Before Ebay became popular I once drove 20 miles from Detroit to Novi. The last show I attended was the National back in in 07 and that was a more manageable 10 mile trip.
Jim
400 miles one way twice once for Nation Train show and once for Trainfest both in Milwaukee wi. very much worth it
Have fun with your trains
The farthest I've traveled is about 70 miles to Kansas City, MO for the annual Great Train Expo. Last year's was a big disappointment. It was scheduled shortly after Christmas; snow, the closeness to Christmas and the cold temps, I'm sure were factors that kept many vendors away.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
BATMAN Supertrain in Calgary is coming up and I am toying with making the 1056 KM. trip. There are no big shows on the West Coast, at least nothing like Supertrain. Am I nuts? (no need to answer) How far have you travelled to attend a train show? Was it worth the trip and the expense? Just wonderin.
Supertrain in Calgary is coming up and I am toying with making the 1056 KM. trip. There are no big shows on the West Coast, at least nothing like Supertrain. Am I nuts? (no need to answer)
How far have you travelled to attend a train show? Was it worth the trip and the expense? Just wonderin.
just make a long weekend / mini vacation out of the trip, and do non train show stuff too.
Brent
If you do decide to go, let us know what you thought of the trip. I live on the west coast also (further north) and would consider going next year depending on your feedback and my work schedule.
Mike
Mike.
If I go it will be a last minute decision. I thought I would do a little C.P.R. railfaning along the way and have a soak in the Hot Springs at Banff, seeing as how I drive right pass the place.
I drove to Calgary a couple of years ago to a function. I woke up at 0530Hrs and was feeling pretty good and kissed the wife and told her I had decided to go. I always like to do things on the sperm of the moment (as Archie Bunker would say) At 1630Hrs I rolled into Calgary having stopped once for fuel in Golden. By 1730Hrs I was enjoying some of that Alberta Black Angus at the Best Western.
My wife booked me a flight and a car yesterday saying I am not as young as I use to be and shouldn't be driving through those mountains at this time of year, Westjet was $184.00 return. I guess I should be careful on what I have up as a screen saver.
Anyway I want to drive as I never get tired of that trip through the Rockies. I have two weeks to cancel the flight and car. I'll throw the snow shoes in the back and walk down to the West Spiral Tunnel portal if I need a break from driving.
Today I gave the Batmobile the Royal once over just in case it gets the call.
Hmmm. I wonder what the train fare is thie time of year.
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Well, in 1985, I attended the 150th Anniversary of German Railways in Nuremberg. That's over 5000 miles from where we were living at the time (SF Bay area). We didn't go specifically for the show, but it was a big plus. Good show. Lots of layouts as well as historical train rides.
Video of some of the festivities available on YouTube (in multiple cliips) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyBMmYxbcK8
I've also been to train shows in the UK, but again as an adjunct to vacation trips.
Andre
1780 miles from Phoenix AZ to Milwaukee for the 2010 Nat'l show. Of course we also attended the convention and toured Kalmbach and Walthers. We also drove the backroads instead of the interstate and made a very nice vacation of it. Took Amtrak to Chicago which is where I grew up, but we visited as tourists and took the river tours.
Joe
Dallas to St Louis in 2001. 630 miles one way, just went for the weekend for the train show.
James in Texas
I hate to travel for any reason. However, to travel for a train show, it would have to be fabulous. The Great Scale Model Train Show at Timonium MD. is, indeed, fabuolus. It is a 150 mile trip, one way for me and I consider the time and money well spent many times over. Plus, I get to visit M.B. Klein, (Model Train Stuff), showroom which is only 5 miles from the fairgrounds after I leave the show. A double barrel visit. I would travel 400 miles, if I had to, to go to this one!
To show my hatred of travel related to train shows or perhaps my failure to see anything in Greenberg's efforts. I refuse to travel 4.6 miles from my home to the twice yearly Greenberg train show. Went twice in past years here and was both grossly disappointed and felt I wasted the nearly 10 miles in gas, wasted time and effort and lost gate fee.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
Farthest I've traveled is 250 miles from Spartanburg, SC to Savannah, GA. But my parents live in Bluffton, SC, which is just across the River from Savannah so I got to visit them and stay the night.
Second farthest is 90 miles from Spartanburg to Charlotte.
When I still lived in New York I would make the 50 or so mile trip from my home town of Shoreham to Greenberg show at Hoffstra University. But I enjoyed coming home via the Ocean Parkway and driving right by the toll booth where Sonny Coleone didn't have EZ-Pass and paid the price for it.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
About 40 miles, but then I had 5 kids with me too.
Every 2-3 years I do the Amhearst show in Springfield, MA ... about 2 hours one way.
I once went from Mobile, Alabama to Eugene, Oregon for the NMRA Convention and of course the train show. 2114.0 miles. This was 1987.
Carey
Keep it between the Rails
Alabama Central Homepage
Nara member #128
NMRA &SER Life member
www.deadwoodcityrailroad.blogspot.com
190 miles to Milwaukee. Show was pretty good. Last one I went to was in Madison, WI. I had been there before about 3 years ago, and it was good. This time...not so much. It was a lot smaller, and I probably won't attend it again, unless I hear it improves.
This is a fun one. In 1997 I went from Regina, Sk to Oakville,On to a CN Lines SIG and show, a little over 1600 miles one way. I see some on here have me beat! I only went for the show. I went by train from Melville to Toronto 1500 miles. Melville was the closest station, a 90 mile drive from Regina. Took Amtrak from Toronto to Oakville, 20 miles. It was my first and was a great show.
In 2002 I travelled from Sydney, Australia to Bletchley in the United Kingdom to attend a G Scale Society train show!
Cheers
Bill