The Allentown Train Show

This weekend I got zero painting done after Friday, but I did spend an enormous amount of quality time with the girls.  With my wife working all weekend, it was time to ignore household chores for one more weekend and take a drive

I didn't initially tell the girls where we were going, so they were excited:

Maja

Millie, My Giant Talking Strawberry

Maja, my oldest, is too smart for her own good, as she almost immediately guessed the ATMA Spring Thaw Train Meet, or, in 4-year old layman's term, the train show.  I took her by herself last year and it was a great day, so I decided to tempt fate and her three year old. 

In retrospect the only two issues I had for the day were the fast moving river that was the dirt parking lot at the fairgrounds in Allentown and my decision to keep my winter coat on inside while constantly picking up either child to get a better view of the layouts.   Once placated with a hot dog, Millie was her normal awesome self, and we spent four full hours watching train races, pointing out all the cool stuff on the layouts, and shopping, before training across the Lehigh Valley to visit my Mom.

My model train days are off in the distant past, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean it's just a nostalgia fuelled trip.   I restocked on some Zap a Gap, picked up over 2 feet of picket fencing (the British consulate in Samoa was surrounded by the stuff),  snagged some Matchbox Models of Yesteryear trucks cheap for military conversion, a missing chimney for a model I'm using for the British consulate, and two engineer hats for the girls.

The real steal of the show came from the most disheveled table there.   Someone was cleaning out of warehouse of old Lionel stuff and just had boxes of cabooses, boxes of boxcars, etc, and was willing to wheel and deal.

From these six tables I picked up the Lionel Oil Derrick for a few bucks

In actuality, I just grabbed the derrick (tower) portion.  It's a bit thick, but I've been looking for a basic structure to construct the radio tower, and this was worth the money to experiment.

Coming Next:  My Sunday with just Maja, and some actual gaming!