Tag Archives: Cleveland

2012 Cleveland O Scale Show – November

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The Cleveland O Scale Show came right on the heals of Huricane Sandy, which was felt from New Jersey all the way to Chicago. Lots of people were talking about the storm. Surprising to hear how many were without power in the other states it hit. A number of people I expected to see at the show were not there because they were cleaning up after the storm.

For those that did go to the show, there were a lot of people selling off collections of built cars, plus a number of folks selling their own extra models. There did not seem to be many dealers with new or current stock on their tables, maybe three or four dealers. That’s not to say that there wasn’t plenty of models at good prices.

There was one new manufacturer at the show, OscaleTurnouts, Inc.™ had a display of their new O scale turnout offerings. They are built up using PC boards to keep the rails in gauge and Right-O-Way castings to make them look great. One feature I really liked, they worked out how far to extend the rail at the end of the diverging routes so that two turnout laid together will be spaced correctly for a 4 inch centerline single cross over. It said to me they have done more then just built a jig to build the turnouts in, they have designed a though out product.

2011 Cleveland O Scale Show – November

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I got back from The Cleveland O Scale Show last night. From New Jersey, it was an eight hour drive one way to the show but it was well worth it. This was my second time attending the show. The show’s size is not as large as Chicago, but  is close to twice the size of the O Scale shows back here in the East. Attendance was good and people were buying, maybe not the most expensive stuff in the room but they were spending money.

One of the really nice things about the show was the the show’s producer was walking through the hall during the last part of the show and asking some of the dealers not to start to pack their materials up. How many shows that were advertized for 9-2 really end at noon. This show ended at 2pm. This work out well for me, as I had a pair of larger sales within the last twenty minutes of the show to attendees, not dealers.

Again, I had my O scale track out on the table and it continues to find new homes. I noticed most of the track sales were smaller, guys buying one or two bundles at a time. Still, I’m glad it’s finding new homes. The first of Protocraft/Micro Engineering P48 flex track to start to replace it should be arriving this next week.  Since more of the O scale flex track sold this weekend another order for the P48 flex track will be placed shortly.

I also had the chance to meet some people I’ve only emailed with before. One of them was Lee Turner. You may remember Lee as the man that produced some resin kits in the past. I have a couple of his kits myself. He had some very nicely painted models for sale on his table. More importantly, Lee mentioned he is currently working on an LV wrong way boxcar. I hope he is able to find the right caster to produce the car, that’s a car I’d like to have on the layout.

I got to talk to some of the members of the Youngstown Club while I was there. They were one of the few tables I bought from at the National and they had another model on their table yesterday that managed to get me to dig into the wallet and take it home.

There was a nice mix of guys selling some extra stuff, brass dealers, parts guys and others selling off collections. There was also a mixture of guys selling scenery materials and buildings. I had a good time selling some of my extras and brought home some new models and parts for this winter’s projects.