MODEL TRAIN SHOWS . . . WHY? 

Howard Zane & Ken Young

Participants in model railroading know and understand that this is “The World’s Greatest Hobby,” but how do others find out about model railroading?  This subject is probably the most important and least discussed in the hobby today.

Going back half a century to the 1940’s and 50’s, things were much different.  Don’t panic yet . . . this is not a doom and gloom article, actually just the opposite!  At no time in the history of this hobby has there ever been such a wonderful and complete selection of products as is offered today, and in scales beyond HO.  The main problem is, to whom to sell these huge runs of excellent products?  Where are the new model railroaders coming from?

A BIT OF HISTORY

A trip back in time would find model train or hobby departments with operating display layouts located in department stores, both large and small.  Most hobby shop parking lots were usually crowded and on Saturday mornings, dozens of two wheeled Schwinns, J.C. Higgins, and new 3-speed imports from England could be found scattered in front.  Their young riders were inside spending their weekly allowances on the latest kits….be it trains, model airplanes, or boats.  Our local hobby shops during this period sold mostly trains.

In a short walk to the depot you could find all types of trains with steam locos on the point and, yes, them newfangled contraptions that were called diesels.  Folks of all ages were inspired and many wanted to imbibe this spirit, if not in reality, then with scale model railroads.

During this period just after the big war, just about every house with a young boy had some sort of train set clicking off scale miles, be it in the basement, attic, spare room, garage, and, yes, around the Christmas tree. 

From a town serviced by rail and depot, a traveler could purchase a ticket to just about any place in the U.S. also serviced by a station, through the many large rail hubs.  Many traveled this way.  Not only did adults enjoy this, but kids and adults competed for the window seat.  Remember the thrill of gliding through rail yards, seeing equipment on sidings, passing on-coming trains, getting a glimpse of the loco as the train rounded a long curve and then, of course, the brass ring . . . the engine yard and roundhouse.  These were our seeds.  And today?

OUR HOBBY TODAY

The hobby is quite alive and well today, but different.  We are fighting a battle of attrition.  We just don’t know the ratio of folks entering to folks leaving model railroading.  A simple look at NMRA membership figures and some declining magazine subscriptions are sobering but not definitive, as trends do change.  Two excellent publications have recently closed their doors, but there are other popular model train magazines that have increased their readership.

Buying and marketing have most definitely changed. On-line buying gets stronger each year.  Once, mail-order purchases were made because of lower price and the unavailability of hobby shops within a reasonable driving distance.  Today, coupled with on-line auctions, the internet has captured a huge percentage of today’s model railroad dollar.  The frightening thing is that the items being bought on-line are the things that keep hobby shops prosperous.  You will not find items such as tools, paint, track and accessories, glue and basically all of the essentials needed to build a model railroad on the internet, and most certainly not on eBay!  Good hobby shops stock these items and usually do not turn much of a profit from selling these staples.  It is more of a service to the hobbyist that, hopefully, will gain their future loyalty.  There are, of course, the shop owners who complain bitterly about this and do eventually close their doors, and there are the proprietors who understand today’s trends and will establish an excellent on-line presence in addition to improving their stores.  Then there are the ones who will be the trend-setters.  Unfortunately, there are too many in the first category who just will not join the 21^st Century.  As the number of hobby shops dwindle, fewer newbies are exposed to this hobby.  Most Internet purchases are of items that the buyer knows of and is hunting for.  A retail presence is needed to present this hobby in the flesh to “outsiders” and make them into  new model railroaders.  Stores -- and of course model train shows -- have walk-in attendance.  Many who are new to the hobby or have heard about it for the first time will attend one of these shows or find a hobby shop to further satisfy their possible new interest.  Seeing a photo or reading a price list on line is not going to attract new folks to this hobby.  Seeing the item first hand and learning about it will capture their interest.  As the number of hobby shops decrease nationwide, all that is really left to present model railroading to the public are club open houses, or acquaintances in the hobby, or magazines on newsstands (rare today other than in hobby shops), and of course, the several fine model train shows throughout the country.

MODEL TRAIN SHOWS began several decades ago and were then known as “swap meets.”  These were mostly held in small fire halls, school gyms, and armories.  Most shows had a flea market presence and offered tables to individuals thinning their collections, offering custom services, or trading.  The serious dealers during this time still sold from their stores; they took years to discover these shows as a good venue.

Most of these early shows were mainly populated with tinplate models (Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx).  Even today, the local fire house train shows are still plentiful and basically the same, and still a lot of fun to visit.  A show with over 150 tables was rare indeed, and most admission fees were in the $2.00-$3.00 range with tables around $10 for the day.  Shows would begin at 9 am and start closing down just after 1 pm.  Attendance was usually in the 500 range, but some drew close to 1,000 such as the many train shows held in eastern Pennsylvania during this period.

Mega-shows started on the scene about 30 years ago due to the organizers’ willingness to spend big dollars in promoting and advertising.  This is what makes a small show into a large show.  There are several of these mega-events today, drawing literally thousands of attendees.  Since 1982 the authors have produced the Great Scale Model Train Show, an event with up to 900 tables that happens 4 times per year in Timonium Maryland.  This show and other large shows run for two days, are located in huge buildings with excellent lighting, wide aisles, good refreshments with ample sit down space, clinics, consignment sales areas, and excellent operating layouts and displays.  Easy vendor access, free and simple parking including some for the handicapped, and a warm and friendly attitude from the staff also contribute greatly to a fine show.

The model railroad press has virtually ignored the existence of these shows other than accepting listings and display ads.  Yet, the growth of the hobby, the lifeblood for these publications, is in the hands of these shows.  Some magazines are afraid to emphasize or even mention train shows for fear of retaliation from major hobby shops that advertise in their publications.  This thinking is wrong because the real issue is -- and should be -- the growth of the hobby in general.  Mega-shows help greatly with this growth, which in turn will bring business to hobby shops.

One of us (Howard)  owned a fairly large hobby shop Columbia, Maryland from 1973 to 1975.  At the time there was only one annual show in the area held in a fire hall in Reisterstown, MD.  Bruce Greenberg began his show in nearby Ellicott City during 1975  just as the shop was being sold.  Had a show such as Bruce’s or ours existed then, Howard would have begged to get in, even offered to make the promoter breakfast in bed and tuck him in at night.  It did not take long to realize what a fabulous advertising opportunity this would have been for the shop.  In a good year, perhaps 1,500 folks might visit the store. But during a large show, probably four to five times that many would walk by the shop’s  display in just a few hours.  Yet we find that very few shops ever make use of mega-shows as a venue to advertise & promote their stores!  They sometimes attend and rent tables, but usually just to sell or dump the same items being sold by other vendors, instead of taking the opportunity to promote their shop with handout maps & promotional coupons to create more regular shop customers.

Train shows are today much more than dealers selling current plastic imports from China.  At good shows, one will find a wide variety of model railroad items, such as books, electronics, scenery supplies, tools, used equipment in just about all scales, new and current products, accessories,  antique trains, brass models, structures, custom services, and much more.

Many folks in the hobby today began by seeing a show ad and thinking, “Hey I had electric trains as a kid.  This could be fun!”  Once they attend a show and the seed has been planted ( or revived), he or she ain’t gonna wait for the next show.  They will find the closest hobby shop to learn more, and most probably make several purchases.  They will also purchase the current model railroad magazines,  either at the show or at the hobby shop.  Publishers take note!  How this train show activity could be a threat to a hobby shop is beyond our ability to understand -- and still, some shops return our fliers with no shortage of four-letter words on how they feel about train shows.

A proprietor of a rather successful local store despised train shows, claiming that they were the anti-Christ of model railroading.  He once tried to bodily toss us out of his shop when asked to display some show fliers.  A few years later, a wealthy collector and modeler dumped a serious mess of trains on this shop, too many to even come close to fitting in the shop’s 500-square foot area.

His wife called us to request tables at our next show.  We guessed that he had alerted her to expect much profanity and a refusal, but she got neither -- here was a wonderful opportunity for a break-through, not only from this shop, but from others who harbored similar resentments towards train shows.  Wow!!!  He almost sold out everything in the first day -- in addition to being noticed by many customers who wondered why he was there, since his anti-show feelings had been public knowledge for some the time.  After the show this gentleman and his wife personally apologized for years of abuse and signed up for all future shows!   Unfortunately he has since passed away but the shop remains, now in a different location, and they still attend all of our shows and do rather well. 

RUNNING A TRAIN SHOW

Now that the “why” is covered, here comes the fun.  Be it known that if you are involved with a train show as an organizer, and find it a drag, get out!  This is most definitely a labor of love!  The authors will have to be carried from The Great Scale Model Train Show in rubber bags.  We have enjoyed (nearly) every minute of the 25-plus years of this show.  We hold four shows per year and greatly look forward to the next event.  Each show offers many positive challenges.  Both the attendees and vendors overall are wonderful, and sharing the hobby with them is really great fun.  Sure we have had problems, but we try to deal with each situation in a fair manner and on an individual basis.  A whole volume could be written just on the subject of train shows.

Who attends these shows?  We like to break it down into three basic types:  C, B, and A.  They come from every possible walk of life and profession.  The C group are the folks who will hear of the show and say: “Hey dear, look at this! I had a train set when I was a kid. Let’s put the kiddies in the super duper double tandem stroller and go.”  Go they do, and some are taken by this hobby and become regular attendees.  The B group is made up of folks already in the hobby, but if something else comes up during train show weekend, they’ll go to that and come to the next show.  Then comes the A group.  Watch out, here are the die-hards!  On show weekend, when the lovely wife says: “you must rake the leaves and fix the dryer,” they respond, “Hire the neighbor kid and call the Maytag man – I’m going to the train show.”  These are the folks who line up one hour before opening and will not miss a show under any circumstance.  We love this group!  Actually we love all groups and we are always trying to attract more of the C group, turn C’s into B’s, and turn B’s into A’s.  To some extent this has been rather successful.

Recently one member of the A group arrived out of breath and flustered just after the show opened:  “Jeez, almost didn’t make it!  I drive a tow truck and was assigned a job to haul a lady from a muddy embankment.  She could not understand my directions on how to turn the wheel.  After a half hour, I said nuts to this and came to the show!”

 We were indeed impressed, but hope this guy didn’t spend too much as we were sure he would be looking for a new job the following day.

ARE THERE TOO MANY MODEL TRAIN SHOWS?

We don’t think so, but a good question just the same.  You may also ask if there are too many supermarkets, car dealerships, and Chinese restaurants.  Are any of these establishments products of necessity, or did they come first in hope of creating a market for their wares?  Who cares! These shows are here and are well attended.  It is not a bad thing to present our hobby or marketplace and have a gathering for model rails.  Most show promoters share these feelings and provide information tables on which other shows can leave fliers advertising their dates and places.

We see just two problems:  one for attendees and one for vendors.  Attendees have only so much capital to spend on the hobby and not enough to go around for multiple shows.  In years past when there were only just a few shows, or just one good annual event in a given area, much excitement and anticipation would build up as folks eagerly awaited the show in addition to saving funds for it.  The excitement is still there, although it has waned a bit, but each show still has the positive offset of introducing this hobby to new folks and families. Second, many vendors feel they have to attend most or all of these shows -- if they don’t, their competitors will.  The amount of money spent in a given area usually does not change much, and the vendor’s profits are eaten up somewhat by additional table rental and travel costs.  Again, the good news is the increasing number of folks coming to the shows for the first time. Some will spend on the first visits, but, most important, they will join the hobby.

ARE PROMOTERS MAKING HUGE PROFITS?

Many think that we make a huge profit.  Rest assured that this is not the case.  Each year costs increase, yet the shows, small or large, keep the same fees for years.  The occasional increases in rates do NOT keep up with the increases in costs!  Again, this comes back to the love of the hobby.

A simple thank you to the show organizers when attending will go a long way, as much work and dedication is required.  We personally love every minute of our shows, but when someone says how much enjoyment they are getting coupled with a simple, “thanks,” that is worth more than any financial reward or profit.  Certainly the same would apply to hobby shops and to the dedicated folks who set up the display layouts at these shows.

Please remember, as the hobby shops fall victim to the internet, the only major venue where items may be seen in the flesh will be these shows.  We seriously recommend supporting both -- in essence, both the shop proprietors and show promoters are keeping the hobby alive for you to enjoy.

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