Great visit from a few of the NJ Hi-Railers.

Very nice Marty. Eddiem and I need to take a ride.

Don, you are on my hit list for the wall.

Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing this.

Marty....your visitors today are all great guys!!  Glad you all had a good time!

Alan

Alan, I have one great spot saved for you.  I am going to start another wall.

You've been a busy host lately!! 

Its great seeing people enjoying the layout so much. 

My layout is open to any OGR Forum member who may find himself/herself in my area.  Next Friday I have one of my favorite house guest staying for a few days.  Erol (Locolawyer) Gurcan.   Erol promised me he would teach me how to fix trains.

That's a bunch of great guys!!!!! Glad to see Mike signed the wall 

Thanks, Alex 

Alex, he is in good company.

Marty, it looks like pretty soon -- if you're not already there -- only southpaws will be able to sign your wall.   Mike is practically climbing on the layout!!!  

David 

Marty, Dotty and Ralph are always great hosts and it's always a pleasure to visit them. Marty's layout is really spectacular and every time I see it, I notice something new or some change that enhances it.

It was a little bit daunting to listen to Marty and Bob talk electrical-speak, about chokes, coils, resistors and all sorts of other stuff which was really technobabble for Mike and me. We're really grateful that we have Ben and Vinny at the club. But we got the basic rule that Mike had to sign the wall (a daunting task following Pat and Jean, but Mike had a couple of weeks to practice), you turn on the electricity to the layout and you can run the trains. We did celebrate the fact it was was 34 years and 11 days after Marty started his layout and we computed that using both analog and digital methods (Bob used his phone and I counted on my fingers and toes and then had to start over).

Marty started the train running by selecting  a GG1. We were concerned about the lack of smoke from the GG1, but we understand that Erol will correct that next weekend. Those NJ HiRailers (Pat & Jean, the 3 of us, and Erol) just keep showing up at Marty's place. Marty is also a NJ HiRailer. BTW (and a shameless plug), we are welcoming new members and have dropped our 8 hour monthly work requirement. If you would like to join the NJ HiRailers, go to our website or contact Ben or me.

The second engine Marty selected to run was the Milwaukee Road 261. A truly spectacular engine with great sound and smoke. IMO, one of the best that Lionel ever made. It was great to see it pulling a string of passenger cars in that wonderful orange color.

The last major section that Marty added to his layout is the Philly panorama with 30th Street Station (made by Alex, another Nj HiRailer) the centerpiece. As a Philly boy (go Phillies, which is really pretty hopeless), I appreciate the Philly panorama on a Boston area layout.

The visit was a great way to spend a really hot summer day, and all 3 of us had a great time. Thank you, Marty, Dotty and Ralph.

Gerry

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

My layout is open to any OGR Forum member who may find himself/herself in my area.

Love these threads, Marty!  And glad that Mike C. was able to make his first visit.  I encourage all Forum members to take Marty up on this very gracious offer.

My son and I had the privilege to see Marty's layout for our first time earlier this year when we brought an engine to him for repair.

Marty and Dotty were terrific hosts.  Great layout, and even greater people!

Here's a big "thank you" to Marty and Dotty for their hospitality yesterday.  As has been noted, we had a great time, a wonderful visit.  I'll give you a good indictor of how pleasant an afternoon it was....we arrived around midday, had a bite to eat, spent time talking about trains and the hobby in general...and when the time came to finally see trains moving around the layout I looked down at my iPhone, and was shocked to see that over three hours had already passed since our arrival!!!  I was so caught up in seeing all the wall displays, getting a tour of the first-class work area, hearing about the layout's evolution and listening to all the shop talk, that I hadn't really paid attention to the fact that we hadn't yet seen trains in action!  Of course, as Gerry pointed out the trains did eventually run.  But  by then we had so much fun it was like the cherry on the sundae.  Just a really really nice time.

The layout itself is magnificent.  If you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to take up Marty's generous offer.  I've never seen a home layout with as many trains and hi-rail fun packed into every square inch as his.  It truly deserves all the accolades it gets.  Thanks guys, once again, for having us!

Alex M posted:

 Glad to see Mike signed the wall 

 

Thanks, Alex 

Glad to see Mike reached the wall!    Many thanks to Gerry and Bob D. who graciously got own on their hands and knees so I could stand on their backs to reach a suitable spot.

Rocky Mountaineer posted:

   Mike is practically climbing on the layout!!!  

David 

Seeing such a great layout it was hard to contain my enthusiasm!  

Gerry, Philly has been a big part of my younger days.   In the summer I lived with my aunt and uncle in Hatboro.  My uncle was a huge train guy.  Many times each summer we would take the Reading MU car to the Reading terminal in Philly.  We would get cross town and spend many hours watching trains come and go at 30th street Station.  At that time I thought the Pennsy has a million GG-1 locomotives.  We loved watching them.  I have rode behind the GG-1 many times.  Heading downstream on the main from Boston we would always pick up a G motor in New Haven.  

The Pennsylvania Railroad is now gone.  The GG-1 is now gone.  My uncle Joe is now gone.  The great memories will live with me until I am gone.  I have always loved the great state (Commonwealth) of Pennsylvania and the great people who live in it.

Mike, you know where I am.  You have an open door any time.

You are great ambassador for this hobby Marty!

I am going to have to make a trip to see the layout - theses post are awesome and sounds like a potential bucket list item.