Hopefully I’m wrong but it would appear that this venue is rapidly evaporating. We’ve been trying to verify it the show that was scheduled for San Diego Dec 3rd and 4th was going to happen, but no one seems to know. Leave messages on their website, answering machines but nothing happens.
Is this happening elsewhere
GATS shows in Tucson, Arizona, are getting smaller and smaller with fewer and fewer visitors and vendors. The opinion among members of our local HO scale club is that it isn’t worth the cost of admission any more.
This years show here in Tulsa, OK was a lot smaller in both vendors, layouts and visitors than in the past. The weather was great so I don’t know if it’s the price or not enough local advertisement. All in all I was disappointed.
Bob
My last visit to a GATS in SLC Ut. was a bitter dissappointment. a waste of money and valuable time.
vast numbers of toys and collectables not even in the RR theme very few layouts and many people NOT happy to have rented space.
Not again
Doug, in Utah
I went to the show in Tulsa a few weeks ago and found a few items that I have been wanting for the past few years. I think that I was just lucky considering that the show was about 30% of what it had been in years past. I must agree with those who say that the show is not worth the money.
If things don’t turn around, I doubt that I will attend next year.
Went to a show in Jacksonville ,Fla ,a couple of years ogo. Not to many dealers, tables ECT. Was a total waste of time and money, it was like all old tyco junk/ yard sale. Oh didn’t mention this…dolls ,flowers and crap like that also.
Patrick
As many of you have heard me say in the past, I work part time for a GATS dealer. Earlier in the summer, a letter was sent to the regular GATS dealers, that stated the owners were going to retire this year. They were going to turn day to day operation over to their son who would run the show until all current contract obligations were fulfilled, after which it would be up to him whether or not to keep the show running. The last show we did was Mandeville, LA, a couple a weeks before Katrina. At least four of the shows we had contracted for cancelled recently, and it appears that GATS may very well be gone for all intents and purposes. I personally think that Mo and his family deserve the rest. They did this for many years even before they bought the rights to the GATS name.
I think GATS is dead in Arkansas. I have been to the last three shows in Little Rock and they were ok. I have heard nothing regarding upcoming shows for winter or spring. I hope the dealers that handled Little Rock would consider Pine Bluff in April as we have a show first saturday that is quite good at the Project 819 shops.
Didn’t the December Model Railroader have and ad that mentioned new ownership of the Great American Train Shows? Or was that Greenberg?
The Greenberg shows are now called Greenberg’s Great Train Expo. From their web site http://www.greenbergshows.com/news.htm it sounds like the Greenberg name will be dropped after 2006.
The last couple of Greenberg shows I went to in Massachusetts were pretty good. There were a lot of operating layouts, so even though I didn’t buy much, it was still well worth the price of admission. I didn’t buy stuff because I was “being good” and waiting until I really needed something this time. The previous show I found some great items at great prices, but now I have to stop that to avoid starting an unbuilt kit collection.
It seems like Greenburg is going to have 2 shows is MA this year-the regualr one in Wilmington, and one at the RPTC in Fitchburg. Therefore, hopefully this time I can go because Fitchburg is much closer to me than Wilmington
eBay is killing everything like that. I use eBay myself but on a very limited basis.
I live near Perryville, AR about 2 hrs from Pine Bluff. I went last April even after being sorely disappointed at Little Rock. It was worth the trip. One of the best I’ve seen altho it wasn’t earthshaking. Make some good buys. Will go again. Is the hobby dying? Where are the teenagers?
My [2c] . I also attended the Tulsa GATS show. I was amazed that it was half the size of the previous shows and that the turnout was horrible. One vendor stated that they were competing with some other large family oriented events that weekend. Even though the show was smaller, the layout display variety was excellent and I picked up more good bargains than normal. (translation: I spent more money than I usually do)
I’m excited about going to the Pine Bluff Arkansas Railroad Museum show each year. It just keeps getting bigger and better. Out of the many shows I go to each year, this is the one with where I always drop the most money. There are a lot of folks selling their personal excess instead of a bunch of high priced professional vendors. Prices are good, negotiating goes well, lots of things to look at, and several layouts to drool on.
They were going to turn day to day operation over to their son who would run the show until all current contract obligations were fulfilled, after which it would be up to him whether or not to keep the show running.We’ve now been advised by the folks at the Del Mar Fair that they have been contacted by Great Western and Atlantic Train Shows and that they will be sending in a security deposit for the space here in San Diego. If that does happen, what about the other dealers? Can’t seem to get any response from the son so many may be pulling out???
Sad…
Having been a long time participant, it is my opinion that the market is saturated. It seems like originally there was the GATS (starting in 1981?), then other shows (Greenburgs, Model Train Expo, etc.) started coming along. Then they started having multiple shows in the same city. Then the Great Western Train show. Then the “World’s Greatest Hobby Show”. This is in addition to all the Mall shows that the NMRA and other local clubs host. In 2003 and 2004 along the Colorado Front Range (Ft. Collins to Pueblo) except for January we had at least one train show (exhibition type) a month, and almost one a week. Many of the modular layout clubs couldn’t keep up with that many shows, so there were fewer and few operating layouts exhibited. Add to that the conflict with the local normal layout operation rotation. Total saturation. The entire population would have to be die hard railfans/model railroaders to support that many shows.