Rumors

Rumor Central

Capitol Limited 2004

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Pictures by Dave Davies

The What's New page and, in fact, almost all of this website is devoted to bringing you news about the upcoming Capitol Limited 2004 convention!

But - what of the news we couldn't really substantiate? The "good stuff" we could perhaps make come true simply by talking about it?

Look no further - this page will contain nothing but near-news, with occasional serious commentary thrown in where appropriate...

(6/26/04) - The LSBP is coming on 5 August - will you be there? One demented NVNTRAKer has promised to run a left-over as a flat-car load (or, all things considered, perhaps a gondola-load)!
(6/18/04) - Mark R. Warner, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, extends his personal greetings to attendees at the Capitol Limited 2004 - it's true!
(6/13/04) - It's true! There really is an eBay auction under way for a Capitol Limited 2004 registration! Check it out on eBay Auction 5904018235! Auction ends on 6/23/04, though...
(5/22/04) - The General District Court in Fairfax County, Virginia has just issued a restraining order against NVNTRAK, barring their participants in the Capitol Limited 2004 from setting their vast collection of modules (see http://www.nvntrak.org/modules.php for more information) up in a single group at the convention! As a result, authorities say that the club's modules will be scattered throughout the layout under strict rules of dispersion, overseen by an officer of the court!
(5/18/04) - The Early Bird Registration is dead - long live the Special Registration! Details on the Registration page!
(5/9/04) - OK - this one's a tricky one. Bob Shearer will attend and literally ride the rails at the Capitol Limited 2004. If you know what I'm talking about, you'll, well, know what I'm talking about. If you don't, suffice it to say that two fellow NTRAKers have gone way above and beyond in "taking care of our own"!
(4/17/04) - Lots are running out in the Biggest N Scale Layout Ever - Phases I, II, and III are already completely gone and Phase IV is going fast, so if you plan to bring modules with you to the layout, get 'em registered now on the module registration page!
(4/11/04) - There will be a 1:1 scale contest category for trackside structures out in the parking lot between the Expo Center and the Holiday Inn!
(3/27/04) You can now buy electricity for the Capitol Limited 2004! Not really - the convention organizers, being the fine gang that they are, will provide that for free... However, if you want to get one or more tables at the NSC Swap Meet you can, for a nominal charge, get a power drop for your table(s), to light things up, power your trains, etc... Check out the On-Line Registration Page for details...

(2/12/04) Click on the thumbnail to see a snap of our Layout Design Crew hard at work!

(2/8/04) Holy Cow! Located just a short distance from the Capitol Limited 2004 is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum! This place has a great display of aviation history - you know, aircraft, the bigger, the better! - and to make things even neater, there's a free shuttle bus running from the convention site to the museum! Everything today seems bankable and this one is, too!
(2/8/04) All good things must end! In keeping with the (true - you read it here!) rumor below about the hotel, it is announced that the Early Bird registration rate of $65 will expire on May 15, 2004! If you want to save $10 over the normal registration rate of $75, stay at one of our official hotels and register before the 15th of May! This one is bankable, too...
(2/8/04) You knew it was going to happen! The official hotel of the Capitol Limited 2004 - the Holiday Inn Select Chantilly-Dulles Expo - is full! Stand by for details of alternate lodgings... Take this one to the bank...
(2/7/04) Reliable sources say that the layout is filling up! If you plan to bring module(s) to it, please get registered and get your module survey form(s) in as soon as possible!

(2/7/04) Somebody has been spreading the completely untrue and false rumor that NVNTRAK will have on-hand - and heated - at the Capitol Limited 2004, a brand (you know, like "Mosey along, Pilgrim") bearing the dreaded BS for use on modules and/or Club Superintendents responsible for the appearance of bad-order modules at the convention! What's it stand for? Well, "Bad Super", of course!

We reasonably unequivocally deny the truth of this spurious rumor - the decent folk of NVNTRAK would never subject Superintendent or module to the indignity of a cattle-brand!

This does, however, highlight (at least in some extremists' eyes!) the signal importance of the NTRAK club Superintendents and their roles in making sure that all NTRAK modules brought to the Capitol Limited 2004 are layout-worthy! Your Supers do a hard and generally thankless job and deserve all the support you can give 'em, including making their jobs easier by making sure your modules are in good shape!
(2/1/04) It has been stated, with the highest degree of confidence that Brian Brendel, John Drye, and the redoubtable Bernie Kempinski will all have cutting-edge home N scale layouts in operation in time to be featured on the Layout Tours (details to follow!)
(1/22/04) Rumor has it that everything (vendors, merchandise, modules, trains and conventioneers) has to be out of the Chantilly Expo Center by 4:44 pm on Sunday (less than an hour after the show closes). Not true!

Actually, our contract with Greenberg gives us until 11:30 pm Sunday to get everything out of the building. Members of NVNTRAK will be available to help folks with loading out as necessary. We will get everyone out in plenty of time.

No model railroader will be left behind!
(12/1/03) Well-placed sources indicate that at least one very senior convention staff-member (with a "J" in his name) will auction his Capitol Limited 2004 registration on eBay early in the coming year! Rumor (what else?) has it that the registration will convey, with it's low registration number, to the auction's winner... Read more about it here after the holidays!
(9/6/03) Is it true that noted model railroader Jim Derr almost went into cardiac arrest when he heard how big the NTRAK2004 layout will be?

Note to Publicity Committee: Ensure the presence of a Medical Doctor when publicity announcements are made to preclude this sort of thing!
(8/31/03 - and serious!) Steven Campbell of S&R MODELS in Jacksonville is planning on making one or more Special Run models for Capitol Limited 2004. S&R Models are the folks who did the RF&P Autoracks a few years back. Steve is looking for suggestions, so if you have any ideas please contact him at www.srmodeltrains.com
(8/29/03) What is 40 feet long, painted grey and yellow and has L&N reporting marks? Well if you guessed a school bus painted like an L&N F unit packed full of NTRAK modules going to the NSE2004 then you would be right. The Kentuckiana NTRAK clubs plan on hauling 75 plus modules and two barrels of good Kentucky bourbon across the Appalachians to participate in the NSE2004*!
(8/28/03) Some very influential people in Sugarland, Texas report that they plan to come to the big show in '04. Apparently, they plan to transport the whole town, including the sugar mill, with them? Should be 'sweet'?

OK - we're still getting a feel for this sort of thing... But do check back for the latest in high quality unsubstantiated news!

* Secret code: NSE2004 means "N Scale East Convention 2004", aka the "Capitol Limited 2004"...