Shortly, we should have a story up describing the fun we had at the NMRA National Train Show. Until then, please enjoy some pictures from the event.

The Boston Red Sox were a big hit at the 1st Annual Westside Train Show in West Springfield, MA.

On February 28th, NELUG displayed at the West Springfield Middle School, on invitation of the area's PTO. We fielded a 14' x 14' display, which contained a large rail yard, several industries, a small town, and Fenway Park, contributed by one of our newest members.

Trains of all varieties were on display, and the yard was kept busy throughout the day as several regional railroads took turns on the tracks. Spotted in the lineup were locomotives from The Green Mountain Railway, Vermont Railway, New Haven, and Rutland, as well as a 20 car Amtrak passenger consist. The Brickling Brother's circus train was on display, as well as the ever popular Thomas The Tank Engine.

We'd like to thank our host, the John Ashley PTO, for the effort that they put into making us feel at home. The coffee and donuts were much appreciated!

Photos of the show can be found in our media gallery.

New England Lego Users Group was invited to help celebrate the final weekend of the three month long Train Time exhibit at the Wenham Museum in Wenham, Massachusetts. We were happy to take part by creating a 16’ by 16’ train display. The visitors were enthusiastic (Please don’t touch that.) and for the most part, well behaved. (Sir, did your son bring that minifigure with him today?) Even Sunday’s snow didn’t keep everyone away.

The layout featured a busy rail yard (Can you make that one run?), an exciting carnival (No, none of them are sets), and a snow covered city and town. For adults, the carnival’s Round Up ride probably brought back some queasy memories. For the younger kids, (Watch your fingers.) Sponge Bob popping wheelies was a big hit.

One highlight from the city was a Chinese New Year celebration (Please don’t touch) going on in the shadow of two skyscrapers. (Look. The door moves.) In the town, our minifigures were busy skating, sledding, creating complex snow sculptures, and engaging in some pretty brutal snowball fights. But folks came to see the trains and for this show (Watch your fingers, please) they ranged from a dragon chasing a hand car to the classic Santa Fe Super Chief.

A three day show may have strained (Don’t touch that!) a nerve or two, but we had a great time and the museum staff were wonderful. They not only provided food and refreshment, but great company and support as well. Photos of the event can be seen in our Gallery.

This past weekend, there was an attack by the rare, fresh water shark at the NELUG display during the Greenberg Toy and Train Show in Hartford, CT. Other strange animal behavior on the display included snakes in the trees, sheep navigating the hedge maze, an ostrich chasing an escaped prisoner, geese leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and somehow, the cows confused fuel storage tanks for a milking station. The turkeys were in a highly agitated state, no doubt worried about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The rooftops were crowded not only with geese and turkeys, but also battling ninjas, superheroes and super villains.

But the main show was, of course, the trains. Younger visitors were thrilled to see James and Thomas the tank engine, and the latest version of the Circus train was a universal hit. Another bit hit was the monitor displaying the view from the camera hidden in one of the train engines. Many people remembered NELUG from the display we did in the spring of 2007, but many more commented, “LEGO makes trains?” We were happy to introduce them to the LEGO Train System and hopefully created some new fans.

In addition to the train layout, we were given enough space for member, Bill Bourn, to give a hands-on LEGO Robotics demonstration with his battling bots.

Photos of the show can be seen in our Gallery

Written by Linda D
Editted by Jonathan D

On April 20th, 2008, NELUG put on a small display at the Hooksett, NH Lion's Club Model Railroad Show at Cawley Middle School in Hooksett, NH.  The display included a small town, farmland, a country fair, and several new and returning trains.

Though cows appeared all over the layout, a few stayed in the farm to keep the ostrich and giant bunnies company.  Indiana Jones made a heroic appearance on a WWII themed train, narrowly escaping his foes by hanging onto the back of a German caboose.  In another nod to history, a short Rutland train made its way quietly around the tracks, hauling marble, and occasionally Storm Troopers (We have a loose sense of history).  As in the past, visitors were treated to a drive-in movie of themselves, thanks to a hidden camera aboard the mixed freight train on our third loop.

The crowd at the show was enthusiastic and friendly, as were our hosts, The Hooksett Lion's Club, making for a great weekend of railroading.

Photos of the show may be seen in our gallery.