A little adventure

No National Train Show coverage would be complete without a bit of reflection on my part. Unlike shows of the past few years, we were able (forced) to drive to the Bay area to attend. Our party consisted of your’s truly, my wife and two kids, Mike Lindsay and his wife, along with their two youngest children. (We took two vehicles.)

The scenery along Interstate 5 in the northern portion of California is sparse. That’s putting it mildly. Once you leave the forests and mountains of the Shasta Lake area, you are reminded of another reason why they call California the “Golden State” — not due to the abundant deposits of precious metal, but because of the predominant color of the vegetation.

The closer we got to our destination on Wednesday evening, the more we became aware of yet another reason to be thankful for living in southern Oregon — traffic. Keep in mind that I am used to 20 minute commutes to work — and that covers 20 miles, not 20 yards. After driving in the congestion for a few hours, and recalling my lessons at the Buckaroo Banzai Driving School, I soon was able to sit and relax and wait for our hotel to appear on the horizon (my wife was driving).

Once settled into our room, we adjusted the air-conditioner to “blizzard,” then tried to get some sleep. Thursday morning’s mission was to find the convention center. After breakfast, we all piled into the Lindsay mini-van to head for the convention center. Once there we checked out the facilities, made sure we had our booth space, then left (just one advantage of not having to assemble a megabuck, ultra-modern booth display).

Our next stop was the Zoo in San Francisco, which is next to the famous Golden Gate Park (“Everybody remember where we parked”). My wife was the instigator of this little adventure, and all of us had a good time.

The train show itself opened the afternoon of Friday, August 4, and ran through Sunday, August 6. It was covered by the ever skillful Stuart Thayer. Stuart’s wife, Yvonne, added her admirable people skills, and kept Stuart in-line. Dr. John Hullman scoped out the show floor for a few hours as well, and uncovered a number of new items that we were glad to include in this year’s show coverage.

The Monday morning after the show was reserved for the “boys.” On our way back home, Mike and I made a detour to Franciscan Hobbies in San Francisco. This store is a “must see” if you are ever in the Bay area. The hour and a half we spent there went by much too quickly. From there we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge for some souvenir hunting. The drive home seemed long (probably because my wife kept saying,“You drive!”). Meeting old friends and enjoying the show, however, made the traveling and being away from home worth it.

The question that is on everyone’s mind by now is, “What did you see at the show?” Well, you will just have to read our show coverage to find out. There were a few things that caught my eye, to be sure, just like every show — but I won’t spill the beans here.

There was one new item announced that did not make it to the show floor. Edward Conor Ryan arrived on the 25th of July, just before the show. His happy parents, Ed and Paula Ryan, have covered many events for MRN. Our congratulations to the Ryan family.

—Michael J. Pratt Michael J. Pratt Managing Editor