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I have received an email from Nicole at the Carnegie Science Center regarding Locomotion Weekend 2026. Load in will be on Friday, January 16, 2026, and the show will be Saturday and Sunday, January 17-18, 2026. Just wanted to get these dates out there so we can get it on the LUG Calendar.
Also, the Center is running a poll to decide what new model to add to the CSC Miniature Railroad Display – https://carnegiesciencecenter.org/mrrv-poll-2026/ – in case anyone wants to participate. 🙂
Following as well. I should be available for this in some fashion. No January trips planned this year.
M.P.Lynes reporting for train duty.
I will have my giant blue Schnabel car and a ton of new really long hazmat train cars ready for that R 104 loop, including that brand new KUA flask car which will its world debut running at TUBS in November. Plenty of overhang drama with these educational STEM models. @rcgrier3406 and @amplef0rth, crowds love seeing them get close to buildings. XD
If Glenn can’t make it, I can provide extra trains for the other loop too or coordinate with other LUG train runners as well and share my every growing army of batteries. (Someday I’ll have a million of them…) LOLOLOL
Oddly enough as we prepare trains for TUBS, CSC Locomotion Weekend is only 2 months away. Are we planning on a layout large enough to feature the Behemoth Bascule Bridge? Or are we expecting the same footprint, more or less as previous exhibits there?
I can bring the bridge if you guys want it for this show too.
@playingwithechoes, let’s discuss at TUBS. I think you, @timf and I are all in the same display area.
Tim confirmed last week that we would be there again this year, but other than that no real planning has been done yet for this.
Sure thing, we can talk at TUBS. I figured we can look at the TUBS layout and estimate out how much space is actually needed if we want to utilize the bridge at CSC.
Here’s a first pass layout to chew on! I had some time over the weekend to play with this.
For reference, we’ve always used 30″x72″ venue tables for this event, primarily because of the logistics of getting the LUG tables there and back, and also to avoid the bottleneck at the elevator and loading dock with the other train clubs that typically bring large pre-assembled modules to this event. Our usual “layout” is on a grid that’s 3 tables wide by 4 tables deep (11 tables total with an open space in the middle). To add the bridge, I added one more table to the left side making the grid 3 tables wide by 5 tables deep (12 tables total with a bigger open space in the middle).
Couple of things to note:
* We’ve always left a 5″ space open between the MILS bases and the edge of the tables. To make the bridge fit, I’m right to the edge of the tables on the top and bottom sides in this layout.
* In order to fit, the bridge has to start and end right at the MILS bases that either exit or enter the long radius curves. Don’t know if this will be an issue with some of @playingwithechoes longer wheelbase engines and cars, especially as they go under the drive side structure of the bridge.
* Since the movable portion of the bridge is 40″ wide, I had to land 10″ of that on a table. That may be an issue with the structure of the bridge at the landing point.
* In this layout we would lose one of the 9v loops that would have normally been on the right side, but that still leaves us with (2) RC long radius loops, (1) 9v double track loop, and (1) 9v single track loop.
* We used our own stanchions last year and would definitely need to bring them again for this layout.By comparison, our footprint last year was 18 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep without stanchions, and our footprint with this layout would be 18 ft. wide by 12′-6 deep without stanchions.
* We’ve always left a 5″ space open between the MILS bases and the edge of the tables. To make the bridge fit, I’m right to the edge of the tables on the top and bottom sides in this layout.
Assuming the tables are exactly 30″ deep and there’s no gaps between them, this will actually have a roughly 2-stud overhang on each end, since 32×32 plates are oh-so-slightly larger than 10″x10″.
That’s right @gabevistica. Another reason why we always left space around the perimeter in the past. We might want to leave space (or use a spacer) between two of the tables on the left side to account for this and let the MILS bases span the gap.
Thanks for trying to fit the bridge in the layout. I can probably run the blue Schnabel car without the flask in the center to make it around the corners and right through the bridge tower modules without extra straight track before it to straighten out, if needed. I think there’s enough clearance to make the corners work so we can save space as you suggested. 🙂
Big Boy and Challenger I think were fine with the R104 corner overhangs relative to the tower columns.So if we can get some more space for at least the drawbridge part to be 40″ clear that would be great as it has underside structure below the track deck that can’t go over a table. The bridge in action would be a great showpiece at CSC; but, if CSC says no extra room, the bridge can wait till the March HG show. Keep me posted on developments and whatever seems best for the LUG and our allotted display space.
I’ll try to come if I’m all caught up at school. I usually come Sunday and bring the Harry Potter train I have that’s stationary.
I received official notification from the Science Center that we have the same layout space as last year – “Steel City LUG 12’ x 20’ twelve 6 ft tables”.
We could still incorporate the bridge (maybe along the front or back lengths) but that would eat up a fair amount of display space.
Disappointing. I was talking with the gal in charge about changes to the floorplan necessary du to the return of a couple of longtime exhibitors who are returning after a several year absence. I was trying to expand my train layout but that isn’t possible this year. It ishoing to be a packed room.
I don’t think we can make the bridge work with normal tables unless we want to try using a lot of Technic pins to hold it all together. You just end up with too many big gaps trying to make 30-inch tables work with a 40-inch span (not to mention those gaps would increase our footprint).
If we can figure a way to make the tables work, or provide two small custom tables to fit the allotted parameters of the middle back table with 40″ gap, we could run the bridge on the back broadside as I don’t want to take from John’s winter village. That’s always a cute front facing attraction and the industrial looking bridge is tall enough to be visible from the back. Fortunately, it’s a 360 walk around display so people will still see it there.
I’d be willing to forgo the railyard and swap trains on a back table like in years past. Or have disconnected side tracks on remaining layout modules in that area to showcase static rollingstock.
If that’s possible to do, great. If not, it’s okay if the bridge waits till HG show. I’m quite happy with how well it worked at The Ultimate Brick Show. I don’t know if Josh has any custom small LUG tables to fit here but maybe he can check. 🙂
anyone thinking about how to get stuff from trolley museum for that weekend? maybe we do try to empty out of trolley museum at tear down and divide and conquer all the bins since I can’t fit everything in the van. If you know you won’t use the lug tables, I think I can fit all/just those in my van.
as to custom tables, we built a 2×3 standard baseplate table, and I’ve got plenty of wood to make whatever other dimensions needed at request/confirmation.
anyone thinking about how to get stuff from trolley museum for that weekend? maybe we do try to empty out of trolley museum at tear down and divide and conquer all the bins since I can’t fit everything in the van. If you know you won’t use the lug tables, I think I can fit all/just those in my van.
as to custom tables, we built a 2×3 standard baseplate table, and I’ve got plenty of wood to make whatever other dimensions needed at request/confirmation.
@joshhall, I just signed up for teardown at Trolley on the 21st and can take a bunch of the bins of MILS stuff that we’ll need for Locomotion Weekend, but I don’t know if I can take it all and still have room for the stuff I need to take to Locomotion. @timf, can you take some of it as well, especially the stanchions??As of right now, the Science Center has said that we can’t have any more space than what we had last year, so it’s doubtful that we’ll be able to modify the layout to include Michael’s bridge. For sure we won’t be using any of the LUG tables, but we will need some of the stanchions.
I think the LUG stanchions are still at Josh’s house, we used the museum’s stanchions for Fall Trolley.
All stanchions are at my house, but I’m happy to take them to trolley tear down for someone else to take home.
All stanchions are at my house, but I’m happy to take them to trolley tear down for someone else to take home.
Sounds good. I’ll let you know how many we need beforehand.
On another note, I still have (4) LUG commercial tables (6 ft. x 30″), (4) LUG chairs and the easy-up that Greg donated to the LUG earlier this year sitting in my garage. If they’re needed for any of the December events, let me know and I can arrange a drop-off or bring them back to @joshhall’s house next time I’m in the South Hills.
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