eddiem posted:... The layout at York however was pretty tacky. A few tablecloths spread on folding tables.... MTH, Atlas, and Bachmann all had layouts with scenery. The "April public" surely needs more than a few loops on tablecloths!
Very true... But the diorama featuring the truss bridge with piers looked quite nice. 
As i mentioned in another thread, I'm not certain who or what was THE driving force behind York being opened to the general public. But if the importers had anything to do with it, then they got their wish... and now they'll need to follow through with some eye-catching display layouts -- like those from about 8-10 years ago. Unfortunately, not to many of us have photos of those layouts, because we couldn't take pictures of them back in those days. 
The MTH layout, in particular, was a show-stopper... keeping crowds (often 2 or 3 deep) amazed with trains running through great scenery.
David
