Just got back to Ohio from attending this great event. I want to echo everyone's comments on the appreciation for everyone involved in putting on this event. You can tell a ton of effort went into it. As for the layout this was the first time I have seen it in person and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!.
Yes, a great time for sure. It was nice to see everyone for this fun event. Thanks to OGR and the NJ High-Railers for putting this together.
The layout has had some great changes since I'd last been there a few years back.
Tuscan Jim, it was nice meeting you and chatting a bit. I hope you got to take in a lot of the layout after we split up. There is always something else to see for future visits! 
-Dave
This was a terrific event and I had a great time. I'm very happy to have been able to attend and meet the OGR staff and the many NJ HiRailers who told me about their club and their immense layout - which is absolutely phenomenal! The only problem is that I saw so many outstanding engines in display/storage cases along the walls that I may not be able to stop myself from going out and buying more trains for myself...
MELGAR
Here are some shots from the party. I have to say it was a great time and I think it was enjoyed by all. Thanks to all the guests who donated raffle items.
And thanks to OGR for 50 terrific years
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Well, I expected to have a great time, but this event truly exceeded my expectations: great speakers, great food, great music (I could not believe they actually had an organ and organist), and, of course, the layout, IMO, is a Wonder of the World. Any of you folks who hasn't seen it, needs to see it.
Do yourself a favor and see it. Arnold
Always have a great time at the club with a great bunch of guys! Good seeing the whole OGR crew! Happy birthday here’s to another 50! 🎊🎈
Thanks for the pics Chris.
The twin towers city scene is great! Really stunning.
Even the Eagles getting thoroughly thrashed last night couldn't put a damper on the last 4 days between York and the OGR Birthday party. It's putting it mildly to say the hangover from the last 4 days is hitting me hard this morning. I had a great time meeting new friends and getting to see old friends again - can't put a price on the experience!
Yesterday was great getting to hear all the speakers and their stories on how they got into the hobby and on the history of OGR. The sentiment which echoed many times yesterday was how instrumental OGR has been providing a forum to connect hobbyists from all areas and walks of life. That was on display in full force over the course of the last 4 days! Yesterday, there were people from as far away as California and the Netherlands in attendance! It is a legacy everyone at the magazine from Myron Biggar to the entire current staff can be proud of.
My thanks to everyone for coming together yesterday to make it a truly wonderful event to be a part of!
In closing, the one future item I really looking forward to from Lionel: Lionel Ale!!! 
- Greg
Wish I didn't have to leave for a family event just as the speakers were hitting their stride. Congrats to OGR and to Chris Lord on his ascension to the presidency of NJ highrailers. Ben set the bar pretty high, you seem to have taken up the challenge. To a person club members were friendly, helpful, pointed out things to see, that's the difference between an average organization and a great one.
Thanks for the pics......sorry I missed it.
Peter
Hey all.......wished I could have made it. I even had a hotel reservation, that I had to cancel. Reason being that my daughter- in-law was/still is about to give birth to twin boys. So rather than be present at the 50th, I went straight home on Saturday, after a G R E A T York, and waited on "stand by".
Still waiting on the twins, ......but I WILL somehow bring my son & his boys to a TrainStock. The cooks' talents, (Vinnie) and his chicken marsalla (sp) are worth the trip. And the bread used in the sandwiches.......they say "it's in the water".
Thanks for all of the photos. We sure missed being there.
I was there is sperit!
It was a great event and great to hear the stories of the speakers. You see them from the prior posts. For me, it's interesting to think about the way our train world has changed. When I got back into it 25 years ago, engines were semi-scale, steamers smoked and diesels didn't, you controlled the trains using the ZW handles and there were two magazines which "pushed" information. Interactive information didn't exist other than person to person. Now, there are lots of scale engines; all of them smoke; engines and cars talk; command control is the thing and we get our information from 2 magazines AND the OGR Forum. A lot of people on this Forum also attend York, and OGR provides us the Grandstand summary of events (on the Forum if you cannot attend in person) and Thursday at Quaker State.
All these changes have enabled many of us (read the posts) to make friends from different geographic areas. IMO, OGR provides us with a lot that they don't get directly paid for, so I believe in supporting OGR because they provide me with benefits which I value.
As a member of the NJ Hi-Railers and a person who helped to organize this event, I would like to give a big shout out to Lionel, MTH, Atlas, METCA (TCA) and LOTS for providing speakers and the great raffle prizes they handed out. We truly appreciate their contributions.
Gerry
Was a fantastic day with lots of fun, train running, food, presentations and train conversation.
Here are more pictures of our speakers and guests.
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Arnold D. Cribari posted:T Minus 3 days and counting!
Hello Arnold, saw you at the event, wanted to stop anf chat as every time I got near you were quite busy. Maybe next time
Ron
RonH posted:Arnold D. Cribari posted:T Minus 3 days and counting!
Hello Arnold, saw you at the event, wanted to stop anf chat as every time I got near you were quite busy. Maybe next time
Ron
Looking forward to speaking to you too, Ron.
Everything was wonderful on Sunday, the trains, the food, the music, the people, but what I found most special was the people. Maybe the trains make us all joyful, interesting and fun to be around. Arnold
Never had a bad time visiting the New Jersey Hi-Railers. Every member is very welcoming and are the best hosts! When Vinnie is cooking, it's so good sometimes I forget about the trains!! I didn't win a raffle prize, but I did sample some of the delicious food and a few hot dogs!! Hot dogs and trains just go together!!
Happy Birthday to "O" Gauge Railroading Magazine. May they have continued success in the future!
And thank you, New Jersey Hi-Railers for hosting and providing another tremendous event!
One of the few times I actually did win a door prize, but I think almost anyone could have had one if they wanted it. They called out four or five numbers that weren't there before someone actually took one of the cars.
Hope you held on to your ticket, GRJ--I hear there's an audit pending!
Dave45681 posted:...Tuscan Jim, it was nice meeting you and chatting a bit. I hope you got to take in a lot of the layout after we split up. There is always something else to see for future visits!-Dave
Likewise, Dave. I did a full 360, documenting my way with plenty of photographs! I'm looking forward to a return visit in the future.
Hmm... I actually set the ticket on the G-scale layout there, I figured they couldn't draw it twice. They didn't seem like they were checking, I should have gotten a second car, I wonder if that would have flown.
It was a truly wonderful and memorable event in every respect. My personal--and professional--thanks to the entire NJ Hi-Railers crew for providing us with an anniversary party that will long be remembered. Wendy and I thoroughly enjoyed both the layout and the people, not to mention Vinny's superb cuisine. Bernie even treated us to a viewing of a very special item in his office.
We had to leave the party a bit early in order to spend some time with daughter Katie in Philadelphia before returning to Ohio, but in one way that was a good thing because we did get to enjoy some family time together. Today we learned that Katie is currently in the emergency room at a Philly hospital with an as-yet-undiagnosed illness. That being the case, I'll be likely be taking Wendy to the train station in Pittsburgh very early tomorrow morning for another Amtrak ride to Philadelphia.
Again, my heartfelt thanks to the NJ Hi-Railers for a great event packed with great people. It doesn't get much better than that!
Allan, very sorry to hear about your daughter's illness, I hope it's nothing major and she's out and around soon!
Yes, likewise, keep us posted.
Glad (as far as I know) everyone safely got to where they needed to be as the rain driving home to Philly was quite intense at times.
gunrunnerjohn posted:Allan, very sorry to hear about your daughter's illness, I hope it's nothing major and she's out and around soon!
Ditto Allan. (It was good to see you and chat a bit Sunday )
I took a lot of pictures of the layout, and not to many of the people presenting and such. So, here are the OGR Birthday peeps, NJ Hi-Railers, Lionel, MTH, and everyone else who got caught in my phone's eye. Amazingly, there was only one blurry picture that was taken, that was on the layout towards Flushing of one of the bridges. Everything else is clear. Enjoy.
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Allan,
I hope your daughter is out of the hospital and feeling better soon.
MELGAR
One other thing that I forget to mention but I want to rectify my omission.
A huge thank you and appreciation to Matt Horning, who’s desire to run trains at a young age planted the seeds that created this fabulous community that I am very happy to be part of.
Than you, Matt!!
gunrunnerjohn posted:Hmm... I actually set the ticket on the G-scale layout there, I figured they couldn't draw it twice. They didn't seem like they were checking, I should have gotten a second car, I wonder if that would have flown.
Hey G.R.J, at least you got the Lionel guy to mark the R.M.T. boxcar "Lionel". Why push your luck?
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Allan, best wishes for Katie.
Brian, we don't have any California members yet. That would be cool. Only $87.50 for an associate membership, and next time you and Lynley could come decked out in NJHR attire.
Gerry
It's good to remember that the NJ-HR folks have controllable webcams that you can access and look around the layout. It's a cool way to leisurely check out all the sights. 
Hope your daughter gets better Allan.
Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:Hope your daughter gets better Allan.
She had an emergency appendectomy last night. Took Wendy to the Pittsburgh Amtrak station early this morning and she is now on her way back to Philadelphia. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Glad to hear she's well on her way to recovery!
-Greg
Wow, good to hear that they got that her in before it got really bad. My mom had that done when I was real little.
Allan Miller posted:Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:Hope your daughter gets better Allan.
She had an emergency appendectomy last night. Took Wendy to the Pittsburgh Amtrak station early this morning and she is now on her way back to Philadelphia. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Been there, done that, I arrived and within an hour I was in surgery. Mine had burst, and I was in the hospital for six days, I hope she's lucky and gets out pronto! I suspect she's in good hands and will be up and around in no time.
Allan....sorry to hear about your daughter's illness.
Peter
Myron looks good.....wish I could have been there to speak with him.....
Peter
Putnam Division posted:Myron looks good.....wish I could have been there to speak with him.....
Peter
Meeting him was a highlight of the day for me!
-Greg
Finally I have had a chance to sit down and make a post in this wonderful thread.... Being away from the daily OGR business for well over a week has had me playing catch up!
I have to say that this York was the most special of the Yorks I have attended because of the fantastic celebration that the NJHR crew arranged, hosted, and paid for in honor of the 50th OGR Birthday Celebration. While a number of club members were involved in all of this, Gerry Morlitz was my spearhead as far as updates over the months as he and his committee made all of the arrangements for the event. No one at OGR had a hand in any of this....Gerry and the NJHR took the bull by the horns and made everything happen without a hitch! As you can see from all of the pictures posted above, they put on a first class act and one that the OGR crew will have always have in our memories!
I could go on and on about every detail and how I and everyone that attended had a fantastic time enjoying the world class layout and Vinny's world class food....but....OGR is planning some special coverage in a future issue and I will be devoting my entire Publisher's Corner in run 310 specifically covering this event so for now I will just say on behalf of myself, my partners, and our entire OGR staff....a heartfelt thanks goes out from all of us to the New Jersey Hi-Railers and to all of the manufacturers and forum members as well as subscribers for making this a great 50 years! Not only do we celebrate 50 years of continuous publication but we celebrate each and everyone of you for your support of what many believe is THE publication and forum that represents the standard of the hobby today! My humble gratitude and sincere thanks to you all!!
Alan, one thing you can pretty well count on, the NJ-HR guys are a class bunch and they always do it right.
I wish I could have been there but I had a family party to attend.
Allan, happy to hear that your daughter is okay.
Alan,
Beautiful summation.
Amen!
Ed Boyle
A good time was had by all. Thanks everyone
Alan, I can tell you that we were glad to have the party and celebrate OGR's birthday. A lot of the club members put in a lot of effort to make this the party it was. Only those who were there could really know what a great time and celebration it was. As a club, we are delighted that we were able to participate in this celebration with you.
Gerry
I immensely enjoyed the event and the NJ Hi-Railers fantastic layout. Great thanks to NJHR and congratulations again to OGR on fifty years.
MELGAR
