I just got back home after attending the show. We got their about 10 AM, and got right in. I made a fast review of the vendor/dealer area and walked over to the other hall that had the train layouts. I was in there about 15 minutes(the last 10 were trying to escape). All of a sudden, lots of strollers/folks arrived and it was bedlem in that area(the Thomas end was a real zoo). I retreated to the vender/dealer area and that was flooded with people too. I left at 2 PM - I had found several good deals, and my knees were taking a beating from the stroller collisions.
There were some of the GATS refugee dealers, and several I had never seen before. There was even a second hobby tool(Family Hobby Center) dealer that had very good prices and had some different items than ‘Tool Man’ . The manufacturers were good, but one of the Atlas reps told a customer that they did not make any roundhouses(gee, what is that plastic kit in both HO & N doing in their catalog). I did like their new HO signals though. Athearn had a sample of their existing rotary snowplow with an ex-MDC tender behind it. The rep told me that they are planning on doing a ‘re-tool’ on it and upgrade the details(similar to what they did with the ex-MDC PS-2). As usual, I saw a sample shell of a Milw MP15AC, but nothing complete and running. The Digitrax booth was very crowded, and the Woodland Scenics area was also crowded - They were selling the 23 & 33 count ‘Ready Trees’ for 1/2 price. ESU-LokSound had a good display and were very informative. Bachmann had a running sample of the On30 2-8-0 with the cabbage stack, but nothing on the On30 2-4-4T Forney engines or the HO 4-4-0. I picked up some Walthers structures(The big black water tower for $16, and a wood water tower for $24). I also bought a nice desktop magafiier with a round flourescent lamp for $30. The guy did not even charge for the second lamp I bought! So, I got out of a second train show(MAD City last week) without buying an engine! I am not sure if I should be prou
Hey Jim,
I to was there from 10:00 until 1:30, the new tools were cool and I thought the Woodland Senic stuff seemed to be flying off the table rather quickly!!! Overall a good time but too much Thomas stuff for me and parents should be required to take “Behind the wheel for strollers” before leaving the hospital!!!
Well guys, we didn’t get there til 3:00. It still seemed pretty busy til about 4:00 but then it died off quickly. Must have been nap time for the little ones. Having been in this hobby for as long as I have, I ran into a lot of familiar faces among the exhibitors, and only found a little new and exciting there.
Not being in HO or N, the vendors didn’t really draw my attention, with a couple of exceptions. I ended up buying three MTH and one Lionel car form one dealer for $125, then Big Girl bought a couple of Jim Jordan prints for $40.
The manufacturer booths were only mildly interesting. I had a nice conversation with the Kadee rep, even though I’m not in the market for their products. Atlas is perhaps my favorite manufacturer, and Big Girl said it was the only time at the entire show that my eyes lit up. I had spotted their new O scale Gunderson cars. Very sharp!!!
I was disappointed with Lionel’s booth, even though I had a nice conversation their rep. They only brought their Thomas line and the Polar Express with a few accessories. Very understated for their product line.
I did find a mom and pop company that had some new and interesting products, including some inkjet water decal paper that didn’t require a sealer. I’m going to have to try that.
All in all, I don’t go ga ga over this stuff anymore, and more than half of my 3 hours was spent in conversations with old friends, or manufacturer reps.