Quarantines, state travel restrictions prompt NRHSA to cancel this year’s retailer show in Las Vegas
August 3, 2020 / Updated September 3, 2020
News
The National Retail Hobby Stores Association (NRHSA) canceled its October 2020 Las Vegas Table-Top Expo because of covid-19. The annual event for hobby retailers and dealers will return in September 2021.
Numerous reasons for the cancellation include a 14-day quarantine period at most U.S. airports and the recent surge of the virus in Las Vegas, NRHSA said in a news release last week.
“The risks to exhibitors and visitors would have been too great under the present circumstances, even with the most stringent controls and safeguards,” said Rob Gherman, event director.
The deciding factor was the 14-day quarantine period at airports and returning travel restrictions imposed by the individual states.
“NRHSA exhibitors and most retailers come in from various locations,” Gherman said. “Our event would not have been viable with these restrictions in place and we could not have delivered the quality show that the industry has come to expect.”
The NRHSA Table-Top Expo 2021 will be held Sept. 19-22 at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas.
The hobby and toy venue features 100 exhibitors, educational business seminars and outdoor demonstrations.
Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.
Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.
The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.
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