York Roundup Part 2
Part 2 of my observations and discoveries at the TCA Spring Meet in York.
Since I don’t collect pre or post war Lionel and have more interest in the new stuff, most of my time was spent in the dealer halls. For those not familiar with York, there are dealer halls where manufacturers and retailers (train shops) set up shop to display and sell their products and collectors halls where any collector looking to sell pieces of their collection set up. The collector halls have a yard sale feel to them but that’s not a bad thing. Some of the dealer tables in the dealer halls had a yard sale feel as well which is a bad thing.
Spending most of my time in the dealer halls, I took at least two passes through all the aisles in an attempt to get a feel for prices and what people were buying. In my travels through the aisles, I overheard a phrase uttered several times that went something like this - "not
many real bargains to be had here anymore". Since I’m new to the hobby, I don’t have a good feel about the prices of many products but there are a few I’ve been following at the various shows I attended this year. The first is the a Williams GG1 that has been selling for about $150 at most meets outside of York. The Ma and Pa Junction booth had it for $139. The Lionel Acela Set is another I’ve been following. Most dealers had it for $1,695 but one priced it at $1,595 which is the lowest I’ve seen it at any show. As an aside, I did happen to overhear someone trying to bargain down the price from $1,695 at a prominent Philadelphia area dealer’s booth and the sales person made the statement that the set was going for $2,000 on eBay, which I know is absolutely not true anymore. Anyway, I was in the market for the Post War Celebration Series Evans Auto Loader and found most dealers listing it between $55 and $59 but found it at the Nicholas Smith booth for $40 (which I thought was a good price). I saw many people carrying Nicholas Smith bags so I wasn’t alone in thinking their prices were good. There seemed to be some good bargains on K-Line action accessories and one dealer had new Weaver freight cars, hoppers and boxcars, w/o boxes for 3 for $40. The MTH Z4000 transformer was going for $379 at one booth which isn’t a bad price. Lionel’s Polar Express set was priced as low at $199 (and I ended up purchasing one from the guys at Nassau Hobby).
Another nice aspect of attending the meet was getting to experience and view some of the expensive "Hi-Rail" products from various specialty companies like SMR Trains, 3rd Rail, and R. Bishop Model Crafters. SMR Trains’ new "General Haupt" steam locomotive is exquisite. The folks at the SMR booth had a magnifying glass so I could view and appreciate all the fine details. The 2-rail version of the model is sold out and about half of the 3 rail is sold. SMR only makes 35 of each version. The details on the 3rd Rail products were also fantastic but my favorites were the military models produced by R. Bishop Model Crafters. The detail and weathering on their products was unbelievable. I would have to hit the lottery to afford a consist of their military models but they were beautiful.
I had conversations with several dealers and manufacturers. The folks at TMVideo, MTH, Lionel , Williams, Weaver, Atlas O, The Ink Well, Jules’ Toy Trains, Scott’s Odds N Ends, O Gauge Railroading, Ross Custom Switches, Ma and Pa Junction and Holly Beach Trains were all very nice as were the guys at Gargraves but my favorite was Walter Matuch of Ready Made Toys. I didn’t actually speak to him at the meet but after wards at the OGR Forum get together on Thursday night. He is a very nice gentleman and very enthusiastic about his products, the hobby and the country (he is a very patriotic guy). Mr. Matuch unveiled some neat new products at the meet. The first is what he is calling a "BEEF" locomotive. It’s a version of the F3 A and B Units scaled down to the size of a "BEEP". It will initially be available in 3 road names - Pennsylvania, New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio. He also will produce a set of coaches called "PEEPs" that will be sized to accompany the BEEPs and BEEFs. There will be a coach, baggage car and observation car in the same road names as the BEEFs.
There was one product that I thought to be very innovative and clever called "RR in a Box" (no website yet) but it was tucked away at the back of the smaller "brown" hall so it may have been missed by some. I spoke to Alan Johnson, one of the creators. The idea is to use standard foam board that you purchased from an art supply store to build a lightweight, sturdy multi-level layout with mountains, rivers and tunnels, including the bench work. Basically the way it works is you purchase a set of printed "plans". The plans act as patterns that are to be fastened to the foam board. You cut the foam board according to the patterns then assemble the pieces using standard white glue. What you end up with are two modules that when set side by side on a table make a very cool multi-level 4′ x 6′ layout. Now it won’t be a "Hi-Rail" layout but with the use of insulating foam in a can like "Great Stuff" you can add texture to the mountains, etc and create a nice looking "toy" style layout. There are step by step instructions to guide you through every aspect of building including samples of some actual scenery techniques using insulating foam, aluminum foil, chalk and paint. The other cool thing about the layout is it’s very light weight and the two modules will nest on top of each other forming a box for easy storage. Mr. Johnson estimates that you can build a nice layout using the suggested scenery techniques for under $200. At the meet you could purchase the plans for $89.95. Plans for a third module will be offered that when built can be inserted between the original two to create a 4′ x 8′ layout. Since the creators of "RR in a Box" are located close to my home, stay tuned to OGaugeWatch for more on this product as I try to arrange a visit to their shop to take some photos of a completed layout. Mr. Johnson informed me that his product will be featured in one of the O Gauge magazines in about 3 months and that one of the big O Gauge manufacturers has shown an interest in the product by donating track and trains to him for demonstration purposes because they believe it’s a fun and easy way to keep people, especially newcomers, interested in the hobby.
Part 3 will wrap up my Spring York ‘06 posts.
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