Kimberton, Pa. narrow gauge meet.

[Woody Elmore]

I just returned from a very enjoyable day at the Kimberton, PA. fairgrounds at a narrow gauge meet sponsored by the Mid Atlantic NG Guild.

On30 was well represented by two very nicely done modular layouts. The theme of one was the EBT (What else in Pennsylvania.) There were lots of Bachmann products on display, operating and for sale. One dealer had a very decent supply of all the Bachmann trucks as well as the new underframes. I bought two packs of underframes, red and black, and was surprised to see that they come with the couplers already installed.

For me, the highlight was a very nice modular G gauge layout. The stars were two F scale live steamers - a 4-4-0 and an SRRL prairie (#24). These engines smoked up a storm as they took turns transversing the layout. SRRL #24 gets my vote to be a Bachmann On30 model.

[ebtnut]

Yes, a pleasant affair as always.  Looked to me like attendance was down some from past years.  Biggest attraction for me was what was parked outside--Bruce Saylor's 2.5 inch scale live steam model of a Rio Grande C-19.  Loco and tender together probably measured about 10 feet long.  Really impressive!!  Now, if he could put an EBT-style steel cab on her and letter her EBT No. 7, things would be ideal. 

[Woody Elmore]

Yup - the  C-19 was something to see. The scale is big enough so old duffers like me can see all the detail. The live steam F scale engines really amazed me.

What I especially liked was the fact that there were no diesels anywhere! I also have become a big fan of DCC. There was one modular group running with the old PFM sound system. Still sounds good almost 30 years since it was first put on the market.

One observation that I failed to mention. I saw a passenger train, engine and 5 Bachmann cars, all done up with the Rio Grande bumble bee "Grande Gold" color scheme. The lighting definitely needed some work. The cars are translucent and the lighting is toylike. I also don't understand why the baggage car had a light in it.