March 2010 Edison Train Show

[Eastern Roads]

Well, this weekend I got to spend some time in Edison NJ at the Greenberg Train Show, and I saw quite a few sights I thought you might like to see. There were three Hi-Rail layouts, three N-Scale layouts, an HO scale, and even slot cars! Even though the show was during a full-blown Nor'Easter blasting away outside, there were lots of people there, but I was especially surprised at the number of women and kids! If it was any indication of where the hobby is going, I would think there is a new generation up and coming!

So, come along as we do some exploring of the goodies, and the trains running the rails. I have a suspicion my midwestern buddies are going to like seeing a few shots of some orange colored streamliner...

In our first pic, we see a vendor many of you are familiar with, Scenic Express. They sell lots of great scenery stuff...



There was lots of tinplate, 027, O-Scale, and G, as well, with a lot of tables that looked like this:



Here's an interesting one for you, as there were a number of "instant layout" vendors too. This one offered a number of track variations. Note the $$



HO Scale was in abundance as well, with the entire range of quality from dealers like this, to the guys with the cardboard produce trays with the Tyco stuff...



The kids (and the big ones too) were getting their "fix' watching the trains blasting around the modular layouts that were in abundance...



The workmanship on some of this stuff being on traveling modular layouts was pretty good!



Then an early set of E-Units comes cruising through in a paint scheme I figured would set some hearts a-flutter...



Yeah, I think the name of the train was named after some indian dude, Hi, Hal, or something or other... I didn't get a pic of the boattail observation car, sorry!



And here's another shot of it rolling past a freight sitting in the hole.



And in spite of the cruddy weather outside, and all the things happening, there was still time for some to go fishing down at the water-hole!



So stay tuned as I share a few more of the show! We were having 60 mph winds and got over 4 inches of rain here in the Garden State while this went on. We got soaked just getting from the car alone! But it was warm and dry, and we had a great time. In some future locomotive thread, I'll show you another type of locomotive that has yet to hit the forums here...SHARKS!

[TallDude]

Great photos!! Glad to see the old blue box athearns there! Nice O scale modular layout too!

[ak-milw]

Thanks Mike, sure is pretty!!
Should be for the price of that thing.

[Sawdust]

Thanks Mike, sure makes me want our Spring swap meet to get here. I just love those places.

[Jeff LaPorte]

Mike, great looking show, must have been a lot of fun. Did you survive all that rain and wind. Here in CNY, we just had a lot of wind on Saturday. No rain.

[Eastern Roads]

Jeff, yes, we had SOME RAIN! Parts of the state got six inches, and where I live it came in around four and change. Speaking of wind, in the next county south of me they had a 78 mph wind gust. We were coming in close to 60 here. Haven't seen a storm like that since 1992! Glad that one is over!

Well I shot a bunch of pics, and a bunch were of the layouts. So come along as we take a look at what the modular guys came up with!

Here's another pic of the one Hi-Rail layout. Like I said, there were a bunch of kids at this, and they LOVED the big trains.



Here's a pic of the Jersey Central N-Trak club with their 1:160 offering:



Oh, and I DID get a pic of that funky looking observation car! The size of the layouts were impressive.



Here's another Hi-Rail layout There were three, I believe...



The HO guys put up some backdrops on theirs, and had a little more scenery than the 1:48 crowd.



The camera didn't catch it, but the big building in the back was lit up to represent it being on fire. Funny, there was another one on the right that had been burned too. Must be a blighted area or something...



Since we've had a few of these on the site, I thought I would share this one:



We head off to the Carnival, just watch out getting from the Ticket booth to the rides!



And a Lehigh Valley Geep sits in the hole with a passenger consist near some buildings...



I have some more coming later, so stay tuned!!

[UPtrainfan89]

Wow those are some great pics. I wish our train show here was that big, looked like a great turn out. We just had one in our mall here but seems to be getting a little smaller Im sad to say. Still great pics. and that Lehigh Valley Geep looks neat!

[TallDude]

I think the Carnival needs to lower its admission prices.. I don't see any people there.

[Eastern Roads]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. UP, this is a pretty decent sized show. I went out to the Allentown PA show a few weeks ago, and it was a little smaller. This one had lots more layouts, and other "attractions" which I'll show you in this post. If there was anything to whine about, it would be the prices, as they seemed somewhere between wholesale and full list.

In our first pic, the level of detail for a module is really good! Check it out!



INTERLOPERS!! What kind of train is this??




On yet another Hi-Rail layout, there were a few scenes I thought I would share with you, as I don't often see this level of work with these. This was run by a County 4-H Club, of all things! And here I thought they only worked with animals!

Lighthouse



CNJ Camelback earning it's keep



And there was a Western visitor as well



Here's an interesting module. I think I saw the tug crew saluting The Lady!



The Lumber Yard is pumping out the loads today!



A pair of Alcos running light picked the switch and got in a bind.



The Junior Engineers were out in force, and kept this ride guy busy.



So, as you can see, there are lots of ideas to be had, and the level of detail is definitely improving on these traveling modules. I hope they help you with your modeling efforts, and you get to see how we have our shows here in the Garden State. I have one more batch of pics to share, I'll do that by the weekend. Till then!!

[Eastern Roads]

Okay, this is the last of the pics from the big train show, and in this post we'll take a look at more of the wares that were displayed, and I'll show you the size of the place too!

In this pic, the vendor is selling structures! They were asking strong money for this pre-built stuff that came off layouts...



Here's some happy folks selling Thomas Trains, some RR lanterns, and pictures...



I had a few more layout pics...(oops) Here's an N Scale. Those tankers look like a rolling Super Fund site!



Here's a nice little town scene...lots of ideas here...



Another N Scale shot:



What if the PRR was still alive? I suppose this loco may have an answer!



Back to the wares, here's a place to buy your favorite RR mug!



And if you wanted a picture for your wall, what could be better than a loco with a Keystone Herald on it?? (Yeah, yeah, I heard someone say MILWAUKEE! )



And here's a few pics to give you the size of the event:





So there you have it, your very own virtual trip to the Train Show! Hope you enjoyed the ride, and got to see what you wanted here!

If you're ever in Jersey, and want to catch one of the Greenberg Shows, just drop a line, and we can see this in person!