York: Center of the toy train world twice a year

I had my pre-York haircut yesterday which signals that soon I’ll be packing the bags. I’ll be flying off to Pennsylvania to wave the banner of Classic Toy Trains at the Spring 2015 York Meet. Nineteen years ago the Spring 1996 show was my first “York,” and I’ve usually attended one a year for the magazine ever since. It is an amazing event.

 What is York? It is a semi-annual train meet hosted by the Eastern Division of the Train Collector’s Association (TCA). The Eastern Division does an incredible job putting on this show-of-shows twice annually, coordinating everything from member’s tables, show security, and of course, all that Fair Food! Remember though, it is a member’s-only affair – you need to belong to the TCA, but you can get in as the guest of a TCA member. You can also apply for membership at the door.

 What is the attraction? Trains, trains, and more trains. Primarily the toy train gauges, but if you look, you can find HO and N scales. Prewar. Dorfan. Postwar. American Models. Modern era. Hoge.  Books. Accessories. Lionel. Custom-built structures. MTH. New, old stock. American Flyer. Old, old stock. A.C. Gilbert. Pristine models. Marx. Junkers galore. Die-cast vehicles. Weaver Models. Figures in all scales. T-shirts and coffee mugs. Williams. Electronic gizmos. S-Helper Service. Fine art (yes, fine art). K-Line. Lou Palumbo. Joe Algozzini. Joe Mania. York has it all. Its sort of like Dancing With The Stars, except with train guys and no dancing.

 The main attraction has to be the vast acreage of member tables in the various halls. The rare, the not-so-rare, and plenty of “Where on Earth did you find that??!!!” goodies. You can’t predict what you’ll find, and that it part of the romance of York. You can easily redefine your vision of what is actually rare after going there. For example, on my first trip I saw eight prewar standard gauge outfits I had been told were almost impossible to locate in good condition. This is one reason I use the term uncommon instead of rare.

 Manufacturers, retailers, and associated outfits (including Classic Toy Trains) are also set up there. The major manufacturers and many key retailers are set up in the Orange Hall (formerly known as the Toyota Arena). You can see the latest and greatest as well as the coming soon gear.

 Does it cost much? There are some costs associated with getting there and attending, but other than lunch money, you can have a great (if tiring) day or two just wandering around. I know I took three visits to York before I got to all the halls. I’m not sure if I’ve ever attended one and spent more than $150 on trains, books, or especially die-cast vehicles. I only had one “It got away” story and I’m okay with that. It is just a crazy, plain old fun event.

 First and foremost though, I’m there to meet our readers. I listen and try to answer their questions. I’ve been praised, cursed, yelled at and practically kissed by our readers and that is par for the course. As I tell people who come to Kalmbach and take a tour of the building, every one of us realizes our paycheck comes from you – our readers, customers, friends, and critics. We are happy to stop what we are doing and to give them a tour. In the hectic rush of day-to-day doings, we appreciate that people will stop their travels and stop by our building to visit

 The event at York, however, is the primary locale where we are able to come face to face with the largest number of our readers and note what they like, don’t like, and want more (or less) of. For me, amid all the trains, excitement, and things to look at, meeting our customers is the icing on the cake.

 Have you ever been to York? If so, what has been the best thing to ever happen to you while there? ­ – Bob