Very Early 2020 Fall Train Show List For Upstate NY

[lvrr325]

I did this early only because I can confirm about 2/3rds of it and some of the cancelled spring shows may want to try to hold a fall show. Can either bump it back come fall or if I have more confirned dates I'll make a new post. For this thread, please only chip in if you can confirm a date or confirm a show is not taking place.

And if anyone wants advice on a date feel free to PM me.


I'm going to do the unconfirmed in italic/blue/purple (I picked the wrong color and not going to edit it back) with some notes to follow.


September -

Weekend 9/12-9/13 - Clayton - Thousand Islands Model Train Show, Cerow Recreation Park Arena.
Weekend 9/12-9/13 - Buffalo - Buffalo Central Terminal Train Show
Sunday 9/20(?) - Buffalo (Orchard Park) - TCA Upstate NY Chapter Train Show, Legion Post 3740
Weekend 9/26-9/27 - Massena - Train, Toy and Collectible Expo, Massena Arena

Flyers exist for BCT and Massena but I don't have them in front of me. Labor day is the 7th and both BCT and Clayton are usually the weekend after. The TCA show, logically would be that date, assuming it happens at all.


October -

]Sunday 10/11 - Buffalo (Depew) - TTCS Buffalo Falling Leaves Train Show, Polish Falcons
Sunday 10/18? - Olean - TTCS Autumn In The Southern Tier Train Show, Olean Intermediate-Middle School (date TBD)
Saturday 10/24 - Port Jervis - Tri-States Railway Preservation Society Annual Show, Port Jervis High School
Sunday 10/25 - Kingston - Kingston Model Train & Hobby Show, Murphy Midtown Center
Sunday 10/25 - Scranton, PA - Scranton Model Train Show, Lackawanna Station Hotel
Sunday 10/25 - Buffalo (Cheektowaga) - TTOS Train-o-rama, Pvt. Leonard Post

TTCS Depew per website. Olean TBA per website; 18th is guess based on last year's date. Kingston at this point I would be shocked if it happens at all, it's been cancelled the last two years running and may have lost their date in the venue. I don't know if Port Jervis has a show or not, the website never changes, I've never seen or heard from anyone who went to it. Scranton yet to update but almost always the Sunday before Halloween. Train-o-rama also educated guess.


November -

Weekend 11/7-11/8 - Syracuse - CNY NRHS Great New York State Model Train Fair, NYS Fairgrounds Center of Progress
Sunday 11/18 - Poughkeepsie - Hyde Park Station Annual Train & Hobby Show, Mid Hudson Civic Center
Weekend 11/14-11/15 - Fulton - Oswego Valley Model Railroad Club annual show, VOLNEY FIRE DEPARTMENT NEW LOCATION
Sunday 11/15 - Batavia - Great Batavia Train Show, Genesee Community College
Saturday 11/? - S. Glens Falls - Upstate Railroad Modelers Train Show, Chase Sports Complex
Saturday 11/21 - Albany - Albany Train Show, Polish Community Center
Weekend 11/21-11/22 - Hamburg - WNYRHS Greater Buffalo Train & Toy Show, Erie County Fairgrounds
Saturday 11/28 - Binghamton - Binghamton Regional Train Show
Sunday 11/29 - Rochester - TTCS Rochester Thanksgiving Train Show, Radisson Hotel Rochester Airport
Saturday 11/? - Norwich - Bull Thistle Model Railroad Society Annual Train Show, Broad Street Methodist Church

Syracuse per website, Poughkeepsie per website (note one week earlier), Fulton per their flyer, Batavia per website, Binghamton per phone convo with Jeff Olin; TTCS Rochester per website. Albany per phone convo with promoter. WNYRHS announced the date at the Feb. show but no updates online. But it's always that weekend, I feel safe in confirming it.

Norwich unknown, Binghamton is on their usual date (only available date at their venue) so I presume they will move it a week one way or the other

S. Glens Falls I've no idea. This show in 2019 moved back a month from 2018 and had usually been opposite RIT, I would guess it will not be opposite the Albany show since they share from the same dealer pool but if it goes back to December we'll find out when they announce it.


December -

Sunday 12/6 - Albany - Great Train Extravaganza, Empire Expo Center
Sunday 12/6 - N. Tonowanda - TTCS Trains In The Tonwandas show, Knights Of Columbus (date TBD)
Weekend 12/12-12/13 - Rochester - 12th Annual RIT Tiger Tracks Train Show, Gordon Field House
Weekend 12/19-12/20 - Buffalo - Broadway Market Train Show
Weekend 12/19-12/20 - Niagara Falls (Sanborn) - Train Show, American Legion Hall, 6525 Ward Rd (rt 429).

GTE per website, TTCS per website, RIT per website, Broadway educated guess, Sanborn I never heard if it did anything to be repeated or not.


And of course this is all subject to change because of the (expletive) virus.

[Benjamin Maggi]

December -
Sunday 12/6 - Albany - Great Train Extravaganza, Empire Expo Center

As a quick correction, the GTE will be held at the Empire State Convention Center where it has been held for years. If possible, please update your list accordingly. Thank you.

[lvrr325]

I can't edit it now, can a moderator fix that?

[lvrr325]

Just a quick update, I happened on the flyers for BCT and the Trainorama, both dates are correct, Sept 12-13 for BCT and Oct. 25th for the Trainorama.

And of course at this point all of these should be considered tentative pending decree of the King in Albany -

I had planned to redo and repost this as more dates came in but at this point I will probably wait until August to make a new post as presumably by then we'll have a handle on things and have some idea if these events will actually happen and what nonsense we may have to go through to attend them.

[Izzy0575]

They just announced that the Syracuse train fair will be held in the new Exposition center at the fair grounds for November 2020

[lvrr325]

Wonder what that's going to cost them. Supposedly they weren't going in there because of cost.

[traingeek8223]

Just a heads up and this is in no way official but the rescheduled "Rails Along the Mohawk" Amsterdam Show has been "penciled in" for October 4th. We have reserved the date with the venue but it is entirely dependent on restrictions on crowed size as to weather the show will be able to go on or not. Gatherings of 50 people or less does not make a good train show. Once a better picture of what the world will be like in the fall materializes we will make the official announcement.

[lvrr325]

Looks like a good date choice, doesn't interfere with anything local. Should we get back to actual normal it could be a second fall date.

There's zero information on Phase 4 guidelines anywhere, most of upstate should hit that by July 1 or so.

I presume by October we'll be at Phase 63 and maybe you can have 500 people in one place at a time.

[traingeek8223]

lvrr325 The date picked was not an accident and I thank you for continuing to keep all these shows organized here to as a quick reference.

[lvrr325]

Just going to throw this out there, I sense some potential for RIT show to be cancelled. I see several schools are adjusting their schedules and so forth for the fall semester and I see many are just terminating classes at the Thanksgiving break. Usually what one does, others hop on the bandwagon. I would presume if they do this, there's no classes and no kids on campus, then they won't be able to use the facility either.

Let's be clear I've heard nothing or seen nothing about it, this is just my opinion the possibility exists.


Now Batavia which is the other show held at a college, is before the break. In theory they should still be able to hold the event, although what rules they may be subject to will be another story.

GTE in Albany is also at a state facility so will be subject to whatever whims the rules makers want to have. I think the other events are in the clear so long as the average attendance in an hour doesn't exceed whatever arbitrary limit they set on gatherings. You may see things like say Amsterdam spread out to more floor space and eliminate the center row of tables down that wing of the mall.

[nydepot]

What they are doing is:

Classes start whenever in August. No breaks until Thanksgiving. Then break. Go back after Thanksgiving but classes are online (basically quarantining everyone to dorm rooms.) Classes end in December and head to Christmas break.

Classes start in January but because they've been home, classes are online, at school. By early Feb, classes are back in person. Later spring break but when they come back, online classes again until May .

[lvrr325]

It's entirely possible things could change by then, too. it's too early to say, I'm sure the club themselves has no idea at this point.

I just wanted people to be aware of the possibility.

[lvrr325]

I can report the Thousand Islands Train Fair in Clayton is cancelled. Just got off the phone with the promoter.

The NRHS Model Train Fair at the Fairgrounds is also cancelled, I just found out.

BCT has nothing either way on their website, but I'd almost be shocked if they have it. Erie County's a tad behind in the phases and I haven't kept up with what they're allowed to do there.

There's probably no sense in trying to make a new list yet. Things change on a daily basis sometimes for no logical reason; today the King issued a statewide edict that penalizes all bars for the problems down in the NYC area. Fonda Speedway mysteriously banned from having any fans even in a drive-in section because county-wide cases went from like 110 to 130. Some tracks have never really been able to open at all.

It wouldn't shock me if just about every one of these shows ends up cancelled save maybe Fulton and possibly the smallest one day shows. It will depend on what limit there is on indoor gatherings, since even a show like say Binghamton the vendors alone add up to 25 people. You'd need to have at least 100 inside for it to make any sense.

But even that number limit makes no sense, it aught to be people per so many square feet of space, because 25 people in a bingo room is way different than say 25 people in the Center of Progress building. Nothing makes any sense and I don't expect it to start any time soon.

[lvrr325]

BCT show appears to be on, they updated with info, with Covid warnings and all.

I will probably try to get a table. Nothing else going on now -

[lvrr325]

Add the GTE show in Albany Dec. 6 to the cancelled list, per mailed letter today. Not surprised given it's in a state facility. Officially it's because they feel they can't put on a safe show, but I'd be shocked if there's not more to it.