I asked about this once. I believe that it has to do with the Eastern States Exposition Grounds committments to other organizations.
When was this? Last year or previous? Couple years ago they forecast a bunch of white poo. We normally come back to Pa. on Monday, the day after. After the forecast we decided to beat feet out of town after the show on Sunday. Made for a long miserable ride in the poo, but at least there were only a few idiots on the road.
I think last year I must have missed the forecast. When I went in to set up on Saturday, there was nothing going on. But when the show opened people were coming in covered with snow. That was a big surprise to me.
I think it might definitely be a different crowd. Iâm 5-1/2 hours away from the Amherst show, but probably only 1 hour from the York show. I have never been to the York show. I was always told that the York show was âlarge scaleâ. This may have changed. The show is put on by the TCA, and in my opinion they really want you to be a TCA member to attend. I think they have 5 buildings. Looking at the web site for the coming 2026 show they now seem to have a public admission, but that only gets you into 2 of the buildings. Then there is an upgrade which one can pay to get into the other buildings. I think that upgrade gets you applied to a TCA membership. However, if you donât join the TCA they donât let you upgrade in the future. I donât know how they keep track of that. Maybe some kind of injections when youâre not looking.
I will say that the majority of the local âscaleâ crowd does not seem to attend. There has never been a âwhoâs going to Yorkâ conversation that Iâm aware of. Of the 50 or so local modelers I know, I can only think of 2 that went regularly. And they were American Flyer guys.
I always take the lower range of the forecast, divide by two, and thatâs how much snow weâll get. So a forecast for 6-9" will yield 3 inches of snow
Looking at my sales for the show it was January 2023. I was up at 7AM on Saturday and they had cleared the roads in W. Springfield as well a a good part of the parking lot. No issues driving around and despite the weather scare, we still had a decent showâŚ
Around here, itâs best to take the upper range, multiply it by 3.5, subtract 2, add the square root of the month, and divide by three. Then roll two dice and add the numbers. The total is the amount of snow you might get.
Update from Greenberg Show Saturday November 29th Edison NJ.
For all of you wanting to know about small shows, Iâve just completed Day 1 at the Greenberg Edison show. As a seller, Saturday is always the best of both days. From 10AM until 12:30 we were very busy. After that, it slowed down to a crawl. I wish I brought my bowling ball cause the aisles were empty.
More important observation were the exhibitors/dealers. Many of the usual suspects were no longer there. Could be to age and are no longer with us, or the shows in the past werenât as good (financially speaking). The big observation were more non-train tables and many with toys, holiday decorations, and one section with a fudge candy setup. They did move the modular layouts to another section in the convention center not used in the past.
This show is usually a good show, at least for us. However, talking to other dealers, it was just okay, some said it was not good.
This show seems to be turning into more of a general train and toy show (Yes, I know what the title of the show states), but Iâm seeing less and less of the model railroadersâŚ
After today, itâs on to another show next weekend for us, which is a true model train showâŚ
Neal
Traditionally the TCAâs York showâs been primarily concerned with the (for lack of a better term) âOld Classicsâ as far as toy trains are concerned meaning Standard, O, and S Gauges and the old names such as Lionel, Ives, Hafner, Dorfan, Marx, and American Flyer, among others.
However as time goes by this is changing, HO and N Gauges are making inroads which speaking as a TCA member I find most gratifying, thereâs not a lot at the York shows but there seems to be a little more at each show I attend. I consider train collecting to be a big tent where all should be welcome. Needless to say not all agree but as time does its inevitable thing and the hard-heads disappear so will the old unbending attitudes.
(I hate to sound cold-blooded over this but itâs evolution in action, change or go extinct.)
At this time non-TCA members are only admitted to the Orange Hall (the main exhibition hall where the professional dealers are) and the layout exhibit halls which can change from show to show. The reason for this is simple, if the whole show was open to the public ALL selling exhibitors would need Pennsylvania sales tax papers. The professionals have the papers so itâs not an issue. Keeping the other exhibition halls âmembers onlyâ puts sales in a private category so no sales taxes are required. Many if not most of those selling in the private halls are TCA members selling to other members.
This weekend I am in Marlborough, MA for the HUB Division of the NMRA train show. They have strict guidelines on what type of goods are allowed for sale. While I heard they have a few less dealers, this show is for the model railroader and of course, those future model railroaders.
Sunday is always the day you get the strollers and others. Good thing is the Patriots are not playing!!
Been seeing a lot of drama online with the eastern tca division (that runs the York show I believe) is moving to a Friday-Saturday show only for next October (instead of a Thursday-Fri-sat show). Originally they wanted to move to a Fri-sat-sun show, but they say vendors fought that. Half the people complaining want the Thursday back, others want Sunday included. Also debate whether the show should be for members or more for the public at large.
They do and there is. Iâm not privy to all of whatâs going on but there IS a lot of internal flack in progress, both with the Eastern Division and National.
This is really a âwait and seeâ situation. Me? Iâm a 100% âevolve or dieâ person.
Lot of hobbies have that divide. Some want to bring new people in - others donât want to. But if you donât want to bring new people in, the current people have to really really support the hobby to have things like shows. They seem to take it for granted.
Yeah. Right now the divide within the TCA is between those who want to evolve and the âWe do it this way because weâve always done it that way and thatâs the way we have to do it and itâs our way or the highway and not your way!â
Or something.
