H&R Trains - 58th Train Show

The 58th H&R Train Show
March 19, 20, & 21, 2010
"It Will be Better Than Ever"

AND AS ALWAYS
IT IS ALL FREE !

The excitement is in the air once again. The tents will be giong up soon and will once again be full of on lookers. Train Show promises to be bigger and better than ever. There will be numerous Clinics, Dyana Broussard will conduct the Thomas Painting Workshop for childern, ages 3-7 and Several Manufacturers will be on hand participating in our 58th show. The tents will be filled with Displays and Door Prizes drawn hourly each day. Manufacturers will display their merchandise and answer questions for visitors. There will also be several Promotional specials. It is a great time to get out of the house with the entire family and enjoy our wonderful Florida weather at the 58th. H&R Train Show. See all the Winners of the Competition from our last show Here

Special Presentation

Rudolf Kub (Pictured at right) is one of our customers from Austria that visits our store each time he comes to the states on holiday.

On this trip he arranged to be here during our Train Show so that he could give a special Presentation about the huge model railroad that his LBG club has built at the Strasshof Train Museum near Vienna, Austria.

Rudolf will give a multi media presentation in our library Classroom inside the store three times on Friday and Saturday and twice on Sunday.

The railroad is an LGB layout with over a mile of track representing the famous "Rhatische Bahn" (Railroad) that runs through the alps in Switzerland.

Alice and I have ridden on this wonderful train across this bridge (pictured at left) which this train is famous for. The conductor promised that he would come and tell us when we were about to cross the bridge. When we were in a tunnel he took us to the vestabule between the cars and opened the window so that we could look out and see the bridge as we came out of the tunnel.. All we saw was a blinding snow storm and we never have actually seen the bridge except in pictures.

We are pleased that Rudolf could be here to share this railroad with us.

Clinics Click here to see the times for this Special Presentation along with all of the other clinics during the show.

There will be a special sale during the show. You can pick up a sale flyer as you enter the store on the train show days.

Pictured above are some of the participants from our 57th Train Show. We hope you had the opportunity to join with us and look forward to seeing you at our 58th H&R Train Show March 19, 20 & 21, 2010

It is a great way to show off your skill and creativity for all of our visitors and an excellent opportunity for you to help inspire new modelers and help get them started with this wonderful hobby that we all enjoy.

It is not too late to start that new Layout, Diorama or possibly share some of your talents as a photographer. There is a lot of railroad history out there just waiting to be documented by you with your camera or your creative ability with a train layout for the show.

There will be over $1,500 in prizes available for contestants to win along with ribbons and the coveted Model Railroader of the Year Award. See all the Winners of the Competition from the last show Here

Food - During The 58th Show will be provided by Better Way Catering They will offer Barbeque sandwhiches, Drinks and much more at reasonable prices.

Parking - Additional parking will be avalible on Friday and Saturday at the Christian Assembly Ministries at 3400 70th Ave. North. Please do not park there on Sunday. They will need their parking spaces on Sunday. We would like to thank their Pastor, the Revrend Curtis Andrew for allowing us to use their Parking lot on Friday and Saturday.

Additional parking is also available, All Three Days, just one block to the north at the rear of the ROOMS TO GO. The lot is actually On 34th st. behind their store.

Contests - There will be both a Railroad Photography and Railroad Video categories similar to those at the National Conventions. There have been several excellent entries in in the past and it seems to have inspired others to compete so we will continue this category at our future shows. Now is the time to get out with that camera and show us what you can do.

Photos can be any railroad subject either model railroad or prototype. They can be black and white or color prints. You can also enter black and white or color slides however you must provide your own equipment to view them.

Videos can also be any railroad subject either model railroad or prototype. Video can be VHS tape or DVD. They can be any length, however you will need to select a two minute segment that you want the judges to view and you will need to que that same segment up for each of the judges. You will also need to provide your own equipment to view the video.

DOWN HILL RACES - We will once again have the two down hill race contests, on Saturday afternoon. According to onlookers and contestants at the last several shows, these two contests have become extremely competitive and one of the highlights of the show. They are very popular and a lot of fun for everyone.

The wooden locomotives can be any brand or even home made but they must be able to run on the wooden track. The locomotive that rolls the farthest wins.

The "Little Engineers Unpowered Downhill Wooden Locomotive Race" will be held on Saturday between 3:00-4:30 PM

Dyanna Broussard (Pictured Center Left) will help once again with our "Little Engineers Downhill Race" for unpowered wooden locomotives or cars, on wooden track.

Alice Morris and Dy present our winner Michael Mitchell, (pictured above left) with a Thomas video and a track pack from Learning Curve as his prize at the last show..

Dyanna Broussard will also help with our "G Scale Unpowered Downhill Rolling Stock Race" which is sponsored by Bachmann. This race will be held Saturday afternoon between 5:00-6:30 PM

This race is conducted on large scale or "G" Gauge track. The race vehicle must be an unpowered piece of rolling stock and can be any brand or even home made. The race vehicle that rolls the farthest wins

There is plenty of time to sharpen your skills and make adjustments to the race vehicles. The track is open for practice Thursday afternoon, all day Friday, and right up until race time on Saturday.

Completion has been tough, at the past several shows with Robert Sacco winning several times.

We were all quite surprised when Robert elected to compete in the race at the 57th show and also encouraged some of the youth to compete. He even loaned his race vehicle to one of the younger competitors who actually beat Robert and won the competition.

(Pictured above left) is Rich Janyszak from Bachmann presenting our winner Jordon Craig Shuerger (Center) the prize he selected which was an HO gauge Acela set. Also (pictured on the right in the photo) is Robert Sacco former winner and mentor for several of our young contestants including Jordon our winner . Jordon is holding the race vehicle that both he and Robert used for the contest.

The prize was presented on behalf of Bachnann Trains which is the sponsor of our "Large Scale Down Hill Race".

Roberts actions are to be commended. His sharing of ideas and Encouragement of his fellow competitors is exactly what we have been trying to promote in the hobby and at our H&R Train Shows since the beginning. Thanks again Robert for helping us once again to make this one of the best H&R Train Shows to date.

Are you ready for ouir H&R Train Show # 58 ?
Mark your Calander - March 19, 20, & 21, 2010

Back by Popular Demand At The Spring Show

H&R Trains Dyanna Broussard (pictured below at left) will host a Thomas Painting Workshop for Children, ages 3 to 7 on both Saturday and Sunday from 11am-1pm.. They will be able to put their personal artwork on one of our paintable Thomas wooden trains during the show. H&R would like to thank Dyanna for helping us to carry on this wonderful activity for our little Engineers.

Each participating child is given an unpainted Thomas wooden car and the appropriate painting material. Many of these, (Pictured below at right) were used in the down hill race at the show and lots of fun is had by all.

Parents may watch but not help !

We gave the manufacturers for the show their own page which should allow the photos to load more quickly. Be sure to click here to see all the manufacturers who were here for the 58th. Show

There are many more things planned for the show including the self guided tours of our Pinellas Park Chamber of Commerce Building, "Park Station" (pictured below) Park Station was completed a little over four years ago.. It sits on the land adjacent to the railroad tracks at Park Boulevard in Pinellas Park and is built in the style of a turn of the century railroad station. It has become a popular side trip on Friday during the show but you can tour the station anytime Monday Through Friday 9 - 4. Don't miss the museum of local artifacts on the second floor while you are there.

Pinellas Park Chamber of Commerce Building "Park Station"

Click Here To See More Park Station Pictures

Early visitors to Pinellas Park stepped off the train onto a platform in the middle of polmetto thickets and sugar cane fields. Later, a small wood frame station greeted new arrivals in the heart of the Pinellas Peninsula. From that spot, which is now Park Boulevard and 58th street, Pinellas Park grew to encompass 16 square miles and a population of over 47,000 residents. The platform for the new Park Station stands majestically alongside the tracks on Park Boulevard as a reminder of our past and an inspiration for our future

The two-story, brick Victorian-style Park Station is a focal point of the cities redevelopment area. The building is home to the City of Pinellas Parks Media and Public Events Division, City training classrooms, the Pinellas Park Mid-county Chamber of Commerce, the Pinellas Park Art Society, and the Pinellas Park Historical Society. In addition, Roe's Deli is located in the lobby area, offering a great variety of food and beverages. Visitors may stroll among displays featuring photos and artifacts from over 90 years of Pinellas Parks history.

As Always

The 58th. H&R Train Show

IS ALL FREE !

For those who come by to see the many fine models, there will also be Door prizes given away. These door prizes are most graciously supplied by our vendors and are displayed throughout the show on the railroad cart in the Gazebo Garden Railroad area outside the store.

For many of us our hobby brings back childhood memories of electric trains and families spending time together. There is no better way to do that than through the hobby of model railroading. It is H&R Trains extreme pleasure to produce our Semi-Annual Train Show and we look forward to seeing you here at our Spring Train Show March 19, 20, &21, 2010

With so many layouts to see in all scales and so many manufacturers in attendance this show combines areas of model railroading that can only be seen together in this one of a kind event.

For over 35 years Model Railroaders have shared their layouts and experiences with eager on-lookers under our big tents. Modelers of all ages from novice to master participate in competition designed to showcase their abilities and talents.

A panel of distinguished judges view the entries on Friday evening in the various categories, with ribbons and gift certificates valued at $1,500 awarded to the winners on Saturday morning. Entries were operated throughout the entire weekend.

Winners are announced during the awards ceremony on Saturday morning at 8AM. All the ribbons will be awarded at that time. With the gift certificates being awarded later during the show

Clinics are held all three days on a variety of subjects including: "Family Friendly Scenery" with Bill DiMenna all three days, "Basic Air-Brush techniques" with Don Morris on Friday and Sunday, "Practical Applications for an Airbrush In Model Railroading" with Don Morris on Friday. And "Quick and Easy Scenery" with Don Morris on both Friday and Sunday.

Rudolf Kub will be giving a special presentation about the LGB club Layout at the "Strasshof Train Museum near Vienna, Austria three times each day during the show.