This year, The N-Scale Enthusiast hosted its annual N-scale convention in Pittsburgh, PA. That is only about a five hour drive from my house, so I talked the wife into a weekend trip and off we went. For my first time at any convention like this, I decided that I just wanted to go to the public show to see the vendors and the layout display room. It was a great experience with just these two components. At most train shows I attend, I am lucky to find a vendor with N-scale stuff every four or five tables or so. At this convention, EVERY table was N-scale! Although I might not have been interested in what everyone had to show or sell due to the locale and period of my model railroad, it was nice to see a good representation from the hobby. There were a few manufacturers there such as Athearn, Atlas, Kato, Digitrax, Fox Valley, Bar Mills, RSLASER and of course Micro-Trains showing off some of their newest offerings as well as a peek at what is coming down the road. It was also nice to be able to have a conversation with some of the representatives and let them know what you are looking for from them. I truly believe that they listen and take our input into consideration when making product decisions. Of course, I bought a few items from the vendors.
A few of the items purchased from the vendors.
The other portion of the show was the layout displays. There were three large rooms filled with N-Trak, T-Trak and individual modules. Much of the work was awe inspiring and inspirational. It ranged from a very detailed carnival scene with hundreds of lights and animation, to mountain vistas, to industrial switching. There was something to see for everyone. It was also cool to see that several clubs were joined together to make a couple of large NTrak layouts. This is what is nice about the modular standards. The T-Trak room was a great demonstration of what can be accomplished by individuals with a very limited amount of space, whether that is by choice or not. This was the first time I had seen in person the T-Trak concept executed so beautifully. My only regret, is not taking any pictures of the modules (hence no pictures on my post). But there are plenty of people that did and you can find those at sites such s YouTube.
My wife and I rounded out the weekend by visiting some of the other sites around Pittsburgh such as the incline railway, Fort Pitt, and the downtown area for dinner. I think the next time I attend this convention I just might have to make a week of it and participate in some of the workshops and even submit a model for judging.