The Virginia Train Collectors Association opened our “Depot At Stony Point” this past weekend with a twofold purpose, to bring the fun of train collecting to all and to promote the hobby.
We were successful beyond our expectations with over 300 visitors from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, all enjoying our 4500 square feet of layout space.
I promised all here some photos of the site and layouts a few weeks ago and here they are…
Our logo:
As seen on the storefront:
Hours of operation:
And just so everyone knows who’s behind it:
What follows is a layout tour, first up our window O Gauge layout:
Yes, that’s Godzilla Claus on the mountain!
(With an appropriate Kato N passenger car!)
“Makin’ a list, checkin’ it twice. Eatin’ Tokyo 'cause it tastes so nice!”
Another view:
The BIG O layout:
![DSCF2220|6(upload://6bmxSnujZp6UCAamihdBx6OQMJc.jpeg)66x500]
Standard Gauge and Pre-War Tinplate:
G Gauge:
More G Gauge:
Some smaller layouts, N, O, and Marx O. Believe it or not that Marx engine ran for five hours straight without a problem!
HO and S Gauge:
So as you can see we had a lot going on!
And this isn’t just a seasonal thing, we expect to be on this site for a year, maybe more. So if you find yourselves in the Richmond VA area on a weekend stop in and see us! Here’s the link with the pertinent information:
Saturday hours will apply in the future but check the VTCA website for any updates.
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What an absolute treat to see all of those great photos and beautiful layouts!
Thanks for sharing, Flintlock76.
Rich
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Since our opening on November 14th we have been rockin’ and rollin’, over 3,000 people have stopped in to see the layouts! Certainly some are return visitors but to say we’re stunned at the success is putting it mildly!
So, if anyone reading these words are going to be in the Richmond VA area in the future here’s the schedule for the next few months, all Saturdays, and as before admission is free!
January 10th and 24th 11AM - 4PM
February 14th and 28th 11AM - 4PM
March 14th and 28th 11AM - 4PM
April 18th 11AM - 4PM
Check the VTCA website for other info and/or updates, scroll down for the Depot.
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Reaffirms my faith that model railroading is STILL the greatest hobby on earth! 
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Others may argue the point but model railroading has definitely found its niche and isn’t going away anytime soon. We have no way of knowing how many people will be interested in getting into the hobby from seeing our Depot but we CAN say considering the numbers people are still fascinated by the trains!
Hey, a few days ago a guy who was just walking by came in and told us he found some Lionel trains in the attic of a house he just bought and “Could we…?”
“Absolutely!” I told him, “Bring them on in and we’ll be happy to check them out for you!”
So we may have another “recruit” to the hobby!
My factory is in Chesapeake and I made some occasional trips there. I may have to make a side trip to Richmond.
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We’d love to have you! If you can’t make it on any of the dates I listed (of course they’re only through April) let me know, I can give you a private tour. Mind you, if it’s not an operating day nothing will be running but I can run some of the layouts myself.
OR bring something of your own you’d like to run! We’re easy.
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I was going to try and shoot a video of the Depot this weekend but these nice folks from a local TV station saved me the trouble! And here it is…
I come into focus at the .55 mark. My brief moment of “stardom!” 
You see a lot more of my RailKing Blue Comet set than you do of me!
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