I went to the WGH show in Pittsburgh at the end of January and was quite surprised by both the turnout of adults/kids AND manufacturers. After a 2 hour and 15 minute drive from Cleveland, I arrived at the Monroeville ExpoMart about 10:15 AM and didn't leave till after 3 PM. The entire time I was there, it was just packed with both adults and kids, which was good to see. (I think that WGH's policy of 16 and under getting in for FREE was a wise move on their part for getting folks to attend the show.)
While all the major locomotive manufacturers were there at the WGH Pittsburg show, I was a bit disappointed that none of the DCC manufacturers showed up. NCE is only 3-4 hrs. north of Pittsburgh in Webster, NY. Even so, I got to meet Chip (Spacemouse) and his son at the show, which was worth the drive in itself for me.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Interesting the different perspectives on the WGH show. Since I'm aware this is mainly a show to promote the hobby among the general public, I was expecting it to be loaded with Thomas stuff and things for kids. I wasn't disappointed there, but there were more of the major vendors there than I expected. MTH, Digitrax, Lenz, Bachmann, Lionel, to name a few.
I was amazed that Debbie Ames herself was in the Lenz booth, so I had a nice chat with her. I've corresponded with her directly via email about a couple of decoder issues and always found her very helpful and accommodating.
I was amazed at how packed out the show was. We left about noon and the show was just gathering steam, with the aisles packed out in many places, making it near impossible to walk.
It's encouraging to see the general public is still so interested in model trains. There's no lack of interest it appears, if we can just figure out how to better reach newcomers.
Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon
We made the drive from Seattle to Portland (250 miles one way) to see this show and came away pretty much disappointed.
The layouts were all modular, of mediocre quality, some looking pretty "tired." The one layout that stood out was a modular Z-scale layout that was very well done.
Bachmann, Atlas, Athearn, Woodland Scenics, MTH, Kadee, Digitrax and Lenz were the major manufacturers. It appeared to be a half-hearted effort on their part.
Absolutely no bargains at all, and except for two or three notable exceptions, the stuff that was for sale was low end and old. I was looking for a couple of Atlas Godl series HO switchers. Absolutely none for sale by anybody.
My bias is HO scale, so I didn't spend anytime with the N-scale or Toy Train vendors. Thomas the tank engine stuff with very much in evidence but not a lot of Leggo displays.
However, the placed was packed while I was there. We got there at noon and left at 2:00, to give you an idea of my level of interest. There WERE a good number of kids. Bragdon did his clinic/sales piece on using his rock molds, the WS guy soldiered on doing trees, using their armatures, and the guy who wrote a $75 book about Walt Disney and his interest in backyard trains.
I was underwhelmed. I was expecting a kind of mini-version of the NMRA Nationa Train Show.