Berea, Ohio Train Show

Sounds like fun!! Enjoy--- Wish i was closer!! 

Hey stranger, long time no talk.  Yes, Berea is a great "local" show but nothing compared to York.  So are you going to York this year?  

I've never been to this show but its only 30min from me. Worth a visit I'm assuming?

Jason

jdstucks posted:

I've never been to this show but its only 30min from me. Worth a visit I'm assuming?

Jason

I'd say yes Jason, its an all scale show but there are lots of 3 rail vendors.  Its one of the bigger local shows.  

Bryan, I'm going just to see you actually do some work............LOL. But it is a good show and the weather is going to be like summer for it.......................Paul

Bryan,

I am a mile from the UAW Hall on Chevrolet Blvd. and five miles from the Berea Fair Grounds by way of Metro Parks.  Will there be handicapped parking for those with walking difficulty?  I am a care-giver and need to bring my family member with me.

I see from the flyer at the beginning of this thread, that the hours are 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Saturday and Sunday.  If we can make it, I hope to see the show.

The picture looks something like me.  It is a selfie with my 20-year-old cat, Nutmeg, who always looked like a kitten.  She use to sleep on top of the decorative flat-top aquarium at my former print shop in North Royalton.  She is now buried behind our favorite sitting spot.  I am still moving.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I'm leaving Cincinnati at 6 AM, stop at Becker's bakery to get nut and poppy seed rolls and then 'head over' to the Berea show.  I grew up in Cleveland and got transferred to Cincy in '79.  

I haven't been to a Cleveland show since the 70's.  With 4 buildings and 60,000 SF and 460 vendors, it should be a good one.

It's only 217 miles so I should make it in 3.5 hrs, or so.

Bryan,

I'm in Div 7 in Cincy.

The flyer says 4 buildings: are these connected and which one should I visit first for vendors?

Thanks,

Sam

Sam, if it's like last year, and I remember correctly, only two of the buildings (in red) are connected.  Obviously the buildings in yellow and green are separate.  The parking, ticket office, and entrance are by the building in yellow, and the restrooms are in the building directly to the west of the same building (with the green roof).

John, I believe the parking area directly north of the "you  are here" marker is designated as handicap, although I'm not 100% sure of that.  Based on the photo, it sure looks like it's set up with larger spaces with loading areas between them.

Lastly, I think the vendors are sort of all mixed together at this show, meaning no building features a particular scale or subset of interest.  I saw a fair amount of 3-rail product in all of the buildings, while 2-rail was pretty scarce.  I feel like there was a dealer in the first building inside the gate (in yellow) that had some 2-rail Atlas along with a majority of 3-rail merchandise.  I don't know that starting at one building versus another will yield better results - only that the building in yellow is the first one inside the gate so that's where I started  .

I'll be there tomorrow morning more or less when the doors open.  And I'll be back next month for the 2-rail show around the corner.
Jim

I have been to this show once, but it is a fur piece from here. If l was as close as some above, l'd be there wanting to pay for early admission.

Jim,

Thanks for the info and the nice pictorial.

Looks like the parking is across the street in the grass area.

Looks like I take I-71 to exit 235, head west on Bagley rd and turn left on Bagley dr.

Sam

Bryan....I will get there not sure if Sat or Sunday have to get out on the boat this weekend! We are still transitioning from the boat to trains lol.. Nick

Nick, I understand take advantage of the weather.  A couple of years ago this show was famous for being the start of snow or at least freezing rain.  The last two and it looks like this weekend good weather. 

The buildings are not connected but very close together. 

You can drop people off at the gate and park pretty close, however the fairgrounds parking is not paved. 

Heading out the door now.

Went to the show on Saturday after the rain around noon.  I had a chance to meet Bryan in Ohio and see the "D" building displays.  I left early because I act as a care-giver for a family member who had enough walking for the day.

Bought an Atlas O 52'6" Nickel Plate Flatcar #3333 with pipe load for $39.00 from Uncle Ray's.  Now I need to open up the Nickel Plate Berkshire with Steam Whistle I purchased from the Trading Post two years ago.

It was a good day with a nice crowd. I bought the two-day admission so I could return tomorrow if we are up to it.  It is nap time now.  Too much sun and fun.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

There was no operating O-gauge in Building "D".  The HO and N scale looked good.  I will try to return tomorrow to check out the first building by the entrance.

If we want O-gauge represented, we may need volunteers like Bryan, Paul 2, and others to do a wrap-around layout that circles a sitting area for OGR members to sit and socialize. A simple mainline coal drag and a logging operation would not take up much space.  I'm willing to help, as long as Mom has a place to sit. 

If we want new members to join this hobby, we NEED operating layouts at these shows to capture people's imagination and interest.  We also need friendly people to explain the hobby and to engage with the spectators.

A table of trains laid out like salami and deli meats, does not excite the average viewer.  We need to put things in motion.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I enjoyed this show for many years before moving to the West Coast. Glad to see that it is still going strong. Virtually no train shows here in Los Angeles. 

Always fun, but very true much less O scale.  All 5 items I would have bought ended up being 2rail,  looking for 3rail .

The small scale layouts were great and impressive long passenger trains running in N scale.  

i attended today.....picked up 2 trinity atlas o hoppers for $55 each from uncle ray's...2 atlas trainman 4750 hoppers from some folks from Nebraska.....seems they have a hobby shop on wheels i guess...lots of out-of -town  retail dealers here....

Me and the two boys went up there today. Only picked up two PRR passenger cars, and some hot wheels, and a few other sundry things. Also swung through Cleveland Comic Con which happened to be going on too in a few of the buildings.

The only downside is some of the operating layouts are too tall for them to see, I get it, and at the same time it is hard to wrangle both of them to see the trains. They loved looking at all of the layouts, but the HO and the one S were hard for them to see since they aren't all that tall.. Meant dad needed to lift them up one at a time and of course the fights that went with it.

When you have the opportunity to sit in the captains chair.. take it.

First time at this show. Picked up these two cars from a pleasant fellow from Buffalo N.Y.      Fendermain

I went today and was actually impressed by the size of the show. As is typical, most of the O gauge there was old Lionel that I wasn't interested in. However, I did pick up a few hidden gems. Got a new Atlas TTX Hi-Cube box car that has been sold out everywhere. Picked up a Chicago & Northwestern Lionel Auto Rack. And some Atlas truck sets that are hard to find along with some new smoke fluid. Overall I'm very happy I went. 

Jason 

Looks like a nice show.  Glad it was drawing some interest.  

Looking on Google Maps, if I were coming in from the east I'd stop at Corner Field Model Train Museum and Hobby.  Looks like it's on the way from the east of the show.  Certainly well worth a small detour! 

Aldovar posted:

Me and the two boys went up there today. Only picked up two PRR passenger cars, and some hot wheels, and a few other sundry things. Also swung through Cleveland Comic Con which happened to be going on too in a few of the buildings.

The only downside is some of the operating layouts are too tall for them to see, I get it, and at the same time it is hard to wrangle both of them to see the trains. They loved looking at all of the layouts, but the HO and the one S were hard for them to see since they aren't all that tall.. Meant dad needed to lift them up one at a time and of course the fights that went with it.

 

When you have the opportunity to sit in the captains chair.. take it.

 

Looks like a couple of nice kids you got there.  

Guess I was lucky in that I had only one...so no fighting!

Mark in Oregon

Berea, Ohio train show.

Not bad time getting there from Cincinnati. Took 3 hrs to cover the 217 miles.

I-71 from Columbus to Cleveland was real nice: just paved and, now, 3 lanes the entire distance.  I-71 definitely doesn't get the traffic that I-75 gets.

One 8 dollar ticket gets one into the fairgrounds with a wrist band, one can, then, go into all the buildings.  

There were 4 buildings for trains.

I found the best stuff (see last picture) that I bought was in the first building where two of the buildings were connected.

The usual flea market: lots of stuff in all scales.

A large N scale layout.

A large HO layout.

A planned meeting with an old friend, Gary Oliver, that I communicate with often but haven't seen in decades.  An NP railroader.

More N gauge.

Lots of prints but all eastern roads.

A nice industrial area on the HO layout.

Would look good in the family room!

Gilbert S gauges.

'bare bones' 3 rail.

Booty 'found' at the show.

Some scalecoat paint.  Old but never opened bottles of paint.  I've had some that were never opened but 20 years old but dried out but, for a buck a piece, I'll take a chance on them.

Got a plastic case of driver springs. Can always use a variety of those.

Someone must of passed away as there were lots of plastic cases of screws, etc.

Picked up another Woodland's plug and play 'light and hub' controller.

Can't pass up lots of brass, steam  castings for a buck each.

Found lots of passenger diaphragms for when I paint my passenger cars.

Some very 'low cost' clump foliage and mine run coal.

Last, a free frisbee  and small power pack.

Amazing, I got out of there spending less than a hundred bucks!

Thanks for all the photos. where I live you don't get many opportunities to go to shows, so I always enjoy seeing events at other places.

1. "4" buildings(?) Wow! I went to the NMRA National Convention here in Oregon in 1987, and it was all in a single building!

2. The "bare bones 3 rail" layout looks to be FasTrack: how on earth did they keep current flowing through it all? Jumpers on every piece?

3. I like the Frisbee... 

Mark in Oregon