|
Post by Traindiesel! on Oct 21, 2021 3:33:19 GMT
It has arrived. After a two year wait……Finally…… Traindiesel has come back…… home.
The Train Collectors Association Eastern Division Toy Train Meet, the Reining, Defending, Undisputed biggest and greatest train meet in the world is set to begin at noon Thursday. It has trains, food, gatherings, food, friends, parties, food and trains everywhere!!
So here is some of the fun we had so far.
37,000ft. “Hey, Hoser, look! Snowwww”
Spent the day at the Strasburg Railroad.
Then we took a ride.
A row of Corvettes.
The Norfolk and Western J 4-8-4 #611 parked near the shops. The Strasburg Railroad Shop will be doing some maintenance/repair work on her. It’s tender was on a siding next to the shop.
Thomas at rest peeking out of the engine house.
After a visit and dinner with some lifelong friends, we headed back to the hotel to relax and watch some playoff baseball.
That concludes the first day of our trip. Tomorrow the colorful Halls of the York Fairgrounds open and I’ll be walking those aisles high styling’, WOOOOO, and profilin’!
Tune in tomorrow for more of The Adventures of Traindiesel!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2021 13:30:07 GMT
Wow! This is like watching Superman on tv years ago. Go Traindiesel.
|
|
|
Post by Traindiesel! on Oct 23, 2021 4:02:56 GMT
It’s been such a great time here. So much so that I got so caught up on shopping and socializing that I didn’t save enough time to update yesterday. So let’s catch up!
Thursday October 21. Started off a bit slowly. My wife Lynley had a root canal done on Monday before we left and still had some pain and didn’t sleep well so we missed a breakfast gathering. But she felt a bit better and we got to the Fairgrounds in time for the opening. We started in the dealers Orange Hall.
It was obvious from the start that this Meet would be different. Some major dealers and members not attending for different reasons. Some feared the virus, and rightfully so. Lots of empty tables and wide aisles gave it an ominous look. It seemed to me that there was a lot of the same product, engines and rolling stock in the booths. Good amount of recent stuff though.
But in spite of these things the vibe was still present. There was excitement in the air! Or maybe it was just me! It looked like a train meet in transition from the effect of the virus and product logistical issues. I believe the Meet will get better as the fear of the virus dissipates and some dealers return in future events.
I can only speak for myself but I wasn’t finding locomotives that I really wanted. I saw several that I had been searching desperately for the last several years but had already acquired. Where were they five years ago!!?? But then I realized the reason I wasn’t finding anything exciting. I already have them! I guess it’s time to focus more on layout materials.
Another thing I found amusing was some of the pricing. I saw a lot of good deals, and some delusional pricing. A gentleman in the members White Hall was selling the Menards Santa Fe F whatever it is. The professional looking sign blared how rare this engine is. One of only 200!!!! Only $400! It was apparent that some sellers were expecting some people to be throwing money around after being cooped up for so long. Maybe they are right and maybe they’re not.
So I guess my point is that as usual, the Meet will be experienced differently by different people. I’m having a marvelous time seeing everyone after two years.
So here’s the pictures. At the Lionel area the new, future Vision Line offering. The Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 Class A.
There are some special features that will be revealed at a later date. Here’s some more of the Lionel area.
I really like the Coaster Dynamics stuff. But their prices went up a little.
I did a lot more socializing than I did shopping or taking pictures. But hey, I was having too much fun!! It also seemed that the buildings got a lot bigger since the last York Meet. Or maybe I got slower?! Nah, the buildings are bigger.
After the Halls closed we met for dinner with members of the Northern Central Hirailers. A great group of Trainiacs that we ran trains monthly with before we moved.
That concluded our first day at the York Meet. Starting Saturday we have some traveling to do, so I will add Friday’s hijinks as I get a chance.
Tune in tomorrow for more of The Adventures of Traindiesel!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2021 15:56:59 GMT
Brian, Very nice description of your time in York so far. I'm glad to read your enthusiasm for the excitement of York, seeing old friends, while recognizing the two big issues that made this York different than others. However, you also recognize there is no reason to think this is the way it will be in future years.
|
|
|
Post by JDaddy on Oct 24, 2021 1:50:56 GMT
Awesome great time, thanks for sharing!!!
|
|
|
Post by laz57 on Oct 24, 2021 13:21:38 GMT
BRIAN, you outdid yourself. Great time indeed.👍👍
|
|
|
Post by Country Joe on Oct 24, 2021 16:58:02 GMT
Very nice York report, Brian. 👍
|
|
|
Post by Craignor on Oct 24, 2021 21:57:04 GMT
Brian, it was great seeing you two, and being back at York!
|
|
|
Post by Traindiesel! on Oct 25, 2021 2:26:43 GMT
More Adventures of Traindiesel coming soon!!
Its been a busy busy weekend.
|
|
|
Post by Traindiesel! on Oct 27, 2021 8:10:11 GMT
Ok, I'm much later to this than I planned. Ending our days around midnight and waking at 6am all week left me little time to gather my thoughts and write about them! Friday October 22, 2021First off, here's a better picture of the new upcoming Lionel Legacy Norfolk & Western Class A. It is a beauty but I'm not sure I like the shiny boiler paint and the non-shiny tender. But I'm sure it's just the prototype and the produced product will be different. I'm not sure if I'll be in the market for one as I have the TMCC version. I don't usually upgrade for electronics if I already have an engine with command control.We started Friday's festivities with breakfast with train friends at Round The Clock Diner and then headed to the Fairgrounds at the newly reopened Yellow Hall under the grandstand. This Hall was used for social distancing purposes to spread everyone out, which is why the rest of the Halls looked like there were less tables. A lot of people have raved how great it looked. To me it looked the same it always did, just some remodeling of the Fairgrounds food vendor booths, but at least the ceiling wasn't leaking like I remembered. The TCA Museum was selling off some overstock and there was a mixture of post war and modern trains throughout the building. But I could feel the ghosts of Loco Louie, a still growing MTH and several others who have since moved to the Orange Hall. At the Museum tables I got a chance to chat with our esteemed TCA President, Stu Rankin. Always a pleasure talking trains with him. While walking around I spotted a locomotive that I had been wanting but missed out on the pre-order, the Lionel Legacy 4-8-4 Santa Fe #3751. However, I had not acquired the matching passenger cars either. A friend of mine that already had Santa Fe passenger equipment was also looking for this engine. So I gave him a call and alerted him of the prize he was looking for. Fortunately he was able to snag it soon after. I really wanted to get it for myself and locate the matching cars later but I thought it was the right thing to do since he was more ready for it than I was.From there we moved over to the adjacent Purple Hall. Probably because of it's smaller size it seemed more full and active. A good amount of modern product throughout the building. But as I mentioned in my earlier post, not much was calling my name. I loved the handwritten signs on the tables at Neely's Trains. "These make great gifts for your spouse!" and "Please buy a lot. These trains are heavy and my back is killing me!". The layout in the Purple Hall was looking great. When I was watching they had a Big Boy pulling freight and a C&O engine running very slowly pulling a long string of full coal hoppers. And they had what looked like a thunder storm scene but I didn't see it operating. Maybe it didn't. Did anyone else see this??I did find a couple items that were on my "C" list that I've been wanting but other train desires got in the way. Since they were both in the same spot together, I made the purchase. After that we headed for the Silver and Blue Halls. I don't usually visit the member halls since I buy modern and current production trains, unless I am searching for something fairly recent that I haven't been able to find. Recently I have discovered that the MTH Premier plated Burlington E8's have become the White Whale I'm looking for. A search through both Halls were fruitless. I did however find three (3) Lionel scale Penn Central GG1's I had been searching for going on 15 years. That was great!! Except I found one online at a reputable dealer two years ago. And of course the one's I saw at York were less than I paid for mine. But it wasn't a complete loss. On my way out I bought our badges for April's 2022 Meet.Undeterred I raced (slow walked) to the Red and White Halls at about 4pm. Much to my dismay three quarters of the tables were already covered over for the night in both Halls. Their owners...gone for the day! No sign of E8's on what was available to see. I doubt any were under the covers but I never know what I'll see that I may want to buy. Apparently the missing in action table holders had no interest in my money. But more than likely they didn't have anything I'd be interested in. We'll never know. I breezed through the Red and White Halls in about 15 minutes.At that point I headed back to the Orange Hall. I had been wanting a MTH Operating Fire House for a while. Since MTH RailKing buildings future is up in the air I figured I better get one now. There were a few of them throughout the Orange Hall and I picked one up from a reputable dealer. After lugging it out to the rental car (I still ache from shoehorning in and out of that tin can) I went back into the Orange Hall and checked out the Standard Gauge layout. For years those Standard Gauge and Large Scale trains have been the little devil on my shoulder. Years ago when I would visit JusTrains in Delaware, the late Kirke Mitchell would try to tempt me with the MTH large scale GG1 and passenger cars he had in his window. I told him to get away from me!! I was already in the midsts of spending my kids inheritance on O gauge!! On top of that, our esteemed OGF member David1's brother Ron had a magnificent collection of MTH Large Scale train and layout. Every time I saw his layout the sounds and colors were very appealing but so far I have resisted. The Orange Hall layout was really nice.After the Halls closed we went out to dinner with several of our train friends. With all the confusion of whether the York Meet would be held and who would or would not attend, our Friday Night dinner group was smaller than usual. We'll have to spread the word better for April's Meet. The more the merrier I always say! After going back to the hotel I settled back with a soft drink and some snacks and paged through the Lionel Volume II catalog. As the clock struck midnight, reading that late in the evening was sufficient enough to finish me off for the day. Lynley was already asleep. Before turning out the lights I thought about how tomorrow would be the last day at York. It would still be a fun day but the two year wait for this Meet made it unfair that it had gone by so quickly.Tune in tomorrow (or later today) for more of The Adventures of Traindiesel!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2021 13:08:38 GMT
Brian you sure accomplished a ton in a short time! Sounds like you had a great time and good job informing your friend of the 3751.
|
|
|
Post by JDaddy on Oct 27, 2021 16:13:07 GMT
Ha! There is George T. from the Detroit Three railers getting his Challenger running on the Standard Gage layout! Thanks for posting...
|
|
|
Post by firewood on Oct 27, 2021 23:33:00 GMT
Ha! There is George T. from the Detroit Three railers getting his Challenger running on the Standard Gage layout! Thanks for posting... Wonderful pieces of work! Did you see that 7/16" scale BiPolar electric? Dave
|
|
|
Post by JDaddy on Oct 28, 2021 0:26:11 GMT
yes I did. Amazing stuff. Inspired me to buy a 400e and a 293e at York !!!!
|
|
|
Post by curtis on Oct 28, 2021 22:25:22 GMT
Traindiesel Great times and great explanations. Thanks. Sorry I did not get to meet you in one of the halls. Maybe next year. Great job!
|
|