Our turn to PLAY trains

We had a fantastic time on Saturday. When we arrived, the line for Santa was almost completely around the train display. It's like having a captive audience. I liked when the people got so involved in watching the trains that they forgot to move the line along.

When the log cars on the trestle track derailed and dumped logs on the lower track, the AMTRACK special derailed in the middle of the layout. There was no way we were going to be able to reach the derailed cars. So, I said " we just need to steal a kid from the line and throw him up on the display!" And that's what we did, TWICE!!! Thanks Jesse for the help.

The highlight of the day was getting Betty (my mother) to operate the trains and to try to stop the passenger cars in front of the station. By the end of the night, she almost had the controllers

figured out.

One of the requests from a little boy was to see the "B&M Bubble Top"

Nice Sunday at the Mall

Wild Saturday was over and nice Sunday arrived.  The parking lot was back to normal.  Tiny, Hunk and Betty arrived as scheduled but Carl and Mac were already there.  Later on Walter, John and then Ralph Luby stopped by.  He signed up to come back later in the week.  Thanks Ralph,  that is exactly what we need!

By the way when we started there were 42 days to go, now there are only 19.  So we are feeling good about the whole event and thank those members that have made it possible!  Great Job!

    Today Tiny brought in his RDC car and a cute looking Santa Hand Car. I had my B&M Deisel and sound car working the elevated line and Carl had his Amtrak running well.  You can see them in the following photo album.  Take a look at some of the videos from today's action.  
   

Wild Saturday at the Mall

WOW!  It was a big difference from Friday night to this afternoon. The line for Santa Claus went around over half of our layout!  Well at least they had plenty of interesting things to watch.  The crew enlisted the aid of the kids as they were light weight and agile enough to scamper across the layout to help retrieve a car from the track when necessary.  Dick, Rich and Walter were relieved by Betty, Hunk, Terry and Sue.  I bet they had a busy night and lots of stories to remember.  I would be interested to hear if it quieted down later on.  I wish I had more pictures but I have a little video from today. 
Here is some quick clips of the Mall around 3:30 today.

Festival of Trees ~ Dec 4 to Dec 11th ~ MGRS Train Display by Paul Corbett

Paul Corbett is looking good and so is his layout as he begins another 8 day train display at the Westbrook Festival of Trees.  The event runs from Dec 4 to Dec 11, 2010.  Click here for the exact schedule of date and times:   Paul has developed a good following of people who look for him and the trains each year about this time.  It is an excellent place to put on a display.  The people appear generous also as he had a jar full of donations he collects for local charities.  Paul always has a lot of nice details for his scenery and dioramas.  I liked Harmon's Hamburgers which is a famous spot on RT 100 in West Falmouth.   Click here to see some pictures and clips of the Festival of Trees.

Looking Good!

MGRS gets its name up in lights~Looks Good!

Friday Night with David and John

Carl and Mac started off the day early and were there at 3pm looking strong and fresh when David and I came in at 3pm. to take over the evening shift.  Things went very well today for everybody.  We were pleased to see what Symon the Maine Mall Event Coordinator had done on the big message board (see above post).   Scott was there and he took some pictures on my camera for me.  Both David and I met and talked to more interesting people today.  It is all off  camera because that is when people like to talk.  I have a few seconds of a real Downeast train engineer saying his route is Portland Maine to Boston North Station.  We had folks from New York to Novia Scotia and every where in between.  They all love "talking trains" and watching ours perform.
 
Please see more from today - Click here:

Paul Corbett leads MGRS to another Festival of Trees

   
 As he has done so well in past years, Paul is heading up and taking care of the annual Westbrook Festival of Trees which begins tomorrow.   This is a beautiful event and one that is interesting to see.  You will not only see an up close MGRS train display which is a delight to children and adults, you can also see over a hundred beautifully decorated Christmas Trees.  All inside, nice and warm despite the weather.  Please click here for directions and the schedule that the trains will be operating.  

Iron Horse - Nov-Dec Issue available Online

We would like to draw your attention to page 7 of the latest issue of the Newsletter.  The Mall display has been a very big success.  But it is all done by volunteers.  Please help them finish strong by filling in on an open date remaining in December. 

Big and Small at the Mall

  Amtrak to Eggliners and everything in between.
Today Doug and Dan ran trains in the AM.   Doug brought in all his egg liners and had them running all linked together and in free style versions. He also had a very nice hardcover book very well done on "Gardens Man Style"  (or something similar to that).  The book showed some great pictures of his 2001 Vermont Railroad. It was very well done.  They were both kept busy talking to folks all day.
The PM shift were all representatives of the Circus Division and featured Norm, Art and Andy.  I missed seeing what they were up too but I am sure that it was colorful! I did hear a horse car go past which was making authentic sounds.  But then  I left to see a concert my grandson was in which was nearby.  Here is a little video from the day.  Click here:

BTW the rumor was that the Mall had upper management from 'away' come to visit today and we did see some special guests being shown our display as we tried not to do anything too outrageous.  Remember, I said 'tried'.  Actually. we think they love us, We will find out tomorrow when we ask if we can be put up on the Mall marque. :)

Arthur and Jim at the controls

    Art signed up for a complete double shift AM and PM and he started early and finished strong.  Very impressive!  Carl and Mac were there in the morning and Jim and John in the afternoon.  We all had a very good day at the Mall.  Once again we had the chance to meet interesting people, answer questions, learn ourselves and thoroughly enjoy the time spent there as the day flew by.  Here are some quick video clips from today as we start a new month.

Wrapping up November at the Mall

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                                             Click here to see more pictures:

   Grace and David Take over from Carl, Mac and Jim to wind up the last 5 hr shift of operating trains at the Maine Mall for the month of November!    Jim and John stayed around for a couple of  more hours to watch trains run and to talk to more folks who never seem to get tired of watching. Every person has a story to tell and when they see our layout it seems to spark their memories.  One man walked by and said did you fellows know Doc Hill?  Of course that started a long conversation. All the people that stopped by to talk trains or ask questions just make the time go by quickly, in fact tomorrow is December, and we start a new and busy month as we head into the Christmas season full throttle!

Carl, Walter, Paul and Dick, Andy, Mike at the Mall

AM group (above) plus the PM group (below) equals
10 hrs of train action

 Plus the little faces that are there all the time

  Monday 11/29/2010.  I think the guys at the Mall were pulling my leg.  First they told me tomorrow was December, then they said the Pats & Jets were playing tonight.  I was all happy until I found out it was actually two teams with 3-7 records.  It probably was my hearing and they said 'next' week.   My hearing problems aside, I love sitting around talking to the daily MGRS train crews as well as the people that stop by.  I think we have picked up several members so far but right now just getting to know our own members is even better,  We have a lot of excellent people in our club.  We are lucky to have such a good group and the Mall display has brought out the best in us. We are like a bunch of kids enjoying the trains!  Here are some more pictures and clips from today as we ran some old favorites plus some brand new ones we have never seen before like Dicks old fashioned European train and his new Budliner car. please click here:

Sunday at the Mall with Michael, Ernie, Norm and Jeff

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Footnote from John:  It is great to meet and get a chance to talk and  work with  some of the guys in the club we have not met before.   That is a big part of making this event extra special.  For example Jeff has a speeder (a real one) of his own.  And everyone has an story to share. Plus, we all like seeing  the people enjoy our trains.     

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   The guys did a great job and they also saw Carl and Mac in the morning and John later on in the day to take some pictures.  Ernie brought in an engine to run and it had a little trouble adjusting to the line, but after a little 'field maintenance' they had everything running good.  Of course the trouble spot was at a hard to reach area, but that is part of the challenge.  Actually, everything is going very well and it is fun to come in and 'play' with the trains.  People like to see what we do and if anything unusual does happen it just adds to their interest. Of course Circus trains were part of today's mix and the crowds were interested and full of questions as usual. More picture and video click here:

Saturday at the Mall with Mike, Lucy, Brandon, Barry, Buckie, John. Scott, Betty and Hunk

      Changing over the shifts from the AM to the PM Train Crews.

Calling  in the reserves troops.

Hunk & Betty come in to help Scott.

After 10 hrs on Black Friday Barry and Buckie came back in to help

Mike, Lucy and Brandon get started on Saturday morning.

Brandon was a big help and as far as running trains go, I think we all have as much fun as any of  the youngsters do,  Who knows, maybe even more!

Thanks again to Buckie and Barry as they made a a special trip down from Athens and stayed overnight just to help out running trains.  And that they did, about 15 hours straight over two days!  Awesome!  They did a great job and I know they enjoyed it too.   Have a safe trip down to Florida and enjoy the winter!  We look forward to seeing you next year. 

Mike and Lucy and Brandon also had a fun day at the Mall.  Talking to the people is as much fun as running the trains.  And running trains on our layout is a lot of fun.  There is plenty of action and mixing in the novelty trains especially "Thomas on request" will keep you occupied as the time flies by!   This morning as I came in late, A couple was telling how they had been in yesterday and today they had driven and hour and  a half to come back because their son had liked it so much they wanted to see it again!

It has been an amazing success and there is only one reason why.  The members have gotten behind it and all pitched in to help.  Plus,  remember the Maine Mall has pledged to contribute one thousand five hundred dollars to our organization as a charitable donation.  That is in addition to all the work they have done to build and decorate the stage.  The environment is fantastic, warm, pleasant, happy and filled with enthusiastic and appreciative people who are enjoying watching trains run and learning more about them and MGRS.

Happy Black Friday ~ From Barry & Buckie

• Today Barry & Buckie wanted the full day and the challenge of taking on 'Black Friday'  and all the crowds!  They delayed their start to Florida just to be here, and they will be leaving soon.  Congratulations to you guys, What Spirit!  We love ya and wish you a safe and happy winter. Say 'hi' to I&G.  We love all the BBIG's and look forward to seeing you all next year!
• Carl and Mac were also in this morning.  They both have been in more than anybody else.  I came in at 3PM and it was still busy and the time went by fast. I had a great time.  I spent a lot of time playing with trains and talking to people. So much so,  that  I missed a lot of pictures today. I did try to get one of the reflection of the layout in the skylight. 
• I also talked to Keith Stone who was on Mall management duty this evening.   He said that the Mall was getting very good feedback regarding our display.  We did know that, but I am glad that they here it too.  I enjoyed my part of the day with the B's and I thank them again! 

Here are some video clips from 11-26-10  click to view:
 

From Maine Garden Railway Society

A Happy Thanksgiving Day to Everyone 

 If you like the moving version of the picture click here:

South Station G Scale Train Display

From Tiny who found this link to the Train Display which is in Boston's South Station.  Click to start
Follow the link under Holiday Model Train Display to the Landscaper's home page
Look for 'South Station Display' near top of page. 

Jim and Carl and John play trains at the Mall

   Yes we are having to much fun!  As Jim and I said, Where else can you go where you see a bunch of people with smiles on their faces?  And tomorrow is Thanksgiving, we certainly do have a lot to be thankful for.
  Today we ran a lot of trains as Carl and Jim were good at changing them.  The Amtrak passenger train, B&O passenger train, Maine Central freight, Thomas w/Annie & Clarabelle, Eggliner,  Guilford Circus Train, Amtrak GP38 with old passenger cars, and the little green LGB 0-4-0 with coaches. We have a good variety to select from plus whatever favorites members bring with them.  Things are going very well.  All-a-board for the rest of the ride!   Please click here to see some more:

Neville and John take a turn running trains at the Maine Mall

   Well it is true,  another fun day at our "Club House" in the Mall.  That is what it feels like. I know we will feel sad when the Mall says it has to take down the stage and put it away.   Today Neville and John S. were the primary engineers with help from a bunch of others guys who cannot stay away.  Carl brought in his big Rio Grande diesel which looks and sounds awesome!   Our club GP38-2 and a very nice little Maine Central diesel plus an array of egg liners and an LGB 0-4-0 pulling Thomas cars, plus the happy little tank engine himself combined to put on quite a show. The audience was not disappointed, nor were we with them! John Sharpe and Jim Hinkley are particularly good at spotting the kids reactions and sheer glee at watching the trains.  I will try to ask the parents permission to video some of them so we can show  them to you.  Once again, many thanks to all the members that are making this possible!
Here are a few clips from today:  Click to view

Hunk and Betty run trains and entertain the crowd

Hunk and Betty had a good time at the Maine Mall today running trains and talking to people. They are naturals at making friends and the people loved them. We all had a very good time and several members stopped by to see how things were going and to say hello. People  continue to watch and enjoy the display.   It is a pleasure to be there and to be a part of it.  Above, Santa gives us a wave and Betty is telling the boys where to stand so they can show up on our wide screen TV!