My wife and I are new to this hobby and have really got in BIG.
My Question is: has anyone been to one of these Great Train Expo. especially to buy lots of “stuff”.
we are planning on the one In Monroeville, Pa in November. or is a smaller one just as good.
I know that it’s about 700 miles from our home in Eastern Ontario, but would make a nice weekend out of it.
I always have appreciated the fine responses from members.
thanks as always.
Paul & Ellen Noiseux
Newington, Ontario.
Living in Pittsburgh, I go to the shows in Monroeville and think it is better than most. Having said that however, I look forward to the show in Timonium, Maryland, just north of Baltimore. It is huge and has quite a few layouts in all scales. this is the one I wait for all year.
If you do come to Monroeville, I hope you have a great time.
Tom
I’ve got to check the map and the calendar. I’m 30 miles east of Harrisburg. This may have to be a weekend trip. An early morning stop at Horseshoe Curve might be possible.[8D]
It is 3 hours between the 2 places at least
HEdward,
Keep in mind that the hours of the show in Monroeville 10:00 to 4:00 if I’m not mistaken. Horseshoe Curve would be a good side trip on the way home on Sunday.
Tom
That’s why we post our thoughts out loud as it were. Thanks for the ideas. Now lets see if the wife has plans. The boys don’t get a say!
As someone that lives in Pittsburgh and attends the show from time to time, I would say that it’s an okay show, but I don’t think I would drive 700 miles just for that purpose. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but to me, one big drawback to the show is the amount of local “dealers” selling old tinplate equipment and used, beat-up HO stuff. You’d almost swear that they’ve been hauling the same stuff around to every show in the area for years! That said, there are some very good dealers who regularly attend the show, but not a huge amount of them. In addition, there are only a few layouts to see at the show.
As the other post said, the best show for purchasing scale equipment may be the Great Scale Train Shows in Timonium, MD. You’ll see most of the better dealers from the Pittsburgh show there plus many more. http://www.gsmts.com/index.htm
Overall, the best show in the country may be the Amherst Railway Society’s Big Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield, MA in late January. It has many dealers, layouts and manufacturer’s displays spread between three buildings.
The other possibility is that one of the World’s Greatest Hobby shows is coming to Pittsburgh in mid-January. I don’t know what to expect there in terms of dealers, but I do know that they have more space reserved than the Great Train Expo in November (they’re in the same building).
I know that some folks may disagree with me, but I don’t think the Great Train Expo here is really worth driving that far unless you are making a vacation out of it and planning on doing other things. I wouldn’t want to see you drive that far just for a train show only to be disappointed. I’ve attended all of the shows many times (except the World’s Greatest Hobby On Tour) and would really recommend the Timonium and West Springfield shows over the show here. I don’t think you’ll be
If its a Greenberg show run away. I went to a so called “great train expo” last winter and it was bad. There was about 2 places that sold N scale and maybe 5 that dealt with Ho! It had a lot of O scale and dolls? It may not be the great train expo I went to but if it is dont go its a waste of time and gas. Tim
Go to as many as you can…theyre great fun and you meet a lot of really interesting people which can give you some tips on your own layout!
I’ll have to disagree on the Greenberg shows. I’ve attended the one in Wilmington, MA, pretty regularly. It’s a big show, with a lot of operating layouts in all scales. Yes, there is a lot of O and S at this one, but I find a lot of HO stuff, plus figures, animals, structures and scenic materials. I’ll admit that I don’t go for deals, though. I have a small wish-list with me, but I don’t need a lot of things, and I still have kits unbuilt from several shows ago. (That comes from buying things that are a good deal, even if I hadn’t figured out a place for them on my layout.)
I am happy just to go and look at the layouts, and there have been shows where I bought absolutely nothing. This show is an easy half-hour drive for me, though, and I certainly wouldn’t go 700 miles for it.
The Springfield show in February (?) is certainly the best thing in the Northeast, and that’s worth a longer trip.
I am guessing that it is catch-as-catch-can. Here in Denver the Great Train Expo held last November (2005) was a bust. There were only eight or nine of the normal exhibition layouts that showed up, many vendors (whom I am used to seeing at these shows) did not come. All the vendors fit onto three rows of the arena. And there hardly any people who came to the show. If I had written the Expo off, it would have been a mistake. The Great Train Expo held in the same arena this February (2006) had some layouts that I had never seen despite going to these sorts of shows for years. The vendor isle was crammed full, and there were two additional rows of vendors into the exhibition area. And then there were so many people the members of our club running our booth couldn’t get enough of a break to go to lunch. It was a wonderful show.
So I am saying one can never tell if the show is going to be good or poor until one gets there.
The national train show scene has been in utter dissaray with companies like GATS folding and the Great Western Train show getting out of the business. It is not suprising that some of the recent shows, particularly out west have been hit and miss. http://www.greattrainexpo.com/what_we_know.htm has a summary of what has been going on.
There are many big ones around Ontario and Quebec
Check out this
http://www.caorm.org/Pages/shows.html which is listing a few shows in NY and Ont near you
and if you go to a hobby shop check out Canadian Railway Modeller as they have an extensive list of upcoming shows
I would definitely agree with Jim. While to someone just entering the hobby a venue like the Great Train Expo may prove to be exciting, it is at best a mediocre show compared to what one sees at either West Sprinfield or one of the bigger Timonium shows (Timonium is held about 4 times per year and some shows are definitely larger than others). These latter two might well be said to be worth a 700 mile trip to see but not any GTE I’ve ever been to. Considering that, outside of the West Springfield and Timonium shows, many, if not most, of the travelling train shows are experiencing difficulties or have closed shop entirely, a long trip to any of them is an iffy proposition in my book.
CNJ831
You might want to consider the train show in Syracuse, NY. I beileve it is the first weekend in November. It is housed in two buildings on the NY State Fair grounds, totals about 4 acres of dearels and displays, and is alot closer to Eastern Ontario. The January show in Springfield, Mass is even bigger, but given time of year and location, may be a little bit more challenging. Regards, Ken
thanks all for the replies, they are a great help.
NOW, what about this show in Syracuse. Did not see any mention of it yet. could I get some more information on where to go on the net to get this information.
again, thanks
Paul & Ellen Noiseux
Try this, http://cnynrhs.org/train_show.html Ken
Now this is what you gotta love about these forums. I didn’t know anything about Syracuse either, but now I’m thinking the wife and I might take a little weekend get away and attend. Someone asks about traveling to my home town, and now I’m going to end up traveling. Ain’t it great…
Tom
Mr.B, maybe the Fitchburg show is just a bad apple? Any way the Springfield show is usaully around Janaury 26-29th only 2 days though. Tim