May 6, 1996, Meeting -- 7:30pm at the Highland Baptist Church Activity Center.
The three day run of the festival, was not what we all were used to. Attendance was down, this might be due to the two dollar fee at the door, however, if you were manning a booth, this fee did not apply, and that is how it should be. Our display was small compared to what we have been able to come up with over past years at the festival, but we were there and trains were running. I would like to give my thanks to those who were able to make it and give your support. Without your help, we would not have been there at all.
The library cart has met with an accident and as yet, has not been repaired. We hope to have it fixed by the next meeting. You may still return any books or videos that you have, and give them to Gregory.
The program for the regular monthly club meeting on May 6, 1996 will be a slide presentation of "Railroads of the Texas Panhandle". Patrick always has excellent material, topics and information. The slides of prototype locomotives, trains and scenes will spark the interest of everyone who attends. Mr. Pritchett believes that photographing locomotives has helped improve his modeling and super-detailing skills. See you there!
The club meeting will be a social event for the whole family to get together, with all the railroaders to share some grilled hamburgers and other fixin's. THE COST WILL BE ABOUT $2.00 PER PERSON. The "Program" will be fun at the park for those who wish to pay the additional fare of about $4.00. As you may know, Joyland has a delightful scale train running through the park. The F unit was bought new by the current owner, some 40 years ago. For the daring, there is a new water ride at the park to complement their wide assortment of other action rides.
The Board of Directors is looking at the cost and availability for the club to sponsor the new series of Tracks Ahead. The 13-part series will become available in June 1996 and the cost to sponsor will be in the same range as in 1993 when KTXT TV, Channel 5, ran the series for us. Specific information should be available for discussion and vote at the May meeting.
The 1996 Lone Star Convention will be in Amarillo beginning Thursday evening, June 13 through Sunday June 16, 1996. This will be an excellent opportunity for our members to attend a convention, that is close-to-home. A convention is a lot different than a train show because the acivities are geared more toward club enthusiasts. More particular information is in the last issue of the Marker Lamp. To attend, you must be a member of the NMRA and Lone Star Region. A full one-year membership is $30 for NMRA and $4 for LSR. Convention fare is $45. Call Nancy, Ron, Bob, Jerry or Neil for more information.
The 1996 LSR Convention will feature our own BOB BATSON'S railroad, the TEXAS CENTRAL, as the convention car. The cars will be 40 ft Box Cars, orange with black lettering, available in HO and N scale. The N scale cars will be MicroTrain (and of course, will be very small) priced at $15 or less. The HO scale cars will probably be Athern and should cost less than $15 each. These are certainly going to be collectable!! You don't have to be an NMRA member to purchase these. Better get a couple of each size ordered!
Jim Baker has had a knit golf shirt adorned with the Trains on the Plains logo used during the 1994 LSR Convention the LMRA hosted. If anybody is interested in having a run of shirts made, let Jim or a board member know.