This year’s Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show was different from previous years’ — not because the exhibits were significantly different (they weren’t) nor because it was held in West Springfield rather than Amherst (that’s been true for years). It was different because my friend Meredith and I attended with one specific focus: examining scenery and structures for things like realism, weathering, and lighting. We learned a lot.

As my title suggests, the show is indeed huge, taking up four buildings at the Eastern States Exposition. So we had to be selective. Careful planning of what we wanted to see, in what order, carefully highlighting the building maps with red ovals — all that was essential. So we managed to see all the exhibits that we wanted to see in just over two hours. That was lots of walking, but it was worth it. Here are some photos of what we saw:

Categories: Model Railroading