A few more observations...
I wonder if anyone from ED watches the York posts. If not, they probably should...
IMO, the critical question for ED is "what should York be?". If it's going to be a meet primarily for diehard enthusiasts, so be it. Unfortunately, I think the result of that will be a slow death spiral as the folks who fit that description age out of the organization. If it's going to be a vehicle for growing the hobby, then changes need to be considered. There's a lot of parochial thinking in TCA in general and ED in particular. The efforts to expand the audience for York have been half-hearted at best.
Regarding who is responsible for growing the hobby - expecting manufacturers to do it is misguided - they're in it to make a profit. Every one of us who enjoys trains should share the responsibility for bringing others into the hobby - if we expect "someone else" to do it, it won't happen.
