# Big Train Show 2012 - Best or Worst?



## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

So was it the best of train shows? The worst of train shows? I guess I'd have to say it was sort of schizophrenic, based solely on my observations of Saturday afternoon.


On the one hand.. When we arrived just before noon, the parking lot was jammed, and some folks were double-parking. Walking to the entrance, we passed a steady (not heavy, but steady) stream of folks with their arms full of boxes headed back to their cars.


On the other hand.. vendors only filled the front half of the hall, almost the entire back half of the hall was taken up by modular clubs. 
































Del Oro Pacific and the Door Hollow represented the Large Scale community, as usual. 










































Besides HO displays, there was quite a bit of N Scale, an On30 group, Toy Train, a nice S-scale display, and a Circus layout with lots of animation..










































































and a truly amazing Z-scale modular layout that must have had access to a "Honey, I Shrunk the Trains" Disney ray. We're talking working tail-lights on automobiles the size of fingernails, here!
































And yes, there was live steam running! About every three minutes some civilian would come by, look, smell, and say "Is that, huh... electric or..?" Somebody like a very patient Howard McCaulsey would explain the basics of live steam, and then about half of the civilians, convinced that this was actually some sort of trickery, would respond "but how does it RUN?"












Most of the manufacturer vendors were G, I think. The store and show circuit vendors were about evenly split between G stalwarts (like Gold Coast and Bridgemaster) and multi-scale sellers (like K&R Lines) mostly featuring old boxes of Lionel, Bowser, and Athearn. No, there weren't as many vendors as I'd hoped, and some of my favorite 'regulars' were missing. But there were more than I had feared after looking at the on-line vendor list. And their reports varied widely, as they say. One long-time "G-scale" vendor told me glumly that this would probably be their last Big Train Show, and might very well be THE last Big Train Show. But an aisle over, another vendor pointed proudly to his emptying shelves, and said that half their stock had been bought that morning, including display units snatched up by customers too impatient to wait for delivery!
So go figger.. it's possible that there was a rush of pent-up demand on Saturday morning, but it's clear that the crowd thinned out by the middle of the afternoon. Somebody please tell us if the same scenario held true on Sunday?


P.S. -- A couple juicy RUMORS!
1> Don't give up on a Fall SWGRS yet! Dave Roberts says he wants to put one on and has been approached by vendors who really like that Fall time slot! But he's still trying to negotiate a deal with the Fairplex...
2> Bachmann says that they'll be making TWO major announcements at the NMRA convention at Grand Rapids this August.. and that Large Scalers will be pleased!


More to Come...



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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

From what I saw if a vendor had stuff at a reasonable price it was likely gone the next time you walked past the booth. I think a few no show vendors will be kicking themselves for not showing because it was very crowded Saturday. Only saw one vendor with a case of "are you kidding" pricing. This one fellow had amongst his large scale wares a Scientific Toys boxcar with the wheel mounts fudged and the tag said $22! Really? For an El Cheepo car that I have never paid more than $7 for? I thought well good luck with that! 

I thought the show was overall a success and should be back next year. Hope Dave can swing a show in Nov. I hope the GTE in Sept is far enough away not to hurt the idea.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

In this economy with so many businesses closing, any show has to be better than no show. 

Sounds like the crowd was there and people were buying so that has got to be a big positive. 

In Florida, the Volusia County Fairgrounds Train show put on by the Golden Spike Ent, Inc. is our best show and it is put on 4 times a year. Jan is a 2 day show while April, July and Oct are all Saturday only shows. 

Below is from Golden Spike's latest newsletter. 

The 39th Florida Rail Fair was held April 14th, 2012. This show had record attendance with over 1,000 paid admissions and 85 dealers using over 300 dealer tables. In addition, we had three (3) operating layouts in both buildings, and the permanent model railroad building, on the fairgrounds housing the Volusia County Model Railroad, was up and running during the show. 

The July 14th, 2012 show will again be held at the Tommy E. Lawrence Show Arena and The Talton Exbibit Hall. The Tommy E. Lawrence Show Arena is an outstanding modern facility with 22,000 square feet and continues to provide both customers and dealers with convenient free parking and easy access for loading and unloading. In addition, both buildings at this modern facility have an outstanding air conditioning system that will serve everyone well in the month of July. The Volusia County Fairgrounds is known throughout Florida and is located off I-4 at Exit 118 A, with both buildings be located at the south end of the fairgrounds. 

22,000 sq feet. 1,000 paid attendees and 85 vendors with 300 tables of ware. 

Any idea how that might compare to the BTS?


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the report...Z??? really,,,Z!!!!!


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Finally some photos!!







Thank you Gary!! And thank SWMTP for me as well.







Hope to see you two at the NSS in July!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

In that one picture of a large yard, I wired that yard, 2 6 foot modules, almost a scale mile long, 28 tracks, all DCC on that layout, and some locos with sound. I'm a member of that group but could not make it due to family obligations. We even have working ditch lights and mars lights on the locos. 











Greg


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Just my take on the show.... 

I thought it was right nice... 

Even though the vendor population was lower than we've seen before, the G gauge folks were well represented. CVP had a lot of visitors, BridgeMasters had full tables when the doors opened at 10 Satuday and by 3 o'clock, the tops of the tables were showing. Lots of stuff had left the buildng. 

Mark Johnson, from Silver State Trains had the Live Steam Stuff. 

Jonathan and Laura were there. Pete and Carol from Sunset Valley. The folks from Accucraft. Piko introduced some new curved switches.... Axel Tillman was in a booth with some very nice European rolling stock. 

Phil's Narrow Gauge, Jerry from Split Jaw... Randy and Nancy from Pacific Coast Garden Railway Supply... Bruce Hebron of AW NUTS Metal Sculptures.

I even saw Ron Gibson when he stopped by my table.... Oh yeah.... Cedarleaf Custom Decals had a booth and did a couple of clinics...









Al Kramer's piles of USA and Bachman stuff dwindled very quickly as did Hans' stock. USA and Bachman were represented with their usual, attractive booths. AristoCraft was not represented. Personally, I think it would have been nice if they were there. 

There certain were more but my memory is lacking.... 

A lot of families with children flocked to TTOS layouts and ran around them trying to catch the speeding trains. 

Kids and trains.... That's what it's all about... Regardless of the age. Remenber........... Growing old is mandatory.... Growing up is a choice...


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## Doug C (Jan 14, 2008)

Great looking G-gauge line-up for a all-scales show ! 

"...USA and Bachman were represented with their usual, attractive booths. AristoCraft was not ..." 

Nice to see 2 of the 3 showing up but if the swgrs does happen and AC is in attendance that would make better sense as it is a LSTS (not a asts) ! 


That is a very large lookin' z layout !! 


imho, 

doug c


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