Mid-Hudson On30 Meet Report

April 17-18, 2009

It was that time again, time for another Mid-Hudson On30 Meet. Once again it was a sunny, warm and beautiful weekend. The bad weather curse must be broken! So, it was time for beautiful models, great layouts, tempting goodies, and great fun and socializing with fellow modelers.

As usual I must apologize in advance for not getting photos of everything and everyone there. Some of the photos just didn't come out and some things I just missed.

Allen Littlefield organizes the show twice a year, in the spring and fall. My thanks to Allen and to all those who contributed to making it another great show.

Once again our Tri-State On30 Module group set up a layout. Three of our members, Don Secor, Nate Kline and Dave Camisa, brought their modules for a total of 24 feet of layout. Pete Hess and myself brought our NCE DCC systems. In addition Paul Harbord, Wes White and Bob Robbins were there to help with setup and operations. Dave Camisa's nephew, Joe Camisa also came along and helped hook up our modules and run some trains. Everthing went pretty smoothly and I would like to say thanks to all who attended.

The Meet

Here are some general photos of the meet.

Models on Display

Bachmann 2-6-0 Display

Allen Littlefield invited attendees to bring along Bachmann Moguls that they had bashed and modified. Here are some photos of the resulting display.

On18 Micro Layout by Jim Mcintyre

Jim exhibited a fantastic On18 micro layout.

Les Davis

In addition to his usual display of fantastic models, Les demonstrated his knowledge of using Decoder Pro to program DCC equipped locomotives.

Alan Carroll

The King of Slice & Dice was present demonstrating some of his techniques. Especially interesting was a D-Cell bash utilizing the body of a locomotive from an inexpensive toy train set.

Colin Claxon's Prescott, Arizona Layout

Colin had his new layout on display. He models the American Southwest, and does a fantastic job. Check out his adobe buildings. He also shows a good sense of humor as evidenced by some of the vignettes on the layout.

Zumas Rail Restaurant

The Prescott Station

"Take a number!"

They have their work cut out, but there is strength in numbers!

Bachmann's 4-6-0

Also on display were some pre-production models of the forthcoming Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotive.

The Connecticut Shoreline On30 Layout

The Connecticut Shoreline On30 group once again had their beautiful sectional On30 layout on display. There is always something new to see on this excellent layout. You can see the overall layout in some of the aerial photos at the top of this webpage,

Many thanks to Sandy Alonzo, Jim Skeffington, Rob Larson and Bob Lee for sharing their layout with us once again. Each time I see it there is something new to see. If you haven't seen this layout before you should make plans to attend one of their show appearances.

Tri-State On30 Module GroupThe Tri-State On30 Modules group brought five of their On30 modules to the show forming a 2' x 24' layout. Members with modules present were Don Secor, Nate Kline, and Dave Camisa. Other members present were Pete Hess, Paul Harbord, Bob Robbins, Wes White, Joe Camisa and myself. We hope to set up again at the Mid-Hudson Meet in the fall of 2009. New members are always welcome! Just click on the link above to join our Yahoo group.

Two views of the overall layout.

Dave Camisa's Modules

The Trojan Rabbit - motorized by Dave on a Bachmann HO Toby the Tram mechanism - shades of Monty Python!

Nate Kline's Modules

Don Secor's Modules

Just to prove that the sun really shone on the meet I took these photos.

Some of our members

Background: Wes White, Joe Camisa, Don Secor, and Larry Rickert; Foreground: Pete Hess, Nate Kline and Dave Camisa.

Don Secor (left) and Bob Robbins work on Don's modules. Bob originally built the two 2' x 6' modules. Don is their current owner.

Pete Hess

Paul Harbord

Wes White and John Prizzi

Nancy Rickert (my wife)

Joe Camisa (left), Dave's nephew, and Nate Kline (far right). Joe joined us for the two day meet.

The Tri-State On30 Module group is always looking for new members. If interested just click on the link above to visit our Yahoo group website.

Vendors and Manufacturers

What would a train meet be without goodies to see and buy? Thanks to the great vendors present there were lots of On30 items available. The vendors who take the time to set up at shows and display their wares are certainly deserving of our support. I can recommend them all from personal experience:

Boulder Valley Models

Dallas Mallerich of Boulder Valley Models (BVM) had some of his fine resin kits on hand. He also had a few surprises in store for us in the form of two new kits he is working on, an On30 Heisler conversion and the "Schnozzer", a critter conversion kit for the Bachmann HO 45 tonner. A picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look at the photos below.

The "Schnozzer"

On30 Heisler Conversion

Dallas told me that this upcoming kit is the result of a collaboration with Dave Wingrove (right in photo). It will require the HO Rivarossi Heisler mechanism.

More BVM Photos

Boulder Valley Models - Dallas Mallerich - Website

Crusader Rail Services

Crusader Rail Services - Ray & Mary Kaminski - Email

Deerfield River Laser

Deerfield River Laser - Ed & Diane Fillion - Website

Mount Blue Model Co.

Mount Blue Model Co. - Ken Berlo - Website

Nate's Light Iron Hobbies

Nate's Light Iron Hobbies - Nathan Kline - Website

The Peterboro Railroad

Peterboro Railroad - John Weigel - Website

Valley Model Trains

Valley Model Trains - Pat Hennebery - Website

Warrior Run Locomotive Works

Warrior Run Locomotive Works - Clem O'Jevich - Website

So another Mid-Hudson Meet drew to a close, but it's not too early to start thinking about the fall meet. The dates are October 30 & 31, 2009. I hope to see you all there!

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