Would showing up at Diamondhead with only ten other people in attendance be a good thing or a bad thing? On the one hand you'd have this immense, well built, convenient track to hang out on with your ten new best friends. But on the other hand you'd miss the crowds of interesting people and lament the fact that ten people can't give the track the work out that it deserves. Of course this is hypothetical; you can't keep live steamers away from a setup like that.

So where was everybody for the Paso Robles Pacific Coast Steamup? We had a BALL down there. The track that the group put together, primarily through the efforts of Pete Thorpe of Trackside Details and Arnold Hoffman, is immense and very practical. 15 foot minimum radius, two steamup yards, and an overall run of more than 200 feet on each line. It is very solid and sports Llagas Creek track so 'nuff said about the quality of the construction. The track was up and running by late Friday and more than two locomotives were operating into the night. The LA crowd showed up in force... if this had been a softball game the BAGRS Live Steamers would have had to forfeit in disgrace!

I didn't know it, but you can camp at the fairgrounds right next to the track. The hotels down there are pretty reasonable (Motel Six is about $40) but I'm camping with the kids next year and making an entire weekend out of it. Matter of fact, the whole event was fun including the HO/N/Lionel thing. In addition to the great steam track, there was a 7 1/4" gauge 1 1/2" scale Mikado being steamed on a test stand, Gary Raymond was there with his seriously scale gauge one layout, there was an LGB kids layout, a 7 1/4" gauge kids ride, a free merry go round, a ball pit, trampoline, and The Balloon Typhoon! The Banghams and the Thorpes had their RVs pulled up next to the pavilion where the track was set up, and the rest of us just drove right up next to it for the day. Are you getting the idea that this event is completely set up with great steaming and great infrastructure for a fun weekend? Hope so. This is one of those don't-miss-it kind of events and Pete Thorpe, Arnold Hoffman, and the North County Model Railroad Club have my sincere thanks for a great weekend. See you there next year!

Pete Thorpe of Trackside Details (left) with Arnold Hoffman, the two drivers behind providing such a great steam track.

With few exceptions the track was constantly busy, and many onlookers enjoyed the sites and sounds of small scale live steam during the day.

Gary Van Trees preps his SR&RL #24 for a workout.

John Coughran with his Chaney "HERO" powering around the track with a consist of early Aster rolling stock. John also had his BR86 at the event along with a long rake of Marklin Gauge One rolling stock.

Even the crowds recognized that there was something special going on with the whistle on Larry Bangham's C&S Mogul. You can just barely see a white rope that allowed onlookers (like the little guy in stripes) to get close enough to enjoy, but not close enough to get themselves into trouble.

Sonny Wizelman and I ran a lashup of Wrightscale Porters; that's mine cut in mid-train. It took a fair amount of gymnastics to get both of them up to pressure at the same time, but it all came together.

Sonny and John tell me that this was a rare moment when Lee Barrett had his wallet out.

"Meteor" has had a good summer, visiting railroads in Reno NV, Tokyo, and here at Paso Robles.

John Dorgeest built this Light Mikado, and steamed it several times during the day for onlookers. An impressive locomotive that gets your attention when the regulator is cracked open...

You can just see the orange glow in the firebox on this coal fired SR&RL #24. In reality the entire fire was bright red; it's interesting that the combination of light and film renders it mostly black. Coal firing is a messy job, but somebody has to do it!

Wrightscale Porter grinds past a narrow gauge coach consist with a load of ore.

The Banghams and Thorpes had the best seats in the house. They parked their RVs not 100 feet from the track. Several other attendees were camped in tents about the same distance away.

Arnold Jonas from San Luis Obispo and Sonny Wizelman from Los Angeles.

#24 powers through the yard. Here you can see the chip-board deck construction and aluminum saw horses that make up the solid structure of this track.