Washington State History Museum's 13th Annual Train Show

[gloobey]

Hello all,
It's been a busy Autumn! I have been asked to show some trains at a holiday train show this year. Here's a link to the website with description:
http://www.wshs.org/wshm/event-programs.aspx
(the info is at the bottom of the page)

It's a great show with trains of all sizes. The whole museum is full. I'll be up on the 5th floor with a mostly Playmobil layout. There will be some LGB stuff mixed in but the buildings, people and almost everything else is Playmobil. The table that I have built is 5'3" x 15'. Below is a link to the gallery I set up with some shots of the table in my garage. Most of the klickys and small detail parts will be added when the layout is set up at the museum. The pictures I have uploaded show building and track placement...

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/album/thumbnails.php?album=80

The point of this layout is to occupy the little ones (hopefully some adults will be interested too!) I will have hidden a bunch of objects in the village that the kids will have to look for. If they find them all they get a prize. There will be dinosaurs helping load freight, robots waiting for trains and other pieces that are out of place and hidden.

This is my first train show so I've been out in the garage working on the layout quite a bit. I've been obsessing and am a little nervous about going but I think it will be great fun. Last year the show had 7,100 visitors so it's  a good way to share the toys and meet lots of people.

Comments, advice about the layout are always welcome!

[Knight Train]

How was the show?  I would have gone if I wasn't down in San Diego for the Christmas holidays, but I did get to miss a lot of snow   

Any pictures to share with us?

[gloobey]

Thanks for asking Knight Train  The show was a lot of work and really fun. I can't wait to do it again next year. The show was a success (almost 10,000 visitors!) The kids loved playing seek-and-find while watching the trains go around the track. We had a lot of "grown-ups" playing too. It forced people to spend more time at my display and created a fun, playful atmosphere at the same time. My wife and I met some really great people by answering questions and giving hints.

I was surprised to see that MANY people don't know anything about Playmobil. Alot of people didn't even know what it was. I advocated heavily for the toys.

I took a few pics on the last day of the show. I had packed up the larger LGB locos earlier in the day, but I did get some shots of the layout itself.

The show was alot of fun, I highly recommend it for next year!

[Gepetto]

That was quite the spread you had out there gloobey! Was there a theme like an amusement park or did you just set up to show as much variety as you could?

It looks like you did a very nice job and I am sure you kindled some interest amongst those people attending, I sure do love those Victorian pieces. Thank you for the photos.



Gepetto

[highlandcattle]

Very nice pictures. I like some of your Ideas (which I will probably steal in the future!)
The flora shop sign, does it fit in the steck holes or did you glued on to it?
Why do you use so many LGB locs instead of playmobil ones?

[Knight Train]

Sounds like the whole show was a big success.  Too bad you didn't have any catalogues to hand out to interested parents.

A few questions:

Did you have all 4 sides exposed or are you against the wall with only 3 sides exposed?

Did you have any railing or ropes to keep people from touching the display?

Did you have to be there every day the display was viewable?

And one answer:   

Why do you use so many LGB locs instead of playmobil ones?

Actually, those all appear to be Playmobil locomotives from sets 4000, 4005, and 4027.

[gloobey]

That was quite the spread you had out there gloobey! Was there a theme like an amusement park or did you just set up to show as much variety as you could?

Hello Gepetto, my main idea was to have a train layout with a freight depot, but I wanted to incorporate some other whimsical figures into the mix. My goal was to delight 5-10 year olds (and 5-10 year olds at heart too!)

[gloobey]

Very nice pictures. I like some of your Ideas (which I will probably steal in the future!)
The flora shop sign, does it fit in the steck holes or did you glued on to it?
Why do you use so many LGB locs instead of playmobil ones?

Feel free to use anything you like! I built the flower shop fo rmy wife (she used to work as a florist). The sign is attached with a wire through the holes where the "toast" would normally go. I didn't want to damage any of the parts with glue.

I ran all of the locos that I own at the show. The Playmobil locos spent a good amount of time on the track. I used LGB equipment as my workhorse locos because they crawl at slower speeds around the track, which is good at shows. They also have less tendency to derail and don't have any trouble over the switches. I think this is mainly due to their weight. The LGB locos are generally more reliable. There is also more variety. I was finally able to show off the DB Railbus, Swiss boxcab electric, and Swiss crocodile that I bought last year.

[gloobey]

Sounds like the whole show was a big success.  Too bad you didn't have any catalogues to hand out to interested parents.

A few questions:

Did you have all 4 sides exposed or are you against the wall with only 3 sides exposed?

Did you have any railing or ropes to keep people from touching the display?

Did you have to be there every day the display was viewable?

Hi Knight Train, I wish I did have catalogs to hand out! I love to spread the Playmobil word. The layout was exposed on three sides. The back of the table had control equipment (and a place for me to sit). The entire table was surrounded by a barrier. The museum also had great security. Everybody was generally resepctful too. I didn't have any trouble at all in that department.

I was there the entire time. I had to be there to run the trains and answer questions. I can't imagine leaving it running without me there! It was alot of work to do that. The show went from 10-5 for nine days, but worth every minute.

As for the locos shwon in the pics:
the red diesel switcher is an LGB 2090
the green steam loco is the ubiquitous Stainz loco that LGB includes in their basic starter sets
the black steam loco under the water tower is the 4051 from Playmobil