Hi Walt and everyone not at DH,
I live 50 miles from Diamondhead and have been commuting back and forth
since last Tuesday. We put up the BIG track oval on Tuesday and Wednesday
and Walt your track arrived Wednesday. Unfortunately the Ramada decided to
put up a fence around the pool and we couldn't erect your track next to the
pool as in past years. We had to rearrange the large oval to approx. 90
degrees from where it usually is and tried to erect your track inside the
large oval. That didn't work. Too little room between the inside and
outside ovals. We then took down your track and re-erected it outside and
next to the large oval so that we had three ovals in the main steaming area.
It is a bit cozy but everyone is now together and you don't miss anything
with the three ovals in one area. The steamup tables are now inside all the
ovals. You may be able to see some of the setup at http://www.steamup.com
live web cam. Most of the planning on track placement was done by Tom Toth
and Bob Simpson who did an admirable job considering the circumstances.
Since you were not in attendance I set up my engines at the Pool Bar where
you usually set up. Your Portable engine transporters were well represented
with my three and many others.
Your name was mentioned many times (all in good taste I might add) and
everyone wishes you speedy recovery and quick return next year.
I didn't take an accurate count but there are about 6 of the Aster
Mikados running and all ran fine. Accucraft Rubys were all over the place
and running like the dickens. The new Roundhouse "Sammie" was running and
It looks like a typical RH fine runner. Many Rubys and Sammies were sold in
the dealer room. Looks like attendance next year will be an all-time high
with all the inexpensive engines available.
One more day to go then back to reality<UGH>
Pat Darby
Covington, LA
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Multiple recipients of sslivesteam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 8:38 PM
Subject: What is DH?
> Hi,
> For those of you that have never attended The Diamondhead Steamup
> (hereinafter DH), let me offer a few reflections and recollections of what
> this event is all about.
> It is really about a gathering of a large extended family of people of
> very diverse backgrounds and circumstances who share a common enthusiasm
for
> Gauge 1, 0 gauge and even some "half 0" gauge live steam locomotives.
There
> are three double main line tracks set up in the atrium of an ancient
covered
> central courtyard former Holiday Inn. Officially it is scheduled for the
> Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Martin Luther King weekend. Jerry Reshew,
the
> founder and promoter of this event, told me that last Sunday there were
> already six people there from as far away as England and Japan. The two
wood
> tracks go up Monday and Tuesday. The Florida track usually gets there late
> Tuesday, or Wednesday. If we assume that the tracks are up and running by
> Wednesday evening, then there are a total of "576 track hours" of time
> available to run trains. The tracks are available 24 hours a day! If there
> are 200 to 220 people registered, that means there would be about 2.618
hours
> of track time available for each person. If you go there just to run
trains,
> that's pretty expensive cost per hour stuff. Actually, quite a few of the
> registrants never even run a locomotive!
> An awful lot of time is spent jawboning about loco's and all sorts of
> train related stuff. In past years Jim Grummons & I have spent an hour or
so
> early each morning picking up dead soldiers, etc., around the area. Two or
> three 30 gallon trash containers full of empty beer cans and bottles is
not
> uncommon each morning. Obviously, a good time was had by some.
> A prime example of the weird behavior of human beings is to observe
the
> opening of the Dealer Room each day. It can best be compared to the
feeding
> frenzy of Amazon River piranha fish. There are also a lot of private sales
> and swaps taking place all through the event.
> For myself, and I'm sure many of the rest of the attendees, the real
draw
> is the
> "extended family" of DH. As a dealer and manufacturer, I've attended many
> Garden RR conventions over the past 10 or 12 years. None of them come
> anywhere near having the same attraction and ambiance that DH has. It
isn't
> something that could be planned or made to happen, it just "happens."
That's
> what I've missed this year, and God willing, I won't miss it next year. If
> you have never experienced DH, you need to do it soon! It is truly unique.
> For those of you new to the hobby, this is a must event.
> I had purchased an Aster K-4 from an elderly man here in Naples. I did not
> know how
> to run it or even how to get it ready to run. I heard about DH 1 a month
> after it was held. I went to DH 2, and learned more in three days than I
had
> learned in the preceding year. I never knew there were so many people so
> willing to share their knowledge and skills with a total stranger and
NEWBIE!
> I do not think there is anyone in the world that could attend DH and not
come
> away with more knowledge and skills than when they went there, and it
would
> all be done by people who are EAGER to share their knowledge and skills
with
> total strangers.
> Another thing unique to DH is this very strange retired oceanographer
> that spends countless hours putting the whole thing together. There has
never
> been, in the entire history of the planet Earth, anything that even
remotely
> resembles Jerry Reshew. That experience alone is worth the effort of
getting
> there.
> Keep your steam up!
> Walt
