Spalding Model Railway Exhibition 2017 - 11th & 12th of November

[Thomas Wright]

 

Just under a month now until the annual Spalding Model Railway Exhibition that is to be held on November 11th and 12th 2017 at Springfields Events Centre, Camelgate, Spalding.

 

Admission is priced at £8 for Adults, £7 for Concessions and accompanied children are free. We have 34 exhibits, 4 demonstrators and 28 traders.

 

List of layouts due to appear at the show:

 

Wendsleydale - Sudbury MRC - O:16.5

Phoenix Junction - Mike & Dee Wyldbore - HO

Glenellen Castle - David Harrison - N

Elmfield - David Westwood - N

Earls Court - Terry Tew - OO

Meccano Display - Bob Seaton - 1:12 / 5"

Fenchurch St Peter - George Woodcock & John Norton - OO

Deeping Lane Depot - Stephen Mullen - OO

Uppingham - Peter B Simmerson - EM

Nene Wharf - David O'Rourke - OO

Michaelerplatz - Mike Roualle & Mike Upton - HO

Paston Ridings - Paul Bason - EM

Lee-on-the-Solent - South Hants MRC - P4

Wolfe Lowe - Shaun Horrocks & Steve Moore - O

Hinksey Yard - Epsom & Ewell MRC - N

Operation Abyss - Jim Styles - OO

Athabasca Yard - Little Layout Company - OO

Bowleggett Manor & Farr End - West Midlands 009 Group - 009

Small N Working (Selection of Small N Gauge Layouts) - Ian Redman - N

St Merryn - South London Area Group of the Scalefour Society - P4

Neely - Terry Metcalfe - N

Chollerford - Dave Milford & Malc Charlton - OO

Blakecaster - Peter & Arline Wilson - 7mm 16.5

Leavesden - Peter Clark - O

Molinnis - Northants & Cambs N Gauge Society Group - N

Waterloo Road - Roger & Freddie Ellis - OO

Haven Yard - Christopher Dales - P4

Hospital Gates - Neil Ripley - O

Outwell Village - Alan Price - 00

The Clydach Railway - Richard Holder - 009

Grosvenor Square - Hornby Magazine - OO

Dunkow Road - Andy Small - N

Haddon Bank - Chelmsford District MRC - OO

The Worlds End - Peter Goss - OO

 

Hope to see you there.

Edited October 15, 2017 by Thomas Wright

[steve1]

Looking forward to doing the show as part of the Outwell Village & Hospital Gates crew.

 

steve

[Waterloo]

Will be there as part of the St Merryn team.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone at what promises to be a great show.

 

Come and say “hello”.

 

Steve

[ELTEL]

I’ll be there with the Blacaster crew.

 

Looking forward to the exhibition as I’ve not been for a number of years.

 

Looks a great line up.

 

Eltel

[westerner]

Anyone else going?

[terry.ecmr]

Looking forward to bringing 'Earl's Court'

 

The Oerlikon set will be running...............

 

Terry

[westerner]

It'll be good to see you again Terry.

[LNERandBR]

Only one week to go.

 

I'll be there with Deeping Lane Depot.

 

[Dave Searle]

We'll be there with Hinksey Yard

 

 

Cheers,

Dave

[terrysoham]

Neely and the famous underpass will be there

[jwealleans]

Evening Terry,

 

The Uppingham crew are ripped, primed and straining at the leash to strut their stuff at another show....

 

 

Always a good show and a good weekend. Look forward to seeing you there.

Edited July 11, 2018 by jwealleans

[George Woodcock]

Hello

 

    Fenchurch St Peter will be at Spalding this weekend, catch  it while you can  while it is still being exhibited.

 

                                                                     Cheers

 

                                                                                  George

[Judge Dread]

Neely and the famous underpass will be thereF79C775E-92E1-4091-96FB-B3777252C193.jpeg

There's another example of an "underpass" on the A614 just south of Rawcliffe. Cars only and if you are on a motorcycle, DUCK!! I know I've been under it but these days this road is no longer the main road from Hull to the south, The M62 has seen to that.

Have a good weekend and keep your eyes on the "Hospital Gates and Outwell Village" crews. Fellow members of the East Riding Fine Scale group.

[alan]

Outwell village is packed in the car ready to head to the exhibition. Hope everyone as a good show.

[LNERandBR]

Likewise with Deeping Lane, all loaded up with track cleaned and loco's serviced.

[steve1]

Outwell village is packed in the car ready to head to the exhibition. Hope everyone as a good show.

That's good to know

 

steve

[bourneagain]

Looking forward to another great show

Fingers crossed that the rain will hold off and prevent the car parking area from becoming a quagmire and having to walk through the mud and large puddles to get to the exhibition entrance.

[RANGERS]

Altogether a good show, the aisles were just as narrow but the place seemed a lot less crowded first thing than it did last year. On the subject of aisles though, if I was exhibiting there I'd be concerned about the lack of barriers, particularly given the narrow crowd spaces in front of most of the layouts.

 

First time I'd had the chance for a good look at Fenchurch and it is every bit as good in the flesh as it looks in the pics. Outwell Basin is a favourite and never fails to please.

[Adams442T]

Visited today, still my favourite local show!  Squires stand v. busy (as always!) but managed to pick up an excellent ba&tard file, plus a few things l didn't even know l needed.............

 

Exhibitors were friendly too, despite the odoriferous nature of a few of the 'rubbernecks', l think it was a good show. 

 

I'll certainly be back next year.  

[LNERandBR]

Exhibitors were given the choice of having barriers or not. I for one took up that option as I knew how busy Spalding can get at times. 

 

Having exhibited at Spalding last year there was certainly more space given for each layout this year. Yes the aisles are still narrower then say the BRM shows but there is significantly less hall space available. In my opinion the organisers have done very well to include the number of excellent layouts they have. 

 

This is a show that could fill a much larger hall in my opinion and still turn a surplus for the Spalding club. Sadly there are no other exhibition venues in the area which can offer the same facilities that Springfields does.

[RichardS]

Layout wise this show was very good, some of the layouts were very very good.  Parson's Ridings took my eye, St Merryn of course to name but two. Trade comprehensively supported the popular branches of the hobby. Nice to see corporate stands from Hornby and Bachmann showing some of the latest and forthcoming releases. Catering was good. Car parking was well organised.

 

But...

 

I only managed  2.5 hours in total as I was just too hot and consequently didn't perhaps spend as much with the traders as I might have. 

 

Far too crowded, aisles too narrow for the volume of people especially when mixed with pushchairs, mobility scooters and others with walking aids. Now obviously some need their assistive devices that is a no brainer but do parents need empty pushchairs? I also saw an empty wheelchair being pushed around. Surely a pram park near the door where empty carriages can be stored would be helpful. Back-packs should be banned - what the devil have people got in them? It's not exactly a desert trek. (Please don't say bottles of water because these days they go in little pockets on the outside)

 

The catering area seating was too tight. I actually couldn't get into a chair beside one table (and I'm not large). When I asked somebody on the adjacent table to move closer to that table behind I received a frosty stare. Exhaled cigarette smoke was also drifting into the restaurant area. The outside seats where still very wet at 12.00. Is it too hard for centre staff to dry them?

 

Super layouts on the whole (some where better presentation would greatly enhance the exhibit) but oh dear the venue just isn't fit for purpose for an exhibition of this size with this level of crowd.  IF I attend again I'll try the Sunday which sadly wasn't an option this year (Remembrance duties tomorrow.)

 

Some pics on Flickr  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardjslipper/albums/72157666211091889

[PaulG]

We arrived about 2pm and unlike RichardS had none of the problems he relates. We started with lunch (!) plenty of choice of food and seats. I agree the layouts were excellent, but having gone with a shopping list of Yeadon and signalling books, 4mm detailing items such as Dart Casting or similar point levers,fire devil,etc came away empty handed. I would have purchased a couple of locos but the trader was cash only and I don't carry £200+ on me these days. So my only adverse comment would be the mix of traders. But very much enjoyed the show and hope to go next year.

Paul

[RichardS]

We arrived about 2pm.......

Paul

I'd left by then (13.30) although the car park was much fuller at that time than when we arrived - perhaps half the occupants had gone shopping.

 

I know I visited at the worst time possible but if an emergency evacuation had been needed I hate to think what that would have been like.

 

It would be interesting to know if the hall capacity was exceeded bearing in mind the arrangement of the stands.

 

Exhibit wise though very enjoyable.

[Fenman]

We arrived about 2pm and unlike RichardS had none of the problems he relates. We started with lunch (!) plenty of choice of food and seats. I agree the layouts were excellent, but having gone with a shopping list of Yeadon and signalling books, 4mm detailing items such as Dart Casting or similar point levers,fire devil,etc came away empty handed. I would have purchased a couple of locos but the trader was cash only and I don't carry £200+ on me these days. So my only adverse comment would be the mix of traders. But very much enjoyed the show and hope to go next year.

Paul

I had the same issues as RichardS (1100 arrival).

 

Wonderful selection of models. Absolutely wonderful.

 

Aisles just too narrow for the sheer volume of people (exacerbated by the fact that some of those people seemed not to know about basic good manners when moving through crowded spaces). And the queues were far too big to make accessing the catering a sensible option.

 

Outside, the car parking was really well managed - my thanks to those stewards and their generally thankless task.

 

And I picked up a British Rail corporate design handbook for less than half retail price, which more than paid for all my costs.

 

I'm too old to enjoy overcrowded shows so, despite the great models, I am not likely to return to Spalding. Peterborough is for me a much better event.

 

YMMV

 

Paul

[RANGERS]

I had the same issues as RichardS (1100 arrival).

 

Wonderful selection of models. Absolutely wonderful.

 

Aisles just too narrow for the sheer volume of people (exacerbated by the fact that some of those people seemed not to know about basic good manners when moving through crowded spaces). And the queues were far too big to make accessing the catering a sensible option.

 

Outside, the car parking was really well managed - my thanks to those stewards and their generally thankless task.

 

And I picked up a British Rail corporate design handbook for less than half retail price, which more than paid for all my costs.

 

I'm too old to enjoy overcrowded shows so, despite the great models, I am not likely to return to Spalding. Peterborough is for me a much better event.

 

YMMV

 

Paul

 

A sad but not uncommon view of Spalding in its current form I'm afraid, its a great show which is trying to cram too much into a limited space. Consideration of returning to a smaller show, fewer exhibits (and a lower entry cost!) with a little more public space would get my vote. Having been to both Spalding and Hull yesterday, Hull was the most enjoyable, not necessarily because the exhibits were any better (though this one was a golden year for Hull), just that the whole visitor experience was much more pleasant.

 

Spalding has grown since my first visit there, the first Springfields one was in the early 1990s I seem to remember, and the show pre-dates that, but I'm not sure it ranks among my top ten any more which with the selection of layouts and traders it offers, it should. Definitely a case of more is less in my book.