2013-14 Train Show Season.

EL5232 wrote:A couple of suggestions.

1. Clear out the Junk. Some tables seemed more like flea market fare. Toys, matchbox etc.
Its a train show. Not a flea market.

Not sure you understand the concept of a train show. Anyone can come along and sell new or used trains there. If you want all new and only train-related items, I would suggest you stick with a high end hobby shop, or the meager offerings in some craft stores. Sometimes I do better selling the Tyco and toy-related stuff than I do on the trains - especially in this day and age where someone spending more than about $20 is few and far between, having some of those things can make the difference in a good show and a bad one. Or, I find bargain items I can then re-sell elsewhere and those make the difference. For instance, I resold four $10 items I bought at RIT last Friday and made a $115 profit. And a $2 piece of "junk" I bought at Hamburg went off for over $100 on eBay, because I knew what it was and how to advertise it. I live for that stuff, that's half the fun of going.

Speaking of which, I also gather you've never gone to the Hamburg show, because by the sound of it you'd need to change your pants afterwards. But then it's billed as a Train and Toy show. And some of the same vendors you're indirectly referring to sell both there and at Batavia as well.

People bring their familes to these shows and it's nice for a show to have some things available for the rest of the family to enjoy since it's unusual for all of them to be into the trains.

2. December is great for club ticket sales - not great for vendors and hobbyists.
The show is also getting too late in the season. A busy season, two weeks before Christmas when dedicated modelers don't have as much money or time available.
Brick and mortar shops are in their busiest time of year and can't spare three days away from their customers. The weather is also unpredictable for visitor turnout and traveling vendors.

Otto already well covered why this show is the date it is, but I'll also point out that the weather is no more predictable in the spring or earlier in the fall; the Blizzard of '93 took place the third week or so of March; and there have been times we've got snow in mid-October too. I manage okay rolling in Saturday morning to set up and only two days away... any shop of decent size usually has staff enough to cover both bases, too.

For that matter, I go out of town, it takes me to customers I ordinarily might never sell to, they'll drive 20 minutes to RIT, but not an hour or more to another city.

Oh, and you also run the risk, up here in New York, that if the weather is too nice? People don't go to indoor events, they work outside or go to the park or whatnot.

3. This years show was definitely smaller. Look at the pic of the 2012 show on RITMRC Facebook - compare it to this years pic.
I see more open orange space in the 2013 pic.

also already covered. I don't see where it was really any smaller, just laid out different because the vendors were different.

Closing thoughts.

(snip)

I think it would be great to go back to hosting two one day shows in spring and fall back at the Student Union and let the club layout be the star again.
Might be a better experience for vendors, hobbyists, and easier for the club to organize around their semester schedules.

It was a pain in the behind to go in and out of the Student Union compared to where it is now - a longer push in and out and much less room to load. I only made it to one show there (and darn near missed that due to some mechanical issues enroute) but it was 1/3 the size if that in there, to my memory, and darker lit too. If by better experience for vendors you mean a shorter show and more than likely fewer sales, certainly fewer opportunities for sales, and that many fewer vendors in the first place, then yes, but that's not what vendors want. Nor is there room for much in the way of other layouts.

And, as has been posted multiple times, even if they could change dates, when then do they have it that there's not already some show going? One would have to be in October and the other in late March.

Were I to design a new RIT layout I'd just engineer some or all of it to be modular so it can be taken out and shown if they want. Problem solved.

IMHO most of these complaints are of a personal nature, what's good for that person's personal agenda, and have no real basis in what actually goes on. If RIT was a terrible show for vendors, they wouldn't come. If the RIT show wasn't making them money, they'd change the date. Clearly people come and enough of them spend money for it to be worth the trouble - if it wasn't, I certainly wouldn't be there.

2. December is great for...

While we're on that topic, FUNTRAK will be at the Oneida County Historical Society in Utica from December 26-28 10-4. We have both our HO and N scale layouts on display, plus the historical society museum has some great new exhibits up including a couple cases of vintage lionel. There are no vendors, but the historical society book store is open and they have a few railroad related books for sale. Admission to the museum\show is $2. Last year we had 400 people over three days and signed up a couple new members. It was a great way to bring in some funds for the Historical Society. If you're in, around, or passing through Utica on those days, please stop in. We appreciate it.

lvrr325 wrote:Were I to design a new RIT layout I'd just engineer some or all of it to be modular so it can be taken out and shown if they want. Problem solved.

Oh gawd, we tried that twice already... We had NMRA-style modules and later Free-mo modules (in addition to our permanent layout), and it was just too much to handle. Instead, we just went for a bigger, linear-style permanent layout. It *would* be nice to have some sort of operating display to take to train shows, though... We'll see!

Happy New Year, everyone!

-otto-

Reporting live from Tiger Tracks... My booth is located next to the Alco Tech booth... All I've heard this weekend are these three fighting and snarking with each other like a bunch of 12 year olds.

Well I have to say I am embarrassed to read this. You are the second person to tell me recently that they are upset or disappointed in our table presentation at a train show recently. George does more work for our organization than any of us and asks nothing in return and we are lucky to have someone like him in our organization. His sister is supposed to be volunteering to help him carry the load and help our operation work better, but it is starting to look like she is having the opposite effect. I know good volunteers are hard to find but we will be looking into wholesale changes to our presence in public settings such as this. Rest assured that their behavior does not in anyway represent how we operate as an organization and I sorry we came off that way.

Well, can cross the Utica show off the list. More sales, but a lower take home at the end of the day. Some deals to be had there, too. Crowd kind of died off toward the end of the day, I wonder if the football game had anything to do with that. (Typically you get the same die-off at Eastwood when the Daytona 500 coverage begins).

See you in Springfield. Stop by the ASRR booth and say hi!

Wait I'm confused... Is the Greenberg Show in Rochester cancelled again??

http://www.greenbergshows.com/shows/201 ... 03-08.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Rochester Dome Arena
2695 E Henrietta Rd, Henrietta, NY 14467
March 8-9, 2014
*** This show has been cancelled ***

The sale of the Dome Center in Henrietta fell through in January 2014 and all shows at the facility after that time have been cancelled.

We hope to bring our show back to the Rochester area next year and will announce all show dates and locations for early 2015 during July 2014.

Thank you for your support!"

How bizarre. But apparently so; the sale fell through and the property is back on the market; why that affects this show, I don't understand, I guess this kind of thing is not in their "limited basis" for rentals. If I read this right, it's the same sale that cancelled 2013, for some reason it was delayed then.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/sto ... -/4405043/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm sending an email to Frank Hicks, who runs the shows, if he has anything else I can share I'll post it here.

They want to be back in Rochester and he talked about going to another location last year, but who knows what will come of it. Given the replacement Syracuse show was a bomb I don't see them doing that again.

Just as an update, I got a letter today back from sending them the form to get a table for this show.

Frank explains that they did attempt to find a new location on the same date but were unable to, and the show at the Dome depended on the sale to go through, which they'd been assured was just a formality right up until it fell apart.

Not in New York but attended the Copetown, Ontario show this past Sunday (9th Feb). Rapido Trains and several other Canadian manufacturers were there, along with some display layouts, historical societies and a few vendors. It was a nice little show. It's in a relatively small community centre about 15 minutes west of Hamilton. Some excellent examples of modeling in HO and S Scale and the chance to see things not necessarily available "south of the border."

Already scheduled for next year at the same site: February 8, 2015.

WNYRHS Winter show is this weekend, 2/15-2/16 in Hamburg at the fairgrounds.

I will be there with some new stuff, get it while it lasts as I'm putting more and more of it on eBay and my last NYS&W C430 sold just today.

The Roberson Museum's Model Train and Doll Fair is this Sunday in Binghamton from 9-3. I haven't been in a couple of years, but apparently there's a new layout now. Anybody else planning on going?

The Syracuse Model Railroad Club show, in Eastwood, is this Sunday. It's on the same weekend it's been for years, and I will be there.

The folks who run that Roberson show can't ever bother to check to see if any other shows are the same weekend. When I went to it in 2012 it was in January the week before Utica, which was perfect, no conflicts. For some reason in 2013 they moved it to 3rd weekend in February and were made aware of being opposite Hamburg well before the show, but made no changes. 2014 comes and they move it a week but still can't bother to see if any other shows are the same day - and this year it will put a dent in attendance as well as dealer count I'm fairly certain. Eastwood is the better show sales-wise. They were made aware of the conflict, again, well in advance. It's getting to where they could put it on an open date and I still might not go just on general principle. It's like they purposely want to do anything they can to cut attendance so they can drop the show entirely.


FWIW, there is a one-day show in Scranton on March 2nd, as well. outside of New York but close enough to get some NY vendors and attendees. In the former DL&W station.

FUNtrak Model Railroad Club will be hosting a small show in Mohawk at Fisher Elementary School this Saturday and Sunday. It's a small club show, mostly layouts, but I do know there will be a few local vendors with some new and used N and HO. I believe there is even one vendor doing Saturday only and then going to Eastwood on Sunday. The show is a benefit for the Central Valley Parent Teacher Association. If you're in the Mohawk\Utica area this weekend feel free to stop in or if you're heading to or from Eastwood and happen to be passing through the area, feel free to stop in. We will have our full layouts of HO, N and Lionel in operation.


I'm sure people will be upset about yet another show against Eastwood. We do this show at the end of the schools February break each year, this year the break happened to be a week later than last. The school break is the one time we can get in without having to worry about sporting events in the gym. I myself am upset that I have to miss Eastwood this year.

For the most part none of these shows compete that much for attendance, but when you get to within an hour or so of each other, there is a percentage who may have done both, but won't be able to hit them all in one day. I know because there's guys I see at just about all the local shows.

There's a difference, too, in having the calendar shuffle your usual weekend around and purposely moving a show and not looking or checking.

But that's one reason I have been doing these threads - with the car shows, there are two pretty good websites that list all the shows - one for CNY, one that covers NY, PA and NJ. There are some general train show listing sites, but it takes two or three to find every little show that's out there. With the threads here, someone can look and see what week each show is in a typical season, and then if they're looking to run a show it's a lot easier to pick a weekend that avoids a conflict.