Howdy folks, Will there be a Frisco Modeling and Historical Society convention this year? We've heard a lot of ideas kicked around, but I don't recall anyone stepping up and agreeing to host the convention. Now is the time to make the decision and get support and arrangements made. If you are interested in hosting the convention in your town, please let us know. Best regards, Mike Corley
My question for the group: would it have to be a Frisco locale? I think of my own location. Columbia has some railroady touches: two extant depots and an active dinner train (http://www.dinnertrain.com/) but not a whit of Frisco about it. Put another way, is it preferable to have no convention at all if it can't be at a place where attendees can see old Frisco sites? Or, is it preferable to try to have someone host and organize, regardless of where it's held? I'd be eager to hear feedback from past attendees. Best Regards,
Chris, In my opinion, the key elements (in no particular order) of a good train meet are (1) Good clinics (modeling, prototype, history, etc) (2) Train layout tours (3) Swap meet with stuff to buy (4) Prototype tours (pres day or past) (5) Model Contest or Display (6) Food Vendor (really, I've been to some where you couldn't get a soft drink) (7) Really good Door Prizes (8) Railroad related freebies in my guest bag (9) Low admission price, free & ample parking (10) Activities for the ladies To me, these are the key pieces of a train meet and you don't need all of them. Adding Frisco related activites just makes it even better. A non Frisco location could be mitigated by more Frisco activities at the meet. Heck I would like to see the MKT station in Columbia and would come to do that. Maybe others would as well. If you should decide to lead the effort, you could probably get some help from the KC gang, myself included. Let us know your thoughts Chris. The Border War is over.
I would rather have a convention in a non Frisco related location than not have a convention at all. Location doesn't really matter to me. Well..as long as it's not under a bridge or out in an open field or something. What matters is getting to hang out with old friends, make some new ones, seeing some good clinics, looking at slides until the wee hours....If you decide to host the convention I'm sure there are people on the site who will be willing to help out. Ray Wells Springfield, MO
Right on. One additional thought for Columbia. We might want to consider a non-football weekend to allow for some hotel room availability.
Well, this gives some food for thought. Rick, your checklist is a pretty good comprehensive breakdown of "must haves," I think. The big downside here would be potential layout tours. Maybe there are some in town that I've missed in 17 years of living here, but modelers just seem scarce. The Mexico, MO train club is about 40 minutes away. My layout right now, is most laughable indeed, even though I soldered a couple of feeder lines last night and my daughter painted some rail. I'll do some mulling in the meantime. Rick, you've also hit the nail on the head vis-a-vis hotel availability. Rumor has it that SEC fans travel well, and that hotel rooms between here and St. Louis will be booked solid for football Saturdays. We might have to consider renting our guest bedroom. Best Regards,
Chris, Keep in mind that we don't have to do everything on the list to have a good meet. We could do some neat clinics, slide night, model display, dinner, etc. that would still make it a great time. One other thing to think about - Scheduling. Everything from those of us who could help to a hotel with friendly rates. I can't speak for the others but my summer and fall are starting to fill up. I already know of two military commitments I have for September so those weekends are out. If you are willing to lead a group of volunteers, I suggest we meet in the next 2-3 weeks and determine a time and a location. Everything else will fall into place behind the scheduling and location. Columbia ain't that far from KC my friend.
I'd certainly be glad to help, but, like Rick, September is usually bad for me. I've missed each of the last three frisco.org meetings because of September travel. Ken
I am not a model railroader but a person interested in the history of the Frisco. I would add history to the dream list
I very, very much hope there will be such a meeting in 2012. Time and place are negotiable as far as I'm concerned. A historically Frisco-related location is good because it frequently corresponds to a high concentration of Frisco modelers, fans, and ex-employees. It also helps generate public interest outside our self-selected internet group, especially if there are flyers in local hobby shops and advance notification to relevant historical groups, local newspapers, railroad-related publications, etc. But just about any place will do as far as I am concerned. If another annual meeting is scheduled, I volunteer to present my findings (so far) about the rolling stock and equipment of the K-CC&S. (And I'll try to stay on schedule this time.) Would there be any interest in organizing Frisco-themed modular setups in various scales at upcoming conventions?
Bradley, now this idea gets me enthused. A string of Frisco locations all together? Very interesting. Best Regards,
