Here it is April already! ’s annual Valley Rail Sights show is just around the corner. Activities leading up to this show have been hectic, to say the least. New modules in both HO and N scale have been under construction and most have been completed. Many of these new modules will be in the show at the Masonic Temple in Ilion. This is where club members efforts really shine. The ingenuity, craftsmanship, and creativity all come out in the new modules. What is not so apparent is the effort behind getting all these items to the show. The setup before and the tear down after the show are not noticed by anyone except the club members. There are many hours spent doing the preparations for this show and the time and work involved is extensive. All this work is rewarded by the attendance of the public at the show. The smiles and discussions generated by the displays are the “pay” for most of the members. The many questions about how this or that was made, the ideas behind many of the unique modules, and the general theme of model railroading all tend to bring out the best in everyone.

Every show brings new visitors as well as old to the displays. It is always refreshing to meet new people and reminisce with the old friends. The children always bring smiles with their excited looks and amazement at the trains. Parents are always happy to see the trains because they know there is nothing offensive about Thomas the Tank and his friends. With so many different facets to model railroading, there is bound to be some point of interest for nearly everyone. One point of interest has been watching a train go around and come back on itself in a reversing loop.
has been working on an automatic reversing loop system for over a year now without any complete success. It seems the simplest problems have the most complicated solutions. This has turned into an international issue with help coming from all parts of the world. Eventually an acceptable solution may pop up, but it surely is taking a long time to arrive. Whenever the problem is solved, will be there with the module for everyone to see. Hopefully, this will happen in the very near future! Meanwhile, the show must go on and is preparing for exactly that at the end of this month. Come on out to the annual Valley Rail Sights show and enjoy the fun. See you there!

Brian