OK folks here's my dilemma!
I am driving all night tomorrow to the National Train Show in Cleveland. Since I need to be in Wisconsin by Saturday I only have a few hours to take it in.
So what should my priorities be visiting layouts, manufacturers? Any thoughts?
Joe Staten Island West
Assuming it's like the one in Philadelphia a few years back, you should be able to do the train show in about 2-4 hours depending on how much you linger and chat with folks. That includes the train show layouts. It's a good show, unfortunately, a little too far for me.
Enjoy
Paul
Having attended the West Springfield, MA show a couple of times, I'd say the decision is up to you and your present state in the hobby.
Are you looking for layout ideas?
Are you looking for new or different scenic elements?
Trackwork?
Do you need structures, figures, vehicles or small details to improve your current layout?
Have you seen something that has interested you in MR or other advertisements?
If you only need a couple of hours, as mentioned above, you may be able to see it all, just don't talk to long at any one spot (apt to be my problem). The Springfield show is too big to see properly in the 6 hours the bus trip gives us. Definitely not complaining, it's a great deal, but it is a huge show. I usually look up any specific dealers I'm interested in before I leave home and look at what there is to see as I travel from one location to another.
Have fun,
Richard
I've been to both the NTS in Hartford a few years back and the West Springfield show. NTS was smaller, but still, you're going to want the better part of a day for it.
Think about what questions you'd ask if you ran across Tony Koester, Dave Frary, Joe Fugate, Jim from City Classics, the President of Miniatronics or Tim Warris from Fasttracks. Because I've run across all of them at these shows.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I, too, visited yhe NTS when it was in Hartford. I also recall it being somewhat smaller than the Amherst show. In either case, it's a couple of hours just to walk around, swivel your head back and forth, and say, "been there, done that". If you need to actually look through a merchamt's stock, orspend some time looking at layouts, or even have a conversation, it's going to take you 1quite a bit longer!
What I always do is decide ahead of time which manufacturers or vendors I want to see, find their booths, and plot my way through the maze. If it's a specific product I'm looking for, I take an educated guess at vendors who might have it, and allow some time to sort through the stock.
Should be a good time, except for the fact that you'll be in Cleveland....
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Actually I lived in Cleveland briefly many years ago.
What I did is I downloaded a map of the show and circled the vendors I want to visit hoping that will save time.
Thanks for the tips.
When I go to shows, I bring a camera and a clipboard. The clipboard starts with my Excel spreadsheet of rolling stock, which includes road, car type and road number. This keeps me from buying duplicates or at least reminds me that I'll have to renumber them if I do. I usually pick up other 8 1/2 x 11 stuff, so the clipboard keeps that organized.
The camera is for ideas, mostly, from the show layouts. At the end of the day, my mind is pretty full of stuff, and it helps to recover some of those overwhelmed memories if you've got a bunch of photos to review.
Visit the web site for the National Train Show (http://www.nationaltrainshow.com), look at the list of exhibitors, and set your expectations accordingly.
I'm a bit disappointed by some of the names that won't be present, but will be spending more time and money with those who are.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Got back a little bit ago.
Firstly, I'll say a negative to get it out of my system. I'm glad I didn't get Friday and Saturday because one day was enough.
A wash was that I went with eyes for hunting down more paper hi-cubes. Virtually every other type of car my layout requires, I can find readily, but not those. Sadly, I found but one all day! Of course, it's now in my sack of things waiting to be packed up tomorrow. Also was hunting down more Exactrail boxcars with similiar luck.
Now that I got the dour out of me: it was actually a lot of fun and I don't regret that I spent quite a penny to drive from DC, get hotel, and so on. Came in under budget and only made one impulse purchase that goes into "collection" not "layout fleet." I had a list of ten major "keep an eye out for" items and came back with eight. Discovered a few products I didn't know about and added them to the bag.
For the future, I'd advise this to anyone: go and shop immediately. Don't talk to anyone, don't look at the layouts, just buy. Then break for lunch. When you come back, you'll be unburdened with items in your arms and its sooooo much more fun to look at the layouts and talk to people. Plus the crowd thinned out. I was there from noon to 2 and 3:30 to 5. I took so many more pictures and talked to more manufacturers when it was quiet and I wasn't all loaded down. Saw quite a few people whose names I recognized from the magazines and the internets. Also heard some encouraging news from a few manufacturers, but I'd prefer to not seem like I'm putting words in their mouths.
Maybe I'll remember later to post some of the pictures I took. My last word I want to say is that there was this lady that had a small Z scale layout that was a garden railroad in some dollhouse scale. It was one of the more creative things I've seen in a while.
Here's a reflection I'd offer on my first experience of a national event. Owing to health issues, I was obliged to miss more of the NMRA clinics and sessions than I could attend. Fortunately, the same health issues had me at the Cleveland Clinic, so as a "commuter" I didn't have nearly so much money invested as many others. And I was able to spend a good few hours at the show, which I found very rewarding, perhaps especially because of the conversations I had with some of the manufacturers and distributors.
It's a truism of the hobby that we're required to know a little bit about soldering techniques and a little about paint application and a little about electrical circuits and a little about carpentry and so on. Very few of us excel in all these areas, which is part of the reason for clubs and other ways of sharing skills and experience (like these forums). It's not surprising that the professionals of the hobby--manufacturers, retailers, publishers, and others--are likewise required to have certain technical gifts, a general awareness of the audience, and when it comes to events such as the conventions and shows, some basic social skills.
I'm just workin' on my railroad, so I don't have to be particularly competent at the meet-and-greet. But when Neal and David and Dana and Tony and the rest are on site, their business may be affected by the impressions they make. I want to report that those I've named, and some from other quarters of the hobby, made very positive impressions on me as a first-timer. They may all be introverts (it wouldn't be so surprising, would it?), but if so, they've all taken the trouble to learn how to start a conversation and accept a compliment and listen, or appear to listen, attentively to all manner of fans, critics, and general windbags. I just want to thank the MR staff members I met for being so engaging, whether it took an effort or not.
Personally, I think the major benefit to these shows is talking to folks -- both manufacturers and modelers. One can generally find stuff for sale as cheaply online, but the ideas and cameradery cannot be duplicated on the Internet.
One problem I find with talking to manufacturers is that they often send the slick sales types to these shows, and they can't help trying to push product, and often aren't that helpful in discussing issues.
I believe I've seen that Z scale garden railroad display when the NTS was in Philly.
Should have taken the train - Cap Limited stops in Cleveland.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Someone mentioned the NTS was a smaller show. The NTS isn't about buying stuff, though you certainly can. It's about talking to the manufacturers, the magaizines, seeing layouts. If you went expecting a lot of vendors you will be disappointed. If you went hoping to talk to Bachmann, Atlas or Athearn about new releases and to see the same, then you probably loved it..
rrinker Should have taken the train - Cap Limited stops in Cleveland.
At, like, 2:30 in the morning. Both directions.
NittanyLion rrinker Should have taken the train - Cap Limited stops in Cleveland. At, like, 2:30 in the morning. Both directions.
So does the Late, er Lake Shore Limited, (well it was scheduled to arrive at 3:10 AM on Wednesday but it got their @ 7am).
And yes it was a small show in comparison to the Amhearst Show in Springfield, but it has a different purpose. Also the convention seminars were excellent (at least the ones I attended). And at this point I will put in a plug for the Operations Road Show. It was a great learning experiance for TT and TO operations.
Yes the trains arrive in Cleveland in the middle of the night. Been there done that.
I would say yes that the NTS is smaller than other shows I have been to and it is definitely not the flea market type show. However being able to talk to Manufacturer's reps and review layouts makes it a worthwhile stop especially since I was on my way to Wisconsin anyway.