I remember years ago when speaking to Mr. Boyle at OGR concerning advertising, if I recall accurately, he shared with me the concentration of subscribers back then here in the Northeast US.
Another thing that drove RR interest was the generational RR employment of many families in this part of the country. RR identity also drives affinity down through the years which in turn can express its self in model train purchases,
Of course there is population density to also consider. At one time in the 1960's billboards in Cleveland Ohio stated that 50% of the US population was within 500 miles of Cleveland Ohio.
I would venture to say that there is a local or regional train show frequently in our tri-state area. Almost every week end in the fourth quarter.
Many times there is a line at checkout in Nick Smith.
Another fantastic shop is Hennings. About an hour from me. Unbelievable stock of parts, plus their knowledge and ability to fix anything. You can ask for almost any part from their hundreds of drawers and the response may be something like, " Which version do you need? Right hand or left hand? Prewar or post was? Command or conventional, etc, etc,..."
.The place is absolutely a gem !! Decent pleasant folks.
You are right John, we are totally spoiled here.
