We made it to the Big E yesterday. Here are my observations:
- To the commenter above who said "the roads weren't bad", I'll have to disagree. Our drive from Rhode Island which normally takes two hours took three. The last 25 miles were going at 40mph on the Mass Pike (normally 65 mph).
- My friend that we met up with (roommate from college) had the same experience driving in from the Berkshires in northwestern Mass.
- We went however, because we took the philosophy that we were driving into it and, if it got bad or impassable, we would just turn around. I'm glad we made that call because, while it did get a little sketchy at the end, for the most part, it was just winter driving in New England.
- The crowds in the halls were down visibly. Even though we got a late start, we finished earlier than last year. We attributed this to 1) familiarity with some of the exhibitors, but more so, 2) because we could walk around and not trudge around behind too many slow people.
- I found prices to be slightly lower than last year but there were still many tinplate sellers with what I refer to as "I want to carry it back home" pricing.
- We missed seeing many of the metro New Yorkers from the forum and otherwise.
- I hadn't realized that Bill Schmeelk of LCCA fame now works for Lionel and was pleased to chat with him at the Lionel booth. The 4-5 kiddie height tables they had set up were well used when I was there.
- MTH's Standard Gauge W&A General set was kind of "kool" for a kitschy item, if you know what I mean.
- I continue to think the world of that European Train Enthusiasts' HO layout in Mallary.
- There was a 1:1 Speeder on display in the Better Living Center hall, near Charles Ro, which we enjoyed. It was a good photo opp.
- Speaking of Charles Ro: He had some very good "dumpster diving" boxes available again this year with very low priced odds and ends (e.g., loose O22 switch controllers in need of rewiring for $2 each).
- I only ran into one guy who was crop dusting and I had to be talked out of going up and kicking him in his rear end. Most other people seemed to be pretty well scrubbed. Perhaps the smellier attendees are more disproportionately scared of driving in snow than others....
- I gotta tell ya, if you're a Flyer guy, the Big E is your show. There were more very large tables/booths devoted exclusively to American Flyer tinplate than I think is even typically seen at York.
- My college roommate is a G Scale guy and I did note, vicariously through him, that there seemed to be less G Scale than past years.
- We made one observation that comes under a heading of "dark humor":
- Last year, the large G Scale club layout in the Mallary hall was multi-tiered with the tallest tier being close to 6' high. By luck last year, we were there when an operator error had caused a G Scale loco to fall from the highest tier to the floor. The club members seemed to be divided into two distinct personality types: About half were ashen-faced and reeling from the blow while the others were red-faced and rip-sh*t and looking like they wanted to punch somebody's lights out. It was an interesting display of the diversity of human nature, if you will.
- This year, we noted that the layout was changed and highest tier was about 4 feet. There were very few areas that weren't protected by a table beneath the tracks.
- I enjoyed a live demonstration of how to make static grass at the Scenery Express booth.
- My personal litmus test for scenery is good water and there were several layouts this year with substantially improved water over prior years. There are just too many exhibitors in my opinion -- for such a high-quality show -- who think that slapping aqua paint on a ripply board is good enough.
- I LOVE -- and I do mean LOVE -- the modular sections done by the children, also in the Mallary hall, not too far from the Lego layout. There's an organized youth model railroader club and they have a module contest. Each kid is scored and there's a winner. My only regret is that the kids aren't there personally to be congratulated. Some are going to be first-rate modelers a few years down the road.
- The large Maine-based HO layout in the center of one of the halls seemed to have upped their game this year in terms of the quality of the modules. Two of their massive freightyards were stunning with rows of red/green LED switch lights that were pure eye candy. I generally like chatting with them too; They seem like nice guys.
- I was blown away by the length of some of the trains this year, particularly on some of the N Scale layouts. I saw at least ten 40-50 car consists.
- I enjoy stopping by an operating S Scale layout that's a pretty fair piece of modeling, but doesn't shy away from including a few Flyer tinplate accessories and trains. I particularly enjoy the looks on their faces when tell them every year that "Flyer S is fine, but it's got the wrong number of rails." I'm sure they see me coming and say "Here comes that 3-rail ahem-hole again..."
- We also enjoy making the same jokes every year, particularly about the fact that beer is sold in the halls at the concession stands and how dangerous that could be in the overall scheme of things. After a couple of toots, some really, really questionable purchases could be made...
- Lastly, we were pleased to see one of the biggest human beings -- let alone biggest model-railroaders -- that I've ever personally seen at the show again. My roommate from college is 6'7" and the people he looks up at are few and far in between. This guy goes about 7'1" and carries 375 pounds gracefully, sort of in the way that Shaquille O'Neill does. We refer to him as "The Z-Scale Modeler" and I am always pleased to see him back. You can't miss him.
The drive home was actually more difficult than the drive in and it was snowing harder. It was worse than last year. Perhaps someone will explain to me why, every year, the 14 days leading up to the Big E show feature blue skies without a cloud anywhere, but the day of the show is invariably nasty cold and snowy.
If you stayed home, I hope you got things done. If you were at all concerned about the roads, you made the right call. For me, I'm glad we went. There is no downside to trains.
Steven J. Serenska
