Exhibit Your Layout – Central Coast RR Festival (CA)
#1
The Central Coast Railroad Festival ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://ccrrf.com/">http://ccrrf.com/</a><!-- m --> ) will take place October 10-14, 2013 (Thursday-Monday) in San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County.

As was done in 2010, 2011 and 2012, I will organize a self-guided layout tour as part of the Festival. We had nineteen model railroads and garden railroads on tour last year and hope to have these plus some new railroads this year.

If you live in San Luis Obispo County or Northern Santa Barbara County I would like you to consider opening your railroad as part of the tour.

Participating in a layout tour is a great way to share your work and meet your fellow model railroaders. You’ve probably worked hard on your railroad so you might as well get some recognition from people who will appreciate your efforts.

All you need to do is operate your trains and chat with visitors. I will do all the planning and publicity, as I have done for thirty-nine previously tours since 2006, including the 2008 NMRA National Convention, the 2008 Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, several NMRA regional conventions and the upcoming 33rd National Narrow Gauge Convention.

Please contact me OFF LIST at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:chiefbobbb@verizon.net">chiefbobbb@verizon.net</a><!-- e --> if you are interested or just have questions before committing to the tour.

Thank you.

Bob Chaparro
Model Railroads of Southern California
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Model_Railroads_Of_Southern_California/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Model_Rai ... alifornia/</a><!-- m -->

P.S.: I will be organizing the layout tour for the Pacific Coast Region/NMRA annual convention in San Luis Obispo next spring
( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pcrnmra.org/conv2014/">http://www.pcrnmra.org/conv2014/</a><!-- m --> )
so keep this in mind as an opportunity to show your railroad, also.

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Other Scheduled Tours

National Narrow Gauge Convention – Aug. 27 to Sept. 1
Banning Train Festival – October 19 & 20
Pacific Coast Region/NMRA (San Luis Obispo area) – April 30 - May 4, 2014
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#2
I'm wondering if there's a mechanism besides e-mail for providing Bob with feedback, as when he says he'll do planning and publicity, he doesn't do a very good job, and I've stopped exhibiting on his tours or going on them to other layouts due to this poor planning. Unfortunately, I've found that telling Bob things doesn't seem to work.

EDIT: since this is "Upper Berth" anyhow, I'm going to explain a little more clearly what I mean.

I think the last tour that Bob organized that I went on was in the southern part of LA County, including a layout in a beach city. It was scheduled for a July Saturday. As it happens, parking is very difficult in that town any time, but on a summer Saturday, with all the beach traffic, not just parking, but getting into the place at all, is simply impossible. So when did Bob schedule the tour? A summer Saturday, of course! I drove the whole way there from another layout, and couldn't even get out of my car. Waste of time, waste of maybe $10 gas.

Other layouts on other tours, the address was insufficient (street numbers not visible, street names not covered by signs, etc) and the layout owner didn't bother to put up his own signs. Did he expect Bob would do this for him? The post above suggests maybe Bob gives this impression -- just open your layout, Bob will do everything else! NOT.

Other tours, the layout is in a garage, and the owner runs it for whatever reason with the garage door closed. No sign, no "go around to the back", nobody else home to answer doorbell. Does the owner figure Bob will be outside to tell people what to do?

This all goes to poor communication on Bob's part, poor coordination with layout owners, poor leadership, when it gets down to it. And with gas in the area around $4 a gallon and layouts at distances all over the region, wasted gas and wasted time mount up.

Not only that, but the overall quality of layouts is poor. Again, people are driving many miles to see layouts not worth the trip. On the other hand, there are good layouts that aren't getting on tours.

There has to be a better way. What we're seeing now is basically an ego trip from a guy who likes to post on every forum out there, but who won't listen.
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