Train shows are fun, and one additional element comes with time: you meet and visit with so many people you know. Anymore, going to the local TCA meets twice a year here is mostly about catching up with old friends and acquaintances; I spend maybe an hour or hour and a half doing that, and perhaps only half an hour shopping and looking at displays.
I went to my first train show years and years ago, when I was a kid. I've probably been to two or three a year since then - maybe closing in on 200 over 60 years.
Train shows today are pretty much like they were way back then, although I remember the tables were a lot higher - almost at eye level - in those days 
