Gerhardt posted:Hi RJR,
in addition to what’s been mentioned, I came this past year as a first time “guest” which is allowed one time with full access to the meet for the full duration ( no restrictions). There seems to be some confusion about this as I understand things have been done differently over the years, however I assure you I had no restrictions to access and was able to attend everything. It was amazing and my 8 year old son and I are coming again in the fall. This time I will join the TCA, so the strategy worked...
Truly an incredible experience. I did not feel I was treated any differently because I was not a member. People selling trains were happy to take my money. People I talked to or asked questions of were happy to share the joy of trains. (Except one old grump who told me and my son it was not a museum - I ended up buying the item from someone else as I guess he figured we weren’t serious because I was with my 7 year old). I am perhaps younger and did not attend the glory days of York. I wish I would have seen the entire Wyndham parking lot covered in tables as that was one of my favorite moments of the experience - being outside and seeing amazing trains.
However, I think it’s very important to note that the internet has changed the way things are bought and sold , not just model trains but for everything! Look at the demise of bricks and mortar retailers in all segments for retail. I believe the hobby is perhaps stronger and in a better place than people looking at York attendance only would believe. Yes, attendance numbers are down but York is competing with the internet. Think about how many trains are being transacted daily on the internet. This did not exist and there no way that buy sell in print media generated the same sales as the ease of a mouse click purchase.
Yes, it would be cheaper for me (in particular coming from western Canada) to buy stuff online than to pay the travel to come. But, for me the experience, far outweighs the cost. I’ll be there in October!
In summary, I hope you come out again and make some new friends to replace some of the ones that have passed. I hope you bring your guests and they have a great time. We certainly did!
See you all in October !!
G
Congrats for planning on joining TCA, and happy that you had a good experience.
I think I may have seen you and your boy - did you park between the grandstand and orange hall, and have Canadian window flags on your (I assume rented) mini-van? (I had seen your pre-York posts, and wanted to catch you and wish you welcome, but you vanished into the crowd too quickly.)
