The Gateway 2020 Convention has been cancelled. More information about the convention cancellation is available at www.gateway2020.org/
As a result ALL the LDSIG events at the convention have also been Cancelled.
St Louis NMRA Convention 2020
The NMRA and the Layout Design Special Interest Group will hold their national convention in St Louis, Missouri, from July 12 to 18, 2020
Information on the NMRA Convention is available here; information on the LDSIG convention is available below.
The major LDSIG activities will include clinics, the LDSIG Tour, and the dinner.
The schedule for the week includes (all times Tentative at this point):
Sunday night meet & greet - 7:00 -10:00
Clinics, all week
Wednesday - Annual Business Meeting
Wednesday - Tour all day and evening
Friday Night Dinner - dinner speaker TBD
ALL OF THE LDSIG ACTIVITIES ARE OPEN TO ALL CONVENTION ATTENDEES.
Meet and Greet, Sunday, July 12, 7-10 PM, Location TBD
We will hold our traditional Meet and Greet in the SIG Room providing an opportunity for all Layout Design and Operations SIG members and friends to introduce themselves and their interests, and find folks who can share ideas and solutions to your layout design and operation concerns. We have invited owners of the Wednesday Layout Tour to provide a preview of the Tour. It is also a time to arrange car pools for the Wednesday Layout Tour. Do not worry about arriving late if your're enjoying tours and op sessions, we will be there until at least 10:00 PM.
Displays and Consulting
The SIG Room will be open Monday to Thursday from 8AM to 10PM. It is a great place to congregate, meet friends, make friends, enjoy the SIG Room Displays, get or give layout design consultation, or generally take a break between clinics or from other convention activities.
The SIG Room has space for you to post a display about your railroad, its design challenges and how you've solved them (or how you need help). Bring a display with you to the convention. It can be flat poster-board or 3d room models or whatever you think will help people understand your dream railroad. Display setup will begin Sunday afternoon and tear-down on Friday at noon.
LDSIG Table Volunteers Needed
If you can spare an hour or two to help man the LDSIG table, please contact the convention SIG coordinator, Ron Burkhardt at rjb6893 at gmail dot com. The duties are easy and the benefits can be rewarding. You will have a chance to meet SIG members and potential members who you may only know through the internet or articles in the LDJ or the national model railroading press. Monday and Tuesday are the busiest days when volunteers are most needed. The table will not be staffed on Wednesday during the LDSIG tour.
Layout Design Consulting Service (Monday through Friday - Open to all convention attendees)
Members of the LDSIG will be offering free half-hour layout design consultation sessions. Limited availability, sign up in person in the SIG Room during the Convention. Help Providers Needed! Help-provider volunteers are crucially needed. We need experienced LDSIG members volunteers to provide half-hour layout design help sessions during the Convention. This offers a service to the hobby and promotes the SIG. Each volunteer will be asked to set aside one, two or more hours during the Convention when they can commit to being available for help sessions. It is very important that we have volunteers and hours confirmed before the Convention begins. To volunteer, or for questions, please contact Byron Henderson, ldjeditor at gmail.com, who is coordinating the help sessions.
Clinics - all week
There are layout design clinics all week given by some great clinicians.
Featured Clinic not to be missed for beginners or veterans. Lots of great information.
***Layout Design Bootcamp, tentatively July 13, 8am - noon
Layout Design Journal editor and custom layout designer Byron Henderson and Seth Neuman of the NMRA's Layout Design SIG are leading a Layout Design Bootcamp at the St Louis 2020 NMRA Convention. We'll begin with Seth Neumann and Byron Henderson as your friendly presenters. The Bootcamp is an intensive session on track planning and layout design. Discover how to refine vision, concept, and purpose; select layout footprints and schematics; draw accurate and useful plans; create efficient and engaging yards and industrial areas; make 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 design a great layout!
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
Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 8-9 AM, LDSIG Annual Meeting
This important meeting will be held in the SIG room. Information for the LDSIG tour will be handed out at this meeting.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 9:30 AM until 10PM, LDSIG Annual Layout Tour
We currently have 15 layouts on this year’s Tour.
For a list of the layouts including a general map and links to individual pages for each layout please click here.
Carpooling is strongly encouraged so you can discuss the unique features of these layouts as you travel. Carpool size will be limited due to roadway restrictions. All members of a carpool must register for the Tour. Sign-ups for carpools will be posted in the SIG room.
While we encourage carpools in normal vehicles - cars, up to 7 passenger SUV's, we discourage the use of larger vans and small busses. This tour is not designed as a bus tour. It allows you to enjoy the layout and speak with the layout owner for some time. Owners enjoy this also and would love to see 4 to 7 of you at a time but not 15 or 30. Please be thoughtful of the layout owners, the other tour participants and the nature of the tour.
On the LDSIG tour, one can stay as long as one wishes to study a particularly interesting layout or design element. The hosts are aware of SIG members' interest and are happy to answer questions. All this makes the tour an invaluable learning experience. No lunch is provided so you and your carpool buddies can eat what and when you want (there are plenty of good restaurants in all categories and price ranges along the route).
As in the past the Tour price includes the LDSIG St Louis Convention shirt.
Neither the LDSIG Inc. nor the NMRA will provide insurance coverage for private or rental transportation.
To sign up for the LDSIG Wednesday Tour you need to be registered for the Gateway 2020 convention in St Louis. If you have not yet registered go to the Gateway 2020 Convention page http://www.gateway2020.org/ and click on the top line of the page “Register for the 2020 Convention Today!”
Once you have registered, click here to go to the Company Store to sign up for the LDSIG Wednesday Layout Tour.
Please read the entire page before you fill out the form. The price of the Tour is $45. Again we are including a commemorative shirt designed especially for the St Louis convention. We are offering those who register for the Wednesday Tour prior to June 14 the opportunity to have their name monogrammed on their shirt. Please indicate your desired size and name during the registration process. Shirts will be distributed at the LDSIG’s Meet ‘n Greet in the SIG Room Sunday evening, 7 PM and at the LDSIG Desk in the SIG room Monday and Tuesday.
Annual SIG Dinner TBD
This year the SIG Dinner is open to all SIGs. We are looking for 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've seen during St Louis 2020 and reflect on how to apply your new insights to your layout!