First-Ever Atlantic City N Scale Gathering: June 20-22, 2014

[ChristianJDavis1]

On behalf of the Atlantic County 4-H Model Railroad Club, I would like to cordially invite the members of this forum to attend the first-ever Atlantic City N Scale Gathering!

This event is designed to introduce and raise awareness about N scale to the general public and future modelers, as well as give East Coast-based modelers who do not have the opportunity to travel to some of the larger N Scale only conventions held throughout the years the feel of attending an N Scale only event.

Several operating layouts will be presented by several of the area's N-Trak groups, as well as the Atlantic County 4-H's own Model Railroad Club's home and modular layouts. Everyone who attends this event is encouraged to bring their own N Scale trains and equipment to operate on these layouts. Both DC and DCC Digital locomotives can be accommodated. Even if you have something to just show-off, bring it out to the show and converse amongst your fellow N Scale modelers.

Several vendors selling exclusively N Scale related merchandise, such as locomotives, rolling stock, structures, power supplies, etcetera, will also be present. A DCC Digital expert vendor will also be present at this event, so if you have the need for anything digital, they will try their best to accommodate you. This will be a great opportunity to search for that perfect N scale item. In addition to vendors of N Scale merchandise, food vendors will also be present.

The best part of this event, however, is the cost. Due to this being the first time we are holding a show like this, thus rendering it a trial, the cost of attendance is absolutely FREE. Yes, you read correctly, FREE. This event is intended to give the overall feel of an N scale convention, so you are only required to bring yourself, and if you can, trains to run. No money is required to run, but donations are accepted. Just be sure that if you plan on visiting the vendors, you bring the money required to buy that item you fall in love with!

The technical details of the event for both visitors and exhibitors are as follows:

This event will take place at the Atlantic County 4-H Building on the Atlantic County 4-H Fairgrounds, located in Egg Harbor City, NJ, which is located approximately 20 miles (24 minutes) from Atlantic City, NJ, and 45 miles (47 minutes) from Philadelphia, PA. The address is as follows, and screenshots of maps are included as reference:

3210 New Jersey Route 50, South Egg Harbor, NJ 082150









The Event will be a total of three days for vendors/exhibitors, and two for the general public. An itinerary of events is as follows:

Friday, June 20, 2014 (Vendors and Exhibitors Only)
-Building Opens at 12:00 Noon, but closes at approximately 9:00 PM (No Public Access)

Saturday, June 21, 2014 (First Day)
- Doors open at 8:00 AM for Exhibitors.
- The show is open to the public starting at 10:00 AM, and closes to the public at 4:00 PM.
- Starting at 4:00 PM, vendors and exhibitors are permitted to run trains freely on club layouts until 5:00PM.
- At 5:00 PM, members of the 4-H Model Railroad Club will be hosting a dinner for all vendors, exhibitors, and members of the general public who remain. Details of the dinner are not confirmed at this time, but I will give updates once they become available.
- At 7:00 PM, layouts will re-open and everyone is invited to continue running trains on any of the several operating layouts.

Sunday, June 22, 2014 (Second Day)
- Doors open at 8:00 AM for Exhibitors.
- The show is open to the public starting at 9:00 AM, and closes to the public at 3:00 PM.
- At 3:00 PM, the doors close to the public, and layout and vendor cleanup begins.

Again, this is the first time that we will be attempting to host an N Scale Exclusive event in the Atlantic City area, and sincerely hope that you can come out and support our efforts. If all goes as planned, then we may have the opportunity to host more similar events in the future, but that all depends on your participation. I will continue to post updates to this thread once new information becomes available, and encourage you to post in this thread in regards to any questions or concerns you may have, or if you just need something clarified. Also feel free to PM me, or call our event coordinator at the following number:(609) 517 - 8849.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and hope you can attend!

[pnolan48]

A little more notice would have been appreciated.

[ChristianJDavis1]

A little more notice would have been appreciated.

I sincerely apologize for that. This being a first-time thing for us, we did not have all of our information ready in a timely manner, and I did not want to start announcing an event without any information available. We are still trying to coordinate everything, and we are hoping that this "trial" can pave the way for an annual event. Again, I apologize for not getting the information out earlier.

[PGBowler2]

In addition to having a little more notice, the dates are right on top of the N Scale Enthusiast convention, so some people will already be making their way town to Roanoke.

When you have the next one, try to plan it so it doesn't conflict with a national convention, and give a little more notice, and maybe some "local" manufacturers can attend.

[DKS]

Does your event have a web presence? (If not, it is strongly recommended to have one.)

[ChristianJDavis1]

In addition to having a little more notice, the dates are right on top of the N Scale Enthusiast convention, so some people will already be making their way town to Roanoke.

When you have the next one, try to plan it so it doesn't conflict with a national convention, and give a little more notice, and maybe some "local" manufacturers can attend.

Thank you for the advice, and we will make sure to take it into consideration. We did notice that it coincided with another convention, but unfortunately, this is the only time we could manage to hold it. We will see what we can do about future shows.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Does your event have a web presence? (If not, it is strongly recommended to have one.)

Unfortunately, not many of our organizers are technologically-inclined, so our web presence is fairly minuscule. We are working on building a web presence, but this being our first event of this caliber, we have not been able to develop a substantial presence as of yet. Hopefully this show is a success and we can do a better job at spreading the word through the use of the Internet next year.

[R L Smith]

Best of luck with your show Christian.  I won't be able to attend due to prior commitments, but I hope you are succesful enough to offer this again in the future.  In my particular case, your proximity to nice beaches means my better half would be willing to tag along and make a weekend out of it next year.

Ron

[ChristianJDavis1]

Best of luck with your show Christian.  I won't be able to attend due to prior commitments, but I hope you are succesful enough to offer this again in the future.  In my particular case, your proximity to nice beaches means my better half would be willing to tag along and make a weekend out of it next year.

Ron

Thank you for the kind words! We are sorry you cannot make it, but we hope you can attend next year. Hopefully this can become a regular event so there is a next year.

[Blazeman]

Timonium weekend too.  Competition for vendors.

This could be a pretty big deal in a couple years once timing is figured out. Maybe move earlier in the spring as we overcome cabin fever. I feel there's a good market for this kind of meet in the greater Delaware Valley area.

[conrail98]

Timonium weekend too.  Competition for vendors.

This could be a pretty big deal in a couple years once timing is figured out. Maybe move earlier in the spring as we overcome cabin fever. I feel there's a good market for this kind of meet in the greater Delaware Valley area.

Agreed. You should also let the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Garden State Divisions of the NMRA know about it as well,

Phil

[ChristianJDavis1]

Timonium weekend too.  Competition for vendors.

This could be a pretty big deal in a couple years once timing is figured out. Maybe move earlier in the spring as we overcome cabin fever. I feel there's a good market for this kind of meet in the greater Delaware Valley area.

Hmm... I am not sure whether or not we were aware of Timonium. We will most likely find a different date for the event in the future. We do have a few confirmed dealers that are fairly close to the 4-H Model Railroad Club, and they all specialize in N scale (for this show at least).

[ChristianJDavis1]

Agreed. You should also let the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Garden State Divisions of the NMRA know about it as well,

Phil

I will have to double check with the other advertisers for this show, as they have been handling print advertisements, as well as getting the word out in a physical sense (flyers, phone calls, etcetera), as to whether or not we have contacted them. Web advertising is sort of a new thing to us, and as pointed out, it is a little lacking, but I plan on changing that for next year's show at least.

[davefoxx]

Christian,

I would be more than happy to come down and support the show, since it's less than ninety minutes from home.  But, regretfully, we'll be out of town this weekend.  I wish you success, so that we can do this next year.

DFF

[ChristianJDavis1]

Christian,

I would be more than happy to come down and support the show, since it's less than ninety minutes from home.  But, regretfully, we'll be out of town this weekend.  I wish you success, so that we can do this next year.

DFF

Thank you very much! It is good to hear that people are considering our show. We sincerely hope you can make it to the next one.