Welcome to Novi, MI. Station No.VI 2025 NMRA National Convention. The Layout Design Special Interest Group, Inc. (LDSIG) is an association that is focused on bringing attention to designing model railroad layouts and their elements. We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organizations that exist to:

• Act as a forum for members’ exchange of information and ideas.

• Develop improved methods for hobbyists to learn the art and science of layout design.

• Provide leadership for planning, developing, coordinating, and expanding the knowledge base for designing and building model railroads that satisfy the goals of their owners.

• Promote, develop, support, and encourage participation by the public in model railroading and design of model railroad layouts.

Its prime purpose is to aid efforts in designing and creating layouts that achieve the owner’s layout goals within the owner’s constraints. We try to avoid common design flaws while including renditions of prototype practices and the owner’s goals.

LDSIG membership benefits include opportunities to meet fellow designers and operators at regional and national events, forums for the exchange of ideas among members and the public, and four issues of our periodic publication, the Layout Design Journal. It also offers the prospect of interacting with others willing to assist you with your designs, and participation in several Internet discussion groups.

Our slogan, “Make Only New Mistakes” means don’t repeat the old ones — they’ve already been made quite a few times. We look forward to seeing you at the SIG Room in Novi.

Please stop by and see us in the SIG room, located in Ball Room A of the main convention hall.

The SIG Room serves as headquarters for LDSIG activities during convention week. LDSIG Layout Tour information, SIG Dinner details, Design Consultation Service signups and consultations (open to all convention attendees) will be available here. A sampling of Layout Design Journal back issues, available for purchase will also be offered here. This is also the place to meet members of the LDSIG leadership and enjoy the general camaraderie of our niche of the hobby. Feel free to pick up a membership application on the spot.

There will be displays of members’ layouts and plans for future layouts. These informative displays will explain how others have solved their layout design concerns. Layout owners will be available at times to discuss their concepts and approaches to creating their layout visions. Please   bring your layout plans to post, along with layout mock-ups, and other layout design-related materials for (non-commercial) display.

A bulletin board will have important updates about LDSIG events—be sure to check daily for activities and schedules. You can also find members with common interests, especially between clinics. Members should update their membership roster information, railroad interests, and contact information, especially email addresses and cell phone numbers at the LDSIG desk.

The SIG Room is generally open 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Monday through Thursday. Hours for Friday and tear down will be posted near the LDSIG Desk in the SIG Room.

Begin your convention on the right foot by getting to know other convention attendees that are especially interested in layout design. The Meet ‘N Greet takes place Monday evening starting at 7:00 pm in the SIG Room. Hear informal LDSIG member introductions, and presentations about individual layout design and construction status. Get the latest updates on tours, make yourself known, exchange ideas, and enjoy meeting new friends. Meet published authors and respected contributors to various publications and internet groups. Shirts for those attending LDSIG Weeklong Layout Tour will be distributed; exchange your ticket for your shirt (available through the online convention registration page and through the Convention Tour Desk).

Station No VI 2025 is being planned as an ‘unconventional’ convention. One of the unconventional things about this convention is that there will be NO conventional bus tours to visit layouts, either home or club. Every day you will have the opportunity to visit 10-14 layouts in one of six general areas around the Metro Detroit area. Those layouts will only be open on that one day. The advantage for participants in the layout tours is they will have an opportunity to visit far more layouts than they could by traveling by bus each day.

The disadvantage for our Layout Design SIG members is that everyday amounts to a Layout Design SIG tour day, only we are sharing it with the rest of the convention.

To give our members value and a private look at some other layouts, each day LD SIG will post a curated list of the key layouts you will want to see on that day’s tour. Many of the layouts have been seen in national magazine features, some as only pictures in the NMRA Magazine, others are hidden gems.  We will let you know which gems are to see.

Additionally, each day we will direct you to a few more layouts that only the LD SIG tour members can access. These layouts range from the newest layouts that are mostly plywood and dreams, to finished layouts with excellent scenery. Each of the five days of tours will have some of these layouts available, but only for a single day and a limited time that day. Currently 14 layouts will be spread over those days but expect many more than that to be available come convention time.

LD SIG layout tour – the additional layouts – will be provided to you electronically and at the time of registration at the Sheraton Hotel. Turn in your ticket for your 2025 LDSIG Layout Tour Commemorative Shirt (included in price) at Monday evening’s Meet ‘n Greet or at the LDSIG Desk in the SIG room (Ballroom A). Your Layout Tour shirt, or the additional tag for your name tag will serve as your admission to the Tour layouts. Monograms will be available to those purchasing an LD SIG Layout Tour ticket by June 30th, 2025.

A note to consider, attending a convention is part of the social aspects of our great hobby. If you have a seat, share a ride. You’ll have a chance to meet new people and make new friends in the hobby.

The convention has arranged for clinics covering a wide range of design and operating topics, presented by knowledgeable and insightful modelers. Clinics on layout design and operations will be concentrated in the morning and early afternoon, giving folks interested in operating with OPSIG time to gather at their 4:00 pm ride-sharing meeting. There will be additional clinics later in the day as well. The LDSIG will offer a moderated panel of experienced hobbyists discussing “What Would You Do Differently” Thursday afternoon that focuses on design decisions and changes made by layout builders, with opportunities for questions and exchange of information with the audience. See the complete schedule and clinic descriptions in the clinic portion of the Convention Timetable.

Layout Design Tips and Principles

The NMRA’s Layout Design Special Interest Group created a Layout Design clinic entitled “Layout Design Bootcamp”.

This multi-hour clinic will be held on Tuesday morning and is open to all convention attendees. Check the Convention Timetable for the room assignment for “Layout Design Bootcamp”. The clinic is an intensive session on track planning and layout design. Discover how to refine your layout’s vision, concept, and purpose; select layout footprints and schematics; draw accurate and useful plans; create efficient and engaging yards and industrial areas; make the best use of staging tracks; maintain space for people and avoid common track planning errors. Step-by-step examples from a variety of layout designs will be discussed.

Whether your dream layout is strongly prototype-based, a creative freelanced theme, or somewhere in between, this practical session will give you the tools and best practices to help design a layout meeting your design goals!

Among the topics to be covered:

– Layout design phases: Conceptual, Structural, and Detail

– Developing vision, theme, and purpose

– The impact of givens and ‘druthers considering space, resources, and skills

– Prototype research techniques and tools

– The user and viewer experience

– Layout footprint techniques

– Drawing and rendering tools and best practices

– Planning for people

– Multi-deck considerations

– Yard planning

– Staging design

– Signature elements vs. typicality

– LDEs: Possibilities and pitfalls

– Tricky traps of layout design (common errors to avoid)

– Layout design for operation

… and much more

The LDSIG offers a free design consultation service to all convention attendees. Stop by and sign up for an available half-hour consultation session with a LDSIG member, daily Monday afternoon through Friday morning . Bring your list of “Givens and Druthers”, room plan and descriptions, track plans, questions, etc., to get fresh insight, a reality check, and valuable help.

The annual SIG Dinner is open to members of all SIGs. We have a great venue for the Convention wrap-up dinner. This will be a great opportunity to relax and rub shoulders with fellow SIG members, discuss everything you have seen during the Novi, MI. Station No. VI 2025 convention and reflect on how to apply your new insights to your layout!

Thursday, July 17th, will be this year’s dinner and will be held at Rocky’s Steakhouse, about 2.5 miles (4 km) from the Sheraton Detroit Novi.
6-7 PM Social Hour
7-9 PM Dinner

Our speaker will be Tony Koester.

Cost: $50

Seating will be limited to 68.

Tickets can be purchased at the convention online registration site.

We hope to see you there for a relaxed gathering!