What do you buy at Train Shows?

[chuck842]

went to the 07' west springfield show...scored 2 awesome engines...a in ho scale a kato new haven rs-3 for 55 bucks and a proto dl-109 for 65 bucks....w/the economy now its gotta be a buyers market......modelers are are always bargain hunting but now more than ever!!!

[espeefoamer]

I buy books,DVDs,and HO stuff,if I can get it for a gtood price.I have picked up a lot of cool stuff at train shows over the years.

[Portland Terminal Railroad]

History has proven that I buy on impulse. There are always a few things I look for, but finding something you will use at a good price sure makes a deal. You need to know what the value is, though, to know if it's a deal. And, it's not a deal if it doesn't fit in your plans.  GRM

[fifedog]

I consider it a "therapy" session...so 5-10 dollars at the door is better than $250 for a half hour on a couch...

[MisterBeasley]

I, too, look on train shows more as entertainment than as a shopping trip.  With that in mind, I find driving to a train show, paying the price of admission and buying something to eat far better than doing the same for, say, a Jennifer Lopez movie.  The show is a bit cheaper, and the food is better and cheaper, too.

I also "shop" for ideas at shows.  First, there are all those layouts.  Even the ones that aren't in my scale still have great scenery, and when you're looking for inspiration, gauge doesn't really matter.  Our better shows also have vendors with structure kits.  I like to look at these and think about how and where I could use some of them.  Generally, I can do better at my LHS, but sometimes I find a bargain there, too, or he's got something that's sold out at Walthers.

There are a couple of vendors I always spend time at, because they have little detail things that I'll always have room for - figures, animals, relay boxes and the like.

[bladeslinger]

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<>So what do you buy at Train Shows? Do you have a list of things to look for, or are you an impulse buyer? Do you go by every booth?

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Well, in the past I've bought everything you can think of at train shows.  Years ago I'd buy unfinished diesels in hopes they'd one day be "Southern-ized".  A few were, but most I either later resold, or gave away, or simply did nothing with.  I've bought a lot of RTR freight cars, kits and undec cars at shots.  Same as locos, some of the kits and undecs were finished, some not.

I usually try to make a quick run-through of the entire place, then go back to places where I saw things that caught my eye.  If there is something I have been looking for or I want and think it might not be there when I get back around the 2nd time, I usually go ahead and buy it, if it's not too expensive.  I've had to make tough decisions may times at these shows.  Sometimes things are just way too expensive.  I do occassionally find a rare gem or an incredible bargain.

Normally I go to a show with maybe a couple hundred bucks (if that much) to spend.  That's generally when I see the most stuff that I'd potentially want.  I remember one time going to a show and I had about a thousand dollars in my pocket...as I'd just sold off all my old music recording equipment and I was bound and determined that part of that money would buy some of the model railroad stuff that I wanted.  I remember at the time Overland had brass models of the Southern Railway Caboose and Southern Railway Remote Control car.  I would have bought either one of those if I could have found them...but nobody had them.  I spent very little that day at the show, but later went down town to a hobby shop and spent about half that thousand buying items that shop had acquired from an estate sale.   The shop had better bargains and rare finds than an entire train show.

Besides locos and cars, I've bought books about railroading and model railroading, as well as t-shirts, hats, scenery items, tools and model construction supplies (like glues, sandpapers, etc).   I'm pretty sure one of my MRC transformers came from a show...seems like I got a good deal and that's why I got it.  I'm not sure if I ever bought track or cork roadbed at a show, probably not, because they'd be really bulky items to carry around.  

I've been to some shows and had tons of plastic bags in both hands, chock full of various rail items...and other shows I've walked away with nothing more than a hip pocket full of brochures that I picked up at various tables...but usually I'll have something if it's just one freight car.

The odd thing is, I often buy more from the booth set up by this one particular local hobby shop than I do from the entire rest of the show.  And I could go in that shop any time and get the same stuff.  They do sometimes come up with some rare stuff for the shows though. 

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[BuffaloBob]

Look for the odd ball products that are not in hobby shops anymore, and or a super bargain. Spend as much time looking at the display layouts as I do checking the booths. I stop at every booth tinplate or scale. Also like to interact with the manufactures, but seem less at Timonium every show. It is entertainment for me like going to the movies. I find that I can stop in at M B. Kleins on the way home from the show and get just as good pricing if not better than at the dealers at the show. Or can stop at MRPO in north Jersey when I am in the area. Was a time that the shows were better priced and had quality products to sell, now half of them are selling junk for premium prices, but every body has to make a living. The last two shows at Timonium were awfull! If the show this weekend is not better, will probably stop going to shows. But not the Amherst show, its the best. 

[dehusman]

Very little.  Since the major manufacturers don't support my era (pre-1905) there isn't much to buy.  I do look for any old kits with Fox trucks or the occaisional trussrod car.

Some of the used stuff is good kitbashing fodder.

Dave H.

[cold steal]

dont attend anymore.Use to be good deals at shows but these days everyone is trying to rip you off.Lets see,10bucks,gas and tolls,8 bucks to get in,6 bucks for a soda and pretzal and finally 325 bucks for a sound equipped steam engine that I could have got at trainworld for 275.No thanks. 

[richg1998]

I have been going to the West Springfield, MA show for many years as I belong to the Amherst Railway Society. I get free admission. If I did not have foot problems, I could volunteer and get free admission each day. Saw one building for a few years,  then two, then three and now four buildings. In the middle 1980s I use to help a seller in our local club and you would be amazed at the amount of buying/selling/trading that goes on before the doors open to the public. I remember for some years, free parking until 9-11. Hold back your Rants geezers, I know there is probably no justification for parking fees now but stuff happens and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. The Big E has a private security force and I doubt that will ever change.

 

http://www.railroadhobbyshow.com/pdf/43.pdf?Button8=View

Oh, back to the question, I buy a hamburger or two, plus a Dunkin Donuts coffee besides train stuff.

 For those who can get to the show, CSX West Springfield yard nearby. A station in nearby Springfield with Amtrack running.

http://pages.prodigy.net/darkelf/rrstuff/railfan/sp/rf_sp.htm#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elQChZ6rVes

Rich

 

[camarokid]

First, I walk all the aisles scoping out the vendors.  Then I walk them again looking for any and all HO items making sure to note the items I'm interested in and if the other vendors have the same item and the price.  Then I buy those items I'm really interested in because I have too much stuff now.  It's to the point I need to write down everything I own and bring the list, (in a 3-ring binder) along so I don't buy more cars of the same type and number.  Know what I mean?

Now I look mostly for buildings, scenic materials and powered Athearn "A" units with road names I will never use to power my "B" units.  Then I look for decoders.

Archie

[daschilling]

S-Gauge, provided it's not from a "collector" asking what he thinks his American Flyer should be worth.  I sometimes go with a list, but usually my wife and I go just to see what everyone has.  We treat train shows (and guns and craft shows) as entertainment.  Some are really good, and others are so-so.  Sometimes we buy quite a lot of things, other times, nothing.  You have to know your prices, and what YOU really want, and just have fun.  Hey is a hobby, not life or death (unless it's something S-gauge in CNW...)

[SilverSpike]

We went to the Great Train Expo last month here in Raleigh and they had a good many booths this time around, but one thing that really got me was the number of vendors who seem to price their items at twice the amount most people can afford to pay. Now my LTS Train Buddy had a section too, and I spent $140.00 on stuff from him because he is always 20% to 25% below MSRP for most items. This is a photo of Kim Parker at TB explaining something of importance to Monique, but I cannot remember what he was talking about.  And yes, that's my better half holding two items that SHE picked out! One of the two items is the Clayton County Lumber kit since her dads name is Clayton and the other is the Proto 2000 PS2-CD Cargill Covered Hoppers, because she wanted me to put some grain in my coal hoppers and I told her there are special cars for grain. Kim P said that would be great if everyone bought their kits because they were named after family members....  

Here are a few more photos of Kim and some customers at the booth...

Kim Parker and me

Kim Parker at the throttle

N layout with JMRI and Digitrax station

                            

[steamage]

Not a big spender, and usually the stuff isn't cheep at shows unless I see a really good buy. Last show I spent about $5.00 for a really nice all metal Athearn, Erie box car that made a nice addition to the layout. But I really like to see, talk with folks about their layouts on show and talk with reps at the manufacture exhibits.

[csmith9474]

Since eBay came around, I really haven't been going to train shows anymore. I have gotten better deals on eBay than I ever had at the shows. It is sometimes fun to go check out the layouts and such.

[reklein]

I like to look for non train kits at train shows. I once bought a $100 Titanic kit for $25. I always look under the tables for that kind of stuff. Also bought a model of a clipper ship for $25. it now resides on my layout as a lumbership.

[CSXDixieLine]

I just realized I failed to mention the items that we always purchase at every train show without exception: Thomas the Tank Engine. Every show now has at least 2-3 vendors that exclusively sell Thomas stuff or other wooden train/track items. The prices at shows are drastically lower than in the big box retail stores, and this also gives the wife & kids an opportunity to hunt for bargains (even though they like the scale model stuff as well). At a recent show, I purchased a Kato n-scale CSX SD70M with the YN3 colors; my son then found a wooden version of a similar locomotive and he now has one rolling on his wood track layout. Jamie

[Kevinohio]

Well i'll be goin to a show on the 25th or 26th in Ohio, i am hoping to have a track plan picked out by then.  Then i will make a list of the track i need and try to find bargins on that.  Im thinking of CSX or B&O railroads. 

1st-Track

2nd-Scenery or Structures

3rd-Scenery or Structures

4th- maybe some rolling stock

[Paul3]

rrinker,
Well, now, that's not completely true.  The McGinnis' hired Herbert Matter of Knoll Associates of New York City, and he actually designed different schemes for the same equipment to be painted at the same time.  For example, cabooses were painted both all red-orange and all black.  S-1 switchers were painted both black cab/orange hood and orange cab/black hood schemes, one after the other.  So it's not so much that they changed the paint schemes, they were designed to be different.

Of course, the next problem is that they ran out of money, so they tried to simplify the schemes.  In any event, it leads to lots of NH discussions. 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

[citylimits]

I fight in the line to buy brass track, big seller, as there is always someone who wants to buy it all, the price is right and it works well, there is a big demand as a lot of sellers are sold out in the 1st 5 minutes, I do notice some buyers will buy anything if it's cheap, whether they can use it or not(usually not) but they buy it anyway, the best part is to watch some mook banter with a seller for ½ an hour to get the price down from $2.00 to 85¢ then pull out his wallet with $1500.00 in it, who are these people??????

Psssssst. You want a good deal on brass track/turnouts? Wait here, I'll bring some over

Cheers

Bruce

[Flashwave]

I don't tend to haggle either.  Sometimes they'll see me examining something and come up and say "I can work with you on the price."  That starts a polite discussion that often saves me a few bucks.

My best find was an NWSL brass 18T shay for $300.  Looks good, runs well, and a very good price.

I have, but I don;t liek it, as I don't knwo what I'm doing or want to hurt their feelings. Usually they try to entice me with deals though.

[JimRCGMO]

Short answers:

1) Bargains

2) Things I can't find elsewhere (and preferably also #1 above)

...and to answer other questions: yes, I take a list, but usually it's the stuff I'm looking for (and one list of figures that I already have, to avoid getting a third set of those W-S dock workers...), and I usually have a set amount of money to spend. I also skip any tables that appear to be exclusively scales I do not model in (such as N, S, O...). 

Slightly longer answers:

1a) Bargains - looking for something that's 10-20 percent off normal retail (and may not get some of those, since one of our MRR members runs a LHS himself and gives us a pretty decent discount if we're club members)

2a) Things I can't find elsewhere (good if they're also bargains) - for a bit, I was looking for Bar Mills billboards, right after they'd discontinued them (but before I had almost a dozen and started wondering "Where the heck will I put all these, in my smaller layout?")

2b) Things not being manufactured for a long while - I got some of my old Revell HO scale building kits that way.

I will (depending on how much of my funds I've already spent) sometimes dig through the used freight car trays for interesting ones (got some of my MOW cars that way). But again, I'm not looking to pay $9-10 for a freight car that's not that much different than what I can order through our LHS owner/MRR club member...

I'm not into brass, no matter how great they look or how good of a (four-figure!??) price they're going for. I have - if not a beer budget, at least only a malt liquor budget. No champagne, thanks.

Besides, on most of the engines or cars, I'll be weathering them, anyhow (and repainting them if the paint job is a lot different from the RR's in my (fictional) RR's area.

My $0.02, anyway.

 

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[trainfan1221]

First of all, I like train shows because it still gives you a chance to go out and be with others who share the same interest, even if you don't particularly talk to or meet too many there but I like the atmosphere and sense of comraderie.  You don't quite get that doing everything online (not referring to these groups, by the way, I like it here).  But when I do go I look for things I don't see at a hobby store, which reminds me that one thing I don't see much anymore is a hobby store.  I look for various locos or different cars, sometimes at a real good price, but often I look for detailing parts, such as crossing signals or things like that.  I got a pair of NJ International flashers at a train show, only one I ever saw them at, I really like things like this and the better scale size and appearance works for me.  One of the things I really liked I picked up detail wise is an N scale 645 engine block.  Really neat little thing I might say.  I was at a train show in Allentown a few weeks ago that unfortunately didn't turn up much for me, but I will always jump at a chance to go to one.

[rrinker]

There's a good quote about the New Haven in Kalmbach's "Historical Guide to North American Railroads" that says, "The New Haven Railroad had more history per route mile than any three Western railroads combined."  I tend to agree with that. 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

 

 That's because McGinnis liked to change paint schemes like he changed underwear.

 

                       --Randy

[Paul3]

R. T. POTEET,
That's cruel, man.  Just cruel. 

We've got 170+ years of railroad history to talk about, pre- and post-New Haven.  We have several ex-employees show up and introduce themselves (last year, I had a former VP of the NH's trucking company NETCo. stop by).  We have a regular show crew member who worked for the NH, PC, & Amtrak for a combined 45 years in engine service.  Another guy is a multi-book author on the New Haven and has one of the best collectors of NH artifacts I've ever seen: http://www.gis.net/~fm/museum.htm    Yet another is the NHRHTA's video editor who is always telling about and showing us new NH films coming out, and another is the former NHRHTA photo editor.  The rest of us are mere mortals that collect, discuss, and sell NH items to the public for the NHRHTA. 

We share modeling tips, talk about new NH models coming out, wonder if we're ever going to get the new "Shoreliner" magazine, you know, things like that.  And that's not even getting into hot button topics like "Buck" Dumaine, FL9's, and Patrick B. McGinnis. 

There's a good quote about the New Haven in Kalmbach's "Historical Guide to North American Railroads" that says, "The New Haven Railroad had more history per route mile than any three Western railroads combined."  I tend to agree with that. 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

[shayfan84325]

I don't tend to haggle either.  Sometimes they'll see me examining something and come up and say "I can work with you on the price."  That starts a polite discussion that often saves me a few bucks.

My best find was an NWSL brass 18T shay for $300.  Looks good, runs well, and a very good price.

[Jumijo]

Some of the best bargains are under the tables, not on top.

Used HO frieght cars sell for $1-$5, so I usually pick up a few of those. If for nothing else, they make great practice pieces for weathering techniques.

I don't haggle much with sellers. If I like the item, I might try to shave some off the price. Then again, I might not. I figure the stuff is cheap enough as is, so I treat it all as a little game. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't.

Jim

[whitman500]

I don't have any decent hobby shops in my area so I tend to buy everything online.  As a result, I focus my train show purchases on things that I like to see before I buy or items that are too difficult to search for at online websites.  Things I would put in this category:

Figures

Vehicles

Tools

Freight Cars (to an extent; I like to be able to look at the build date which you can't online)

I also check out brass locomotives.  I haven't bought one at a train show yet but there are a couple of ones I've been keeping my eye out for so I check the racks for those. 

I don't usually buy readily available big items likes locomotives or structure kits because I'm never confident that the train show price will beat what I can get on the internet.   

[Autobus Prime]

First photo of a beautiful layout and an unpainted brass locomotive I have seen, I don't know how to interpret it, is this common??

t:

In the early days of imported brass, apparently it was. They looked so nice, people hated to cover them up. You see this mentioned now and again in 1960s MR & RMC, though it rarely showed up in photos.

If the model is a CB&Q excursion loco, it might /almost/ be prototypical. :D