Midwest Train Show 2003
Attendees
- Scott Sanburn
- Stefan Garcia
- Victoria Garcia
Midwest Train Show 2003
Attendees
Report
Friday - December 5th, 2003
I left the Michiana area about 1:30PM, hoping to get there on time to setup, since Stefan and Victoria were coming later. I have only driven through Chicago once, so I took the wrong highway, and ended up on the wrong side of Chicago, but I eventually arrived on time. When I arrived, Cantigny Park was beautiful. I was directed to the visitors center, and saw some people unloading. They had a small cart, so we used that to bring everything in. Eventually, Jason Spears of Mich-LTC came, and we helped him unload as well. We were in another room, next to the NILTC exhibit, so we were getting ready to set up. Jason and I both thought helping each other to get our tables set up was a good thing, so we got both clubs tables up. A few people left for a food run, so we got to continue getting set up. Unfortunately, I could not bring the buildings to the show, so I had to go home and get them. Victoria and Stefan did arrive a little later, and we finished setting up, as much as we could. The layout looked amusing, since there were roads and grass and track set up, but no buildings. We left later that night, while some NILTC members stayed to work on their layout. I got home, and went to bed.
Saturday - December 6th, 2003
I got going rather early, with all the buildings in the Tahoe, and headed back. It was a long, tiring drive, but I survived, and got their around 7:00AM Central. Everyone got there about the same time, and we started to get the buildings set up. Naturally, the Shell Station was the big hurtle, as that always takes some time to build. Once again, Chris Leach let me borrow his twin towers, and another member, Amy Hughes, was kind enough to lend out her Hotel and her Ice Cream Shop as well, so we had a lot of nice buildings. Stefan and Victoria were wonderful getting things set up, and we were mostly ready to go when the show opened. I continued to work on vehicles and details as the morning went on, while Stefan brought his beautiful model of the Zephyr (SP?) and a lot of people enjoyed it. There were a lot of people that came, I was surprised, but it was great to have all those people. People really liked the Shell Station, they loved the gas prices, and the Train Shed. We answered a lot of questions, and it was a very nice first day. One of the nice things on our display was the u shaped display, where we did not have to climb under the tables. We need to barricade the ends better, though. We wrapped up about 5:00PM, and we headed for a local restaurant with the NILTC crew, and some LEGO Store shopping nearby. We parted ways again, and I decided to drive home, since I felt OK.
Sunday - December 7th, 2003
Sunday morning I got to sleep in a little more, and headed back. I got there before the show opened, and we got some more stuff out and continued to change the layout. The show opened again, and it seemed there were even more people than yesterday. We had more questions, and even a child who asked me a lot of questions on how I built some of the models and that kind of thing. We got a lot of compliments from both the show visitors and the various club members who attended the show. Unfortunately, the show wrapped up at 4:00PM, so we started the usual teardown. I was worried about not having enough room, since I took the buildings on Saturday. We got most everything torn down, and the security people were nice enough to let us drive the vehicles up to the building so it was an easier time. Due to a lot of peoples help, and some creative packing, we got everything in the Tahoe, and Stefan and Victoria got Chris's and Amy's buildings in their vehicle. We checked to make sure everyone was packed up, and departed. I got home around 10:00PM, and went to bed soon after. It was a great show, and we are looking forward to a bigger and better display next year.
Thanks
Ondrew Hartigan & NILTC - For getting this show organized, and for patience dealing with us. Thanks!
Stefan and Victoria Garcia - Thanks for all of your efforts, it turned out to a great show thanks to your help!
David Kohrman - Thanks for the effort David of coming down, and staying overnight. I am glad you had time for your paper.
Amy Hughes - Who was kind enough to lend us some of her buildings and trees.
Chris Leach - For his buildings.
Jason Spears and MichLTC - For your help in setting up and tearing down.
Links
Cantigny Park - Wheaton, Illinois
