Showtime: 2022 Railroad Hobby Show Preview

The Tribute to Springfield layout setup at the 2019 show at section 74 in the Young Building.

Only two weeks until the doors open for the triumphant return of the annual Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show! We are all excited about meeting up again at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA, for a weekend of railroading. I am planning bring the Tribute to Springfield layout out of retirement and displaying it at the show once again to celebrate the shows return. The layout is anticipated to be setup at section 74 in the Young Building (same place as 2019) with A Modular Railroad Club.

As usual, I'm very excited about the show and hope to see you there. If you are coming to the show, make sure to stop by and say hi. See you January 29th-30th, 2022 at the Railroad Hobby Show!

Showtime: 2021 Railroad Hobby Show

The 2021 Virtual Railroad Hobby Show streaming on YouTube

After a wild ride through the pandemic in 2020, the Railroad Hobby Show was changed from an in person extravaganza at the Eastern States Exposition to an online virtual event. Held over the weekend of January 30 - 31, 2021, the Amherst Railway Society - in partnership with Virtual Railfan - streamed 15 hours of programming on YouTube featuring all varieties of exhibitors from the show.

The show director - John Sacerdote - was the host for the event providing introductions and commentary in between various scheduled segments. Some of these segments included live look ins at the Virtual Railfan cameras around North America, pre-taped presentations, and live interviews. ScaleTrains.com was the keystone sponsor for the event and featured live announcements of new models on Saturday and their acquisition of MTH's HO and S-scale product lines on Sunday.  A number of the other sponsors also presented talking about their latest products over the course of the two days.

As of this writing, the announced plan was to divide the live stream down into segments and it was going to be posted on YouTube for anyone to watch later if they missed the event live.

While I didn't get to directly participate in the event, my current club - A Modular Railroad Club - received a shout out from John on Saturday afternoon during the live stream which was much appreciated by our members. Also, Railroad Model Craftsman posted a photo of the O scale Tribute to Springfield layout as part of their article about the virtual show (click here).

Overall, it was a great two days and a well done production by all involved. There are rumors of more "virtual" shows on a quarterly basis over the next year until, hopefully, we can all return again to West Springfield, MA, in 2022.

Speaking of 2022, the dates for the show are January 29 - 30, 2022. Mark your calendars and make your hotel reservations now. Hope to see you there!

Showtime: 2019 Railroad Hobby Show Preview

The Tribute to Springfield layout setup at the 2018 show at section 85 in the Young Building.

Less than one month until the doors open on the 51st Annual Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show! I plan to display the Tribute to Springfield layout once again at the show. The layout is anticipated to be setup at section 74 in the Young Building (a few sections to the west of where it was last year) with my new club - A Modular Railroad Club. Not too much has changed since last year - just a few details updated here and there. I did add a back and forth shuttle unit so trains could be operated continuously when I decided I'd had enough of switching and wanted a break.

As usual, I'm very excited about the show and hope to see you there.  See you January 26th-27th, 2019 at the Railroad Hobby Show!

Wordless Wednesday: Lining Up

50th Railroad Hobby Show: 12 Days to Go

Only 12 Days to Go until the 50th Anniversary Railroad Hobby Show!

Been busy putting the final touches on the Tribute to Springfield layout. Just a few more items left on the to do list...

50th Railroad Hobby Show: 24 Days to Go

24 Days until the 50th Anniversary Railroad Hobby Show!

For a time, a group of members from the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club displayed this On30 layout in the Young Building. It was a great looking layout and part of the long O scale tradition with the club and the show.

Showtime: 2018 Railroad Hobby Show Preview

The Tribute to Springfield layout setup in the workshop being prepped for the show.

Only 50 days until the doors open on the 50th anniversary of the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show!  Despite not blogging for the last year, work has been progressing on the Tribute to Springfield layout.  The plan is to have the layout setup at section 85 in the Young Building (same place as last year) with the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club. For those who haven't seen the layout since last Springfield, I've added lots of new details which have really made it come to life.

As usual, I'm very excited about the show and hope to see you there. See you January 27-28th, 2018 at the Railroad Hobby Show!