While it may impact the health of the TCA and the show itself, changing the Eastern Division's York train show is not going to have any impact on the future of toy train collecting / operating.
A person is either interested in collecting / operating, or they are not. Those who are interested will seek out trains.
The impact on the TCA and the show will be seen over time.
Some folks are now expressing reservations.
When I started attending York, the dealers were all in the Yellow hall, under the Grandstand. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed to me that the yellow hall held a lot less sellers than any one of the member halls. So clearly the emphasis was on member to member transactions, as opposed to dealer to member.
Folks say that change is necessary because collecting is dying. Sorry folks, but operating isn't far behind.
There will always be collectors, and there will always be operators. There just won't be as many.
I want to see the Eastern Division and the TCA succeed, so I hope I am dead wrong.
By the way, I had been a regular attendee of antique shows/flea markets within a 150 mile radius of my home. My wife and I have cut out all but two of the shows. One is too close to skip, and seems to be growing in both attendees and sellers. The other is Brimfield. A few years back, Brimfield shrunk significantly in the number of sellers and attendees. The number of attendees has rebounded, but the number of sellers has not. Some of the more famous fields seem to have no more than 1/4 of the sellers they used to get.
Plus the merchandise is changing. There are less genuine antiques. There are a lot of reproductions, and items cobbled together, as is highlighted on shows like "Flea Market Flip".
