The Great Scale Model Train Show at Timonium, MD, is one of the East Coast's largest and most popular events. I attended the show on February 5, 2011, one of a handful of N scalers who, like me, slunk around furtively, looking for N scale stuff amidst the profusion of HO. Let me start out by saying that I am trying VERY HARD not to have a chip on my shoulder about being an N scaler in an HO world. My reactions... 1. The show was gigantic. Hundreds of tables and dozens of layouts. Three huge, blimp-hanger-sized rooms. I only had about five hours, and didn't see everything. I was thrilled by the size of the show. Hey, if N scale is 20-30 percent of the market, that should be reflected in the show, right? 2. Well, no. There was little of direct interest to N-scalers among the vendors -- no N scale company reps, and only about 20-25 vendors with any N scale stuff. These fell into three categories. 2A. Hobby shops with N scale stuff. The usual. Kato, MTL, Atlas. 2B. HO vendors with a few junk boxes of N scale stuff. 2C. A couple of vendors with MTL offerings of interest to collectors. 3. Despite the paucity of N scale offerings, there were treasures to be found, including some blue-label collector's items going for $10 each (I saw the same items at another table for $80-$150), some of the beautiful old Rowa passenger cars, and some built structures for kit-bashing. Finding this stuff took serious digging. In junk boxes. There were a few other N-scalers there. They wandered, like me, looking for little jewel boxes (and only rarely finding them). As time went on, the impression began to build. It was almost as if the entire show amounted to a very direct message: "You made a terrible mistake choosing N scale. It is tiny. Invisible. All you found were a few boxes of junk! Ha! See? Come to us. Come to the Dark Side of the Force. Admit your mistake!" Later, I said to my wife, "I think I made a big mistake choosing N scale." I can't believe I said that. I'm not going to any more train shows. At least, not this one. --Bryan
It's okay, let it out.... I've been to many train show in the past 20+ years, and I've been an N scaler the whole time. I've been to lots of shows that I drove 200 miles one way just to discover that there isn't enough N scale to fill a baby's shoe. But the trend the past few years has been more and more N scale. In fact, the last show I went to had so much N scale that I spent more than triple my budget, and could easily have doubled that. Don't be discouraged, not all shows are winners.
you looked it the wrong places. I was there for one with more then a table of just N scale building kits and sales were good. Plus a few other kit cutters had N scale, in fact the ones that had N were about the only ones with any sales other then Bar Mills. HO kits were not selling . Long live N scale. But you are right the "junk dealers" had lots of HO for sale, but then that's what most estate sales have. rich www.rslaserkits.com
For it's size, the GSMTS is still a regional show and I've never seen a manufacturer rep there. I also never saw a manufacturer rep at any of the DuPage County shows in Illinois and those went monthly. The only time I see manufacturers is at Train Fest in Milwaukee and at the WGH shows in Chantilly. Beware of the blue laber collector stuff going for $10. I looked at one car and the trucks were weathered. I considered the car for the box and the liner but for collector value, forget it. (Those are the same guys who sold me a Z scale GP35 that was "dead." They had run it for so long the crud lifted the contacts from the wheels. When I cleaned it, it ran. I just have to do some adjusting.) There were some interesting layouts in various scales and the 1:8 scale SD40s were very cool. The weathering on the big scale guys' stuff is worthy of note regardless of scale. Personally, I think it is the best regularly scheduled show in the D.C. area - better than Greenberg Shows. (I did score a couple of JnJ Atlas covered hoppers.) I did find one episode of upselling that bothered me. There was a vendor selling carrying cases for $10. I can use a case for some cars that don't have boxes so I decide to spring. Then I find out they charge extra for the strips that go inside and that N scale needs an extra pad. Now my total is $13.60 plus tax. That kind of frosted me. If you have ever been to MCAS Tustin and seen the blimp hangers, those show barns don't begin to compare. Andy Tetsu Uma
Is there anything in Southern California that compares. I know that the Pomona and Ontario shows were useless for the serious buyer of N scale. I have about reached my limit of what I would like to have in N scale. GP60M & B's being about the only outstanding thing desired and even with that, all I have to do is finish saving for the purchase and I am there. fatalxsunrider43
The WigWag comes to the show in Del Mar (San Diego) at Christmas time. This pretty much is why I go to any shows at all. Find out where the WigWag is, and that's a show to attend!
Thanks Tony ! Maybe I can PM you my phone # and if you find out when Wig Wam show happens, you can send me a smoke signal, I mean phone call, okie doke ! fatalxsunrider43
I went to the Timonium show on Saturday just to look at the layouts. I find I get ideas from looking at what others have done no matter what the scale. After checking out the layouts I walked around for a couple hours and didn't find anything I wanted to buy, so I left the show drove about two miles and went to ¤¤¤¤¤s. No wheres near the floor space of the exhibition hall at the fair grounds, but they may have had more N-scale stuff in stock then the entire show.
Actually Southern California, and the entire West Coast for that matter, is very N-friendly. The Anaheim show had some cool stuff. Yes, Wig-Wag was there (In California they only go to the Del Mar Show in December and the Anaheim show in January). I asked George from Wig-Wag which of the shows they go to are their most successful in sales and he flat out told me, "Anaheim, hands down...it's our biggest show of the year by far." The second being the Del Mar show and the 3rd and 4th are the two shows they do in Colorado. Another good show that has a good amount of N scale is the Golden Empire show in Bakersfield, the next show is March 12-13 at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Also in terms of N, not all N scalers are the same. Some like modern trains, some like the older stuff. I personally think everything N scale made before 1990 is crap and refuse to buy any loco or rolling stock made before then, but other longtime N scalers think some of the older stuff is classic gold. If you're new to N-scale, I think the best thing is to either join or at least get to know people in an N-scale club. They know "the scene." There might be some shows that you don't even know about that are rich in N scale. I went to a model railroad swapmeet last year organized by one of the local clubs -- to my surprise, 65-70% of the trains there were N scale. Why? The club itself -- (Belmont Shore Model RR Club) is an N-scale club. Also the aforementioned Golden Empire club in Bakersfield -- an N scale club. To the original poster - you did NOT make a mistake in going N scale. All is not lost, you really just have to know "the scene."
I never been to this show, but last week I was in Springfield MA for the show up there. 1/3 of a million square feet in four convention halls makes this the largest show in North America. There are tons of company reps and dozens od N scale vendors. If you make a weekend of it, you will not be disapointed.
Wig-Wag posts their show schedule on their website. They are coming to Hershey this year (which is a real haul for them). It was great when you-know-who came to the show. Lots of stuff and they give you a 5% off coupon to use in their store. Coupon good only that weekend. I usually buy my new stuff from an OHS so there is very little of the new releases that I need. I do like to find the deals (even if it isn't my line) like the Atlas FM Trainmaster with DCC for $50 and occasionally something turns up for my own (CB&Q) line. I will agree with the exception of Micro-Trains. My old MT cars are the same as the new ones with the exception of the wheels. I've got some old stuff from other manufacturers that I can't give away. Andy Tetsu Uma
Bryan, one way of looking at this is that N scale IS very popular. N-scalers are hanging onto their items and buying more of them. HO has been around for generations, and some of those older generations are now passing, allowing tons of HO onto the market. I wouldn't draw conclusions about being in the wrong scale. You're in the scale you like (I'm also an N-er), but it is popular, hence not much action in the used side. The shows here are about 80% HO, 15% Lionel, and maybe 5% N. But if you are willing to dig a bit, you can find some N deals.
Maybe someone from the Timonium show will see this thread and consider expanding their horizons. As others have pointed out, some train shows do a great job of balancing the various scales and have plenty of N scale items. But don't be so focused on your own scale that you miss the benefit of seeing nice layouts in other scales. Besides the fun of watching trains go 'round, you can pick up ideas for track plans, benchwork, scenery, weathering, operation, staging, control, backdrops, etc.--all of which apply to N scale.
Used to be a time when one could go to a show with the reasonable expectation of returning with some good deals. Those days are long gone. A group of us used to make the trip to Timmonium twice a year. It's about a 450-500 mile round trip. No more. Everyonce in a while I will hear of some estate sale or pick up stuff at flea markets for ridiculous prices like Atlas PRR passenger cars for $2.00 each. But other than that I have two E-tailers where I purchase my stuff. So Train shows are no longer on my agenda with two exceptions, they being the NScale Weekends at Bedford, PA in August and Columbus, OH in May. There it is all N scale. No HO, O, S or G. Besides it's a good time.
I feel your pain. I have paid to enter and then found zero or next to nothing in n scale after being told there would be "lots" of n scale at a show. I have driven to shows in California just because there is more n scale at those shows than all the n scale combined at all the LHS in Arizona.
Yea...Arizona is tragically anemic when it comes to N scale. Almost as anemic as Model Railroading LHS's themselves...:tb-sad::tb-wacky: .
True indeed! For me, the most impressive layout at Timonium was the Western Maryland historical association's HO layout. The whole layout is a textbook, in effect, in how to model a prototype railroad. --Bryan
Junk boxes and layouts are the reasons that I go to shows, anymore. The GF likes GREEDbergs, so I will roadtrip for those. It is something to do, and it keeps GF and me out of the shoe store, the dress shoppe and the accessories boutique. I would rather drive three hours and spend four more at a train show than drive fifteen minutes and spend two hours at the shoe store, dress shoppe or accessories boutique. The last one must have been invented for the sole purpose of torturing the American Male. At least the first one has a place to sit and you can read the paper. The second one usually has a 'guy chair' or two where you can catch up on your napping. The accessories boutique is so crammed with overpriced junque that they can not put a 'guy chair' anywhere. But I stray. I found that I needed more flatcars, so I found some old MTs and Red Caboose flatcars. I found a nicely cut down RR Pullman. All I need do is strip it and repaint for my non-historic, Short Creek and Nopedale. I might even get away with not puttying the seam; the original owner did that good a job of cutting it. I will probably use putty, though. I was disappointed that I could not find some Virnex/Stuart traction tyres or some Microscale black ornate lettering sheets, but maybe the next show. I have found thirty dollar Kato F-units, forty dollar MDC 2-8-0s and all sorts of other good items. Every once in a while I will walk away with nothing, but usually it is from a GREEDberg. GF usually finds all sorts of stuffed Tweety Birds at those shows, so it is worth the trip just to see her happy. The Timonium is mostly an HO show, but I have always found something. To be sure, there are those vendors who have the same overpriced junque that they lug from show to show and wonder why they never sell anything, but every once in a while even they have something worth buying. There is this one vendor who sells all sorts of older HO building kits and some trains who does have some N scale, but he thinks that his merchandise is far more valuable than it really is. He wanted seventy five bananas for an old AHM Reading Company Q-1b. He tried to push it on me. I told him that the thing was worth no more than five dollars and that only for the shell. That made him angry. Still, he came upon some old packages of Kato parts, including detail packages for the USRA heavy mikado. He gave me a really good price because I bought everything that he had of the packages that I wanted. It is much like what Filene's Basement used to be (there was only ever ONE Filene's Basement, it was in Boston--those 'basement stores' just DO NOT get it, never did and never will). You got some pretty good bargains, but there were times when you would walk away with nothing.
Ya, I felt a bit (H)Overwhelmed by the amount of HO stuff at the Springfield show. As we walked through the corridors My GF asked "where is the N Scale area?". I asked her to "just keep your eyes pealed for the "small boxes". Still, I have no desire to change.
