Locomotion Weekend At Carnegie Science Center (Pittsburgh PA) Dec 13-14

The Carnegie Science Center is a GREAT place! We have a Family membership and take our grandchildren there every year.

When you go in to see the O gauge layout, make sure to say hello to Patty! She is in charge of the layout and is also an OGR Forum member!

In addition to the the above activities, the CSC is also showing the films Rocky Mountain Express and The Polar Express in the OmniMax Theater.  If you haven't seen it, Rocky Mountain Express is a real treat for train fans and nature-lovers alike, and The Polar Express on the OmniMax screen is amazing.

For the die-hard train fans, Saturday the 13th could be made into an all-day train marathon.  That day is also one of the days that John DeSantis' train museum is open to the public (details here).  His collection has to be seen to be believed (it includes probably the most complete collection of vintage Lionel standard gauge tinplate and many one-of-a-kind rarities). And if that isn't enough, it is also one of the nights of Kennywood's Holiday Lights (weather permitting) where you can see the park decked out in millions of lights and ride the park train (among other rides) and see the Pittsburgh Independent Hi-Railers' O gauge layout.  So you could start at the CSC, visit John DeSantis' museum (just a few blocks away from the CSC) and finish the night at Kennywood (about 12 miles from downtown).  That would almost be be train overload!

Andy

The Fort Pitt High Railers are also participating in this event.  I believe we will be on the third floor, one of the demonstration labs.

I am planning to attend the event on Saturday the 13th.  I haven't seen the Science Center layout since it was in the old Buhl Planetarium.  I hope to bring a friend who is looking to buy a starter set for his 10-year old son for Christmas.  I do not know whether bringing his son will make him hope to get the set or spoil the surprise.    

He told me he went to Mercer High School with Forum sponsor Dave Minarik of Mercer Junction Train Shoppe, so that is who he will buy the set from.  While Dave can get him going, this event looks like it would be good for him to attend.

Al, I hope to meet you there as well!

Mark,

I look forward to meeting you there!

al Kolis 

Here's a little taste of what's new and what you can see at the CSC this year:

Carnegie Science Center adds Buhl Planetarium ro railroad village

Andy

A story KDKA did this week as well...

Honest Rich I tried to embed it.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...&clipId=10868716

Well with the Steelers away the Science Center should be open normally on Sunday.

The regular hours are listed as...

Saturday - 10 am - 7 pm

Sunday - 10 am - 5 pm

Not sure if they go longer with this event.  I'll be there help Al with the LCCA setup so please stop and say hi.

I don't know if it's just me but lately I've read quite a few posts about trains in Pittsburg. I think that's great. I wish we had more around here.

Anyone know if a new CSC branded Lionel car is available for sale this year?????

Hi Andy:

This post really brings back happy memories for me as the Buhl Planetarium is where I used to go to see early versions of that layout when I was a kid.

For those who can't get there in person, John DeSantis's home and collection was featured on a DVD sold by TM Books.  It was also shown in a recent episode of the “I Love Toy Trains” show on RFD-TV.  Usually these episodes are repeated so watch the program guide for when it may air again (although as we've discussed before the guide is not always 100% accurate).  

And toy trains at Kennywood, even!

The ‘burg is truly a Toy Train Paradise!  I’m getting homesick.

Thanks for posting,

Bill

Spence,

You are right.  I live an hour drive away from Pittsburgh, and the locations in the South Hills are farther. However, I am glad it is so close.  I modeled HO and N for over 40 years before switching to O gauge.  When I lived 10 years in Virginia, there were lots of HO events in Virginia and Maryland, and I was disappointed when I moved back to Pennsylvania there were so many of those "big Lionel" events and not many in the smaller scales.  Now I finally wised up and got my priorities straight!  

B&O2368, the newest car is the black flat with two space capsules, last year was the red flat with the sub, at this time no news on a new one.

Andy, got a chance after my shift today to see the Rocky Mountain Express, all I can say is Wow, this is one everyone should see.

Jack

Dr. Jack, thanks for the info. Purchased the space capsules last year.  If you hear of anything new, please post it on the forum.

B&O2368 

Marty,

Thank you so much for volunteering!  I invite all of you to bring your friends, family and neighbors.  Introduce them to the magic of Lionel Trains and our great hobby!  I hope to see you there.

al K

I am planning to be there Saturday.

See you then!

A day away!  Looking forward to seeing you all there. Make sure you stop and say hi to Al Kolis and me!  More importantly grab a neighbor, a work colleague, or relative and bring them along.  I know in addition to the LCCA setup there will be a lot of "Training" going on!

Hopefully Al lets me sneak away for a bit and I can get lots of pictures to share of the event!

We visited the CSC four years ago and the layout there is very nice. The supervisor and caretaker of the layout scratch built many of the structures on it and her work is top notch. At that time there was a team of 3 or 4 people that handled maintenance, security and answered questions about the layout. IIRC the roots of that layout date back to the 1950's.  

We're going to try to get up there tomorrow afternoon (I can't picture us getting on the road much before noon.) If anyone didn't get a paper copy of last year's Christmas train story book and wants one, I'm going to shove a half-dozen in my tote bag and will hand you one on request till I run out.

--Becky

Some pics from today. 

I was privileged to be able to attend the Locomotion Weekend today.  I  spoke with Marty and Al for a while and as the photos show, they were kept quite busy.  It is a very nice presentation they have for the kids.  There were also O gauge, S, and HO clubs in attendance with their modular layouts.  All very well done.  I even got a call on my way home that my name had been picked by the Fort Pitt TCA for a surprise door prize.  They were on display, wrapped in Christmas paper.  So I will have a surprise once we set up a date to get it.

I had never been to the Carnegie Science Center, and I see it was opened in 1991.  I had been to its predecessor the Buhl Planetarium and saw the Railroad and Village when in grade school in the early '60s and then in 1984.  the Railroad and Village is larger, and has some mighty fine modeling as Marty's photos show.  If you are near Pittsburgh tomorrow I encourag you to attend.

You guys are great ambassadors for the hobby!

Peter

It was kid overload!  But a lot of fun!  The LionChief set ran strong all day. The remote hit the floor 4 or 5 times and kept running. The engine ran literally all day, along with Al and myself. Lot of kids loving the trains. Kids of all ages as Al's photos show. 

The LCCA does a great job at promoting the hobby. All hands on. 

If kids are no longer interested in trains, you surely couldn't tell by that crowd. One little guy could barely see over the edges of the layouts, but he was glued to them. There was also a little girl whose family kept losing her because she had to run and look at everything train-related, especially the Loco Doctor's setup. 

The only downside was the insane traffic. Hour and a half up, three back because of all the accidents, traffic jams and closed roads. South Hills T stop wasn't happening because of the mall parking, and it's a shame because I'd ride the T any day.

Becky, Tom, and Gabe,

You are so right about the number of kids loving the trains!!

I had no trouble with traffic Saturday coming from the North.  I just had trouble finding a parking space once I had paid.

As an aside, please note the red, white, and green structure in the center of the photo.  It is the Ship on the Mountain, which was located on US Rt 30 heading towards Bedford, Pennsylvania.  It is a good example to those who like something whimsical on their layouts, that there is a prototype for everything.  It is no more, but I remember seeing it, and yes, it was built to look like a ship and was on top of the mountain.

The Model Railroad and Village has meticulously modeled reproductions of countless structures from Pittsburgh and West Virginia.  One could spend a whole day inspecting all of them.  Fantastic.

I like how you always post stuff after the event.

From Sunday:

Now that I look at it, I'm in the 23rd picture running the turntable.

Keith,

I think your back is to the camera 5 photos before the one where you are operating the turntable.  Did it seem pretty dark up there on the top floor today.  It was Saturday.  Could have been the same, and the flash helped out.

PittsburghRailfan,

Those are mighty nice photos.  Looks like you covered about everything.  Thanks for posting.

It was nice to meet everyone.  Seeing a young guy like Keith is encouraging for the hobby!  Nice to meet you Keith!  Nice talking to Mark on Saturday.  It was a busy weekend for sure. 

Great pictures everyone.  It was a fun weekend.  We signed several kids up for the kids club.  It's so much fun showing the kids how to operate the classic ZW transformers.  They learn quickly.  We always try to have one layout that is hands on and even though some get over zealous from time to time they enjoy the experience. The stories the parents tell about Lionel trains when they were younger are fun to hear and after seeing the trains they want the same experience for their children.  I want to thank Patty and her team for all the hard work they do to put on this event.  I look forward to this every year.