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Summer Conventions |
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 Your editor, caught on the hogger's throne of the last remaining SP Cab Forward, No. 4294, now residing at the California State Transportation Museum in Sacramento. There's usually more to do at the convention than the show! |
The term “endless summer” could apply to model railroading because conventions are held year round. Still, many of the majors are held during the summer months. Traveling is some easier, and you may get more out-of-towners coming to spend some vacation time at the convention. This year, the SARS scare did away with the NMRA convention in Toronto, Canada, perhaps the granddaddy of model railroad conventions. After a two-year convention hiatus, your editor ventured south to Sacramento, California and the 19th National Garden Railway Convention, hosted by the Sacramento Valley Garden Railway Society. While I cover that news in the “Larger View” column, I’d like to step back and take a bird’s eye view of conventions. A retailer had products for sale. Members of SVGRS were there to serve, and the general attendees also had a variety of agendas. Some were seeking bargains, while others sought breaking news of new products. The clinics drew those who wanted to learn new skills, but most people wanted to sample some of all of it. Garden railway conventions are a little different from the others because visitors actually go to the homes of modelers who show off their garden railways. Smaller scales usually just bring modular layouts to the convention site. Also, garden railways include the dimension of live steam. As a working reporter, I hung around the show when it was open and went to eat and chat with the industry folks after hours. In this respect, it wasn’t very different from the NMRA convention I attended in St. Louis. As big as the business seems to be from the outside, it’s a very small industry after all. Everyone knows everyone. For all of the competition for your modeling dollar, these are very civil people who enjoy each others’ company. At the end of the show, I found myself in jeans and T-shirt, helping several booths pack out. Cooperation and support flow among the vendors. It’s rather like a large family. |
| Your favorite company goes through a great deal of pain and expense to set up for you. They ship out huge amounts of product for show and tell, booths and shelving for display, and employees to man the booths. Transportation costs are high, hotels and restaurants aren’t cheap, and the unions circle to collect fees for running cords or moving dollies of goods. Too often, the time is spent listening to a list of complaints, many of which the company cannot address at a show. All of them like hearing good things about their products. They are mainly there to introduce to you the new products and help to answer questions you may have about them. Warranty and other customer service problems are better handled by their in-house departments. I’m not saying you shouldn’t discuss the problems you have with their products; I watched as convention-goers did just that and heard interesting solutions. If you have found problems and then solutions, they might just like to hear about it. Bargains? You’ll find some, along with unusual merchandise you probably won’t ever find locally. Should you attend a model railroad convention? Absolutely. Start now checking the listing of shows, their locations, dates, themes, and coverage. Plan your travel and accommodations, including visits to museums and other attractions in the area. Expect to learn new ideas and processes. Most of all, come to have fun; that provides your greatest chance of success. |
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John Sipple, Editor |
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| To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com | |
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