On January 28th, myself and thirty four other transportation enthusiasts boarded a bus to attend the Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. While the show caters generally to the rail-buff crowd, there was items of interest for everyone. As I finished writing this a month after the show I came to find the event is so important that the show has its own Wikipedia page!

I didn't get much at the show. However, it is very easy to drop some serious money at the show, as model trains and books on railroading (model or real) are very pricey and often only printed in one run. Many of these authors are printing these books to get the information out, and often times these books can sell in the long run for hundreds of dollars out of print.

Furthermore, model trains are just like books on trains and railroads: they're not printed like pulp fiction and many of them are not available in an electronic format. Once they're all sold they're hard to find. Even a model train locomotive can retail for $300. Model train layouts take years to build.

Hobbies in general are not inexpensive pastimes. Coin collecting, stamp collecting, model railroading are all hobbies (and others too) that are often dedications that last a lifetime. I've had an interest in flight simulation since middle school, for instance, and I've probably spent close to $1000 in software addons in the last decade. Even railfan friends of mine have jokingly said that illicit substances are cheaper than modal trains (when you exclude the long term damage that substance abuse can cause). I am not advocating for anyone to start using drugs because being into a hobby isn't affordable.Your life is more important that ruining it on drugs.

On the way home we stopped for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I forgot what I had (was it salmon?) but whatever it was it made up for the fact that I wasn't feeling my best that day. I had not slept much the night before and I had a little bit on my mind.

For years, the hobby of railroading has fallen by the wayside for other avenues. Kids today are not exposed to trains like they once were, and after a certain age, that enthusiasm tends to die out. However, I am a little more optimistic as a combination of several factors: the popularity of toy trains, and of course, Thomas the Tank Engine.

So if you're with a child who wants to stop and look at a train going by, take the time and do so. After all, it's good for their brain development.