GFE Model Railroad Club Train Room Open House (12/24/2021)

Friday, December 24, 2021

The Granite Farms Estates Train Room is holding an Open House for the two days before and the two days after Christmas.

This year we again had the Hallmark
Lionel train ornament tree

Open House means some kind of treat,
and COVID-19 means having to sign in

But first, a photo from a year ago:

Bare mountain and bare walls

Bit by bit we are landscaping the mountain;
many thanks to Bob L who donated most of the trees
and will be donating more

We have recently added backdrop photo murals, thanks
to money provided by the Residents Association

The Open House host, Walt H, mans the controls

A steam locomotive pulls freight cars

Nicknamed "Three-finger Mountain," the hillside
landscape will include all seasons

The freight train enters the tunnel

Where the trains exit the tunnel, there is a coal mine

The backdrop is the back of a city street, and we
see the "other side" of the railroad tracks

The power company substation was
a challenging model to put together

A Pennsylvania Railroad/PRR diesel locomotive and
passenger cars are stopped at the train station

A river disappears under "Main Street"

Some videos:

Herr's Christmas Light Display (12/22/2021)

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Diane W came to visit and one of the activities she suggested was seeing a Christmas Light Display.  Tinseltown was one and a half hours away and required lots of walking, so we decided to go to Herr's Snack Factory. On the way to Tinseltown, someone asked if we "had seen hers?" Who hers? No, Herr's!

(They normally offer factory tours, but not since the pandemic.)

The local "reason for the season"

It was a free drive-through tour, with just about
every tree on the property covered with lights

Hmm? On the right are polar bears

The outbuildings were lighted

Large tree with multi-colored lights

The serpentine line of cars must have speeded up!

Sleigh and reindeer

Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular (12/15/2021)

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular is a local holiday light display with a larger-than-life twinkling array of illuminated sculptures. This year it is located in the parking lot of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.

Leaving GFE at about 16:30, we took back roads to avoid the rush hour traffic. Our advance timed tickets were for 18:00-20:00, but we were allowed to enter earlier than 18:00.

Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular arch to the R

Tinseltown Holiday Spectacular arch to the L

Not all the Mistletoe Market booths were occupied

The Tinsel Lodge tent offered food and beverages

Inside Tinsel Lodge

"I Got Tinselfied" booth

NFL Philadelphia Eagles logo

McTinsel's Pub offered "adult beverages"

Oversized Christmas ornaments

Looking up inside a Christmas ornament

Lighted train

A giant reindeer

Half of the lighted tunnel

Several huts offered beverages and treats

A photo-op lighted chair

Rudolph's Rink

MLB Philadelphia Phillies logo

Diamonds?

"Jawn" is a Philadelphia slang term,
"a context-dependent substitute noun"

Crystals

Looking up at the tall crystals

A photo-op lighted sofa

Oversized toy blue airplane

Oversized Teddy Bear

Oversized Rubber Ducky

Santa's lighted sleigh

NHL Philadelphia Flyers logo

In front is Gritty, the mascot of the Flyers, and
behind on the R is Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer

The cracked side of the Liberty Bell

Snowflakes

Mrs Claus in the Reading Room

NBA Phildaelphia 76ers logo

Even at the most leisurely pace, we only needed an hour here at Tinseltown. That included Pat standing in a line to order a funnel cake, then standing in another looong line to receive the funnel cake! We also had a group photo taken with the Philadelphia Eagles Junior Cheerleaders!

The Eagles Junior Cheerleading routine includes one of the male official cheerleaders, James LeGette.