I love taking the kids to the Greenberg Train and Toy Show when it comes to town. On Saturday, we braved Hurricane Irene (slight drizzle) to see what this year’s show had to offer.
If you are toy train enthusiast, this show will break you. There are tons of vendors selling everything from vintage Lionel sets to modeling tools you never knew you needed. There were several impressive model train set ups by local groups. I particularly enjoyed the Z-scale train, which is the smallest scale. You can build an entire town in that scale in about two square feet.
Having attended these shows for years, it seems like there isn’t a lot of new blood in the hobby. Many f the layouts are looking tired, and there just aren’t that many new layouts to see. One thing I always enjoy is looking for the “Easter Eggs” that modelers hide in their layouts. This War of the Worlds bit wasn’t necessarily hidden, but it was pretty fun to see…
There were probably only a half dozen toy vendors at the show, and they were totally eclipsed by the 100+ train vendors, but I did manage to come home with a few items (shocking!)…
I bought the Darth Vader with backer card for $8, and those Ghostbusters Ecto-1 ambulances were just a buck each, so I got three! At least two of them will eventually end up in my ecrater shop.
Overall, the show was lots of fun for me and the kids, and I’m a little bummed that it will be another full year before it returns. It used to come around twice a year, but for whatever reason, it’s now going to be an annual event. Whenever it returns, I’ll be there!
This show has stopped in the Greater Philadelphia area a couple of times over the years, and as an avid Lionel guy I’ve enjoyed them overall. I’ve walked away from these shows spending a lot more than I would have liked to. And with regards to those Ecto-1 Hot Wheels, I’ve seen them drop in price as they’ve become more widely available. It didn’t work out too well for the speculators this go around.