phoenix train show

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
I agree, Wow was that ever disappointing. I had planned to spend several hours there both Saturday and Sunday. After about 1 hour, I was ready to move on. Never even took my money out of my pocket. That's allright, as my two little ones enjoyed seeing the layouts and doing some of the kiddy stuff. Later that same day, I met up with my parents down in Apache Junction for a tractor show. That was really cool. They had all kinds of small engines pocking and banging, rows and rows of tractors, tractor pulls and more.
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ezdays

Out AZ way
Yeah, that's cool, especially to find that in Arizona.

I noticed you didn't take any photos of the train show. Woodone had his camera around his neck and I didn't see him take one either.:cry: :cry:

We seemed to have expected more. The card I got in the mail said, "200+ tables, 40+ dealers from across the country. I'm sorry, but unless they were counting each person behind those tables, I can't see where there were 40 separate dealers.

Anyway, I've always said that there were no bad train shows, and I guess I have to stick by that, the thing that saved this one was those extensive layouts, I was glad to see those N scale layouts and the one that combined N and Z to get distance. It's a good thing though that it wasn't held downtown at the convention center otherwise I would have been both disappointed and ticked off.... I hate to go anywhere downtown. You find yourself tripping over stadiums, areas and high rises that weren't there a little bit ago.:eek: :eek:
 

Overkil

Professional Lurker
I took my 8yo son and wife to the show today. My son was only interested in seeing trains run so from our perspective it was a great show :mrgreen:. Lots of big layouts to see so I took a bunch of pics and got some new ideas. My wife really wants to do her own n-scale layout after seeing some of the n-scale modules there. She's very "arts & crafts" oriented and the scale modeling of the hobby really appeals to her. Can anyone tell me if 1) the event next weekend at is open to all?, and 2) are there any other local events happening in the near future?
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
I took my 8yo son and wife to the show today. My son was only interested in seeing trains run so from our perspective it was a great show :mrgreen:. Lots of big layouts to see so I took a bunch of pics and got some new ideas. My wife really wants to do her own n-scale layout after seeing some of the n-scale modules there. She's very "arts & crafts" oriented and the scale modeling of the hobby really appeals to her. Can anyone tell me if 1) the event next weekend at is open to all?, and 2) are there any other local events happening in the near future?
yeah, the one up at Adobe Mountain Park is open to all, and it's a great family-oriented get-together. The swap meet is really only a small portion of the activities up there. They have indoor HO and N layout as well as outdoor G and I think theres also a riding train they run for the kids. Unfortunately, I can't make it next week.

There's usually one up on N. Central in the spring or early summer. Keep an eye here in the Upcoming MRR events forum for any announcements.
 

woodone

Member
No Photos

Yeah, that's cool, especially to find that in Arizona.

I noticed you didn't take any photos of the train show. Woodone had his camera around his neck and I didn't see him take one either.:cry: :cry:

We seemed to have expected more. The card I got in the mail said, "200+ tables, 40+ dealers from across the country. I'm sorry, but unless they were counting each person behind those tables, I can't see where there were 40 separate dealers.

Anyway, I've always said that there were no bad train shows, and I guess I have to stick by that, the thing that saved this one was those extensive layouts, I was glad to see those N scale layouts and the one that combined N and Z to get distance. It's a good thing though that it wasn't held downtown at the convention center otherwise I would have been both disappointed and ticked off.... I hate to go anywhere downtown. You find yourself tripping over stadiums, areas and high rises that weren't there a little bit ago.:eek: :eek:
Well as said before, it was like you walked into a vacuum when you walked inside the tent. Very large, not much light and the train display only used about 1/8 of the floor space. :eek:
Did not see anything to take a photo of. :cry:
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Well as said before, it was like you walked into a vacuum when you walked inside the tent. Very large, not much light and the train display only used about 1/8 of the floor space. :eek:
Did not see anything to take a photo of. :cry:
Some of those layouts were devoid of scenery and structures, like tracks on painted plywood, while others were works in progress with large pieces of foam showing. But there were others that were, well, wow... I think the highlight of the show was that one N scale layout and the exact replica of the La Posada hotel in Winslow. That was impressive along with the Flagstaff street and the station there. I think they nailed them both.:thumb: :thumb: If you recall, each module was a different setting in the Southwest. To me, structures and scenery are a very important part of a layout and these guys all got it right.

If nothing else, this one layout gave me the incentive to get back to work on my layout and clean up the mess I started when I ripped out all that track a couple of months ago.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 

woodone

Member
Yes they were very nice and well built models.
I had never seen the real things in person, but the models were very well modeled.
You had said that they were just like the real thing only in N scale.:thumb:
Some how I goofed and did not take any pictures of them.:cry:
They were worthy of some photos.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Yes they were very nice and well built models.
I had never seen the real things in person, but the models were very well modeled.
You had said that they were just like the real thing only in N scale.:thumb:
Some how I goofed and did not take any pictures of them.:cry:
They were worthy of some photos.
Yeah, that hotel is fairly complex with lots of sections of different heights plus a lot of arches. The station is off to one side of the hotel, but basically part of it. Yeah, the model was very accurate, as was the one of the Flagstaff station. Can you remember the name of the club that had that layout there?
 

woodone

Member
Yeah, that hotel is fairly complex with lots of sections of different heights plus a lot of arches. The station is off to one side of the hotel, but basically part of it. Yeah, the model was very accurate, as was the one of the Flagstaff station. Can you remember the name of the club that had that layout there?

Not sure about the club. I think it might have been a module from Sun And Sand.
The layout was a mix of different clubs, as I recall.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Not sure about the club. I think it might have been a module from Sun And Sand.
The layout was a mix of different clubs, as I recall.
That probably is the case since different areas of that layout had really different themes. The modular sections that I'm talking about each had something to do with an area here in the southwest.
 
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