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Post by atsfan on Jan 23, 2015 6:48:08 GMT -8
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Post by riogrande on Jan 23, 2015 7:17:27 GMT -8
If Springfield is anything like Syracuse, 3-6 inches isn't a major event although it might slow things down abit. I lived in "snow land" for 15 years so yes, that is enough snow to be inconvenient depending on whether or not the local road crews are well prepared. In central NY they have snow plow trucks the size of a small house with a wing that can allow them to do two lanes at a time - mailboxes don't stand a chance! It can depend on timing too. Sometimes when the road conditions are deteriorating quickly, and early in the season, there are enough daftys out there that there can be accidents and trouble. There are real winter people left for sure, but plenty not mixed in so you just never know.
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Post by stevewagner on Jan 23, 2015 7:25:10 GMT -8
I'm not sure yet whether I'll drive to the show on Saturday or Sunday. Here's why: I've always told my wife I like to attend the show on Saturday, unless the weather is quite bad then and the forecast for Sunday is much better. Veteran New England meteorologist David Epstein still (as of c. 9:46 a.m., EST on Friday the 23rd) thinks Saturday will bring 3 to 6 inches of snow in a belt including my town and extending west along the Mass Pike about as far as Palmer. He thinks the Springfield area will only get 1 to 3 inches. But my wife has arthritis from her head to her toes and simply can't shovel snow. I won't go tomorrow unless our older son will be home to do the shoveling, especially when the snow is likely to be heaviest, from about 10 a.m. into the afternoon.
Epstein expects 4 to 7 inches of snow in a much smaller belt stretching from southwest to northeast from about Lowell, MA to about Exeter, NH.
P.S. Again (after seeing the post now above this one), I'm less worried about driving conditions than about leaving my wife alone to cope with fairly significant snowfall.
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Post by JohnJ on Jan 23, 2015 13:22:28 GMT -8
We had a 3" snowstorm in Connecticut a few weeks back that caused major problems - it hit during rush hour. In general, the crews up here have the major roads cleaned from a moderate snowstorm within a few hours of the storm ending. Driving while the storm is going on can be problematic, though, even with just a few inches. In the aforementioned Connecticut snowstorm, it took me close to 2 hours to go 20 miles. By the time I got out of my meeting about three hours later, the sun was shining and the roads were perfectly clear.
Things in our favor: it's a weekend and traffic will be lighter than during the week, the Big E is located on major roads, and it sounds like the further north you go, the lighter the snow. Getting out of Connecticut in the morning will be the tricky part, I think, as we're supposed to get icy, sleet and freezing rain along with the snow.
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Post by curtmc on Jan 23, 2015 17:02:40 GMT -8
I hope everybody gets there safely and has a great time... NWS has just issued a winter storm warning for West Springfield area (midnight to 7 PM tomorrow night) for 5"-8" snow.
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Post by MONSTERRAILROAD on Jan 24, 2015 4:51:29 GMT -8
7:45am - There is a lot of snow falling here in Enfield, Ct which is just about 10 miles away from West Springfield. There is already 3-4" on the ground and it is wet and heavy too.
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Post by tdspeedracer on Jan 24, 2015 6:42:30 GMT -8
That shouldn't matter. Not sure on anyone else's mentality when it comes to going to a train show, but the "mail carrier's creed" comes to my mind..
I've only missed one show/sale I planned to attend due to weather in the last 20 years. Was disappointed at the time, but it turned out to be a good thing. MnDot hadn't even plowed I94/I35 in the Twin Cities by 9am. I'm sure I would have gone had I not had to take my little guys with me.
Over the years I've seen a lot of cars in the ditch and had one close call of my own on the way to and from shows.
Trevor
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Post by curtmc on Jan 24, 2015 8:15:57 GMT -8
New Englanders have the advantage on the road in winter weather that most around them are accustomed to driving in snow and that the highway departments are equipped to handle it... Down here in the mid-Atlantic it is the mix that creates the issues... Those with a lot of winter driving experience going a lot faster (sometimes too fast) mixed with those with little or no experience (many in vehicles with tires not meant for snow/ice)...
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Post by emd16645 on Jan 24, 2015 8:41:38 GMT -8
Show attendance seems to be down as compared to past years, but I think many will just hold off on going until tomorrow.
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Post by NS4122 on Jan 24, 2015 9:40:55 GMT -8
I was planning on going today, but changed my mind after seeing that the scarecast was calling for 5-8 inches. The report I saw today was calling for less than an inch. Oh well, tomorrow looks good.
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Post by JohnJ on Jan 24, 2015 11:44:38 GMT -8
This is what I woke up to in central Connecticut at around 7 a.m.; the snow was still coming down at a pretty good clip at that point. I thought things over for about five minutes and finally decided driving 60 miles in this with the kids in the car was probably not a bright idea, particularly since my 300' driveway hadn't been plowed. We'll go tomorrow; I just hope it's not nuts with everyone else who has the same idea as me.  |
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Post by lvrr325 on Jan 24, 2015 20:31:55 GMT -8
Attendance was way down through the morning and into the afternoon. I could lug through with my bag and only a couple times did idiots not paying attention try to mow it down and buy everything in it from me. Only one thing that I went back for sold while I was gone. Usually Saturday is asses and elbows and by 1:00 I'm so sick of crowds, people walking over me, stopping dead in front of me for no reason, pushing past, or just standing places doing nothing but blocking things I have to get out of there.
Zero line to get tickets, zero line waiting when we left. Parking was super close despite being half an hour later than usual because of the crap plowing the highway folks did over the Berkshires. No visible traffic line waiting to get in either, usually at 9:30 it's backed up all the way to US 5. No real lines for food, either, usually I pass on it because of them, was able to walk up at 12:30 to one of the vendors and get a burger with hardly any wait time.
I'd say this year the only problem was I wore sneakers and the lousy job they did clearing snow they got soaked through.
I think you will also find the vendor count down a little from last year, at least three I looked for were not there, the big one being the guys that have been in the Young Building with tons and tons of vintage HO. I usually go there first and drop at least $100. Given what it costs to get in there, I'd think that's what you want to be selling - vintage stuff that's more or less all profit out of an estate or collection - rather than new stuff where you have to sell it at 10% or 20% over cost to move it and it takes selling 20 $199 list price locomotives to pay for one table.
I picked up my usual assortment of stupid cheap bargains, about 50% stuff to flip, about 50% stuff to keep, and I'll probably come out ahead by a couple hundred bucks when I'm done.
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Post by curtmc on Jan 24, 2015 21:16:32 GMT -8
lvrr, what king of "stupid cheap bargains" did you find? Generally I have heard not many bargains to be found there compared to other shows. Were prices lower than normal today due to the low attendance?
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Post by lvrr325 on Jan 25, 2015 7:33:06 GMT -8
Springfield is no different than any other show. The best deals are found if you get there early. For as many vendors with "they must be on crack" more than list pricing, or just full list pricing, there were just as many selling things for a decent discount or even close to half list price. Not every vendor is a dealer, some are guys who sell collections or clubs selling surplus stuff.
Most of my deals were older stock pieces or used pieces. In fact, I picked up several Athearn blue-box diesels for $15 or less, just to flip - because those are what I sell the most of, when I have them. The last one I had I sold for $40 just last week.
You have to buy it when you see it, though. I held off on a Walthers "Farmers Co-op" kit, sealed, older run at $15. When I saw list on it is now $35 I went back and it had sold.
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Post by JohnJ on Jan 25, 2015 16:22:58 GMT -8
I talked to several vendors, who both said Saturday was light but with more high-ticket sales, while Sunday had much more traffic with people picking up $5 items. Sunday's crowds were not bad and it really cleared out past 3 p.m. One vendor said it wasn't a blockbuster year but he still cleared a profit. I suspect attendance numbers will be significantly down this year compared to past years.
No matter how much attendance might have been affected by the weather, the show dodged a huge bullet, as a massive snow event is shaping up to begin Monday.
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Post by fmilhaupt on Jan 25, 2015 19:06:58 GMT -8
My bunch hit the weather far better than we'd hoped this year. We drove out from SE Michigan in clear weather on Friday, and had no trouble at all driving to the show from our hotel down in Windsor Locks on CT-75/MA-75 Saturday morning-- the 4 inches of wet snow was nothing worse than we're used to this time of year in Michigan.
The light crowds Saturday were nice. My only disappointment was that Yarmouth Model Works didn't make it, due to issues at the border. Ted Culotta pinch-hit at the Yarmouth table, though, with his own products. I don't go to shows looking for heavy discounts so much as for vendors selling stuff I don't usually find elsewhere. I came back with lots of detail parts, a few structure kits, a number of DCC detection and signal controller boards, and a few harder-to-find freight cars.
We were well ahead of any bad weather at all on the trip back today, with no appreciable snow until just before Sandusky, OH. There the snow picked up to light flurries most of the rest of the way home.
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Post by lvrr325 on Jan 27, 2015 0:10:58 GMT -8
Hearing overall attendance was cut about in half with the weather. Those who didn't come Saturday, didn't come at all.
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Post by JohnJ on Jan 27, 2015 6:26:59 GMT -8
I heard 6,000 people showed up Saturday, so it wasn't a complete bust. Sunday's crowds seemed perhaps a bit lighter than usual but it was busy for a period in the afternoon.
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Post by rapidobill on Jan 27, 2015 6:55:13 GMT -8
Hearing overall attendance was cut about in half with the weather. Those who didn't come Saturday, didn't come at all. Not quite that bad, I think about 14,000 for the weekend. Well down from normal (~20k), but not bad at all considering how difficult it was to get there on Saturday morning.Still one of the best shows in the country. Bill Schneider |
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