I am considering a trip to the Toronto area next year and would like to plan it around a model train show. Can someone point me to where I can find more information on such events ? The “Events Listings” on this site only give listings for the next 3 months; but I am hoping for something in late spring (April-May) or early autumn (Sept-Oct). I also prefer events that have a good selection of N-scale trains (as that is the scale I model).
This site will be your best bet: http://www.caorm.org/ But to try to see what’s coming up that far into the future is hard. Really the shows in the GTA are pretty much wrapped up by April-May and just starting up in Sept-Oct. but one that you will be around for is the Brampton. This years was excellent with 7 n-scale layouts on display which was more then all the others scales there. As for purchase wise it wasn’t bad but not that great.
If you want to know about shops there are several very good one’s. Credit Valley has a good sellection little over priced, Panther hobbies has a great sellection too, lot of consignment items as well as ask to see their club layout, and finally I would suggest Trains on Brant as well.
The NMRA’s Niagara Frontier Region will be hosting a Convention on April 17 to 19 in Woodstock. The only other show that I can think of is the April show in Lindsay. Picton has a show in September and Bowmanville has a show in October. I just attended the Bowmanville show this past weekend and there were a few nice N scale layouts set up.
Sadly, the CAORM web site doesn’t have any listings for any shows at all at the moment.
I mentioned April-May and September-October as possible travel dates. To travel between November and April means possible bad weather/driving conditions; and to travel June-August means unbearable heat, hoardes of tourists, and greater expense. I’d prefer to avoid snow storms or extreme heat/humidity.
I don’t know the GTA at all. I’m afraid I don’t know where Brampton, Woodstock, Lindsay or Picton is, or any of the other places you mentioned. (I do know where Bowmanville is as I attended college in Oshawa back in the time of dinosaurs.) If you could give me an id
CARM will be update week by week if not month by month as they get the info from the clubs, shows, etc. So just keep an eye on it and see what’s coming up.
Brampton is Northwest of downtown, up on the 410. The other ones are far away from the GTA. Woodstock is 1.5-2 hours west, Picton is about 2.5-3 hours east, Lindsay is about an hour north of Oshawa