Dec 2 Holiday Season Party at NJ Hi-Railers Club (Paterson NJ) Recap
On Sunday, Dec 2, 2012, the Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) had a great holiday season special event at the NJ Hi-Railers club in Paterson NJ. Over 300 NJ Hi-Railer Club guests and LCCA members attended this fun and festive event. Former Lionel President and Chief Operating Officer, Dick Maddox was our featured guest and speaker during this holiday season party. Dick served as Lionel's President and COO from July 1999 through July 2002. LCCA members had a chance to sit down and talk with Dick in a casual and private setting. Dick provided his personal and historical perspective of his tenure serving as Lionel's President. This was a great opportunity for our members to learn more about a key chapter in the 112 year history of Lionel trains.
LCCA Director Bill Schmeelk conducted a demonstration of the LCCA/Lionel FasTrack Modular Railroad system. Bill brought with him one modular section to demonstrate and explain the design features of this new national modular layout standard. We believe this new modular layout standard will help introduce our toy train hobby to new people and allow for people who do not have the space in their home for a full operating layout to run their Lionel trains. Any company, club, school, Scout organization, etc can have a group project and participate in future LCCA special events with this new Lionel FasTrack Modular Railroad modular system. Stay tuned to this website for future Special Events and Lionel FasTrack modular railroad activities. For additional information regarding the LCCA/Lionel FasTrack Modular Railroad system and specifications go to the "FasTrack Modular" tab on the front page of our website
www.lionelcollectors.org or to access directly go to
http://www.lionelcollectors.org/Module Page
The highlight of the day was the special guest appearance by Santa. People brought their kids, extended family members, and friends to participate in this festive event. Santa thrilled children of all ages, even if they were naughty or nice. NJ Hi=Railers Chef Vinnie's Italian cuisine was enjoyed by all. People spent the day enjoying themselves by meeting with fellow members and friends, eating good food, listening to Dick Maddox and Bill Schmeelk as well as running trains on the massive 185'long NJ Hi-Railers operating layout. You have to see this layout to believe it. It is phenomenal! Members also enjoyed NJ Hi-Railers's other operating layouts including such as the "Soprano layout" which was featured in an episode of the popular HBO TV series "The Sopranos", as well as the late Tom Snyder's standard gauge layout. This layout once belonged to late night TV talk show host Tom Snyder and was donated to the Hi-railers. Stayed tuned to this website www.lionelcollectors.org for future LCCA videos from this event and all of the operating layouts.
Thanks go out to all of our members and friends who participated in this LCCA Special Holiday Season Event. We appreciate Ben Fioriello and the entire NJ Hi-Railers Club for their friendship, generous hospitality and hosting this fabulous Special Event. Our sincere thanks to Dick Maddox and Bill Schmeelk. Your contributions made this event even more special! Thank you all for making this such a wonderful holiday season event.
We hope you will all have a safe and happy, Lionel train filled holiday season!
If you have any ideas for hosting a future LCCA Special Event, please contact Al Kolis 248-709-4137 or
agkolis@comcast.net to discuss. We welcome and encourage you to host an event.
Happy Holidays!
Al Kolis
Immediate Past President and Special Events Manager