Eight GRVS members went to Houston, MN for their annual "Houston Hoedown Days" event. This was the 38th year for the community festival and the second time GRVS has had a layout in the high school gym. The train show had seven layouts (Lionel, Lego, O, HO, two N-scale, and Z). A nice asortment of sizes. It was over 90 degrees both days, so the air condidtioning was quite welcome.
We had an 18 x 40 layout and ran all three lines as DCC for most of the show.
We had the capability to switch any line or lines to DC if someone wanted to operate a non-DCC train. We switched all three lines to DC for the last hour of the show so we could pack up the DCC system before the show ended. This was a successful tactic that probably cut a half hour off the teardown process. We will probably repeat this tactic at some future shows.
we had lots of help running trains.
The hoedown festival has many events outside the train show. Most of us managed to enjoy some of the events including fireworks Friday night, the big truck tractor pull Saturday night, pancake breakfasts Saturday and Sunday, slow pitch mens and womens softball tournaments just outside the gym on the high school diamonds, an ice cream social, the parade (an hour long), car show, and antique tractor show. There were food vendors and performers in the city park a couple of blocks away. All in all, there was a lot we could do besides run trains.
The organizers treated us particularly well supplying dinner Friday night during setup and lunch on Sunday. Clearly they want the train show to continue and it is a GRVS intention to return.