On January 29th and 30th, NELUG once again displayed at the Amherst Railway Society's big Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield, Massachusetts. This was our second year at the show, and like last year we had a blast. Our setup on Friday was plagued by a few hurdles, but the members who were there pulled together and had the majority of the work done before the end of the day. On the morning of the show, details were added, and trains began to run. By 9am the first of the public began to come through the doors, and it was non-stop for the next two days. Total visitor count to the show, according to the organizers, was 20,459 people. Even with that large of a crowd, the atmosphere was relaxed, and we had an enjoyable time talking to patrons, vendors, and other clubs. There was even enough time for our members to visit the other buildings where the show took place, which was wonderful for gathering ideas for future builds. Being a train show, the majority of our exhibit consisted of a very active train yard filled with locomotives and rolling stock. We also had a small town section, a residential area, and bit of a warehouse district for trains to unload at. While we didn't have a river section for this show, we did have a nice mountain area to provide some scenic beauty. Despite having only done this show once before, we were visited by many people who had seen us before. We caught up with some old friends, and even had a chance to meet a couple of new members. We look forward to attending again next year.

<img width="160" height="81" class="floatleft" src="http://www.nelug.org/images/articles/20100320195502827_1.gif" alt="" /> NELUG will be doing a display at Greenberg's Train &amp; Toy show located at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. The show is Saturday and Sunday, March 27 &amp; 28 and goes from 10:00am to 4:00pm on both days. As always, we'll have a brand new layout for this show and some new creations to show off!

For more information on Greenberg, including admission information, please visit <a href="http://www.greenbergshows.com/">http://www.greenbergshows.com/</a>;. For directions to the Shriner's Auditorium, please visit <a href="http://www.alepposhriners.com/directions.html">http://www.alepposhriners.com/directions.html</a>;

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sub-zero temperatures, blowing winds, and an uncooperative trailer couldn't keep NELUG away from the Amherst Railway Society's big Railroad Hobby Show at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA this past weekend.

 

On January 30th and 31st, 2010, NELUG participated in the Amherst show for the first time.  Setup began on Friday, but was delayed slighly by our trailer, which was frozen in place thanks to the extreme cold here in the Northeast.  Our determined crew persevered, however, and by 10pm Friday night, we were set up and ready to run some trains.

 

Saturday morning approached quickly, especially when the doors for the public opened a full hour earlier than we had expected.  This just added to our fun, however, as we quickly left the detailing work that we were finishing up, and began pulling locomotives and rolling stock out of boxes, speedily getting the layout up and running as the first onlookers trickled in.  From that point on, everything ran smoothly throughout the weekend.

 

The visitors at Amherst were some of the best that we've experienced, and many were curious about the LEGO hobby.  NELUG's members shared information, swapped stories, and generally had a wonderful time playing trains together as we interacted with a very enthusiastic crowd.  The show layout featured a small town scene, two farms, a wind farm, and lots and lots of track and trains.  New feature included on the layout were a corner mountain section, and a second smaller mountain showcasing a wonderful winter scene.  As usual, our trains represented several local lines, as well as some make-believe railways that pleased the public.  We were also pleasantly surprised to see many of our friends and fans from past shows.

 

Photos of the event can be found in the NELUG Flickr pool.  For those who may have missed us in West Springfield, our next show will be at the Wenham Museum in Wenham, MA, this upcoming February 14th and 15th.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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.