NJ Train Shows

Topic for the discussion of NJ train shows.

Here are some upcoming events, or at least the ones I’m aware of.

Patcong Valley Train Show:
February 4 & 5 from 10am to 3pm
1308 Harding Highway Richland NJ. Right next to the Seashore Lines train station.

Tom’s River Train Show:
February 12 from 9am to 2pm
600 Washington Street. Tom’s River Elks Lodge #1875

Greenburg Edison Train Show:
March 11 & 12 from 10am to 4pm
97 Sunfield Ave Edison NJ
NJ Convention and Exposition Center

Bricktown Train Show:
March 19 from 9am to 2pm
2491 Hooper Ave. Brick, NJ
Brick Elks Lodge #2181

Wayne Train Show:
March 26 from 9am to 2pm
1 PAL Drive. Wayne NJ
Wayne P.A.L. Hall

The Wayne, Brick, and Tom’s River train shows are $7 admissions. Edison is $12 I believe. Not sure if Patcong Valley charges to get in.

Add:
Jersey Central Train Show & Sale
Mother Seton Regional HIgh School
Clark, NJ
Sunday, March 5, 2023
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Didn’t know about that one. What’s it like? Any vintage HO trains for sale dirt cheap?

NYGL1267 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 26, 2023 11:25 am Add: (Text Change to Description)
Jersey Central RHS/NRHS Train Show - Sunday March 5, 2023 - 9 AM to 3:30 PM
Mother Seton Regional HIgh School, 1 Valley Road, Clark, New Jersey (Union County)
Garden State Parkway Exit 135 Clark Circle - Free Parking - Breakfast and Lunch Available
Admission: Adults $7; Children Under 12 Free
Model Trains of all gauges, Railroad Books, Photos, Slides, Videos, Antiques and Collectibles are
examples of what is available...
Information: JCRHS, PO Box 700, Clark, NJ 07066 - Phone: 908-272-3910

The "Clark Show" is not only the largest single-day Train Show in New Jersey - this has become one of the best Railroadiana (Hardware, Paper, Etc.) shows overall yearly in the entire Northeastern USA Region... There are many Rail Enthusiast and Historical Society groups in attendance for those interested... This is a great show for ALL things rail...MACTRAXX

Thanks for the info. I will definitely be checking that show out. Both myself and a good friend of mine are currently invested in vintage ho scale stuff. My friend specifically looks for anything ho made in the 60s or older. Hopefully they got stuff like that at this show.

Plus, it’s only 15 minutes from Port Reading Yard so we can go there once the show is over lol.

Everyone - Updated information about the Sunday March 5, 2023 Clark, NJ Train Show is available:
https://jcrhs.org/rrshow.html (page update 2/17/2023)
Note that the Adult Admission price will now remain at $5 - JCRHS looks to have backed down on the
$2 increase that their previously-released show flyer mentions...MACTRAXX

Reminder: The Clark show is tomorrow.

Was there earlier. Tons of old railroad stuff. Pal was with me and got some vintage HO engines from the 1950s. Two Varney F units, two Athearn rubber band drives, a Penn Line PRR F unit, a hobbytown Cape Cod Central RS-2 and two other things.


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Edison Train Show was today. Didn’t take any pictures unfortunately, but here’s what I got.

Top item is a Bachmann track cleaner car which I needed because my track goes through hard to reach areas in my bedroom.

Bottom item is a 1960s Athearn “Hi-F” Budd RDC kit undecorated. Hi-F means this uses rubber bands as the transmission instead of gears. Has the later motor Athearn put in their blue box engines too.

The previous owner turned it into PRSL M-402 but never completed it. Might turn it into M-410 since I ride in that car at the CMSL sometimes.

Nice catch with the RDC. I haven’t been to a train show in years but I guess there’s still enough people selling those old Athearn locos these days despite the highly detailed and expensive units which still have a place in the model railroad world in my opinion.

I prefer the older stuff IMO. I find it more interesting. There was plenty at this show, and lots of the older stuff was being bought up depending on what it was. My friend is kinda picky though. Always after the 1960s or older stuff which is really hard to find nowadays, especially for a good price. Would like to get my hands on some AC Gillbert and Marx trains from the 50s. My buddy has two HO Marx Rock Island F3s and a GP7. Very unusual models, but built incredibly well.

The RDC needs a little work before I can get it going. Gotta put new bands in, lube the bearings, and clean some surface rust on the contact bars that stem off the trucks. Got some silicone O rings I can use for bands that will be perfect. Also need to attach the horns and windows.

Track cleaner is first though. Can’t run trains on dirty track lol.

I prefer the older stuff too. A lot of the new stuff is also too fragile. The Athearns are good with a little TLC. Their RTR stuff is very good too. And it’s easy to strip the paint and paint your own without having to add too many details if you even need to. And they run forever. I forgot the RDC’s are the real old ones- when you mentioned the bands. Isn’t that typical of a 60s and 70s model?

How often do they have those shows up there?

Edison’s show is twice a year but there are more shows coming up in that region. I’ll post about the ones I know of tomorrow.

Athearn made rubber band driven models alongside their first generation of gear driven engines during the early 60s. I’m fairly certain this model is from that time period based on the motor it has. Uses the motor seen in blue box engines from about 1960 onwards I think.

It’s funny you mention stripping the paint on these and turning them into something else. I got a couple engines that I plan to do that to.

A 1970s Cox GP9 cut nose that I wanna make into either SRNJ 100 or a similar unit.

A Tyco GP20 which I plan to turn into Raritan Central 701. This one is from 1960s, made in Woodbridge NJ. Tyco was good until they started making engines in Hong Kong.

A couple of Life Like GP38s which I may turn into the Raritan Central GP38s. Might get something better for those, but LL was the only ones that made high hood GP38s in great quantities.

The last one is a Frankenstein engine owned by my friend. It’s a band drive Athearn GP9 with a weirdo custom motor and a body he got at the Brick Train Show for $1. He wants to make it SRNJ 102 in the old “City of Pleasantville” paint it once had. Still looking into that.

Might also add the other details each specific engine has if I can. First time modeler. We will see…

Appreciate the info. The RTR ones are a lot easier to strip than the blue box stuff. Not so much the paint as the lettering.