Val Ease Central Railroad by Jeffrey MacHan
The Eurospoor 2003 AdventureZ
Prolog: Setting the scene for the Great Eurospoor AdventureZ
How about another trip to Europe, eh?
Returning to Europe
The Sinsheim trip with Terry Sutfin was such a thrill that, almost from
the moment we set foot back on home soil, we hoped to return to Europe
together for another adventure. At the time we both thought that we'd
never get another opportunity. But the momentum was with us and,
incredible as it still seems to us, we were able to make a repeat appearance
18 months later, this time as guests of Eurospoor, the huge annual
train show held in Utrecht, Netherlands.
The story of how the Eurospoor Adventures came to pass is one of
perseverance and good references from distant friends.
As you may recall from your reading of Sinsheim Chronicle Episode 11,
Roland Kimmich, President of ZClub International, had invited the VEC and
crew to the Modellbahn Sud in Stuttgart, Germany the October following
Sinsheim. As the summer of 2002 progressed I made several attempts to
contact Herr Kimmich by email, snailmail and fax. Alas, no reply was
forthcoming! As the realization that we had been stood up and that the
hoped-for trip to Germany was not going to happen, I began to once
again do some research on the Web, looking for "major" train shows in
Europe. My new "Z" friends, Dieter Nolte and Jeremy Brandon, both spoke
highly of the Dutch national train show called "Eurospoor". Dieter had
visited the show several times in Utrecht and Jeremy had participated in
the show in 2000 along with Manfred Joerger and his Z modules.
Once again, it was Dieter who provided the name of the show manager,
Mr. Leo Hendriksen, and encouraged me to contact him via email. I
checked out the Eurospoor web site and came to the conclusion that a trip to
the Netherlands (via Amsterdam) was definitely very attractive and
exciting. A phone call to Terry and Helen Sutfin confirmed their interest
in making the trip a foursome. Marthe was all for returning to Amsterdam.
She pointed out that, since Eurospoor took place in mid-October, it seemed
the perfect way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I think that
having another opportunity to travel with the Sutfins just
added to the anticipation we felt.
I wrote a detailed request and emailed Mr. Hendriksen. It didn't take
more than a few days to get his answer which made us all very happy.
He would be most pleased to have the VECRR as part of the show. He sent
along the contract and booking form for the lodgings that Eurospoor
would be providing.
Hotel Restaurant Epping (10 km from Jaarbeurs)
Utrechtsestraat 44
3401 CW IJsselstein
Tel. 030 - 688 3114
Fax. 030 - 687 0104
The Eurospoor budget did not cover travel
expenses but Mr. Hendriksen accepted to put up four of us including meals for a total of
five days (the day before and the duration of the show). That seemed
very reasonable to my crewmates. The deal was struck and plans got
underway for a wonderful holiday and train show adventure in Holland.
Marthe suggested that we stay at the Bed & Breakfast that she had
enjoyed in Amsterdam. The owners were very helpful and the BnB was
completely non-smoking. Agreed! It took a couple of emails to book the rooms
at
Maes BnB
20 Herenstraat
Amsterdam
Helen offered to come up with
a touring programme for us that would knock our socks off. Terry and I
promised to only obsess about trains while at Eurospoor.
The next item of business to take care of was to contact my Sinsheim
sponsors to see if they would support another European Adventure.
Micro-Trains agreed instantly. Märklin said yes but they would get back to
us later with details. Kalmbach said a definite "NO". Fortunately, Rob
Kluz of Ztrack Magazine offered to take up the slack and became a
sponsor. Finally, Schenker Canada made a small contribution to the cause.
Note: shortly before the trip, Märklin failed to come through with
their promised support. No matter, the shipping case they paid for was
going to be put to the test once more.
Everything was in place for another European experience, the "Eurospoor
AdventureZ".
Enjoy the trip!
Stay tuned for Report #1 of the Great Eurospoor AdventureZ | Return to Eurospoor 2003 Home.
|