York Count Down....

@yellowtruck75 posted:

This will be my first time attending the TCA York train show.  Do I need to be a member of the TVA to attend?  If so what do I need to do to join?  

will I be able to find much just attending Saturday or is it pretty picked over by then?

You can get full access by asking to be a guest of the Eastern Division (or a friend who is a member) - you can do that once.  You can get access to dealer halls only with general public admission, but that will mean missing a lot of good stuff.  Or you can join TCA at the meet (I think that a 6-month trial membership is available if you're not sure), and get into every York from now until eternity.

Saturday is very sparsely attended - if that's your only opportunity, be sure to get there before the meet opens at 9am.

@yellowtruck75 posted:

This will be my first time attending the TCA York train show.  Do I need to be a member of the TVA to attend?  If so what do I need to do to join?  

will I be able to find much just attending Saturday or is it pretty picked over by then?

Just go to the registration desk in Silver Hall and they will help you sign in as a guest (one time only full access) or to join the TCA.  If you think you can make the next York, too, you can even pre-register for it (and get the badge for it on the spot) if you join the TCA.  You can see the fairgrounds map HERE.  It is a good idea to have a copy of the map with you to help navigate the first few times at York so you don't miss anything.  You may also want to consider buying a TCA badge holder at the registration desk if you don't already have one.

If you can only go Saturday, it is best to plan ahead a little.  There are still plenty of trains to be had, and sometimes you can get better deals on a Saturday, and you won't have to fight the crowds.  The plan should be based on what you are looking  to buy.  On Saturdays, the halls open at 9am (be there early to get registered as quickly as possible so you don't lose valuable meet time).  The member halls close at 2pm, but a lot of the vendors there start packing up at noon.  The dealer hall (Orange) closes at 3pm, but vendors start packing before the official closing time.  If you are looking for brand-new, recent-manufactured items, manufacturer displays, and cottage-industry items, Orange Hall is the place you want to concentrate your searching.  If you are looking for older production from all eras (including modern), bargains, and the unique and unusual, then the member halls are the place to be hunting.

If I were going Saturday only and was just looking to experience the most of the meet, I would hit the halls in this order: Blue, Silver, Red, White, Purple (to see the layout(s)), Yellow (underneath the grandstands if open and being used - I don't think it is being used this York), and Orange.

Andy

@Andy Hummell posted:

Just go to the registration desk in Silver Hall and they will help you sign in as a guest (one time only full access) or to join the TCA.  If you think you can make the next York, too, you can even pre-register for it (and get the badge for it on the spot) if you join the TCA.  You can see the fairgrounds map HERE.  It is a good idea to have a copy of the map with you to help navigate the first few times at York so you don't miss anything.  You may also want to consider buying a TCA badge holder at the registration desk if you don't already have one.

If you can only go Saturday, it is best to plan ahead a little.  There are still plenty of trains to be had, and sometimes you can get better deals on a Saturday, and you won't have to fight the crowds.  The plan should be based on what you are looking  to buy.  On Saturdays, the halls open at 9am (be there early to get registered as quickly as possible so you don't lose valuable meet time).  The member halls close at 2pm, but a lot of the vendors there start packing up at noon.  The dealer hall (Orange) closes at 3pm, but vendors start packing before the official closing time.  If you are looking for brand-new, recent-manufactured items, manufacturer displays, and cottage-industry items, Orange Hall is the place you want to concentrate your searching.  If you are looking for older production from all eras (including modern), bargains, and the unique and unusual, then the member halls are the place to be hunting.

If I were going Saturday only and was just looking to experience the most of the meet, I would hit the halls in this order: Blue, Silver, Red White, Purple (to see the layout(s)), Yellow (underneath the grandstands if open and being used - I don't think it is being used this York), and Orange.

Andy

Nailed it.  You should be a tour guide for York.

Spoke to my wife and we are going to go attend Friday late morning/afternoon and then Saturday.  Is there a link someone can send me to sign up for the TCA ahead of time?  

@yellowtruck75 posted:

Spoke to my wife and we are going to go attend Friday late morning/afternoon and then Saturday.  Is there a link someone can send me to sign up for the TCA ahead of time?  

https://www.tcatrains.org/become-a-member/

If I buy a membership would my wife and two boys (5 & 8) need to have memberships to attend York?  Do I need to buy tickets to the show ahead of time or can I get them at the gate?

@yellowtruck75 posted:

If I buy a membership would my wife and two boys (5 & 8) need to have memberships to attend York?  Do I need to buy tickets to the show ahead of time or can I get them at the gate?

If you are a member, your wife and children (under 18) do NOT have to be members.  You will still have to register them when you register for the meet (wife is additional $3, and children are free), as badges have to be printed for all.  Once you get your TCA membership number, go to the link in my post above (where the map is), and go to the bottom of the page to find the link to register online.  There is a "convenience" fee associated with this method, but you get your badges mailed to you if you get it done soon enough, otherwise the badges will be waiting for you in the registration area of the Silver Hall.  If you don't want to do this online, you can just register in person at the Silver Hall (will need ID and your TCA membership number) and they will print the badges on the spot.  Once you have your badges, you can just walk into any of the halls (as long as your badges are clearly visible, otherwise you will be stopped at the door and asked to show your badges).  If you do get your badges mailed to you, don't forget them -- there is a $5 per badge fee to reprint them (happened to me once).

Be sure to check out Clem's Primer for more info (a new version is published a week or so before the meet, but most info doesn't change much).  And since you will be there Friday and Saturday, they have an ice cream social in the Orange Hall promenade after the hall closes at 6:30 (might not serve the ice cream until closer to 7), and on Saturday they have coffee and doughnuts (also in Orange Hall promenade) starting around 7:30am. Both are free.

Andy

yellow truck75, Just curious, where do you live?

Central PA near interstate 80

yellowtruck75, I live in Maine. 535 miles from York. I have missed 4 shows(meets) over the last 46 years. That means that I have driven both ways over 80 times. It's the greatest show(meet) in the world. You live right around the corner. You should join TCA. It's a bargain believe me. You need to go to the registration desk in the silver hall at around 11am on Thursday or 8:30 am on Friday if you can't come on Thursday, and Join. You will be glad that you did it.

If you joint TCA with "paper free" option it's only $40/year.

PRRick, Where did you hear that?

  Somethiong new to me.

@eddie g posted:

PRRick, Where did you hear that?

  Somethiong new to me.

Eddie,

Here's the TCA dues structure.  Discounts for multi-year renewal.  Discounts for paper-free renewal.  It's actually only $38 a year for a 5 year all-electronic membership.

Stu

                             1 Year   3 Years   5 Years
Standard Paper $50.00  $145.00  $240.00
Paper-Free        $40.00   $115.00  $190.00

Got my TCA membership paid for.  Do they send me cards to present at the show?

@yellowtruck75 posted:

Got my TCA membership paid for.  Do they send me cards to present at the show?

Now you just need to register for the York meet.

https://yorkregistration.org/

Stu, I have been in tca almost 50 years. I guess I don't read the fine print anymore. I just pay my dues.

How do I get my TCA number?  All I have is a receipt.

@yellowtruck75 posted:

How do I get my TCA number?  All I have is a receipt.

They'll assign you one. It's done by actual people so give it a week. Once that happens you can log into TCA and see a digital copy of your card at any time.

@yellowtruck75 posted:

Got my TCA membership paid for.  Do they send me cards to present at the show?

They will mail you a card, but you don't absolutely need to present it at the show.  Once you are assigned a number, they can look it up at the registration desk, but having the card or just knowing the number will speed up registration if you are registering at the show.  I assume they will email you your number with instructions on how to log into the TCA web site's members-only section.  And, as PRRick mentioned, once logged in, you can print a copy of the membership card in case the Post Office loses the card (it is a postcard).  The PO lost my card for most of last year and I never bothered to re-print it (they delivered it a week after I paid my dues for *this year*, so I will have to wait to see how long it takes then to deliver this year's card ).

Speaking of member numbers, when at York, at the back of the registration area in Silver Hall, there is a posted list of door prize drawing winners, listed by name and membership number.  The list is sometimes posted in the lobbies of the other halls, but is easily missed.  The door prizes are nothing to write home about (they consist of donated items), but as it is pick of table (also in the back of the registration area -- see one of the volunteers to claim if a winner), you may sometimes find something of use.  I won the door prize once, and my prize was an O/HO scale tree -- just a single tree, but it will eventually get used.

Andy

5 weeks until my crew and I leave for York.

YEAH!!

I heard from the little birdie that the purple hall will be closed and the layouts will be moved to the black and white halls.
I am guessing the white hall vendors will be there or they are being moved to red, silver and blue halls.

Anyone else have any hall information change for April?
Still York is ‘the show’ to attend!

In October the White Hall was probably at 65% capacity, I can see the space being utilized by layouts if the request for tables is low this April.  It wouldn't surprise me if there is a reduction in table requests for April, it just always seems a little less than October for the last few years.

@Ted Bertiger posted:

I heard from the little birdie that the purple hall will be closed and the layouts will be moved to the black and white halls.
I am guessing the white hall vendors will be there or they are being moved to red, silver and blue halls.

Anyone else have any hall information change for April?
Still York is ‘the show’ to attend!

As one of the groups that is displaying layouts in the Purple Hall......I asked the ED leadership if I could provide this information.

The Purple Hall will be open. There are 4 groups displaying there, the River City 3 Railers being one of the groups. There will be 5 layouts in the Purple Hall (We are bringing two. One is 12x15 and the other is 6x15).

The Black Hall will be open and one huge layout will be in there.

The White Hall will be open as usual with tables.

As we get closer to York, I will have more specifics about the layouts.

Peter

I hope to make it this year and look forward to seeing the modular group layouts!

This weekend I’ll be prepping my Wishlist for York along with the odds and ends I need to get for the rebuild.

I have my notebook from the 2 previous Yorks with little notes on certain dealer locations for specific items so I’ll be using it for reference again. Each hall gets two pages each York for note taking and it’s worked out pretty good so far. I’ve actually been able to locate items I decided to go back for, that is the items that didn’t disappear yet.

The suspense is building!!!

@Putnam Division posted:

As one of the groups that is displaying layouts in the Purple Hall......I asked the ED leadership if I could provide this information.

The Purple Hall will be open. There are 4 groups displaying there, the River City 3 Railers being one of the groups. There will be 5 layouts in the Purple Hall (We are bringing two. One is 12x15 and the other is 6x15).

The Black Hall will be open and one huge layout will be in there.

The White Hall will be open as usual with tables.

As we get closer to York, I will have more specifics about the layouts.

Peter

Peter:

Thanks for responding to this immediately. As we all know, rumors can spread quickly on this board. No knock on Ted, who is a great guy, and I'm sure was just reporting what he heard.

Pat

@irish rifle posted:

Peter:

Thanks for responding to this immediately. As we all know, rumors can spread quickly on this board. No knock on Ted, who is a great guy, and I'm sure was just reporting what he heard.

Pat

Agreed!

Peter

I guess the little birdie was chirping from the rumor mill.
It is nice to see more layout being presented and set up at York than years ago when there was none to very few.
There have some spectacular layouts set up at York, including Dr. Pete’s group in recent years.

The countdown is getting there for the Thursday high noon gala fiesta opening!! Can’t wait.

4 weeks from today is opening day at York!!! The suspense is building!!

Getting closer!

Peter

And the release of the Spring 2023 edition of Clem's Primer just adds to the anticipation! 

Andy

Awesome!!! Thanks for posting @Andy Hummell!

No @eddie g it's not 24 days till York Week.  It's seven days to the start of the baseball season.  Go Yanks.

Woo hoo! Super excited for my first York this year! I started putting my "list" together, which is pretty small, but I'll keep an eye out for some of the bigger items that are always on it.

Are there any OGR Forum meet ups still happening?

@Tall J posted:

Woo hoo! Super excited for my first York this year! I started putting my "list" together, which is pretty small, but I'll keep an eye out for some of the bigger items that are always on it.

Are there any OGR Forum meet ups still happening?

Next week (3 weeks before), I will announce a OGR Forum breakfast at the Round-the-Clock Diner. The Round-the-Clock Diner is just off the I-83 Route 30 exit.

The breakfast is before the York opening bell on Thursday, April 20th at 0715.......it usually lasts about two hours. Anywhere from 30-50 attend.......they (the Diner) save a whole area for us.

This is a common place to eat before York and a group of us for years would regularly meet there. About 10 years ago, I started to announce it, formally inviting Forum members (and any York attendee) so that faces and  online names could be put together. It's a great place for York 1st timers to meet other like-minded train people.

On Thursday evening there is an OGR Forum get together at Quaker Steak and Lube (further west on Rye 30, closer to the Fairgrounds). All are welcome.

On Friday AM, many of the same people meet up at Round-the-Clock, though it's much more "on the fly".

A lot of people clear out Friday afternoon........however, a group of us who stay go to the Olive Garden at 7PM.....not a gourmet place, but they will accept reservations. At the Fairgrounds, the Eastern Division does provide ice cream Sundaes (I will admit that I have never stuck around for them, preferring dinner with the group)

Saturday AM is coffee and donuts provided by the Eastern Divsion prior to the 0800-0845 ED business meeting.

If you have questions, email me.

Peter

Where can you buy the TCA badge holders that everyone has?

@yellowtruck75 posted:

Where can you buy the TCA badge holders that everyone has?

I think they're available at the TCA sales table.  If not, ask at the registration desk.  $2 or $3 IIRC.

Just 3 weeks away from opening day at York!!!

3 weeks from today I will be in flight to York.  The excitement continues to grow.

@Mallard4468 posted:

I think they're available at the TCA sales table.  If not, ask at the registration desk.  $2 or $3 IIRC.

Correct - they are definitely available at the registration desk in Silver Hall, and in the past, they have also been available at the TCA tables in Orange Hall for $3.

I have to get a new one myself this York as I have worn out my original TCA badge holder.  I also use it to hold my club name badge at train shows we do and give the TCA some free advertising at the same time.  It has caused quite a few conversations and questions about York to be initiated with me over the years.

Andy