About Us

In simplest terms, the Amherst Railway Society is a community of people who share a fascination with railroads, and has been for over 50 years. If we go all the way back to the mid-1950s, we find a small group of University of Massachusetts chemistry students and faculty members who realized that they shared a common interest in railroads. So they started meeting regularly to share railroad knowledge, photographs, and stories. - Read More...

About The Show

Every year late in January or early in February, the Amherst Railway Society holds its Railroad Hobby Show at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds (The home of The Big E) in West Springfield Massachusetts. More than 20,500 railfans and public attended the Show each of the past five years.  In 2018, the 50th Anniversary Show boasted 400,000 square feet of trains and train related exhibits...that's 9 acres of trains! - Read More...

Who's Who

The "Who's Who" of the Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show Reads like a Directory of some of the best in the business. Anything and everything having to do with trains is located somewhere on our 9 plus acres of display area. Please check out the Floor Plan and the listing of Exhibitors from our most recent show to get an idea of the folks that exhibit each year. - Read More...

Clinics

The Amherst Railway Society "Clinics Department" continues to grow every year. For the 2020 Show, planning is nearing completion.  Please check out the CLINICS pages to see what it available already! - Read More...

Our 2020 Show will be January 25 & 26, 2020. Our 2021 Show will be January 30 & 31, 2021 .

• New Product Announcements from Manufacturers
• Live Steam Locomotive running on 100 feet of track (thanks WW&F!)
• Maggie The Clown!
• 60+ Operating Layouts, Flea Market Tables, Historical Societies.....everything Railroady!

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  "Every year I look forward to the latest exhibitor list. There's always someone new on the list. This year's list does not disappoint with over 25 new exhibitors on the list. And, they are always exciting and innovative folks in the industry. Check it out for yourself. WOW, is all I can say. The best in the country, no kidding!"

  Jonathan S., December 8, 2019
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  "I look forward to the 50th with great anticipation. Last year was my first and all I could say was OMG! And, now I understand it is even bigger than last year. How can they top that live steam locomotive from Boothbay? I understand that it will be returning and there will be even more....I have my hotel reservation a day early because I am not missing this!"

  Jonathan Richards, January 7, 2018
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  "We live outside of Chicago and decided to attend 2 years ago. When we saw the size of the Show, we decided to start at section 1 and work our way up. Mid-way through the first day, we were only at section 25 and we had to work our way up to section 170! We never did make it to all of the sections, thankfully. I am not sure how much money we would have spent if we did (LOL)!!! "

  Tony Bruno, January 15, 2017
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