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Been going to York for the better part of the past 20 years and yesterday when setting up a few engines to run remembered that I got these from VINCE'S TRAINS. He had some great deals and one of if not the best table in the Orange Hall. I do miss his and his deals, as well Trainpop was there.

As the York landscape changes just curious what do miss at York that used to be there

Steve 

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I get nostalgic for the yellow and gold halls.  Crowded and chaotic, but they had a lot of character. 

I miss the array of new products from the manufacturers that are no longer there.  Weaver, Aristocraft, K-Line, Pride Lines and Arttista all come to mind.

Gone too is the Green Hall and the gentleman with the homemade trains.  My sons were young then.  Every York they would always head to his display to push those trains back and forth.

Mostly I miss those York friends that have passed.  However, I'm thankful for the memories and the chance to have known them.

Time moves on and things change.  The great thing about York is the opportunity to have new experiences and make new memories.  Still anticipate these meets even after attending for a quarter century.

Ted R posted:

I get nostalgic for the yellow and gold halls.  Crowded and chaotic, but they had a lot of character. 

I miss the array of new products from the manufacturers that are no longer there.  Weaver, Aristocraft, K-Line, Pride Lines and Arttista all come to mind.

Gone too is the Green Hall and the gentleman with the homemade trains.  My sons were young then.  Every York they would always head to his display to push those trains back and forth.

Mostly I miss those York friends that have passed.  However, I'm thankful for the memories and the chance to have known them.

Time moves on and things change.  The great thing about York is the opportunity to have new experiences and make new memories.  Still anticipate these meets even after attending for a quarter century.

Just curious.. what kinds of engines were the homemade engines? I know a guy who made his own CNJ and Reading camelbacks as well as PRR E6's. 

RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:
Ted R posted:
......................

Gone too is the Green Hall and the gentleman with the homemade trains.  My sons were young then.  Every York they would always head to his display to push those trains back and forth.

..................

Just curious.. what kinds of engines were the homemade engines? I know a guy who made his own CNJ and Reading camelbacks as well as PRR E6's. 

Not to speak for Ted, but I think it was trains made from tin cans (like large instant potato cans).  He had a stick with a hook that he would latch on to the engine and then push the train down the tracks.  Pretty unique.

I miss Yellow a little (but not the weird pattern you had to walk to make sure not to miss anything!), but I'm sure the vendors do not at this point.  I recall both Joe Grzyboski and Nicholas Smith crammed into one of those side vendor booths, with overflow just on some tables across the aisle from their booths.  They each probably have 7-10 times the space they used to have. 

I'm sure Lionel and MTH don't miss their old setup either.  I think most vendors were very pleased with moving to the Orange Hall and the booth model offered for display space.

-Dave

Last edited by Dave45681
C W Burfle posted:

There was a vendor who set up barbeques and cooked beef right on the premises. I think it was by near the black hall. I really liked their sandwiches.

I don't know if it's the same one, but there is still a BBQ vendor that regularly sets up a grill near the Silver/Blue entrance (Memorial Hall sign), towards the road that leads over to Purple/Orange.

-Dave

That is an easy question.......The concession stand under the Yellow Hall near Greenberg's Books.....they had the best cake donuts with rich chocolate icing!

Vince's Trains.

Marty of Ma & Pa Trains.

Beth and Public Delivery Track

There was an older man who always sold books on RRs, transportation and military topics in the Purple Hall year after year..... I always found something neat there.....and then the next York he was gone....I hope he just retired....

Rails and Shafts....I believe the owner passed. The successor company did not last very long.

Peter

Last edited by Putnam Division

Alexander's Restaurant......an easy walk from the grounds.  

Also have been missing Dennis from Arttista in recent York meets.  I will always remember that at one of his last participations in Orange Hall, he displayed one of his new figures that I'd been asking for for a few years....the guy looking through binoculars...who now proudly stands at the rail atop my forest fire lookout station created from an old Lionel 395 tower.  Elsewhere....TBD...will be his twin brother checking out the sunbathing neighbor.

Also, I miss Bill Parisi (OGR staff)...because he helped me at an April York meet plan an expanded version of the Ameritowne Midtown Hotel to hide a basement support post .   He was taken to glory I believe in June of that year....a mere two months later.  His guidance for the project was spot-on ...for which I will hold a special place of gratitude in my heart.

Yeah, I miss Vince's Trains, too.   We...wife and I...bought our share of engines and passenger cars there.  I always wondered why they didn't provide complimentary 'drool' towels at the booth's entrance! 

Finally, I miss the full gamut of ED-TCA's York rules....including bans on cameras, cell-phones, etc..  Yeah, you heard me!!  ()   

"Why!?!?", you say?

Because I miss those regular announcements over the PA, shocking us out of our railroader's reverie, reminding us of the plethora of no-no's...and wondering why appeals for personal hygiene and hefty fines for crop-dusting weren't included.   It was the stuff that minstrels of yore would've written a tuneful ditty about to celebrate its heroic effort!........With a 'Hey-diddle-diddle-hi-ho'!!? 

York meet....better for you than pork meat!  

Can't wait!!!

KD

In addition to the many things mentioned above, I also miss the joke announcements over the PA system.  Some of them were quite funny, and some made me do a double-take in wondering if I actually heard what I thought I just heard.   They kept me on guard and actually paying more attention to the announcements.  After a while, I just tune out announcements about arrows and such if that is all that is being announced.

Andy

Bob posted:

The sprawling bandit meets, especially the one at the Billy Budd that ran down the side streets were fantastic.  Grab a beer and a hot dog and look at trains, what a couple of days.  Sad to say, all gone now.  The Thursday opening of the TCA meet was very effective in killing them off.

I'm with you on that one, Bob! I truly enjoyed spending a couple of pre-meet days at those bandit meets.

W&W posted:
Dmaxdeere87 posted:

I love the orange hall don’t get me wrong but miss the grandstand building underneath and the Lionel tent! 

I second that!

I third it!  Those are exactly the two things I thought of when I read the excellent topic question.  The Yellow Hall was really something in its day.  I used to love looking at the offerings of that guy who made really nice refinery models.

I also miss talking and laughing with Tony Lash and his son Duke, spending time with some departed friends (e.g., Al Otten) and many others.

I don't miss TGIF, mail-only badges, and expensive hotels with no real options.

Fun thread.

Steven J. Serenska

For the EDTCA meet it's very easy, the Friday night auction with the wood slat, folding chairs.  Sometimes the temperature thermostat on the central air system didn't work real well and it might be chilly.

But overall, I miss the large selection of bandit meets.  It was an exciting mixture of chaos, fate, fantasy, and humanity.  

Dave45681 posted:
RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:
Ted R posted:
......................

Gone too is the Green Hall and the gentleman with the homemade trains.  My sons were young then.  Every York they would always head to his display to push those trains back and forth.

..................

Just curious.. what kinds of engines were the homemade engines? I know a guy who made his own CNJ and Reading camelbacks as well as PRR E6's. 

Not to speak for Ted, but I think it was trains made from tin cans (like large instant potato cans).  He had a stick with a hook that he would latch on to the engine and then push the train down the tracks.  Pretty unique.

I miss Yellow a little (but not the weird pattern you had to walk to make sure not to miss anything!), but I'm sure the vendors do not at this point.  I recall both Joe Grzyboski and Nicholas Smith crammed into one of those side vendor booths, with overflow just on some tables across the aisle from their booths.  They each probably have 7-10 times the space they used to have. 

I'm sure Lionel and MTH don't miss their old setup either.  I think most vendors were very pleased with moving to the Orange Hall and the booth model offered for display space.

-Dave

Yes, those were the trains.  Everything was homemade including the tracks. 

I miss buying direct from Mike Wolf under the grandstand, and the G gauge prototypes that Aristocraft occasionaly sold in the Gold annex. Also the ROW layout in the Gold annex too. 

RockyMountaineer: That was the Sodl's stand. Good breakfast and lunch at a reasonable price. 

Most of all, I miss my stamina to walk through all the halls in one day!

Lou "Mr. TCA" Redman, member # CM-3

Once, during a sort of lull in the proceedings on a rainy Saturday morning, I saw him just standing at his table, looking out over the Blue Hall attendees, with sort of a wistful look on his face.  I said to him "Look what you have created...incredible!"  He nodded modestly, and all he said was "Yes...it's great, isn't it?"

RoyBoy posted:

Sodl's is gone??

 

Rumor was it was supposedly being eliminated to install bathrooms for that building.  As of April, there was nothing to be seen but an empty space where the food stand used to be.  Projects at the fairgrounds can be slow sometimes I guess.  (or the rumor was just a rumor)

I guess we shall see if anything has changed next week.

-Dave

I agree with all the sentiments recorded here. All these experiences are what has made the York Meet the great event that it is. 

For me the thing that never changes is the excitement building up before the Meet. The looking forward to just the grandness of the Meet, seeing all the trains, buying some of them, and most of all seeing and catching up with forum members, friends and family that attend the Meet. Talking trains, happy greetings and having meals together. 

Even though I will miss this York Meet, it truly is a stress reliever and mini vacation that I really enjoy. 

Have fun everyone, and I’ll see ya there in April!

CHOO-CHOO MIKE posted:

  The evening auction at the fairgrounds .

Several yrs back I liked watching the auction until I entered a set of excellent condition postwar Congressional cars  in the auction. When they came up for bidding, the bidding was over before you could blink. He must of had a buddy bidding on them who really wanted them. They sold for $450. At that time they should've brought $700.- $750. easy.

The AOL Bbqs under the carport between the grandstand and the open field that became the Orange hall after we were banned from the fairgrounds after 5 Bbqs. Grown man drinking beer, talking trains. Dangerous folks doing that! The food we cooked was far better than the garbage served on the fairgrounds. Sitting around on coolers talking trains and stories to the wee hours of the night and Mike Newcomer(let him rest in peace) telling us stories and laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Those were the good ole days from 20 years ago.

I know Allan Miller will chime in about those days.

Ted R posted:

Gone too is the Green Hall and the gentleman with the homemade trains.  My sons were young then.  Every York they would always head to his display to push those trains back and forth.

Made of soup cans and coffee cans, those trains had a character of their own.  I enjoyed stopping by the Green Hall and chatting with that fellow. 

I miss the AOL dinners at the Viking club with the late great Stirling Woodham (I hope I got his last name right.) as the M.C.  And as Ted mentioned it was always fun to talk to Mike Newcomer there too. May they both rest in peace. If only there was a Hall of Fame for York people!

I also miss the Green Hall it was a great place to find a bargain, because nobody knew it was there!

RoyBoy posted:

Sodl's is gone??

I miss the AOL spaghetti dinners in the (VFW?) hall a few blocks away. K-Line would debut some of their newest offerings there.

It was the Viking Club, and that was a huge amount of fun.

I also miss the announcements for the Ethics Committee meeting hosted by Bob Grubba 

Paul

100_0141

I also miss the Grandstand meet up

DSC06455

and of course the hospitality ... for bonus points whose face is that on the right?

DSC00910

and of course - the Lionettes

DSC02921 [2)

Paul100_5803

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Last edited by Railrunnin
Railrunnin posted:
RoyBoy posted:

Sodl's is gone??

I miss the AOL spaghetti dinners in the (VFW?) hall a few blocks away. K-Line would debut some of their newest offerings there.

It was the Viking Club, and that was a huge amount of fun.

I also miss the announcements for the Ethics Committee meeting hosted by Bob Grubba 

Paul

100_0141

I also miss the Grandstand meet up

DSC06455

and of course the hospitality ... for bonus points whose face is that on the right?

DSC00910

and of course - the Lionettes

DSC02921 [2)

Paul100_5803

Looks like the famous  Jim Barrett.

Bill

Beth Marshall with Public Delivery Track. and....

The no cell phone rule. Before flaming me, let me explain. Since the rule changed, I have made the mistake of leaving it ON. That opens me up to calls from work. A few years ago while I was at York, my (now) BOSS called and gave me 15 minutes to be at work. I'm from Richmond, Va.

He was none too pleased when I explained that I might be able to make it to my car in 15 minutes. 

Last edited by Gilly@N&W
Gilly@N&W posted:

Beth Marshall with Public Delivery Track. and....

The no cell phone rule. Before flaming me, let me explain. Since the rule changed, I have made the mistake of leaving it ON. That opens me up to calls from work. A few years ago while I was at York, my (now) BOSS called and gave me 15 minutes to be at work. I'm from Richmond, Va.

He was none too pleased when I explained that I might be able to make it to my car in 15 minutes. 

a) If your boss doesn't understand the concept of "vacation day", you need a new boss or a new job.

b) What would have happened if you were on vacation overseas?  (They would have figured it out.)

c) Well, if you hadn't called in "sick"...

d) Two words:  Caller ID

Mallard4468 posted:

a) If your boss doesn't understand the concept of "vacation day", you need a new boss or a new job. On call 24/7/365 w/o any premium comp.

b) What would have happened if you were on vacation overseas?  (They would have figured it out.) Overseas vacation is beyond even discussion.

c) Well, if you hadn't called in "sick"... The vacation days had been scheduled since January (this was the October meet)

d) Two words:  Caller ID Two words, flip phone. Open, and busted!

All great ideas. My solution is to retire 2/1/18. Updated: I retired 1/31/18.

I have had Friday 10/20 on the vacation schedule since January. I might know Thursday if I am going. Right now, I'd give it no better than 50/50 odds. Updated: Ultimately found out Wednesday that "it just wasn't convenient". (I ended up having to eat the motel cost for Thursday night).

Last edited by Gilly@N&W

Arthur, the gent you are talking about was Lyle Cain of Lyle Cain enterprises.  He sold the Toonerville Trolley and related items in the Yellow hall.  The Yellow hall was lots of fun.  I still have my trolley today that I purchased from him.

This will be York number 75 for me.  I have seen many come and go over the years.  I thought about composing a story about my years at York.  Back when I started the halls opened at 0800.  I could do every aisle in every hall and be done by noon.  I laugh when I hear rookies making statements about York slowing down.  

The first person I met at York was a young kid named Mike Wolf.  Mike introduced me to Lou Caponi.  We were all car guys and a great friendship was born.  My good friend Louie is gone and I think of him often.  He did great work for the LCCA.  Today Al Kolis has done a great job as Louie did before him.  I miss those who have passed and value very much the great friends I see every York.  

Gilly, I was very lucky as I always had great bosses at work.  When they needed someone to cover, I was the go to guy.  They were all aware of what York was to me and we all worked together.

It has been a great run.  

Last edited by Marty Fitzhenry

This is my 66th straight York and I have loved everyone. I miss the friends I have made and have passed away. 

There is one person I miss more then life itself and that is my brother Ron who passed away last Christmas. we attended every York together and had allot of fun talking trains. It's just not the same without him. Miss you bro. 

Dave

I attended every York Meet from 1982 thru 2013 but I only will be a going on occasions due to not being as young as I was and I used to be. I really miss members who were friends that I would see at York who are no longer around. And Beth and Rachel Marshell of Public Delivery Track. Rachel lived on the next street from me when I was a kid and was also my sisters best friend.

I think he only brought it once, but Neil Young's HORDE layout.  (I forget which meet, but I think 1998)

That was a phenomenal display to see at York.  Glad I was there for it for it's single appearance.

Also the Big Mo (MTH layout in a trailer) display that Harry Turner used to bring (Harry also no longer with us unfortunately).

-Dave

Not sure about all the love for yellow - I'll take orange over it any day.  Bad lighting, bumping into girders, etc.

When did the change from yellow to orange occur?  There is a gap in my York attendance from about 1994 to 2003. 

I also miss the woman who sold decals.  I think she had rubber stamps too.  IIRC, she couldn't reach an affordable licensing deal with Lionel.

Dave45681 posted:
Mallard4468 posted:

...............When did the change from yellow to orange occur?  There is a gap in my York attendance from about 1994 to 2003. ...........

Wikipedia claims it opened in September 2003, so if we trust that, it would be the October 2003 meet was the first using Orange.  (I didn't try to double check  with old York meet flyers).

-Dave

Seems like only yesterday -- certainly not 14 years ago.  But I guess that makes sense.  Toyota must have had a ten-year arrangement, and it's already been a few years now that the Utz sign has been on the building.

Wow!!! Time IS really marching on.  

Not sure about all the love for yellow - I'll take orange over it any day.  Bad lighting, bumping into girders, etc.

The Yellow hall certainly was smaller than the Orange. The opening of the Orange hall as a dealer hall heralded the explosion of dealers at the York meet. Whether that was good or maybe not so much, is all a matter of perspective.

Since we are taking about halls, when did the Silver hall open?

Also, another place I miss at York: there was an Italian restaurant, I think it was called Anthony's. I always had one dinner there during the York show. It closed a number of years ago.

C W Burfle posted:
.......................

Since we are taking about halls, when did the Silver hall open?

Also, another place I miss at York: there was an Italian restaurant, I think it was called Anthony's. I always had one dinner there during the York show. It closed a number of years ago.

The York Expo Center site indicates the Memorial Hall building was expanded in 1995. 

On the topic of other restaurants no longer there:  There used to be something called either the West Side or West Shore Steakhouse (not sure if I am subconsciously mixing the name with West Side Lumber ).  Also more recently, Damon's closed a while back.

-Dave

"Arthur, the gent you are talking about was Lyle Cain of Lyle Cain enterprises.  He sold the Toonerville Trolley and related items in the Yellow hall."

Marty, yes, I remember that gent, too. He usually wore a navy blue conductor's uniform.  But Lou "Mr. TCA" Redman was definitely the gent in the center of the action in the Blue Hall with whom I spoke.  He was wearing his trademark beige railroad-themed three-piece suit, probably made from some curtain material his wife found in a Woolworth one day.

Dave45681 posted:

I think he only brought it once, but Neil Young's HORDE layout.  (I forget which meet, but I think 1998)

That was a phenomenal display to see at York.  Glad I was there for it for it's single appearance.

Also the Big Mo (MTH layout in a trailer) display that Harry Turner used to bring (Harry also no longer with us unfortunately).

-Dave

Yep, Neil Young's display was awesome, the engine had a camera in it which was connected to the jumbo tron screen outside. I heard he also would set it up at one of his concerts.  That weekend Neil signed a tee shirt my son was wearing.

I remember the orange hall opening in time for the October 2003 meet.  That was the one where Lionel introduced Railsounds 5.0 and the JLC H7 locomotives.  At their booth they had individual stations with locomotives on rollers that you could try with a Cab-1.  One of them was the new NKP TMCC Berkshire.  When I tried it and pushed the whistle button I was blown out of the hall; it was to me, and still is, one of the best sounding locos ever made.  I went right over to Gryzboski's booth and bought one.  My dad was with me, and we had a lot of fun. 

I do remember the outside tents and still miss them, it was always fun to see what was inside! 

Great thread!   

Trussman posted:

Yep, Neil Young's display was awesome, the engine had a camera in it which was connected to the jumbo tron screen outside. I heard he also would set it up at one of his concerts.  That weekend Neil signed a tee shirt my son was wearing.

Funny story regarding signatures at that event.....

I forget if it was the VHS video that they had for sale or maybe a Lionel catalog, but my dad got into the idea of having Neil sign something from the meet. 

So he sees a gentleman dressed in railroad overalls operating the layout and asks him to sign.  The man replied that he would sign it if he liked, but his name was Larry!  He then pointed out where Neil was standing.

BTW, while I did not attend any concerts, I believe that was the whole premise of the layout was for his tour with his group HORDE at the time.  I don't know how many concerts there were or if the layout went to all of them or just certain ones.  That's also what led to the HORDE boxcar that you still see sometimes.

-Dave

Last edited by Dave45681
Ted R posted:

.......Mostly I miss those York friends that have passed.  However, I'm thankful for the memories and the chance to have known them.

Time moves on and things change.  The great thing about York is the opportunity to have new experiences and make new memories.  Still anticipate these meets even after attending for a quarter century.

That's solid gold, right there, applying as it does to life itself.

FrankM.

I miss being there.

My enjoyment and part of what I miss of the TCA Meets @York included starting each day quite early. I enjoyed the quiet times I spent dozing and waiting at sunrise for everybody else to arrive, each morning, having driven from my Holiday Inn Express room in Lancaster while it was still dark, to avoid any traffic and to get myself into this parking slot close to the big roll-up door of the Orange Hall. I often needed quick access to the car during the show.

This shot was taken from inside my vehicle, looking out the driver's window, left, toward one of the Orange Hall's parking lots (Brown Hall on the right).........

photo 1[1)

This was the view through the right side of my vehicle, facing east....

photo 2[1)

I really miss the wonderful customers, for whom I have always been grateful, who would almost wipe me out of displayed inventory before 20 minutes had passed after our hand-over-the-heart singing of the National Anthem opening. It was a thrill needing to go to the car, later, to acquire the inventory of Insta-Ramas I had kept in reserve.

photo 2OH

And of course, having friends such as Allan Miller, Jim Elster, Roy Baker, and Eliot (Scrapiron Scher) come by my little booth to make a pleasant and cheerful fuss over my latest work was the perfect start for each Meet. That really mattered a whole lot to me, their friendly and encouraging voices, and of course , the developing friendships themselves, which meant and mean so much to me.

And finally, speaking just as a vendor and modeler, having a few big customers, such as Richard Kughn and a couple others, swoop into the booth, late on a Friday, or early on Saturday, wave a hand over all that I had remaining in my booth, and say, "I'll take it all," was fantastic! Such good fortune used to make me wonder if I would still have to remain at my empty booth if customers had bought everything before Friday finished or Saturday arrived. The wondering was fun in itself , man-o-man!

Yes, I miss the excitement of it all, every person  who greeted me at my  booth and looked around, and which, at times, meant having the work of this simple English teacher's hands accepted and taken home to layouts and included in the happiness there.

Thank you, TCA, Thank You, Debbie Geiser, who was always patient with my many questions, and Thank you, customers, who, after every Meet, left me with no inventory to take home. That was a feeling of accomplishment I cannot describe to you. I miss  all of you. It was great, great fun.

FrankM, Layout Refinements, and Moon Township, USA

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Last edited by Moonson
Dave45681 posted:

I think he only brought it once, but Neil Young's HORDE layout.  (I forget which meet, but I think 1998)

That was a phenomenal display to see at York.  Glad I was there for it for it's single appearance.

Also the Big Mo (MTH layout in a trailer) display that Harry Turner used to bring (Harry also no longer with us unfortunately).

-Dave

Anyone ever see any pictures of this...? Be interesting to see.

I suspect I'm one of the few here that have actually been to a few H.O.R.D.E. shows - although I don't think Neil Young & Crazy Horse was playing an of the ones I saw. I recall them being latecomers to the H.O.R.D.E. tours.

I do own a HORDE boxcar!

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