Scattered Thoughts . . .

The first time we ventured down to the Amherst Railway Society's train show eight years ago, we simply drove the three hours down there, visited the show, and drove back home that night... completely exhausted.  Once we arrived at this show that year, we immediately realized that there was no possible way to see all of the show in just one eight hour day so we decided it would be wiser to stay overnight the following year so we could attend the show both days. This would also allow us to avoid six hours of driving in one day. The following year (our third year), we decided to start heading down to Springfield on Friday and stay an extra night. This allowed us to settle in and relax a bit before heading to the hectic, crowded show on Saturday. We would use the pool, hot tub, have a few drinks and have food delivered to the hotel on that first night. This plan seemed to work out much better for a train show that is spread out over eight acres! Over the years, more and more

Sheila, talking with one of our newest train show fanatics... He went home with a new train set and a few other toys. Sheila and I had a great time at our annual train show extended weekend. It sounds as though everyone who joined us had a great time as well!  My spinal injuries were putting a painful crimp in our time at the show but, overall, we had a great time and are glad we ventured to the show regardless of my spinal injuries. I couldn't walk at all in the days before we left for the show so it was a bit iffy whether I would make it to the show at all. We still probably would have traveled down to see everyone but being able to walk around the show didn't look promising in the preceding days. After having problems getting around the show on my own this year... as well as some problems last year which weren't as bad as this year... and even some problems the year before that were milder (I see the pattern and it isn't a pretty pattern)... I have de

Our annual extended weekend in Springfield for the biggest train show in the US is fast approaching so I was reviewing some of my video clips and photos from past shows to see if I can find some stuff to share to build some anticipation for the show. My videos and photos  of these shows now   have been published on multiple websites and have hundreds of thousands of views! While I was scrolling through my own videos as well as other people's videos of past shows on YouTube, I found one which I thought was interesting and worth sharing here... Lionel Strang... a well known model railroader, author and now host of a model railroading Podcast/Vlog... was wandering around the 8 acres of show space interviewing people. Check out the two people he decided to interview at the 2:00 minute mark... We're really looking forward to this long weekend with friends. My health has proven to sometimes crash while at this show but we always have a great time regardless. I just take