I went to the one back in January (I think it was?) this year and it seemed like a good show. Found a few items. Won't be in DFW for this one though.
Last January took my then 3-year old grandson to the Plano show. He absolutely LOVED it. Afterwards, stopped at the Bavarian Grill, on the way home. Turns out that they had a G scale train running around one of the dining rooms. My grandson still talks about it.
Yeah, there's an old Mexican food place (Campo Verde) in Arlington, with an overhead G-scale train running all around. The kids loved it when they were little, especially at Christmas time. Now they're both grown (but no kids of their own yet.)
I went to the show today, and bought a few things (all N scale): T&P gon with bright metal wheels and Rapido couplers, w/load, no box, for cheap. N scale skid-steer loader Half dozen N scale automobiles MT 65' log car w/load, Rosenberg Lumber / First Union Rail Blair Line concrete low culvert kit. Blair Line loading ramp kit I also enjoyed watching all the layouts running trains!
There were two large vendors from (far) out of state (Nebraska and NC), which was good to see. Might have been more, with smaller displays, but those two had entire rooms. The shop from Nebraska (name escapes me) displays their N scale rolling stock (except most locos) in large, open cardboard boxes, with only the end label showing. I know that is more space-efficient, but I like to see which railcars look interesting. I'm less interested in what road it is, how long it is, etc. from the label end. Maybe that's just me... That said, they had a huge selection!
Vendors that have their wares only showing their ends I usually skip. Takes way too much time to pull one, look, put them back, repeat. The traditional display, laid flat, I just glance. The time it take for me to pull and look at 2-3 cars I can scan an entire tray. Yes, I may miss something but that's the risk I'm willing to accept. Time is precious at train shows!
I'm not usually in a hurry. It just takes time, and I'm reasonably patient. Or is it patiently reasonable? I'd rather see them broadside, and I'm sure I miss some things just scanning the labels.
There’s a vendor at the Deland, FL show that sells N engines and rolling stock in boxes with just the ends facing up. He has decent prices so I take some time to check out his wares but I don’t like that kind of display. I’m sure I miss some things I would buy but it’s very hard to check out all of his stuff. He has a lot.
