Photos of the National Train Show 2015

Before going off to grab more models to photograph, I wandered around some taking photos of layouts and stuff:

Got to start with the MRH booth, before show opening:

   slight delay in more posting... ,my cat thinks that after my being gone a week, he has precedence over the computer...

Cat?

Ah, that explains what happened to your new products posts.

Edit 9/1: The photos show correctly now- for a while they looked like they were taken in a funhouse mirror.

pqe

Okay, I'm back

... Ashford the cat realized that the bed was more comfortable than my chest.

This is an excellent example of good signage on a club layout. Unfortunately, it tended to be the exception rather than the rule. It was especially a problem on the multi-group/multi-club modular layouts:

Ah - The Big Bridge

I saw this on the N-Land Pacific layout in early 2010 - quite impressive. As I recall, I was told it was no longer being used by the club - the owner was nor sharing it anymore. Perhaps I was mistaken in my interpretation of the explanation. Nevertheless here it is ("Borrowed" from Jeff's post above) - the size and beauty is what I was impressed by:

Not sure if it was of a prototype or not, but it does show the flavor of the California Inland Empire.

There are many washes of this type in the Inland Empire.

More layouts

Bedtime... more tomorrow.

I saw this on the N-Land

"I saw this on the N-Land Pacific layout in early 2010 - quite impressive. As I recall, I was told it was no longer being used by the club - the owner was nor sharing it anymore. Perhaps I was mistaken in my interpretation of the explanation. Nevertheless here it is ("Borrowed" from Jeff's post above) - the size and beauty is what I was impressed by:

Not sure if it was of a prototype or not, but it does show the flavor of the California Inland Empire.

There are many washes of this type in the Inland Empire."

I have never seen the prototype, but the picture on the front of the module is of the prototype, not the model.  The first time I saw it, I did not recognize it and I have lived in the Riverside area for many years before I moved to Lakewood.  I still have not had time to go check out the prototype structure.

Great Photos - More Please

A few of the N-Land Pacific MRC modules should look familiar to MRH readers as they are some of M.C. Fujiwara's excellent work.

What a revelation

I had no idea M.C. Fujiwara had a hand in the N-Land Pacific modules. I thought he only was involved with the Silicon Valley group (N-Land group is in SoCal - Silicon Valley group is in S.F. Bay area).

( Oh yeah. I should have realized the picture was of the prototype.)

Possible prototype

Yes, Russ, it is in Riverside County and it is the Santa Ana River Viaduct, if my research is accurate. Here are other pictures (Anza Narrows Park, Riverside):

Santa Ana River Viaduct

and

UP Santa Ana River RR Bridge

It is at the extreme south end of the park.

Coordinates (via Google)

More coming...

I have a lot more photos coming, it's just that with the convention over, real life has once again placed it's demands on my time.

Thank you Jeff

Jeff thanks for taking so many pics and posting them. It's cool seeing everything for those who couldn't make it. 

The Keddie Wye style

The Keddie Wye style truss/trestle looks impressive. Anyone know if te center span there is a Central Valley kit flipped upside down?

More on N-Land Pacific

I thought I might share with others some not too well known info. The N-Land Pacific club web site has a schematic diagram of over two dozen modules they have - including the Santa And River Viaduct. Many (or all) of these modules represent areas specific to the Inland Empire area of Southern California. To see the modules in schematic view here:

http://www.nlandpacific.com/Modules.pdf

(I am not a member, but I admire much of their work)

Revelation

" Great Photos - More Please

A few of the N-Land Pacific MRC modules should look familiar to MRH readers as they are some of M.C. Fujiwara's excellent work.

Ken K"

I beg to differ. I admire MC Fujiwara's work greatly. However, he has not created any modules for the N-Land Pacific Free-moN group. The Santa Ana viaduct, wye, park scene and abandoned siding modules are mine (all shown in photos above). I will thank you for the compliment. Having my work compared to MC's is quite an honor. -- Steve B (nlandpacific.com)

The layout wasn't only N-Land Pacific

The photos in the first post are not just N-Land Pacific Modules; there were four groups in the giant FreeMoN layout: NLand Pacific, SIlicon Valley, Minnesota and Northwest Paciifc. MC's ShooFly is shown, as well as his scenery work on Wye Knot, but those are SV FreeMoN modules. You can also see my Silicon Valley Station module in two of the photos

Rick

Per Jeff's original comment about Inland Pacific's sign-

There were four module groups on that N scale Freemo set up, but Nland Pacific was the only one with a large sign identifying their section of the layout. 

Thank you for your Train Show Updates!

Jeff,

Just wanted to add my 'Thank You!' for all the work you put into the updates. Hopefully you had a chance to enjoy the show as a consumer!

Neal

More photos

Somewhere above we migrated from Fre-moN to Free-mo. I believe the below plaques were for the HO Free-mo side.

A standalone club, the Beaverton Modular Railroad Club:

HO scale, with a bit of seasonal mixup...

Even more photos...

As an idea of how many more photos I have... this is 4565. The last layout one is 4805. Mind you, you aren't getting all of them....

A bit of TT... in a guitar case. It got some serious attention:

More TT (possibly more than I'd seen in one place before):

I didn't notice a lot of people around this layout:

I'm thinking that maybe the "Don't touch" signs could be toned down. I got a "Go away" vibe off them.

On30 diorama - as the guy with it explained, nothing moves on it yet:

Spectacular trees:

The Chairman's Award module, on the Seattle, Pacific & Eastern layout:

These people are very "Have layout, will travel" - I believe that I saw them both in Grand Rapids in 2012 and Cleveland last year:

Their layout is really good. Really, it is. It's just hard to photograph it when so many people are admiring it!

Thanks & "A bit of TT... in a guitar case."

Many thanks for the great show coverage.

And for that "A bit of TT... in a guitar case" it is very interesting to note that that small layout was being controlled by a very complex and expensive Fleischmann and Roco z21 DCC system using a tablet as a wireless controller. Did you see any other z21 / Z21 systems in use at the show?

z21

Well, the Zimo booth was behind ours at the show, and he did have a very impressive touch screen throttle there. Beyond that, I didn't particularly notice DCC systems in use, beyond the fact that Digitrax was all over the place in the modular world, as is normal. 

line of people

These modular layouts...............

...........are really well done, so much better than the ones I've seen at the West Springfield show.  The pieces look like they belong together (as I'm sure they are designed to) and flow from one to the next with the odd exception.  At the WSS, they looked like a patchwork quilt some one made who was color blind.  Some of them were very well done but the effect was ruined by their neighbors.  Am I comparing an apple to an orange as there may be different standards "East" vs West"?  Help me understand.

Peter

Different types of Modular Layout

Peter

There are two main types of Modular Layout, ones where you have complete freedom build anything on your modules, Mountains, plains, grass fields, rural or city scenes. 

Other Layouts requires that the scenery on the module must meet the Layout Standards from ballast to grass color, location, etc.

At West Springfield there are both types of Modular layouts.  Most of the larger ones are the first type and the smaller ones are more the second. It is the job of the Layout Designer to place the modules so they flow together, but sometimes there are no options.

Doug W