By Terry Shultz

Author  Bio Talk about large scale! Wow this is the 67th Convention!

(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Talk about large scale! The 67th Annual National Model Railroad Association's Convention held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, July 14-21, 2002 was a very large-scale operation and even included some very small-scale attractions. The 225 hours of clinics over five days covered so many railroad modeling topics it was nearly impossible to decide where to go next. "Tracks in the Sand 2002 -- A Train Odyssey" was the overall theme of this event, hosted by the South Florida Railway Museum.

On Friday, July 20, the Convention transitioned from "how to" education, to the National Train Show (r) featuring the displays of nearly 230 exhibitors in about 200,000 square feet of space. Included were some of the largest modular layouts ever assembled. The G scale layout from the "Friends and Family Lines" modular club in south Florida commanded a prominent spot greeting all visitors as they entered the exhibition hall. This impressive layout with wide perspective dioramas and, of course, some big train sound, gave visitors a great and lasting first impression of the show and just a taste of what was to come.

All scales had modular layouts running trains from nearly every prototype era. It was easy to find a favorite road name among these beautifully detailed models. The Z scale layout had one continuous main line around the floor that represented 36 scale miles of track. It took a while for the trains to make that long loop around. The HO modular layout featured a unit coal train of 100 hopper cars rolling right out of the Powder River Basin.

All major manufacturers of motive power, rolling stock, DCC and other types of electronic control systems, specialty track work, sound systems, computer software for track control, train simulators and track design software, accessories, hobby crafts and more, offered special displays to keep things exciting on the show floor. Of course if you came away with nothing in your shopping bag, then you missed out on some great show bargains.

This enjoyable event provided hours of fun, education and encouragement to get out into the garden to enjoy our special branch of "The World's Greatest Hobby."

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