Hello everyone. The NMRA convention and National Train Show were held in Milwaukee this week. I went to the National Train Show yesterday. Here is a short report for you: Layouts in Z were present. Mr. Dave and crew were there with the fantastic Golden Blackhawk and Central City. It was great to meet them and talk a bit. They were a center of attention and definitely a crowd pleaser. Similarly, the Metro Milwaukee Z-Scale club was there with their Z-Bend Modules and were also seeing significant traffic as people marveled over the "tiny trains." A new module by Bonnie had scenes familiar to Milwaukee locals: the sunburst sculpture on Lake Michigan and the downtown skyscraper with the giant Lady Bug sculptures on its side. Her module showcased the laser cut products from GC Laser. The other local group, the WIZ Kids, did not have their modules at this show. Z-scale locos and rolling stock from MTL, AZL, Uncle Will's, and Penzee were available at two retailers: Norms Trains and Tex-N-Rails. Z-scale accessories were available at other retailers: BLMA, GCLaser, Digitrax, and others. One that I had not seen before was Wild West Scale Model Builders -- check out their link for some nice old-west buildings (Wild West Scale Model Builders) I had great conversations with Ben and Joe from MTL. I see Joe every year at Trainfest -- one of the largest model railroad shows in the country held each year here in Milwaukee. It was great to talk to them both. They had the new Z-scale girder bridge (Micro-Trains | The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains - New Z Track Piece) and let me say it really looks fantastic. They also had the Milwaukee Road SD40-2 and Milwaukee Road 50' boxcar -- regular releases this month that they confirmed were timed to coincide with the NTS in Milwaukee. Both are outstanding models. (Micro-Trains | The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains - Milwaukee Road , Micro-Trains | The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains - Milwaukee Road ). I picked up the 50' box from Norm's and the Metro Milwaukee Z-Scale group also had it in the middle of a freight consist on their modules. I'm sorry that I have no pictures to upload for you. Perhaps others took photos and will share some in the next few days. Hope you are all having a fantastic summer. Russ
Thanks for posting Russ, any prototypes of the GP30 or the mikado from AZL? Any news on the E-8 from MT? Just curious.
Hi Joe, AZL did not attend the National Train Show this year. MTL stated that the E8 was affected by the Chinese company dropping the MTL account.
Well, that stinks. I guess that means a little longer wait on the E-8. Oh well, Can't complain much compared to where things were back in 2004. So I guess I can wait a bit longer.
At the N Scale Collector's Convention, though, Eric Smith did confirm the E-8 for next year. By my reckoning, that would have been after they had received the news that "Sanda Kan't"... So perhaps it will not be that long of a delay.
My latest Ztrack back page MTL add says WINTER 2010-- there is only about 10 more days of winter in 2010. Fred
Flickr: athabaska-northern's Photostream The above link is to my collection of photo's from Milwaukee NMRA train show. Mostly Z related but not exclusively Z