Scattered Thoughts . . .

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

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 shopp

Whenever we wander from home for our long weekend excursions, we always meet some friendly and sometimes very interesting people. The train show in Springfield, Massachusetts has never been an exception and this year was no different. While we were enjoying our first night in Springfield for the train show, the grandchildren made new friends with a local Dish Network Satellite installer. This gentleman enjoyed Lukey's and Kenzie's animated antics while they entertained us in the lounge during our pizza dinner. Seeing the kids reminded him that he had some little Dish Network promotional gifts out in his truck in the form of stuffed animals. He was kind enough to run out to his truck to retrieve his last two "Hoppers" to gift to the kids. Both Kenzie and Lukey were given their own Hopper the Kangaroo by this kind Dish installer. These gifts were definitely appreciated by both of the kids... and that is evident here in the photos!

Sheila's dad, Will, is quite tall but looks like a  young kid next to Maggie!   It's funny...  I can actually see the little boy in Will  in this photo! I suppose  there is a little  boy  in each of us which shines through at these shows... Most people don't like being called a clown... but Maggie the Clown does! She seems to thrive on being a clown and entertaining kids. There is no doubt that Maggie is good at what she does and she enjoys doing it! In all the years we have been attending the annual Amherst Railway Society train show, Maggie the Clown has been an active participant in keeping the young kids entertained all through the weekend. Maggie personally greeted Lukey and Kenzie shortly after they arrived at the show... she introduced herself and invited them to her show... offered them balloons... and we learned a bit more about Maggie this year... Maggie the Clown actually lives on a train! She is a clown with the Ringling Brothers Circus and, as many

We seem to have started a tradition when it comes to dinners while out of town for the train show and especially so on the first night of our annual train show weekend. It took a few years to get to this point however.  Truth be told, we didn't really know what to expect the first year we attended this particular train show. That first year, Sheila, Adam and I left home at around 6am on Saturday morning... arrived in Springfield when the gates to the show opened... waited in traffic to enter the immense parking lot... waited in more lines to buy tickets and actually enter the first of four buildings housing the show... made our way through the four buildings and walked around the extremely crowded show all day... then drove back home that evening. It was a verryyyy loooonnnnnnggggggg and exhausting day!  Not only was that a long, exhausting day but we knew that just one day at this show was not nearly enough time to see everything. This show is big... I mean BIG. I've