CHATHAM SHOW 11th 12th JUNE

[fulton]

The Chatham Show is soon on us, forth year at Medway Park ME7 1HF, 11th 12th June Sat 10am to 5pm Sun 10am to 4pm, Entry Adults £8 Children Free must be accompanied by an adult, Expected free parking on site, awaiting final confirmation from Medway Council, shoppers also make use of our free parking so does get busy Sat morning. 10 minute walk from GILLINGHAM railway station, we are at the opposite end of Gillingham High Street. 30 plus layouts 50 plus traders full list on our web page but do include PEMPOUL 1:50, MOSTYN P4 and N Club International from Germany.

C&DMRC Flyers 2016 - sepia4-154.pdf

Medway Park_Map.pdf

[Paul Cram]

Pity it doesn't work

[PenrithBeacon]

Both pdf files worked for me

 

Regards

[fulton]

Sorry there seems to be a problem with our club webpage, hope to be sorted soon.

[fulton]

Just confirmed parking will be FREE at Medway Park Leisure Centre. PLEASE NOTE that on SUNDAY there is a Fun Run starting at 9am and finishing around 10,15am, Brompton Road, Prince Arthur Road and part of Medway Road will be closed during this time.

     If you are coming via Medway Tunnel you should continue on the main A289 until the roundabout ( for The Strand) turn right up Church Street, Ingram Road then turn right either just before the level crossing, Railway Street or just after either Windsor Road or Balmoral Road which will bring you to Gillingham Railway Station, which is the start of the High Street we are at the other end.

     If you are coming via Rochester Bridge you should stay on the A2 until after the top of Chatham Hill turn left on to the A231 Canterbury Street, Nelson Road, Duncan Road which brings you to Gillingham Railway Station.

     If you are coming via the M2 come off at junction 4 onto the A278 until you reach the A2 roundabout turn left onto the A2 then right onto the A231 Canterbury Street, Nelson Road, Duncan Road which brings you to Gillingham Railway Station. Sorry for any inconvenience.

[richierailfan72]

If you decide to travel by train on Saturday 11th June, and have to pass through London, there are no trains to or from Cannon Street, which are being diverted into either Charing Cross or London Victoria.

Therefore it is recommended that you pick up a service from St Pancras International, Stratford International, London Victoria, Charing Cross or Waterloo East, where you can get a direct service to and from Gillingham anyway.

On Sunday 12th June only, there are more engineering works meaning the best way is to travel from London Victoria as there is a replacement bus service between Dartford / Ebbsfleet International and Rochester. This also affects the Medway Valley Line between Maidstone West and Strood.

[61666]

Just over a week to go to the Chatham Show. The Club's developing 7mm scale layout will be available for anyone wanting to give a test run to O gauge fine scale locos. Essentially a double track oval, occupying 30' x 14', it offers a continuous run of over 80' - ideal for bigger engines. Trains to haul will include an 8 coach Gresley corridor set, 6 coach Gresley suburban set, a lengthy mixed parcels & stock train, plus fitted and unfitted goods. Both DCC and analogue catered for. 

 Maggie & Gordon Gravett's incomparable Pempoul will be making one of its last appearances, while P4 fans can delight in the vast Mostyn system. Details of other layouts shortly.

 With over 50 traders and societies, there should be something for everyone in terms of shopping. Closely linked to Mostyn, Sutton Locomotive Works are launching a new Southern Region liveried version of the RTR Sulker Type 2 diesel, while Hubert Carr's Model Loco Developments will be showing the new radio control modules. Eileen's Emporium will have their usual huge range of materials, plus an air brush demonstration stand, while John Lloyd's Greenscene stand will likewise offer demonstrations on how to use scenic materials.

 Further details of all the other traders will follow shortly.

[61666]

The Chatham Show is always keen to invite specialist traders as well as those supplying the all important mainstream suppliers. While much can be purchased 'on line' these days, we nevertheless feel it is good to not just see what you might buy, but also talk to the traders as well. Traders this year include:

 

 3mm Finescale Model Railways - a wide range of materials, with an emphasis on the 'intermediate' scale

 ABC Model Railways - stands for American, British & Continental, which hopefully says it all

 AGL Associates - cast resin wagon loads in 00/N plus a wide range of other parts

 All Components - for all matters electrical

 Aspire Gifts and Models - comprehensive selection of new and pre-owned models from all the main suppliers

 Branchlines - specialist parts for narrow gauge, plus a big range of motors, gear boxes etc

 C&L Finescale - wide range of track building components and ready made points, flexitrack etc. Also PECO dealers

 Cambrian Models - specialists in 4mm scale wagon kits, narrow gauge components, also wheels & gears

 Carriage & Wagon Models - a wide range of die cast kits

 Chalk Garden Rail - G Scale specialists for the outdoors

 Coastal DCC - controllers, chips and all things DCC related

 Dakota Dibben - trader in all sorts of pre-owned models

 Dart Castings - white metal and etched scenic parts for all the major scales

 DC Kits - kits and RTR models, plus DCC components, Kadeem couplings; also videos

 Eileen's Emporium - vast range of metal and plastic materials, screws, nuts, bolts; also air brushes [with demonstration stand]

 Euroscale Models - as the name suggests, suppliers of continental models for mainland Europe

 Finishing Touches - painting and weathering specialists

 Footplate - model shop covering all the major suppliers

 4Track Models - specialists in high quality laser cut kits for buildings and scenic items

 Golden Arrow - 4mm scale train and loco kits in resin & white metal

 Gramodels - manufacturer of 2, 3, 4, 7 & 16mm scale military kits, equipment & wagons

 Green scene - everything for the scenic modeller, complete with demonstration stand

 Harrison-Brown Models - model railways, buildings and die cast models supplier

 Heritage in Motion - huge range of DVDs

 Hobby Holidays - suppliers of track making and kit building materials, who also run workshops to improve your skills

 Invicta Model Rail - comprehensive range of stock in all major scales and gauges 

 Kent Garden Rail - all you need for the outdoor railway

 Kytes Lights - specialist in all forms of model lighting

 Langley Models - cast kits in 2, 4 & 7mm scale

 Layouts 4U - extensive range of 00 lights, yard lamps & illuminated accessories

 London Road Models - specialists in etched kits for pre-grouping locos

 Andy Lynch Railways - local dealer from Gillingham

 Ray Morris - specialist pre-owned models supplier, including American outline

 Model Railway Developments - 4mm specialist for buffers, wagon accessories, figures etc, plus new radio control system

 Plus Daughters - full range of models from all the main suppliers

 Rail Books - huge range of titles

 Railroad Trading - specialist in North American DVD and books

 Roneo Models - British outline models from all major suppliers, plus advice on servicing and repairs

 Ron Lines - wide range of new and second hand model stock and accessories

 Roxey Mouldings - specialist supplier of kits and scratch builder parts in 4 & 7mm scale

 Severn Models - architectural miniature model kits in etched brass in 2, 4 & 7mm scale

 Simply Southern - unique model freight wagons for all Southern Rail and Southern Region enthusiasts

 Skytrex - 7mm scale buildings and accessories

 South Eastern Finecast - white metal traction engine, loco and car kits

 Supercast - range of resin cast materials

 Mike Thorp Photos

 Wealistic Models - display cases, rolling roads, track cleaning wagons and a range of other supplies.

 

Hopefully something for everyone!

[61666]

As with traders, we hope we have layouts to interest everyone. By scale, they are:

 

Z scale

• Roussennac - Metre gauge in Z scale, so 3mm [T scale] track French narrow gauge by Noel Dollimore in the Pyrennes

2mm Scale

• Langerisech - 2mm FS by Nigel Ashton depicting N Wales in the 1930s
• Brixham Bay - N gauge by Kevin & Judith Cartwright. S Devon in the 1930s
• Cedar Canyon Junction - N Gauge by Peter Richards. California mountain scenery & mainline trains
• N Club International - Modular layout from Stuttgart, Germany. Large, multiple themed layout & continental practice
• Lighterman's Yard - 2mm FS from Kent & Essex 2mm Scale Association. Fictitious goods yard set in 1950/60s E London
• Kings Park - N gauge by Andy Stepney. 1980s electrics on the west coast main line just outside London

HO Scale

• Giannova - HO & HOe by Samuel de Zutter. Italian theme, based on the stunning Cinque Terra coast
• Gare de Duminy - HO from Rail Modelismn Valenciennois. Small terminus set in SW France
• RhB St Bernina - Ohm by Eddy de Wilde. Swiss metre gauge.

4mm Scale

• Mostyn - P4 from the Barrowmore Model Railway Group. N Wales coast line in 1977. 
• Long Melford - OO gauge from Nigel Locke. East Anglia & Stour Valley line in the 1950s
• The Clydach Railway - 009 by Richard Holder. N Wales tourist railway, Garretts included!
• Tansey Bank & Hobbs Row Halt - 009 from Bob Vaughn. Preserved industrial railway set in 1960s Warwickshire
• Lydgate - OO gauge from Mid Essex Model Club. Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway terminus, set in 1960s
• Staple & Ash - OO gauge from Jez Laming. East Kent Light Railway in the 20s& 30s
• The Corn Mill - 009 from John & Jane Jacobs & Derek Huisman. Classic scenery & buildings in a joint Anglo-Dutch venture
• Sandford & Banwell - P$ by Pete & Jeff Day. Somerset & the Cheddar Valley
• Havergo Junction - Chatham Club's OO 'drive it yourself' layout, with Thomas & Friends
• Thornbury Hill - OO gauge from thorn bury Hill Owners Group. Brighton Line in the 1960s
• Surrey Arms - EM gauge by Stephen Cannington. Central London, Southern Region terminus in the 1950s

Larger Scales

• Edington Junction - 0 gauge by East Kent 0 Gauge Group. Somerset & dorset in the 1920 'blue period'.
• Newchapel Junction - 0 Gauge by Steve Wilkins. Southern & Western in the Yeovil area [1930s] for this large, fully signalled layout
• Melin Llechi [the slate mill] - 16mmNG by Tony Hill. Radio control, battery power & many other innovations from this well known modeller
• Puerto Passo - 0n30 - from Giles Barnabe. Narrow gauge in the Caribbean.
• Durham Road - O Gauge by Peter Clark. Modern image track maintenance depot
• Pempoul - 1:50 scale from Gordon & Maggie Gravett. This exquisite French Reseau Breton layout is making one of its final appearances before entering 'semi retirement' next year
• North Circular - O gauge by Chatham Club. Our North London test track is slowly taking shape. Visitors are welcome to run their own stock. DCC and analogue
• Aston - O gauge from Martin Jeffrey & Robin Watson. 1930s GWR country branchline
• Grindley Brook - O gauge from Hillingdon Railway Modellers. Ex LNWR in the 1950s & 60s
• Wittenden - On16.5 & On9 from Tunbridge Model Club. Kent narrow gauge country railway
• Franklin - 1:48 scale 2' gauge by Bob Harper & Bob Deakin. Hand built American narrow gauge.

Apologies for any mis-spelling of names. Spell checker not always helpful in these circumstances!

[jonathan452]

Will the catering be any better this year?

 

(i.e. have your persuaded the Leisure Centre to up their offer.)

 

Or is it a case of Gillingham High Street.

[61666]

Fingers crossed, the small refreshment stand that was in the main hall will be offering more choice & capacity this year. He did very well in 2015, but didn't realise just how popular it would be. The hall layout will be as spacious as ever, with plenty of seating for anyone who wants to bring their own food too.

[Gavin Liddiard]

The Mostyn team has been very busy leading up to the Chatham show, building new rolling stock for your delectation. Over 70 new items will debut this weekend, including passenger, freight and possibly a few special versions of a certain type 2.

[61666]

Thanks Gavin - we are looking forward to seeing you all!

 

 We have been contacted by Ron Connor Totems, who does signs 'while you wait', saying that he may not be able to attend, owing to issues with his van. Fingers crossed, he will still make it, but just to let everyone know.

 

 A couple of extra traders to mention:

 

On Sunday only, Mark Clark's 'Locos & Stuff' will be present. Mark is a specialist in 7mm Narrow Gauge and produces a growing range of etched kits, including some splendid, exotic prototypes from all around the world. He is at the 7mmNG Convention in Burton on Saturday, which is why he can only attend on Sunday here.

 Bespoke Baseboards is run by club member Dave Lunnon, who can produce what you require in timber, plywood or MDF. He does custom stock boxes too, while also giving his spare time to 12" to the foot modelling at the carriage shop at Tenterden, restoring stock on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. 

 

Societies

 We have put together what we hope is an interesting range of society stands, covering both modelling and historical themes:

• Medway Queen Preservation Society. One of the Dunkirk 'little ships', she is currently berthed at Gillingham Pier, so you may have time to go and look.
• South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society - extensive materials and research on these local lines
• EM Gauge Society - largest and oldest of the fine scale societies. The 200+ page manual is worth the membership fee alone!
• Friends of Chatham Traction - a must for all bus fans
• Kent Community Rail Partnership - est in 2003 to bring together local authorities, businesses, communities etc to bring new life to parts of Kent's rail network
• British 1:87 Society - the scale alternative for 16.5mm track. DCC and model clinic on their stand for anyone with any problems.
• SNCF Society - support for those modelling French railways
• Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway - our nearest narrow gauge preserved line, which operates every Sunday, Easter to September & Wednesdays in August
• Gauge 0 Guild - everything you need to know about 7mm scale modelling

We are also very pleased to welcome back John Watson, whose demonstration stand is a must visit for anyone wanting to know more about soldering techniques. Seen by some a a bit of a 'black art', once mastered soldering opens up all sorts of new opportunities in model making - not least etched kits and electrical wiring.

 

The Chatham Club are very much looking forward to seeing everyone over the weekend!

[David Todd]

Looking forward to it,will be there on Sunday only.

[fulton]

Have just collected a van from Regal Van Hire, they operate from the same premises as Regal Models, they help us with our van costs, Regal Models do not attend exhibitions but their shop is only a five minute drive from the Chatham Show and well worth a visit. Regal Models are located at the tunnel end of Chatham Historic Dockyard next door to the Hotel, ME4 4TZ. We will be loading up to night the first of several runs from our club rooms, ready for a 7am start tomorrow!

[Brian Hawkins]

Very nice show, but, only spent an hour and a half at the venue as it was hot and very uncomfortable, now recovering in The Britania pub throwing copious amounts of Carlsberg down my neck, highlight of the day for me was picking up the two latest SLW class 24's and meeting Phil & Jamie.

[MrSimon]

Went today - great show, will definitely come again! It was pretty warm (it was also warm outside though), but I still spent 2 hours looking at a great set of layouts

[forest2807]

I'm not one for hyperbole but this was a superb show. I'm difficult to impress but hats off to the team that booked layouts and arranged the event. Despite the rather warm temperature in the main hall, the layouts on show meant this was one of the best exhibitions I've attended for s long time. There was some beautiful craftsmanship, embodied in the 2mm finescale and narrow gauge departments - not my area of interest but some of these layouts had me captivated for a long time. The Welsh narrow gauge layout (fictitious heritage line, bridge over harbour, sorry I forget the name) was exquisite. Much quality was in evidence in 7mm scale too. And of course, if you romanticise late 1970's blue diesels the superb Mostyn ticked all the necessary boxes. Thanks to the operating team for chatting with me and being so friendly, especially for sharing the previously unseen in public film clips with me!

[jonathan452]

The Mostyn team has been very busy leading up to the Chatham show, building new rolling stock for your delectation. Over 70 new items will debut this weekend, including passenger, freight and possibly a few special versions of a certain type 2.

Good to see the Mk2c set (including an FO).

 

And the 1970's SOX street lights which have appeared on the main road.

[Pacific231G]

I was there yesterday on the SNCF Society stand and thought it a good show with some excellent layouts and enough variety to provide useful inspiration- Surrey Arms  in particular gave me some ideas.

 

It's always worth seeing Pempoul of course but I was also particularly impressed by Grindley Brook, especially the superbly modelled tunnel mouth and the very effective use of weathering.

 

 

We were facing Grindley Brook and it provided Tim and I with some pleasant train spotting with trains moving at a very realistic pace. 

 

It was good to see some layouts from the other side of the channel and I enjoyed Giannova (especially its special feature!) and chatting withSamuel de Zitter

 

 I also had an interesting conversation with the charming couple Kristin and Thierry who were with the Valencienne club's Gare de Duminy.

 

 

I've not been to Chatham for a few years but it did seem a bit quiet yesterday so wondered if numbers were down or whether the spaciousness of the two halls simply gave that impression 

[NWJ]

I'd forgotten that the show was this weekend until a friend reminded me this morning. To be honest, the last few shows had not really impressed me, maybe a couple of layouts there did, but not enough to make me go away feeling satisfied which is probably why I didn't note it down for this year.

Well, I am extremely pleased that I did go along! I think that there was probably something there for everyone this time round. A really good range of scales, very nice to see a strong(ish) 2mm/Ngauge representation this years as well as locations - UK, Europe and USA. I thought that the trade representation was very good this year, although I did not go with the intention of buying, it looked as if there was an excellent range of traders there.

For me, the highlight was probably Long Melford Junction, depicting the beautiful Stour Valley in Suffolk. It was a delight to see the interlocking lever frame on full display at the front of the layout and the prototypical operation. However, it was also good to be able to see the 2mm model Brixham Bay in the flesh after seeing it in the modelling press. I also enjoyed reacquainting myself with Newchapel Junction, an O gauge delight, fully signalled (well done chaps on the new signal gantries at the entrance to the station!). For me, this is always a pleasure to watch and today was no exception. Another 7mm delight was Grindley Brook, already mentioned here, but a great one for just watching the trains go by. On a similar vein, Sandford and Banwell caught my eye, a simple trackplan, a well modelled through station, but a joy to just watch the trains go by on. Finally, back to 2mm scale and Llangerisech, some very intricate detail here capturing North Wales.

These were my personal highlights, but to be honest, there were many other excellent layouts today. Well done to the Chatham and District Model Railway Club for this weekend's show. The venue is good (no problem today with overheating) and the layouts selected were fantastic. Here's to next year!

[bcnPete]

My first visit to the show and I was really impressed with it. Only managed 2 hours today as my teenage son was getting twitchy but the temperature of the hall seemed fine in comparison with the above comments about yesterday...the rain I experienced getting there by car might have helped with that.

 

I primarily went to see Mostyn but there were lots of other great layouts too. Good selection of trade but resisted to just stocking up on solder.

 

Nice to meet some 2mmFS peeps and also see Thornbury Hill which I used to help operate 30 years ago when I was a member of the Burgess Hill MRC

 

Definately in the calendar for next year...

[61666]

Many thanks to Pacific 231G for photos of the show and especially to all the club members and helpers who put in an incredible shift from Friday to Sunday to make the whole thing happen. Likewise all the exhibitors, who made it such a fine weekend.

 We had barely got in the halls ourselves, when Mostyn's lorry turned up. They had driven through the night, with 2.5 tons of layout, so it seemed only fair to mark out their pitch first! The main hall is around 250' x 120', with the second hall over 100' square, so many of the pitches are a long way from the entrances. Hence club members and helpers with trolleys worked tirelessly through Friday afternoon and first thing Saturday to help everyone to their site. Others were busy setting up wiring and ensuring the all important tea and coffee were on hand, together with lunches for both days. On top of that, there were two club layouts to set up as well...

 The Club 0 gauge layout, North Circular, needed a lot of work first thing, but then, this was the first time it had been set up as a 30x15 oval. Little sign of any problems elsewhere, indeed the standard of layouts was very high, as other posts seem to attest.

 Sadly, numbers through the door were poor on the Sunday, probably caused by the 10km run outside mentioned in earlier posts. This closed several roads, making it hard for people to get in & almost certainly caused some to stay away. Despite apparently being planned a year ago, we were only told two weeks before the show & had only RMweb to let everyone know. Traders suffered a bit too, though with no real pattern. Seems like it was a Marmite effect, with some specialists doing ok and others having a very poor weekend. Likewise the more general suppliers, which is a shame, when they give up their time [and money] to attend, with no certainty of actually making a profit.

 4pm Sunday saw everything go into reverse, just as the sun came out. Good for folk getting away, but it suddenly got very warm in the halls at the worst time. The last of the tidying up was finished around 8pm, by which time everyone was happy to put up aching feet, though no doubt some exhibitors were still on the road.

 Enormous thanks to all exhibitors & traders for all your time & effort. We are having a review meeting in a couple of weeks to see where we can improve & adapt, so if anyone has any further comments, we will be pleased to hear them.