THE Christmas show, Manchester - NOTE: amended directions

[iak]

I wish to apologise in advance for the bag.

It's full of Seranno ham,Basque cheese and other European edible naughtiness. Oh those market stalls.

Next stop,chocks away and all haste to the show...

[Stanley Melrose]

It certainly wasn't like that when I arrived at 11.30!!  Congratulations to the MMRS for once again having the "Christmas Show" in the centre of the city - and attracting a vast crowd of people of all ages who seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite the crush.  It calmed down around lunchtime but if the organisers were concerned about getting an attendance, they didn't need to worry.  I guess tomorrow might be a bit quieter but I got to see the people I hoped to and especially enjoyed Calderwood.

 

Stan

[ColinK]

Very disapointed that I did not make the show; I should have been operating Gillan & Brown, so let the team down. Had I gone down on the train this morning, I would probably not have been able to get home as the railway is now closed between Preston and Carlisle, no replacement buses as so many roads are flooded.

 

I can't go tomorrow as I'm working; driving the Windermere - Kendal - Oxenholme planned rail replacement service.

[JJGraphics]

Had a very enjoyable time at the show this morning and into the early afternoon whilst SWMBO "did" the shops and the Christmas Markets (which were reported to be very good!). It was pretty busy, but did calm down a bit towards lunchtime.

 

I thought the standard of modelling on view was very high and it was particularly good to see one particular layout "in the flesh" after a recent appearance in RM.

 

Bagged a bargain Class 03 and also bought some other bits and pieces from a couple of the traders. Altogether really well-worth the trip from down South!

[2mm Andy]

Visited the show this morning (despite managing to get lost between Piccadilly Stn and the venue!). Some really superb layouts (I was particularly impressed with Shelfie, Herstmonceux and Tollesbury Quay) and a nice comprehensive selection of traders, so I managed to get the one item on my shopping list plus a few other bits and pieces). Also good to see the display case models in the smaller hall. It was pretty busy at times, but I took that to be a good thing for the organisers (and hopefully the rather grim weather further up the country doesn't affect the numbers through the doors too much). 

 

Really good to see the exhibition back in the city centre and in it's traditional pre-Christmas slot, and looking forward to next year's exhibition already!

 

Andy

[w4rrn]

Seemed to be more trade stands than layouts. Also no MMRS trams & lack of layouts especially large ones!

[paulbb]

I found the show to be friendly and welcoming despite the crowds -well done MMRS.

Some great modelling - I enjoyed Shelfie and Thorncliffe -my favourite is the attached

which sadly was not in the best layout competition.

[Reorte]

I found the show to be friendly and welcoming despite the crowds -well done MMRS.

I've generally found that to be the case in general (and heaven knows I'm a miserable so-and-so a lot of the time, so it takes something for me to notice the opposite) but there really was something here in the atmosphere, well done indeed.

 

Someone mentioned more traders than layouts, yes, I suppose, but I'm not complaining there since that was a fairly big chunk of why I went (and some useful, friendly chats with them).

 

Improved catering over the previous venue, I heard some of the staff saying they'll need more people though (which means they're interested in doing the thing right too).

 

Felt a bit crowded but that's all to the good IMO, much, much better than the opposite.

[MartinWales]

Congrats to MMRS for the Xmas show sIot rebooted!

 

ExceIIent Iocation-just 3 minutes from PiccadiIIy, and good catering-weII priced.

 

Super secondhand staII too, and bagged a few bargains!

[bigd]

I went with my grandson.

The show was very busy in the morning.

We went for an early lunch, and took our fill of pasty and chips.

The show as a bit quieter in the afternoon.

There was plenty to interest a seven year old. He enjoyed spotting the snake and Santa, and then driving Thomas.

The Merg guys were great, educating him on the use of dcc control.

The Welsh Highland Railway was also child friendly. We spent a fair bit of time there, as we had to see the minions train do a few trips.

For me, I was pleased with the etches I picked up from Judith Edge.

So, well worth the visit.

[ELTEL]

In between operating turns on Staffords club layout Whiteacres I bagged a Heljan 05 for £90 from Trevor at Cheltenham Models

 

Load of very keen prices on Hornby items at the Chester Model stand

 

Terry

[Allegheny1600]

Thanks to everyone posting such positive comments, we really appreciate them!

 

To the one negative poster, we didn't advertise the trams, in fact we clearly and distinctly advertised which layouts were coming. If my list didn't give you the guidance you wanted, you should have checked our website which I clearly supplied or contacted the email address supplied or asked the question on here. Why didn't you do this? I would genuinely like to know, thanks.

John Edge,

Member, MMRS.

[Steve Hewitt]

Sorry if I buck the general trend, but I was a bit disappointed with the Manchester show.

I think the venue is a bit claustrophobic with the very low ceilings, and the narrow aisles with no barriers aggrevated it.

 

The venue lacks area as well. The main hall is much too small for a show which is often considered one of the "Majors".

There is insufficient space to accomodate even just one large layout.

 

Great to be in the City again; my earliest visits to the Christmas Show were in the old Corn Exchange and I think I've been to all the subsequent venues.

 

Might MMRS be able to use further rooms in this new venue?

I certainly hope so.

 

Directions on the websites were excellent.

Glad I printed them off, as there was a total lack of signage on the road.

I bumped into a friend en-route who couldn't find it having left the tram at Piccadilly Station - he'd had to ring home for his wife to check the street address for him..

 

The content of the show was generally of a high standard - layouts, demonstrators and trade.

 

I hope my comments might be considered helpful.

Steve.

[Allegheny1600]

Hi Steve,

Your comments are greatly appreciated, thank you very much indeed!

If we know exactly what people like and dislike about the show, that's fine. It's a brand new venue and we will need time to develop the format into a successful one that is enjoyed by all.

We are happy to accept constructive criticism and we will endeavour to evolve the present format as time goes by.

Cheers,

John E.

[Black Sheep]

I made it, however it was by other means as the petrol station by work who usually tell me if they've just had a delivery didn't and I've got muck in the tank which made for an eventful ride home last night and the weather has prevented me doing anything about the currently sulking bike. 

 

I found it really helpful to have MERG present who have given me lots to think about for planning the 'magic' that allows my layout to work 

 

I found it very easy to flit past the smaller layouts tucked between traders and miss them, seeing them on my second lap of the hall, my main disappointment was the lack of N gauge for sale but that's down to the traders deciding what to bring based on what's sold well at other shows / years - was surprised the Locoshed weren't present given it's their local show. I arrived around 3pm so perhaps it was winding down a little trade-wise. 

 

Given the above comments on new building = working on getting the layout of the room right, some layouts felt tucked into a corner making it harder to move around to view as people moving on were having to pass people moving in to view if that makes sense. It's a strong start and hopefully we'll see the minor improvements to really polish and let the show shine

[RANGERS]

Not sure what the Manchester City Council policy is on road signage but I heard a tale from a colleague about signage relating to the Christmas Market being put up in the morning and the same teams being directed by a different department to go and remove them in the afternoon. Evidently one department had failed to follow the prescribed route when applying for permission and had failed to give another department the required notice. They could take them down, so they did!

[Andrew1974]

I went to the Manchester Show today with 3 small children (aged 8, 6 and 4). Just thought I would post a few of my likes and dislikes arising from the visit. (In no particular order)

 

Llke - location, we came on the train from Wigan, and had a quick walk from station to the venue.

Dislike - venue, low ceilings made the rooms feel quite claustrophobic, the narrow isles did not help in this regard either.

Like - layout quality and variety, seemed quite good and a few that really appealed to the youngsters. I am sure there were many that I could of spent a lot longer looking at if it were not for kids! However the attention span of my kids (or lack thereof) is hardly the show organisers fault.

Dislike - child friendly facilities. Whilst some of the layouts were good for the kids, the lack of proper barriers (which makes keeping fingers off more difficult) and a lack of step stools (that the Manchester Show has had in previous years) made helping them view in a way that did not cause panic amongst operators or back pain for me difficult.

Like - Pricing. £8 for me seemed about right for the size (no of exhibits etc), the fact that I could bring in the kids for free was great. Made the whole day out quite reasonable.

 

So, what would I change: given the location is good, the low ceilings would be ok with wider isles, perhaps using another room might help, assuming one is available and the extra cost does not make the show not viable. Proper barriers; to my mind these are a must to help parents keep the exhibits safe. A step stool hire service would be great.

 

On the whole, well done.

 

Andrew

[TheSignalEngineer]

To echo Steve's comment above, I too thought that the main room was a bit cramped especially early on. This was aggravated by the positioning of New Hey which caused a pinch point at the end of the one aisle. The city centre location was a bonus as far as transport was concerned, I was in the hall in less than an hour from home by train.

 

Restarting an event at a different venue after a break is always going to be difficult. Getting in traders and layouts with an already-crowded schedule must be a nightmare. On the whole I think you did pretty well in that regard, I picked up a few bits and pieces I needed and also a couple of bargains and managed to see some pretty impressive bits of modelling I hadn't seen before as well as a couple of old favourites. 

[Philip1812]

It's just gone midnight and this is the first chance I've had to go on line (had to go to a concert this evening).  I have not yet had time - nor will I until Monday evening - to read the comments which have been posted, but, as exhibition coordinator for THE Christmas Model Railway Show - Manchester 2015! I will respond to them all, either by personal email or by general blog posting, as soon as I can.

 

In the meantime, if you commented adversely about:

1  Queues to get in

2  Crowded aisles

3  Queues in the cafe

4  Lack of seats in the main exhibition halls

Here is what we have ALREADY done to improve things.

 

1 Entry queues.  We opened the doors today at 0956 to advance ticket holders and as soon as waiting advanced ticket holders had been processed we opened the doors to the general public (at about 2 minutes to 10.  We had planned to open earlier, but the late arrival of two traders meant that the venue was not safe for th public.  We will respond to the presence of a lengthy queue on sunday if necessary.

2  Yes. We've identified some pinch points, and will bear this in mind for next year.  The presence of pillars down teh main hall is a problem.

3  Tomoorow there will be TWO cafes open in the venue, not one as today.

4  Two stands "grew" between planning and arrival.  This caused some planned relaxation seating to be removed.  We have now added about 15 extra seats at different places around the exhibition.

 

 

To those who commented favourably above.  THANK YOU.  both for supporting us and for your positive feedback.

 

Phil

[PLD]

Visited today, vVenue easy enough to find if you pre-planned - I ditched the car at a Tram Stop just off the motorway and rode in to Piccadilly armed with the map from the website, but noticed little in the way of signage (show specific or generic signage for the venue) until almost at the door. I arrived approx 11:15 and by then, the reported early queues had died down, so quick and easy entry, but boy was it packed inside...

 

A few issues with the layout of the show which being the first year in a new venue are forgiveable as 'on a learning curve' - there were certainly some tight spots in both main halls (but no worse than another show in the locality earlier this year) and the lack of barriers didn't help one poor front of layout operator who found himself being swept away from his own layout by the tide of bodies! As for the two small rooms - once you were in you had to fight to get out as too many people didn't get the idea that if they were patient and let others out first, there'd be more space for them to push in to!! .

I do wonder if you would struggle to fit some larger layouts in the rooms used this year. Are there are any other larger rooms in the building that could be used?

Catering seemed reasonably well organised - I queued for less than 5 minutes circa 12:45. Reasonable quality at a fair price, and except at the absolute peak just about enough seating.

 

Layouts - a good variety covering all the main bases. Tollesbury Quay and Stamford East were the standout for quality, and credit to Gillan & Brown for audience interaction, but a couple of others the operators seemed to give 'having a chat with their mates' a higher priority...

Trade - Reasonable variety. A few significant 'names' you might expect to see (subject to availability) missing, and probably 1 too many 'box-shifter' and electricals...

 

Overall - a good effort and worth the money. Certainly better than any of the 'Armitage Years'; not quite back to the standard of the latter days in the Co-op, but with a few tweaks well on the way back to the top...

[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]

My wife and I visited on Saturday, we arrived about 12.15, having the two ladies sat behind að on the left collecting the money did not help as customers were constantly trying to push past each other to either get to the furthest ticket seller or to get past a group buying tickets at the furthest seller. Confused yet?. Sorry.

I have to agree the halls seemed a bit cramped and the aisles seemed very narrow, however positively wonderful compared to the Christmas Market.

Forgot to say we parked in the car park which at 2.00 for all day is brilliant, terrible though.

I really enjoyed the layouts, thought there was a good mix, and managed to buy everything on my list.

My wife is a bit fragile due to medical treatment and would have appreciated more seats, she went up to the cafe about 12.30 and came straight back down. However when e went up later e found seats and had some refreshments, (as a Catering Manager, I thought the staff up there were doing a really good job.

My wife really loved Stanford East, partly because of the brilliant scenery and partly because of the height of the layout (her words) For a railway, I really enjoyed seeing Herstmonceaux, but, agreed with my wife that Stanford East was best in show. Well done to all concerned. Grand day out

[Poggy1165]

It wasn't half busy! No doubt good for the Society and the traders, but the venue felt cramped, and getting in to see Roy Cropper's layout was a bit like pushing through the Kippax Street stand on Derby Day back in the old days.

 

The star of the show for me was Calderwood. One of the best layouts I've seen in a long time, with (among other things) lots of lovely private owner wagons and superb signalling. I like Tollesbury Quay too, fantastic modelling.

[chrisf]

Yes, it was busy and crowded.

 

I was lucky enough to arrive when the direction signs were still in place.  The new venue could hardly be handier for Piccadilly station but some more floorspace would have been very handy.  The show content was, I thought, a fair balance between trade and layouts and the amenities coped well with the demand.  99p for a cuppa compares favourably with £2 at MK Central and the Upper Crust outlet at Piccadilly and an impulse purchase of chicken and mushroom pie, chips and beans was a good accompaniment to late elevenses with Jonathan CorneliusLundie.

 

The selection of layouts was very good and two caught my eye in particular.  I liked Herstmonceux very much.  Its builder, Andy Jones, will be remembered by some as Noddy, once of RMweb.  I liked the way that he took pains to source appropriate stock for his chosen scenario: there are those who would run a mile in record time at the very mention of the word 'kit' but this man has embraced the products of Roxey et al and made a fine job of them.   He has also taken the trouble to do something about the yawning gap between gangways seen on far too many corridor coaches.  Folded black paper is a cheap, simple and effective solution.   One of the guest operators could do with learning a bit more about how shunting was accomplished in bygone days but apart from that all was well - at least while I was looking.  The other layout which made quite an impression on me was Tollesbury Quays, an essay in 7mm depicting bygone Essex which positively shouted 'Rice and Barlow' at me.

 

While discussing layouts it would be wrong not to pay tribute to Andy Cooper's New Hey, which by the end of today will have a new owner.  I hope that whoever that is [i forgot to ask!] will drag it out once in a while.

 

There was a glass case containing models made by MMRS members.  Many of them had been given awards, and quite right too.  How many other clubs and societies could even aspire to such an artifact?   Oh well, we can dream.

 

Finally, I could not resist a chuckle at a label attached to some of the goods offered second-hand: "Caution - EM Gauge".

 

Chris 

[Leander]

Excellent day at the show yesterday which has well and truly got its mojo back. I arrived before doors opened around 9.45am on account of being an operator on 'New Hey' and left at 5.15pm. My first impression was that the low ceilings would make the place appear claustrophobic but over the course of the day I seemed to get used to it. I agree with the comments regarding pillars, and lack of barriers (what, no 'Saggy Barrier' award?) but was this a deliberate choice or not really an option at all occasioned by the use of the venue?

 

 

There was an excellent range of layouts and all deserve commendation. I must single out 'Herstmonceux' and 'Tollesbury Quay' in particular however, which really caught my eye. It was good to see numbers of visitors attending and overheard a conversation stating that the number through the door by the close of play on the Saturday had already exceeded that for the weekend at the last Armytage show. 

 

So, well done MMRS for putting THE Christmas show well and truly back on the exhibition calendar.

 

 

 

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

Fresh back in from a morning at the show....we found it instantly off the A34....spent 75% of my time there socialising with modelling contacts, traders and a former work colleague/railway author from Buxton shed. Found some Lindstrom pliers which I'd been looking for on the Eileens stand and a couple of well priced 1970s Sectional Appendices on another. Enjoyed the Tollesbury wharf layout and would have liked to see more in a similar vein. The Davies & Metcalfe might have been factory layout had charm too....smashing buildings guys. 

 

Opportunity taken to pick up Phoenix paints/fluids now expensive to post

 

Important to support three or four exhibitions a year, inc. local, managed both Expo North and Manchester this year.....nice touch with the costumes guys

 

Dave