An Incredible Trip-Cincinnati & Mercer

You had a big time "A" list tour.  Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.  Job well done.  I am due for a trip back to Mercer.  That is one great store with great people.

Marty

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Excellent, worthwhile trip.  The amount of model railroading talent out there is amazing!  Thanks for sharing your pics, Steve.

David

Very, very nice !!

Glad you had a good time.  Thanks for sharing it with us.

 That is one Great Road Trip. Thanks for sharing.

Looks like a very nice trip with some great layout tours. Thanks for posting all the pics.

Thanks for posting 

Awesome trip!! What amazing hosts!!! A big thanks for sharing all of the photos. Cincinnati is a real gem in the crown of o gauge and o scale layouts. 

That's a great trip you had.  Thanks for documentating and sharing with us.

-Greg

Steve 

looked like a great trip with beautiful layouts. 

Alex 

Fantastic pics! Thank you!

Peter

Wow, Bob Bartezek, Bill Bramlage, Gayle Roching, Bob Hilkerich, all Have Out of this World Better than Museum Quality Model Railroads. All have Fantastic Personalaties....If you watch OGR, THE VIDEO, Most of these fellows have been guest of Rich Melvin, and their layouts were featured in detail for our viewing and enjoyment. Now, OGR, THE VIDEO, #12 has Mercer Junction, and owner Dave Minarek as a Featured guest in living color with his amazing layout...Its Amazing. One other important fact you should know, Dave Minarek is a famous Drummer, in a fantastic Band that played on the Dave Letterman Show, the famous stage that Ed Sullivan used to introduce new Celebrities, like Elvis and The Beatles. So, you should count your Lucky Stars!!! This is a great thread...

Now, the pictures above are really good, but, seeing these layouts in person is well worth the trip to Cincinnati...I plan a trip to see Dave, for an autograph, and his very nice Store and Layout....Thanks for sharing your trip.

Glad you had a good trip. Thanks for the memories (pics).

leapinlarry posted:

Wow, Bob Bartezek, Bill Bramlage, Gayle Roching, Bob Hilkerich, all Have Out of this World Better than Museum Quality Model Railroads. All have Fantastic Personalaties....If you watch OGR, THE VIDEO, Most of these fellows have been guest of Rich Melvin, and their layouts were featured in detail for our viewing and enjoyment. Now, OGR, THE VIDEO, #12 has Mercer Junction, and owner Dave Minarek as a Featured guest in living color with his amazing layout...Its Amazing. One other important fact you should know, Dave Minarek is a famous Drummer, in a fantastic Band that played on the Dave Letterman Show, the famous stage that Ed Sullivan used to introduce new Celebrities, like Elvis and The Beatles. So, you should count your Lucky Stars!!! This is a great thread...

Now, the pictures above are really good, but, seeing these layouts in person is well worth the trip to Cincinnati...I plan a trip to see Dave, for an autograph, and his very nice Store and Layout....Thanks for sharing your trip.

Larry

It was the OGR videos that inspired me to take the trip. I have viewed them all including the CD with your layout. If you have not seen the OGR Video's by all means do so, they are ALL GOOD !!!  Thank for all the kind comments

Steve

Randy, Steve,

It was great meeting you both!  I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you took the time to stop by on your trip!

I will see you the next time!

Dave

I wish I had known you fellows were going to make a stop in Mercer. I would like to have said hello. I tend to spend a fair amount of time, not to mention a few dollars, at Dave's shop, and my girlfriend and I are also big supporters of The Clarks--the band Dave pounds the drums with (since the group was formed some 30 years ago).

Now that's a great trip,and a great group pf people, thanks for sharing!!!

Steve, A friend named Jim Bengert from Evansville, Indiana (model railroad named Railroad Express) took several of us operators up to see several of the layouts you just visited and when we saw them, WE WERE SIMPLY AMAZED.....We visited Bill Bramlage in his older home which housed his layout that was on the second or third OGR Video.  It was a sight to behold, expecially when he started the Fire Works Display. WOW... Bill took us on Tour.... Gale Rochings layout was so Cool, a 16 by 16 layout with such dynamite scenery and turntable by AAA and stations that lined the walls hand made especially for him, WOW....One of the neatest ideas we learned from Gayle was his swinging door to his train layout.  It was a 2 track trestle bridge that was sturdily hinged to the entrance of his train room....Then we saw Bill Hillerichs layout above his three car garage and again, a solid Oak frame work held up his Layout...Shelves of endless trains, another Jaw Dropping experience....My thoughts are, going to see Mercer Junction as soon as I retire and re-visiting all of these folks and running trains.  Although I have nothing compared to these folks in size, they make me feel right at home....This is truly a fun and wonderful hobby, The People make it that way....Happy Railroading         We also visited Rocky at Dixie Union Station, another great ambassador of the hobby...

What a great trip!  Thanks for posting.

Greatly appreciate the many kind responses and e-mails received.

Steve

Oh Yes, I forgot one other amazing Place Bill Bramlage took us when making the layout tour, (which I started earlier in this great post) was Davis Electric Train Store, Or maybe the name was Davis Electric. They had 3 levels of nothing but trains and related....They are no longer in business.  Now, we have Mercer Junction, led by a Young man with Many Talents. Dave Minarek, someday soon, we will be by to see you. Let's have fun with our Trains.....