In my country, we have a limited number of commercial train or modelbuilding shows and a greater number more privately organized shows and meets, which I prefer.
In the past, I have attended a number of shows, but not for bargain hunting (there aren´t any) - I go there to see nice layouts and collect good ideas for my own work.
Unfortunately, both number and quality of layouts displayed has gone down.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL It seems to me, that the last four or five of these things I have been to seem to show a gradual deline in attendance and activity. I'm not suggesting some "the hobby is dieing" scenerio, more like maybe train shows have run their course?
It seems to me, that the last four or five of these things I have been to seem to show a gradual deline in attendance and activity. I'm not suggesting some "the hobby is dieing" scenerio, more like maybe train shows have run their course?
Rich
Alton Junction
Timonium: less dealers than the show 3 or 4 months ago. Attendance was pretty good then, this Sunday was worse than Saturday, which they blamed on the rain. Sunday was beautiful so I guess they blamed it on good weather. I would say there were only 20-30% as many people this show.
One guy offered me his entire display of Walthers turnouts for $120. There were 8 or 10 turnouts and I think they were DCC friendly, including a 3 way. I felt bad for the book guy who has to carry all his stock in and out. The guys that have boxes and and boxes of cars from toy train sets, the brightly colored ones, with broken horn hook couplers....I don't know why they bother.
,
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Going to a train show here this coming up weekend. The only other one near wher i live will be in late june. Hope to find some stuff i want cheap. last one i went to was not to crowded which i liked, i hate crowds.
Modeling on the cheap
Where I live most of the shows have gone the way of the Dodo.
Sheldon,Here in Massachusetts, we're sort of spoiled by the Amherst Railway Society's Big Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield at the end of January. It's arguably the largest model train show in the USA, and sees 20,000+ visitors every year. In the past 10 years, the show has only gotten bigger and bigger by going into a fourth building to the show (first just the front part, then the back).
We also have the NMRA Hub Division's show in December. It's held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough every year. They fill the display area up every year. It's probably the 2nd largest train show in Mass. The other might be the Greenberg Show in Wilmington, but I've never been to that one.
As for the small local shows, there's the Taunton Show in September, the Brockton/Randolph Show in November, and the Hingham Show in both October and March (we had 1500 people in two days back last month). All are small shows with 50 to 100 dealer tables.
In the past 10 years, we've lost Train Shows in Fall River, Foxboro, and West Barnstable. Fall River lost their school space due to local politics, Foxboro's hosting group all retired, and West Barnstable was too far from anything else.
I've been a show dealer with my local railroad historical group for the past 25 years. I've seen plenty of shows come and go. The major change is that in the olden days, you'd have the "basement bombers"...guys that would make a hobby shop out of their house and only do train shows. The distributers of the era were pretty loose with their rules about who they sold to, so as long as you had a tax ID, a business card, and an address, you could get a wholesale discount. These guys would travel from show to show, selling new stock.
Naturally, brick & mortar retailers screamed bloody murder, and the distributers clamped down. Now, there are few basement-type retailers any more. And you know the hobby shops won't support a local show unless it's a huge show like Springfield or they're members of the organization hosting the show.
So what you have a left are a lot of "junk dealers"...retailers selling used stuff, mostly in the larger scales. They certainly outnumber the new dealers at every small show I go to.
And I haven't even touched on how the internet is bleeding the local train shows dry...
Still, train shows make money for me as a dealer, and for me as a member of a hosting group. I don't make a living at it. Heck, I don't even get paid. But it helps out the non-profits, and for them/us, that's still a good deal.
Paul A. Cutler III
Sheldon,What I have notice the better train shows is packed while the so/so shows is lacking in attendance.
IMHO the day of the train show may fade into the sunset since most train show prices can be beaten on line. Some vendors just doesn't get that old yellow box Atlas/Roco Alco S4 isn't worth $85.00 especially since you can buy the newest upgraded release for around $99.00 on line.
I will hit on this very lightly since it doesn't involve all vendors.. I lost count of the vendors that sells at the same shows I attend with the same box worn stock I seen at every show and still at ridiculous prices.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Here in western PA, I've definitely seen a decline in both attendance and the amount/quality of vendors at train shows. The Greenberg show in Monroeville is a shadow of what it was 10 years ago, and the various smaller shows have declined as well. From my point of view it seems like they now consist of two categories: total junk, and new stuff at or near full retail.
Hi Sheldon,
I'm part of the problem. I used to travel to a few different shows each year but I'm no longer inclined to do so. I still visit the Barrie/Alandale train show each February. Its about 1/2 hr away.
The Barrie show has seen a significant decline in the number of vendors in the past few years. The number of tables being rented by individuals has gone down, as has the number of hobby shops with booths. All of the hobby shops that used to attend are still in business so obviously they weren't doing enough business to justify the time and expense.
For me, there are a couple of factors that that have caused me to stop attending the shows other than Barrie.
- One is that I am spending most of my hobby money on the internet. The internet offers a vast selection of things that might interest me whereas the train shows offer comparatively little. Both involve some time searching but on the internet I can view literally thousands of items in two or three hours in the comfort of my chair vs spending that same time standing uncomfortably bent over, fighting with my bifocals, and, in the case of the Barrie show, sweating my rear end off because it's in a greenhouse. The odds of me getting what I want on the internet are much better.
- Related to that is the fact that I have already accumulated enough stuff to keep me modeling for a few years. I've got kits, super detailing parts, motors, power drives, scratch building supplies, etc. etc. coming out my ears. I'm still buying items but I'm becoming very choosey about what I'm spending my money on. Also, most of the things that I intend to spend money on likely won't be found at the train shows anyhow. I'm speaking of things like sound decoders for specific engines.
- The final factor for me is that my back is becoming more painful each year. Standing and bending over for long periods is not fun. I now have to use a cane if I'm going to be on my feet for any length of time.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Timonium's winter show was pretty great this year. I'd actually planned on going to this weekend's, but today's weather probably didn't help. It was magnificent outside.
I attended the "Title Town Train Show" in Green Bay on Saturday. It seemed just as crowded as previous shows. There appeared to about as many vendors/layouts/dealers. I don't know if people were buying a lot or not. I've heard reports of TrainFest in Milwaukee and Mad City Train Show in Madison increasing in attendees. I hope other shows around the country are also doing well.
The Green Bay show also had 2 miniature train rides for the kiddies as well as a large table full of LEGOS for them to play with. An ample seating area and reasonably priced concessions also helped.
Well, this weekend was train show weekend here in Maryland, the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, MD, just north of Baltimore.
I only live about 25 minutes away, but I don't always attend. But, as chance would have it, this weekend I was watching my 4 year old grandson, so off we went.
There is one vender there who specializes in Hot Wheels cars, so the 4 year old was all in.
A decade ago, this thing would have been packed - with venders and customers. Not so this Saturday, the boy and I easily navigated around with his umbrella stroller and scooped up some loot.
For him, a dozen or so Hot wheels, or "awesome cars" as he calls them.
For me, some "new old stock" locomotives at rock bottom prices and the chance to check on the status of my wagon top B&O covered hopper order from Spring Mills Depot.
I guess without the liitle guy I could have found more, but it was good day out with him.
I scored two Spectrum 2-8-0's, new in the box, $60 each, and a WM Proto2000 BL2, only $40.
The place was no where near full from a vender standpoint, a condition I have noticed for several years now.
Dealers consisted of the usual mix, some with new stuff, some with used stuff. The supply of older NOS is finally getter smaller with some of these guys. The amount of new stuff seemed much smaller than past shows - especially locomotives.
So what is the train show situation where you live?
Sheldon