Northeast Region T-TRAK at 2018 Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show

Thank you Fay Chin for allowing us to share your article on the TroveStar website.

By Fay Chin Northeast T-TRAK

The Amherst Railway Society (ARS) 50th anniversary show was held at the Eastern States Exposition "The Big E", West Springfield, Massachusetts on January 27 & 28. The ARS show is one of the nation's largest train show occupying 4 buildings covering 400,000 square feet. The paid attendance was 17,200 not including approximately 400 dealers, exhibitors, and layout participants.

Northeast Region T-TRAK has proudly participated in conjunction with the Northeast NTRAK Winterfest for the ARS show since 2015. The Northeast Region T-TRAK consisted of participants from Northern New Jersey T-TRAK (NNJTTRAK), Upstate Model Railroaders TTRAK (UMRR), Northwest Georgia N-TRAK (NWGNTRAK), Valley Ntrak Club of Connecticut (CTVNTRAK), Genesee & Ontario Model N-Gineers (G&ONTRAK), NH, ME, and Massachusetts Northeast T-TRAK (NTTRAK). The 30'x25' T-TRAK layout consisting of 88 modules with a combined mainline of approximately 5.2 N-scale miles. If the layout was unfolded to a rectangular shape, it would be equivalent to a 30'x70' layout. T-TRAK was among the 60 operating layouts at the show. Below are the layout configuration and photo of the Northeast Region T-TRAK layout.

Layout configuration

Northeast Region T-TRAK layout

Kato is a great supporter for T-TRAK. Some of the NTTRAK modules were setup at the Kato booth to help promote T-TRAK and Kato products. The T-TRAK concept was extremely well received by the public. The layout was well attended by T-TRAK volunteers who had a chance to run Kato's new products and interact with the public. Below is the photo of the layout at Kato booth:

T-TRAK layout at Kato booth

The Northeast Region T-TRAK had a huge number of participants setting up and operating. Below is the group photo at the ARS Train Show.

T-TRAK group at ARS Train Show

To encourage all participants to bring their best modules, the T-TRAK group held a separate module contest along with the Northeast NTRAK Winterfest contests and activities. The donated prize for 1st (Kato ACS-64 Amtrak #600), 2nd (Kato Electric Engine GG1 Penn Central), and 3rd (Kato Pair of Amtrak Amfleet Coaches) were awards by Kato USA. Thanks to Alex Kovach and Paul Knowles from Kato for judging the modules. Below are photos of the winning modules, prizes, and winners.

1st Place - Bill Pontin's Tri Mountain Summit module

1st Place prize - Kato ACS-64 Amtrak #600

Alex Kovach (Kato) awarding 1st Place winner Bill Pontin for Tri Mountain Summit module

2nd Place - George Michaels' Tunnel module

2nd Place prize - Kato Electric Engine GG1 Penn Central

Alex Kovach (Kato) awarding 2nd Place winner George Michaels for Tunnel module

3rd Place - Pat O'Conner's Suburban module

3rd Place prize - Kato Pair of Amtrak Amfleet Coaches

Alex Kovach (Kato) awarding 3rd Place winner Pat O'Conner for Suburban module

The T-TRAK layout had many outstanding modules. Below are some photos:

Busy City Street by Ray Chaffee

Drive-in with an actual movie screen by Forest Bevins

Miniature Golf and Birthday Party by Julia & Chris Franks

Nursery by Phil Brown

Overpass by Mike Molaney

Trailer Park by Richard Beland

Waterfall by Forest Bevins

City Scene by Mike Romanowski

In addition to the contests, all Northeast NTRAK Winterfest participants received commemorative mugs and module participation plaques. Below is the photo of the mug and plaque.

Mug and Plaque

The T-TRAK group would like to thank all contributors/sponsors for their generous donations which made this event possible.

I like to thank everyone who participated in the Amherst Railway Society Hobby Train Show. It is your hard working effort that made this event fun and successful.

Fay Chin Northeast T-TRAK