We had a very successful and well attended operating session tonight. According to Adam, who organized the event, 97 moves were completed, with only one lost car. Thanks to publicity from the MIT home page, several visitors showed up to run trains (or just watch) in addition to the ten or so club members who participated. The session was organized to favor enjoyment over accuracy, so there was no strict timetable, but participants ran a mix of passenger trains, through freight and local service. Plans for future operating sessions were discussed as well, with tentative plans made for another operating session during CPW, and maybe one before then as well. The club smiles upon Adam for organizing the event.

Adam and John McNamara worked on rocks in the river area. Since John recently bought a large rock mold, there was a discussion about buying a larger plaster mixing container. We normally mix plaster in a rubber bowl of the sort used by dentists and orthodontists to mix plaster for taking impressions, since it is easy to clean out the leftover plaster. These bowls are usually sized to make a mouthful of plaster, which isn't enough to fill the new rock mold. David Backus put detail parts on a Frisco locomotive of his, and discussed getting a locomotive for local switching service (something like a GP-38) with Bill. Genya poked around in the code for the System 3 server. Tom worked to fix up the Windows PC, which recently got a new, larger hard drive.

David Backus worked on his new/improved test track which is nearing completion. The soda machine was full, thanks to Adam making a shopping trip. Adam also worked with John McNamara on the rocks in the Green river area. Tom contemplated the few remaining areas needing track and scenery in Berkmannville.

Adam looks quite proud of himself in the attached picture despite the fact that he mostly spent the evening making a mess, experimenting with colors for the rocks and water in the picture. JP did some work on the draw bridge. David Backus worked on some of his personal locomotives, and gave some thought to adding DCC to the control system. Winston and Spencer worked on the GC fire station and industrial buildings in Berkmannville. Tom came up with a more or less final plan for the track work in one of the remaining open patches of plywood in Berkmannville. Bill was generally helpful to everyone, contributing helpful advice to pretty much everyone from his vast pool of experience.