The London Festival of railway Modelling

[O-Gauge-Phil]

I have just discovered this thread.

 

I was going to buy one from him

at Ally Pally but the guy was so rude to everybody, customers and especially his assistant, my wife laid down the law that I MUST buy one from someone else!

 

Glad I did now, and I'm very happy with it.

 

 

 

[SamHill]

Yes you did well to do that...! I still haven't received it in the post....!!

For any future show's he may appear at I'd strongly recommend people avoid him.

[Claire RJ]

Earlier, was raised the question as to which was better (Warley or the London Festival).
I have attended both as a spectator, and Warley as an exhibitor with Templeford , and as
 we are taking Templeford to Alexandra Palace this coming March, will probably have a
good  idea as to how the two compare as an exhibitor after. With regard to being there as a
spectator, it really depends on what layouts are present as much as anything, there
will always be exhibitions where one comes away feeling that the layouts were not as
good as "the previous year" . As an exhibitor, if we are treated as well at Alexandra
Palace by the organisers as we were treated at Warley, I shall be more than pleased,
delighted in fact. I would exhibit  Templeford again at Warley in a heartbeat. it is
true that the natural lighting is better at Alexandra Palace than at the NEC though.

Do come to see us at Alexandra Palace, with our almost unique and genuine Hornby Vintage
 model railway, which as far as I know is the only one of its kind on the exhibition
circuit and probably the one that most closely represents what a layout built between
the wars could have looked like.

https://templeford.myfreesites.net/

[Ian Morgan]

Alley Pally definitely wins as far as free parking, elegant building, and views across the city are concerned. Possibly not so easily accessible by public transport though. A good meal can be had in the basement restaurant too.

 

Not as many layouts as Warley, of course, but still impressive, and you can actually manage to see all the layouts in one day.

 

I should be at Alley Pally 2020 with "Freshwater" .

 

 

[stewartingram]

Thameslink GN trains to AP,  shuttle bus (free) up the hill, or service bus W3 instead of the shuttle;

Or, Picc tube to Wood Green, then again either bus;

Or mainline trains to Finsbury Park then short hop to AP station then as above;

Or FPK again and W3 bus to the site.

Bus Passes (for Grumpy Old Gits like me) allow free bus travel too.

 

Now I call that good transport links!

 

Stewart

[Castlefinn]

From an exhibitors point of view Warley wins,Ally Pally always seems slightly disfunctional,ie you are presented Exhibtors badges which are just a bit of card with nothing to wear it with and my favorite a room were exhibitors can get a drink but has a key pad which they don't tell you what the code is and no these are not one offs as i've done Ally Pally about six times and Warley 12 times.Andy.

[chris p bacon]

Warley wins, You can buy anything there as most small traders attend.  Ally Pally, while a good exhibition, only has the box shifters.

[grahame]

Ally Pally has a side hall it uses (or used to) for smaller traders and I've found traders there (who were not box shifters but sold specialist bits, kits and accessories in my chosen scale) who didn't/don't attend Warley. So at least for me I found Ally Pally just as good (and better with some respects) than Warley.

 

Car parking at Ally Pally is far better - free and a lot closer to the hall. The Warley car park is very expensive, chaotically organised and it takes ages to get out of the complex. However, this past year I went by public transport to both and found the bus connection from the station fast, regular and convenient for Ally Pally while trying to catch a train at Birmingham International is a nightmare with overcrowded platforms, long waits and trains rammed to the extent it is almost impossible to get on and with no chance of a seat.

 

 

[John M Upton]

3 hours ago, stewartingram said:

Thameslink GN trains to AP,  shuttle bus (free) up the hill, or service bus W3 instead of the shuttle;

Or, Picc tube to Wood Green, then again either bus;

Or mainline trains to Finsbury Park then short hop to AP station then as above;

Or FPK again and W3 bus to the site.

Bus Passes (for Grumpy Old Gits like me) allow free bus travel too.

 

Now I call that good transport links!

 

Stewart

 

Only problem with the main line rail is if coming from London, there are no direct links between King's Cross and Alexandra Palace anymore, since the new all mighty Thameslink scheme kicked into gear, all the local stoppers have been diverted to Moorgate, about as much use as a cardboard teapot.

[JohnDMJ]

8 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

Only problem with the main line rail is if coming from London, there are no direct links between King's Cross and Alexandra Palace anymore, since the new all mighty Thameslink scheme kicked into gear, all the local stoppers have been diverted to Moorgate, about as much use as a cardboard teapot.

 

My route: Southern Failways Bognor - London Victoria, TfL Victoria Line to Finsbruy Park, overground to Ally Pally station then either bus or walk up the hill.

 

Last time, I recall seeing John M Upton at Barnham and later in the bus from Ally Pally station for the climb up the hill. I'd previously 'ganged up' with Roundhouse and several others of this parish on the platform at Finsbury Park!

[Ian J.]

AP used to have a small traders village, but in the last few years that seems to have disappeared. It does mean that it feels less like a show where one could go round a pick up lots of use little bits.

 

RailEx at Stoke Mandeville is much smaller, but better for the small traders, as are a number of the specialist shows for scale gauges.

 

Warley, of course, covers a lot of 'bits', but not always everything.

[polybear]

10 hours ago, grahame said:

Ally Pally has a side hall it uses (or used to) for smaller traders and I've found traders there (who were not box shifters but sold specialist bits, kits and accessories in my chosen scale) who didn't/don't attend Warley. So at least for me I found Ally Pally just as good (and better with some respects) than Warley.

 

 

8 hours ago, Ian J. said:

AP used to have a small traders village, but in the last few years that seems to have disappeared. It does mean that it feels less like a show where one could go round a pick up lots of use little bits.

 

 

Sadly the costs of attending as a Trader at A.P. have risen to the point where it is no longer viable for many to attend; South Eastern Finecast used to be there, but Dave stopped as the cost vs. sales meant that he effectively became a box shifter.

No idea of costs for the BRM Exhibition, but the costs of having a stand at the Model Engineering Exhibition in January would make your eyes water (for a small stand it's the wrong side of a grand, plus accomodation, maybe van hire, fuel, meals etc. ).

[woodenhead]

If you want to know who is where in 2020 https://www.warners-shows.co.uk/indoor-shows/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling-exhibitors-2/

 

And Totem guy is listed again, he must be taking some cash despite his demeanor.

Edited October 4, 2019 by woodenhead

[grahame]

Nice to see the smaller non-box shifter traders like Severn, BHE and Shawplam are still attending and located in the smaller hall, although I didn't notice NGS and there does seem less than there used to be. Presumably demonstrations are in there too.