O SCALE MEET 2023

2 rail thanks

OSCALE CENTRAL CHECK OUT THE WEB SITE  2 RAIL  DEAD RAIL PROTO 48

LETS NOT FORGET THE "05 " GUYS WHO AT 1 FOOT  NOBODY CAN TELL THE DEFFERENCE

THANKS TO THE COMMITTEE  THAT PUT ON THE SHOW WE ALL SHOULD BE GRATEFULL FOR THERE PERSEVERIANCE AND COMMITMENT   THANKS!!!!!

Great show ...thank you Brad , James and crew ...

I will post some pictures when I get back.  I actually stayed last night in Chicago as well and am going back home today.  Had a great time, met lots of great people and bought some nice items!  Thanks to Brad and everyone who put on the show.  A great time was had by all!

@marty track

I am a 3-railer.  I had a great time at the show & layout tours.

I posted photos from the Illinois Railway Museum under the thread "O-Gauge Model Meets Burlington Prototype".

They are photos of me & my Sunset 3rd Rail E5 Silver Pilot against the back drop of the prototype E5 Silver Pilot.

I plan to post more photos this week from the meet.

Are your above photos of Santa Fe & Milwaukee Road models from one of the layout tours ?

CB&Q Bill

I'm a 3-railer.  I was there to learn (first 2-rail show).  Great show.  In fact, it's hard to imagine a better show.  The Westin Lombard is a great venue.  Look at Carey Williams' pictures above.  I'm used to train shows in corrugated metal buildings sometimes with a paved lot.  The Chicago March Meet is a cut above.  It's a train show in a ballroom!  I made a vacation of it with my wife and daughter.  So other than the March Meet show itself, I didn't take part in any other activities.  Just the show.

We stayed at the Westin for 4 nights at a great rate for March Meet attendees.  I paid considerably less for the Westin Lombard than I paid for the Wyndham Garden York and had a much newer, nicer room with a 15th floor Chicago skyline view.  There's a Harry Caray's steakhouse in the lobby, a Starbucks, and plenty of free parking too.  The Westin Lombard is well positioned to tour the area hobby shops (America's Best, Des Plaines, Walt's, Chicagoland, and Berwyn's).  The area surrounding the Westin Lombard has two shopping malls and many restaurants (plenty of pricey chains like Capital Grill but I recommend Lucca in Oak Brook, if you go).  On Saturday, my wife and daughter Uber-ed to downtown Chicago while I attended the show.  If you'd rather take the train, the Metra goes from Lombard straight into Chicago too.

As for the show itself, even as a 3-railer, I didn't walk away empty handed.  I managed to haul out five new Woodland Scenics buildings at a great price.  I saw plenty of Atlas 3-rail rolling stock for sale.  One guy saw me eyeing his set of six K-Line 18" aluminum streamlined passenger cars, LNIB.  He converted them to 2-rail but he still had the 3-rail trucks to throw in on the deal.  He really wanted me to take all six for $200.  Presumably, I could have negotiated down from there!  Great deal but I just don't need them.  I hate passing up a deal like that (obviously, I'm still thinking about it).  I will definitely be back next year.

Bring on the 2 rail

Thanks to all who had a hand in putting the March Meet together.  Great show !!  Just like old times !!

Hmmm, those photos do not snow too much of a crowd; oh well, it was Chicago in the winter.

Thanks for that cheerful post.  Is it okay if those of us who attended had fun?

@PRRMP54 posted:

Hmmm, those photos do not snow too much of a crowd; oh well, it was Chicago

Actually it was in Lombard, more than 25 miles west of Chicago.

in the winter.

The weather wasn't all that bad for mid-March, i.e. cold and breezy but no rain or snow.

The show was great, I saw a lot of friends, traded "advice," bought a few things, and admired a lot more.  Thanks to all who put it on!

It was such a great weekend. I think my favorite part were meeting people and just talking with new friends!

These are some of the items I bought and some I saw.  First the items I bought...this will be several posts long.  Unfortunately, I don't think I took any crowd pictures but depending what part of Saturday you were there, was nice crowds, plus workshops were going on at any given time.

I bought an Atlas ACL pulpwood car (will replace the wood with real wood), Overland Pfaudler 47' milk car, PSC Bordens Milk Car, Dinky 1956 Mack truck, Overland Butter dish Car with full fins, a 3rd Brass Milk car (no picture yet) and a MAX Gray Switch Tower with lights.

These are the things I saw and some I wish I had bought.  Some I just wish I could buy.  Most of the buildings were in the model contest as was the first pictures of the passenger car detail...I believe he won the "peoples" choice.

Wish I could have been there.  If it had been on any other weekend this month, I would have been. 

Hi All,

Great time in Lombard!!!

Pictures attached say’s it all!!

Thank you Brad and Committee!!

Nice seeing lots of OGR forum members

Enjoy.

John P Dunn Sr. CVMRR President

I enjoyed the show very much.  The Rockford O Scalers sold most of the things that we took to the show which were then promptly replaced by new things that we bought. The Rockford O Scalers open houses also went well.  About 30 people showed up on Thursday and about 70 on Sunday.  Please see the "Rockford O Scalers" facebook page for additional pictures.

I so hope to see that Rockford layout some day

Great pics everyone!  We wanted to go but my wife is still not back up to speed from knee surgery back in January.  Maybe next year.   I really wish they would find away to get the fall Indy meet going again, that was a huge blow to the local 2 rail scene.  Was a great kick off for the fall/winter modeling season.     AD

I had not been to the show in 8 years.  In the first couple hours, it was packed with lots of people.  I found some very useful parts and some bargains, e.g. Williams 4-6-0 brass comeback 2-rail in mint condition for $200. Lots of custom structures that were very affordable but would have been crushed in my luggage.  

I really enjoyed the show. I took my family and we made it a vacation. I made it to two layouts and spent all of Saturday at the swap meet and clinics/meetings. The amount of high quality items for sale is impressive.

Splendid photos.

@Dave Koehler posted:

I so hope to see that Rockford layout some day

If you are passing thru Rockford, let us know.  We can usually accommodate visit requests.

Looks like a great time; cool to see the "All Nation Line" banner. 😊

Mark in (distant) Oregon

FOR US 2 RAIL GUYS ITS THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH  THANKS TO ALL THAT PUT IT TOGETHER

Was Midwestern Model Works at the show , any news from Eric ?

I'll add my thanks to all who made this meet happen! I thought it was VERY well attended. Had a very difficult time maneuvering down the aisles on the opening morning. Here are some pictures taken Sunday morning, still lots of people buying.

Holy cow...I didn't realize that much 2 rail stuff existed! 😳😁

Mark in Oregon

I was able to pick up 16 Atlas cars (reefers, tank cars, hoppers) anywhere from $25 each to $35 each. Picked up an Atlas GP7 at $200 below retail. And then picked up a couple Overland brass pieces that I wasn’t looking for but couldn’t resist the great price.

The dealers that I am familiar enough with to ask, all said that they had a great show. However one did tell me that he didn’t bring too much of brand “X” because they tend to be discounted so much at this show that he can’t even get what he paid for them.

I would say that at least 90% of the people I talked to were very nice and friendly and seemed happy to be there. There were a couple sellers that were really pushy, but that was not the norm.

Didn’t make it to any of the layouts, decided to do some other things around town instead.

All in all a very nice experience.

@Strummer posted:

Holy cow...I didn't realize that much 2 rail stuff existed! 😳😁

Mark in Oregon

been around as long as 3 rail

Plenty of beautiful bridges around Chicago, but sadly they don't operate until mid-April. One day I will make it in warmer weather to see them in action.

Don't forget the food! (sadly, I didn't get a picture of our Portillo's meal).

Honey Jam

Hooters

Giordano's

And some other attractions...

View from the Navy Pier ferris wheel around Sunset.

Willis Tower (Sears Tower for us old farts).

And "The Bean".

The model contest!

@lionel1946 posted:

The model contest!

beautiful models

@hibar posted:

Was Midwestern Model Works at the show , any news from Eric ?

Yes. I didn’t talk to him though.

Awesome, just like being there except reaching for my wallet won't work.