River city 3 railers,
Looks super and all the best for a wonderful show. I assume this is the link on the science museum web page- very impressive!
Exciting times!!
hokie71 posted:River city 3 railers,
Looks super and all the best for a wonderful show. I assume this is the link on the science museum web page- very impressive!
Yes it is!
For the Museum, it’s their biggest 3 days of the year, averaging between 4000-5000 people daily and is the the period when they sell a large number of their yearly Family Memberships. It is great fun for us. The crowds are really imbued with the holiday spirit (and all of us who display are, too!).
Peter
It has really grown since I last attended in the early ‘90s!!
Peter, Can you please share the table top size of the time saver layout? That looks like a fun project for me to do with my boys this winter. Thanks!
Peter
Timesaver is 32"x144". I'll need to look up the Run#, but I built it for an OGR article. I have a ton of pictures of the construction if you are interested.
Thanks Gilly!! That looks like it could be lots of fun. That would be great if you could share some photos and the Run #. Do you recall the size of the “Y” switches?
Peter
Great! Thanks!!
It's 0600 in Central VA and in a little over 2 hours our 8 weekend train season begins.....Stay turned for pictures and videos cataloging the fun!
Come and visit if you can!
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Peter, Thank you for always posting photographs and videos from your group shows. I’m sorry I am too far away to attend.
A spectacular 3 day event.....the SMVs goal was 10,000 attendees and they made it easily...
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The other layouts at the show.....the Lego layout....
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There were 5 Gauge layouts at the show....we had 3 (12x42, 6x11 & ~4x6).
The Rappahannock Railroaders have a multiage layout in a trailer and there was the O gauge Silver Rail Club.
The Silver Rail Club
Peter
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Then there were those "smaller scales"
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As busy as it all looked....in 2 hrs it was gone......The show closed at 5PM....and the final pics were taken right at 7PM.......on to our next show! The Great Big GreenHouse!
Mid afternoon scene.....
Show closes at 5PM......about 5:45 PM
it was 6:59 on my iPhone......
We are already booked for 2020.
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Peter, Thank you for the great photographs!!! The show has sure grown since I attended around 30 years ago!!
We've had a great time running trains for the public in suburban Richmond this year......here are more pictures.....Yesterday, we let the public run some trains on the club layout.....
Peter
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A few of the trains we ran yesterday......
Ken's (Kanawha's) C&O passenger set.....the passenger cars were kits and built by him.....
A young model railroader's consist on a "run your train" weekend.....
Enjoy!
Peter
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A Legacy Mohawk and a vintage Postwar steam hi ball down the right of way.....
Peter
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A great "Christmas Story" shared with the group by modular member Chuck.....
Today as I was standing at the Raffle Table a lady came over and said how much she loved looking at this "beautiful train layout." She asked me several questions about it and then said she came into the GBGH because she had to replace a bush in her yard. She told me that when she saw the train layout and all the trains and all the people young and old, smiling and having so much fun it really put her in the Christmas Spirit. She said she walked around the entire layout and was so impressed about the beauty of it all.
While we were talking a young family bought $5.00 of raffle tickets.
When the woman and I started talking again, she asked about the raffle and said she wanted to make a donation. I pointed to the donation box and said she could put a donation in that box if she wished. She said, "No what I mean is I want to buy some raffle tickets." I said that is fine and I asked how many would she like. She said, "What I want you to do is take my tickets and give them to the families here who can't afford to buy tickets." I said "OK" how many tickets do you want to buy; she handed me a $50.00 bill and said, "As many tickets as this will buy." I asked "Do you want change?" She said, "No, I want you to use it all." I thanked her for her kindness and asked for her name and she said she just wanted to make this an anonymous donation and to help people enjoy the holidays a little more. As I passed out the free tickets to the families I could find, I told them these came from someone who wants you to have a some fun while you are here."
I have been thinking about that act of kindness since I left the GHBG today. I always tell my friends that RC3C is about people who love trains and sharing that love and enjoyment with thousands of others and bringing smiles to their faces and a little happiness to their hearts. But today, I saw another level, we gave a lady who started out not having a very good day the opportunity to start her day over by watching some beautiful trains and watching the children and families smile and feel the Christmas spirit, and she had the opportunity to participate in giving that Holiday Spirit to others. This is the most amazing club I have ever seen. I am so proud to be a colleague with such amazing rail fans.
I thank each of you for making the Christmas Spirit come alive in people we will never know by name. I am sure they will be talking about the amazing trains that saw at the GBGH well past this beautiful season.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each of you.
Chuck
......a great story.....Peter
Very touching story!
Putnam Division posted:A great "Christmas Story" shared with the group by modular member Chuck.....
...When the woman and I started talking again, she asked about the raffle and said she wanted to make a donation. I pointed to the donation box and said she could put a donation in that box if she wished. She said, "No what I mean is I want to buy some raffle tickets." I said that is fine, how many would she like. She said, "What I want you to do is take my tickets and give them to the families here who maybe can't afford to buy tickets." I said "OK" how many tickets do you want to buy, she handed me a $50.00 bill and said, "As many tickets as this will buy." I asked "Do you want change?" She said, "No, I want you to use it all." I thanked her for her kindness and asked for her name and she said she just wanted to make this an anonymous donation and to help people enjoy the holidays a little more. As I passed out the free tickets to the families I could find, I told them these came from someone who wants you to have a some fun while you are here."...I thank each of you for making the Christmas Spirit come alive in people we will never know by name. I am sure they will be talking about the amazing trains that saw at the GBGH well past this beautiful season.
Peter
That's absolutely AWESOME, Peter.
Great story Peter. It's the kind of story that makes you go home with a big smile on your face.
Last week, we made the local weekly paper......
Gilly did a great job!
Peter
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Congratulations. You guys perform a real service to your community.
Congratulations! It is always good to get more exposure to the public.
A nice lady with small children showed up Saturday night to run her dad's train. it was bought when he was about 5 years old. She had a scuffed and dirty 2026 steamer. After little coaxing we got it to run. The unit works fine. It was a little sluggish as one might expect after not being run for about 35 years and being stored in an attic.
It also was accompanied by 6032 gondola and a 6035 tank car.
I think I can trace the set back to the 1953 catalog. Set 15015.
I sent the lady to Tiny Tim's trains up in Ashland, Virginia. They have a repair man who excels in postwar. It should cleanup nice.
Needless to say, the lady was thrilled to see her father's train run again.
Peter
Oops! Forgot the most important item....the picture.......from the 1953 catalog.....
Peter
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Peter, That is a great story you were able to help her out!!
That is the same set my older daughter found in the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and gave me for Christmas 2013. I had wanted a train set for when I was a boy, but Dad told me to save my money, and I opted for a less expensive Tyco HO set back in '68 or '69. May I copy the catalog photograph you posted?
Mark Boyce posted:Peter, That is a great story you were able to help her out!!
That is the same set my older daughter found in the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and gave me for Christmas 2013. I had wanted a train set for when I was a boy, but Dad told me to save my money, and I opted for a less expensive Tyco HO set back in '68 or '69. May I copy the catalog photograph you posted?
Absolutely!
Peter
Thank you, Peter!
Last Saturday was the Great Big GreenHouse's Kids Day in the Garden......a kid-friendly indoor event which drew about 700-800 kids and their families. It also signifies the end of our modular event year that began in October. It was a great ride and we all had fun.
Here are the pics of the final day.....
A PostWar F3 gets into the act.....
The MTH helicopter car is a big hit!
We had a blast, as usual!
Peter
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Take dawn is always sad and we are packed and loaded in just under 2.5 hrs.....you can see that we employ Schnabel technology to move our big pieces....
A large part of the group.....
Peter
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Teamwork and a great plan! Great job!
Thanks for the photos Peter. It's a privilege to be a member of this great group!
February has been great start to the 2020 season!
The 1st goal was a "leftover" from 2019.....do our PowerCart for the big layout.
A big "thank you" to the National capital Trackers for the idea and inspiration.
Thank you to modular group member Wally U for building it.
Thank you to modular group member Rick S for the staining and polyurethane application.
Next up is the wiring....
Peter
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Today was our annual planning and "pancake breakfast" meeting at my house.....we quite a group of hungry O gauge railroader. We had pumpkin and regular pancakes, supplemented by breakfast meats, donuts, bagels, coffee and fresh OJ. Thanks to all who participated. We typical plan an overview of our year at this meeting, elect new officers, review our finances and introduce new members.
As you can see, we had a great time.....
The RR crossing sign helps new members find the house......
We have quite agenda this year......rewire the yard on the 20x42 layout. Run trains at the shopping center one day a month. Finish scenery and revise the track plan on the 12x15 layout. Rewire the 6x11 Postwar layout.
Acquire sets for raffle and build a layout to raffle.
Then the all the potential and confirmed dates/exhibitions:
VTC show in Richmond: March
Ettrick/Mattoaca Rail Days: July
VTC show in Charlottesville: July
Chesterfield County Fair: August
Midlothian Days: October
Ashland Rail Days: November
Science Museum of Virginia: November
Great Big GreenHouse: December into mid-January 2021
Peter
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Beautiful job on the power cart. Looks like a great group to have their.
The power cart looks so good, I would be afraid to transport it to shows for fear of banging it up!
Pancake breakfast day already!!! I see a plate of pancakes I forgot to eat!! Looks like quite a lineup of events for the year!
