I am on the fence - would love to go (this would be my first time attending a train show) and my wife says she's game and will come along for the ride but there are two things that give me pause -
Being in close quarters with people without masks and now it looks like there is a storm expected to hit Friday night and Saturday.
One could argue that the second reason would help abate the first concern - maybe the storm will keep people away.
I'm going to keep an eye on the weather and probably decide by Thursday.
Folks,As Ablebakercharlie said, pay attention to the weather report for Friday-Saturday:
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/ma/west-springfield/42.13,-72.63
The current forecast (1/24/22 at 5:56PM) is calling for 10" of snow to fall on West Springfield, starting Friday evening and ending more than 24 hours later on Saturday night. That's not good.I live in eastern Massachusetts (about 100 miles away from West Springfield), and we are currently forecast to have 18" of snow (!) during the same storm. I'm already staying home, but this kind of snow would make me stay home even if I was going. Sunday looks clear, but who knows how clear the roads will be. At the very least, expect Saturday to be dead and Sunday to be packed if the current forecast comes true.
I'm sure everyone will be watching the weather. Let's not put fear into this. People who know how to drive in it will go; others will wait one more day. These reports change hourly/daily, so we'll see as we get closer...
nealknows I'm sure everyone will be watching the weather. Let's not put fear into this. People who know how to drive in it will go; others will wait one more day. These reports change hourly/daily, so we'll see as we get closer...
Back when it used to be a 3 1/2 hour drive each way to the Springfield show, I made the drive 3 times. Weather was always very cold and snow a factor. One trip I drove was in 2006 and I had just gotten a brand new 06 Toyota RAV4. As I was driving east on 90 the windshield kept icing up to the point I could not see out and the defroster could not stop it. I had hang my head out the window and pull over to scrape the ice off so I could see forward and had to do that several times. Yeah!
Anyway, it's moot for me now. I live it would be a good 7 hour drive and in possibly hazardous road conditions. Yes, after living in Syracuse for 14 years, I can probably drive on crappy roads as good as anyone, but being risk averse ... I prefer to not push my luck.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Afraid I'm going to pass this year for a lot of little reasons that made one big enogh to say NO. The bus from this area cancelled was probably the biggest portion of the whole reason. It's so nice not to have to fight traffic, walk in from the parking lot, if the weather is cold you end up with a coat you don't need draped over your arm all day. Also, if you buy things, the parking lot seems further away each trip.
I have gone for a number of years and developed a plan to see the show. No, one cannot see it all other than a quick walk past and if there's a crowd at the booth, all you see is backs. My plan is to take the list and mark the booths I want to visit, make a numerical list for each building, start at the lowest number in each building and go along numerically. I look at the booths I pass that interest me, so get to see a good variety. I have found that the BLC is crowded early so I start in the less creowded ones and when I get to the BLC the crowds have evened out. Most years I end up with time to do a little extra looking around.
Hope all of you have a great time,
Richard
Gloom, despair
agony on me.
deep dark depression, excessive misery
if it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all
gloom, despair and agony on me
I blame all of this on John Quill.
Direct from the Show website:
Update as of 1.26.2022 * The Amherst Railway Society is recommending that all visitors wear masks inside all buildings. There is a prediction of snow for Saturday, but sunny and clear on Sunday. Watch for further announcements as we get closer to the weekend. Stay tuned!
One thing you can really count on in New England. Weather people will always throw you the worst case scenario. When they say 3 to 6 inches, we most certainly will get a dusting to an inch. If they say a possible dusting to an inch, I'm putting the plow on and waxing the shovel. They are great at telling you what we had yesterday. What's coming tomorrow is a crapshoot. I can't tell you how many times I have heard it was sunny and nice as I'm driving through a downpour.
Either way. I was planning to attend. It just so happens my doctor is scheduled me a free weekend in the hospital for another fun filled two or more days of lung washing and barametric pressure vessel stay. I would rather drive through a blinding snow storm.
Pete.
It's 22:43 hours and I just finished packing the CRV with the things I plan to sell, the things I offered to sell for others, and the blankety blank cherry jelly that I have to purchase locally and take to my sister because apparently none of the markets within a 200 mile radius of her house in Enfield, Ct., carry the stuff.
maxman It's 22:43 hours and I just finished packing the CRV with the things I plan to sell, the things I offered to sell for others, and the blankety blank cherry jelly that I have to purchase locally and take to my sister because apparently none of the markets within a 200 mile radius of her house in Enfield, Ct., carry the stuff.
Make sure you bring enough to share at the show!
My ride barring no snow is about 2 1/2 hours. Leaving around 9AM as the bridge traffic out of Rockland County could slow me down.
Current weather forecasts in the NE are not looking favorable. Western MA, where the show is located doesn't look too bad, but Eastern MA, where I would be coming from looks to be getting 18" - 24" of snow. My plans to go on Saturday are not looking too good at the moment.
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
KemacPrr Hey Maxxman see you tommorrow afternoon . SSSS Taaaahhhh !!!
Hey Maxxman see you tommorrow afternoon . SSSS Taaaahhhh !!!
Don‘t run over that pile of snow. It might be me.
Maxman, did you make it? Went looking for you?
Neal
Yes sir. I was there from maybe 13:30 to around 16:00 or so, setting up.
Made mutiple trips to the boy’s room (too much excitemen), mutiple trips in/out to the car, and a trip to the Mallory building to try to drum up some business.
I have a sign on an easel that says Loadman.
Plan is to get there as early as possible in AM to finish setting up.
I‘m probably going to be pretty lonely because guy who was supposed to be to my table‘s right pulled out a couple weeks ago, and then Rons Books pulled out at the last minute resulting in about 17 more empty tables.
Maybe will see you in AM.
Dick
Well, show is over except for the drive home. For those of us who were already in the area, the snow was really not that bad. It was cold this morning (car thermometer said 0 degrees) but warmed up in afternoon (22 F).
Driving back to domicile last night was an adventure through the s ow, but not bad this AM. Around here they know what to do to keep things under control.
A lot of the vendors were missing, either because of the snow, or because they would come from Canada and would have difficulty getting back due to covid restrictions.
My sales were pretty good, and I sold out most of the items I brought with me. So from my perspective it was a successful show.
And Neal seems to be a nice guy no matter what the rest of you think.
I read someone report show attendance is normally 10000, but this year 4000. Those there reported lightly attended.
Not a great deal of snow reported but for those coming from hours away, the forcast was enough to keep the cautious from going.
riogrande5761I read someone report show attendance is normally 10000, but this year 4000. Those there reported lightly attended.
A few years earlier in 2016, total attendance was 23,687.I had originally planned to go, but .ended up skipping it due to two things:1) Covid situation seemed to knock out a lot of vendors (like a 100 or so according to some forums) that had been there in 2020. That's not good.Then 2) The threat of a major storm led to a number of other vendors dropping out, including a few I wanted to see. OK, now we know in retrospect the storm wasn't that bad around Springfield, but at the time since I could only have attended on Saturday, I made the call to abort. Looking at the Virtual Railfan (I think) show feeds looks like a lot of others made the same call - less attendees sure, but also plenty of empty space where in 2020 there were layouts, exhibits, and vendors.What can I say - hopefully things are better for the show in 2023..
The vast majority of people who live in New England are along the coast, which is about 100 miles east of Springfield. I live about 90 miles from Springfield.
My town picked up 2 feet of snow on Saturday, starting at midnight and lasting until 8 PM or so. The town next to me got 30" and so did others around me. Mass. had over 110,000 customers without power at the height of the storm and temps were in the teens. Winds were of hurricane strength on Cape Cod, and they were blowing 45-55mph over my house (and I'm inland; between Boston and Providence). This coastal storm was a heckuva event around here; it now holds the record for the most amount of snow in one day in Boston's recorded history. In Springfield? Not so much.The result is that just about every railfan I know here in Eastern Mass. stayed home, and then spent Sunday cleaning up.
I attended the show with Maxxman. Some additional vendors did cancel due to the snow. Snowfall there was maybe 5-6'' total not the end of the world as forecast. Attendance on Saturday was light maybe 2-3,000 BUT the people who came were spending money. The Sunday crowd was larger. I would say in the 6-8,000 range. Steady most of the day. Lots of families with kids. I would say a guesstimate that 2/3 of those there had masks on.
Was it different than normal Yes ! But it was still a good show for the Loadman and others I talked with. One interesting result of the low attendance was the ability to talk with the vendors there longer than with a normal crowd. Also getting in and out of the Big E parking lot was much easier than normal. All in all I had a great time and will return next year. The only show I have missed since 1996 was last year when it was cancelled. ----- Ken
Official figure for two-day ticketed attendance was 5,925. This does not count the under-16 attendees. Vendors and staff accounted for another 2,800.