Third Atlantic City N Scale Gathering: April 22nd, 23rd and 24th, 2016

[ChristianJDavis1]

Here is a work-in-progress layout plan for this year's even. A good number of the layouts are DC and DCC, so runners should not have a problem accommodating you. To restate, please bring trains! Everyone we asked last year loved the open-operating layout concept, and we hope more people participate this year.

We will also have two operating narrow-gauge mini layouts available. @VonRyan will be bringing his "Killishandra" layout, and one of the junior 4-H members will also have his micro layout. @narrowminded , I hope these layouts will work for you. I am eager to see the things you have been working on in your threads if you plan on bringing anything.

To those of you who attended last year's event, some things have been changed. First off, the entrance will now be on the other side of the building, facing the street. Second, food will now be served where we ate dinner last year (the side room). The menu will be the same, as will the pricing.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see many of you there!

[Blazeman]

Have to decide between this or the Timonium show.

Nuts. Didn't realize there was a conflict like that. Well, nicer drive on 322 than 95, and other places to stop that would interest the Mrs. if we want to make a day of it.

[VonRyan]

We're a lot more friendly than the traffic on 95, so the safe bet is to come on down on one or both days.

And if y'all do come, be sure to bring trains to run!

We'll have DC and DCC. The DCC system of choice is Digitrax, but at least one of the layouts will also be running WiThrottle through JMRI.


And of course, those with a narrow gauge inclination are more than welcome to bring something to run on Killeshandra.

[Mr Z]

If I bring some stuff to run. How do you handle that - a sign up sheet, just approach a layout, etc?

[VonRyan]

If I bring some stuff to run. How do you handle that - a sign up sheet, just approach a layout, etc?

Easiest way is to see a New Jersey Southern representative. They'll start you off on the NJS layout and they can also make sure you see the right people when you want to run on any of the other layouts. From there you can run as long as you like.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Easiest way is to see a New Jersey Southern representative. They'll start you off on the NJS layout and they can also make sure you see the right people when you want to run on any of the other layouts. From there you can run as long as long as you like.

Thank you, Cody. Email did not alert me to a post until this morning.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Hey everyone, with only about a week left to go, I have some more updates for everyone. First up is a revision of the layout plan for the show. The T-trak layout has been expanded again, making this year's setup even larger than last year's (last years was supposed to have been the largest T-Trak layout in the state). The official procedure for running on the layouts is to find someone from the New Jersey Southern N-trak club and have them direct you to the layout "captains" at each layout. From there, you are free to run around on each layout, whether it be DC or DCC (layout and occupancy permitting). Anyway, here is the current layout setup:

[ChristianJDavis1]

The second update is the confirmed vendor's list. These are the vendors that have confirmed their attendance, and we still have a few stragglers who we are waiting for confirmation from. Here is the list so far:

Yankee Dabbler
T & F Trains
Valley Trains
Nick Caccavo
Gordon Schell
Camden and Amboy

Some of the individual clubs will have sale tables as well. This is a good event to find that item you have been searching for at an excellent price. Even better, you get to run it at the show!

[ChristianJDavis1]

The third and final update of the day is regarding possible railfanning opportunities for the weekend. In addition to the rail line running right through Egg Harbor City, which hosts New Jersey Transit commuter trains and the occasional Southern Railroad of New Jersey freight train, the United Railroad Historical Society and the Cape-May Seashore Lines are running a "railroad festival" the same weekend as our event. Located in Tuckahoe , NJ, the event will feature historical equipment as well as scenic train rides. For those of you looking to make a weekend out of this event, this is your chance! More information can be had below at the URHS website, and ticket and pricing information is available at the CMSL website.

Information (quoted below): http://urhs.org/blog/spring-railroad-festival-at-the-historic-tuckahoe-train-station/

The United Railroad Historical Society of NJ, Inc. will be hosting its first Spring Railroad Festival at the historic Tuckahoe train station on Saturday April 23, 2016.

This festival will provide the public with a rare opportunity to ride in vintage train cars and learn about railroad history on the Cape May Seashore Lines. Train rides, which will depart from the Tuckahoe station, will consist of locomotives and cars that are owned by the URHS and cared for by the Cape May Seashore Lines.

In addition to train rides, the station will be host to railroad vendors, motor car rides, stationary equipment tours, and other railroad related attractions, all included in the price of a train ticket.

The event will be held at the Tuckahoe Village Train Station at Reading Avenue & Mill Road, Woodbine, New Jersey 08270 and will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the station the day of the event and cost $10 per person or $25 per family.

URHS-LV-576-Tuckahoe-NJ-enh

Night Photo Shoot

For rail and photography enthusiasts, the URHS will host a night photo shoot at the station featuring several setups and photo angles of URHS’s historic equipment. Flash lighting will be provided. There is a 30-person maximum for the event. Admission will be $30 per person. Reservations can be made by emailing URHSNightPhoto@gmail.com prior to April 22.

About the Route

Originally built in 1893, the railroad through Tuckahoe was once referred to as “The Steel Speedway to the Shore,” as its main purpose was to shuttle passengers to the southernmost points of the Jersey Shore. The last passenger trains ran on the line in 1981 and the Cape May Seashore Lines was founded in 1984. Today, the CMSL hauls freight regularly with historic locomotives owned that are leased from the URHS.

About the URHS Collection

The United Railroad Historical Society owns a large collection of railroad equipment kept in both North and South Jersey. In addition to several passenger cars, the following loco­motives are leased to the Cape May Seashore Lines and will be either running or on display at the Tuckahoe Station.

• Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 no. 7000 – one of only 3 surviving examples of this type of locomotive owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Built in 1955, this locomotive hauled freight in the mountainous regions on Pennsylvania and later operated for Conrail and New Jersey Transit in New Jersey. This is one of the rarest pieces in the URHS collection and is leased to Cape May Seashore Lines, which keeps it in operation.

• Central Railroad of New Jersey GP7 no. 1523 – This locomotive is one of two of this type in the URHS collection. It was built in 1952 to haul passengers in New Jersey and continued doing so until it was donated to the URHS by New Jersey Transit. It is leased to the Cape May Seashore Lines and still pulls passengers and freight on a regular basis.

• Lehigh Valley F7s 576 & 578 – These two matching locomotives were built for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 1949. They were sold to New Jersey Transit in the 1980s to alleviate the railroad’s need for extra passenger locomotives. They were later donated to the URHS who painted them to represent the same type of locomotive that was owned by the Lehigh Valley Railroad. They were used by the URHS to pull excursion trains across the State of New Jersey.

Vendors are wanted for the event – Spaces are $20 each, and vendors are asked to bring their own tables and chairs. Please email URHSInfo@gmail.com to reserve your space.

For more information follow us on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/URHSofNJ/, or visit the Cap May Seashore Lines website, https://www.CapeMaySeashoreLines.org. You can also email us at URHSInfo@gmail.com with any specific questions.

The United Railroad Historical Society of NJ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by 15 New Jersey-based railroad preservation groups. The mission of the URHS is to build a railroad museum in the state of New Jersey to house its over-60-piece collection and to raise funds to restore and protect the collection until a permanent site can be acquired.

Ticket Information: http://www.capemayseashorelines.org/cmsl.php

We are not affilated with the URHS or the CMSL, we would just like to give a heads-up to some local railroad attractions. We hope to see many of you at the show. If anyone is interested in a RailWire group photograph, ask for either me (Christian) or @VonRyan (Cody).

[ChristianJDavis1]

Only two days left! The clubs involved seem to be rather excited, as are our vendors. I sincerely hope that at least some of you can come out and support our efforts, and then subsequently share your experiences with others. Overall, it is these types of events that continue to promote the hobby, and we hope that we can inspire the next generation of modelers through our efforts, even if it is only a handful of people at a time. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope to see you there!

[FlyGuyB]

Anyone have any video to post?

[SecretWeapon]

I went yesterday(Sunday), very enjoyable. Great layouts!