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G.C.R Model Event 14/15/16 JUNE 2019


Hairy Bear Digital
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Brilliant show with plenty of full size action too. A good balance between layouts and trade too. Good to see layouts of all periods and scales. 

 

I heard minor gripes about cost of parking but sadly some of the new commuter residents in Quorn seem to cause the railway problems (why people think they own the highway outside their homes I don't know)  so we need to cut the GCR some slack on this. 

 

As someone born and brought up in a Leicestershire village I am embarrassed by the attitudes of these types but I suppose you find them everywhere. Be assured most of us in Leicestershire are easy going people who welcome visitors as friends. 

Edited by fezza
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8 hours ago, AY Mod said:

Thanks Andy. I saw those on the thread. I was meaning more real world pictures rather than white background publicity shots. Real world images give a different look to all models. 

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2 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Thanks Andy. I saw those on the thread. I was meaning more real world pictures rather than white background publicity shots. Real world images give a different look to all models. 

 

 

Quornstation.jpg

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2 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

Can I suggest editing out some of the pictures that are virtually identical to each other?

 

And put a line/space between each so they don't all butt up together in one long string.

 

Other than that . . .  . nice to see them.

 

G

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Cost of parking was actually down this year. £3 this time against £5 last as I remember, which was a nice suprise to start Sunday. We were there from “doors open” to  pretty much “doors closed” and still only just felt like we’d done the event justice, there is just loads to get to, esp if you want to have a ride too. Bradford on Tone and Reevey Road West appealed to me particularly layout wise, while James Street was a non stop feast of action. Lots of N Gauge this time we observed. I came away with a couple of books and a tinlet or two of paint, very satisfied.  Well done all, and thanks to those who organised and ran another excellent event in very challenging circs.

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Thanks for all the photos and videos. Now I know what I missed. Looks like it was a really good exhibition.  I was there all three days operating Linden Grove so never got time for a proper look round, indeed I didn’t actually see some of the layouts. Perhaps the show should be extended to four days, the extra day being for exhibitors to have a look round!

 

This was the first time I have exhibited one of my layouts at one of the really big shows and I was quite apprehensive beforehand; will it be good enough, will it run properly, will paying visitors like it?  I actually started preparations three months before the show but the effort did pay off.  The layout ran without any problems on all three days, people stopped for a chat and to ask how we had built things, many said they liked it, especially as it was the sort of layout they could build themselves with so much operating potential in such a small space.  So a big relief.

 

From my perspective it was very enjoyable, but hard work too. Book four days off work (I regularly work weekends). Pack the van Thursday morning, three hour drive down to Quorn, set up layout, cook my tea, early to bed.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday, clean wheels and track before opening time, then all day operating. Today it was closing time at 4pm, with the help of one of my operators and his wife we had everything packed in the van by 5. Fortunatly there were no problems on the M6 so I was home just before 9, unload the van and clean it out (I slept in it all three nights to avoid expenses).  Everything is stacked in the front room now, I’ll have to put it away before going to work tomorrow; my boss knows what I’ve been doing all weekend and has given me a shift starting at lunchtime.

 

A big thanks must go to everyone involved in organising and running the show - it must be a huge undertaking - and for making myself and my operators so welcome. It is often the little things that make a difference, for example the lady volunteer from the GCR who filled my flask so I could have a brew on the way home.

 

Edited to add; I was fast asleep when the phone rang at 0720, ‘Colin, can you come into work NOW. Someone has gone sick’. So a 12 hour shift starting at 0800.

Edited by ColinK
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I went yesterday and it was an excellent day. The £3 parking charge is first class value as I was expecting to pay the £5 which it has been in previous years. The show it's self seems to go from strength to strength and it must now be regarded as one of the best shows in the country. 

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Many thanks to the Soar Valley and the Great Central for a brilliant show. Arrived home at 22:00 after a 5 hour drive having been down with 2 layout Ashton Steel and New Westminster these will be unloaded tomorrow. Many thank to everybody who commented on the layouts at the show too made the journey worth while.

 

 

Bruce on behalf of Ian and Ian the other 2 operators. 

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On 15/06/2019 at 16:10, Phil Parker said:

 

How much extra, as a trader, would you be willing to pay for extra security? If a professional crew costs £40 per hour, would you be willing to see £40 on top of every stands bill? Perhaps they need to be armed ex-SAS men, in which case stick a lot more on this. Having said that "I’m starting to get asked to go to a lot of shows but I wouldn’t even consider it whilst things like this are happening" would suggest you will never go to a show, nor open a shop. Neither is risk-free.

 

We need to keep things in proportion - there are 500+ shows each year, and have been for decades. Stuff has been nicked from stands, sadly inevitable if you let people in the door, but anything more is rare although it has happened.

 

The only risk-free show is one that doesn't happen. I feel terrible for Cheltenham, Digitrains and the show organisers. No-one needed this but you can be sure it won't stop them getting out there.  

 

The only bit of good news is that I hear some of the items were recovered, dumped at the side of the railway line - presumably the route the thieves took in an out of the locked compound.

I think one of the more serious effects of this incident, plus the recent terrible incident of vandalism elsewhere, is that insurance costs for shows and traders attending shows are likely to increase.  And judging by the way many well known insurance companies are behaving that increase could be substantial.

 

This could quite likely feed through to show entry prices, and possibly even retailers' prices,  because insurance is part of their overhead costs.  So perhaps the most important thing for the bulk of us is not to moan when prices rise but to understand the reasons and continue to support our favoured shows and traders.

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11 hours ago, ColinK said:

Thanks for all the photos and videos. Now I know what I missed. Looks like it was a really good exhibition.  I was there all three days operating Linden Grove so never got time for a proper look round, indeed I didn’t actually see some of the layouts. Perhaps the show should be extended to four days, the extra day being for exhibitors to have a look round!

 

This was the first time I have exhibited one of my layouts at one of the really big shows and I was quite apprehensive beforehand; will it be good enough, will it run properly, will paying visitors like it?  I actually started preparations three months before the show but the effort did pay off.  The layout ran without any problems on all three days, people stopped for a chat and to ask how we had built things, many said they liked it, especially as it was the sort of layout they could build themselves with so much operating potential in such a small space.  So a big relief.

 

From my perspective it was very enjoyable, but hard work too. Book four days off work (I regularly work weekends). Pack the van Thursday morning, three hour drive down to Quorn, set up layout, cook my tea, early to bed.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday, clean wheels and track before opening time, then all day operating. Today it was closing time at 4pm, with the help of one of my operators and his wife we had everything packed in the van by 5. Fortunatly there were no problems on the M6 so I was home just before 9, unload the van and clean it out (I slept in it all three nights to avoid expenses).  Everything is stacked in the front room now, I’ll have to put it away before going to work tomorrow; my boss knows what I’ve been doing all weekend and has given me a shift starting at lunchtime.

 

A big thanks must go to everyone involved in organising and running the show - it must be a huge undertaking - and for making myself and my operators so welcome. It is often the little things that make a difference, for example the lady volunteer from the GCR who filled my flask so I could have a brew on the way home.

 

Edited to add; I was fast asleep when the phone rang at 0720, ‘Colin, can you come into work NOW. Someone has gone sick’. So a 12 hour shift starting at 0800.

 

People don't always realise just how much work goes in to standing around playing trains at a show so thanks for this. It's (mostly) fun work, but still stressful and tiring. 

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I really enjoyed this show.

I like the idea of travelling between different sites by preserved railway. It was great to hear the chuffing of 8F/5MT & growl of diesels every few minutes from the site of a model show.

The car park stewards managed well with what were very challenging conditions. The temporary surface they used at the entrance must have helped to keep things moving.

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21 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

It was great to hear the chuffing of 8F/5MT & growl of diesels every few minutes from the site of a model show.

 

I agree, however it re-enforced my view that "scale sound" in whatever form is not for me.

 

The speakers on board model locos just cannot reproduce a realistic sound, whether it is the deep growl of a 'Peak' or the staccato bark of an 8F as it pulls away.

 

As to the white noise of multiple locos on tick-over, I'm afraid that I just find it irritating.

 

(I'm sure others will disagree furiously!).

 

Tony

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I attended the show on Saturday, felt a little strange not being on a layout this time. 

My folks and I really enjoyed the show again, it has a very good range of layouts and a good selection of traders.

 

Always a good show for catching up with people who are normally too busy at Warley.

 

I look forward to attending again next year.

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On ‎16‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 13:43, Tony Teague said:

Just returned from a morning at the show which is fairly local to me.

It wasn't too busy - perhaps because of the weather, but there was absolutely no problem with the parking, for which they had reduced the cost to just £3.

I have been every year and my summary would be - excellent large show with the added spectacle of the preserved railway, but no cigar!

Why no cigar? - because on the one had there was no 'iconic', star layout present, nor on the other hand were there any of the sort of small, specialist traders who sell the bits and pieces that more serious modellers might want.

Result - beyond my admission and some lunch, I managed to spend just £2.00 !

Nevertheless, I shall go again.

 

Tony

 

Not everyone's cup of tea (being N-gauge) but I would have put the star of the show as "James Street", just for the amount of modelling that has gone into it and that it needs 10 (is it?) operators to run it.

 

Les

 

 

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On 23/05/2019 at 18:13, grid56104 said:

The Maxwell Colliery Loading Point will be attending the show - oo gauge.

 

I have 4 operators for the Friday and 5 for the Saturday and Sunday. I have 3 other spaces for operators if anyone is interested. I would really appreciate some assistance to allow us to have a short break now and then during the show. If you are travelling from afar then there is likely to be hotel space going aswell. 

The layout is dcc and the operating system is ztc and simple to learn if you haven't used it before. If you (and perhaps a colleague) would be interested in assisting and getting access to the show, please send me a PM as soon as possible. There are a number of R M Webbers who have commented on the layout and perhaps would like to operate. I can send on details of the layout and the control system if required. Many thanks and hopefully some of you can assist - Max

Just back this afternoon with The Maxwell Colliery Loading Point (we stayed over in Preston last night - too far to travel in 1 go!!). I must express my thanks to all involved in the show - myself and my team were well impressed. We got some very positive comments about the layout which makes it all worthwhile. We had a handheld go in the first hour on Friday but meticulous attention given to it by Andrew from my team soon had it up and running again and we could then run a more normal service of coal trains set in South Ayrshire. Thanks again to the organisers and also the assistance we got from some of those in the Soar Valley Model Railway Club in operating the layout and the clear down at the end of the show. Max

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On 15/06/2019 at 22:48, Dava said:

Apart from the excellent model rail attractions at Quorn, I'd say the trade stands, 16mm scale and LGB live steam at Loughborough was more interesting that the model engineering at Rothley.  No G1 or G3 in operation this year.

 

No problems with the car park at Quorn today.

 

Hello

 

The reason there is no gauge 3 there this year is that the blackgang layout does alternate years as otherwise it does become a bit repetitive and we also have other outings with Blackgang. Also i was at Quorn exhibiting my 00 layout Merstone & St Lawrence so i can not be in 2 places at once.

 

Incidentally the next two outings for Blackgang are 24-26 August at the IOWSR and 12/13 October at Aldershot(Farnham club show).

 

Blackgang is booked for the 2020 show at the GCR.

 

Cheers 

Mark

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