30 DAYS 'TIL YORK April 2025 TCA MEET !

Thank you, Eddie, for picking up the York Meet Countdown banner and carrying it forward. I imagine a number of forum participants will contribute to making it a success in these few short weeks before the actual meet.

@eddiem posted:

...We always "camp in the van" at the 5 way crossroads in the middle of York.  ...

There used to be a small camper parked in that location which was painted in Lionel blue and orange.  It stopped appearing there about 10 years ago.  I still always look for it and wonder who it was and what happened.  I assume that they "aged out" of the hobby.

Or they "aged out" of the van!  Mine looks like an Amazon van plus windows.  In October 2016, the weather was about 70 at night, so I set up my traveling layout.  Since then it's been either too windy or too cold!  Always optimistic that the next York will be perfect for outdoor trains!

October 2016

Man, you must be awfully steady with the steering wheel and brakes to keep that moving train from derailing while the van is driving through the streets!

Eddiem,

Thank you for picking the York countdown meter to the day that the gates of toy train heaven open on us and we can escape from reality for 3 days! Spring York 2025 is about a month away. Can’t wait to drive westbound for about 2.5 hours!
Ted

Thank you, Eddie........in about a week I will start the Thursday AM breakfast thread!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Peter

To me, the days and weeks leading up to York Week always seem to crawl by   s o   s l o w l y . . .

Trying a new hotel this time to be closer to some our club mates for our evening adult beverages.

My badge and ticket for the Tuesday welcoming party have been burning a hole in my badge hold since the Great York Blackout of '24.  Fortunately, the badge holder is fairly sturdy.  I say "fairly sturdy" because I am now on my second badge holder after wearing out my first.

Andy

@Andy Hummell posted:

To me, the days and weeks leading up to York Week always seem to crawl by   s o   s l o w l y . . .

Trying a new hotel this time to be closer to some our club mates for our evening adult beverages.

My badge and ticket for the Tuesday welcoming party have been burning a hole in my badge hold since the Great York Blackout of '24.  Fortunately, the badge holder is fairly sturdy.  I say "fairly sturdy" because I am now on my second badge holder after wearing out my first.

Andy

Care to share where you'll be staying this time?  There are a lot of folks at LaQuinta - it's a short stumble to Quaker Steak.

Len,

We stay at Candlewood Suites on the east side of York near the Hollywood Casino. Coming out Thursday for an overnight stay and going home Friday night.

Once again I will miss the Spring York. I attended every York between 1993 and Covid. It was a wonderful experience. I wish all of you a great time. The transition to spending winter in Florida has definitely cut back my train activities. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Fall York.

Gerry

@Mallard4468 posted:

Care to share where you'll be staying this time?  There are a lot of folks at LaQuinta - it's a short stumble to Quaker Steak.

This time we are staying at the Sleep Inn across from Round The Clock Diner.  We used to stay at the Four Points until just after COVID when they really raised their rates, then we moved to the Comfort Inn on George Street - it was OK, but a couple of guys in our York entourage have been staying at the Sleep Inn, so we decided to give it a try.   We like staying close to RtC to get our bacon & scrapple fixes.   Also, we know of a back way to the fairgrounds that lets us avoid most of Rt. 30 traffic in the mornings (Pennsylvania Ave.).

Andy

Once again my daughter (who is a TCA member) and I will drive the 3+ hours in the morning on Friday, walk around for a couple of hours, grab something to eat, then drive back home.  My list of "wants" is so focused I'm pleasantly surprised that something usually comes home with me.

Making our second trip to York this Spring.  Looking forward to it.  Pulling the camper 9 hours to get there but it is worth the drive.  My son won't make this time (work), but I think I can spend his money !

Unfortunately I will have to miss this springs York meet. My wife is having hip replacement surgery on April 22nd and of course I will be her care provider. Hopefully things will work out for me to attend the fall meet.

@Andy Hummell posted:

This time we are staying at the Sleep Inn across from Round The Clock Diner.  We used to stay at the Four Points until just after COVID when they really raised their rates, then we moved to the Comfort Inn on George Street - it was OK, but a couple of guys in our York entourage have been staying at the Sleep Inn, so we decided to give it a try.   We like staying close to RtC to get our bacon & scrapple fixes.   Also, we know of a back way to the fairgrounds that lets us avoid most of Rt. 30 traffic in the mornings (Pennsylvania Ave.).

Andy

I've stayed at Sleep Inn elsewhere - always been pleased with the room and service - I think you'll like it.  They have a good breakfast; always a tough choice between the included meal vs. seeing other folks.  We eat at LaQuinta - I'm cheap, RTC is a brutal drive when we would have to retrace our route, and we meet a lot of train folks there anyway.  It's interesting how some places have significantly raised rates (like Wyndham Garden), while others stay roughly the same.  I also enjoy hearing about all of the "back door" routes that we discover to avoid the traffic on US30.   

@Mallard4468 posted:

They have a good breakfast; always a tough choice between the included meal vs. seeing other folks.

Yeah, we have cut down on the RtC breakfasts from 5 straight days to just a couple to save a little -- it was easier to skip and go to RtC when the hotel included breakfasts were not much more than cold cereal, bagels, fruit and yogurt.  We do most of our socializing in the evenings after dinner, usually setting up our adult beverages in the lobby seating area of various hotels where our Blue Hall bunch stay.  We do this at our hotel Mondays & Tuesdays, and for the past couple of years at the Wyndham Garden or La Quinta on Wednesdays (one of our guys who comes Wednesday stays at one of these places), and at La Quinta often on Thursdays and Fridays (one of our Blue Hall bunch stays there) -- we have made friends with the night manager there and she always gets us some after-hours cookies.  We are always on the go during York week, so it doesn't really feel inconvenient staying a little bit further from the fairgrounds.

Andy