RAILEX 2018 26 & 27 MAY

[Roy L S]

Excellent show, certainly up to the very high standard set in previous years.

 

Top quality layouts, great cross section of trade. For me there was a slight disappointment knowing that there would be a lack of anything N, but Jerry Clifford's lovely 2mm model Foxcote New Pit was by itself a worthy representative of the smaller scales.

 

Well done to all involved, a lot of hard graft will have gone into making the show happen I know, and it certainly paid off. Definitely on my list for next year.

 

Roy

[Oldddudders]

A splendid day, thankyou to the organisers. Everything worked with one tiny exception. The lockers now require a token, being designed for the old pound coin. The token costs £1, including a clip for your belt etc. The locker was very welcome on a hot day, and £1 was thus well-spent. The catering was good and affordable, and the young lady there worked her socks off.

 

Layouts? If you found a duff one I didn’t. And in a few cases I was able to talk to owners/operators, some of them RMwebbers, e.g. Graham Muz, the Cliffords, Jason and Chris at t’Mill. Apart from that Sherry and I met a host of RMwebbers, some for the first time. A certain Captain in shorts is, however, not a sight to be relished.

 

The vintage bus adds a great deal to the experience, not least enabling us to purchase tickets and jump the short queue.

 

A smashing day altogether. Thanks everyone who made it so.

[Bluebell Model Railway]

I attended on Saturday, bit of a way from the Isle of Wight, show was good, but I did feel it was lacking something... didn't seem as busy as previous years, layouts were a good standard as always, seemed to be a Scottish theme this year, one layout was there a second time, but over all good, heard some moans of not enough 2mm there its was good, well organised but lacking something...

Well done to Risborough and district model railway club, for a well organised event / exhibition.

I have put together a highlight video for those who may not of been able to attend...
and photo's will follow a bit later...

https://youtu.be/NaoSbWZZiqA

 

Edited May 27, 2018 by Bluebell Model Railway

[88C]

I've just got home after spending a very enjoyable day at RailEx. As always, excellent layouts and trade. I was nice to meet some fellow RMWebbers and several others who have similar interests. We'll done to all involved in putting on the show and thanks.

[5 C]

Great show once again. Well worth the short trip and for me at least, the perfect excuse to get out of town and avoid Luton Carnival!

 

As I've come to expect from Railex it was "all killer and no filler"on the layout front with the specialist trade well represented.

 

One final thought: Hornsey Broadway - how many levels?!

[Compound2632]

One final thought: Hornsey Broadway - how many levels?!

 

A layout that impresses on so many levels...

[ANT]

Hello

 

Thankyou all for your kind words about the show.

 

The Awards at Railex 2018 are as follows:

 

Best Layout: Hornsey Broadway exhibited by Kier Hardy, as judged by the other layouts at the exhibition.

 

Best Model: The shops on Hornsey Broadway exhibited by Kier Hardy as judged by Paul Karau.

 

As part of the prize for Best Model, Kier was also presented with certificate and a voucher for £50 from Derek Russan of Elieen's Emporium

 

Photos of the presentations can be found on our Club website using the below link:

 

http://www.rdmrc.org.uk/Railex2018/Awards2018.html

 

I will add more details as I obtain them.

 

Thanks

SEEYA
ANT

[Llangerisech]

I can only agree with the plaudits already posted. Not a duff one there and a thoroughly enjoyable day. Good to catch up with many familiar faces and see how some of the layouts have evolved since first seeing them.

 

I hate to pick out any favourite, but the sight of Fine Fare supermarket and "It's Frothy Man!" on a poster were some of the many details that made Hornsey Broadway very nostalgic. The attractions of everything on Burntisland are impressive in differing ways and certainly inspiration to those of us on the Lewes 1886 team. Then the bucolic charm of Kyle of Sutherland and Foxcote New Pit lead you into another area of appreciation. But as I say, not a single layout to be dismissed.

[247 Developments]

Well were home Vans unloaded & I am now having a Pizza Watching the F1

 

Very Nice Show See you all Next year

[Persephone]

On behalf of the North Ballachulish crew a massive thanks to David and all of the crew for hosting another excellent top drawer show. Its always a privilege and a honour to exhibit a layout at Railex not just because of the excellence of the show, but also because of the great hospitality and social side of it, its a perfect and complete weekend. Its also a bit daunting to give your layout its first proper public showing in such exalted company but judging by the comments we had, we pulled it off and with some panache, thanks again David for showing faith in an "unseen" layout.

[brightspark]

An excellent show. Can I thank who ever it was that picked up the package that I dropped at ModelU and took the time to take it over to Gibson. They returned it to me. Thanks so much.

 

Hornsey was great, I didn't get to see it until the end of the show today because of the crowds. But I intend to spend a lot longer in the stands when I see it next. Burntisland was running so much better than when I last saw it at Southampton. Congratulations to the team for working on that. Can I suggest more AJ's so that there is less reaching over the layout.

It was lovely to see Jerry's little mine out again. I thought that that it had been retired it from the circuit.

The Summit was ..big. There seemed to be a couple of issues with operator problems but still impressive.

I will finish with Kyle of Sutherland. Nicely done and well observed. I thought that the work on improving the Bachmann coaches was very impressive. I thought that the sides were etches until the provenance was pointed out to me. 

 

Oh and parking was not an issue. Thanks for reserving me a place just outside the door.

 

Andy

[Re6/6]

. A certain Captain in shorts is, however, not a sight to be relished.

 

[Graham_Muz]

Thanks to David and the R&DMRC team for putting on another good show it was a pleasure to attend with Canute Road Quay.

[Jol Wilkinson]

I particularly liked Hewisbridge which I thought captured the scenic feel of the Waverly route and, as usual, Jerry Clifford's 2mm FS offering, this time Foxcote New Pit.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

All over for another year. Thanks to the team that makes it happen and all those people who turned up visitors and exhibitors, I got home at eight last night and felt totally knackered as the stadium had been my home for the last three days. Feel better now for some sleep and may go for a 5k run which will take me through the stadium yet again.

[bbishop]

 

 

Oh and parking was not an issue. Thanks for reserving me a place just outside the door.

 

Andy

 

 

Andy, it seems you had my parking spot, just because I had to miss a year ..... 

See you on 16th June?

Bill

[Horsetan]

?..A certain Captain in shorts is, however, not a sight to be relished. ....

This is why I went on Saturday.

[queensquare]

All I can do is add to what others have said, another great weekend on both the modelling and social front. Personal favorites among an excellent array of layouts was the wonderfully captured urban 70s grot of Hornsey Broadway, incredably nostalgic for us fifty-somethings and Kyle of Sutherland - the need to peer in and around the trees to catch a glimpse of the trains was fabulous.

 

Regarding the colliery, Highbury was retired four years ago and rebuilt into the home layout as Foxcote. It is bigger than before and now sports exchange sidings and a double track mainline across the front. Many thanks to all those who said nice things about it over the weekend.

 

By hook or crook we will be back next year - a cunning plan is being hatched!

jerry

[Axlebox]

Thanks to everyone who stopped by at Croft over the weekend and thanks to David, Ant and the Stewards for looking after us...its was good to catch up with some old friends and to get inspiration from some of the best model railways around...finally got home at half one this morning after having been stuck in the flash floods in Northamptonshire somewhere...oh, and a quick stop in Leicester to pick up a curry!

 

Duncan

[Dunsignalling]

Thanks to all involved. Wall-to-wall excellence as we've come to expect over the years.

 

Traffic from/to East Devon via A303, A34 etc. much lighter than it's previously been when attending on the Saturday, so Sunday will be the day for me henceforth. 

 

SatNav was determined to send me home via the M4, which appears to be accessible from every exit of the A34 southbound!     

 

John

Edited May 28, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[chrisf]

Some cunning plans turn out to be not so cunning.  When I saw the proximity of Hornsey Broadway to the main entrance it seemed obvious to loiter nearby until opening time, stride purposefully to the layout and claim a space.  The flaw was that I had an advance ticket and so was among those corralled next to an entrance at the other end of the hall.  Fortunately I am still capable of short concentrated bursts of energy and reached Hornsey Broadway with space to spare.  Having waited eight years to see it I was not disappointed and it was well deserving of the trophies that it was awarded.  Had it been in my gift I would have awarded the pot for the best building to the partly demolished structure near the loco depot.  Such things are much less common than parades of shops, good though the prizewinner was, and probably far more difficult to execute well.  Not for nothing was the motto of my university "Do Different".

 

As usual I spent more time viewing some layouts than others and concur that there was not a duff one there.  How I wish that I could say that of certain other shows!  I was very taken by Kyle of Sutherland, for it is unusual to have to peep through trees to see the trains.  The coaches in particular were far from run-of-the-mill and had clearly benefitted from much thought.  I can't help thinking that some people buy coaches the way that Wetherspoons buy the books for the bookcases in their pubs - by the mile.  Andy Cooper's North Ballachulish was a good representation of the sparsely populated and vegetated part of Scotland portrayed, evoking well the days before diesel locos with throaty exhausts were displaced by bland modern dmus.  The award-winning The Mill and its creators Jason and Chris made a welcome appearance.  I had not realised before just how much of a cow the track plan must make it to operate because the eye of the viewer is quite rightly drawn to the structures.  It is interesting to compare The Mill with Karl Crowther's Hebble Vale Goods which was nearby.

 

The balance and quality of trade support was first-class, though I did spot some pre-owned items which are too far gone to be offered for sale.  Other shows offend much more in that respect.  As for amenities, the breakfast was good value at £5 and provided one more opportunity for meeting and greeting.  I live an hour's drive from the venue and arrived early enough to bag a prime parking space.  Lunch was fine.  It takes more than Horsetan's comments to put me off my food and I recall a shish kebab offered by the Curry Garden in Erdington which looked much more like a turd than the cumberland sausage at Stoke Mandible.

 

The other cunning plan was to announce that I would be wearing a brick red shirt.  It appears not to have been a total success in engineering brief encounters, though I was delighted to meet Peaky and LMSforever for the first time and to take tea with Oldduddders and Ashcombe who joined 88C and me in putting the world to rights.  However compact the venue it is often impossible to find everyone that one knows to be there so apologies to Phil JW, Peter BB and anyone else for not connecting.  It was heartening thst a substantial contingent from DRAG made the effort to attend - always a pleasure to see you, lads.

 

All that remains is to thank David and his team for mounting yet another top class show and to associate myself with Charlie Petty's comments earlier in the thread.  So what if the hall became humid?  It's nobody's fault that humidity affects me like kryptonite affects Superman.

 

Chris

[Horsetan]

....It takes more than Horsetan's comments to put me off my food and I recall a shish kebab offered by the Curry Garden in Erdington which looked much more like a turd than the cumberland sausage at Stoke Mandible.....

I must try harder.

[PhilJ W]

A great show, my personal favourite was Burtisland 1883, the attention to detail is amazing, and almost all scratch built, Hornsey Broadway is also a favourite. Also nice to have some decent catering. I will certainly be attending next years show. As an aside a 'bonus' on the way home. I went via the A414 and between the M11 and Chelmsford we found ourselves following a vintage Bedford SB/Duple coach, not that we were held up by it as it was batting along at about 50 mph.

[lmsforever]

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit the layouts were outstanding especially enjoyed Canute Quay  good to see the detail and the very good Scottish invasion everyone excellent modelling.Trade as usual was worth browsing and purchases were made plus ideas for the future were seen all in all an excellent day.Good to meet Chris F I met other friends which is always a pleasure ,keep up the good work team and thanks for the nostalgia of looking at Hornsey Broadway.

[Captain Kernow]

A certain Captain in shorts is, however, not a sight to be relished.

 

Oh, please! Really? Who is this person, do tell. I can tell you that my knees, which I was happy to display following receipt of several no requests, are award-winning and had been highly polished prior to the show.

 

This is why I went on Saturday.

Don't worry, I'll get the knees out at Scaleforum.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Captain Kernow