These are taken from the Will Huffman Train Expo held in Williamsport, PA this past weekend.
The first photo shows a PLAYMOBILE train layout. I thought this would be silly but it struck me as being extremely delightful... Pure whimsy and fun. i loved the color and the large over sized operating accessories. Sadly, the engines are no longer made and the buildings, etc., are only available at much higher prices than previously sold for. I liked this layout very, very, much.
The second photo, my wife said he is the guy from the Monopoly game, wished me a "bah humbug" Christmas. Somebody must have broken his train.
The European themed layout is done in rare TT vintage equipment. It was very cool to watch. Almost all of the supporting scenery had to be scratch built. I have one NYC steam engine in TT.
Finally, picture wise anyway, there was a gentleman there who handcrafted the wooden trains. Judge for yourselves but I think he does a very nice job.
My multi-scale NYC steam engine comparison attracted many adults but most kids wanted to see things that were moving and whistling. I put a sheet of Plexiglas in front of my bookcase and still had about 4 - 5 youngsters who tried to reach behind it to fondle the engines. In all cases but one their parents stopped them. I had to collar (verbally) one little critter.
I was in a room with a large O scale layout consisting of mostly circus trains running in concentric loops. There were also two N scale and one S scale layout in the room with me.
Other rooms had HO, more N and O, the TT, and a Standard gauge layout.
It was great fun talking to all of the people. Many asked me, "which scale is the best to start with?". After asking them questions about who was going to be the operator, how much room they had, and what their budget was I gave my honest advice. I did recommend O several times, along with HO and N once or twice. There was great camaraderie among the exhibitors. Those running the show provided lunch for both of our days as wells as unending snacks and cold drinks.
I hope they invite me back for next year.
Great fun!
