National Train Show NewZ
information compiled and presented by Jeffrey MacHan
The NMRA National Train Show is North America's largest and most prestigeous
model train exhibition and manufacturer showcase. The event is organized by
the National Model Railroad Association and coincides with the Association's
national convention, held in a major urban center every summer. Each year the
NTS attracts 20,000+ visitors over three days. The NMRA awards prizes for
models and modules in several categories. Z-scale layouts have been at NTS since
1990 and have won every major prize including "Best of Show".NTS is also the place to meet Z manufacturers and to socialize with colleagues and the general public. Over the years NTS has become THE place for "Z". Why not plan to attend, or better yet, show your layout or module.
Interested individuals and groups are invited to contact Dean Dickerhoof, NMRA layout coordinator for the National Train Show (ddicker@mines.edu Tel.(303) 238-0992 evenings) to apply for floor space at future shows. NOTE: Ztrack Magazine helps to coordinate the presence of module groups in a shared area which also includes space for "BYOZ" (bring your own Z, or small, portable layouts that can be hand-carried into the venue by passing Z-scalers).
Future sites:
NTS 2009 - Hartford, CT - July 10-12
NTS 2010 - Milwaukee, WI - July 17-19 (75th anniversary of the NMRA)- NTS 2011 - Sacramento, CA - July 8-10
- NTS 2012 - Grand Rapids, MI - July 29-August 4
- NTS 2013 - Atlanta, GA - July 14-20
See NMRA Conventions for more details concerning upcoming National Train Shows.
NOW, FOR A LITTLE HISTORY...
* 1990: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania *
Z scale made a strong entry onto the NMRA National Train Show scene with
no less that 7 layouts running under the auspices of Adam Schull's Ztrack
Magazine. The layouts ranged in size from Märklin briefcase, Noch
compact layout form to freelance coffee table. Notable owners were Sally-Jesse Raphaël, Allan Miller, Fred Miller and Adam Schull. Helping out at the
Ztrack booth, which won the NMRA 1st prize for commercial stand, was Rob Kluz,
current editor and publisher of Ztrack Magazine. At that time, Rob Kluz was a frequent writer
for the two-year old magazine.
* 1994: Portland, Oregon *
Four years later, Terry Sutfin, a pioneering West Coast Z scaler held high the standard of Z model railroading at the Portland, OR National Train Show with his toporama-based "Poorville & Debt City RR" (PVDC).
* 1999: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota *
Fully five years passed until Jeffrey MacHan travelled from Vancouver, British Columbia with the "Val
Ease Central Railroad" (VECRR), his two-suitcase layout, to take part in the 1999 National
Train Show in St. Paul, MN. Although technically eligible for the layout competition,
the judges refused to allow the VECRR to participate. It appeared that there was a deadline to provide the module competition paperwork. At that time, the deadline was not previously announced to Train Show participants.
A highlight of the Train Show was a visit to the VECRR display by Russ Larson, Publisher and Editor of "Model Railroader Magazine". Being the only Z layout at the show, the VECRR was very popular with visitors who were surprised to see how well Z locomotives and rolling stock performed (supplied by Micro-Trains Line). (NTS attendance was 19,222)
* 2000: San Jose, California * 2ND PLACE!
In 2000 in San Jose, CA the "Poorville & Debt City RR" returned to the
NTS, joining forces with the "Val Ease Central RR" which, after discussion with the chief judge, was
allowed to compete in the official layout and module competition. In a first for Z-scale, the two-suitcase
VECRR took 2nd place honours in the individual module competition.In an effort to raise the profile of Z at this major world event, Terry Sutfin and Jeffrey MacHan introduced the "Z - the Champagne of Model Railroading" theme. They organised door prize drawings, offered souvenirs to visitors, distributed subscription forms to Ztrack Magazine and instituted the first "formal wear" day at the NTS. The first ever Z group supper attracted 10 Z enthusiasts from across North America. (NTS attendance was 20,000)
* 2001: St. Louis, Missouri * BEST OF SHOW!
The 2001 edition of the National Train Show in St. Louis, MO was a watershed event.
For the first time ever, a Z-scale layout took the top honours in an NMRA national event.
Jeffrey MacHan's "Val Ease Central Railroad" in three suitcases, placed 1st overall and was awarded the grand prize, "BEST OF SHOW" for the highest point score in the competition.
Under the auspices of Ztrack Magazine, members of Z modular groups from Dallas, Houston and Washington, DC came together to form the largest Z layout ever assembled in North America with 8 scale miles of continuous operating mainline track.
This gathering of talent demonstrated digital operations and ran prototypical length trains showing visitors Z-scale "beyond the coffee table". Of course, Saturday was once again "formal wear" day for Terry and Jeffrey. The two Z Ambassadors set a striking pose in their tuxedos.
Twenty-four Z-scalers including several prominent Z manufacturers attended the group supper. Even then plans were being prepared to make a mark for Z at the 2002 edition of the National Train Show. (NTS attendance was 17,146)
* 2002: Fort Lauderdale, Florida * PIZZAZ AWARD, 2ND PLACE, 3RD PLACE!
The 2002 National Train Show was truly a showcase for Z scale with the largest gathering ever of Z under one roof in the US and lots of exciting happenings.
Continuing the run of Z successes at NTS, David George, CEO of the "Golden, Blackhawk & Central City", took home 3 NTS prizes including the IHC Pizzaz Award offered for the most striking and entertaining layout. His Central City module won 2nd place individual - module and his rugged mountain module took home 3rd place individual - module.
Under the coordination of Billy Roden the modular group effort was nothing short of incredible. The number of modules coming together was double that of 2001. Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC joined forces to occupy 50' by 70' of floor space and to establish a world-record of 118.9 yards or 14.86 scale miles of continuous operating single mainline. Overall about 27 miles of double mainline were handling up to 8 50- to 120-car trains at any given time.
The record was certified by Jeffrey MacHan of Z_Scale, Dieter Nolte of ZClub92 and Chad Bryan representing the module group.
Jeffrey MacHan's 2001 NTS champion "Val Ease Central RR" returned for a 4th consecutive NTS and Helmut Paule impressed the visitors with two layouts, his award-winning "Z Dreamland" and a single main line alpine layout where he ran FR Swiss motive power and cars.
Representatives from Z_Scale and Ztrack Magazine presented the first annual "Best New Product" award to Reynard Wellman of Micron Art for his magnificent '1880 Station' as voted by the members of Z_Scale.
Visitors from around the world descended on the show and had the opportunity to see some exciting products: a preproduction sample of AZL's forthcoming SD45, a preproduction sample of Lajos Thek's DRB drop-on shell conversion for the M8805x, as well as products from Micro-Trains, Märklin, Pennzee, Aztec and Aspen Models. (NTS attendance was 22,531)
* 2003: Toronto, Ontario, Canada * CLINIC!
The 2003 National Train Show was cancelled May 31st due to withdrawal
of exhibitors wary of the SARS situation in Toronto.Local Ontario train clubs and associations banded together to produce a full-featured and very successful train show on the last weekend of the NMRA Convention. No Z-scale modules or layouts were in attendance. According to a follow-up financial statement, the NMRA declared a substantial loss on the event.
The NMRA Maple Leaf 2003 Convention Clinic Handbook contains the text of a clinic by Jeffrey MacHan, "The Top 10 Things You Wanted to Know About Z But Were Afraid to Ask". The Handbook is available for purchase from the NMRA store.
* 2004: Seattle, Washington * 3RD PLACE!
The 2004 edition of the NMRA National Train Show was held in Seattle at the Seahawks Exibition Center. Setup for exhibitors at NTS took place starting on Thursday, July 8. The train show opened for visitors from Friday, July 9 to Sunday, July 11, 2004.
In the NMRA module competition, the NWP Z-scalers (Tom Gilchrist, Andy Hunting and Jim Glass) were the proud winners of 3rd Place, Group Module.
See the NWPZ modular group web site for more about their NMRA NTS experience.
Two award-winning individual layouts were running for the public at NTS2004: Terry Sutfin's "Poor Ville & Debt City" (4th NTS appearance) and David George's "Golden~Blackhawk & Central City" (3rd NTS appearance).
The Northwest Pacific Z-scalers organized a "BYOZ" (bring your own Z scale) area at the NMRA where people brought their portable layouts and showed at any time during the show.
The traditional NTS Saturday Z supper was held at a downtown Seattle restaurant with 20 Z enthusiasts in attendance.
American Z Lines introduced their new F59PHI commuter sets at the Ztrack Magazine booth where the public also had the chance to see FR-Models' FP40s and Searail's container shipyard accessories. (NTS attendance was 15,000)
* 2005: Cincinnati, Ohio * CLINIC, 2ND PLACE!
Ztrack Magazine hosted it's first Z convention, in Columbus, OH, on July 5th and 6th preceding NTS. Over 100 Z-scalers attended to hear clinicians Terry Sutfin, Rob Allbritton, Bill Kronenberger, Riley O'Conner, Jeffrey MacHan and Jim Shiff (Day 1) and to visit the home layouts of Rob Kluz, Paul Peterson, Jim Thomas and Rich Petrusca (Day 2).
NOTE: Randy Smidt RSmidt@mindspring.com acted as module coordinator for NTS2005.
A total of 48 modules were assembled at NTS on Thursday, July 7. More than 70 people representing 12 different module clubs helped entertain the public over the weekend. Modules were provided by 7 clubs and several individual contributions. Three individuals with small table-top layouts responded to the call and brought small layouts to display in the "Bring Your Own Z" area. (NTS attendance was 17,331)
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Registered exhibitors at NTS 2005:
NMRA-related activities: Clinic and 2nd place in module competitionJeffrey MacHan presented a clinic entitled "Game-based Operations for Small Layouts" twice on Friday afternoon. The clinic was open to NMRA members and NTS exhibitors.Marthe Simard and Jeffrey MacHan took home 2nd Place - Group Module in the NMRA Module Competition for the German Alpine-themed "Kofferbahn von Sankt Batholomä" portable layout.
Presenting the world's largest private Z layoutRob Allbritton unveiled his 9' tall, 40' long, 8' wide, true-to-scale "new" Gotthard sectional Z-Bend Track-compatible layout. This masterpiece was crafted by Raildreams Inc. from plans drawn up by Rob Allbritton who also programmed the DCC control system. Not only did this layout attract enormous attention at the show, it is also the world's largest private Z layout. The mountain peak measured a scale 1100 feet high!
A new modular world-recordOn Sunday afternoon, witnesses Randy Smidt (Z-module coordinator), Jeffrey MacHan (Z-SIG coordinator) and Dean Dickerhoof (NMRA NTS layout coordinator) followed the "official" MTL F7 loco all the way around the modular layout for the world-record measurement. The total for double-track mainline was 732' 5 1/2" or 30.52 scale miles! Although not part of the official record, the total track including scenery track would be over 61 scale miles. NOTE: 391' of the total double-track mainline was Rob Allbritton's Swiss modules (old and new).
Meanwhile, there were several new products to be enjoyed:
Z-family actionOn Saturday evening, Helen Sutfin organized the traditional NTS group supper where an amaZing 55 hungry Z-scalers and supporters gathered in the same room for all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and pop. A special recognition was offered to Bill Kronenberger (Houston Z-Bend Track) for his contribution to the growth of Z modular railroading.Module coordinator, Randy Smidt, organised a popular vote contest:
I. Favorite Module
II. Favorite Scene or Vignette on a module III. Favorite BYOZ
1. Loren Snyder's silverware case layout Thanks to Andy Shaw who generously donated the first place prizes for each category. |
* 2006: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
Capitol Connection54 folks attended the pre-NTS Capitol Connection gathering at the air-conditioned "Gotthard Modules" hangar situated in Alexandria, Virginia. The following sponsors provided door prizes and a registration package to participants:
AZL, Märklin, MTL, Nansen Street Models, SZL, Ztrack, Andy Shaw, Dan Stirpe, Loren Snyder and Joe D'Amato.
The seminars: "Trestle building" by Andy Shaw, "Scratchbuilding and modeling techniques - thinking and modeling out of the box" by Joe D'Amato, "Coffee table layouts" by Riley O'Conner and "Tree-making" by David Miller.
Fred Gates of Märklin Inc. also discussed some of the details of the purchase of Märklin by new owners.
NMRA National Train Show
Exhibitors at NTS 2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
- David George's "Golden~Blackhawk & Central City", (5th NTS)
- WIZ Kidz Z-Bend Track modular group (Milwaukee, WI),
- MidweZt HaulerZ (St. Louis, MO),
- Bay Area Z Enthusiasts (San Francisco, CA),
- SANtrak Z Division (San Antonio, TX),
- Tri-State Z-Bend Track group,
- Washington, DC Z-Bend Track group
- Cliff Travis layout in BYOZ
- Jim Manley's collapsible mini-modules
(NTS attendance was 21,000)
In the Z-Bend Track display area, separate layouts were set up with the Tri-State Z scalers using the lower legs so kids could see the modules and the DC Z and San Antonio Z groups displaying at the standard 50" height. Larry Donsbach ran his version of TTrak Z modules with help from his wife Harriet and Garry Griffen and Susan Smith. Art Bildman, Andy Shaw and Jim Manley (solar set) had BYOZ layouts running. A circle of MTL MircoTrack was set up so that kids could give Z a try, all under Bill Marsh's supervision and encouragement.
Elsewhere, the TTrak organization (Monaco Fitzgerald) had a TTrak Z layout running.
Vendors present:
- The Ztrack booth hosted displays from AZL, SZL, FR, Make My Model and SeaRails.
- Make My Model had newly released vehicles on display including versions that will come ready with fiber optic lighting (w/o light source).
- Jim Shiff of SeaRails had recently released vehicles and and construction equipment as well as a new fret of bulldozers and a selection of structures and bridges, including a working bascule bridge.
- GCLaser offered grain elevators and a selection of other Z scale kits like tool sheds and garden trellises as well as a prototype of a kit for J Tower.
- Nansen Street Models had some of their product on display with the N Scale Architect.
- Chuck Dietrich displayed all his laser cut circus kits including a new baggage wagon kit.
- Fast Tracks announced that they are going to release a curved turnout jig.
- BLMA showed their new radio towers.
- Mountaineer Precision Products (MPP) offered their laser-cut pre-1950 home as well as some other Z structures. Soon-to-be-released kits include a "universal building" and "Rabbit Hash General Store".
- Micro-Trains Line had turnout prototypes and samples of the PS-2 hoppers as well as both the Norfolk Southern and Montana Rail Link FMC boxcars on display.
- Märklin had a large booth area where visitors could meet company reps including Märklin president, Fred Gates.
- Bob's Model Trains and Neil's N-Gauging Trains offered retail sales.
Channel 6 (ABC) and Channel 3 (CBS) shot video. The Sunday edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer had an article on the show with a photo of Mr. Dave's "Royal George Gorge" with kids looking on and a quote from Tony Perez of the Washington Area Lego Users' Group and DC Z-Bend Track saying that he got started in trains with a Z-scale starter set.
We had the Saturday night dinner at Independance Brew Pub with 32 attendees. Jim Manley entertained us with his new "Crank-o-matic 5000" Z scale power pack, a hand-cranked generator that could actually power trains (built from a slightly modified hand-cranked emergency flashlight).
NTS 2006 report by:
Randy Smidt
Washington, DC Z-Bend Track group
Ztrack Magazine module coordinator
* 2007: Detroit, Michigan * HOME LAYOUT TOUR, 1ST PLACE, 2ND PLACE!
The highlight of the Z participation at the 2007 NMRA National Train Show was the outstanding quality of the modeling on display.Dave Miller worked for many weeks to prepare his highly detailed home Z layout which he generously offered to show as part of the NMRA Convention Program. His hard work was greatly appreciated by the 45 visitors to his home in Toledo, OH on the Convention Layout Tour.
David "Mister Dave" George was awarded "Best in Show Modules - Individual - FIRST PLACE" for his seaside village section and "SECOND PLACE" for his "Royal George Gorge" section, part of the 9-section "Golden~Blackhawk & Central City" (6th NTS appearance). Mr. Dave generously shared his achievement with his crew: wife Judi, 10-year old helper Tristan Horton, Dora and Garth Hamilton and Judy and Don Avila. Special thanks were offered to Bob Brown who prepared the NMRA judging paperwork for the G-B&CC modules.
The overall Best in Show was awarded to an HO module for highest points in judging.
The Z presence at the NMRA National Train Show and Convention
Jim Drukemiller and Paul Fifer (Topeka, KS) had a 4.5' by 2' module in operation for visitors.
Jeffrey MacHan and Marthe Simard (Gatineau, QC) returned for their 6th NTS. Jeffrey, representing Exporail, displayed the "Val Ease Summit" section of the VECRR for attendees gathering around the Ztrack Magazine booths. Note: "VES" appeared at NTS thanks to the generous support of the Canadian Railway Historical Society. "VES" and "VECRR" are part of the permanent collection of Exporail - Canadian Railway Museum.
At the "Ztrack Magazine" / AZL / SZL booths, Rob and Jenni Kluz, Dave Miller and Deane Shepard were kept busy promoting Z, making sales, recruting advertisers and keeping up a lively exchange with the many Z-friends who dropped by as well as with conventioneers and the general public. Prior to NTS, AZL had announced an upcoming E7 locomotive set and tri-level auto transports. Samples were not seen at the show.
Micro-Trains Line's Ben Thielemann, Marketing Director and Joe D'Amato, Product Design Engineer staffed the MTL booth where visitors could see a good selection of the MTL N-Nn3-HOn3 and Z product lines. The new GP9 was running smoothly on the MTL demonstration layout. Visitors could admire a preproduction sample of their upcoming bulk end flat car.
Märklin USA had a large corner booth. The BIG newZ at NTS was the purchase 24-hours earlier of LGB in Germany by Märklin. Fred Gates, President of Märklin USA was making his last appearance at NTS before his announced retirement in May 2008.
In other Z newZ, "Scale Rails Magazine" editor, Stephen Priest and Jeffrey MacHan discussed the possibility of restarting the "Z-Scale Rails" column on a quarterly basis after a two-year hiatus. Mr. Priest mentioned that there was a large backlog of products on his desk that needed to be reviewed.
Neil Besougloff, Editor of Model Railroader Magazine, confirmed that a feature article on Rob Allbritton's "Gotthard Line" was scheduled to appear in the December 2007 issue.
The annual NTS Z supper was held at a local restaurant on Friday, July 27. Mr. Dave and his entire crew were toasted by their fellow Z-scalers for their outstanding achievement in the NMRA module competition.
(NTS attendance was 20,118)
Reported by:
Jeffrey MacHan
Z-SIG Coordinator
* 2008: Anaheim, California * 1ST PLACE, 2ND PLACE, 3RD PLACE, PIZZAZ AWARD!
Modules from several West Coast Z clubs gathered in Anaheim under the coordination of Lajos Thek. The modules were grouped in two areas measuring 28' x 40' and 30' x 30'. In great newZ on the module competition front, Z modules made a clean sweep of the individual module prizes, another first for Z!
1st place individual module, Robert Ray, end module (BAZ-Boyz)
2nd place individual module, Robert Ray, Time Saver (BAZ-Boyz)
3rd place individual module, Steve Schulman (SOCAL)
Pizzaz Award by ITC went to Brad Stegman, erupting volcano module (BAZ-Boyz)
The Best of Show went to a group from San Dimas, CA for their HO module.
Congratulations to Robert, Steve and Brad who are continuing the tradition of excellence in Z modeling at the NMRA National Train Show.
Clubs, BYOZ and Z manufactures in attendance:
- Host club - Southern California Z-scale Modelers (SoCal): Lajos Thek, John Duino, Steve Fry, Bill Hoshiko, David Barnblatt, Jim O
- Bay Area Z-Scale Module Cooperative (BAZ BoyS): Jeff Merrill, Robert Ray, Jim Manley, Kim Vellore, Matt Petach, Chris Tatarian, Brad Stegman
- South Oregon Z: Loren Snyder, Steve Schulman
- 35/45 Z-Bend Track (Houston and San Antonio, TX): Chad Bryan, Sherwood Bryan, Larry Donsbach
- Z-Bend Track (Washington, DC): Randy Smidt
- David George and his crew were in attendance with his multiple-award-winning "Golden~Blackhawk & Central City" modular layout (7th NTS).
- BYOZ: Karin Snyder, Ellen Shelton, Don Avila, Dan Skorez, Art Bildman, Pierre Vautravers, Steve Wesolowski, Tim Buehring, Joe D'Amato, Raymond Garcia
- Western Pacific RR Museum's "Model Railroader Magazine - Feather River Canyon project layout in WP": David Epling, Museum manager, http://www.wplives.org Museum: 530-832-4131
- American Z Line
- Aspen Model
- BLMA
- Bowser Manufacturing
- Digitrax
- Fast Tracks
- FR of Germany
- Marklin Inc.
- Micro-Trains Line
- Sea Rails
- Ztrack Magazine
An impressive number of new products were announced at NTS.
Micro-Trains Line showed a sample of their upcoming SD40-2 release and a resin water tower. Searails had a display case full of a broadening line of Z products.
American Z Line announced a range of new products and delivery dates for previously announced items at NTS2008:
- ACF 4-Bay hoppers
- PFE wood sided reefers
- Budd RDC1 & RDC2 railcars
- EMD GP30 locomotive
- SP Pacific Oakland signal towers
- ATSF western style station
- Trilevel autoracks
- Funnel Flow tank car
- ACF 3-Bay hoppers
- Thrall well car
- 4-6-6-4 Challenger
- New versions of the 60' high cube boxcars were shown at the NTS. AZL showed samples of CP and BNSF high cubes. Also shown were the previously announced TTX, NS and UP high cubes.
As per Z tradition, a Saturday supper was organised for the gathered Z enthusiasts and their supporters.
(NTS attendance was 23,500)
Compiled by Jeffrey MacHan from reports by Kim Vellore, Rob Kluz and NMRA