I have to assume there are guys who mark the date of major train shows on their calendar, then back up a few days and write in "stop bathing today."
By the way, we've all been talking model train shows but perhaps some of you also go to railroadiana shows. Oh my ....
Dave Nelson
Computer shows seem to have gone the way of the floppy disc, but the people there beat the worst train show attendees hands down.
dknelsonI have to assume there are guys who mark the date of major train shows on their calendar, then back up a few days and write in "stop bathing today."
Sure, they use their savings in water consumption to offset the cost of admission to the show...
John
The club I belong to does a lot of mall shows. Generally they are always a lot of fun. The best are:
Kids (and adults) who keep following a train around the layout and others who just sit on a bench that the mall provides and watch the trains for an hour or so.
Current and, especially, retired rails with their stories to tell. I haven't met a grumpy one yet.
The worst are:
Teenage girls that insist on touching the trains.
The father and son that bring up the question of a train wreck. If I hear "Addams Family" one more time at a show, I think I'll scream.
For those who ask how much it costs, my stock answer is "less than a fishing boat or a couple good deer rifles."
RedoreThe father and son that bring up the question of a train wreck. If I hear "Addams Family" one more time at a show, I think I'll scream.
People love to see things go "boom" and blow up... you know, something that captures their complete attention like a "slow-motion train wreck".
There's actually plenty of prototype precedent as well. In times past railroads and promoters have actually staged train wrecks for the public-- ostensibly to "educate the public about the dangers of train wrecks" or "scientific research" (wink, wink, nod, nod). But occasionally they 'fessed up about just doing it for the spectacle. And they used to generate quite a crowd of onlookers.
"On the day of the event, lots of tents had been erected at the site, including some Ringling Brothers circus tents. ... Two hundred constables and/or sheriff's deputies were employed to manage the crowds. Those who witnessed the event estimate that that between 40-50,000 attended the free event."
"The two locomotives, spewing thick blake smoke, raced towards each other with the crowds watching in anticipation. With the throttles tied open as rehearsed, both engineers and firemen jumped to safety and bowed to the crowd. Explosives were placed along the track to liven up the event."
The rest of the story can be read here:
The Crash at Crush -- The Staged Train Wreck of 1896
Last weekend was the Mad City Show up in Madison WI. So the had the usual questions from the usual characters. Had a fair number of people upside down looking up the skirts of the layout to see how it was all put together, and of course the usual people telling my wife that girls don't run trains. What I didn't expect was a person getting thier nose out of joint because my wife set up the tigers for the circus to be running around loose, and being a general mence to the rest of the circus.
I had one person tell me in no uncertain terms that just by having the circus there we were justifying the cruelty inflicted on the animals of real circus's. I asked if they were for real, they replied yes. I then suggested that they would not like the results of the protesters on the layout, as I had the National Guard showing up as soon as I could find another deuce and a half.
The other was a person that offered to purchase a loco I have been building (off and on) since 2004. I had finally got it working (and it hadn't fallen down the stairs recently). When he asked how much I wanted for it, I said that it wasn't for sale. He was offended by it and said that nonsense this was train show, everything was for sale. I replied tell that to the people that have the amazing collection of railroad related items in cases downstairs as you walk in. By his reaction I think he had tried that same line on them.
All in all though it was a good show. Still missing the Prieser HO scale elephants for my wife. Still haven't lived down getting her the N scale ones last year. Is there such a thing as "pygmy elephants?"
Trynn_Allen2 Still missing the Prieser HO scale elephants for my wife. Still haven't lived down getting her the N scale ones last year. Is there such a thing as "pygmy elephants?"
Still missing the Prieser HO scale elephants for my wife. Still haven't lived down getting her the N scale ones last year. Is there such a thing as "pygmy elephants?"
YES! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_elephant
markpierce Trynn_Allen2 Still missing the Prieser HO scale elephants for my wife. Still haven't lived down getting her the N scale ones last year. Is there such a thing as "pygmy elephants?" YES! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_elephant
That's awesome...Now to figure out how 4 of them ended up in a circus in Wisconsin in 1935. Can just see that one now...Setting Singapore: Procurer: Yes, we need 4 Elephants for a circus in the Midwest of the US. Shifty salesperson: Well I got these 4. Procurer: I donna know thier kinda scrawny looking...
i find women annoying... no not sexist... they can be so annoying
i was once at a train show standing infront of a huge model railroad i asked the persons running trains a question... no answer so i waited and asked again i was ignored then told they were too busy to talk... ok no big problem
i young boy was watching the trains.... he placed a can of coke on the track of course the trains stopped... dcc does not like coke cans... the persons running the trains then went into panic mode and started to pull the dcc apart... the young boy lifted the can... trains ran then he put the can back on the track... you can guess it... they stopped again
so i started to speak to the train people and to tell them about the can of coke.... guess what again i was told that they were too busy to talk... so i guess people who take " toy trains " too serious are the ones who annoy me
another story... my local club was displaying a very nice detailed model of a country station... of course it attracted the rivet counters... when they made comments i would put a small racing car on the track and run it thru the station very fast we would then all make a brooom brooom noise for some reason the rivet counters then would move along
ps only joking about the women...
I think you have to blame the father for this. My wife showed me some statistic today that kids entering college this fall were born in 1991 and didn't remember the phrase "where's the beef" and didn't know Mork or where he came from. So highly unlikely that the young gentleman would remember the Addams family on his own.
At our last club open house I was speaking with one of the guests when I looked over his shoulder and saw a young man reach into the narrow gage town, pick up one of the people, and place it right on the tracks. Must have been a short person because it fit almost perfectly with its ankles on one rail and its neck on the other. I told him that I thought that actually wasn't a very good idea.
maxmanSo highly unlikely that the young gentleman would remember the Addams family on his own.
Younger people may think of the Addams Family cartoon. I think it started sometime in the 80s, and it was still shown as a Saturday morning cartoon through the 90s.
I fortunately haven't run into anyone too annoying at train shows. Once in a while, there's a dealer who starts talking non-stop and won't let you go, but that's about as bad as it's ever gotten for me.
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To quote Mr. Zane, "I think I'll jump in on this one", having dealt with quite a bit in various shows, both train & non-train related.
Car shows, record shows, & train shows, it seems like they breed the worst in some people, both patrons/customers & dealers/vendors.
I used to take my '70 Dodge Coronet to the weekly car show we have here in town. One evening, I noticed 2 gentlemen bending down, looking over the bodyline, looking with an evil eye for noticeable bodywork. If the car was for sale, it would be one thing. But it wasn't at the time, & yes there was bodywork-the car was -not- Barrett-Jackson quality. I really wanted to say something, but refrained. (the car -did- get sold last May to a fellow in Kentucky to a price I was asking, & the buyer was quite happy with it!)
There used to be a record show at the autoworkers' hall on Chevrolet Blvd. by the Chevy plant in the Parma/Cleveland area that I hit 2x a year. One vendor that was there for the first few years I went, had all his records in wooden cases facing him, & when anyone would start to browse, he came running over. "What are you looking for?" he'd demand. "Well, I'm just browsing." the answer usually was. "No." he'd answer. "What are you -looking- for?" that usually drove them off, & once as I was nearby, he proceeded to shuffle through his collection, muttering out loud about "people getting things all out of order." I then bought a few "cheapos" he had in a bin on the floor, & told him that "Maybe if he wanted someone to buy something off of his precious collection, maybe he should let people see what he had." & walked off. I never saw him at shows after that-he never really got business with his territorial attitude.
At train shows-I got loudly ripped once in the mid 80's by a vendor for mentioning that I tried to make a hi-nose GP40 out of a Atlas WM GP40 when I was a teen (& failed miserably) because they were COLLECTORS ITEMS!!!! He was not happy-well, they weren't when I did it, & they still aren't!
At a "mall train show", I got heavily chastised by a vendor for picking up a book to show a friend of mine something he'd been asking about in regards to something Lionel that I did know about. I bit my tongue, but my bud ripped them up & down, telling them that if they didn't want anyone to "touch their stuff", then they shouldn't have it out, & furthermore, he (pointing to me) probably knew more about trains then they ever did.
& at a train show only a few years ago, I got publicly called out by a Lionel vendor as I was passing by his table. I wasn't looking at anything he had, as I don't really have an interest in Lionel. (but I know I few things about what is valuable, hence the other above encounter) But he proceeded to lecture me loudly about being a smoker, seeing the pack of cigarettes sticking out of my pocket. I pleasantly answered that yes, I should quit smoking & moved on. OK fine, I am a smoker, -BUT!- I wasn't smoking because it's against the law in Ohio to smoke in any building other than private residences, & even if it wasn't, I wouldn't out of respect for others (which I adhere to greatly, since I know I great # of non-smokers, & go out of my way as to not bother them.) Yes I know I should quit, but I didn't need to be called out on it publicly & loudly like he did. Even if he had something for sale that I was interested in, he wouldn't have made a sale from me, for I really don't think that pointing out a potential customer's personal shortfalls is a key to getting business.
The long & the short of it, is that I do my best to be friendly & pleasant to anyone that shares my interests. (& anyone that knows me, trains or otherwise, can firmly attest to the fact) It just seems that though the worst seem to "seek me out" sometimes. Just my $1.25.