2018 Spring Train Show Season for Upstate New York

Well said Matt. I too spent about 1 hour at the Dome. Spent about $250 on models and tools. It takes more time going through that place.

I know to skip all the scales I don't model and also all the HO stuff I don't buy (read - Athearn BB, Tyco, AHM, Model Power, etc).

Matt Langworthy wrote:It's a matter of perspective. A vendor will notice all the tables and the wide variety of products, while a customer tends to focus on his/her interests. In my case, I went to the Greenburg show in Rochester earlier this month to get a couple of new books. I did spend some time photographing a couple of layouts after purchasing the books (because it's always chase day!) and chatting with a local shortline engineer, then left the show for good after about 45 minutes. I don't have a layout, so those products for sale aren't of major interest to me. Hopefully, all of the vendors did well but I also hope they can understand the majority of the patrons have limited budgets and/or time.

Before I was a vendor, I was a buyer. Some shows I still go to exclusively as a buyer. I learned long ago never to assume anything, never to ignore a table, because you never know what you will find. You may not have to scan every inch of it in detail, if they have Lionel out and you're looking for HO, but just as an example I picked up a $225 loco for $100 from a Lionel table at the Utica show. Greenberg, I found a DCC Sound engine for about half what they usually bring on eBay. And both of those towards the end of the respective shows. What a box says on it and what's actually in it can be two completely different things.

Some guys are going to complain, no matter what, I guess, they don't care who the show benefits or if anyone makes any money from it - but they'll wonder what happened when the people running it stop holding the event.

With regard to the parking, I did comment on moving vendor's cars to the lower lot, I put mine down there and fell on my face on some ice walking back, but not too many others wanted to do that.

This Sunday's Batavia Train Show is at the new Robert Call Center at Genesee Community College from 9:30AM to 3:30PM . Admission is $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for age 13 to 18 and 12 and under free. This is a brand new arena like facility with well over two hundred tables and a number of new vendors. A college operated snack bar will also be open. The center is the large building on the west side of the parking lot. The college is just northeast of Batavia. Click on the "Map it" icon at http://www.gsme.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for a Google map and further details.

I found out the WASPS show in Webster is also this weekend; TTCS happened to share it on Facebook and say it's not a sale, just a display. Certainly it won't have any vendors on Sunday. Anyhow it's 10-5 Saturday and noon-4 Sunday at the Webster Rec Center.

New venue for Batavia is great, bright, big, clean, refreshments on site, plenty of parking too. Most people seemed happy with it, I didn't hear for certain exact attendance but thought I heard someone say in the 1500 range. Building is about like RIT's space, but without the bleachers and upper deck walkways. Nice easy load in and out, too.

I had about the same number of sales as previous shows, just no big spenders this time. Which, that happens - or doesn't happen - sometimes. Tons of deals and people dumping things which always hurts sales on new stock. I even bought five Kadee boxcars from a guy for $10 a shot.

So I paid to be back in the fall and we'll see how that one is.

Easter this week, so everyone is off, just a handful of events left this season. I already have flyers for a lot of the fall dates on hand.

The confirmation for the Rails Along The Mohawk show came today and they've made a change since last year; rather than have dealers on the upper level "island" and layouts in the lower level, the whole show will now be in the lower level, east wing where the layouts have been; the corridor that leads to the Fresh Basil restaurant (the red roof area visible in aerial pictures). Load and unload will be from a lot/doors on the southeast corner of the facility.

Presumably you can still enter from any of the doors, I believe the elevator is operational but the escalators have not been turned on in past years so if you don't do well with stairs you may want to use a lower level entry point.

One reminder, two shows this Sunday at opposite ends of the state:

4/8 – Buffalo (N. Tonowanda) – TTCS Spring Into Summer show, Knights Of Columbus
4/8 – Amsterdam – Alco T&HS Rails Along The Mohawk show, Riverfront Center

Not too many shows left, the only relatively major one is Lockport, I haven't seen anything for Ilion Funtrak yet. Their website hasn't been updated since March 2017, the venue seems to have no active website either.

I do see the Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society has a free event April 21, LVRR Memorial Night photo exhibit and slide show at their museum in Shortsville. Starts 4:00 PM. This is an event Guil Mack put on at his home in past years and from 2-4 he'll have an open house to tour his model railroad in Phelps.

http://trc.trains.com/events.aspx?page= ... id=1755396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll be done for the season after Sunday; I've discussed before why I pass on Lockport, just too much expense for me even to try to do it one day. After this I switch over to car show mode, I am thinking of bringing the CMW rack, the tray of used HO and the Tichy rack with me though, along with a crate or two of other things.


Some folks with the Oswego Valley club are looking at doing a summer train sale, outdoors, a sort of train garage sale, bring your own tables deal. I guess a dealer up there used to do something like that and people liked it. At this point it probably will be 2019, as it's a little late to advertise it at other shows.

Amsterdam was very good and very busy most of the day, then coming in spurts, someone turned on the money spigot and even with one dealer majorly dumping things I did very well, better than several of the two day shows from prior in the season. This even though it wound up with some tight aisles and dark lighting conditions in that wing of the mall. Everyone else around seemed to be pleased with their sales. One dealer came up from New Jersey somewhere, I had never seen before.


I never did get to look for flyers so still no idea if Funtrak is doing their show this year. I would presume no at this point.

Looks like I missed a show. As part of the Maple Fest there is a small show in the Marathon station. Just posting for future reference. I should have remembered this, I did it once, but that was back when there was still a train to ride. It's a fairly low-key part of the events down there and usually ends up conflicting with something because of the way dates shuffle around with Easter.

But if I post about it on this thread I have it for reference next year.

Don't forget the Lockport show this weekend, Keenan Center, both days.

That's it for this season, the next upstate NY shows are in September.