Just a pet peeve of mine, maybe someone can answer. Just received the new MR last week and as always was paging thru it before actually taking it to bed to read that night, and I noticed again that there are never any train shows anywhere near where I live. As in within a four or five hour drive. Just so ya know I live in the southwestern part of New Mexico. Anybody have any ideas on this subject? I am not mad or anything just cannot understand it!
Keep it on the high shiny stuff Neil
I couldn't agree more! I am native of Pennsylvania and there were train shows all over the place throughout the year...even Timonium was about 125 miles. I now live near Reno Nevada and we had a small train show or two here some years ago, but no more. Roseville is the nearest and held in mid November. Dicey at best to get over the Sierras that time of year. In many of the lesser populated areas of the SW it seems that model railroading isn't popular enough to support train shows...outdoor activities generally attract people. Here in northern Nevada...so many of the residents of the area spend their leisure time gambling.
The climate is very mild where you are and conducive to outdoor activity. Consider the population of your region.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
PHX, AZ has 2-3 shows a year like there "In the Heat Shows" and Tucson has a national show every other year. They have a small swap there at the "Gadsden-Pacific Toy TRain Musuem" but i have never been to it. Link is below:
http://www.gpdtoytrainmuseum.com/trainmeets.htm
I agree , when I lived in Ilinois there were Train shows every month at least , now out here in Mesa there is one good show thats 2 times a year on Central Ave. The other ones just are not worth going too. Once travelled across the valley and the show was outside under a tent , never went back.
Yes, but I thought that everything was twice as big out in the West. Doesn't that mean that distances and time travelled should also be double?
And I hope you're not relying on the listings in the back of MR to search for shows. Ever since they started charging for those listings, many of the smaller shows have opted not to pay. However, the shows can still list for free on the on-line show list.
Scroll your mouse over the "resources" tab at the very top left of your screen. From the dropdown menu select "coming events". Then from the categories on the left side you can choose "toy train show" or "train show/sale". Once you get to either of those two lists you can filter using you zip code or within your state. If you don't find anything in your state, you can search the neighboring states.
Or you are welcome to move back here to Pennsylvania where Timonium is 90 miles away, the West Springfield show is 300 miles away, and multiple other firehouse shows are 45 minutes to 1 hour away. Plus you can be here in Chester County where we have a power outage that is going into its 4th night for some folks and the temperature is 15 to 20 degrees F.
But Maxman , that means the shows should be twice as good , but they are not
Neil - If you haven't done so already, get in touch with Mike Fifer of Fifer Hobby out of Las Cruces. He should know where and when all the shows are in the region. Most shows though would be in the Denver or Phoenix area.
Years ago the NMRA used to publish the members list by state and not surprisingly the states with the most members had the most hobby shops and shows. As I recall, New England along the costal states through New York, New Jersey, PA, Maryland into Ohio, Indiana, Ill, Wisconsin, Missouri was the big swath along with California and Colorado.
So if you don't live there you have fewer hobby shops and shows. I live in Virginia and we get some small shows (4 or 5 a year) plus Timonium is a 3 hour drive (each way).
Paul
Not just train shows, there is also a dearth of 'local hobby shops' here in Arizona. The nearest one to me is within an Ace Hardware in Tucson, a 70-mile one-way trip. The next closest one or two are in Phoenix and its environs, an all-day trip for me.
The Gadsden-Pacific Operating Toy Train Museum in Tucson holds a swap meet two or three times a year, but it seems that the same vendors with the same products are at each one, with prices going up and up every time; and they are about 90% Lionel O-scale.
There used to be six hobby shops that specialized in trains in Tucson and two local ones -- now the Hobby Place at Ace Hardware in Tucson is the only one remaining.
We have a local Hobby Lobby and there is a Hobby Town in Tucson, but neither one has much at all in the way of trains.
It's not just hobby shops that are going under, either. We used to have 3 local Radio Shack stores. Only one remains, and has nothing but cell phones and various gaming devices.
crhostler61 Here in northern Nevada...so many of the residents of the area spend their leisure time gambling.
Here in northern Nevada...so many of the residents of the area spend their leisure time gambling.
Let them run some 1970's vintage TYCO equipment, its at best even money on whether then run and they shoot craps on a regular basis.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Vegas is just as bad. NO shows and 3 hobby shops (one of them is hobby town).
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There are a number of train shows here in the Milwaukee area, and they originate from a variety of impulses.
Some are pure money making ventures by individuals who rent a hall, beat the bushes to find folks who want to buy tables and sell, and relentlessly promote the show every chance they can. It is a lot of work, and they take a lot of risk particularly given Milwaukee's winter weather. I think it is fair to say that these shows are not really for the public, but are for the modelers, and in that sense are more properly called swap meets rather than train shows.
Some are fund raising ventures by clubs who show their own layout, or a portable layout, invite other portable layouts, and then do as above -- find the vendors to buy tables, and relentlessly promote. One of these clubs is located in a college and has had some recent difficulties finding space for their show -- which by the way was free to the public, and they made their money selling the table space to vendors and selling lunch to the public. Other clubs set up their shows in local bars that have halls for rent for weddings etc. -- not many weddings on a Sunday morning so I assume they get a break on the price, and they charge a modest admission fee. Due to the operating layouts these shows do reach out to the public, as well as modelers, as true shows, not just swap meets although there is buying and selling.
Both the local Lionel group and the local S gauge/American Flyer group have their own shows on a regular basis -- these are multi scale shows but are more properly thought of as swap meets that do not reach out to the public very much, unless they are having an open house at their layout.
The big one locally is Trainfest which is originated and run by the local NMRA Division. Do you have an NMRA Division nearby that would take on this task? Trainfest has grown and grown and is now a huge show of operating layouts, displays, historical societies, how-to clinics, vendors, manufacturers. It is not cheap to get in and it is not cheap to buy a table; it is also not cheap to put on. Of the 20,000 to 25,000 who attend, I am sure most are families with kids and not themselves modelers -- yet! The NMRA division makes enough money from Trainfest to fund Divisional activities including monthly meets in a hotel with multiple dedicated rooms for clinics, contests, and a small swap meet where tables are free. With the retirement of John Tews MMR, the long time Director for Trainfest, it is likely Trainfest will be evolving in upcoming years, but it is going to remain an activity of the NMRA division.
The key perhaps is that it started small, but always with the goal of reaching out to the public about the hobby.
I know we are lucky in Milwaukee with Kalmbach and Walthers being such strong local presences, and with a strong NMRA Division and Region here in the birthplace of the NMRA. We are also lucky because when we are not having shows here in town, there are other train shows and swap meets elsewhere in Wisconsin, or nearby in Illinois, to go to. Indeed from early fall to late spring it might be that there are 2 or 3 shows/swap meets every month, sometimes swap meets every weekend, sometimes competing shows on the same weekend. But we also have a concentration of modelers here that can support all these shows. I do not know what to suggest for those who live where there are not enough modelers nearby. But don't rule out taking the risk and starting your own show if you can find the portable layouts and the vendors and somehow generate the knowledge in the public. To my way of thinking to appeal to the public you need operating layouts, or a layout, to visit. Without that what you have is a swap meet which is fine, just a bit of a different animal.
Dave Nelson
PennCentral99Vegas is just as bad. NO shows and 3 hobby shops (one of them is hobby town).
Oh Yay!!! I will be moving to Caliente, NV the end of March or early April. Guess I better hit my local hobby shop and scarf up anything I think I may need. We will most likely make a trip or two a month to Vegas for groceries and supplies as I have been told the local grocery is known as The Museum of Food!
Robert H. Shilling II
I dont mind a little drive to go to the hobby shop but when that little drive is more than five hours I have to draw the line on that! Just came back from phoneix and was at one of the local hobby shops/local model train club. had to practically drag my brother out of the house to get there, not that I couldnt have done it on my own but needed him because I dont know the local area at all. He lives there. found and bought a couple of old round house loco kits. Oh does anyone know where I can get one of the old NWSL repower kits for the two truck shay that they used to make? Well gotta go let the dog out to do her thing and then I need to go and get ready for work tomorrow.
keep it on the high shiny stuff Neil
widetrackOh does anyone know where I can get one of the old NWSL repower kits for the two truck shay that they used to make?
At Northwest Shortline? See page 4-18 at http://www.nwsl.com/uploads/chap4a_web_01-2014.pdf
Think the southwest is bad, Hawaii is worse, no LHS that carries a good selection of model railroading supplies. Nearest hobby shop is in LA, six hours and a thousand bucks or more just to get there.
You guys aren't alone. There used to be train shows all the time down here in south east Texas but not anymore. The most recent one that I know of was about three weeks ago at the Brown convention center in Houston but I didn't get to go because I had other things to do that weekend.
Tracklayer
Thanks Maxman
I will be checking that out soon as I find my latest catalog.
Neil
widetrack Thanks Maxman I will be checking that out soon as I find my latest catalog.
I believe that the link I gave you is an on-line version of their latest catalog. At least it is dated 2014. Whether or not they have the thing in stock is another matter.
tracklayer....how far are you from san Antonio? there is a show every 4-6 months here and then new braunfels has 2-3 every year also
P&SlocalI will be moving to Caliente, NV the end of March or early April. Guess I better hit my local hobby shop and scarf up anything I think I may need. We will most likely make a trip or two a month to Vegas for groceries and supplies as I have been told the local grocery is known as The Museum of Food!
I see from your profile it says you're currently in PA, so Caliente may take some serious getting used to. It's pretty much the middle of nowhere. Cedar City, UT is much closer for grocery shopping (96 miles vs. 151 for Las Vegas), so you may want to consider that. St. George, UT is also closer at about 110 miles. I had one of the best burgers ever at a bar/casino in Caliente one time, plus I got to watch trains. I don't mind the place, but then I like the desert. You'll become well acquainted with it too regardless.
St. George at least has a growing hobby presence with an active NMRA division in the area, and they're trying to get more shows going. I think they had their first show within the last year.
Rob Spangler
widetrack I dont mind a little drive to go to the hobby shop but when that little drive is more than five hours I have to draw the line on that! Just came back from phoneix and was at one of the local hobby shops/local model train club. had to practically drag my brother out of the house to get there, Neil
I dont mind a little drive to go to the hobby shop but when that little drive is more than five hours I have to draw the line on that! Just came back from phoneix and was at one of the local hobby shops/local model train club. had to practically drag my brother out of the house to get there,
I recall them are pretty wide open spaces out there from my growing up years and many visits to my Uncle in Bagdad AZ near Prescott and trips across Nevada and Utah back and forth during college. My guess is when you have mostly cactus's and Joshua Tree's with the odd rattle snake for miles and miles = low population density = few Train shows and far between. Heck, my cousin worked for a gold mine for years in Winnicucca NV and he was a long way from anywhere.
Train shows need people and attendee's to be viable. It's the price you pay for all that wide open space - long trips to anywhere. When you live out among the rocks and cactus's, mail order is probably much more necessary.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761...my cousin worked for a gold mine for years in Winnicucca NV and he was a long way from anywhere.
That anywhere near Winnemucca?
You know, an area as large as the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex, one would think that we would have more than one decent train store. We also have only two shows per year, a terrible one in Fort Worth in November and a good one in Dallas (actually Plano) in January. That's it. Just a little depressing considering the way it used to be here. Not too long ago, either.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
Even out here near San Francisco, hobby shows are rare, used to be up to 3 in South San Francisco, two in San Mateo, two in Santa Clara etc. Now only one in Santa Clara.
Isn't Litchfield Station in AZ ?
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Speaking of shows the San Jac show is tomorrow in Houston/Stafford
http://sanjac.leoslair.com/styled-2/index.html
wp8thsub riogrande5761 ...my cousin worked for a gold mine for years in Winnicucca NV and he was a long way from anywhere. That anywhere near Winnemucca?
riogrande5761 ...my cousin worked for a gold mine for years in Winnicucca NV and he was a long way from anywhere.
As a matter of fact, where is my spell checker?