LINKS AND PHOTO TOURS - THE GREAT SCALE MODEL TRAIN SHOWS

The last show where weather worked for us was October 2003. We almost had this fall show in the bag when weather changed. We just had flurries all day at Timonium and nothing stuck, but just 10 miles north.....a whole different ball game. We again lost most of southern PA, NJ and NY not to mention all of New England and parts of Virginia. Then Sunday was beautiful which is also a curse coupled with the Raven's football game.....a bigger curse!

We know there were several other shows in the northeast last weekend, and we are sure they had similar problems. The good news is that this lousy weather can not keep coming on show weekends.

We often joked about human sacrifice to the weather gods, but what and who do we sacrifice? Someone suggested a politician, but it is a no brainer to know that the good lord would not accept this as a gift. Mimes??? Great idea!!

The numbers: Saturday was 1567 paid and total attendance was just under 2000. Sunday was 864 and total attendance was just over 1000. Add another 150 or so who returned from Saturday and we had a 3200 attendee weekend. Normally this show should bring over 4000, but normal was eight years ago!

It is indeed unfortunate that so many did not make this show as we had one of the best selection of dealers and goodies for sale that we have seen in a long time. Dealers had great prices and we had many individuals cleaning their closets.

Our newspaper ads worked well this time as we collected many offering the discount. One winner of our lifetime pass was well into his 80's and has promised now to make it to 100 so he can get full value from his win. We also hope this comes true.

February 4/5 is shaping up nicely and the almanac is promising decent February weather, but possibly November and December will be a bitch....as will the first two weeks of January.

As in all public events, theft is a problem. We had reports of items stolen. This is why we encourage vendors to bring as many helpers that will fit in their van, car, or whatever. Hell's bells.....even put them in your trunk as we will never charge for them. This is your only defense against bad guys.....eyes!!! We do have a professional police officer during all shows in plain clothes. One simple call will bring him running.....and he is a big and mean critter!!!! Some may remember when he chased down the crook who ripped off Ken Rideout three years back. The bad guy did do time and we take no prisoners when caught!!!

Hope you all have great holidays and we look forward to seeing you back in Timonium Feb. 4/5.

Matt passed away last Monday at home in Elizabeth City, NC. Matt was 75 and had attended our shows for the last 25 years offering brass models and general HO merchandise. Matt tried retiring from trains about two years ago, but that only last a few months as he was soon back with his usual 7 tables and enjoying every minute of it.

Prior to trains, Matt had retired from the Coast Guard with the rank of Lt. Commander. He was a pilot flying mostly HU-16's and C-130's. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

The Fairgrounds gave us a break in pricing due to our tremendous loss last February, so we are passing this onto to you.

· Every vendor will receive one free table for every four paid-for tables.

· If at a show you register and pay in full for any future shows, you will receive a $5 per table discount.

· If you pay for the whole year (next 4 shows) up front, you will receive a 25% discount for all four shows!!!

· If you get 1-3 tables for 4 consecutive shows, you get an extra free table on the fourth show!

These policies are for two day vendors only!!! You one-day folks ... please understand that we appreciate your participation, but this is primarily a two day show and our cost remains the same whether the table is used for one or two days. This, besides the need to give Sunday-only folks their money’s worth, is why we limit Saturday-only folks to 5% of the show tables.....thus a typical show of 700 tables will have a maximum allowance of 35 one-day tables.

Howard Zane
5236 Thunder Hill Road
Columbia, MD 21045
410-730-1036
hzane1@verizon.net

NOTE ABOUT ALLOWED MERCHANDISE

As the ranks of the vendors are dwindling a bit, we have somewhat relaxed our standard as to what is allowed – and obviously have gotten TOO relaxed about enforcing those standards. NO MORE!! This is and will remain a “model train show” – it is not a flea market! If you are selling non-model railroad or non-railroad related items, do not register for future shows! We will ask vendors to remove these items if displayed, and possibly to take down and leave the show. IF YOU FEEL YOUR ITEMS ARE MARGINAL, CALL FIRST FOR A RULING ABOUT WHAT IS ALLOWED! Here are some hints:

     -       NO Barbie dolls (not even one!)
   -       NO jewelry unless it has a train on it
     -       NO beanie babies
     -       NO antique toys unless they are trains
     -       NO superhero or action figures except Casey Jones
     -       NO LEGOS unless they are trains
     -       NO Transformers unless they are power packs!
     -       NO Disney stuff
     -       NO Dinosaurs
     -       NO souvenir lunch boxes
     -       NO NASCAR items except those in model train scales
     -       NO monster figures except that the Japan layout has
                 special dispensation for Godzilla and Mothra.
We would rather have a smaller show about model railroading than a flea market of junk.