I drove up there a few hours and it seemed like a good show. Bigger than the Greenburgs show I went to. Got some good deals on Atlas rolling stock, one fellow was selling them for $10 bucks. I think that was worth the trip. Plus picked up some out-of-stock stuff, my reason for going. I like it better anyway when it’s not shoulder-to-shoulder feeding frenzy.
$9 bucks to go to a show too expensive? Guess you don’t go the the movies either. The difference between $5 and $9 to go to a show doesn’t seem to me, tightly budgeted though I am, a serious problem. That’s less than postage on E-Bay for one transaction. The man needs to make a living, it’s his business. I think Mr. Zane’s posting above is very honest, sincere and refreshing, good to see.
You guys are kidding, of course!!! I’ll be d****d if I’d fork over $18.00 to get into somewhere where the raison d’être is to entice me to part with my money!!!
I guess I look at it differently. $9 to see 16 layouts and hundreds of dealer tables spread over x number of hours is pretty cheap entertainment. I always meet interesting people at a train show; I usually learn something by looking at the layouts; and occasionally, I pickup something that I cannot live without. Unfortunately, Timonium is a far piece from Central Texas. Good job, Mr. Zane.
Concur. The focus on “scale model train” equipment at Timonium (rather than toys) has always made it special. I enjoy the opportunity to examine quality models in scales or eras different than what I model. I much prefer actually seeing an item and getting to carry it away to sending money to someone I don’t know and paying shipping fees for every item. As with many on this forum, I don’t do the annual hunting trips or fishin’ trips or poker nights or whatever… I save my dollars for trips to the train show and then have plenty of projects to keep me busy at the house for months.
Howard, Thanks for your straightforward reply. I just read the link informing me of the passing of Barbara Billings, “The Tool Lady”. If you have contact with her family please tell them that I wish them God’s Peace. At the show Saturday I heard a number of people say with concern “the Tool Lady’s not here.” I knew that she was not in good health, and I recall that she had missed a couple shows a couple years ago due to her health. I had a couple conversations with her about that, and she was always so pleasant (and patient with the “foamers”). I almost always bought something from her, and my toolbox is far more capable as a result. Our hobby has lost a strong supporting member.
I don’t have a solution to the “greying” of our hobby. The new laser kits and accuracy of the models is astounding, but trains just aren’t as big a part of our “national conversation” as they used to be. It’s almost enoug
I will add this - I LIKE when the manufacturers themselves show up. It’s nice to get a peek at what is coming up. For example, before he sold to Bowser and retired, Steve Stewart used to show up at Timonium with a table of their latest production samples as well as stuff currently available. And when I say Steve Stewart - I mean the man himself was there. A mixed show is nice - you can see the stuff at a manufacturer’s table, then find the best deal at one of the various vendors. I noticed Bethlehem Car Works was there this time, again. what a wealth of information on passenger cars and details.
A pretty much all-manufacturer show is intersting - but there’s usually not a whole lot to buy. I’ve been to one National Train show - a couple years back when the NMRA Convention was in Philly. It truly was helpful seeing all the manufacturers displaying and demoing their own products, but that’s not the place I would go to stock up on wanted items.
As for internet - the ‘nameless faceless’ places are the giants like Interent Trains. I don’t deal with them either. The smalelr guys are far from faceless - Empire Northern, MB Klein, Litchfield Station, etc. THOSE are the internet sites I deal with. I still buy stuff at the LHS. The average person, I can see maybe why not - everything is priced at full MSRP. However, I’ve known the owner since he opened his doors, as well as half the employees, so I get a discount. I split pretty much evenly between LHS, Ebay, and regular mail order.
boy , some of you guys don’t know how lucky you have it
in Toronto we have 1 major train show a year , not 4 . i’m sure the admission is over $10 and after spending maximum 2 hours looking at everything i walk the half mile from the show to Wendy’s for a burger rather than eat the bad , expensive pizza and hot dogs the venue provides . add to that it’s 2 transit fees from downtown where i live to beyond the airportwhere the show is . that’s $2.25 per ticket , that’s another $9 just to get there and back . well at least i don’t pay for gas [:)]
on the good side … it’s pretty big , they’re advertising 70,000 sq feet this year , but i think the only manufacturer who shows up is Fast Tracks . everything else is hobby shops and individual sales . a lot of people and clubs set up layouts at the show , which is the best thing about this show .
there are other , smaller , shows in the area , but almost all are outside Toronto and i don’t have a car so it’s difficult for me to get to them . no manufacturers there either though
i’d love to have a show like Timonium come to Toronto even once a year