This year I ventured to a new brick show, Bristlecone Bricks and Train show in Ely, NV.

Ely (E-Lee) is in White Pine County, the middle of Eastern Nevada, four hours southwest of Salt Lake City, four hours north of Las Vegas, and five hours directly east of Reno. It’s a bit high in elevation at 6,437 feet, with a population of just over 4,000 folks. It’s a great little town, home of the Northern Nevada Railway Museum, great views, garnet hunting, and steam and diesel train regular and themed (1920s) rides. Also, hand cart rides to get those muscles working. The Bristlecone Bricks and Train Show helps raise money for the continued operation and upkeep of the museum.

The Event

Bristcone Bricks is typically held the first weekend in June. This year it was Friday June 2 and Saturday, June 3rd. There was lots of representation from local builders. Setup began Friday morning at 10 am; setting up the tables, electrical, table cloths and MOCs in the awesome Freight Barn, including some great non-brick model trains as well.

Yikes! Who knew it rained in Nevada!?

A few summer showers while we were setting up.

Highlights

Local member Stephen Bishop had lots of MOCs including one of Dirt - the beloved cat that was a local celebrity at the Northern Nevada Train Museum. Sadley he passed before the show but was well remembered.

Schellraiser inspired mosaics of Blonde Redhead and The Joy Formidable Was on display for our Schellraiser 2023 friends. - a local music festival near ELY.

Representatives of ULUG had a great train and MOC layout.

Shawn Denowah came down from Boise and a member of ILUG with some great art.

Members of NUTLUG have some awesome trains and builds. NUTLUG members are a primary sponsor of this show, and their members attend a lot of train shows around the western US.

A few members of LUGVegas came up from Las Vegas to display as well.

Wednesday MOC by Art R.

BIG BOY Train by Chris T.

Building Bridges

One of the best parts of this show was the interactivity for everyone, especially the “Future Master Builders.” We had a bridge-building competition led by Shawn Denowah. Everyone had 5dive minutes to build a bridge, and then weights were put on it to see how much it would hold until it broke. I believe the five-minute winner was a nine-year-old with a total of 42 pounds.

There was also a mosaic build. People were given 6x6 plate and dots to build out a plate to go on the 96x96 mosaic.

Worth the Gamble?

The Bristlecone Bricks and Train show was awesome. If you want a destination for a small show, with great people, a great town, and a vacation from the hustle and bustle, this show is for you. We are looking forward to 2024. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information - https://www.facebook.com/bristleconebricks or their website - https://bristleconebricks.com/. LEG GODT - Play well!

Now that’s a lot of info to chew-chew-chew on! Have you ever been to a small or specialized convention? Let us know in the comments below.

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