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  • Very Early 2020 Fall Train Show List For Upstate NY

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1552227  by lvrr325
 
I talked with the promoter for the Binghamton show and it's currently cleared to go with the venue, the liquor license isn't an issue as they don't serve in that room.

I also see on Facebook the Utica show will decide on theirs probably at some point between late October and late November when they would send out the mailers. Glad to see they're holding off as long as they can.

Just a few minutes ago tonight the Scranton folks posted they've cancelled their show for the fall. It was going to be Oct. 25th. "In accordance with the current state guidelines for Covid 19 that regulate indoor gatherings" tells me probably keeping the room at whatever capacity number the state picked out of the air made it impossible to hold.
 #1552486  by lvrr325
 
The Scranton folks should have held off another week. A federal judge in PA today struck down the capacity limits and most of the other rules in place for the state, which I believe the indoor gathering limit (25) was what prevented them from holding that show. Whether or not they'll change their minds, who knows, if I see something I'll post it here. Worth noting places holding outdoor gatherings have been ignoring their limit (250) for months now. Been there, seen it in person.

I only mention it here as a reminder people should be waiting to the absolute last minute to cancel whenever possible. While NY judges generally side in the opposite direction as this ruling, things can still change to your favor on very short notice.
 #1553561  by lvrr325
 
I found out last week the Bull Thistle club decided not to have a show in Norwich this year, which resolves the conflict issue.

It's kind of too bad, with an average of 15 vendors and attendance of around 100 I think they could have made that one work within current NYS rules. But that could all change on a whim too.
 #1554636  by lvrr325
 
As expected the fall Batavia show has been cancelled per the GSME web page. That's basically the last domino to fall for major shows.


Essentially that makes the fall season two shows -

Fulton on Nov. 14-15 and Binghamton on Nov. 28.

I think the only thing that would stop Fulton is a snowstorm, but Binghamton it's possible if the city becomes what they consider a hot spot they'll be unable to hold it. We'll see.
 #1555333  by lvrr325
 
Some updates -

Amherst/Springfield is cancelled for 2021. No details but I presume the same reason as many others.


Greenberg however has managed to get some shows going, with three confirmed dates and two tentative. The only one close to the coverage of this list is a tentative date Edison, NJ on Nov. 28-29. They'll know by Nov. 10 if it's happening.

The other shows are a Greenberg in Monroeville (Pittsburgh), Great Train Shows in Dayton and Indianapolis, and a tentative Greenberg in Chantilly VA (more or less a western suburb of DC). Almost tempted to do the Dayton-Indy combo.
 #1556517  by lvrr325
 
Despite {REDACTED} new restrictions the Fulton show is still on for this weekend. Unknown with regard to Binghamton.

I fully expect more January and February cancellations though. Greenberg was unable to put together the Edison show they planned for Nov. 28-29. Also FWIW the Poughkeepsie show that was scheduled for Nov. 8th was cancelled as well.
 #1556683  by lvrr325
 
In any case, I have a new date to include, literally just now found out about it.

The folks at the East Aurora Auction and Expo Center have decided to hold a show on the weekend that Hamburg normally would be, November 21-22. It's 9am-3pm both days and they're only charging $5 admission. The address is 11167 Big Tree Road (route 20A) which is just east of the village. My guess is it's a small show but their flea market and antique mall will also be open. I may look into trying to go out there.

I've never been to this flea market before, I thought about it but Google Maps seemed to think it would add 45 minutes of driving for me to try to get up on Sunday and run over there and then back to the Erie County Fairgrounds, so I wouldn't have much time to really look around. Presumably some of the old Super Flea vendors are in here now.

What's curious is the post I found on the Oswego Valley group's Facebook page implies this is not their first show, complaining that a previous one was "lightly attended". Well, yeah, if it was the same weekend as someone else, I'm sure it was. I don't recall seeing flyers for it, but there's like 38 shows in that market to try to keep up with. More detective work for me to sort out.

In any case, because this is part of a flea market it's unlikely it will be cancelled, although that is certainly still possible. The website is eastauroraevents dot com if anyone wants to go and wants to check that it's being held.
 #1556724  by lvrr325
 
Anyways, the first day of the Fulton show was ... well, I don't know what to compare it to or if it's fair to compare it to anything. With no other shows to put flyers out at they lost a ton of advertising, so the attendance was pretty low; plus it's in a new location from previous years. It's now in two rooms and some felt like maybe people weren't making their way into the second room, which was a large set of truck bays with two modular layouts and half a dozen more dealers inside.

I thought maybe it would be busier with no other shows, but it's also likely many assumed this too would be cancelled.
 #1556784  by lvrr325
 
Anyways, a post-mortem on Fulton was basically a repeat of Saturday, I think perhaps a lighter crowd, I didn't catch the numbers. I can't complain, really, I'd say my costs and sales were on par with the last couple of Batavia shows I did. They have a few issues to work through, teething issues with the new venue, but I think they'll get it sorted out. I kind of wish I could do this show every year, it's a lot easier drive. If I have the Saturday open next fall I may see about getting a table just for the one day.


I can kind of do a Spring 2021 post, but I'm still thinking on how best to do it, or if I should do it at all.

It's easy to go through and give the dates based on past years, although we already have one that looks to have gone two weeks later than normal from what I hear today. Another show is up in the air not only because of the Covid situation but due to the venue they use somewhere in the process of being sold. And the big Springfield show we already know is cancelled.

There's probably no rush to put it together other than to have something out there so that if people need to change a week or what have you they know that normally show X is on date Y, so check to see if that show is going to happen before you choose to move to that date.

Already potentially looking like one conflict now, but it's so early maybe that will change.

If I had to guess, unless something major changes it will be more of the same as the fall - shows at state run facilities won't happen, TTCS will cancel, large events like Hamburg and Greenberg will not be able to come up with an acceptable social distancing plan, and you'll be left with a handful of small shows like we have for the fall. Guys are going to need to change their whole plan of attack to make an event happen and get creative, and from what I see a lot of these clubs are either set in their ways and don't want to change, or they're stuck with a venue that's subject to whatever the rules are based on the whim of people who think a virus wears a watch to know to come out more at night.
 #1557659  by lvrr325
 
Binghamton went off without a hitch, although there were about four cancellations. Crowd however was down by at least 2/3 to 3/4 of normal. In addition to the nonsense, it was opening day for deer season in PA and of course a holiday weekend.

I did well enough to make it worth the effort, and I will more than make up for the difference on eBay the next couple weeks with flip stuff. Plus I found an LV lantern in my price range. So I can't complain. I didn't expect to set records. I'm just grateful someone had the fortitude to stand up and actually follow through and do one of these events.

That's probably going to put a cap on this thread. I'm not aware of any other shows this year that have not been cancelled, although so many of them still rely on flyers it's hard to know if they're going to try or not.

I will probably start a new thread for 2021 once I hear if Utica is happening or not. I can do a full post based on past years, but I'm thinking about if I even want to do the normal format given even if shows are announced they could get cancelled just as quickly as they were planned.