dk122trains posted:York will evolve just as the hobby has the past 30 years. I will go and support it. It is more than a show, it is and has been an event for years. The top 10 percent spend the most money at York , all the big boys better bring more creative layouts to the show if they are trying to lure the public into the hobby,remember the wow of the showroom layouts, what is there now is terrible. Even OGR and its Ameritowne line could create a display that triggers the imagine to build an affordable home layout, not just piles of building kits in a booth. These examples of displays can show the public the apps and at the same time encourage growth of the hobby. The orange hall will need a combination of dealers and layouts to lure and repeat foot traffic on the public days of York. Let it be said,I love York!
I said the exact same thing to the Lionel guys on Friday. They should definitely bring back the great layout that they were bringing to York up until a couple of years ago. They said the new set up allows them to demonstrate features better, but nothing sells toy trains like a neat layout. The Lionel Corporation knew this back in their heyday, not only with the showroom layouts, but with the thousands of Dealer Display Layouts that we used to see in department stores, hobby shops, sporting goods stores; I even remember one in an auto parts store.
If the goal is to bring people into this hobby by opening it up to the general public, then bring in the fancy layouts and let the imaginations do the selling.
