard area. Indigo is leading those repairs.

Dues
Last reminder that 2024 dues are payable by the end of the February Business Meeting on Friday, 02/02/24. The ACCRS Board of Directors is taking a firm stance this year on this matter. If dues are not paid in time, the person will lose their ACCRS membership and will have to go through the entire "new member" procedure (including paying initiation fees again and potentially going through the provisionary period and having to be voted in).

Get your dues to John Kolberg.

Wrap-up
Thanks to all and please let Jorg or me know if you have any other questions, ideas, or suggestions.


-Wayne
ACCRS HO Assistant Trainmaster

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mail.accrs.org/archives/accrs-ho/attachments/20240106/d405dfd9/attachment.htm>