Andy@IvanhoeMRS

Good morning all, As mentioned at the end of my previous post (above), the future of the Ivanhoe exhibition was effectively in the hands of the Mountsorrel parish council and the venue management. Unfortunately, but as we sort of expected, the event will now not be taking place at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre. This is a real shame, as the venue, whilst not completely suited to this type of event, was modern, light and airy, providing a great atmosphere for everyone to enjoy our hobby in, which, given the feedback we received over the course of the weekend, the majority of you all did. Given the circumstances, the society has taken the decision to take a sabbatical (hopefully it won't be a 25 year sabbatical like the last time) and look for an alternative venue for 2021 - This will put us on a par with Tonbridge West Yard for exhibition comebacks. Once again, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came to see us in April, whether general public, exhibitors or traders. We hope to do it all again soon. In the meantime, you can still come and see us in Rothley near Loughborough, twice a year, at our Diecast, Toy and Train Fairs. Our next fair being on Sunday the 17th of November, 2019. Ta ta for now, Andy On behalf of the Ivanhoe MRS.

After having a couple of days to recover, I think that it's time that I sent out a note of thanks from both myself and also from the other members of the Ivanhoe MRS - Thank you to everyone who brought layouts, displays, trade stands and demonstrations, the general public and also those of you who have commented above, who have all supported us with our return to the exhibition circuit. A special thanks must go to Kevin and Brett of Coastal DCC for stepping in at the last minute (Thursday evening) to fill a rather large hole in the trade line up and also to John and Steve of the Alsager Railway Association for bringing Bluebell Cutting as a last minute replacement layout alongside Dunkow Road. I'm pleased to report that visitor numbers surpassed my expectations by some margin and I'm happy (Cheshire cat grin-style happy) that feedback from the visitors was largely positive with some constructive for us to take on board for next time (Yes, we want to do it again!) - hearing these comments from people around and leaving the exhibition, alongside reading them above and on here and on other fora, is worth its weight in gold! - The double doors at the club may well have to be opened on Friday so I can get my head through! Of course, I was merely the "organiser" and it was the Ivanhoe team and the exhibitors/traders who made the show the success that it was. On another note, we had a laugh whilst counting up the votes for the "Favourite Layout" award, whilst it's nice to read, "All of them" is not very useful when trying to pick one! As was announced at the exhibition at 15:00 hours on Sunday, voted as the public's favourite layout was David and Josie Bailey's "Karolina Falls" with its real waterfall! - Congratulations go to both David and Josie -Another slice of Rail (as seen earlier on in the thread) will be sent to you in the post (Eek!) to commemorate the event. Well done again. As alluded to before, the continuation of this event rests almost solely with the Parish Council who we will be in talks with in the not too distant future, we certainly want to do it again! Again, my thanks to all and happy modelling. Cheers, Andy.

Wild Boar Fell, thank you very much to you and your father for supporting the show in its first year and also for your kind words, we're glad you enjoyed your visit and also the bacon cobs. We hope to be back in 2020 but it all depends on our friendly local council's view on the venue's pricing structure.

Well, it's the big push tomorrow with setup beginning at 1200hrs, SHARP! Today (or infact yesterday now) began with a bit of shocker with Footplate of Kidderminster advising that due to an illness, they would be unable to attend - We hope you get well soon Derek! Fortunately, Kevin of Coastal DCC fame (and now Orwell Models) has stepped into the breach to fill the gap, ensuring that there will be plenty of PECO track and Hornby and Bachmann locos available to purchase! Unfortunately, Weslo Steel has also had to drop out - Dave, your dulcet tones and dry sense of humour will be sorely missed by all. Again, fortunately, our friends from the Alsager club have offered to bring a second layout to the show, although that does mean that we will now be in John Cox's pocket for the Alsager show. Wish us luck and I hope to see you all at Mountsorrel on Saturday and Sunday.

Hi Johann, yes, you are correct! I received information a few days ago from the Leicester Transport Heritage Trust confirming that they will be running a shuttle bus service between the two events on the Saturday only. I am hopeful that, for next year, we as the Ivanhoe are a little more organised and may be able to get something sorted for both days. The time table for Saturday 13th of April is as follows: Quorn & Woodhouse Station, dep 1200, 1315 and 1415 Mountsorrel Green (111 Leicester Road), dep 1215, 1330 and 1430 Quorn & Woodhouse Station, arr 1230, 1345 and 1445. We are extremely grateful to the LTHT for being kind enough to provide this service and I hope to see a good few people using it.

Good evening All, After going out to some of the big names in our hobby, I have been amazed by their generosity! PECO, Bachmann and Hornby have all kindly donated items from their ranges for us to offer as prizes. The prizes include a Hornby Junior trainset, a Hornby Highland Rambler, a Bachmann Ambulance Train pack and a year's subscription to the Railway Modeller magazine. Also from PECO came a number of small kits from the Auhagan and Wills ranges, so there is something there for almost everyone. We will be running a competition come raffle over the course of the weekend where all of these prizes will be up for grabs. Good luck and I hope to see you at the show!

With time ticking on, the date is getting closer. It is now just over a month before we host our first Exhibition as the Ivanhoe Model Railway Society at our new Mountsorrel venue. The line up draws closer to completion with the addition of a small, window sill layout by a member of our sister club, the Leicester Model Railway Group. The layout shows what you can do in minimal space. Also joining us are AirFramed, a business who specialise in bespoke framing and display cases, and Ipswich's DCC master, Kevin from Coastal DCC. Whilst I'm here, a special congratulations goes to Steve Farmer for being awarded "Best In Show" at this weekend's Preston Exhibition - Very much well deserved! Steve will be at our exhibition with another one of his layouts, Tanner's Hill, with Lymebrook Yard hopefully coming to Mountsorrel in 2020. Tune in soon for another update!

Cracking show, this. I'll certainly be paying you a visit. Cheers, Andy.

I'm delighted to announce that Buzz Models will be attending the show alongside BH Enterprises. This means that, along with S-Kits, we've got specialist kit suppliers/manufacturers in all of the three main scales; 2, 4 and 7mm! BH Enterprises: http://www.bhenterprises.co.uk S-Kits: (George is anti-website) Buzz Models: http://www.buzzmodels.co.uk Here's a photo of one of S-Kits' completed FNA, nuclear flask wagons at work on George Ansell's Lydd On Sea which can be seen at the Mountsorrel Exhibition. Cheers, Andy.

The exhibition certainly is on the same weekend as the GCR's Diesel Gala. This wasn't planned and was purely coincidental as we were trying to find a slot where we didn't clash with other shows in the area or the Bank Holiday. Nobody thought to check the GCR! Hopefully people will go to both, as you're planning to, Johann. We look forward to making you welcome. Cheers, Andy.

Good evening All, With just over two months to go before the Ivanhoe stages it's first exhibition in 25 years, we are very close to having completed the line up. The latest update on the show front are the confirmed attendance of BH Enterprises, Melton Mowbray Model Engineers and Mike Kelly with his OO layout, Northbridge. With just a couple of confirmations outstanding, the show is almost finalised. Here's a photo of Pete Latham's Wormhill - A wonderful re-creation of the Cement and Quarry sidings of Peak Forest, Derbyshire - Note the gradient! Cheers, Andy.

Alcoman424 - Some lovely photos there, especially the black and white one! I'm looking forward to seeing (and hearing) this layout now it's fully finished and operational - Another Debut layout!

Good morning (just) All, An announcement regarding another layout confirmed as attending the Mountsorrel Exhibition (and another 7mm one at that!), George Godfrey's "Buxworth". Buxworth is a small, imaginary town in the Midlands, located at the end of a short branch line off of the Midland Mainline to Derby. The Layout recreates the Midland Region scene in the 1930s with locos and stock being mainly of MR and LMS types.

Happy to provide excuses, MikeH_83, no problem at all, although there is a charge...... Looking forward to seeing you at the MMC and I hope you enjoy the exhibition. PS, you could ask S-Kits for a lift! Cheers, Andy.

Yes, I'm also happy to confirm that the Friends of the Great Central Mainline will be joining us at the exhibition and I'm also glad that Dava and the team have offered to support us. Thanks again!