The sun came out and today I attended the GATS at Cal Expo here in Sacramento, CA. Lately it has been like a hurricane. Hella windy, several inches of rain, and my back yard fence was broken down from this weather! [:(!]
Good thing it stopped storming today, cause after ridding a bus for 40 mins, I had to walk 1.2 miles to and from the fair grounds. Its a tremendous strain on my legs. Lots of walking. At least I don’t have to pay $7 for parking! Once I’m in the show, I walked around scouting the overall map of where potential members of my fleet could be. [:)]
Then I evaluated what was crap, what was a bargin, what I should concider. I noticed alot of over priced garbage there, just like last year. [|)] I guess it broke even. I’m glad it didn’t go further down hill since last time. They have a lack of high quality layouts on display. Mostly toy set ups or mediocre stuff.
Although most of the people are nice or pretend to be nice, some are damn racist. [:(] When you gather that many people in one location, you are bound to have some friction. But I can’t let that stop me.
I came home with 2 Athearn PFE reefers, 1 Athearn Blatz reefer, 1 Walthers UP boxcar, Great Model Railroads vol 39 tape.
Thanks for the “heads up” on the GATS. It’ll be here in the Detroit area on the 24th & 25th of this month. Last year I drove 1/2 an hour each way & couldn’t find ANYTHING worth bringing home… Hopefully this year will be different !!! ‘Got $100.00 burnin’ a hole in my pockets !!!
I have just returned from the GATS show in Indianapolis, IN. Frankly it was a bust! The Exposition Hall was less than half full of vendors. A number of regular vendors where absent. Of course it is the first weekend of the year and many railroader most likely streched a bit for Christmas. There where no computers. It seems to me that GATS has gone down hill the the past several years.
Is it just me or does it seam that most of these GATS events are designed around newbies and people that have very little previous experience with model RRing?
It seams like every time I go to a mainstream show like this, they only have the most generic things. Nothing is really geared toward experianced modelers, maybe a few vendors, but overall its very basic beginner stuff. And the items offerd for sale are often priced higher than my LHS.
Overpriced garbage. Old, damaged Model Power, Tyco, “starter set” LifeLike, and other disporportionate, low detailed crap being sold for $7. Rediculous.
Wasn’t too much Accurail or MDC. And the little that was there was priced at or above MSRP.
They get one last chance at my $$ this June when they return to the Pasadena Convention Center in the Houston area. If they were back at the Reliant Hall like last year, I wouldn’t bother, but at least parking is free in Pasadena and it’s closer to home.
Based on my experience with the December San Diego GATS (comments in another thread) I’d say you are correct. Lots of entry level stuff and ‘railroadiana’…whatever that is. I work from craftsman kits and there was very little of that. What there was was both elderly and over priced. Was my first show in some time and I was not impressed.
GATS here in Tampa, I thought, was enjoyable. A good mixture of new and used stuff. Saddening that some of you guys had negative experiences. In the plastic HO market, found lots of good deals. Yes there were overpriced items and junk also, but I have a habit of checking every vendor and display. Saw Atlas, Proto, and Kato units at an average of $25 to $35 cheaper than at the LHS! There was DCC! My wife’s cousin bought an entire system for about 30% less than at the LHS. My friend of many years purchased a brand new Atlas SD35 unopened for $45! Plenty of kits and RTR stuff. Couple of nice layouts. Vendors overall positive and friendly
HInt: A very good time to buy: Apporximately 1/2 hour befoe the shows over and the vendors start packing their items. Some will be willing to UNLOAD there items and bargaining is possible, but don’t get ridiculous-be cordial!
I’ve seen many post concerning the GATS and probably 1/2 or better are critical of the GATS. The last one I went to, was in SO. FLA and it was a bust. Very few people there and other than the diecast trucks and cars that I found, most everything else was “dump city”. Very disappointing. I don’t really think I would waste my money going to another one.
I haven’t been to a GATS in years. I used to participate with NTRAK in 3 or 4 a year. I’ve been to Pleasonton, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Rafael. I felt Oakland (which I beleave they no longer do) was always a good show. Pleasonton OK and always fun. San Francisco varied but usually OK. San Rafael too small. Sacramento (which is closest to my home) had little I was interested in.
I think Cal Expo is a poorly designed facility. The parking lots are too far from the exibition halls, the buildings are too far apart, and there isn’t enough cover to get out of the wind/rain in winter and the sun in the summer.
Recently went to GATS in Arlington, TX. Spent more on parking and admission than what we purchased!!! I will be going to the Dallas Area Train Show today.
The layouts displayed are better and many more dealers but I will usually only buy something I can’t get at my LHS–timetables, shirts or something unusual. My LHS is great!!