Chris M

The Hornby HM6000 works fine for me, and is reasonably priced. I connect my controllers to the layout using what used to be called a four pole CB connector. That way I can quickly and easily change controllers. So I can run plug in my Gaugemaster for most use, my H&M Walkabout (from the 1980s) for great inertia control or my HM6000 if I want to control trains away from the control panel. I think it is well worth making all your controllers plug in to a standard socket on the layout.

She ran with a yellow panel one end and yellow buffer beam the other for a while on the SVR. She was in the condition when I drove her, ands what a great day that was. The yellow buffer beam end was pointing south at the time. The best way to see the SVR There's me in the drivers seat. I'm at the north facing yellow panel end.

Yes I recall the clutch was either in or out with almost nothing in between. Not good if you are learning.

I had a Regal 3/25 in blue too. I passed my test in it when I was 16 which was legal because it was technically a motor tricycle. Cost me £50. I survived it and learned a lot about how to drive safely. Rule 1 - never brake and turn the steering wheel at the same time. Rule 2 - watch out when an artic overtakes you on the motorway. Back to the plot I used that Deluxe Materials Glue n glaze on the 3D printed cars I have.

At Stratford upon Avon Christmas market

Viewing these photos is most enjoyable. Great modelling. Well done!

Hmm. I might argue that not having 3rd party insurance is a way of ensuring cyclists are more careful. If they get sued it comes out of their own pocket. Works for me. Two problems with some of the suggestions - 1. a bike can go to being dangerously badly maintained very quickly, especially when people tinker, so an annual MOT would not be often enough. 2. Police aren't allowed to chase, or even follow, anyone on a bike who isn't wearing a skid lid in case, merely by following them, the police cause the rider to do something stupid and injure/kill themselves. How would the police enforce any rules?

I just hope Hornby can get back into profit and go on to reduce their debts. I don't buy Hornby because I model N gauge these days but I can see that the Hornby brand needs to be in good shape for the health of the hobby overall.

Following the long term success of the Warley National exhibition the club is keen to encourage modelling and of course new members. Here is a bit about where we are and what we are doing next year. Warley Model Railway Club one of Britain’s premier model railway clubs with it’s own extensive premises in the Heart of England, with easy access to the M5 and wider motorway network. All types of railway modellers are welcome at Warley Club. We have newbies, bodgers and many members with a wealth of knowledge and experience which they can pass on to other members. We have layouts in gauges N to G including British and American based layouts. Come along in 2024 to our new Saturday morning modelling sessions from 10.00am to 1.00pm at our clubrooms. The first three Saturday morning sessions will be on 1st February 2nd March 13th April Over the months we will be showing you how to l Start planning a layout and building base boards learn the techniques and get top tips. l Lay track, points & wire for operations, it’s easy when you know how. l Demystify soldering by watching experts, then having a go - surprise yourself. l Understand the difference in control methods of both locos and points operation - have a go. l Find the best and easiest way to ballast track - try it and learn. l Get your questions answered on making a scene, you will be looking at buildings and landscaping. In other words, you will learn a lot. This is hands on and you will surprise yourself as to what you can learn. We will have a test track for you to run your stock. Why not photograph your train on one of our club layouts? Come along, have fun and learn from the experts. Suitable for both newbies and those having some experience in the hobby. Come alone or with a pal, Dads & Moms bring children say 10yrs plus. Sorry but we cannot allow unaccompanied children to attend. You will be made welcome at Warley MRC. Too book up for the first of these events got to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/warley-model-railway-club-free-training-sessions-tickets-755709977887?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

I would say great and be happy to have inspired someone else. In reality inspiration always leads to something similar but different enough rather than a slavish copy.

Speaking personally I always feel quite flattered if someone decides to publish a photo of one of my layouts.

The premature removal of stand numbers was not good for the "washed" either. A number of club people were trying to find their way to various layouts to sort out a few things on Sunday afternoon but suddenly finding a layout was taking a lot longer than it should due to the removal of stand numbers. The Warley club chairman agrees that signs were taken down too early. In fact the Warley club chairman was one of those visiting stands on Sunday afternoon without a plan of the hall because he could navigate from stand numbers. Suddenly he found there was no clue as to which stand was which and he was not happy, no not happy at all.

I have the utmost respect for Mike and the whole Key Publishing team and I look upon Mike as a friend. They do have a lot of experience and have achieved a lot of good things at GETS. It will be interesting to see what they do at the NEC. I expect it will be very successful and wish them all the best. I'm pleased that Warley club are able to be represented at this new show.

Hmm, I think Mike Wild and his team at Key World may have just a little experience. They put a little thing on called - what was it? - ah yes the Great Electric Train Show.

That is along with all the other one and a half jobs that have to be done in the lead up to the exhibition.

Yes. A much smaller show with the financial backing of a publishing company. Organised by paid professional staff with guaranteed great editorial coverage in Hornby Magazine. The show will include items covered by Airfix magazine as well. It should have plenty of “shine”. Warley club will be supporting this new exhibition with a couple of layouts.

I found the early removal of stand numbers rather annoying as well. It made my task of visiting certain layouts to pick up forms almost impossible. I will certainly be having a discussion on that subject. In the other hand it has to be said that while these signs are not in fact made of reinforced titanium someone at the club has to print them out and then encapsulate them. Anyone fancy encapsulating 250 A4 sheets in their spare time?

I agree as well and it is a problem across all exhibitions. It is hard to run trains and chat at the same time but running trains for paying visitors should always be the priority. I have always tried to ensure there are plenty of trains running on my exhibition layouts. At home, running by myself, I run at about 1 train movement per minute on average and some trains take more than a minute to run through the scenic section. At an exhibition we have one person running the up and another running the down so we must be running at around two train moves per minute or probably slightly more over the whole day. I think a lot of paying customers appreciate that.

Warley accommodation guidance does mention this, it says "Accommodation is provided for up to SIX exhibitors in three rooms who have to travel a distance greater than one hour’s drive to or from their home." The number of exhibitors is going to be dependent upon the layout. Personally I would drive about an hour and a half to get home on Saturday night rather than share a room with one of my model railway friends. I'm sure they would say the same.

Thanks. We've not done too bad considering we are just a bunch of amateurs having a go at an exhibition in our spare time.

I'm going to give a tip to all exhibitors at all exhibitions. It is inevitable that from time to time an exhibitor will be at odds with a member of an exhibition team. This is thankfully rare but it does happen. It can especially happen after a long weekend at an exhibition when everyone might be a little tired and jaded. If you find yourself having an issue with a member of an exhibition team I recommend that you either phone or email the exhibition manager or maybe the club chairman after the event when things have calmed down and state your issue. These representatives of the club, even whilst believing their team member was right, could well roll their eyes and say ok lets just agree about the complaint and get it sorted. I do not recommend going on social media to make the whole thing public as this is far less likely to provide a happy resolution to the issue.

The limited company that runs the show does actually make a profit of loss. The company then donates any available funds to the club which can only have a surplus and not a profit. It is written into the Warley club rules that officers cannot be paid for their club work. It is considered normal across the layout exhibitor community that taking a layout to a show will cost the owner more than the expenses claimed. I think next year a few of us will be clubbing together to pay for van hire that will not be claimed on expenses. Its no big deal, we will do it because we want to support the organisation behind the exhibition, and we will enjoy it.

The comments on this page regarding the club set up are largely accurate. Whilst there is a limited company to protect the club it is far from a normal company as nobody gets any pay at all. I must point out that if it wasn't for many Warley club members giving hundreds of hours of their time for no reward over the whole year this show would have made a thumping great loss every year for the last 30 years. The cost of the time put in, even at minimum wage, would be hugely more than any excess of income over expenditure. Many of the members involved in the show are professionals who would command a lot more than minimum wage for the work they do towards the show. I'm sure this is appreciated by pretty much all the folk on this forum. The same applies to all shows put on by model railway clubs, its just that this one takes a lot more work to make it happen. I reckon I spend 2 or 3 hours a week on average every week of the year doing work purely for the Warley show and I am not one of the main exhibition committee members. Those of you of around my age may well remember that during the 1990s the hobby felt as though it was in the doldrums and slowly fading. The main driver behind Warley club creating the NEC show was to create a spectacle to show off the hobby and help to reinvigorate it. That's why so many of us have given so much time to it and continue to happily give our time.

Kytes Lights couldn’t come. They had a flood just before the show. Most unfortunate for them. I hope they have everything sorted out very soon.

I'm not involved in this but I can't help but wonder what you expect to gain by publicising this here. Also I can't help but wonder why you are so special that you deserve to get so much more than any other exhibitor. Some exhibitors quietly decline the offer of expenses which is very kind of them.