I found the Coolspring fall show to be very disappointing. Attendance was low, even though the weather was wonderful for this time of the year, the grounds were far from being full and the show pretty much closed up by 2 pm Friday afternoon. The show is advertised as running through Saturday, so I feel badly for anyone who paid to see the show after 2 on Friday or on Saturday.
There seemed to be a lot of buying and selling of full-sized engines, but the model engine collectors and sellers really weren't there, and the little bit that was for sale was way overpriced, in my opinion! Most of the model engines for sale were in non-running condition and still higher priced than the several engines I had for sale that were running and could be demonstrated for the buyer. I guess because of this, I did sell a few engines, but by Friday, I hand't found anything to buy.
I did end up purchasing an Empire hot air engine and an early mechanical fan, both from another Forum member. Hopefully, this show was a fluke, and next summer's show will be back to the normal great show we have come to expect to find at Coolspring!
I bought the empire on the left in the picture, thinking I would keep the better of the two, but when I got it home, I discovered that they were two slightly different versions of the same model, so I'll have to keep them both.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]