Another Great Weekend in Springfield

Making our way to the door of the Big E for the train show...

This past weekend we attended the Amherst Railway Society's 2016 Train Show... and, as always, it was a great weekend!

I love model railroading but this weekend is about two things... Obviously, first and foremost, it's about model railroading but it is also a big social event. We've been attending this show long enough that we've established some 'tradition' for this busy weekend.

We all arrive the day before the show begins, congregating in the hotel's lounge for dinner and drinks. We attend the show on Saturday the moment the gates open, spend the day perusing all the show has to offer and looking for good deals on trains, and then we all go to dinner at a German Festhaus. Relatively speaking, Sunday has become a rather peaceful day of meandering around the 8 acres of model railroading show.

This year, Sheila and I arrived in Springfield Friday morning and spent the afternoon shopping. Finding merchandise worth buying in Vermont, especially clothing, is always frustrating so we always try to do a little shopping whenever we are out of town to pick up things we cannot find near home. We purposely arrived in Springfield early so we could spend some time at the Holyoke Mall. 

By lunchtime on Friday, we both knew we were fighting off a cold. We only hoped we would get through the weekend and drive home before the cold got too bad. (This cold would progressively get worse through the weekend and Sheila spent the day home from work today parked on the couch with a big box of tissues.) Our shopping trip to the Holyoke Mall on Friday would result in quite a few new clothes and shoes for Sheila so that was a huge bonus for her! Then we headed to the hotel to meet with all of our regular train show group in the hotel's lounge for dinner and a few drinks.

On Saturday morning, Sheila and I opted to avoid the hotel's free breakfast (history has proven that we wouldn't miss anything other than upset stomachs) in favor of an awesome breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. Needless to say, our breakfast was delicious! Their biscuits are delicious... same with their fried apples!

The train show was a lot of fun on Saturday... impressive operating train layouts... vendors... model railroad manufacturers... more vendors... and more impressive operating train layouts. Unfortunately, only a couple of hours into the show, my spinal injuries became increasingly painful. Before long, my spinal pain dictated that it was time to head back to the hotel. My spine was so painful that by the time we were leaving the show, I was closely eyeing more walkers and wheelchairs than trains! It was time for a break and head back to the hotel.

After some recovery time trying to get comfortable on our bed watching NCAA basketball, we headed to a German festhaus for dinner, some German beer and some good times. This is our Saturday night tradition and, as always, our dinner at The Munich Haus was delicious and a fun time!

On Sunday morning, we walked to Dunkin' Donuts with Sheila's parents for a quick breakfast then headed back to the train show for day two. We started at the opposite end of the show and viewed more operating model railroads, visited more vendors, and checked out all the model railroading manufacturers that we missed the previous day. 

At one point on Sunday, Sheila and I were even interviewed by an online model railroading show! It was pretty obvious that they were drawn to my camera and, because of the camera, thought I might be someone from the media which would provide both of us with some extra public reach by sharing audiences. They quickly realized early in our interview that I am nobody associated with the media and therefore not worth interviewing so they pushed me out of the frame (quite literally) and continued with interviewing the more photogenic Sheila. As I checked out their video gear from behind the cameraman, they continued interviewing Sheila. It was a bit amusing!

We meandered around the show for much of Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything to buy this year... not a single thing caught my eye. Well... some very expensive things caught my eye but I didn't see anything that I had on my list of things to buy. As a result, I left the show empty-handed. 

Oh, wait... I'm wrong... I found smoke fluid with a "Christmas Pine" scent to use for my smoking locomotives. I bought one bottle of this fluid. Aside from having a large selection of scents (ie, gingerbread, bacon, maple syrup, campfire, cinnamon roll, hot chocolate, bayberry, candy cane, etc), this particular fluid creates a lot of smoke. I'm already using this fluid in a "Wood Stove" scent and it is awesome creating tons of smoke and having distinctive scents. I wish I found something on my list to buy but it was nice to purchase a Christmas Pine scent smoke fluid.

I model in a number of different scales so I had quite a variety of model railroading items on my wishlist. I had hoped to find some N scale streetcars and perhaps a small diesel switcher...  nothing caught my eye. I had hoped to find some MTH HO scale locomotives... I didn't see any of those at all. I had hoped to find an HO scale 20th Century Limited passenger car set... no luck. I had hoped to purchase some On30 narrow gauge freight cars but the prices I saw were no different than buying online from my usual vendors so I passed on this opportunity. Besides, in order to make it worth walking around the rest of this immense show carrying merchandise, the pricing would need to be very enticing. I passed on these freight cars. I also hoped to find some MTH O scale locomotives... a small steam locomotive and a small diesel switcher... no luck here either. Lastly, I was looking for track in various scales but again nothing was enticing. Since arriving home, I ordered some passenger cars and I will order some track soon. Although it was disappointing leaving the show empty-handed, the show wasn't about buying things... it is about the environment and atmosphere of trains and it is about spending a weekend out of town with family and friends.  

During the show, everyone in our party pretty much goes their own way. There is so much to see and so many people at this particular show that it is difficult to stick together. What interests me, may not interest anyone else so we go our own ways. The funny thing is that we usually bump into each other at concession stands, rest rooms and when leaving. We are pretty much in sync after having attended this show together for many years!

We left the show at around 1:30pm on Sunday to head for home. We met up with Sheila's parents about two hours into the trip back home for dinner. After a nice Italian dinner, the last hour of driving home went quickly. 

At this point, our head colds were getting significantly worse... particularly for Sheila. Neither one of us wanted to drive but my spinal issues put Sheila in the driver's seat.

My spine is still screaming... and causing some graying-out whenever I try to stand because the pain is excruciating... and my head cold is only a minor annoyance by comparison. Sheila, however, has a full-blown nasty cold and spent the entire day camped out on the couch nursing herself. It is now Monday night and she is still feeling quite miserable. 

All in all, we had a great time. The train show was spectacular, as usual... the food was delicious... the company was fun and fulfilling... and striking up casual conversations with other trainshow attendees is always nice. Oh... and, the weather was spring-like which was refreshing after previous years in frigid, windy conditions! This spring-like weather, however, has been a common theme throughout this entire winter.

The Amherst Railway Society should be commended for another spectacular train show! We are looking forward to next year's show!

This O scale, 3 rail, steam locomotive caught my eye (the New York Central loco in the middle)
but it was not for sale. This was a manufacturer's display.  Nice looking locomotive though!

This 3'x16' O gauge layout was for sale... a very nice layout!