I may have mentioned in the past that my grandfather, Charles Bragg, used to work with both the New York Central Railroad and, when that line merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968, he also worked with the Penn Central.ย When I lived with he and my grandmother in Slingerlands, in a little house on Kenwood Avenue, I could see the trains as they chugged by.ย That rail route is now part of the hike-and-bike Albany County Rail Trail, so there’s still some emotional memory to that for me.
As for the miniature trains themselves… well, over the years I tried to build my own model railroad layouts.ย I think it started in maybe 1972, when I received a small Lionel set for Christmas.ย ย I would build the layout and connect the track all over the place, until I caught hell because I didn’t put the track away and someone accidentally stepped on the track and hurt their foot.ย Feh.
As I got older and wanted to get back into model railroading, I would buy the track, I would buy the locomotive, I would buy the rolling stock – HO scale, I really never lived in a place that could handle a Lionel layout – and eventually those things would just buy space and dust in the house.ย Honestly, I think there’s more of a commitment requirement for a model train than there is for a Labrador Retriever, and when I saw some of the more elaborate layouts people had built, I realized that my love of the railroad would have to wait until December of each year.
That’s when I can go to the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and marvel at the elaborate layouts and collections of the Great Train Expo.ย The Expo, held in conjunction with the Empire State Plaza tree lighting and fireworks display, brings back some great memories for me – and it allows me to experience the wonders of model railroading without having to dedicate half the basement to a layout.
So on Sunday, I went to the Empire State Plaza for a day of Christmas cheer and fun.ย I also brought along my Flip video camera, and captured some scenes from this year’s Great Train Expo.ย So in case you didn’t get a chance to attend… now you can watch the fun from the comfort of your cubicle.
Chuck The Writer 