My York feelings

Totally agree, Ben...still a great time. Went this April with very little on the search-list and still came home with a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff.

Looking forward to October.

PD

I'm having a good time. Found quite a bit of stuff. Still making decisions about a couple of items. I don't have a whole lot to compare it too, this is only my second. I will say I understand, they want big crowds, lots of cash flying around, I myself would probably stay away if it were that crowded. Still fun. I found more bargains at the silver hall.

I will probably skip October and stick to once a year in April now.

Bigger than last April.

Not sure about October.

MTH was there.

Lots of deals.

Always worth the trip.

Great time so far......always on the go visiting, catching up, meeting new people

Breakfast 4 days in a row with friends

The Welcome Party Tuesday was fun......

Group dinners Wednesday (Great American Saloon), Thursday (Quaker Steak), and tonight at the Olive Garden.

Trains to buy; trains to look at; and, trains to run.......we loved showing our layouts!!!!

Tomorrow morning......Maple Donuts and then time to exercise my civic duty and support the Eastern Division at the biannual business meeting.......then, more......

Trains to buy; trains to look at; and, trains to run.........and, at 2 PM, time to take down the layout.....and, head for home......

See you all in October! York, the place I buy trains and visit with my buds from all over the country, twice a year.....

Thank you, Eastern Division for a great time!

Peter

I second what Peter said above!! Amen!!! And Ben I second what you said about the Italian Ice it stunk!

Since I have moved closer to York (within 25 minutes) I have been going a lot. Vendors tell me the crowds are generally down. Lots of room between elbows. Walked over 13, 000 steps on Friday. It is like being in a world or atmosphere permeated by trains - not a bad thing. I'm thinking that in another half a generation a lot of this stuff, mine included, will be yard sale fodder. Hardly any kids there - just a few. Bought one Amtrak GG1... Put a lot of stuff "back".... I am very choosey now because my layout is jammed full of stuff.

I thought this show was good as always. I was able to find several things that I had been looking for a while for and talked to many people.

I did have two concerns though:

1. Some of the aisles in orange hall were ridiculously narrow. There were spots where I couldn’t tell if it was the aisle or a spot for the sellers to sit!
2. Less food options than in the past. I know this one is beyond the TCA’s control, but it does make it difficult, especially if you see the lines between 11 and 1! I may start packing a lunch just because of the lines.

Overall, a great time with like-minded people and worth the trip as always!

I only attended on Thursday.  Definitely a smaller crowd than in the past years before Covid.  Some good deals can be had.  Most are willing to deal. Good seeing a few familiar faces. Some tables were vacant either with a "for rent sign" or under cover with trains to sell.  Definitely missed seeing some vendors that paid for a table but didn't show up. That still didn't stop me from purchasing items that I wanted.  Maybe more people and vendors were there on Friday.  April is always less crowded than October.  Warmer weather means more outside activities.  As far as the food goes, it is always lacking but sometimes there is a good food truck outside.  Sign me up for the October Meet.  More money, more days to spend there...

Hi really found some cool engines and especially std gauge handmade engines at York !

I’ve been going to York each time since 1992 missing it once for illness and the 3 pandemic shutdowns. Still York is a GREAT show, maybe 2 halls smaller but still worth the trip.
Eddie g will start his weather report in October and the October countdown will begin a month prior.
I went for Friday only as my 18 year old Beagle was not feeling well on Thursday day and night and not well on Friday. So I zipped the halls in 6 hours and back home by dinner. Maybe he missed me as he bounced back to his usual normal 106 year old buddy! Unbelievable!
I missed Ben and his entourage. Did see a lot of folks but really could not engage in conversations much as my mind was quite concerned about my buddy.
See you all in October for Friday and Saturday.

As always a wonderful time. Every year though it seems the buildings have up rooted and moved farther apart. The ole legs need more rests each year.

My wife and her entourage were disappointed with the shopping in Lancaster so she told me she will not be coming in October  I had to show her my disappointment but underneath I was like Yessss  I get to go to the LCCA meet at Smokey Bones, The OGR meet at Quaker steak and Peter's breakfast meet at Round the Clock   And I can buy whatever I want without having to hide it in the car     I feel so bad she isnt coming

Like Rob, My 70 year old legs can't take it like they used too so my York days are about finished. Since I joined the TCA back in 1982 I would religiously go to York April & October and started skipping after 2004. My last visit was 2015 and I remember noticing the wide aisles and less people. I have to blame the internet for it since it is so easy to find what you,re looking for and pay without mailing checks.

Have to say that I had a blast!  Yesterday was birthday - what better way to spend it than at York? 

I thought Thursday's crowd was pretty good for a Thursday in April.  Friday was less crowded than I expected, but the meet was competing with 2 car related events (there is some overlap between train guys and car guys).  One of the events was the Spring Carlyle swap meet (we passed it on the Turnpike it was absolutely jammed with tents and people)!  The other event was the auction of the 100th produced 1953 Corvette by one of the big auction houses.  So I expect those 2 things drew people and some of the food trucks away from York.

I thought prices were a bit high for April, but there were a number of bargains available if you did some digging.   I certainly came away with more things than expected (didn't really have a shopping list).  And of course, I got to see friends.  I did more laughing than I've done in awhile, too. 

George

Sounds like it was a good meet, and not much ado re: the absence of some dealers and manufacturers. I hope to be there in April 2024.

York has become my place to catch up with the friends I've made since first joining TCA at the April 1984 meet. I miss seeing Lionel, Atlas, Williams, TW Trainworx, OGR, Scenic Express and Miller Engineering. They were always some of my favorite places to stop.

@bluelinec4 posted:

MI had to show her my disappointment but underneath I was like Yessss  

This.  All married guys know this feeling!

@Ted Bertiger posted:

I’ve been going to York each time since 1992 missing it once for illness and the 3 pandemic shutdowns. Still York is a GREAT show, maybe 2 halls smaller but still worth the trip.
Eddie g will start his weather report in October and the October countdown will begin a month prior.
I went for Friday only as my 18 year old Beagle was not feeling well on Thursday day and night and not well on Friday. So I zipped the halls in 6 hours and back home by dinner. Maybe he missed me as he bounced back to his usual normal 106 year old buddy! Unbelievable!
I missed Ben and his entourage. Did see a lot of folks but really could not engage in conversations much as my mind was quite concerned about my buddy.
See you all in October for Friday and Saturday.

Glad to hear your Beagle is doing better, Ted.

Busy for an April meet compared with the past several years.  Found lots of negotiable prices.  I think that the wider aisles are beneficial - it's easier to look at the items, and you might see something that you would otherwise have missed.

@CarGuyZM10 posted:

...

1. Some of the aisles in orange hall were ridiculously narrow. There were spots where I couldn’t tell if it was the aisle or a spot for the sellers to sit!...

Those narrow aisles were where the sellers are supposed to sit - the actual aisles were wider than in the past.

I had a good time.

It definitely feels smaller without a good chunk of the big guys showing off their new product, which was a main hook why I went to these shows, but you definitely get exposed to a lot more product than you typically will at your average train show.

Was happy to see the halls dedicated for layouts (though you definitely feel that empty space in the purple hall), and there was no shortage of finding good deals of some of the more rare or prized items, both old and new.

@bluelinec4 posted:

My wife and her entourage were disappointed with the shopping in Lancaster so she told me she will not be coming in October  I had to show her my disappointment but underneath I was like Yessss  I get to go to the LCCA meet at Smokey Bones, The OGR meet at Quaker steak and Peter's breakfast meet at Round the Clock   And I can buy whatever I want without having to hide it in the car     I feel so bad she isnt coming

My heart bleeds for you Ben! I know how terrible you must feel that's she's not going with you in October.  I'm sure if you tell her just how much you'll miss her she may change her mind.

@Ted Bertiger posted:

I’ve been going to York each time since 1992 missing it once for illness and the 3 pandemic shutdowns. Still York is a GREAT show, maybe 2 halls smaller but still worth the trip.
Eddie g will start his weather report in October and the October countdown will begin a month prior.
I went for Friday only as my 18 year old Beagle was not feeling well on Thursday day and night and not well on Friday. So I zipped the halls in 6 hours and back home by dinner. Maybe he missed me as he bounced back to his usual normal 106 year old buddy! Unbelievable!
I missed Ben and his entourage. Did see a lot of folks but really could not engage in conversations much as my mind was quite concerned about my buddy.
See you all in October for Friday and Saturday.

Glad to hear he's OK!!!!  He's a great one!

@NYC Fan posted:

York has become my place to catch up with the friends I've made since first joining TCA at the April 1984 meet. I miss seeing Lionel, Atlas, Williams, TW Trainworx, OGR, Scenic Express and Miller Engineering. They were always some of my favorite places to stop.

Right there is the reason why many of the manufacturers don't attend York any more. It has become a big social event as opposed to an event where the action was centered on selling trains and making a few bucks. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that. Greeting old friends you only get to see once or twice a year is also an important part of this hobby.

This is the natural evolution of a meet that is sponsored by an organization that does not know how to attract new, younger members.

I have a lot of great memories from going to York. My first trip was 1976 and my last one was 2010. In 1976 I bought American Flyer. My wife and I opened our store in 1981. It was this year that I began buying MPC. I had two very good friends who did a lot of my buying. On the Sunday before York, they would have supper with us. It was at this time I would give them a list of trains that I wanted and how much I would pay. They would go to the flea markets on Wed and Thurs. and buy what ever they could. York was truly great.

York was fun as always. It's disappointing that a thread with a positive message about our hobby, unsurprisingly, get's a negative spin. I look forward to future events and seeing how the show continues to adapt. The YouTube Meet and Greet was a fun event and I was honored to be part of it. We had some great donations from Trainworld, the TCA, METCA, TrainZ, and a member of our crowd. We were able to give away two train sets to some kids in the crowd!

@Rich Melvin posted:

Right there is the reason why many of the manufacturers don't attend York any more. It has become a big social event as opposed to an event where the action was centered on selling trains and making a few bucks. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that. Greeting old friends you only get to see once or twice a year is also an important part of this hobby.

This is the natural evolution of a meet that is sponsored by an organization that does not know how to attract new, younger members.

I’m pretty sure the manufacturers like Lionel, Atlas, and Williams and magazines like OGR weren’t doing much selling when the event was bigger/younger.

It should be the big manufacturers acting as stewards of the hobby that are trying to get younger folks into the hobby.

The TCA only sells memberships… The manufacturers are the ones that need people to be interested enough to buy products.

Anyway, the holes left by OGR, Lionel, and others are now mostly filled with more dealers. So there are more trains to buy!

@rplst8 posted:

I’m pretty sure the manufacturers like Lionel, Atlas, and Williams and magazines like OGR weren’t doing much selling when the event was bigger/younger.

It should be the big manufacturers acting as stewards of the hobby that are trying to get younger folks into the hobby.

The TCA only sells memberships… The manufacturers are the ones that need people to be interested enough to buy products.

Anyway, the holes left by OGR, Lionel, and others are now mostly filled with more dealers. So there are more trains to buy!

seems it was a lot bigger / busier , back in the late 70's huge crowds then

@rplst8 posted:

I’m pretty sure the manufacturers like Lionel, Atlas, and Williams and magazines like OGR weren’t doing much selling when the event was bigger/younger.

You would be mistaken. OGR enjoyed gross sales well into five-figures at York in the 2002-2010 era. We sold many new subscriptions, videos, and a lot of Ameri-Towne buildings. Profits at that level covered all the costs of the show and left some dollars on the bottom line.  The last time OGR had a full booth at York, sales did not even cover the cost of meals, let alone the hotels and other expenses.

It should be the big manufacturers acting as stewards of the hobby that are trying to get younger folks into the hobby.

Are you saying that the TCA bears no responsibility for attracting young folks? If the TCA cannot get young people to come to the York meet, the manufacturers don’t have any young people to show their products to. And that is precisely why they are not there any more.

The TCA only sells memberships… The manufacturers are the ones that need people to be interested enough to buy products.

But someone has to provide an audience for their products! In this case, that's the EDTCA's job.

The EDTCA is the entity hosting this show/meet. If they cannot get new people to join their organization and show up for this meet, the entire nature of the meet changes to a social event, where old friends meet and greet, but very little buying takes place. That’s where they are now.

As I said above, there is absolutely nothing wrong with York becoming a social event. If that’s what the EDTCA wants, then that’s fine. But manufacturers don’t spend money to attend social events where there are no potential new customers.

Anyway, the holes left by OGR, Lionel, and others are now mostly filled with more dealers. So there are more trains to buy!

There ya go! There’s always an up-side somewhere.

Congratulations to Bob Buehler, President of the Eastern Division of the TCA, and his volunteers and crew for putting on this most enjoyable meet. Many of the OGR Forum members here, who may have some experience with participating in trade shows in other professions and avocations, recognize and appreciate all the hard work and dedication it takes to successfully run these type of events.

While I have attended approximately 45 previous York meets, this was the first one I have attended in 3 1/2 years. Thanks to all the detailed first-hand accounts by OGR Forum Members who attended the last several TCA York events, as well as the OGR Forum's advance reporting on what vendors may or may not attend,  I was pretty well mentally prepared for what to expect.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by all the activity in the Members Halls. Hopefully, that translated into sales for those actually selling. The O- and S- Gauge layouts were great. As reported by others, it was wonderful to see people in person and talk trains without using a keyboard!

Despite the evolving nature of this meet over many years, York is still a positive experience.

@Cmontagna posted:

York was fun as always. It's disappointing that a thread with a positive message about our hobby, unsurprisingly, get's a negative spin. I look forward to future events and seeing how the show continues to adapt. The YouTube Meet and Greet was a fun event and I was honored to be part of it. We had some great donations from Trainworld, the TCA, METCA, TrainZ, and a member of our crowd. We were able to give away two train sets to some kids in the crowd!

What the TCA needs is younger fellas like yourself, and Sid, etc, etc,. in officer’s positions at the helm, bringing fresh new ideas, programs, and institutions to the association, ……especially how you guys inject technology into the hobby that desperately needs it,…….still cater to the old school member halls, where e units buzz, and glossy tinplate rules supreme, but add more of the modern technology with phones, tablets, etc, running a railroad with the latest & greatest features,…..that will attract the younger crowd, ….IMO, anyways,…..you guys do a heck of a job, …..keep it up!!…..I’d for one vote for one you guys for TCA president….

Pat

Maybe York would attract more folks if it didn't require spending 50 bucks each (or 25 for kids) a year in dues just to attend!  That's money that could be spent on trains (or groceries).  There's no way I'd pay that kind of money just to be able to take my wife and kids to a train show. Young families usually can't afford to waste money like that (especially with the way the economy is right now).  I'll take my family to shows that don't require a membership just to enter.  Make York more accessible to young families and you might just capture more attendance from them

@Brian DeFazio posted:

There's no way I'd pay that kind of money just to be able to take my wife and kids to a train show. Young families usually can't afford to waste money like that (especially with the way the economy is right now).  I'll take my family to shows that don't require a membership just to enter.  Make York more accessible to young families and you might just capture more attendance from them

Exactly.  And add on a day off work unless you go Saturday when people are packing at 10:30.

@Brian DeFazio posted:

Maybe York would attract more folks if it didn't require spending 50 bucks each (or 25 for kids) a year in dues just to attend!  That's money that could be spent on trains (or groceries).  There's no way I'd pay that kind of money just to be able to take my wife and kids to a train show. Young families usually can't afford to waste money like that (especially with the way the economy is right now).  I'll take my family to shows that don't require a membership just to enter.  Make York more accessible to young families and you might just capture more attendance from them

If one parent joins TCA, they can take their spouse for $3 and all of their minor children to York for free.  And that gets them into everything.

I had 2 tables in the blue hall. Thursday was slow. I was getting worried, Friday the blue hall was crowded and I sold 3/4th of the trains I brought with me. As usual we, My daughter and I had a great show, great week. Bought a couple of goodies.

@Mallard4468 posted:

If one parent joins TCA, they can take their spouse for $3 and all of their minor children to York for free.  And that gets them into everything.

True, but unless you register early it cost 67.00 to attend a train show.  40.00 digital membership, 25 due, 3.00 for wife.  My oldest who is a senior in high school wasn't able to make it with sports but if he had that would have brought the total to 92.00 as even though he is in HS, he would have to attend as a guest one time as the cheapest option.  

What about offering your first year membership, digital only for free.  That would be way more inviting to new members in my opinion.  Likely many will join the next year.  Asking people to take off work and then pay a high price is two large negatives in my opinion.

I’ll add my wife and daughter have attended York for years.  Minimal cost.  
The kids corner area by the silver/blue hall had lots of children riding the train and playing.  It was free, and usually they had some little gift bags for the kids.  

How much does 3 MLB or NFL tickets cost you for something that lasts only 3-4 hours?  Been to a movie recently?   Easy $60 for 3 people for only 2 hours.   How about Disney?  $500-$600 for 1 day with 3 people.

Admission to York for 3 days for 3 people is under $75.  It’s a bargain.  

Great work ED and TCA.   Appreciate all u do

@steam posted:

Exactly.  And add on a day off work unless you go Saturday when people are packing at 10:30.

I understand the frustration the early packers on Saturday - not worth it for families - York was never really oriented toward families with children and ED needs to wake up.

When I started attending 30+ years ago, most members were still of working age and the halls were packed on Friday.  IMO, it's tragic that people won't use a vacation day or two for an event anymore - we spend way too much time working.

@steam posted:

True, but unless you register early it cost 67.00 to attend a train show.  40.00 digital membership, 25 due, 3.00 for wife.  My oldest who is a senior in high school wasn't able to make it with sports but if he had that would have brought the total to 92.00 as even though he is in HS, he would have to attend as a guest one time as the cheapest option.  

What about offering your first year membership, digital only for free.  That would be way more inviting to new members in my opinion.  Likely many will join the next year.  Asking people to take off work and then pay a high price is two large negatives in my opinion.

If that's the only reason for a person to join TCA, that's sad and unfortunate.  I maintain my membership not only for the meets, but for the museum (first-rate display of toy train history), research library (if TCA doesn't keep the archive, who will?), creation and enforcement of grading standards, in-depth magazine, the opportunity to meet with like-minded enthusiasts, and overall promotion of the hobby (granted, it needs to be better).  These are all things that one can't get from online sources.  If we don't pay for these benefits via membership, they will eventually disappear and we will all be poorer for it.

Maybe I'm too old school, but I think that we owe it to each other to contribute to organizations that promote things we enjoy and/or believe in.

@Mallard4468 posted:

If that's the only reason for a person to join TCA, that's sad and unfortunate.  I maintain my membership not only for the meets, but for the museum (first-rate display of toy train history), research library (if TCA doesn't keep the archive, who will?), creation and enforcement of grading standards, in-depth magazine, the opportunity to meet with like-minded enthusiasts, and overall promotion of the hobby (granted, it needs to be better).  These are all things that one can't get from online sources.  If we don't pay for these benefits via membership, they will eventually disappear and we will all be poorer for it.

Maybe I'm too old school, but I think that we owe it to each other to contribute to organizations that promote things we enjoy and/or believe in.

Well said.

Peter