We had a great time on the excursion up the Mount Hood railway yesterday. We even got to see “Thomas the Tank” who was also running excursions out of Hood River. Jerry DeBene was in ecstasy because we were riding in the ex ATSF 509, a full dome lounge recently off the Alaska Railroad. We had a late start because one of the four busses got lost on the trip up and missed our departure time. We got put in the hole because of Thomas. It was raining in Portland when we left but was real nice up in the Hood River Valley. Mount hood was in the clouds most of the time but did peek out every now and then.
I hit the show today after the layout tour. All I can say is N-scalers are getting a bunch of great stuff later this year! ES44AC's maybe DC's from Fox Valley Models. The Athearn C50-9 Caboose looks awesome! Kato has another annoucement for something coming out soon. Intermountain Cab forwards look great and run great also! Photos as soon as I get them resized!:tb-biggrin:
It sure is nice to read about your trips to places I railfanned just a couple of years ago- IMO, the Oregon Pacific facilities in Milwaukie and the line to Canby is a neat operation, and so many critters to shoot. Wish you could get time to run down I-5 to Albany & catch the Portland & Western's "squarehouse" and ex-SP SD7 switcher. I'll be anxious to see what you guys captured either on film or on pixel.
Great Convention Yes I must agree, lots of nice things for us coming out later this year. Katos RDC on Steriods I forget the name I'll find the Flyer tomorrow and post the details; really special with sound and DCC. Great Convention, and Outstanding Organization; lots of friendly, knowledgeable folks. Nice array of activities, so many you had to pick and choose. It was my first but sure won't be my last. See ya in Houston:thumbs_up: Glen
Just got home a little while ago. I had a great time running trains and seeing everyone. Thanks to those that stopped by the layout to say hey. OK about the pictures. I brought my camera and had all good intentions of taking lots of pictures. LOTS of pictures, so that the ones that came out well would at least make up for the crappy ones. Well I got really busy getting trains in and out of our yard, and running trains in between, that I didn't take as many photos as I (and you) would have liked. Hence the good to crappy ratio was worse tan usual. BUT the good news is lots of other train boarders were there taking pictures so hang in there until they have a chance to get home. I only had an hour and a half drive so Sunday night we should be getting more pictures. JD, I know you got some good stuff. Saw Brian B in the contest room shooting pictures and Satokuma, you gotta have some good photos. And Hey Mike, the shirt fits! I ain't as slim as you thought.
I will try to post a complete rundown of what all the manufacturers have to say at the breakfast this morning. Lots of cool suff coming out, even from the little guys.
Don't forget Kato's surprise NYC announcement..... It's nowhere near what everybody was hoping for. These were posted on therailwire by BBussey. http://picasaweb.google.com/bbussey61/PortlandConvention2009#5349582747380547154 http://picasaweb.google.com/bbussey61/PortlandConvention2009#5349582755215137826
So, thanks to the pix, the Kato surprise is the NYC jet-powered M-497. Why was it so difficult for someone to post that info?
I didn't get to enjoy the swap meet and gawk at all the manufacturer tables as much as I wanted, due to herding my 2 kids, and dealing with their overstimulation.... I did score a few neat deals, and a great book. Tomorrow, we board Amtrak to head home. Thanks for a great time, and watch for pics here when I get back!
Hemi - I looked for you most of the day Saturday. Not knowing what you liked made it somewhat more challenging. I saw Secret Weapon sitting with Chuck from Feather River and asked if he'd seen you but he hadn't on Saturday.
What RSD15? Thanks. The M-497 is interesting, Kato are good at keeping secrets, and making things that everyone will buy even if there's no remotely prototypical reason to have one on your layout. Good to get a first look at an MTL heavyweight, and looks like I might sometime actually get my IM Santa Fe cabooses I've had reserved for that long I can't remember.
I was there most everyday from Tuesday on. My son was wearing a Hemi hat, and I was wearing a gray D&RGW hat. Sorry I missed you guys--I didn't meet all the folks I had hoped to, but it was still a blast!
Well I do not need one but I will buy a jet powered RDC. It is one passenger train I can aford. Kevin
Hemi Looked for you too. Wierd staring at badges all day. Thought the Convention was very good. The Ntrak layouts were from that region, and were very good. (Did you catch that WWII dock scene Mod????....Sheeeeeez). The layout tours were excellent, with all being in various forms of construction. Picked up 10...YIPPEEE....10 40' gons for a buck apiece. Met some nice folks and wished I knew more. All in all, I thought it was very good. oh.....Was told that 1 of the contest items took over an HOUR to set up...
There were some awesome lazer etched cabooses in both the auction and the contest. I voted for one and was outbid on the others. Great work Marty.
