The Festival of British Railway Modelling - Doncaster, 10&11 February 2018

[gwrrob]

Any gossip or photos from this show, it's very quiet.

[OOgaugeJaf]

Some great layouts and an enjoyable day out. Only thing for me was the lack of new products available to buy no fault of traders or exhibitors.

[OOgaugeJaf]

I did see a Hattons Andrew Barclay in the flesh behind one of the layouts. Would have loved to have taken one of those home today

[PenrithBeacon]

I did see a Hattons Andrew Barclay in the flesh behind one of the layouts. Would have loved to have taken one of those home today

I saw one at the BRM counter and it is very attractive, but the lack of space under the boiler was very noticeable.

[County of Yorkshire]

Any gossip or photos from this show, it's very quiet.

 

Hornby's Paul Isles thinks that all GWR locos look the same. I asked him to take the comment back but he wouldn't. 

 

CoY

[Andy Y]

Hornby's Paul Isles thinks that all GWR locos look the same. I asked him to take the comment back but he wouldn't.

 

CoY

Stop winding the copper and brass lovers up! We did also decide the southerners buy more stuff and us LMR sorts are tightwads.

[it's-er]

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the set-up. Hopefully it won't be too chill a wind blowing in through the east doors into the evening! Safe journeys to everyone on the road tomorrow .......

 

I believe Hornby will have some samples on their stand which haven't been seen in public yet. !

Were any such samples on Hornby's stand? Any info would be much appreciated, please!

 

John Storey

[Andy Y]

Pics tomorrow!

[PenrithBeacon]

I enjoyed the show; a long way to drive but I enjoyed it. The layouts were excellent, the venue was very good as were the traders. Perhaps a few too many RTR traders, but they were all high quality RTR traders. A good afternoon.

[Grampus]

One of the better Doncaster shows, I feel.  I certainly had a good time there yesterday: some fabulous layouts and a good mix of traders,  I thought - for me the balance seemed about right this year.  I certainly came away with a few useful bits and bobs, just for a change.  A few hours' wecome relief from the seemingly never ending wet, wind and  cold outside, which is now officially very boring.  Thanks to all involved for a fun day.   

 

Best wishes, 

 

Paul

[newbryford]

On behalf of the New Bryford team, thanks to the BRM staff and others for organising the show. 

 

Thanks to all those visitors that were appreciative of our efforts to entertain.

 

A slightly snowy/slow end to the journey with 25-30mph single lane along the M66 and A56, but packed safely away until it's next show in November.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited February 11, 2018 by newbryford

[waggy]

I agree with Grampus, one of Doncaster's better shows . I don't normally take much notice of N gauge layouts but the star of the show for me was Shirebrook closely followed by Barton Road.

 

Never get tired of watching Thorne Yard, and really looking forward to Charwelton when it hits the exhibition circuit.

 

Bought some excellent Lattice Girders from Torri Laser Ltd, a couple of s/h repainted Bachmann ore tipplers for £3 each just for the chassis, and a couple of presents from the Hedgehog Hospital Stand.

 

Biggest spend was a slice of Pizza and 3 drinks during the day.

Edited February 11, 2018 by waggy

[247 Developments]

we were packed up & rolling by 5pm & with a stop for a meal plus 3 loo stops we were home just before before 11pm

[Mr.S.corn78]

Hi all,

 

Just a quick thanks to the Warner’s/BRM team for organising a great show. Myself and the team had a great weekend and really enjoyed it.

At times when we looked up from the layout all we could see was a sea of faces

Never get tired of watching Thorne Yard, and really looking forward to Charwelton when it hits the exhibition circuit.

 

Thanks for the kind comments Waggy, and yes we are due to debut Charwelton at Doncaster next year and we are looking forward to it.

Just need to get the layout ready now.

 

Thanks

Simon

[acg5324]

My first visit to the Doncaster Show, bit closer living in York now rather than Brighton. ECML blocked for engineering works York to Doncaster so only one train an hour, HSTs, diverted via Knottingly so a nice little trundle round the countryside.

 

Doncaster bus station, New but depressing. Shuttle bus went from A1 not C6 and not well signed. Service good.

 

Show was very good, busier than I expected. Some tight spaces between stands and some large empty areas. Good balance of layouts and traders.

 

My favourite layouts Shirebrook- brought back memories. Lime Street - unbelievably good and the Forth Bridge well that was amazing.

 

Food court not enough tables and seats and the less said about my Pie peas and mash the better.

 

7/10 Overall an enjoyable day out.

[Andy Y]

Pics tomorrow!

Hornby had the decoration samples of the Lord Nelsons on show along with the Toad E EP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy Y]

I'd like to thank all of the exhibitors who had layouts on show this year; of course I am biased but I thought it was a great selection with very high standards of 2mm, 4mm and 7mm layouts in the line-up. I will pick out Richard Harper's Sidmouth P4 for its excellence in detail and scene setting as my personal favourite but overall I think it was good and it's certainly reflected in the comments made here and in person over the weekend. Thank you to all who visited too, Saturday was very busy indeed and it was somewhat warm in the middle of the main hall - well done to anyone sensible enough to come on Sunday when it was much more comfortable! It was nice to hear many small traders reporting a good weekend which means there's plenty of modelling going on rather than just acquisition.

 

The food court always does get busy at lunchtime (surprise!) and as the catering is provided by the venue more used to supplying well-heeled racegoers than modellers who watch the pennies; there's a couple of hideaways for quieter drinks and food - PM me for bookies tips next year! Thanks to John Lloyd for allowing us to show a couple of Dave Rowe's Emmett dioramas on the stand; they seemed to be very well liked for those with a touch of nostalgia and the little kids loved them too!

 

I did get a bit of ribbing from more than one layout upstairs for not getting chance to get upstairs until Sunday to say hello; nothing personal you will understand. I'll try and upset their betting next year on when I make an appearance! It was non-stop all weekend and it's nice to sit here in peace and solitude getting on with processing pics.

[Phil Parker]

Thanks to everyone who stopped off at the BRM stand for a chat - especially those who said nice things about Didsbury Green.

 

 

One (layout related) highlight of the show was discovering that The Really Useful Box Company, who make the plastic boxes I build layouts in, as a local firm. I met the man who delivers plastic to them. I'd assumed these things were made in China, but no, they are a product of Doncaster.

[4630]

I will pick out Richard Harper's Sidmouth P4 for its excellence in detail and scene setting as my personal favourite...

 

 

Another vote for Sidmouth from me too as my personal favourite from the show, although to echo other comments there was a very good selection of layouts overall with, in my view, high quality modelling.

 

A few photos of Sidmouth;

 

 

 

 

 

 

[4630]

I'm open-minded about the full size Class 800s - I've only had one 30 minutes trip so far and will wait for the engineers and operator(s) to iron out the early teething problems with them - but I'm quite smitten with Hornby's model as seen on their stand at Doncaster.

 

It doesn't fit in with my current modelling needs and future plans, but the heart is shouting "WANT WANT WANT!", whilst the head (and wallet) is, so far, calmly resisting with "FFS!  Get a grip.  Don't be daft.  You don't need it".

 

Apologies for the slightly noisy photo;

   

[nickwood]

I did get a bit of ribbing from more than one layout upstairs for not getting chance to get upstairs until Sunday to say hello; nothing personal you will understand. I'll try and upset their betting next year on when I make an appearance! It was non-stop all weekend and it's nice to sit here in peace and solitude getting on with processing pics.

 

Can't think who that would be.... nothing personal taken, we know you only came up to get away from Howard

 

The Much Murkle team had a great weekend with some lovely comments on the layout and it's operation. We were very grateful that we were upstairs as it was much cooler than the main hall on Saturday which I understand got very hot. Every time someone went out of the double doors onto the seating area of the Grandstand to have a ciggy or make a phone call, it sent an icy blast of air our way, keeping everything at a pleasant temperature.

 

Thank you to all the RMwebbers who introduced themselves and took the time to ask questions or just chat especially those who expressed that to see Much Murkle was the main reason they had come along to the show.

[Bomag]

I do have to apologise to those attending on Saturday for putting the hex on a large number of layouts which suddenly developed an inability to run trains when I was too close to them. While some managed to recover, from comments of others some did not recover from the malaise.

 

As an alternative to the in-house catering there is a Whitby Whaler the other side of the car park.

[4630]

Hope-Under-Dinmore caught my eye too;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[County of Yorkshire]

I completely forget that Lime Street was going to be there until I arrived, and I can't remember the last time my jaw quite physically dropped.

 

Will concur with others and say that Sidmouth was delightful - I could have stood at the Station end of the layout looking up the line all day, with a comfy seat, a flask of tea and some sarnies!

 

Lime Street, as you can tell, blew me away. Seeing images online whets the appetite but seeing it in the flesh is something else. What isn't given away by online images is that the general hubbub of the operation is enthralling in itself - the operators out front of the layout are almost an extension of the crowds waiting to cross the road outside the grand hotel, and the clusters of people in dialogue atop the bridges of the approach cutting...

 

Much Murkle was worth the wait to finally see it; there were a few running issues whilst I was there, but Nick's operator team kept engaging with the punters. I got some excellent pictures for future modelling inspiration, particularly of the station, goods shed and the signal box. I was bitterly disappointed to learn that Nick is not a cider drinker, though...

 

Impressed by The Bridge; even in T gauge it was an imposing piece of modelling, made all the more impressive by the fact that it's all the work of one man. 

 

N gauge and Modern Image are not really of interest to me, but most of them were always thronged by crowds, which was good to see.

 

Trade support was very comprehensive, and I picked up some pieces that have proved very elusive over the last year or so, including some GWR Toad allocation transfers by Old Time Workshop sold by H&A (?) models, and three PC models unbuilt GWR toplight kits for a bargain £27, which come with cast ends, rooves and fishbelly (rare!) & American bogies. The gaudy pre-printed sides will be discarded and Worsley Works brass coach sides will be substituted in their place... 

 

That said there was a lot of box-shifters in attendance, all selling the latest Hornbach locos at very similar prices, and they did look as though they hadn't shifted many. How many Hornby Castle's do you need when faced with £130 for the latest release, when good (near-mint) second hand examples can be had for £70 - £100? Telling that the busiest trade stand was the 'Anoraks Anonymous' second hand dealer; I'd never seen so many gannets under one roof before!

 

Had a catch up with Paul Isles from Hornby after his titbit at the self and same show last year re: the expansion of existing pre-nationalisation coach ranges. I thanked him for this coming to pass in the from of the Maunsell Kitchen Car, and beseeched him not to forget about the railway company points West. He wouldn't be drawn on anything else though...

 

Also good to meet Andy Y again whilst putting the world to rights with Paul and I on all matters re: size of the OO market, manufacturing costs, and the most popular region(s) to model. 

 

I might put some pictures up later. 

 

CoY

[Mallard60022]

I'd like to thank all of the exhibitors who had layouts on show this year; of course I am biased but I thought it was a great selection with very high standards of 2mm, 4mm and 7mm layouts in the line-up. I will pick out Richard Harper's Sidmouth P4 for its excellence in detail and scene setting as my personal favourite but overall I think it was good and it's certainly reflected in the comments made here and in person over the weekend. Thank you to all who visited too, Saturday was very busy indeed and it was somewhat warm in the middle of the main hall - well done to anyone sensible enough to come on Sunday when it was much more comfortable! It was nice to hear many small traders reporting a good weekend which means there's plenty of modelling going on rather than just acquisition.

 

The food court always does get busy at lunchtime (surprise!) and as the catering is provided by the venue more used to supplying well-heeled racegoers than modellers who watch the pennies; there's a couple of hideaways for quieter drinks and food - PM me for bookies tips next year! Thanks to John Lloyd for allowing us to show a couple of Dave Rowe's Emmett dioramas on the stand; they seemed to be very well liked for those with a touch of nostalgia and the little kids loved them too!

 

I did get a bit of ribbing from more than one layout upstairs for not getting chance to get upstairs until Sunday to say hello; nothing personal you will understand. I'll try and upset their betting next year on when I make an appearance! It was non-stop all weekend and it's nice to sit here in peace and solitude getting on with processing pics.

Missed you yesterday Andy and only saw the smiling Phil! Anyway, thanks for the Hornby pics. I think the Nelsons looked absolutely superb in every respect and I was so distracted by them I forgot to check on what the coaches were in the other little display case!

Doh.

I'll catch you another time to say hello.

Phil