Springfield Train Show 2020

Well, another Springfield Train Show is in the books and now I have to wait a whole year for the next one to come around. It came and went much too quickly. However, this year was different for several reasons. First, I didn't go looking for anything to actually buy. Sure, there were a couple of impulse purchases (see below) but in general I was saving my money for the Great British Train Show in Toronto in April. And, I have a contractor putting a suspended ceiling in my basement in a couple of months and technically that is "fun money" too for budget purposes. Second, my wife didn't go with me and boy did I miss her. She is good at keeping me steered going up and down aisles without missing anything (she practices at the supermarket) and without her I was a bumbling mess. Large areas of rooms I entirely missed, other places I went through over and over. Thirdly, I got tired by the end. I am starting to get old. Ugh. But, I still had a good time.

Outside the show, they had Monson Railroad #3 running on a short piece of track set up in the parking lot. In previous years, they had brought a Baldwin tender engine but this time they had Vulcan Iron Works 0-4-4 Forney #3, which was built in 1912. This engine, along with its sister engine #4, are special because when the Monson Railroad was closed and scrapped in 1943-1944 the two engines were purchased by a scrapyard in Rochester, NY. My hometown. And, the dealer was located only a couple of miles from my house! In 1946, they were found by Linwood Moody and rescued by the Edaville Railroad and restored. As with all other surviving Maine narrow gauge trains, the current history is tortured. If I have it right, the engine is owned by the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum but on loan to the WW&F railroad (and previously on loan to the SR&RL railroad.) Maybe. Anyway, I asked the friendly conductor to take a picture for me. Again, my wife would have been a wonderful asset to have for situations like this.

Picture from Rapido Trains' News announcement #120

I made sure to see the Rapido Trains display as I wanted to know how pre-order sales estimates were doing for their recently announced Amtrak Rohr Turboliners. They are only making them if they get enough pre-orders. I talked to four people: two didn't know the numbers yet; one said that it was too soon to tell; and the last said that if public inquiry at the train show was anything to go by then they would likely be produced. Meaning... I don't know. I also talked with them about the Great British Train Show, as they are the sponsor of the event. Of personal interest, last Friday they sent out News Item #120 and included a picture from their 2019 display at Springfield. When I saw the caption I decided to look and see if I was in it... and I am! If you look closely you might spot me! Just don't call me Waldo. (And if you can't look closely, the red circle may prove useful).

Whilst walking around the show, I saw several interesting things. One was two dealers selling huge consignments of LGB and Delton Locomotive Works G scale trains I think this is the collection.. I have never seen that much large scale at the show before and though I wasn't in the market for them I couldn't help but appreciate the construction of the brass Delton engines. They were from the late 1980s or early 1990s and were marked at $3000 each. Having only seen them in catalogs before, and loving the time frame they are based on when engines were colorful and trimmed in brass, I couldn't help but stop and stare for a while. But, they weren't in my budget.

Athearn also showed examples of their EMD SD80MAC locomotives. Being a Conrail nut, the 80MACs were one of the last examples of Conrail power that came online before the railroad was split between CSX and NS. I love their white cab face, and a discussion here explains how that paint scheme came about. When Kato released the model in HO scale in the early 2000s I purchased one (being a Conrail modeler then) but I sold it when I went to N scale. Do I need this HO scale model now? Nope, but the recent Athearn announcement might explain why I have seen a lot of the Kato models on Ebay recently (not that I was looking for them, eh hem).

I usually purchase books and magazines at Springfield and this year was no exception. I first purchased the recent issues of Model Railroad Planning and Great Model Railroads (not shown in the picture). MRP is my favorite publication currently out and I can't wait to dig in. I also purchased two issues of Back Tracks magazine, a British publication, as both had issues on LMS "Royal Scot" steam locomotives (my favorite). For $1 each I should have bought the whole box! Finally, one table was giving away copies of Steam in the Garden magazine so I grabbed one featuring a review of a Roundhouse live steam engine.

Also, after talking extensively with Dave Meyers at Gaterfoam I had ordered a piece custom cut to serve as the backdrop for my T-trak module. When I picked it up, it was so light and strong I couldn't believe it. I am planning on using full seven foot long pieces for my own HO layout and we chatted a bit about how I could set them up and mount them. He was very helpful, as was his assistant (wife?). Shipping the stuff will be costly but since they are based in Vermont we agreed to just have me drive over and pick them up, or meet part way and exchange them. I won't order and install them until the basement ceiling is in, though.

Finally, I purchased some Japanese prototype trains. Now, I should point out that I really have no idea what Japanese engines or rolling stock go together prototypically, or what eras trains belong in, or what regions they are from. I just know what I like. And I saw only two vendors (one of which was National Capital Trains) selling Japanese trains, including the gorgeous Kato #D51 2-8-2 mikado (#2016-9). When I asked the seller if it ran as well as the American mikados he said "better." But, it was clearly an impulse purchase so I first wandered away to the Kato display table.

After talking with them a bit about how finding Japanese trains in the USA was impossible, I went back and bought the steamer. I asked the seller if he had any cars appropriate to pull behind it but he said no. So, I wandered back to the Kato booth who confirmed that a coach set I had seen at the table showing the steamer on the back of the box was a good match. I then went a third time to the same seller and bought the coaches (#10-034). So, now I can run something when displaying my T-trak module. As it turns out, while purchasing my coaches I ran into someone who told me about a vendor somewhere (who lived about 15 minutes from me, as it turns out!) who had purchased a large collection of Japanese trains and wanted to sell them. What a small world this is.

There were other great things I saw, people I managed to connect with again like old friends from Rochester and the RIT Model Railroad Club, and vendors I talk with every year. But, it just felt different this year. Next year, I think I will need to coax my wife to coming back with me!

I will leave you with a couple of nice T-trak modules I took pictures of: