Bill
Relative to the comments below regarding the train show:
It is true that some vendors bolted due to the high price for space in a venue
like a downtown convention center. It is the same in all the major cities.
What did not help is that Philadelphia levied both a 2.5% gross receipts tax
[on top of PA sales tax], PLUS a $100 fee for a retail sales license because
they were set up for more than two consecutive days. It did not help vendor
attendance in having the National Garden Railway Convention the same weekend
and the O Scale National only two weeks later.
As for the comment regarding the union carpenters and electricians; the PVSGA
layout team had the opposite experience. We had the S scale layout set up
away
from all the others; we were very close to the main entrance to the hall.
Everyone was allowed to drive in with vehicles and unload their own stuff.
Once everything was on the floor and the vehicles out of the exhibit hall, two
carpenters came over, and under the guidance of Bill Ortley and Dick Cataldi
quickly mastered the art of assembling, leveling and joining our modules.
They
were very helpful. The electrician connected a pigtail with a 115v outlet box
to the main 208V house power and went on his way. After the show, two
carpenters came over and helped us take the modules down and bolt them
together
in pairs for transport. I am sure that not everyone had the same
experience as
the S scalers. My experience at other shows is that the union guys appear,
offer to help, and are sent away [because you will break our stuff]. Then the
group needs something [RIGHT NOW] and complains because help doesn't appear
within two minutes. You cannot have it both ways.
I noticed that neither of your "reporters" made the slightest mention of S
scale, even though you had to work very hard not to pass by our layout. I
thought both S-Helper and Des Plaines Hobbies had great booths and did a
reasonable amount of business. My wife found S items at BTS, Bar Mills, F&C,
and a couple of other folks whom I do not recall at the moment.
The Potomac Valley S Gauge Assn members that attended thought that it was a
good show and great exposure for S. Attendance was 21,000+. In all fairness,
most of them have never gone to Springfield, MA in February for the Amherst
Railway Society show at the Big E, so big shows are anything over 5,000 people
and five or six layouts.
Jim Stapleton, PVSGA
Northern VA
==================
At 07:35 AM 07/25/2006 -0400, Bill wrote:
>Hi Gang,
>John's review .....
>2006 National Model Railroad Association Convention-Independence Junction,
Philadelphia July 2-7
>(short version)
>=====BIG SNIP ======
>The National Train Show: This is supposed to be the highlight of the show
where
>all the manufacturers unveil their latest innovations/models
>many dealers sell products
>clubs bring their modular layouts to show off.
>We conventioneers get a few private hours on Friday morning, and then it's
open to the public. Although I did get to see some new things that I wasn't
aware of, all in all, this was a major disappointment of the convention.
Rumor
is that the city made it so expensive and difficult to be an exhibitor/dealer
that most people just didn't bother. I do know that union rules made the
show a
lot more difficult---you couldn't plug in an extension cord without a union
guy---and they were nowhere to be found!
Jim & Jo Anne Stapleton
Purcellville VA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
