So I have a plan when I attend train shows…I move from booth to booth to see what scale they have., since I have HO as my primary guage, and O MTH for a distraction…I eliminate old Lionel and other guages of no use to me…then I revisit each booth that holds possibilities…I am seeking Heislers and Shays, with sound. and DCC. There was not one…I also seek steam with sound & DCC but all the “mobile hobby shops” had pretty much the same items…Then I look for rolling stock…I look for colors /road names that catch my attention or unique cars…especially ones with over sized loads…
but over all a pretty sad outing except for the lifetime discount deal I got on Atlas code 100
And the 3 MTH O cars I got for 20% off…but there was no Real Trax…sad sad sad
I remember when I went to the Queeny park Boing Show and got a Mantua 4-6-2 with a 5 car passenger set for $125…When I put DCC in it…it pulled like a real workhorse …something like 40 cars
When I gave the owner, a guy who was going from HO to N, my license for security while I took it to the test track, there was 5 guys following me in case I decided not to buy it, but once I saw it run in DC I had to tell them it was a sold loco. I am hoping to find another private seller in March…
That is what a train show should be…I wish they would separate them…put the “Pros” on one end and the private sellers on the other
Whenever I go to a train show, I usually do a quick pass through first to:
See what’s available
See if anything “important” catches my eye, and
Note which tables I want to visit the 2nd time through
And if I’ve been to a particular train show before, I usually recognize certain tables from years past and know pretty quickly whether they’re worth another visit or not.
It hadn’t occurred to me before but I peruse magazines much the same way as I visit train shows: Scan it to see what’s in it then go back and read what I’m interested in.
at the risk of stepping on some toes, i find that many train shows have degenerated much in the same way as ebay. very few private individuals and more and more hucksters trying to peddle the same old overpriced, tired merchandise.
i know these guys need to make a living, they just can’t make it off of me. i have reached the point in this hobby where about all i ever need to buy are glue and paint. thank goodness for that.
The Ft. Worth show went down hill for a few years and is smaller now. They still have a few good things but a lot of duplications. The best show I have ever been to is to is the Oklahoma City show. Lots of stuff and the manufactures are there too. OKC is a lot better than anything I have been to in DFW. I usually make a first pass and get a good Idea what I want. On the second pass I get what I know I want and make a third run to double check.
My recent experience is that once you are no longer in the market for cars or locomotives most train shows don’t offer all that much, and that is true whether it is a dealer’s only show or a swap meet type of show that also has previously enjoyed stuff for sale.
But now and then you luck out which is one reason I keep going! [8-|]
Up here in Madison WI, we have Trainfest, Mad City, and host of other local train shows. In large part the local shows are indeed the same stuff floating from on show to the next with the prices slowly creeping up as they try and justify the gas they have spent carting the stuff around.
That being said Mad City and Trainfest are not generally attended by these people. There are a couple and sometimes I can find stuff I am looking for at these booths. But mostly I stick to a list and $ figure.
This year I have $300 and list about a mile long. If it’s not on the list it gets ignored. It may get put on the list, but it won’t be for that show.
So for the rapidly approaching Mad City Show, I’m looking for:
A undec Doodlebug (DCC preferable)
The Sacramento Northern book that just came out
A book on the Soo Line in Wisconsin
The color guide to Billboard Reefers book I saw about two years ago
2 Bachmann 2-6-0s
A pair of Walthers Gas Storage Tanks
Iceing platform extentions
#5 coupler big packs at a good price
ribbed back wheel sets for a good price, again a big bag
Go in with a list and a budget and I can generally find people willing to knock a couple of bucks off of thier price.
I haven’t been to a Fort Worth show in at least 7 years. Are you speaking about the LMRA show or the Holiday show? Are there any N scale vendors that still set up?
Just went to the Great Big Scale Model Train show in Timonium, MD. (Three connected giant buildings comprising what is called the “cowpalace”, loaded with dealers and layouts.)
As I am just back into MR and have switched from HO to HOn3, I am over eager for rolling stock and loco’s. I have been to the last three shows here starting in 2010 and find the selection and number of dealers tremendous.
The competition is superb and prices are worked down accordingly. I am saddened by the almost complete takeover of On30 in the narrow gauge biz, but that’s life and I understand the logic behind the gauge. Nonetheless, I found a lot of HOn3 stuff there. I spent too much, of course, but could not resist the nearly 25% off on the DCC/Tsunami sound equipped, Blackstone K-27’s, so I bought two!
Rolling stock is another matter. Not much love there as the dealers held pretty close to list or just 10% off at one dealer.
I have been to three Greenberg shows and find them only of use for scenic materials as I have never seen any narrow gauge stuff offered at a single one. Greenberg is big on, O (lionel classic), HO and N with some limited G gauge stuff.
Referring to the original posting in this thread, The big Timonium Show had plenty of old MRs sitting at tables selling off there stuff and I would say that 50% of the show was formal dealers and 20% were “Carnies” as I call them. (Folks with large number of tables selling all manner of stuff that you see at every train show) and the remaining 30% were individuals with one or two tables only selling mostly older MR stuff. (I picked up two old MDC and VARNEY kits real cheap- nostalgia)
The real win at this huge show was the massively discounted scenic materials! The selection was out of this world and you had to shop around fast as plaster cloth rolls were as cheap as 6 for $30.00. You didn’t want to spend $9.00 for one roll at the dealer n
The Boeing RR Club St. Louis (Formerly the McDonnell Douglas club) swap meet is coming up on Saturday March 10th. What is good about this RR Meet is that the table price is low enough that alot of non-dealers are there to sell. The show is large enough (close to 300 tables) that the selection is very good. Free parking & low entry fee ( $3.00)
Saturday, Mar 10 10:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.
Boeing Employees’ Railroad Club Swap Meet
Greensfelder Recreation Complex at Queeny Park, ()
The FTW show I go to is the Holiday show. They still have a lot of N scale but this last year there was a lot of O scale. In fact I saw a pair of Lionel MOPAC FA’s from 1957 on a table for $100.
I attend 15 to 20 shows a year. What I do is look at what the private vendors and clubs have for sale first. I then take another walk around and see what the hobby shop and regular internet vendors have that is newly released. Any big ticket items that interest me I then offer a price as to what I’m willing to pay and let the vendors think it over while I look at the layouts. I then revisit the vendors and check if they are willing to sell and then I leave. I picked up two very nice prints last weekend for 250, framed. They were asking 150 each so I saved myself 50 bucks. Most of the shows I go to now days the vendors and clubs know me and know that I’m a buyer so that helps too.
Most of the train shows in my area are annual events. The only recurring show within driving distance is in Dekalb, IL about 2.5 hours away. I went up there once, just to see what it was all about. Haven’t felt the need to return.
When I go to a show or a swap meet I usually go with an agenda. I have a specific item or list of items that I am looking for. And if I don’t find it, the wallet stays in the pocket. That approach is usually successful, I’d say about 90% of the time. Occasionally I will come upon that one item that is simply too good/cheap to walk away from.
We used to have the Greenburg shows in town every year, but for the last several years they have passed us by for whatever reason. Now a local group has organized a swap meet which they hope will become an annual event. If you are in the Quad Cities area, the show will be March 31st at Trinity Lutheran school in Davenport. I have a table where I’ll be selling off some used N-scale and On30, Feel free to come and give me money. [;)]
Mad City, I find, is generally worth it. The Southern Wisconsin Sandhouse Crew will be there, but my wife and I will largely be absent, as we have a 1 month old son as a new addition and mom and dad are a bit frazzled. So I plan on doing all my shopping at about 2 on Sunday and the help the club tear down.
So that’s right folks, NO SNARFING my Sacramento Northern Book. One of you guys did last year… I gots my eye on you folks… Nothing worse than a modle railroader that seas a bargin, worse than a polar bear in a penguin rookery.