There goes another one....

Hard to believe another Craftsman Structure Show is behind us, the third no less. Needless to say, the fourth CSS event is already in the works. Jimmy, Scott and I are meeting this week to get things going; to see how we can improve the show some more. You've probably already heard either at the show or on the forums how great it was to have a small army of volunteers helping us out. It's worth repeating; thanks for the help! It made for a smooth, well oiled operation.

The fact that it's a three day show meant there was time to actually see the show, walk around and peruse everything. It was refreshing to see so many new products from the vendors. A couple come to mind...from Crow River Products was an O Scale Automatic Steam Engine (pic above). I had to pick this one up. I've been quietly getting interested in steam engines and thought this would be a great place to jump in, and the mini scene Leo created was a big inspiration. I'd like to replicate something similar. It's a detailed project, but small enough that I can see it actually getting completed.

Seaport Model works displayed some new work barges. Dave Krakow of Vector Cut brought a diorama based on a Bernice Abbott photo where nothing in the photo was left out - truly amazing. Lasermodeling 3 showed off their first new kit, an impressive 3 foot coal dock. Jim Harr of Stella Scale Models had his newest kit releases. Those are just a few examples. The best part about the show is seeing so much good work in one place and meeting up with so many people with a common interest.

So now time for a break...aside from shipping some outstanding orders, not much to do this week. Walking around the show, seeing all this cool stuff, I would say to myself, I should start a layout...then I remembered I did start a layout...it's just been neglected for a few months. So I dusted off some track this morning and held a brief operating session ( pic above)...and kicked around some ideas for what I'll do next. I'll keep you posted.