Eastern States Exposition Railroad Hobby Show

[ondrek]

Is anyone from this forum going to this show? Its this weekend the 29th and 30th in West Springfield, Mass.


Kevin

[Anonymous]

I will be there saturday
christian

[bman36]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ondrek

Is anyone from this forum going to this show? Its this weekend the 29th and 30th in West Springfield, Mass.


Kevin

Hey Kevin,
Not me...too far to walk [:D] ! Hope you have a great time. Let us know what interesting stuff you find there. Later eh...Brian. [8D]

[Rastun]

Definately no, I don't think even if I got the time off from work I could make it in time now. Hope you find some cool stuff there.

Take care,

Jack

[ondrek]

well, i went.

it was my 4th time there. this was the first time i was there where i didnt have a baby stroller, that was a plus. this was also the first time it was just me and my son going. I thought this was going to be a plus, but it really wasnt.

my son is 4 and well, cant stand in one place for very long. not long enough for me to ask questions that i had. I ahve so many, i dont even know where to start sometimes.

I found a few things, i was interested in, but well, there were many things i was after, that i just didnt see.

I think it will be my last time going to this show.
1. too crowded.
2. cant seem to be able to go alone to get the needed info i want
3. club members who i would like to ask questions, seem to not want to be bothered
4. too expensive...$5 to park, $8 to get in, and then to top that off, things for sale were not discounted to make the purhcases seem like it was worth the drive, time effor and hastle of dealing with all the people.
5. no live steam, i am really interested in trying this, but there were 0 there. I did find some for sale but nothing running, no one to ask question to,zilch.
6. there is a much smaller show much closer to my home in April, and i have been told that there are live steam runners that attend from a NH live steam club.

I left there feeling that i didnt see anything that i can find on my own. no helpful insight, infact i was shunned away because i had a kid, the guy was just itching to blow me off at one of the booths. i cant remember what one it was, there are so many. the guy at the next booth didnt have a problem with me, not that i knew of at least, but another parent had a kid that was crying, he was say 3yrs old, the guy looked at them and said, "just keep walking, dont come near me." he didnt say it loud enough for them to hear, but i heard it and i knew exactly what he was talking about, you could see he was looking right at them. i mean cripe sake, thats pretty rude. i was going to buy an item form his booth until he said that, then i put it down and walked on with my son. looser.

anyhow, i dont know, i just cant quite figure out this show, its chuck full of stuff, and people, but i never seem to be satisfied when i leave it. it seemed to be all the same things as the first year i went, nothing new or innovative. I was also hoping to see some good DCC booths set up with all different types set up, but notta, there was a booth with DCC, but no one wanted to talk with me, so on i went. RC of newengland was there, and i talked with him for a bit, he seemed nice, i was limited on my talk time though, as my son was pulling my arm. oh well.

so thats my take. I am looking forward to the show in lebanon, NH in April. I sure hope the members of the NH Live steam make it this year. they didnt last year, and that year was the first time i went to that show. but my LHS owner says they usually make it.

christian- you were there the same day i was, I was the guy with my son on my shoulders who was carrying around a Thomas tank engine pillow, That pillow seemed to be a very hot item, it wasnt something that could be bought at the show, he dragged it along from home, but we were asked about it almost every time we stopped somewhere.

what was your thought of the show?

kevin

[Anonymous]

I live in an eastern state called Queensland and have no knowledge of any show or exhibition!

Ian

[Anonymous]

Kevin
In regards to the Sprinfield train show
My wife goes to crafts shows,garden shows and conferences and this one was the most unprofessional show she ever saw-sloppy and chaotic.
Children are fine if there is room between exibit- wide aisle and well defend spaces.
These events are always family oriented. Should have been a special children space with hand-on activity for them.
I think the fee- parking,entrance was reasonable.
I did not found a lot of G. scale items and nothing on sale but you certainly saw a happy kid[me] with a 4' A frame bridge.
I will probably not go back to this show and focus on one more G. scale like the one in Pennsylvania in april
Christian

[Anonymous]

I went Saturday. Probably my 7th or 8th year attending. Got there early enough that I had to stand in the 4 degree cold for 20 minutes waiting for the doors to open. Once inside, it was the usual mass confusion. It was like a human Brownian movement, with all the sweaty molecules bouncing off one another. I'm just starting into garden railroading and, as usual, there was very little G Scale available. Like you, Kevin, I bought a wooden A frame bridge. Did you get yours from the guy from North Haven with a booth in the Stroh building? Excellent constuction and great price. Despite all the hassles, I'll be back next year, maybe with my 6-year old grandson.

[ondrek]

kwjohnson-

i didnt get one of those bridges, honestly, i didnt see them, i missed those. seems like every time i go, i miss something. but i dont think i would have gotten one, unless the price was really hard to beat. I have plans for one covered bridge in my layout, but it will only be a 2' one, most of the bridges i saw there were 3' or more.

I'll see what the show in lebanon, NH provides this april. if those live steam guys show, i seriously doubt i will make the trip to MA next year, there just wasnt enough G scale stuff for me there. I am interested in the HO stuff, as i have a small layout, but i didnt seem to learn anything new at the show, i was hoping for a learning experience i suppose.

Kevin

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ondrek

kwjohnson-

i didnt get one of those bridges, honestly, i didnt see them, i missed those. seems like every time i go, i miss something. but i dont think i would have gotten one, unless the price was really hard to beat. I have plans for one covered bridge in my layout, but it will only be a 2' one, most of the bridges i saw there were 3' or more.

I'll see what the show in lebanon, NH provides this april. if those live steam guys show, i seriously doubt i will make the trip to MA next year, there just wasnt enough G scale stuff for me there. I am interested in the HO stuff, as i have a small layout, but i didnt seem to learn anything new at the show, i was hoping for a learning experience i suppose.

Kevin

[Anonymous]

Kevin:
The bridge I bought was 2' long. It was made of cedar wood with brass connrctor bolts and nuts. It was $40.00. I wouldn't be able to build one myself for less.
When we moved to a smaller house abour 4 years ago, I had to dismantle my HO set. But because we now live ob 25 acres of land, I decided to srart a garden railroad. but I still like to check out the various layouts at the Amherst show to get ideas for scenery/ buildings, etc.