Farewell, Polk's

So sorry to hear that Polk's will be shuttering at the end of the year. Also surprised since I only thought of them in terms of their incredible shop as opposed to their business, which relocated to Jersey many years ago.  

Polk's was such a magical place; 5 floors of trains, planes, cars, boats - you name it.  I dragged my dad there every chance I could when I was a kid.  Truth be told, he hardly needed much persuading as he loved browsing around as much as I did (his first love was model airplanes).  New York and the boroughs at one time were blessed with close to a dozen or so great hobby shops like Madison Hardware, Model RR Equipment Corp., AHC, and so on.  All were well stocked and owned by modelers, some of whom were real characters!  I think all of them have now passed into history, along with so many other things that made New York City a great place.  I guess I'm also mourning a bit of my childhood as well, but that's the beauty of this hobby; it's such a wonderful escape from the cares and worries of everyday life.

Despite the fact that the Polk's name is soon to be a thing of the past, seeing it again, even in this context, brought back a flood of so many great memories. Thanks, Nat and Irwin.

Micro-Trains Line Factory tour

Thank you, Richard and Jeff, for including this bit of information. I do not often visit this column, but today I went to the column, scrolling to the N scale section to find the write-up on the video of the tour. Here, for others convenience, is the video:

I own a few of the MTL products - rolling stock. I am also a past member of the N Scale Collector group, where the registered members receive, annually, exclusive edition cars from MTL. I was planning to attend their yearly convention last year in Oregon, where there was to be a tour of MTL, but, alas, life got in the way - so this video was of great value to me.

These products are MADE IN THE USA, including the plastic injection molding. There is much of interest in their manufacturing processes in this video - I encourage all to view it.

FSM Railroad Expo

I'm surprised that you haven't included the Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo in Pittsfield Mass on the 7,8 & 9th ov November. (http://www.modelrailroadexpo.com/)

George Selios has agreed to have an open house for those attending the Expo on Tuesday the 5th between 10am and 3pm. ( The Franklin & South Manchester RR)

Other layout tours include Dick Elwell, Bob Van Gelder, Annie Hall and Bill Duff to mention a few.

Ralph