Friday evening at the BBQ my wife and I were standing in line behind some Puget Sound Garden Railway Society members who were on the organizing committee, so I asked them about the USA Trains cancellation. They explained that the Tacoma Convention Center had a union contract that required union members to bring the merchandise in and do the setup. They said that St Aubin had tried to estimate the additional cost and came up with about $5,000. Since this was about what they estimated their profit would be, they abruptly changed their plans, and those of us that walked by the St Aubin booths saw the result. There was a recent article in the Wall Street Journal describing how a similar situation at McCormick Place in Chicago was devastating that city's convention business. Not very smart, to say the least. But even with the disappointing Vendor Hall, it was a good convention and the PSGRS is to be congratulated and thanked for all their hard work.
John
