What halls were open for the first York show.

I have been told that the first York filled about 1/4 of the blue hall.

I don't know which hall was added next.

Steve

Oh My God! A York post that we've never seen before!

I've heard tell that such a thing existed but I thought it was only myth and legend.

I'm serious Marty, I figured every York question, comment or post had been done to death by now. How long have you been hiding this one from us?

Jerry

The York Meet history is discussed on the Eastern Division website under the “about us” link: Click here: Eastern Division York Train Meet About Us

Bill

Eastern Divison is the sole sponsor of the York Train Meet. It is the largest division within the Train Collectors Association with over 6,600 members. The York Train Meet has a long history dating back to 1964 when it began holding its first train meet in the Blue Hall, also known as Memorial Hall. When you hear the old timers tell how they used to secure their tables, you can't help but smile. It was a free for all and whoever managed to get to the table first laid claim to it for the entire meet. Read more...

Don

I really would be just guessing. I would say about 1968 or 69. I would think Charlie R would know the answer to this question. The first years 1954 to 60 something, they met in Lancaster. My friend Bill McCluskey would know the answer to that Question. The York meet was only in the blue hall in the beginning.

Thanks guys.  I came on board York in 1980.  It was great to see.  I have never missed and hopefully never will as long as I am alive.

I love hearing the stories from TCA "old timers" about the early days (like the mad scramble to get prime spots in the hall).

I just wish some of these stories could get collected for posterity in a book or video documentary about the history of the TCA and the evolution of the York meet.  I'd buy that book and/or video in a heartbeat.

Andy

My first York I had to stand in a very long line to get into the Blue hall to get a name tag.  They were done by hand and not very fast.  The Silver hall that is next to the blue hall today was not even a thought and was not built for many years. 

The Orange hall where it stands today was a field and people had tents and campers on that spot. 

The Yellow hall under the Grandstands was the best.  That is where all the new trains were.

The black hall had sellers in it.  The white hall was the same back then.

The red hall (rusted relics hall) has the same people selling the same trains as they did 35 years ago.  The people and the trains are just older.  I skip that hall.

The purple hall heated up with newer trains.  Back then half of that hall was used to store animal cages.

The Gold hall always had the ROW layout in it.  A great treat.

Years later the green hall was alive for a few years.  Nothing great.

I have seen many people pass on and many train companies pass on.

The one thing that is constant is we all look forward to each Yory with more interest for each show.

Marty,

Actually the Green Hall was where they had the auctions on Friday nights and if you were lucky you could get bargains in those auctions.

Bill

I remember my first York (April 97) I parked somewhere on the grass near a big tree way in the back of the grounds, might have been where Orange now sits, or it could have been the small grassy area that is still there before the perimeter fence.  Being my first meet, it seemed like it was very far away from everything since I had never been there before.

Rusted Relics Red?  Oh No! (maybe I shouldn't check the "yes I've had a table at spot xx" the next time?)    I tried for the first time to hold a table at last year's meets and I got a spot in Red.  Nothing I had was older than 20 or so years old (and no rust), I swear(and all had decent original boxes)!  (I do understand the vibe though, there is a bunch of PW and earlier in Red)

-Dave

Bill, The green hall was open for about 5 years as a trading hall about 15 years ago. 

It also sometimes had a somewhat unique/odd display.

There was a man (group, probably, I forget the name or names) that had trains made from coffee and potato cans(may have been other materials too, but that's the best of my recollection).  The train was pushed down the track with an attachable stick at the engine end. 

It was one of those "fun" things.  While I would not find myself making trains like that, it was neat to see something different like that.

-Dave

Interesting comments on Red Hall.

Personally, since I started going on Thursdays (around 2009-2010), I have found a lot of Atlas rolling stock in Red Hall for great prices.  Even though 99% of what I buy is scale, modern production, I never skip a hall.  You never know what you will find and where, and I love looking at all the old stuff, so it is still time well spent for me.

Andy

The Eastern Division show only has three types of halls: display layout, dealer sales, and member sales.
Since the ED show committee does try to put people in the same location from show to show, I guess that over time, members will decide that some halls are better than others for what is of interest to them.
But to the best of my knowledge, there is no attempt to organize table holders according to what they plan to sell.

I try to hit all the sales halls, dealer and member.
I know that I have made purchases in all of them.

What buildings housed the Green and Gold Halls? My 1st York meet was in 1998 and I recall a building behind the Blue and Silver Halls that was active for a couple of years. Was that one of these?

Sam

I completely agree. I used to like the Yellow Hall the best, too.  It's where I also set up for the first time as a vendor.

I remember seeing the QSI booth set up in the early days and remember thinking "It'll never catch on...".  So goes my ability to predict.

I also used to like the fact that you could go out of the Yellow Hall and more or less directly into Lionel's Tent.  There were always plenty of people in that space -- both people you knew personally and luminaries (e.g., Dick Maddox, Dick Kughn, etc.) hanging around out there.

I know he still goes, but there was also a guy in the Yellow Hall who did those incredibly detailed oil refineries.  I used to stand in front of those for quite a while when things got slow late on Saturday mornings.  His work was just great.

I wish someone would whisper the idea about doing a York history book in Bruce Greenberg's ear.  I'd also buy it in a heartbeat.

Fun.

Steven J. Serenska

I remember as a 12 or 13 year old (89-90) my dad let me drive from the blue hall to park closer to the yellow hall in the grass field that I guess is now the Orange hall. Was quite the thrill as a youngster! I took 20 years off from York, and now I look forward to every one. I don't really remember any other halls than the blue and yellow. When I walked into the blue hall for the first time after 20 years, it all came back to me, I even remembered to follow the arrows

Green is what you refer to down the hallway between the Silver door and the restrooms in the lobby.  Commonly announced as "Green Barn" on the PA.

Gold is a little building that is easy to miss right next to the Grandstand (former Yellow).  If you go to the OGR Forum gatherings on the grandstand, it's that end of the Grandstand.

-Dave

Marty, I agree that they used it for a trading hall as among other things that was where I first saw Atlas O.  But for several years BEFORE that it housed the Friday night auction.  I was among many who bought trains at that auction!  They discontinued the auction when they started using the Green Hall for trading apparently because they needed more table spaces as the other halls were filled.  This was before the Silver Hall was built.  But after the Silver Hall was built I think they quit using the Green Hall for trading and don't think they ever reinstated the auction, either.  

Bill

I have nothing of value to add to this, but I have to say this one thing.  I've refreshed the forum page a couple times today and in recent posts, the title of this thread comes up.  Well, every time at quick glance I think I'm reading a thread starting with "What the h%ll..."

I'm pretty sure the most recent use of Green was after Silver was built.  I know I was there for Green in it's latest use, but I was never there before Silver was opened.

-Dave

The green hall ran for two years after the silver hall was built.  I loved going in to see the old tin trains the older gent made from cans.

Don't forget the Grunge Hall; that's the tent Neil young used to set up outside the Purple Hall. 

Don

Dave & Marty:

OK, thanks for confirming that the Green Hall was still being used for trading for awhile after the Silver Hall opened (which BTW happened in the fall of 1996).  I wasn't sure when it closed.  In retrospect it was probably more recently than the opening of the Silver Hall in 1996 that I saw Atlas introducing their new Atlas O 3-rail line at a booth in the Green Hall. 

But nobody else has commented on the Friday night auctions in the Green Hall?  They were well-attended and exciting events!

Where’s Eddie when we need him?

Bill

I had heard of auctions, but was never involved at all, so I don't remember when they may have stopped.

Is it possible the auctions ended up at some point in the room in the hallway where they photograph "new and unusual items"?

-Dave

The auctions were lots of fun. They actually continued for a year or so in the Silver Hall after that was opened.

The auctioneer was the late Timmy Johnson, a good friend of ours here in the NY capital district. Anyone remember the security guard who could calculate the correct tax on any sale in his head in a second or two? I still see him working the meet in recent years.

There was always an irate customer or two who couldn't understand what was going on. The famous quote was always, "What do you mean I bid $15 a car? I thought it was $15 for the whole lot of them!"

Always very entertaining!

Jim

I thought Gold was the hall under the bleachers?

And where was the Green hall?

Roughly where I have the corresponding boxes in the below snip of the map: (yes, I know the box I drew is closer to yellow than gold in color )

Under the Bleachers was Yellow, the biggest dealer hall (though with oddly arranged aisles - because it was under the bleachers ) until Orange opened.

The overhang from the Grandstand may actually extend over to the smaller building, I always get the feel of walking through a tunnel (albeit a very high roof tunnel) when I visit the forum meeting.  It's the sort of thing I have a rough image of in my mind, but is difficult to describe when you are not looking at it.  It could be viewed as part of the bigger building, though you had to walk outside to get  from one to the other.

-Dave

Great thread, Marty! 

I started going in the Fall of 2000.  The Yellow Hall was my favorite as well.

It was very different than the meets held these days.  Animal pens (and odors!) were all over the place.  It seemed a lot more vibrant and busy.  Those 2 days seemed to create a frenzy that the "new" 3 day format doesn't.

But, it's still the greatest train show in the world.

And I feel privileged and lucky to be able to attend.

I also remember all those public service and personal announcements over the loudspeaker systems.  What a hoot!  "The red zone is for loading and unloading..."

George

George, my first York over the PA came some very bold messages.

You know, between the animal smells, the crazy weather, the PA announcements, and the general train-buying frenzy, there was something just visceral about the York experience.  Really hard to describe, but an absolutely fabulous feeling.  It was like being transported back in time to my childhood.  Joyous, I guess.

George

I recall when the infield of the race track would filled with parked cars (1998 era). As attendance declined you could see the volume of cars each meet decline as well. Now, with the meet starting on Thursdays the crunch of people has been spread over more time and my unscientific "infield parking scale" is no longer valid!

They don't park people on the infield any more. Parking behind the Blue and Silver hall has increased dramatically.

I just remember restrooms in the location shown as "Gold Hall", when the Yellow Hall

was in use.  While the two day frenzy was fun, I like the additional, less crowded space and more leisurely pace possible (although I still "race" through the halls), with the time to thoroughly cover the orange hall, and to go back if something interesting is seen.  I well remember and miss K-Line's set-up in the Purple Hall. 

The York Fairgrounds has some great memories for me.  This York will be York show number 70 for me.  When I first went to York, I never dreamed things would last this long.  As long as I am abel I will keep going. 

My first York was Spring '79. I was in the 4th grade, and what a thrill it was to go to York with Dad!! Toy trains, father-son bonding, and skipping a day of school--it didn't get any better than that. At that time there were Red, White, Blue and Yellow Halls. The Yellow was in one of the older buildings at that time, and then moved into the grandstands shortly after my first trip to York. Dad always had a table in the Blue Hall, and we continue that tradition to this day.

One of my best and most vivid York memories was the time Dad was in the hunt for a blue 712 observation. He had 3 blue 710 Pullmans, and brought one to sell, but only if he could find a 712 to replace it. I was on my own walking through the halls, and found one in the White Hall. I asked the man selling it if he would set it aside until I came back with my Dad, and he agreed. I then ran all the way back to the Blue Hall to tell Dad what I found, took him back to the White Hall, and he ended up buying it!! Dad has been gone nearly 14 years, but those blue cars are still part of his collection, and the memories live on.

My 1st York was April 83........I still can feel it.....the sheer amazement of all those gorgeous trains in one place......

How about the Purple Hall before it got refurbished.....when the temperature rose you could really savor those animal smells!

Peter

Yep, I miss that guy and his homemade trains!