LCCA's 50th + 4 Omaha Convention Recap
The 50th + 4 Convention Recap
Omaha – famous for the Men’s College World Series and Steaks – hosted the LCCA’s 54th Annual Convention. This convention, originally scheduled as the 50th Anniversary Convention in 2020, used the Hilton Omaha as the headquarter hotel. This hotel featured an indoor pool with jacuzzi and a fitness area as well as a couple of dining options all under one roof. Some of the rooms also had a unique view of Charles Schwab Field Omaha – Home of the Men’s College World Series and the Creighton Blue Jays.
The convention kicked off with the President’s Welcome Reception & Social Sunday evening. We followed our more traditional schedule this year with the LCCA Annual Business Meeting and the Lionel Seminar being Friday afternoon. The First Timer’s Reception was Wednesday evening for those who were attending a convention for the first time and the “clapper” made an appearance and gave away train memorabilia to some attendees. The Get Acquainted Party was Thursday nights meal and entertainment. This was a great evening with delicious food and trivia. It was a great opportunity for 4-8 members to work together to answer questions covering Lionel from its beginning to today. It was quite challenging for most, but also helped create friendships that will last as people discussed answers and worked together. The trading hall was hopping Friday night as members saw many tables of trains and accessories for purchase.
The week was concluded at the LCCA Banquet. This sit down and plated meal once again offered either a delicious beef, chicken, or seafood option. Every year attendees wonder how the order of who picks gifts off the table will be done. This year was another creative idea using small pictures of Lionel history. Of course, the first nine picked up something on the table and the lucky 10th person received the highly collectable banquet gift. This year’s banquet gift was a Lionel MUSA boxcar in Union Pacific colors with a picture of Kenefick Park, the UP shield, and an America Flag. Like last year, this banquet had a little twist. Upon picking up their registration packet, attendees were given a playing card that featured artwork and a picture of an LCCA exclusive Lionel train car. The goal of these cards was to find other members who had the same picture and create a group of 3 to 5 and turn in that set to win a prize.
This year’s registration gift was a BNSF gondola with coil covers. This is offered to the first 400 members who registered for the convention and stayed at least 3 nights in the host hotel (or live within 50 miles of the host hotel).
And of course, starting on Monday morning, and going throughout the week we had many tours.
Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad Excursion
Boone, Iowa, and Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad was our first destination and the home of our annual train excursion. We enjoyed a beautiful two-hour train ride through the gorgeous Central Iowa countryside that included a stop on an old bridge that stands over 150 feet above Bass Point Creek. This is the tallest interurban railroad bridge in the United States. Thanks to the open-air cars many attendees were able to grab breathtaking pictures of the valley and countryside. The B&SVRR is not only a passenger line; but it also provides daily freight service in the area. It is also one of a very few railroads that operate steam, diesel, and electric motive power on a weekly basis.
During this tour we also had the opportunity to see the James H. Andrew Railroad Museum and History Center, ride a trolley to downtown Boone and back, and walk thought their yards and restoration back shop. As a little bonus, members were given 4 different pins and a model pickup truck with the B&SVRR logo on both doors. It should be noted that 2 of the pins were originally made for the 2020 Convention that never was.
The Florence Experience
This tour took its guests to the quaint little railroad town of Florence, NE. The town was established in 1854 and is now home to four different venues that LCCA guests visited. The Florence Depot was built in 1887 and was located in downtown Florence. It was closed in 1966 and moved to its present location as a museum in 1971. Guests were able to see many articles from railroading past at the Depot. Another stop was the old Florence Mill near the banks of the Missouri River. It was constructed by the Mormons in 1846-47 and was their winter headquarters. Supplying both flour, meal and lumber in the area helped them survive the harsh winters. Today it is a museum and art center that has been preserved for all to enjoy. The old Bank of Florence was also a stop on this tour. It is a small, unique building that has been restored to its original condition with an upstairs filled with period objects from the past. It also served the community as a Post Office and telephone switchboard. The last stop was the Mormon Trail Center. With interactive exhibits, artwork, and artifacts, visitors were able to experience what it was like to live as Latter-day Saint pioneers during their westward migration to the Salt Lake Valley. During the harsh winter of 1846-47, over 300 pioneers died and were buried in the cemetery across the street from the museum. The museum portrays the hardships and heartaches the Mormons encountered in the winter of 1846. In all, over 3400 lived here until it was abandoned in 1848. Recently Florence was incorporated into the city of Omaha.
Father Flanagan’s Boys Town, Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum,
Round the Bend
This three-stop tour began at the world-famous Boys Town where guides boarded our buses and took us on a driving tour of these magnificent facilities. We also got to walk through the on-site museum, Father Flanagan’s house and the Catholic church that includes the burial site of Father Edward J. Flanagan, founder of Boys Town. In his home, we found a model of the McKeen car, which we rode at our 2019 LCCA Convention in Reno. This car was manufactured in Omaha. The museum featured the history of Boys Town and how it continues its mission to change the way America cares for children (yes boys and girls now) and families. We also saw the Best Actor Oscar awarded to Spencer Tracy for his role as Father Flanagan in the 1938 film “Boys Town”. We also got to see the World’s Largest Ball of Stamps in the Visitors Center.
Our second stop was the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum. The museum was built as a state-of-the-art center for housing the aircraft and artifacts use by the Strategic Air Command during the Cold War. We were able to see the restoration area where the EC-135 is being restored and Hangars A & B that held decommissioned planes like the B-52, B-56, B-58, B-47, F-101, F-11, KC-97, C-119, MIG-21, B-29, F-102, and more!
The last stop was a delicious buffet dinner in a private room at Round the Bend Steak House. Established in 1995 by Ron Olsen, it has been run by his son T.J. since 2012. This restaurant is known far and wide for hosting the Testicle Festival every Father’s Day. Guests were given the opportunity to have a “buck a nut” with their dinner and ended the tour with a surprise gift, a pin showing the logos of all three stops.
The Lincoln Experience
Less than an hour from Omaha is Lincoln, Nebraska’s capital. After a short bus ride, attendees on this tour visited the State Capitol Building and were able to walk the halls and see its 110 foot tall rotunda built of Indiana limestone. Standing stately at one end of the Centennial Mall, it features glass wall murals depicting the Blizzard of 1888 and the Arrival of the Railroad. At the other end of the Mall, we visited the Nebraska History Museum and learned about the history of Nebraska. We learned about the people and cultures that founded and shaped this state. There were also unique artifacts and stories that have defined Nebraska.
The third stop was the huge Museum of American Speed. Here, we experienced over 150,000 square feet of exhibits including the five millionth Model “T” preserved just as it rolled off the assembly line, the world’s largest collection of pedal cars, and other racing cars, show cars, classic cars, hot rods, street rods, and many more.
Layouts Tour
Always a popular choice is the layouts tour, and this one certainly did not disappoint! Members were able to 3 different home layouts and the large Nebraska-Iowa Railroaders collection of layouts in the Oak View Mall. The Mall layouts showed all gauges of trains running from G to Z and everything in between including the micro T gauge. This was a real treat as there are not many in the United States. There was even a model of Kenefick Park, home of a UP Big Boy and a UP DDA40X overlooking the interstate. At this stop, visitors were also given a pin as a memento of their visit.
One of the home layouts was that of Mark Nelson. This collection filled his basement with numerous trains running on different layouts where it is Christmas 365 days a year. Mark also heads up the Mall layouts. Another layout was in the home of Russ Quimby. His layout was in process, but we got to see a great start featuring two levels and different gauges. Joe Snook was the last layout we saw. On March 16, 2019, a flood almost wiped out Joe’s collection. His home had to be demolished, but he constructed a beautiful new home and moved the collection to the second floor in a 16x37 room. This room featured one beautiful layout and trains in various gauges covering every wall!
The Durham Museum, Lauritzen Gardens, Kenefick Park
Guests that chose this tour were able to see The Durham Museum which is located in the beautiful Omaha Union Station that has been restored and looks better than ever! This is the first railroad depot with art deco architecture, designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood. It opened 98 years ago. We got to see the huge 30x120 layout and walk through real restored rail cars and locomotives as well as the displays and exhibits that depict railroading on the Plains.
The other stop was Lauritzen Gardens and Kenefick Park. Kenefick Park is at the top of a very tall staircase and overlooks the interstate. It features a Union Pacific Big Boy - Cab #4023 and a Union Pacific DDA40X #6900. These are both the biggest in their different classes. Guests had the opportunity to see the gardens which featured a large glass conservatory, 8 different gardens, an Arboretum, Bird Sanctuary, and an outdoor G gauge model railroad that runs 7 different UP trains at many different levels. It also featured many bridges and tunnels as well as models of familiar Omaha landmarks.
Hot Shops Art Center, Full Fledged Brewery, Wimmer Train Museum
Inside a huge antique brick warehouse structure from a century ago, we found many unique craftsmen making and selling their wares. There were more than 80 vendors offering painting, glass blowing, jewelry, sculpture, photography, design printmaking, fiber printmaking, fiber art, woodworking, metalworking, musical instrument construction and more.
Following that was a stop at the Full Fledged Brewery. Here we took a tour of the facilities owned and operated by Marshall and Dessie Redmond. Guests were able to sample the local brew at an additional cost.
The last stop was the massive train collection of Bill & Judy Wimmer. Bill retired in 2008 after serving the railroad industry for 51 years at both the Union Pacific and Chicago & Northwestern Railroads. Bill met his wife, Judy, while working for UP as an Inspector. Over the last 60 to 70 years, this couple has collected various railroad memorabilia from UP as well as every other railroad they could find. The collection featured the real Plymouth UP Industrial Loco, the switcher Diesel engine, the 100-year-old handcar, the UP Maintenance Car, the telephone operator’s switchboard, and many, many sets of railroad china. We also saw a model train layout running extra-long UP passenger trains. All together there are over 10,000 pieces of railroad memorabilia to see!
Council Bluffs, Iowa
This tour featured 3 stops and 5 different places. Council Bluffs is just across the Missouri River from Omaha. First, the General Dodge House is a French second Empire style mansion designed by William Boyington of Chicago for General Greenville Mellen Dodge in 1869. General Dodge was the Chief Engineer for UP and supervised the construction of the UP portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. This house featured period specific antiques and a unique turntable in the garage. This was installed due to the steep slope of the driveway and no way for a car to turn around at the top. Next door, tour guests visited the August Beresheim House that also featured period specific antiques.
Another stop was the Rails West Museum housed in a Romanesque Revival structure also known as the Rock Island Railroad Passenger Depot. This was a daily stop for the Rocky Mountain Rocker, the Midwest Hiawatha, and the Arrow. It was built in 1899 and now houses the history of Council Bluffs and its integral connection to the railroad and a model train layout. Guests also got to walk through the museum’s yard, full of rolling stock and locomotives including the CB&Q 915 Steam Locomotive an Omaha Club Car, Burlington caboose, Plymouth 5700, UP 814 Steam Locomotive, a UP boxcar, a UP Railway Mail Service car, and a Rock Island caboose.
The final stop had 2 places to visit as well. One was the Squirrel Cage Jail. This jail was built in 1885 and features a unique design of a 90,000-pound metal structure that rotates like a Lazy Susan by a single jailer using manual cranks and gears. The jailer would bring the prisoner to them instead of the other way around. The other place at this stop was the UP Railroad Museum housed inside the historic Carnegie Library building. This museum features exhibits that cover the building of the Transcontinental Railroad with one of the original Golden Spikes and President Lincoln with artifacts from his rail car and funeral. We also traveled through 150 years of American railroad history, walking through 3 passenger cars from the 1950s and saw over 300 pieces of UP silver and china. There was also an exhibit about Hollywood stars traveling by luxury trains before airplanes arrived on the scene.
A Day at the Zoo
This tour allowed guests to spend a day at one of the countries premier zoos. It features over 160 acres of plants, animals, and unique habitats from around the world. The zoo is 128 years old and saw its millionth visitor in July 2021. There is also a train ride around the park, an overhead tram, and many other special exhibits to witness.
City Driving and Walking Tour
On this tour, guests had the option to ride the whole time or enjoy a couple of stops by walking around for photo ops. We began by crossing the river into Council Bluffs where we stopped at the largest golden spike ever. This marks the spot where Mile Post “0” started the trip west for the UP Railroad. The next stop was the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge where some walked all the way from Iowa to Nebraska across the Missouri River. Then we drove by Pioneer Courage Park where Buffalo statues are on display, the Omaha Central High School, the Joslyn Art Museum (unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment). Also, the present Mutual of Omaha Insurance building and the new one under construction were on our path as well as, Gene Leahy Park, the Orpheum Theater, Black Stone District, the Rose Theater, Cottonwood Hotel, Rocco’s Pizza, Charles Schwab Field Omaha, the UP murals, Old Town Omaha, and Warren Buffet’s office.
In addition to all these fantastic tours, there were informational seminars from Kevin Davis covering Modular Railroading, both how to and new developments, and Ed Richter, the LCCA’s “Video-tographer” discussing social media. Also, another record-breaking modular railroad spanning over 5 locations. And multiple Lionel Kid’s Club, by LCCA things to do including a Scavenger Hunt, the Switch-back Railroad, and cornhole.
Overall, this convention was the perfect ohmage to our 50th Anniversary! Be on the lookout in the February 2025 The Lion Roars for what’s in store for our next Annual Convention to be held in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 20-26, 2025. Make plans now to attend! Not a member, you can sign up today!