The sectional layout (for our latest Deland show) went up with very few problems (a malfunctioning signal light that I cleared up with a little effort).

But sometimes, if you build it, they don’t come.

The show was pretty lightly attended – very sparse. We hardly saw any children come by at all. Most shows we’re jammed. But it was pretty dead, which we saw directly in our tip jars.

Worse, a friend who runs a small railroad manufacturing businesses stopped by to chat – this is his last show. He’s having a hard time breaking even at the deal. I know the feeling, having gone through it with self-publishing and book shows only a few years back. It’s a lot of heartbreak to sit there at a booth all day and only cover the cost of your table. So he’s out.

It gets harder, this hobby that might be fading. Still, our club came out for it and we kept the trains running (well, Matthew was more parallel-parking in the yard than actually hitting the high-iron). But we’ll keep working on the sectional regardless. We want to see this project through on this amazing mobile layout we’ve created.

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