The Railroad Hobby Show is a fundraiser for the non-profit Amherst Railway Society
The Railroad Hobby Show takes place on Saturday and Sunday.Train lovers both big and small – and that goes for the choo choos, as well – will be making tracks to the Eastern States Exposition this weekend for two-days of anything and everything having to do with trains.
The longtime popular Railroad Hobby Show – rolling into the West Springfield fairgrounds on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Better Living Center and the adjacent Young, Stroh, and Mallary buildings – features real life railroads and scale model railroads, historical societies, travel agencies, art shows, flea market dealers, importers, manufacturers and photographers. Adult admission is $10. Ages 14 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.
“We go for quality. If a modeler needs parts that maybe haven’t been made in 25 years or so, they can find it here. No kidding. And, if they can’t find it at our show, it probably no longer exists,” said show director John Sacerdote, a member of the Amherst Railway Society, organizers of the popular event.
What’s new at this year’s show? Plenty, according to Sacerdote.
“What’s new and different this year is that we will have at least five new layouts of different gauges,” said Sacerdote.
Modelers' exhibits will range from the tiny Z scale which fits on a coffee table to a “monster” 80 foot N-Trak system. Always a show highlight, the Amherst Belt Lines, an HO scale model railroad empire, has grown to over 11 scale miles of mainline, or more than 65 feet of mainline track, on 96 modules and has the capacity of multiple train operation. The Southern New England O Scalers will show its huge O gauge railroad with 100 car freight trains and 7 unit diesels. There will also be live steam and the Dry Hill Club will once again break records with their more than 250 car trains.
In addition to being entertained by a myriad of moving trains, the show also offers up some “stage” entertainment.
“We found a group called the Electric Trains, two play electric guitars and the other two acoustic, who will be performing both days in the morning and afternoon,” said Sacerdote.
In-between their performances, Maggie the Train Clown will perform some magic tricks and juggling for show-goers.
“She’s actually a graduate of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Clown School and lived on a train for a long time while performing with them,” said Sacerdote.
Commercial vendors and hobbyists will sell model railroad equipment, photos, slides, videos, books and other railroad memorabilia. New and antique railroad items will be on display and for sale. Major national manufacturers and publishers will also be in attendance at the show, which Sacerdote noted will have some 45 new exhibitors.
“We have new manufacturers, one makes aluminum anodized benches to hold train layouts, and we have a couple new glue and kit manufacturers. And we have a couple of internationally-know manufacturers, Athearn and ExactRail, who will be introducing new products at the show, but I’m not allowed to tell what,” said Sacerdote.
For those who want to further their model-making and layout hobby, the two-day show will feature many clinics from casual demonstrations provided by exhibitors, to hands-on-clinics by experts, to clinics for the serious modeler that are offered in addition to the show. Topics range from landscape and terrain to air brushing to an introductory clinic familiarizing newcomers to the hobby.
There will also be some sadness at this year’s show among friends of longtime show director Robert “Bob” Buck, one of the founders and presidents of the Amherst Railway Society. Buck co-founded and managed the society’s Big Railroad Hobby Show for more than 20 years since its earliest days as a three-hour event in a classroom at University of Massachusetts Amherst before growing large enough to move into two buildings at the Eastern States Exposition. Buck will be noticeably absent at this year’s show after passing away in October on his birthday at the age of 82.
“Bob laid the foundation for today’s successful show and he was my mentor,” said Sacerdote, who became only the show’s second director about seven years ago.
Once again, the Amherst Railway Society is supporting Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield with a raffle of a layout built and donated by Brian Inch of Model Rail Scenes. Tickets are $1 or a book of seven tickets for $5.
The Railroad Hobby Show is a fundraiser for the non-profit Amherst Railway Society. Since 1991 the society has donated more than $586,000 raised through the show to various railroad museums, historical societies, and restoration projects dedicated to preserving railroad history and restoring railroad equipment and structures, as well as scholarships.