NELUG at the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show

On January 29th and 30th, NELUG once again displayed at the Amherst Railway Society's big Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield, Massachusetts. This was our second year at the show, and like last year we had a blast. Our setup on Friday was plagued by a few hurdles, but the members who were there pulled together and had the majority of the work done before the end of the day. On the morning of the show, details were added, and trains began to run. By 9am the first of the public began to come through the doors, and it was non-stop for the next two days. Total visitor count to the show, according to the organizers, was 20,459 people. Even with that large of a crowd, the atmosphere was relaxed, and we had an enjoyable time talking to patrons, vendors, and other clubs. There was even enough time for our members to visit the other buildings where the show took place, which was wonderful for gathering ideas for future builds. Being a train show, the majority of our exhibit consisted of a very active train yard filled with locomotives and rolling stock. We also had a small town section, a residential area, and bit of a warehouse district for trains to unload at. While we didn't have a river section for this show, we did have a nice mountain area to provide some scenic beauty. Despite having only done this show once before, we were visited by many people who had seen us before. We caught up with some old friends, and even had a chance to meet a couple of new members. We look forward to attending again next year.