# Great Train Show, Pomona



## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

Will this be similar to Big Train show that just happened in Ontario? 
Thx.
Marty


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi, yep, it will be an all scales Great Train Expo show. The BTS had more G than the typical GTE, I got a look at the floor plan its going to be a packed hall but honestly I don't know what vendors will be there, Bill Grove lists personal names not vendors businesses on the exhibitors floor plan. I assume mostly HO and N plus some O and some G. If you go to the GTE site and look at the exhibitors list for the show there is a link to the floor plan PDF and a list of exhibitors. My tiny layout will be there, right in the middle.

http://greattrainexpo.com/exhibitor/index.html

Anyone know if the Fairplex garden train layout will be operating?


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## saintyohann (Jan 2, 2008)

I've been told until 2PM Saturday and probably not on Sunday.


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## Bob Baxter (Jan 3, 2008)

Two of the "G scale" vendors that will be there are Bridgemasters, who have a huge spread of new and almost new products and Gold Coast with mostly well priced new G items. Others usually have some G along with smaller scale things they've picked up. You never know what you'll run across at any of these shows.


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## saintyohann (Jan 2, 2008)

I guess they will be running both days now, until 4PM both days of the show.


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## Cajonjp (Jul 15, 2015)

Yes we will be open this weekend and operating trains both days 10 to 4 during the Great Train Show. I plan on having a nice variety of motive power out on the mains and in the yard for this weekends enjoyment. Its great to have the train show back at Fairplex this year so come on by and see the layout. It will be its last run prior to the fair in September.

John Wagner
Scenes Director Fairplex Garden Railroad


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

John,

Many of us on MLS had the privilege of running our trains on your beautiful layout many years ago, when the Fairplex layout hosted MLS Day. What a treat that was. I brought my Accucraft #346 and a NG freight to run.










This photo was taken on Saturday November 6th, 2010


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Gonna be a hot and humid weekend! All set up, still didn't have electricity when I left, hope that gets sorted out before opening tomorrow.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

*Great Train Show, Pomona Postscript*

Good show, seemed pretty crowded Saturday, OK on Sunday. It rained late in the afternoon Saturday, and on Sunday right after the show closed we got a real gully washer! Loading became a real PITA in the rain for everyone. I was luckily able to get parking close to the end I was at, and in a lull in the deluge I loaded up. Still got soaked. Driving home I almost needed a boat!

The GTE folks were great! Thanks to Randy Bachmann and his family, they did a great job even dealing with the bureaucracy that can make the Fairplex a pain at times. I was able to get set up and taken down on my own once again but this time the wear and tear on the layout really took its toll. 

To get it in and out on my own, I have to unload it out of the car onto its side onto a collapsible dolly, then roll it in and manhandle it up onto the sawhorses. If I am lucky I can get someone to help carry it in and out but the last two shows I did it solo. Yesterday I had two buildings break off as well as several figures. It was never designed to be tipped on its side as necessary to get it rolled into and out of the hall. I had this problem at the BTS to a degree a but at the Anaheim Citric Festival I had to tip the whole layout 90 degrees and that took a toll as well. At the Anaheim GTE I can drive right into the hall and unload the layout keeping it flat. Its also very bulky and its weight make it very difficult to manhandle onto the sawhorses and in and out of the car on my own. I have to seriously consider that if I have to tip it on end to get it in and out that I'm just going to have to skip those shows. It really beats the **** out of the layout.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

I was there with my family on Saturday. Vik, it was neat to see the pizza layout in person (I'm the guy who was asking about the speeder when you discovered the rear axle was loose  )

Just as a compare/contrast, I was at the Wichita show earlier this year and I thought that there were fewer vendors (or maybe they were just crammed into a smaller space) and more layouts at Pomona. I guess the larger number of layouts was to be expected, since there are more model RR clubs in L.A. than there. I really liked the HO layout that included some Faller system buses and the one with a "window" into the base where you could look in and see the subway.

I saw the BridgeMasters booth--they had a lot of "new" stuff--most of it looked well made and reasonably priced. I finally got to see the Piko BR 24 in person. It looked very nice, and if I had $600 to spare it is one new loco I might purchase. 

It was definitely fun to see the mix of layouts. My wife was commenting that you expect people to be shooting for realism when they make a layout, but there were quite a number that were clearly just for fun--with modeling accuracy either a distant second or not a consideration at all. My three-year-old son especially liked the three-rail O trains that they had running flat out.

A nice show and glad I had the time to attend.


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

This is for bob baxter I do not know how to get in touch with him. If anybody knows him please ask to go to the general form. see toonerville trolley. Pete.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

a quick google for "door hollow shortline", and link to Bob's site:

http://4largescale.com/baxter/index.htm

You will find contact info there...

google is your friend

Greg


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