In a previous article, I wrote about attending Model Railroad shows and explained that there are typically two types of shows. The photo that accompanied that article was a photo from a show that several clubs had come together to put on for the public. That type of show is specifically designed to inform the public about the hobby.
The type of show that I am going to discuss here is one that is designed primarily for the hobbyist to release his penned up buying impulses at!
There are several promoters of these types of shows that come to major cities around the country 3 or 4 times a year in each city. The shows consists of independent dealers that just go to these shows and have no other retail locations, therefore they can offer items at substantial discounts. The shows normally also have some large hobby shops, as well as, manufactures represented.
These shows are really beneficial to the serious modeler looking for specific items. Most of these shows have a large selection of dealers that deal in old Lionel and American Flyer trains to dealers that specialize in hard to find and discontinued models in all scales.
One of my favorite sections of these shows is the area set up for the kids. At the shows that I attend here in Metro Atlanta, there is normally some type of “kiddie train ride” for the children to enjoy, as well as, layouts set up for children of all ages. These layouts typically are set up by local clubs and include everything from a large Lego’s Train layout, the Thomas the Train layout in “O gauge” specifically for the children to layouts in “G, O, S, HO & N” Scales for the rest of us children at heart!
If you live in a major metropolitan area, these shows can draw crowds of 10,000 in a 2 day period. The shows will receive television and newspaper coverage in many instances.
As you can see from the pictures with this article, these shows are big and they manage to bring out the “kid” in all of us!
