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Convention attendees were given the opportunity to purchase motorcoach transportation to the Concord Mall. The is North Carolina’s largest and #1 shopping destination. It is an all-in-one indoor facility that is over 1.3 million square feet and features over 200 stores including Lionel’s one and only retail store (as of this convention). Members were also offered great deals and an exclusive die-cast car that could be purchased at the store. The store also features 3 different train layouts designed and built for this store.

The 3-stop tour offered some LCCA exclusive opportunities.

• RFK Racing offered a behind-the-scenes look into its pit stop practice area and their museum. The museum gave attendees a peek at the rich history of Jack Roush and his race team. There were also multiple cars and trophies from Roush’s 300-plus wins on display. 
• Hendrick Motorsports offered the rare opportunity to see inside their race shops where cars for Nos. 5, 9, 24, and 48 teams fabricate, assemble, and prep their Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s. There was also the engine and CNC facilities where over 200 race engines are tested each year. 
• The last part of this tour was the NASCAR Research & Development Facilities. This place was originally created for safety within the sport. It opened in 2000 and moved to its current facility in 2003. This 61,000 square foot building houses R&D, Inspectors/Officials, Series Directors, and Training/Development personnel from all NASCAR series. This LCCA exclusive visit included views of car setups, parts of the at-track inspection process, the chassis certification process, and access to engineering insights and tests used to execute the great races seen on Sundays, while sustaining the highest levels of safety for driver and fans. 
•  There was also the opportunity to drive a lap around Daytona International Speedway, with the NextGen Car, in one of the iRacing Simulators.

This mall is an all-in-one tour featuring 3 fantastic venues. The Gibson Mall is the new name for the old textile manufacturing company headquarters. There is a gigantic Antique Mall that includes over 800 vendors. The AutoBarn houses hundreds of exotic cars and most of them are for sale. Also included here are antique restored trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and more. The third location is the Cabarrus Brewing Company. They make a variety of craft beers which members were able to sample. They are also the largest craft production brewery in the county, and they made the Lionel Ale for the 2019 LCCA Reno Convention and surprised us again with a special beverage for the 2023 Lionel Seminar.

This tour had 2 stops and 3 very nice museums. One stop was the Mustang Owners Museum. This featured over 25 Mustangs from classics, modified, racing, and few unique versions. There was also lots of Mustang memorabilia and much more. Attendees were also gifted Mustang logo pin on their way out. The other stop was The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame & Curb Motor Museum. These 2 museums are housed in one building. The music side of the building displayed North Carolina music royalty in diorama settings featuring outfits, instruments, framed items, and other things from the stars. The racing side of the building shows Mr. Curb’s collection of older NASCAR, Indy cars, and drag racing cars. Included are cars raced by Dale Earnhardt, Sr, Richard Petty, Dale Jarrett, and more. There are also various trophies on display.

Another opportunity to sample some of North Carolina’s craft brew awaited those that joined this tour. Southern Grace Distillery is located in an abandoned prison. The prison was built in 1927 and after it closed it was converted into a distillery. The tourists were able to see a couple cells left in their original state, the old Guard Tower, the Warden’s home, and the infamous Hot Box. At Reed Gold Mine, the oldest in the USA, attendees toured the underground mine/tunnels and got the opportunity to pan for real gold. This mine dates back to 1799 when farmer John Reed’s son found a 17-pound rock with gold in it. North Carolina led in gold production until 1848 when California took over.

The Duke Mansion and the NASCAR Hall of Fame

The Duke Mansion was built in 1915 and tripled in size by its most famous owner, James Buchanan Duke, who purchased it in 1919. Visitors on this tour got to see the 20-room bed and breakfast’s public spaces and its beautifully manicured grounds. They were also given a wonderful history of the mansion and its owners. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in addition to the bed and breakfast, hosts countless weddings and other events year-round. Since Charlotte is the heart of NASCAR country it makes sense that the NASCAR Hall of Fame would be built here. Attendees to this stop were welcomed in by seeing a life size replica of a portion of a racetrack complete with race cars and trucks from all eras of racing and different places to stand on the banked turns demonstrating the varying degrees of slant. The museum also features a room of all the Hall of Fame drivers, a couple different examples of the differences between race cars and stock cars, and over 50 interactive experiences. People had the opportunity to see famous drivers’ cars, outfits, trophies, and other memorabilia from the history of NASCAR. There was also the opportunity to get behind the wheel in a racing simulator and try your chance driving your favorite track and see if you are cut out to be a member of a pit crew, changing tires and fueling up the car all in 15 seconds.

This year members saw a unique day for the big train ride. On Friday morning 440 guests boarded their motorcoaches to take a drive east from Concord to Candor, North Carolina. When arriving at Candor, the early riders headed to the train for their ride, after being greeted by owner Robert Menzies and his wife. The excursion train consisted of open-air cars, a baggage car, a double diner, and a rare Budd full dome car. Following the train ride, people toured the 80,000 square foot railway shop and other passenger cars, that included a restored and updated dome car, that were not on the ride as well as other locomotives and rolling stock. Train riders were also provided a box lunch.

Travelers that picked this tour were treated to sights of one of the most picturesque spots in all of North Carolina, the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Daniel Stowe, a retired textile executive from Fremont, N.C. reserved 380 acres of prime rolling meadows, woodlands, and lakefront property and established a foundation on which to develop a world-class botanical garden. The travelers entered the gardens through a stunning 13,500 square foot pavilion seeing the breathtaking 100-year-old stained-glass dome. They also saw eight different gardens and twelve exceptional fountains. Further included was seeing the Orchid Conservatory, the Kimbrell Children’s Garden, and Piedmont Prairie Garden. From the Garden, travelers were taken to the NarroWay Dinner Theater, just south of Charlotte. NarroWay is considered the premier Christian Theater of the South and known as “The Broadway of Christian Entertainment”. They were treated to a delicious lunch and saw “Samson, The Last Judge”. It’s the Biblical story of Samson and also the story of America.

Billy Graham is considered one of the most prolific Christian crusaders of all time. Those that selected to go to this tour headed south to Charlotte to visit the “Ongoing Crusade” that is the Billy Graham Library. This property features Billy Graham’s childhood home, Library, beautiful gardens, and a chapel. Here they learned about “The Man, The Message, The Ministry and The Mission” that drove Billy Graham to preach for more than 60 years, pointing anyone who would listen to Christ. From the Library, travelers were taken to the NarroWay Dinner Theater, just south of Charlotte. NarroWay is considered the premier Christian Theater of the South and known as “The Broadway of Christian Entertainment”. They were treated to a delicious lunch and saw “Samson, The Last Judge”. It’s the Biblical story of Samson and also the story of America.

In addition to all these wonderful things, there were informational seminars from Bruce Greenberg, author of Greenberg’s Guide to Lionel Trains (and others), Ed Richter, the LCCA’s “Video-tographer”, and Angela Trotta Thomas, painter of Lionel trains among other works. Also, another record-breaking modular railroad spanning over 3 rooms and even at the Lionel Retail Store. And multiple Lionel Kid’s Club, by LCCA things to do including a Scavenger Hunt and the Switch-back Railroad. Overall, this convention was one for the history books! Be on the lookout in the February 2024 The Lion Roars for what’s in store for our next Annual Convention to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, July 8-13, 2024. Make plans now to attend! Not a member, you can sign up today!