I attended the Ottawa Train Expo which was held this past weekend and was wondering if anyone out there who went had any opinions about the show. I haven’t seen much reaction so far, and perhaps that may be a somewhat ominous sign.
Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I must say I was somewhat disappointed. The venue was spacious and comfortable, but I wasn’t blown away by what there was to see. I’m sure whoever brought their kids had a great time, but speaking strictly for myself, I was less than impressed and am not likely to attend next year.
In all seriousness though I wish we had some decent shows out here on the coast. Given the size of Vancouver our shows are small gymnasium affairs. The Ottawa show looked great. Maybe someday the train show and a couple of Hockey games will make me make the trip.
I didn’t think it was a bad show. A lot of the vendors are at the shows I usually attend so I was kind of disappointed that there weren’t more that I’ve never seen before. I went there with 500 bucks and came home with 350. Honestly I didn’t know what to expect so I didn’t go away disappointed. It was good seeing layouts that I haven’t seen before. I would go back again.
I didn’t end up going as my buddy ended up not feeling well so I decided not to go, save the $$$$$ on gas so I could spend it at my LHS before the wife had a second to change my mind for me.
Came home with a new 4 story building, a new CPR Boxcar, a new 18 wheeler & more Proto wheel sets for my Accurail Covered Hoppers.
I had a great time. There was a decent crowd (about 5000 in total) and I’m glad I walked over on the Saturday. It’s certainly the biggest show east of Calgary by a huge margin. I spent the whole show chatting with people. I also discovered a new glue - Liquid Silk - and I am eager to give it a try.
I found some great deals, like the Atlas CN C424 I missed when it was released for $122.50 tax included. I also bought a Walthers F40 in VIA for my son. Add to that about 30 slides of Spadina Yard for $1 each… it was definitely a good show.
What I did notice was that while there were a tonne of families - which was amazing given the gorgeous weather - there were fewer hardcore modellers than I expected.
I’m hoping that more manufacturers will go to the show next year and that will bring out more of the serious and experienced modellers. I’d also like to see more memorabilia dealers.
I thought it was a great inaugural show! I agree with Jason, there were a lot of families there, especially on Saturday, which is unusual, typically Sunday is the “stroller day” at train shows.
I am glad we made the effort to set up the Fast Tracks roadshow, along with the CNJ Bronx Terminal, it was all well received, and the sales were brisk.
The organizers did a good job of herding all us vendors in and out, and the hordes of volunteer Air Cadets kids was fantastic! Can’t say enough about that additional help, this is the first time I have seen this at a show, and it was a great help for all of us moving in and out.
As a vendor I was a bit disappointed to see there were no dividers between the booths. This created a flea market feel to the show, and left us with no where to hang any banners. I followed the lead of Jason at Rapido and rented some from a local suppler. Hopefully next year we will have an option for this.
Overall, it was a good show for us, spoke to a lot of modelers who we have not connected with before, which is always good. I suspect we will return next year.
