We attended the SP&S Swap Meet yesterday here in Portland Oregon. Some notable observations were:
... hall filled with vendor tables; gauge most represented was HO. Some 3-rail but not as much as previous years.
... some of the "always present" local train show vendors were absent this year
... of the local railroad preservation groups only one of the "Big Four" were present ... the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association (SPS 700 folks): absent were "The Friends of the SP4449", the "Friends of the OWRN 197", and the "Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation" - all missed a good fund-raising/show the flag opportunity ... for $23 a table.
Most of the attendees we saw during our 1 -1/2 hour visit were in the early '50s to late 70's, as were the vendors.
Most notable was the complete absence of children and "youngsters" ... we saw at the most 2-3 children in attendance.
Very few people were buying even though a lot of people were in attendance; the parking lot was full when we arrived 1/2 hour after opening.
Prices were up, offers were down. Sellers were motivated.
We picked up a new Atlas switch tower, list $49.95 for $20; Kyrian found a new-in-the-box Weaver GN 21" 5-car passenger set with detail and passengers for $250; retailed a couple of years ago at $600.
The conclusion: the hobby is dieing a slow and painful death over the next decades as very few young people have any interest in 3-rail trains ... or trains at all for that matter. We've experienced this with our own three grandsons. After gifts of starter sets which ended up in the garage, they went for handheld electronic games and that is all the interest in "toys" they have to this day.
All-in-all, it was sad to be there and realize why we're fading into the sunset .... slot cars were just the camel's nose in the tent.
If there is any upside at all to this, any children who develop a love for this hobby are going to be picking up very nice equipment at fire-sale prices in the future.
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