ARS' Annual Railroad Hobby Show, W. Springfield - Jan. 28-29

[dcm74]

The Amherst Railway Society's Annual Railroad Hobby Show will soon be here - January 28 & 29. Who's planning to attend and what will you be looking for? If you want to prepare in advance the vendor list and floor plans are posted on the website: http://www.railroadhobbyshow.com Over 7 acres of trains in 4 buildings. BTW for anyone planning to use their GPS to find their way to the show be sure to enter WEST Springfield. You'll spend a lot of time wandering around aimlessly if you enter just Springfield.

[kjd73170]

It is THE show to hit on the East coast. bring your cash and credit cards there to get a workout. The vendors and operating layouts are not to be missed.

My wish list there is to find N scale brass (it does exist) and to try and make one of the clinics. Visit Deluxe Innovations for some GREAT N scale cars, Maybe a book or two and possibly a dvd or 20.

I drive up for the day and back the same night - 50 for gas or 50 for a room plus gas. But I'll take 6 hours of driving in a day to hit this show. Syracuse in November is the only show close to this in size, Timonium is big as well.

[Otto Vondrak]

Come visit me at the Carstens booth!

http://carstens-publications.com/shows/

-otto-

[mlrr]

I'll be there. Stop by Dave Harrison's Amtrak/Acela NEC Portable Layout. I'll be there again assisting him for the 5th straight year. Looking forward to seeing you guys there!

[dcm74]

Just over 2 weeks to go. Hope everybody has their shopping list ready. Pray for good weather.

[diburning]

I'll be there!

[Cadet57]

Got my shopping list ready. On the hunt for factory structures, a B&M RDC-1, and maybe some more decoders....

[SodorAdventures]

Hey all!

I am new to this forum, but would like to say, I'll be there (Not a Beatles Pun And actually entered in the U16 railroad building contest. I have a shopping list of my own. Do you guys think they'll have an AEM-7 (Acela scheme???) or Horizon fleet Amtraks? I would love an AEM-7, but they are really hard to find! Fill me in! I have never been to this show! Is it larger than Greenburg's toy and train show? Thanks

[Otto Vondrak]

Fill me in! I have never been to this show! Is it larger than Greenburg's toy and train show? Thanks

<shrugs> Yeah, a little bigger. I mean, the first time I went, it only took me a day and a half to get through all the vendors and buildings.

-otto-

[mlrr]

Hey all!

I am new to this forum, but would like to say, I'll be there (Not a Beatles Pun And actually entered in the U16 railroad building contest. I have a shopping list of my own. Do you guys think they'll have an AEM-7 (Acela scheme???) or Horizon fleet Amtraks? I would love an AEM-7, but they are really hard to find! Fill me in! I have never been to this show! Is it larger than Greenburg's toy and train show? Thanks

I've seen an AEM7 at each show I've attended for the last five years in one form or another. Aside from the ones we run on the Amtrak Acela/NEC Portable layout, I haven't seen any vendors selling the acela scheme AEM7s. If they were, they were snatched up quickly.

Last year I spotted AEM7 901 (phase III) for about $90. Sometimes you'll never know what you'll find. The good thing is that if you come across a used AEM7, you can inspect it right there and determine if you find IT and the price acceptable unlike taking a chance on eBay.

My suggestion to you is not to shy away from an undec. If you come across an undec for around $50/$60, you should grab it. Don't be shy about attempting the paint job yourself. Fortunately the undecs are kitbasher-friendly in that the shell is virtually ready to be painted right out of the box (you have to take it off the chassis first of course ). I've painted five myself and intend to paint two more. I'll be happy to walk you through it.

Stop by the portable layout and I can give you some tips in person.

Good luck in your search.

BTW, the show is HUGE! Four buildings and growing!

[SodorAdventures]

Great! Tips from the HO scale amtrak layout king himself! I cant wait, and hope that they will have one

I truly cant wait for the show! Thanks so much!

[dcm74]

Weekend weather forecast is promising. Temps in the 30's with only a 30% chance of any snow on Sunday.

[CNJ999]

I would ask recent attendees if the crowding has been really bad in recent years? I stopped going to Springfield in '05 after about a decade of annual attendence simply because the crowds and especially the babies in strollers clogging the aisles, often made it difficult to get around, or to easily get close to the tables. It certainly took a lot of fun out of the experience.

I know that the show has expanded into an additional building, but with the weather expected to be favorable this weekend and to bring out the crowds, I wondering if it is really worth making the journey just to be jostled around for four or five hours?

CNJ999

[dcm74]

I would ask recent attendees if the crowding has been really bad in recent years? I stopped going to Springfield in '05 after about a decade of annual attendence simply because the crowds and especially the babies in strollers clogging the aisles, often made it difficult to get around, or to easily get close to the tables. It certainly took a lot of fun out of the experience.

I know that the show has expanded into an additional building, but with the weather expected to be favorable this weekend and to bring out the crowds, I wondering if it is really worth making the journey just to be jostled around for four or five hours?

CNJ999

The additional building has helped spread out the crowds. Best way to avoid the hordes of crazed railroad enthusiasts is to come on Sunday morning. First couple of hours tend to be relatively calm.

[p&w3901]

CNJ999-
When to come to the show all depends why you are coming. Saturday is the day to come if you are hunting for items, Sunday is the day to come if you want to have less crowds and look at layouts.