Sunday, January 6. Today I went on a family trip because my grandson, Drew aged 3 1/2, likes trains. This is my impression for anyone who is interested.
Greenberg's claims to have about 500 exhibitors at the Garden State Exhibition Center where we went. I didn't count them but there were a lot. Most are products related to Lionel O gauge trains although other gauges and and manufacturers are also represented. I did not see any garden railroads; everything else seems to be there. There are also other toy cars and trucks and Barbie dolls. And there is Thomas the Tank engine stuff of all kinds from the trains themselves to T shirts and pajamas. There are boxed train sets aimed at children such as a Santa train and similar things. Several stands had books,periodicals and ephemera (mostly timetables) about trains. Books with pictures predominated.
There are also some operating O and N gauge layouts. O gauge are what my grandson enjoyed most; I was surprised at how long a slow moving model of a coal train could hold his attention. Among the O gauge there were no passenger trains of any kind, no famous named trains or general passenger or commuter trains. There were all kinds of freight trains. The layouts were all rectangular designs with trains that just went around and around the circumference. The rectangles were all narrow edges where the trains ran with the people running them and boxes and stuff scattered around the center. There were a lot of exquisitely made track side buildings. You could just imagine some hobbyist sitting over them for hours just to get each detail exactly right. However, over all they seemed to be collections of buildings and scenes that might belong in a museum case but there was little in the way of a realistic depiction of a scene.
Although Greenbergs calls itself a "Toy and Train Show" it would hold its greatest interest for an adult who builds or contributes to layouts. Sellers tend to specialize in wayside equipment, freight cars, spare parts and other things. There are even reproductions of traditionally printed Lionel boxes for sale.
Admission is $7 with children under 12 free but no discount for senior citizens. Garden State Exposition Center (where I went) in a short distance from the Garden State Parkway on Somerset, New Jersey. You cannot get there by train and there were no visible bus stop signs either. The show will be at other eastern locations in the spring and early summer. Here is a link to the schedule:
http://www.greenbergshows.com/schedule.html
Disclaimer: I have no relationship to this show or any part of it. I am an adult who attended, paid the full admission price, and looked walked though for almost 3 hours.
My club participates in a two day Greenberg show in Middletown NY. We appeared there twice in 2012. in March and then December, We have been doing it for several years now. Most of the stuff for sale in the past few years was Lionel with a lot of parts for sale and lots of Lionel junk. But the past two shows we did there was alot of HO and N for sale also. My club brings and runs five layouts at these shows, from Lionel, HO and N - T-Trak modular layouts and a members very detailed N layout. We always have a crowd around them, especially when someone is doing switching at industries or in the yard. As an exhibitor we don't pay for addmittance but we usually spend quite a bit of money there. It is a toy and train show, but is usually more trains than toys. Parking at this location is free and plentiful. We enjoy showing our layouts although they don't represent any specific location. The only negative to this location is the radio interference with our DCC systems. We had to have our throttles tethered for the entire show. We think that it is due to the metal building and the credit card scanners and wifi systems in use by the vendors. All in all there's nothing wrong with this show.
I regularly attend the show in Wilmington, Massachusetts. The show has a lot in common with the others described. Ours does have a substantial amount of HO and N gauge as well, and a very large Lego layout that children of all ages can enjoy.
This has always been a "Train and Dollhouse" show. The dollhouse contingent is smaller now, and there is a lot more Thomas and Power Ranger stuff.
Without a doubt, the happiest "railroader" I've ever seen there was a little girl carrying around a battered old box with a Barbie Princess set in it. If one person can be made that happy, who am I to say what should be in this show?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.