train show in Berea (OH) 10/3-10/4

Well,IMHO that was one weird show and that made my 7th time attending that show.

While its true there was a lot of large scale stuff there was a abundance of HO and less then normal offerings in N Scale…

Deals…There was deals to be found if you are price savvy.I seen some Atlas/Rocco locomotives for $30.00,seen several brass diesels for less then $75.00-in fact if I was still strong in HO a Alco Models SW1 would have followed me home-$60.00.I saw a United Santa Fe 1950 Class 2-8-0 for $125.00.That to would have followed me home as well…I seen Athearn locomotives from $39.95-79.95 I seen some Atlas and Kato starting at $65.00.

While the N Scale pickings was slim the locomotive prices was competitive with the Internet prices.Cars range from $3.50-24.99.

Layouts…Well,I found most was lacking…Of course I enjoyed the S Scale layout and to be honest I was disappointed with the N Scale layout due to the lack of train traffic.It was a nice large DCC(?) layout though.Only one HO layout really impress me due to the details and a rather nice steel mill area.

Food:The coffee was fresh and the cheeseburger I had was delicious and wasn’t greasy and the donut still fresh.

My purchases.I bought 2 N Scale cars($6.50 ea) and 1 N Scale Atlas/Kato RS1 that “needs work” for $10.00.I tore the engine apart this morning and its filthy.I have the gears,pickup tabs and wheels soaking in alcohol as we speak.

The only regret is I didn’t get to meet any of you guys during the 3 hours I was there.

Brakie I couldnt agree with you more on your comment. I was there at 10 when it opened. Kudos to the man with the conrail painted ford ranger. Decaled and all. he was from pa but id have loved to shake his hand for the fantastic paint job. I had to take a pic of it! I was not happy at the slim pickings of N scale. I was pleased with the NMRA Div 5 crew. They let my two year old control the horn to a passing train as it went by. He loved it! thanks very much to them! Was not happy either with the rudeness of the attendees. They bumped and pushed and even once knocked over my two year old stepson who was watching a train. Didnt even apologize. Tho, the poor fellow from NMRA Div 5 that got knocked into him and bumped him down did apologize and was really sincere. Hell I am a big man and these guys were knocking me around at times. I used my professionalism to keep my cool and not tell them off. I had to pick up and hold him almost the entire time so he wouldnt get hurt. Yes it was busy, but its common sense to look or even use politeness. Overall I found some good deals and the vendors were pleasant! I got a 15 dollar older bachmann spec. Dash 8-40C in conrail that I needed for parts. I will use the shell and frame for a static display on my layout, probably in the engine shops…Then I found a Huberts Conrail Coalporter for 12. and a ADM Corn Syrup 50’ modern tankcar by Roundhouse for 8. I saw a lot that i wanted, especially in building one with the man selling all the Kato supplies and then in building 2 a man was selling a walthers western coal flood loader for 27. I should have bought it. I wish I had bought more, but it was too crowded for my lil guy and I didnt want to see him get hurt so I left. I do wish on attending the one on the 15th in akron and the John S. Knight Center. Then back to my old stomping grounds at Medina

Well,I must agree the rudeness of some was uncalled for.I accidentally step in the path of a guy in a wheel chair(I didn’t see him when I turned from a table because he was on my "blind"side) and immediately apologize…I felt like a complete idiot.[:I]

I was bumped into several times without a apology.

Sadly I didn’t see the CR painted truck.

I may have seen you and your lil’ guy at the N Scale layout.There was a tall fella holding a wide eyed young lad.

Three of us arrived from Michigan about 11:10 Saturday morning and for the first time I can remember in many years were able to buy our wristbands and walk right in without any wait in line.

This year, the Tichy booth got most of my money, as I’ve been picking up speed on scratchbuilding structures. Tichy’s new industrial water tower kit was a “must-get” (I like its fine detail better than the comparable Walthers model’s).

I saw a lot of good deals on HO stuff, but much of it was out of my era or modeling focus. Dave’s Books usually gets me for a few things, but none of the titles I want are out yet.

Ultimately, I left with a big bagful of door and window castings, a 6-pack of Tichy boxcar kits, and a t- shirt. It was probably the least I’ve spent at this show in ten years, but I wasn’t really looking for much this year.

It seemed a lot less crowded this year, which is probably a big part of how we got in and out in about 2.5 hours.

Tom,

I agree about the 4x8 layouts! I mentioned to my son that they must be modeling the Cuyahoga as the water was black…

It was pretty obvious that the number of vendors was down. I felt that the crowd was ok, but with fewer vendors, there was a lot more space. Even so, I found some Accurail gons that fit the bill!

Now to find time to work on things…

Dean

Hey Dean,

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to bump into you and your son at the show. Accurail did a terrific job on those 41’ gondolas! [tup] I bought the set of three NYC gondolas a couple of months ago and have been very happy with them. I thought it was particularly clever how they hid the weights. It won’t take you long to put them together.

Tom

There is another train show this weekend in Northeastern Ohio in Akron.

http://www.trains.com/trc/community/events/event-info.asp?eventid=13793

Is anyone planning to go ?

Bump

There is another train show this weekend in Northeastern Ohio in Akron.

http://www.trains.com/trc/community/events/event-info.asp?eventid=13793

Is anyone planning to go ?

I’m thinking of going… But it will have to be Sunday.

Any idea on how many layouts they’ll have? From the website, they only listed 3: an O-scale Penny layout, Miami Valley HO and the Burning River N-scale. Not sure if it’s worth going just for that

I am planning to be there today when they open. Hope to see a big turnout.

I am going to Akron on Sunday. maybe find something that will catch my eye.

Wayne

Jeff,

I won’t be going to the Akron train show. However, if you do go (or anyone one else), let us know how it was.

Tom

I will be going sunday **IF…**work does not call to do a trip. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I do not get called cause this will be my first time for akron.

mike

I made it to the show today. It was small but the attendance was reasonable. It takes up one room at the convention center, which is about the size of one of the larger buildings at the Berea show. There were not a lot of vendors but I was able to find a number of rare items. One vendor has quite a supply of Hubert’s rolling stock. A guy in front of me picked up 30-40 pieces of N scale rolling stock. Also a couple of the vendors had pretty good sales like 50% off everything on a table, buy one item get 50% off of any additional similar items. The HO modular was impressive in that they were running coal drags of close to 100 cars. Overall I think the $7 fee was a bit steep, given the relatively small event but some of the sale prices helped cover the cost. Parking was free. I parked in the convention center garage and came across the walkway. I won’t say this one is a must see event but if you have some spare time and are near the Akron area, you may find a few items and support the industry…

I made it to the Akron show today Sunday. It was a bit dissapointing but I scored on 3 W&LE gondolas I had been hunting. It was the buy one get one at 1/2 price booth. I would like to applaud “The Miami Valley” modular guys for a nicely done modular layout. BTW they ran the coal drag, it had 96 units counting the 4 locos and caboose. Every hopper had a differant number and had a coal load. I saw 4 laps without a mishap.The modular layout was one of the best I have seen including the Norwalk guys at Berea.

Thanks

Wayne

For me it was not really worth the drive. I see the n scale modular at every medina show. The ho guys were awesome. Learned how to make a drop bridge so no duckunders will be on my future layout. They were all very friendly and I think I talked to each one of them for some time. They even had the industrial rail doing switching manuevers and had a double headed steam passanger train running. Very impressive layout. Think I might have see jktrains(jerry) but he was out the door before I caught up to him.

After hearing people mention this HO layout in a couple of threads, anyone have any pictures to post?

Ya know the derned camera was in my pocket but I was so engrossed in talking to the guys and watching the 100 car coal train and the 39 car circus train that I never got any pics. Was kicking myself when I got home.[banghead]