Greenberg show in Monroeville, PA

Missed another one. Only been to 2 of these since the show moved from the old expo building. I always liked the Expo building a lot better.Coming from Ohio,the tolls on the Pike just keep going up and up. I am sure the toll workers are getting raises so that's Ok.Just not worth going to anymore. just an opinion

I have never missed a Greenberg show in Monroeville. All shows are good to me glad there are shows to go to. I found a few  items I always do. Several members got some very nice used Atlas O for $18 ea. they bought all the guy had. Lots of dealers selling rolling stock for $20 ea. and $25. Some Railking some MTH scale. Back Sunday with the layout. I thought the crowd was good for a summer show. I might even get a few more things tomorrow. Were the shows better years ago YES but so was everything. I can have a good time almost everyplace I go. 

Was looking forward to te show but something else came up  and will miss it. Bummer. I like shows.

I was thinking about going just to see old friends. If I had gone, I would of checked out the gentleman selling miniature tools. After the show, I would of went to Harbor Freight and then to Dick's Sporting Good Store. However, come this morning, I was just happy to go to the American Legion here in Homer City.

May stop by tomorrow. Had to take advantage of the rare, good weather today and cut the grass.

Anyone that went to Greenberg show in Pittsburgh see any recent MTH/LCT Standard Gauge Tinplate? 

No not much just a few items

This is the first time I have gone to the summer show.   I was looking for building and accessories.  I have to say, it was an awful show for buildings and accessories.  Some of the larger dealers who are there during the winter did not have tables.  However; it was a really good show to get rolling stock.   There was a gentlemen there selling off his collection and his prices were great.  I bought a bunch of stuff from him.  If you were looking for rolling stock or some older engines it was a good show.  Neely's Train Shop had a ton of rolling stock and parts as well.  I believe they had about 30 tables.

If you were looking for modern diesels or buildings, it wasn't great.  Rolling stock and parts, it was a good show.  Overall, I'm glad I went to the show.  I was just a little disappointed I didn't get many buildings.

It seemed like a typical mid-Summer show to me (pretty much what I was expecting).  And I agree, it is a pretty good show for rolling stock.

The November and January/February shows are better, but those shows are in the middle of train season.  Off-season shows like this one do tend to have a different character to them.

Andy

I briefly considered driving up to this tomorrow, but it's 3+ hours away. I'll wait for Timonium.

It was the first time to this show for me. I thought it was a good show. Some good prices on rolling stock as was mentioned. I found two weaver flat cars with trailers for a real good price. Came from Ohio. Toils are a killer. ...........Paul

     I will be going Sunday in the morning to meet up with one of the PGH high railers to get an Iron City item. I whill be in my wheelchair with my striped train hat on ( watch out for your toes ). Choo Choo Kenny

I don't think I'd drive more than 1-2 hours for any Greenberg show (don't get me wrong, they are great local shows) unless I had other activities in the area to make the trip more worthwhile.  Now if they could fill the whole convention center (with more dealers) instead of just half of it, it would be worth a longer drive.

Andy

I'll probably stop by this afternoon.  I am not really looking for anything to buy at this point,good deal or not.

Norm

Yep, the tolls through PA are sky high. Costs me $22 each way to go to York.

    Bill T.

...and they are going up again,6%!

I disagree. My best days of buying have been at Greenburg in Edison and in Chantilly. There really aren't a great deal of train shows of that size or larger anymore. And, some of the larger ones take place during poor weather times in places that are not weather-friendly a greater distance away for me. 

Plus, I'm a fan of roadtrips in general.

never been to it, working three out of four weekends isn't show friendly. maybe the next one. 

I just heard on the news that PA turnpike tolls will be going up 6% every year until like 2050 or something like that.  No joke.

Rick

and that's why I avoid the Pennsy Pike.

I hope I am around to pay the tolls in 2050.  I drive Rt 30 to and from York at time No Tolls.

Had a fun day at the show again. Slow crowd for a Sunday. Still found Many good buys, MTH Premier cars  For $20 Picked up a Bobber caboose for $20. $10 Weaver cars. I know many members in the club Stocked Up all weekend.

Did anybody make any observations of the young (below 19) people who were there? What did their reaction(s) to the layout trains seem to be?

FrankM.

Frank M.

I am a member of,  and was set up with the PGH Independent Hi Railers this weekend at Monroeville, Pa on both days.  These are strictly MY observations and opinions.  Attendance was moderate on both days,  with Saturday being mostly attended by "train nuts/enthusiasts"  and Sunday being more a family type day-this is just my general observation.  We take turns running the trains and I operated on Saturday,  so on Sunday I spent a bit of time speaking with various people that came by the layout.  There were quite a few families of parents/grandparents with children between the ages of maybe 5-12, taking in the show,  with(I think) a fewer number of younger people between 12-19.  ALL of the younger people loved the layout for various reasons(dinosaur dig site, UFO café,  cars & construction vehicles and THE TRAINS)  Sunday for our club was kind of BIG STEAM-HEAVY SMOKE day for the most part.  The kids seemed to enjoy all the different types of diesels and freight cars,  but the steam engines were VERY popular..  I spoke with about 5 or 6 families with younger kids who were looking to get started in the hobby(at a reasonable cost!) and were looking for some general help as to what they should buy.  WITHOUT STARTING A BATTLE OVER WHICH MFGR IS BEST IN THIS THREAD,  I normally suggested that they look at both the Lionel Lionchief/Plus sets or the Railking sets as a way to get started without breaking the bank.  The other thing that I try to point out to them is that you don't need a huge space for a layout and that many scenes on our modular layout can just be used as a spark for an idea of their own,  whether fantasy or reality.  A number of the kids ask how we control the trains and a few of our club members let them operate the trains with the remotes.  I also told a few kids today about the upcoming Wi-Fi/I- phone/Android train running possibilities.( I only mentioned it to them because if my life depended on it,  I don't know the first thing about any of them)  Anyway,  I think that for the kids that I observed this weekend-they were having a good time.

Nick

We had a fairly steady stream of kids around the layout both days. Several parents told me that the layouts are the kids' favorite part of the shows.  some of the kids will take turns follo each train around the layout, and some pick a favorite and follow it around and around.

Andy

Thanks for the replies, Panther, machinist/Nick, & Andy. Did the children seem to appreciate the scenery and detailed settings along with and/or as much as the trains themselves?

And I am intrigued and delighted to learn of their being so interested in the steam locomotives, which any one of us in this hobby can well understand - far more commotion and movement, huh, than slick diesels gliding by, I guess, though a diesel's throb is attractive, in my mind, also. Interesting.

Your comments have caused me to re-consider the number of diesels I have on the ten loops of my layout presently. We have some children coming for visits soon, and I am tempted to replace some of the less-temperamental diesels for the stronger "commotion" of steam locomotives.

For example, the two locomotives on the left, in the valley, are always on the layout, strong and dependable and great noise; however, the two on the right, on the elevated tracks, are fussy but heavens what a wonderful ROAR they make! They may go back on temporarily to help make a riot for the kids.

FrankM.

Andy,

   I missed the Monroeville Train show this last week end, I was still out of town, probably saved me some money any way!  Looks like you had a nice time again!

Glad there were lots of kids to see the layout!

PCRR/Dave

to far a stretch from Long Island waiting for the NJ shows in Aug and Sept

I didn't even know there was a train show there recently. I really need to keep up with this!

Panther97,  you are probably pretty accurate about the kids being more familiar with the diesels that they have seen while growing up.  I think that most kids are also fascinated by the action of all the visible moving parts of a steam locomotive(including the large volume of smoke that they produce!!)  At this point in time,  just sparking their interest(can I have a train?) is what will keep the hobby alive in the future.

Nick 

I did a quick visit on Sunday and it did seem that there were a good many families present.  They were certainly engaged with the Hi Railers Group.  It seemed that everyone was talking to somebody.

Norm

I think you have both made interesting and, likely, profound points.

As a boy in the 40's & 50's, I was very familiar with steam locomotives, since they passed in, near, and through daily life throughout steel-mill-centered metropolitan Pittsburgh. Later, we began to experience diesels. So, when I see either type of  locomotive running, or even just posing, on a layout, I understand what the model is representing completely.

However, I have often wondered, nowadays, what children (and for that matter some adults) thinks they are seeing when they see a steam locomotive on a layout. Does it look like a mechanical rat to them, for example, if they have never seen, felt, or heard a real one?

And as far as getting and holding the interest of the young in model trains, shows and the legions of model train hobbyists who invite them into their homes and/or clubs to see layouts in full glory are a positive effect, no doubt.

However, contemporary children have such wonders as is pictured here with a cousin of mine. That dinosaur interacts with him, responding to his facial attitude and vocal tone, with actions, such as being aggressive at him, or backing away, or simply roaring defiantly at him (!!!!!!) As my wife and I witnessed this toy for the first time as he played with it on his kitchen floor, we wondered how watching a train go in a circle could ever compete (for interest, time, space, & $$$$) with it. But maybe it doesn't have to be a matter of competition, but rather, a matter of alternative play choices. You see, he and his brother are already a "captive audience" since being in our home and enjoying our layout, as well as having been given trains, track, and transformers by me. They love their trains. And they love their new Tyrannosaurus.

Yet, this little critter speaks of things to come, in my mind, and of realities already here. Imagine if some clever manufacturer finds a way of making this technology interactive between the trains and the hobbyist. Eh ? Huh?

Will wonders ever cease.

FrankM.

In this third shot, his brother (who loves trains the best) has run his remotely-controlled car into his brother AND the dinosaur is reacting to that!!

FrankM.

When it comes to kids, they do tend to like what is familiar.  Every day mainline steam may be gone, but kids do get exposed to steam locomotives through cartoons and shows like Thomas, and through their dad's or grandpa's layouts or around-the-tree holiday layouts.  Each kid will be different based on their experiences growing up with trains.

Andy

take those same kids to see 765,611,etc do a runby....and they'll want to see more. toy or real.

those that dont know, the pa pike has an operating plan that includes rebuilding the part from the ohio line east to at least harrisburg. the western most 16-20 miles or so has been completed. plans include  a 3lane road in each direction and rebuild/ new/ bypass the remaining tunnels. they are quickly ending their service life .the last time i traveled the pike was 2011 to go to york and traffic was beginning to be a 3-ring circus then.it was a matter of time before the road out grew its capacity.you can see an outline of the rebuild plan on the pa pike website.its someting like 30 years long.-Jim