Trainstock 11

RonH posted:

I will be there, looking forward to this and havigthechance to chat with the OG forum folks👍👍

I will be there

Pretty sure we are going to dodge a bullet on the weather   Calling for snow late saturday night now   We should be fine

Last I checked (this morning), snow was expected to start around 3pm, so things would be winding down anyway.

I'm pretty certain I'm going to make it there via public transport, and return home the same way (although getting a lift back to the NJT stop at Broadway and Rosa Parks Blvd by 4:45 would be of massive benefit )

---PCJ

coach joe posted:

Arnold, Mel, Paul, like you I'll be there weather permitting.  It'll be a mini Westchester re-union.

Will be good to see youz guyz again!!! 

I have a prior commitment in the afternoon, so I plan on getting there around opening (10AM) or so and being back on the road to the Poconos by 12 - 12:30ish. Hope you can make it.

I'm coming from the northern reaches of The Bronx, and used to go via the Port Authority on 42nd street. Last time I went it was via the 190 to downtown, then 746 to Madison and 6th. Still a decent walk down to the club.

This time I'm planning to go from the GWB bus terminal, as it lies right at the end of the Bx35 route I normally take to work. So, my itinerary would be: Bx39, Bx41 SBS, Bx35, NJT 171 to B'way+Rosa Parks Blvd and NJT 704 to River st and 5th Ave. Google Maps can't even show this routing. The going-home timing is dicey-er as the return-trip 704 intersects the 171 a few minutes after this hourly service is scheduled to blow through.  Failing a connection back to the 171, there's always the Route 4 jitney which goes back to the GWB terminal.

I do have an account with Uber, if I need to use it.

---PCJ  

Folks, the Gov of New Jersey has declared a State of emergency in New Jersey beginning noon Saturday.  It is unclear what this means for folks traveling to or from Trainstock.  North Jersey will be receiving more snow than the rest of the State but it isn't supposed to begin until the evening.  Can you provide any information on weather you will be proceeding with this event?

The governor of New Jersey is a jerk.  He is gun shy because he screwed up his first snow storm.  It’s not going to snow until after 6 pm.   This is a go 

Ben,

I'm coming up with Locobudd from my club. You still have not said if you are rolling out the red carpeting for the new president of OCSMR? Lol!

See you on Saturday.

Ted

Ted, for you, I'm sure they will roll out the blue and orange carpet, like Dolphins colors!  I'm sorry to miss this.   

Red carpets always out for you ted

Hope everyone has a great time and that there's no impact from the weather.  I want to get there one of those days, but it would require air travel at a dicey time of year.  And it's looking like not trying to fly was a good decision this year.

On my way - Leaving Bucks County Pa / stopping at the Wawa / will been in Jersey shortly

The weather's perfect this morning to travel

Everyone coming be safe - see you there

Joe S

Just leaving the Trenton area with the gang.  See you guys up there!

Safe travels to all you guys, have a great day!

We just got home and we beat the snow! Thanks to Ben and company for a great time and thanks to chef Vinny and staff for the great food (I lLOVE that eggplant!). It was nice seeing everybody! That layout improves every year! 

Thank you High railer family for a great day of food trains and fun!!!!! Beat the snow!!!

Melgar and I had a wonderful time at Trainstock 11 today, beat the snow, and made it home safe. Thank you,  NJ HiRailers. Arnold

Just got home a few minutes ago. My buddy Jersey John and I had a great time at Train Stock after missing the past three due to open house scheduling issues. Great food, good company and plenty of trains, Saw my train repair guy and friend AlexM and his lovely wife Dana. Also saw BDSME Honorary member Chris Lord.

Great time hope next year is just as good.

JohnB

Another enjoyable day up at the NJ Hirailers. The food was its usual simmering fresh and good. The layout has changed from my last visit there with added monitors and cameras to watch the action. Our club layout represents about a 10% of their layout and folks call our layout large! Ok as you say.

Below is another train friendly picture of 2 train buddies who compete against each other every football season. One of these years my team might win. We're missing the guy with the orange shirt(golfing in sunny Florida).

Just arrived home in Connecticut - before any snow began - after visiting Trainstock 11 at NJ HiRailers in Paterson, NJ with Arnold Cribari. I have seen many model railroads in my time but never anything approaching what the NJ HiRailers have created. My compliments to everyone who has helped to build this phenomenal layout. I hope to soon have an opportunity to bring my grandkids to see this work of art and engineering. Had a great time and thanks to all the members who so kindly took the time to talk to us and tell us about the railroad. Am grateful for the opportunity...

MELGAR

Mel, glad you had a good time. I had to miss due illness. Did you see Ed? I saw him on the camera. 

Thanks again to Ben and all the members and associate members for their gracious hospitality especially Vinny and the usual kitchen crew for the wonderful lunch.

Arnold and Mel glad you guys made it sorry we didn't get to talk much.  I got there later than I had expected, right before lunch was served.  Missed you guys before you left after lunch.  Paul, I saw you briefly from a distance but didn't get to say hello.

I did spend quite a bit of time with Railride both before and after lunch.  We were some of the last to leave around 3:30.

First, I want to thank Ben and everyone at the NJ HiRailers for the annual invitation to enjoy their incredible layout. Odd day weather-wise... it was mostly sunny on the way down this morning, and it looked like snow all the way home, but it held off till after I made it back to the Poconos. 

Here are some pics which are sort of a walk around of their enormous layout... starting with a very large collection of NYC Subway cars (the first is one of my all-time favorites - the ‘64-‘65 Worlds Fair cars:

The helix at the far far end of the layout is spectacular. At times, they had two trains going around at once.

I was just taking a picture of the brewery (I am led to believe there are a couple of brewery fans on this forum)... when I got these pics uploaded to my computer I noticed that the subway sign in the upper right is pointing to a well known forumite... sorry I didn’t introduce myself, Sam!!!

These guys like bridges!!!

Did I mention these guys like bridges???

People who live in glass houses...

I can only say, if you ever are in the area, see if you can drop by for a visit.

Paul they really do like bridges.  Ben operated the lift bridge and the bascule bridge for some of us die-hards that stayed late.

Thanks for the stunning photos.  Glad everyone had a good visit and safe return home.

Can you 'veterans' of Trainstock remember your first visit?  I was able to experience that amazement this morning upon walking into this fantastic set up!  Sure, I've seen the many photos and videos that depict this place and quite well. But the impact of a first visit cannot be duplicated any other way.

Thanks to all of you NJHR members who pulled this off for the rest of us. 

Nice images above Paul. Here are a few I caught today to add to the merriment. Hopefully I got close in for some of the amazing detail these fellas have created.

Wow! What a great time, great food, great people, met some people I chatted with on the forum, cannot wait till next year. Thank you: Ron

Thanks to all the NJ Hi Railers for another great time at  Trainstock where each year we have been able to get together and see this outstanding layout, exchange ideas as well as meet old & new friends.

Vinny & kitchen crew - Outstanding job once again.

bluelinec4 posted:

The governor of New Jersey is a jerk.  He is gun shy because he screwed up his first snow storm.  It’s not going to snow until after 6 pm.   This is a go 

Agreed! The State of Emergency applied to Commercial vehicles banned from I195 and North... However I passed several trucks on I287 South Way after Trainstock was done. Thanks Ben F. and Co for a great time and some good food!

It was great to see everyone today - especially those I met for the first time - Arnold, Mel and Sam! Thanks for visiting!  Brad even got Arnold to join!  Welcome to club!! Dinner is on you at the Big E! Lol....That's a humorous story to tell next time I see you.

I'm glad the weather held off..it's like a second Christmas for me.

-Greg 

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Melgar and I had a wonderful time at Trainstock 11 today, beat the snow, and made it home safe. Thank you,  NJ HiRailers. Arnold

Very glad you gentlemen had a good time, beat the snow, and made it home safely, Arnold.

Sincerely, FrankM

Another fantastic Trainstock! Thanks again to all the NJ HiRailers for a great day!

Took a leisurely ride down from eastern Connecticut and glad we did. Not sure where else you could see such an impressive layout.  And then there is the hospitality and food - top notch - thank you. The photo below only shows about a third of the layout!

Hi All,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but here are some photos from yesterday's Trainstock 11 at the NJ Hi-Railers. As usual, it was a day of great trains and great folks. The turnout was lighter than usual, I'm sure due to the impending nasty winter storm, which probably kept a lot of folks from the Midwest and Northeast away. (Thankfully, we on Long Island are getting only heavy rain, though the temps are supposed to plummet today and tonight, which should make getting around a joy.)

Thank you to all the NJ Hi-Railers members and their spouses for their customary hospitality and, of course, Vinny and the other folks in the kitchen for another fabulous lunch. We're glad Ben was able to get off from the subway so he could be there, too. Always nice to see him.

Enjoy. And be safe during the storm.

Chris and my lovely wife, Kathie.

Nice pictures Chris.  This was my 5th Trainstock and I've never seen that Nedick's stand.  Something else too look for next time.  It was the second year in a row my son accompanied me and even he noticed the lighter turnout from last year.  I guess the impending doom kept the attendance down.

One of these years I'll get down to Paterson for this. My wife and I were just at NJHR for the open house on Dec. 16 and had a great time, including a tour (Thanks Ben!). Driving down wouldn't have been an issue, it's getting home to Portland that would've been tough.  I hope everyone had a great time and got home safely. Next year for sure!!

John

Winter loves to put me on the shelf. I have a cold. I really wanted to come, but I didn't want anyone catching my cold. I'd never hear the end of it. Pics look great, always next year.

Hey, Coach Joe.

Kathie took virtually all the photos this year as she finally got a smart phone (our daughter bought her a second-hand iPhone 7 [I still have the same flip phone... but I digress]) and it takes much better photos, especially in low light, than the 15-year-old camera I'm carrying around my neck and with which I didn't take a single photo.

It's funny that you mentioned never noticing the Nedick's stand, as we tend to go around the layout at least 8 - 10 times during a Trainstock visit and notice different things each time. We keep asking each other if some building or other item was there last year? Is it new? Was it moved? Did they add lights to it? I guess that's one of the things that makes a visit to a very large layout so much fun. And keeps us wanting to go back year after year.

Be safe during the storm.

Chris

yes I had a great time as well seeing all the trains running and the new things they have added since I went last time. even played the organ for Ben! WE REALLY LUCKED out as the weather turned out great and no snow! the food was excellent also with Alex M helping serving food and his Wife,. I asked him how he is doing and he said he is really swamped with repairs! who said the trains hobby is dying, ask Alex M he'll tell you other wise!!

Alan