I cracked up a couple when I was at the Grzyboski booth. The wife, pointing at her ever loving who was oohing and ahing over some nice passenger cars, said "I am the banker here, if given their druthers we would need a tractor trailer to take stuff home and be living on Ramen noodles". My response was that my wife doesn't come because I am self regulating, I have a hard time spending on myself and if she came we might be in the same boat since she is the one who encourages me to buy things *lol* (ah, if she was only there, that Blue Comet set would be mine....).
@bigkid posted:Is that an MG? I am envious, my first car was an Alfa spyder, if I brought that they wouldn't even notice the oil from your car, my alfa changed its own oil.
It is...a 1976 MGB. I bought it in 1991 when I was 16. You could almost say that I left trains for that car at that point in my life.
@Larry Mullen posted:It is...a 1976 MGB. I bought it in 1991 when I was 16. You could almost say that I left trains for that car at that point in my life.
Yep, pretty much the same thing (mine was a 71 alfa, with a lot of miles on it and a lot of rust...). Mine is long gone, I commend you, car looks like it is in a shape I could only wish mine had ever been
Larry Mullen,
That's a very nice looking MGB.
Back in the day, I owned a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine, an MG Midget, and a 1962 MGA 1600. My dad owned an Austin Healey 3000 and a Jaguar XKE.
bigkid,
After the British sportcars I became an Alfa owner. Had a 1965 Alfa Giulia Spider 1600, Alfa Giulia GTV (veloce) and later bought another Alfa Giulia Spider that I found in a barn in Pennsylvania. You might say that I'm well aware of the mechanical and ownership issues that existed with products from Abingdon and Milan... My last sportscar was a 1988 Mazda MX5 Miata - but that was a well-engineered car.
After a succession of Honda Civics and an Accord I finally wised-up and now own two Toyota Prius Hybrids - trouble free (certainly no oil leaks or electrical system problems), brilliant engineering and quality manufacturing. But EVs are still too expensive for me.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the York show but I’m hoping to make it next April.
MELGAR
@MELGAR posted:Larry Mullen,
That's a very nice looking MGB.
Back in the day, I owned a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine, an MG Midget, and a 1962 MGA 1600. My dad owned an Austin Healey 3000 and a Jaguar XKE.
bigkid,
After the British sportcars I became an Alfa owner. Had a 1965 Alfa Giulia Spider 1600, Alfa Giulia GTV (veloce) and later bought another Alfa Giulia Spider that I found in a barn in Pennsylvania. You might say that I'm well aware of the mechanical and ownership issues that existed with products from Abingdon and Milan... My last sportscar was a 1988 Mazda MX5 Miata - but that was a well-engineered car.
After a succession of Honda Civics and an Accord I finally wised-up and now own two Toyota Prius Hybrids - trouble free (certainly no oil leaks or electrical system problems), brilliant engineering and quality manufacturing. But EVs are still too expensive for me.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the York show but I’m hoping to make it next April.
MELGAR
Well, there is the Lucas Electric system ie the mighty Prince of Darkness *lol*, people who had to deal with that are perfectly positioned to deal with the quirks of toy train electronics. Best description of an Alfa came from Top Gear,"Alfa owners are in search of that 30 minutes where the car works perfectly, then spend the rest of the time dreaming of that 30 minutes". My car was like a high maintenance Italian girlfriend as portrayed in the movies, one moment is being loving, the next minute trying to kill you *lol* (I have been told by modern owners that they are no longer like that; I reserve judgement on that one
Did anyone bother to ask if MTH will offer cabooses to go with all the new custom run diesels?
Any SCL, ACL, L&N cabooses for the SD's?
Might help sales? 
@MELGAR posted:Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the York show but I’m hoping to make it next April.
MELGAR
Mel.....when you know for sure, let me know.....I will update you on all the fun group activities
Peter
Peter,
Thanks. I'm looking forward to that breakfast event at the diner. Already decided what I'll order...
MELGAR
@SIRT posted:Did anyone bother to ask if MTH will offer cabooses to go with all the new custom run diesels?
Any SCL, ACL, L&N cabooses for the SD's?
Might help sales?
Great question. I did not ask MTH, but I strongly suspect the answer would have been no, unless the dealer who is ordering the special run has requested that be done. Candidly, I think that is the dealer's responsibility anyway, since it is their special run.
What I have found is that it is best to contact the dealer whose special run you are purchasing to make sure that they are ordering matching cabooses. That is all the more critical when the special run is not for major current or former Class 1 Railroads like the PRR, NYC, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, etc. , where plenty of cabooses are already available for those road names in the marketplace.
That's what I did with Patrick's Trains before I purchased his CNJ Premier F3 and Trainmaster special runs. I moved forward with my purchases after I was assured he was ordering matching cabooses in several road numbers. Indeed, Patrick went the extra nine yards, and worked with me and several other customers on the details of the cabooses. He even made some changes to the initial design based upon our recommendations.
Pat
Funny thing about York week.
Every 6 months my friends and I spend 4 or 5 days there, coming home either Friday or Saturday night. We always say "Wow, we saw everything and are Yorked out!"
The funny thing about York? By Sunday we all wish we were back at the Fairgrounds.
Thank the train Gods that the 2nd best train show in the country (In our humble opinions), The Allentown train Meet, is in less than 3 weeks!
Well despite some of the changes, whether perceived as good or bad, I got my April badge at the meet and booked my hotel for 2 nights. In reality will most likely stay only 1 night but I always do 2 just in case.
This was an interesting thread for sure. Seems everyone had a good time despite the missing vendors and manufacturers.
Until April... "Clear the Mainline! I'm going on Traincation in York, PA!"
I suppose that a standard 'B would be a good way to self-limit purchasing. That's why you go for a B-GT, more cargo space. 😁 I've been owning, racing, and perpetually working on MGs and Austin Healey's since 8/8/88. Also have my fathers Austin seven (Mini) that he "kitbashed" to be a works rally cooper S replica.
and people wonder why I am interested in small layouts.
Someone else mentioned that their spending restraint is actually worse when they are around. Sounds like my problem as well, and I abused it at York. I called home to check on something my wife had planned on the same day, and mentioned Brady's having the Union RR custom run SW 1200. She talked me into it. 🤣
@Lionelski posted:Funny thing about York week.
Every 6 months my friends and I spend 4 or 5 days there, coming home either Friday or Saturday night. We always say "Wow, we saw everything and are Yorked out!"
The funny thing about York? By Sunday we all wish we were back at the Fairgrounds.
Thank the train Gods that the 2nd best train show in the country (In our humble opinions), The Allentown train Meet, is in less than 3 weeks!
You are correct! I to have been Yorked out. Then comes Allentown and I will say this. When you get to the finish line it’s really hard to tell which meet is better. York or Allentown?
@poconotrain posted:You are correct! I to have been Yorked out. Then comes Allentown and I will say this. When you get to the finish line it’s really hard to tell which meet is better. York or Allentown?
Both are great. York is much bigger and attracts people from all over the country, Allentown is a lot more regional IME. With York I think a lot of people go there both to look at and buy trains but it also is a social event too, people tend to stay several days. Allentown has its social aspects (the breakfast is worth getting up earlier to go to), but is more about finding trains. For me Allentown kind of is like the hair of the dog that bit you, helps to make the symptoms of post York withdrawal easier
York, York, York, it all goes by too quickly. Can't complain too much, still seeing many of my train friends all in one place over a couple of days. Food was a little hard to come by on the Fairgrounds, but still available in a couple of places.
I would say attendance was on par or a little above Spring this year. Aisles a little wider. Nice not to have to trip over others.
I miss some of the manufacturers in Orange (but would also like to set up our large standard gauge modular layout again - looks like that is history with consolidation of purple into orange), but really didn't spend that much time with them anyway.
A number of major train dealers no longer coming, or taking less space (Gryzbowski an exception), major reason being a lack of sellable inventory with MTH and Lionel preselling everything. The major train auctioneers are also getting a lot of merchandise, with auctions about one a week or more.
We (Standard Gauge Module Association) do a big coffee/donut breakfast Friday morning and had over 90 participants and 12 tables full of unique trains to show off, it was a blast and is one example of where community within TCA is a major reason for being both a member and also attending York.
Jim
Since I’m still relatively “a newbie” to the hobby, my thoughts on York seem to be much different than those who’ve attended for years.
This was my second York I attended and I once again had a blast! My mom also once again tagged along for our traincation bonding so it’s now becoming a pleasant routine thing. She’s learning a bunch about trains and is actually pointing stuff out that I’m missing while in “my zone” walking the isles LoL. The staff at the registration desk were once again wonderful and we are both new TCA members. The halls seemed much more packed with buyers compared to the Spring. Especially on Friday, the parking lot seemed a lot more packed and stayed pretty full throughout the day. I once again only went Thursday and Friday due to running out of money. One of these Yorks I’ll make it to Saturday! LoL!
Day one (Thursday) started with me waking up to find out I won on an eBay auction in which I was bidding on an item I’ve only come across once before. EBay doesn’t sleep during York week! LoL! (More details on that item once it arrives.) Then a two hour drive down to York after I emptied out the ATM. Once we got there, I began with meeting up with two fellow OGR members that I made purchases off of. Thanks again Nathan and Jim! Then as I mentioned above, we went and joined the TCA and purchased our tickets. I was able to navigate all the halls except half of the orange hall on day one. My purchases consisted of 13 Menards rolling stock, 1 Lionel boxcar, 6 Menards Dodge Power Wagons, 3 Lionelville Main Street buildings, and a refurbished ZW transformer with 2 year warranty along with a refurbished KW transformer with 2 year warranty. We also had lunch at the food cart by the white/red halls. Here’s a photo of the day 1 York haul.
Day two (Friday) started with us finishing out the rest of the orange hall. After that, I met with another OGR member that I was getting 3 FREE big boxes of empty Lionel and Menards boxes including a few empty Menards clamshells (plastic cartons). We also had a few rolling stock to exchange and he gave me a FREE hopper cover too. Thanks again John! Following that, we went back through all the halls and started negotiating on a few items I liked. I picked up the third and final Lionel reefer for the Hamm’s collection in memory of my late brother. I also grabbed 3 more Menards rolling stock, the MTH Old Line Flag Co. building, 3 MTH political rolling stock (one being my first purple box), and 4 boxcars from the Spirit of ‘76 collection. (if trains aren’t visible in photo, then box is empty) I also blocked out the 3 political cars so please lets leave it at that. Here’s a photo of the day 2 York haul. 
My total Fall York Haul of 2022!
I had an amazing second York experience! Everyone was friendly again and very helpful. I’m already starting to see familiar faces. My list had items crossed off but items also were added for future hunts. LoL. Another note was how magnificent the layouts were! There were more on display than in the Spring which was great! I’m hoping they continue to expand! I already could hardly wait until the spring meet next year!
Thank you to everyone in the EDTCA, volunteers, vendors, sellers, members, etc. that made all of this possible once again!!
Attachments
Images (3)
Richizzle037
And THAT is what YORK is all about. Welcome to the TCA and hope to see ya sometime. Move the throttle to Notch 8 - Tracks clear!
Curtis
@CurtisH posted:Richizzle037
And THAT is what YORK is all about. Welcome to the TCA and hope to see ya sometime. Move the throttle to Notch 8 - Tracks clear!
Curtis
Thanks Curtis! I’m going to try for the OGR breakfast next spring so that will allow for me to actually meet some fellow members compared to me drooling over the endless tables of trains where my focus barely strives away.
@Richizzle07 posted:Thanks Curtis! I’m going to try for the OGR breakfast next spring so that will allow for me to actually meet some fellow members compared to me drooling over the endless tables of trains where my focus barely strives away.
I haven't made any plans of yet.....but, I suspect it will be Thursday AM, April 20th, 2023. The official annoucement will come some time in late March, or early April.
Peter
@Putnam Division posted:I haven't made any plans of yet.....but, I suspect it will be Thursday AM, April 20th, 2023. The official annoucement will come some time in late March, or early April.
Peter
Sounds great Peter! I’ll keep an eye out for the official announcement. Thanks!
I'll be at Round-The-Clock, it's how I typically start my York Traincation. 
Headed up to this York with minimal enthusiasm but it really lifted my spirits hanging out with my train/scotch/homebrew drinking buddies. One of the best-selling Yorks for me and well balanced across all three days. I didn't buy much since I still need to thin the herd a bit more and make better progress on the layout at home. Usually, I am ready to get home on Saturday but this time I could have stayed longer, ha-ha. I want to see as much participation by as many train entities as possible. It makes for a better experience for more buying and selling while spreading out the costs create this experience. My expectations are measured though. Enjoy your train treasures and save up for April!
Had a very good time but things have really changed.I have been coming to York twice a year since 1995.I think the internet has taken a lot of the wind out of York not to mention Kline,Weaver,Williams and MTH are gone and now Lionel doesn’t come.Still a lot of found as I come with a lot of my TOGA club members and so old friends at the meet.I think for me it has become a Thursday to Friday show.The ED did a great job and seeing model trains helps forget the crazy world we are in.Looking forward to April!
NYCFAN
Mth was there between the two entrance doors.
There’s more to York than trains.
If you’re lucky you meet up with good friends
Attachments
Images (3)
This year was my first year back in about 10 years. We have 4 boys aged from 9-18 now. We had a great time on Friday. I didn't re-join mostly due to the cost for one day. With sports and all it's hard to get away now that our kids are a little older. Everyone had a great time though. We all really enjoyed the layouts, they were incredible. There was also a layout in the Orange hall with a lighthouse and bridge etc that we looked at for quite a bit. Another highlight was the Trainz dealer as they gave our youngest 2 free t-shirts.
My oldest son bought a 646 with money he made himself at Food-lion. It was nice to see him buying a train at the age 18. With a girlfriend and sports and all I figure if he's kept the interest this long he is probably hooked for life haha.
The rest of us found some parts, a new Lionel sawmill since our remake version was in need of replacement. A few rolling stock and some toy Nascar cars for our youngest son. The Orange Hall seemed quite full to us and we ran out of time looking around. On the way home we joked about the table that was advertising "40 bucks for a box full". It was mostly rusty junk haha.
We hope to be back in April and re-join TCA. We only saw a few other kids although it was a Friday. Hopefully TCA thinks of some ways to get more kids into the hobby
