FUTURE O SCALE NATIONALS

[E7]

Reading through the reports on the recent National in Maryland, I noticed that next years OSN will be essentially on top of O Scale West which makes no sense to me.

There is O Scale West and "The" Chicago March meet, not to mention Indy (but I will for Dan cause he's a good guy) and NOTHING for the EAST coast. What we really need is an annual LARGE East coast show.
Does plopping a "National" show on top of one like "O Scale West" really generate significant amount of more attendees than normal?

I for one will never get to the left coast, and I doubt I'll ever bump into Turner east of the Mississippi. Any comments?

It's a BIG enough PITA getting to stuff that is relatively close, not to mention thousands of miles away. No more free whine!

[rrjjf]

Gentlemen,

t is my opinion that the days of a true O Scale National Convention drawing a large attendance are over. Travel costs and airport security contribute to this but the real fact is we 2 Rail O scale modelers are diminishing in numbers and many of those of us who remain active in O scale have enough model railroad equipment to keep us happy for the rest of our lives. How many O scale modelers under the age of 40 do you know?

I attended the Rockville O Scale convention last week and had a good time and the meet was well organized but the trading halls were never crowded with attendees. My estimate that the attendance was around 300 O Scale modelers, some possibly 3 rail scale folks. Years ago when I first attended an O Scale convention I believe the attendance was easily between 500 and 600.

In this area (MD, PA,VA) we are fortunate that John Dunn hosts the Strasburg PA O Meets 3 times a year and they satisfy my urge to look at O scale items that are for sale and a provide a place for me to discuss my 2 rail conversion services I may go to the Cleveland area show this year but it may be the last time for that one also.

My big purchase at the convention was four angled number board castings for my Railtex RS-3.

Joe

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Reading through the reports on the recent National in Maryland, I noticed that next years OSN will be essentially on top of O Scale West which makes no sense to me.

There is O Scale West and "The" Chicago March meet, not to mention Indy (but I will for Dan cause he's a good guy) and NOTHING for the EAST coast. What we really need is an annual LARGE East coast show.

Strasburg @ ~100 tables 3 x's per year addresses a lot of that; draws attendees from Ohio, Carolinas, and NY (New England). I'm perfectly happy with a more frequent event than a large yearly one. Might have to miss a single event, but I can reasonably count on making Strasburg.

Does plopping a "National" show on top of one like "O Scale West" really generate significant amount of more attendees than normal?

Unknown, but they will find out and I suspect are counting on it. OTOH, the Indy meet tagged itself for a few years as an O scale Nat'l convention and that was just a laughable exercise.

I for one will never get to the left coast, and I doubt I'll ever bump into Turner east of the Mississippi. Any comments?

I may go, but only to take 7-10 days with my better 1/2 to do other things a few days before and after. Does make buying much of anything large problematic, but as Joe notes there is probably very little that I really need in any way.

It's a BIG enough PITA getting to stuff that is relatively close, not to mention thousands of miles away. No more free whine!

Indeed, just finding the basics is becoming difficult. But, I generally can find them at Strasburg and then maybe the yearly sojourn to Chicago.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Gentlemen,

It is my opinion that the days of a true O Scale National Convention drawing a large attendance are over. Travel costs and airport security contribute to this but the real fact is we 2 Rail O scale modelers are diminishing in numbers and many of those of us who remain active in O scale have enough model railroad equipment to keep us happy for the rest of our lives. How many O scale modelers under the age of 40 do you know?

Few, but were there ever many under 40 at any time? My involvement was pretty much on full hold until my mid-40'2 before I could spare the time for this hobby.

I attended the Rockville O Scale convention last week and had a good time and the meet was well organized but the trading halls were never crowded with attendees. My estimate that the attendance was around 300 O Scale modelers, some possibly 3 rail scale folks. Years ago when I first attended an O Scale convention I believe the attendance was easily between 500 and 600.

I'd concur with your estimate on attendance; the room I was in was at times quite crowded. Your room was all the way in the back and that location might have lessened your attendance there. Oh yes, I noted quite a few 3 rail scale folks about.

In this area (MD, PA,VA) we are fortunate that John Dunn hosts the Strasburg PA O Meets 3 times a year and they satisfy my urge to look at O scale items that are for sale and a provide a place for me to discuss my 2 rail conversion services I may go to the Cleveland area show this year but it may be the last time for that one also.

I agree regarding Strasburg. Cleveland table costs preclude my attending for a show of that size.

[Jay Criswell]

...but it's okay if modelers from the West have to travel 3000 miles to attend something on the East Coast? It's always going to be a PITA for somebody. Aren't there numerous shows east of the Big Muddy?

So I'll probably never attend a show east of Chicago. Way too far to go!

Maybe we should have the National smack dab in the middle. That way more folks can bitch.

Jay

[E7]

...but it's okay if modelers from the West have to travel 3000 miles to attend something on the East Coast? It's always going to be a PITA for somebody. Aren't there numerous shows east of the Big Muddy?

NO! All that I am aware of is the 3 SMALL shows at Strasburg and a show in Cleveland which is more Central than East. The only time there is a show of any SIZE (at least that I'm aware of) is when a National lands in the East. Ya got O Scale West every year and the Chicago March meet for the Midwest, for the East (unless there is a National there) ZILCH. You can attend O Scale West EVERY year. If I want to attend a larger show, more often that not, the closest major show is the March meet which is an 11 hour drive in potentially crappy weather. Can you say lake effect snow? And the west end of the PA turnpike can be a real b*tch in the Winter. I don't know how the weather has been for the week of the March meet, but sure as Murphy has a law, all Hades would break lose the first time I went. I'm done with long drives in the Winter.

So I'll probably never attend a show east of Chicago. Way too far to go! Maybe we should have the National smack dab in the middle. That way more folks can bitch.

Jay

You miss the point: What I am advocating is an annual LARGE show located somewhere in the East totally independent of the National show. The National can move around as usual. Nowhere is it written that you have to attend any show. Did you go to Maryland this year??????

[E7]

And Rufus,

As I recall, you mentioned that you sold a record amount of stuff at the National......maybe there is something to be said for larger shows???

[Robert]

Some of us are travelers, and some are not. If a show is more than about 75 miles away I'm not interested at all...since as had already been pointed out by others...I too have plenty of O Scale stuff already, and more will not help me at all. Mail order is my friend these days.

Robert

[E7]

Some of us are travelers, and some are not. If a show is more than about 75 miles away I'm not interested at all...since as had already been pointed out by others...I too have plenty of O Scale stuff already, and more will not help me at all. Mail order is my friend these days.

Robert

Understood! I have become allergic to looking through the windshield for loooooong periods of time. There would obviously be NO chance of you heading to Chicago or CA, but maybe a slim one of you going somewhere in the EAST?????

[Rufus T. Firefly]

And Rufus,

As I recall, you mentioned that you sold a record amount of stuff at the National......maybe there is something to be said for larger shows???

Last year at the Nat'l I sold $0.00 That's right - ZERO. There were more vendors than attendees. Having a Nat'l guarantees nothing.

I tend to do reasonably good in Chicago. Indy is usually ok.

3 weeks ago in Strasburg I did rather well, surprisingly well actually given that the August show is rather unpredictable in all dimensions

[Robert]

Some of us are travelers, and some are not. If a show is more than about 75 miles away I'm not interested at all...since as had already been pointed out by others...I too have plenty of O Scale stuff already, and more will not help me at all. Mail order is my friend these days.

Robert

Understood! I have become allergic to looking through the windshield for loooooong periods of time. There would obviously be NO chance of you heading to Chicago or CA, but maybe a slim one of you going somewhere in the EAST?????

Seriously no chance Rich...I drive an hour to an hour and a half tops.

Robert

[E7]

Seriously no chance Rich...I drive an hour to an hour and a half tops.

Robert

Robert,

Trust me, I understand completely where you are coming from, and the older I get, the more I am leaning in your direction.

I once drove 1100 miles in one whack! Those days are GONE!!!

[bob turner]

I love an occasional transcontinental drive. Cannot stand the local rush hour traffic.. Fixed it so I am always going the other way.

[Chris Webster]

Strasburg @ ~100 tables 3 x's per year addresses a lot of that; draws attendees from Ohio, Carolinas, and NY (New England). I'm perfectly happy with a more frequent event than a large yearly one. Might have to miss a single event, but I can reasonably count on making Strasburg.

If I were promoting a swap meet, the last thing I'd want is someone with your avatar announcing they were coming.

[E7]

I love an occasional transcontinental drive. Cannot stand the local rush hour traffic.. Fixed it so I am always going the other way.

Getting from point A to point B is generally a drag (unless the scenery is spectacular) but traffic is, no doubt, the worst part of driving.

Today I went to see friends who live about 1 hour away circa 40 miles, and saw two different drivers run red lights. I have no doubt that the first of the two will either soon be involved in an accident or get a citation. The second of the two was stopped at a light when I pulled up. After about a minute, they took off, even though the light was still red. This occurred at a series of lights and I'm guessing they might have been looking at one of the lights in the distance that had turned green.