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Just curious if anyone here is going to the Toronto Christmas Train Show ) http://www.antiquetoys.ca/trainshow.html) this w/e? It's the largest train show in Canada -- it's really good as it has live steam models on display, as well as HO, N, O, OO and other scales. There are also booths from various heritage railways. I like it because there are usually some British layouts there, including some vintage ones (i.e. Hornby Dublo or Triang trains from the 1960s and earlier).
I'm not sure yet which day I will go (at this point, it's looking like Sunday) but it would be neat to meet any Gauge folks there.
Rob
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I'll be there on Sunday with the Family. I have a couple of things I'm hunting for but mostly going to see a few things and heading home.
That reminds me I gotta print off that coupon. 
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tetters Wrote:I'll be there on Sunday with the Family. I have a couple of things I'm hunting for but mostly going to see a few things and heading home.
That reminds me I gotta print off that coupon.
Yes, I have my coupon as well. I'll probably focus on the British layouts, the live steam locos, a few North American HO layouts and 1-2 vendors. My youngest son always enjoys watching the large (garden scale?) layouts set up on the floor and especially the Lego trains. He could watch those for hours!
Rob
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Hi Guys,
I'll be there all weekend. Find me at the Narrow Gauge Madness table.
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And I'll be there at the Platelayers' stand. I'll be doing cardboard building kits (again) and holding down the end known as "the Three Daves".
I'll also have the building that Robin made and put my name on.
David
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TinGoat Wrote:Hi Guys,
I'll be there all weekend. Find me at the Narrow Gauge Madness table.
Thanks -- I'll stop by your table!
Rob
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Well I have to say I was very dissapointed in the show today . I have been in past years and it was great . Havnt been in about 4 years .Its not even a full room anymore . No live steam ,Not much for vendors .The layout that were there were outstanding to say the least . You can walk the whole thing in about 15 minutes . I felt sorry for the ones that were there . I can understand the lack of vendors .I herd they were charged 200.00 a table . 4 tables and your already in the hole . There was alot of empty spots . Its ashame really as it used to be one of the best shows around . I guess its like everything else . One day it will be no more as well . Goodluck to all who venture out to it . MartyG
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Well...
That is disappointing to hear. What is there? I was going to pick up some weathering dyes and some wood ties... sounds like I should save my money instead. :?
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Tetters:
I felt it was smaller than before -- possibly because one of the bigger British dealers wasn't there.
Not sure if the crowd was smaller than previously. The main Canadian manufacturers were there, but I didn't see Fasttracks. Some hobby shops, of course, but a couple of large ones didn't show.
I think that layouts and demonstrations may be a higher portion of the show than before.
There were other events in both Whitby and Guelph.
David
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Well, I went today but couldn't properly take it in. I had both my sons with me so I could only half focus on things at the best. Apologies to a few people (i.e. David!) that I couldn't really chat for long, and I didn't really get to the Narrow Gauge Madness table -- I think I vaguely remember seeing it! My sons are high-energy, so it's hard to take in things when you're frazzled (but I'm not complaining!).
Yes, for some reason, the live steamers were absent. There's usually a nice display of large live steam locos with a few running. I always like to see these, especially the several British ones -- I wonder what happened to them? I also could not find the Toronto Heritage Railway Centre display nor the South Simcoe Railway, yet I know the former were there. I thought that the crowd looked a little sparse at times, but then it was hard to really tell as it seemed to quickly get busy and then thin out.
Yes, there were some excellent layouts there. Some were creative in that they used up only a small amount of space for their HO scale. There was a neat Z scale layout there as well.
If all goes well and if I can find the time, I might sneak off to the Whitby show tomorrow -- it's always a good show as well.
Rob
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I didn't think I was going to be able to make it, but I suddenly was able to go to the Whitby show today -- wow, two train shows in one weekend!
As usual, it was a good show. Obviously on a smaller scale (compared to the Toronto one), but lots of good layouts -- I believe all were HO or N. There were also several good vendors, displays, and very friendly people. My son & I had a great time, although I was still a little rushed.
Rob
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Rob: the live steamers and Toronto Heritage were right at the back. The back end looked like a wide open space in places, partly because of the floor level garden railways.
David
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In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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BR60103 Wrote:Rob: the live steamers and Toronto Heritage were right at the back. The back end looked like a wide open space in places, partly because of the floor level garden railways.
Thanks, David. I wish I could have seen them! How did things go on Sunday?
Overall, the Christmas show is a good concept (i.e. an excellent mixture of all MRR scales, heritage trains and live steam) but it's unfortunate that there are so many problems with high prices and apparently difficult people to deal with who run the show. One of the guys who had a layout at the Whitby show said that his group used to display their layout at the Toronto show, but never again, because of the above reasons.
Rob
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Hi Kids,
Saturday was okey, but Sunday dragged on forever...
From about 1pm onward, I was checking my watch every few minutes. The place was almost dead.
I was at the Maple Leaf 2003 [NMRA] convention that was almost killed by SARS.
That was exciting and fun. Then, I've been an exhibitor at the Toronto Christmas Train Show every year since then.
And each year seems to be worse than the last. The show seems to be shrinking.
I have suggested to people in NMRA Niagara Frontier Region and/or the CAoRM guys that they should take advantage of the Toronto Christmas Train Show to piggy-back their own functions. Being near the airport and hotels, they could run clinics, contests, etc... while taking advantage of the large show hall that the show is in.
I think that joining forces would really be great.
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As a quick side-note...
I spoke to Clark Kooning on Saturday morning to ask were Fast Tracks was...
Fast Tracks [Tim Warris] has just gotten back from doing a string of train shows in the North East U.S.A. and was tired out from the experience. So he decided to take a pass on the Toronto Christmas Train Show.
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