Anyone been to a WGH show? Worth it?


skyliner

Well-Known Member
So I just noticed that the World's Greatest Hobby tour is in St. Paul this weekend. I almost missed it, as I usually keep track of local shows through local dealer websites and their lists of shows they will be attending; as you can imagine, I'm guessing small dealers won't be at this show.

Has anyone been to one of these lately? And was it worth it? The $15 admission is higher than any local show, so I was kind of curious. Is it mostly manufacturers' displays, or is there opportunity for decent deals on purchases?

I will likely go regardless, as it seems that the WGH show only passes through every 5-10 years, I guess I had better see it while I can. I've never had a chance to chat with manufacturers, so I can start thinking about what sort of prototypes I'd like to see, or details to complain about. Unfortunately looks like Intermountain won't be there, I'd like to ask them about their next run of cab-forwards.
 
They had a WGH show in Chantilly, VA a few weeks ago. Some of the big vendirs were there, i.e. Scale Trains, Athearn, Bowser and a few others. They weren't selling anything, just displaying product. A large number of sellers, about 200 tables mostly used Lionel stuff or Tyco HO stuff. Maybe 6 operating modular layouts. I was in and back out in about 30 min.
 
I went to the Chantilly VA show also. I spent couple hours there and found a few goodies. Seems a waste to pay the admission and only spend 30 minutes.

The highlight was getting to meet and chat with Shane Wilson, president of Scale Trains and Chris Palmerez of Athearn. Not a ton of HO stuff there but a good amount of N. Other dealers companies there included Bowser, Bachmann, Broadway LTD and a few others.
 
It was in Wichita a few years back and most of the local shows at the time were bigger.

That said, it was the show I bought my Empire Builder stuff at.
 
Don't know why I'm just seeing this post now. I went to the show in St. Paul on Saturday. You could pre-purchase tickets online and save $4. (I think it was $4.)

I thought it was worth it. Lots of stuff for sale - I bought four automobiles, a Betty's Diner kit and some static grass. If I had been looking for rolling stock there were plenty of bargains.

The layouts they had setup were pretty huge and had some nice detailing.

If you are in the Twin Cities area I recommend the Twin City Model Railroad Museum swap meets on the State Fair Grounds. Probably has the same amount of stuff for sale as the WGH show.
 



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