The Eurospoor 2003 AdventureZ

Prolog: Setting the scene for the Great Eurospoor AdventureZ

Returning to Europe

The story of how the Eurospoor Adventures came to pass is one of perseverance and good references from distant friends.

As you may recall from your reading of Sinsheim Chronicle Episode 11, Roland Kimmich, President of ZClub International, had invited the VEC and crew to the Modellbahn Sud in Stuttgart, Germany the October following Sinsheim. As the summer of 2002 progressed I made several attempts to contact Herr Kimmich by email, snailmail and fax. Alas, no reply was forthcoming! As the realization that we had been stood up and that the hoped-for trip to Germany was not going to happen, I began to once again do some research on the Web, looking for "major" train shows in Europe. My new "Z" friends, Dieter Nolte and Jeremy Brandon, both spoke highly of the Dutch national train show called "Eurospoor". Dieter had visited the show several times in Utrecht and Jeremy had participated in the show in 2000 along with Manfred Joerger and his Z modules.

Once again, it was Dieter who provided the name of the show manager, Mr. Leo Hendriksen, and encouraged me to contact him via email. I checked out the Eurospoor web site and came to the conclusion that a trip to the Netherlands (via Amsterdam) was definitely very attractive and exciting. A phone call to Terry and Helen Sutfin confirmed their interest in making the trip a foursome. Marthe was all for returning to Amsterdam. She pointed out that, since Eurospoor took place in mid-October, it seemed the perfect way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I think that having another opportunity to travel with the Sutfins just added to the anticipation we felt.

I wrote a detailed request and emailed Mr. Hendriksen. It didn't take more than a few days to get his answer which made us all very happy. He would be most pleased to have the VECRR as part of the show. He sent along the contract and booking form for the lodgings that Eurospoor would be providing.

Marthe suggested that we stay at the Bed & Breakfast that she had enjoyed in Amsterdam. The owners were very helpful and the BnB was completely non-smoking. Agreed! It took a couple of emails to book the rooms at

The next item of business to take care of was to contact my Sinsheim sponsors to see if they would support another European Adventure. Micro-Trains agreed instantly. Märklin said yes but they would get back to us later with details. Kalmbach said a definite "NO". Fortunately, Rob Kluz of Ztrack Magazine offered to take up the slack and became a sponsor. Finally, Schenker Canada made a small contribution to the cause. Note: shortly before the trip, Märklin failed to come through with their promised support. No matter, the shipping case they paid for was going to be put to the test once more.

Everything was in place for another European experience, the "Eurospoor AdventureZ".

Enjoy the trip!