Memphismodelrailroaders.com turns 1 today. It's already been a year? They grow up so fast...

One year ago today this website came to life. It was launched with a goal of creating better awareness of the model railroading groups and activities that are in the Memphis area. By most accounts the website appears to be serving its intended purpose well.

The website sees lots of activity each week, and most of the groups represented on the site have received multiple inquiries in the past year. Local train shows have also started to see increased attendance from people reporting they used the site to get information about the shows. Hopefully, these trends will continue and the groups that call this site their on-line home will see their ranks and events grow.

It was a February show to remember. The Casey Jones Chapter of the Train Collectors Association held their February winter show in Germantown on the 3rd. What was different about this show was the size of both the show and the crowd. There were nearly 40 tables of trains available for sale - trains were everywhere! On top of that, over 200 people came out to see the trains. It looked a lot like the crowd at a show in December, not February. There were lots of kids which made the show even better. Below is a shot of one such little guy looking on with obvious anticipation as a steamer approaches in the background. Then there is the happy grandfather of another little guy who won the Dinosaur Diesel train set the chapter was giving away.

This was by far one of the busiest train shows the chapter has hosted in the area. Everyone seemed to have a nice time, and the chapter received some great feedback from event-goers in a follow-up survey on what they can do to make future shows even better.