As the Weston-on-Trent show creeps closer here is a further update:

The show

What a difference a few days make. In my last blog I reported that a layout pulling out had reduced the total to 18. Within a few days it has increased to a provisional total of 21. One small layout which had pulled out earlier in the year is now coming again, and I have received a kind offer from another RMWeb user to bring their shunting layout too! It will certainly be good to welcome one of the website's younger members to the event.

I have also confirmed arrangements for our first ever guest demonstrator. This has resulted in me opening up another small room in the school for this year's event. As part of the demonstration stand RMWeb user DonB's developing model of the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway will be on show. Although work in progress it will be well worth seeing!

As thing stands the show will feature exhibits in 4 rooms and 2 corridors. This should be made up of 21 layouts, 8 traders and 2 demonstrations. At present there are just a couple of layouts awaiting final confirmation. Once this has been received I will post a full list of visiting layouts on the blog and the show page.

The layout

I now have the extra flowers and some more stock boxes courtesy of the Burton show last weekend. Now all I need to do is complete the extra scenic touches and decide on a loco roster for this year's show. I admit that I have a little bit of a dilemma with this. I am struggling to decide which of my vast collection of locos to roster into service for the day.

For many years I was a railway modeller without a layout. During this time I did build up a rather large collection of steam outline models. These cover all of the “Big Four” regions as well as a selection of B.R standards. The majority are liveried in British Railways colours with a mix of early and late crests.

Skaleby West does not represent any particular location or era. It could easily pass for a preserved line or a branch line in the latter days of steam. The only scenic items which suggest a location are the Midland region signal box, and the maroon liveried benches and station lamps. It was for this reason that I chose to run the layout with a Midland region feel last year. The initial loco roster included the following weathered models;

Bachmann Standard 4 number 75065

Hornby “Black 5” number 44762

Bachmann Fairburn tank number 42667

Bachmann Standard 4 number 80120 (seen below on my home layout)

The first two locos did look a little too large for such a small layout, and a certain amount of artistic licence was used when running them on the short passenger trains.

A second passenger set was worked regularly by my unweathered Bachmann Ivatt tank number 41324. This was borrowed, along with the coaching stock, from my permanent home layout, Skaleby. The loco and carriages worked at regular points during the day to depict a service from the model’s sister station (see below).

My spare locomotives were two Bachmann unweathered models, “Jinty” number 47279 (seen on the layout below) and Midland 3F number 43474. These were both pressed into regular service due to problems with the Standard 4 tank and the Fairburn and ran impeccably.

But what should I do this year? Do I stick with the Midland theme? If so what models should I choose? I definitely need to make some changes to last year’s roster. The Fairburn tank has developed a fault and cannot run and 75065 and the Black 5 really are too big.

My plan is to run with two passenger sets and two mixed freight sets throughout the day, with the freights being shunted in the yard in between each arrival and departure. This means I need 5 regular locomotives and a couple of spares. Perhaps I will throw it open to others. Any suggestions as to what I should run??