{"id":223660,"date":"2023-12-15T09:42:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T14:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brickmodelrailroader.com\/?p=223660"},"modified":"2023-12-15T09:44:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T14:44:58","slug":"five-years-of-llmtc-celebrated-big-at-llmtcworld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brickmodelrailroader.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/15\/five-years-of-llmtc-celebrated-big-at-llmtcworld\/","title":{"rendered":"Five years of LLMTC celebrated big at LLMTCworld"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2023 marks the five-year anniversary of the LLMTC. We decided to celebrate this anniversary by organizing a huge event for all of our members and all the friends we made in those five years. This article will give you a in depth look at the event, and how the LLMTC came together.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the LLMTC?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Lowlands L-Gauge Model Train Club is a small group of LEGO train enthusiasts, dedicated to modelling railways in 1:45 scale, or as close to it as (in)humanly possible. While trains are our main focus and what binds us together, several members also build diorama’s, cars, and other landscape elements to the same scale as our trains. We usually aim for 1:45, although the restrictions of the bricks sometimes result in variations between 1:48 and 1:43. Effectively the trains tend to be 8 studs wide.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 1 the well-known logo of the LLMTC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The founding members of the LLMTC first met at LEGO World 2017<\/a>, and decided to form a building group the next year, with the goal to build both trains and layouts that would be able to connect to each other at events. LEGO World 2018<\/a> was their first show together as a group. Standards and rules where established early on, similar to what you see in \u201ctraditional\u201d model railway clubs. But LLMTC was entirely dedicated to building in L-gauge and scale 1:45. We’ve always considered ourselves a model railway club, which happened to be building in L-gauge, rather than a LEGO user group who build trains. After LegoWorld 2018<\/a>, many other events followed. like LegoWorld 2019<\/a>, NLGM W\u00f6rrstadt<\/a> and Schkeuditz<\/a>. Along the way, other builders joined the group, and the group became closely in contact and involved with many other LUG\u2019s, projects like open L-gauge<\/a> and events like the BrickTrainAwards<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of LLMTCworld<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The idea of organizing our own club event resonated from back in the long and dark covid days, when a lot of events where cancelled and you couldn\u2019t host a large audience of visitors. Initially, we held a small gathering back in 2020, which was members only. This grew into the 2021<\/a> and 2022<\/a> ArnhemWorld event, where we would invite a small group of befriended builders like the Noppenbahner<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 2 Pieter Post his station during nighttime driving at ArnhemWorld 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For this year, we decided to go big and make it possible for everyone who builds trains in 1:45 scale to join in, and therefore get one of the large gatherings of L-gauge builders in the Netherlands. This show would result in a lot of friends, which made in those five years, to travel all the way to meet up with us again. And for some, it was the first time to meet up with us in real life after working together through the internet for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a venue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest challenges we had for organizing LLMTC-world was the venue. In previous years we would organize our ArnhemWorld event <\/ins>at a high school in Arnhem. Unfortunately, this wasn\u2019t possible during the planned weekend for LLMTCworld. And thus, the rebranding from ArnhemWorld to LLMTCworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a long search for possible event locations, we were able to find a hall in a bus depot that wouldn\u2019t be in use for the weekend we where planning to host LLMTCworld. This did provide some challenges, biggest of them all, there weren\u2019t any tables available to use at the venue. We had estimated we needed around 65 tables for all the layouts and the staging yards.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 3 the still empty bus shed, a few hours later L-gauge builders would meet here to start setting up their layouts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This estimation was followed by a few weeks long calling and emailing renting company\u2019s, looking for the best and cheapest possibility. Tip for others who are considering organizing l-gauge related events, tables are expensive! A venue with tables makes organizing an event so much easier. We spent a lot more time and, quite frankly, a lot more money than we anticipated for getting all the tables we needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this was taken care off, there were still a lot of smaller tasks on our to-do-list. Organizing stuff like diner, layout planning and general stuff takes a lot of time, and we would advise anybody who plans on hosting an event to keep this in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Layout planning.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tam\u00e1s & Erwin where in charge of layout planning, and Tam\u00e1s had spent a lot of time before the event puzzling all of the modules together in BlueBrick. But, as will be familiar to anyone who has planned an event of their own, there will always be things you didn’t consider beforehand. In our case, we found out there was collum for a car lift right where we were planning to build our branch line. But after some re-configuring of the track plan by Erwin & Tam\u00e1s, we made it work. The layout we ended up with on the day was probably even better than the one we had planned initially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is an event without some cool merchandise? This year Erwin and Raised decided to design a unique T-shirt and logo for the event. This years\u2019 design was a festival shirt with our main logo featuring the one and only Carlos! The front of the Shirts showed Carlos in the special LLMTCworld logo, the back named all the builders who took part in the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 4 Carlos approved shirts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Setting-up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Friday we gather early at the venue to start cleaning up the place and unload all the tables we rented. We used multiple camper vans from different LLMTC members to drive back and forth between two different rental companies, different hardware stores, and the venue. Ties, our chief Bob the Builder, spent a lot of time making filler sections between tables, so that layouts wouldn\u2019t need to be place above gaps in between the tables. That\u2019s one of the downsides of building all your layouts off grid and in strange angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Ties got another special task on Friday. It turned out that Erwin’s banana yard was right below a small leak in the roof. So, Ties has to be creative on fixing that one. Luckily, we found a scissor lift in the parking lot, and the leak was fixed before any trains had to swim their way across Erwin\u2019s yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day most of the layouts were set-up and we were able to start unpacking our trains and fill up the yard.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 5 setting up on the Friday evening of LLMTCworld.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Saturday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday we started early again, finishing the last small gaps in the layout. Builders who weren\u2019t able to get there on Friday arrived early on Saturday morning, to set-up their layouts and to unpack their trains. By around 11:00 the entire yard was packed full, and the layout was completely set-up. Now it was finally time to start driving some trains!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 6 express trains going back and forward on the main line. Picture by Thomas Reincke. Models by Raised, Erwin and Raimond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We only have one rule when it comes to driving trains, and that you always drive on the right-hand<\/strong> side of the track. Some builders who weren\u2019t used to that had some difficulty with that, resulting in weird situations where you would be driving towards each other on the same track. Beside that, your able to drive whenever you like, taking whatever wagons and route that you would like. Especially when it comes to freight wagons, a lot of the wagons get mixed up when driving. Most of the time you would be pulling or shunting freight wagons from 3 or 4 different builders at the same time. And that\u2019s what makes driving at events like these so much fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I personally love shunting in one of the different stations or the big yard, reorganizing the freight wagons and making giant mixed freight trains that others would be able to pick up with their locomotives.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 7 shunting action at W\u00f6rrstadt Hbf. Picture by Joop Atkleppie, station by Nick Kleinfelder, models by Tam\u00e1s and myself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally on Saturday evening, we host special activities. One of these is the traditional A(k)awards ceremony, where the host (Raised), would hand out professionally made award bricks. There was also a quiz with in depth questions, like who has the longest running unfinished project. <\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To celebrate the first release of the collaboration premium building kits from HA bricks<\/a>, Raised and Erwin gave a presentation of how they designed the model, and how the experience was to work together with HA bricks to turn the model into a premium building kit.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 8 the host of the A(k)wards Raised with his professionally made presentation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sunday was the second day of driving trains on the layout. It was quiet in the morning since most the drivers where still hungover from the Saturday evening. But after lunch, most people where awake and present again, and everybody was able to fully enjoy driving their trains on the railway lines. To get a better understanding on what it\u2019s like to operate your trains on this event, let\u2019s step into my SSN 01 1075 with Rheingold coaches (don\u2019t mind the door that keeps falling off, or that buffer, they weren’t important) and let\u2019s drive across the railway line! If you\u2019re wondering how this train looks like when it\u2019s driving on the layout, take a look at this video which shows the combination in action at LLMTC-world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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