Cancelled due to vandalism- Stamford show 18th May

[298]

2 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

I thought he did very well. Kay Burley scares the life out of me! 

 

 

Jason

 

He deserves a medal. Excellent and quite restrained considering the circumstances, most Exhibition Managers would think appearing in the local paper would be an achievement.

 

Edit- I meant in terms of the level of media that most people would interract with, and not the unfortunate exposure that this incident has created.

Edited May 20, 2019 by 298

[polybear]

2 hours ago, CF MRC said:

Well that was a morning I didn’t expect. Following the terrible vandalism at the Market Deeping Model Railway Show over the weekend, there has been a great deal of media coverage.  So I appeared on the Jeremy Vine show at 1235, having been first contacted at 0851.   The railway bit is 39 minutes in.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000585t 

Vandalism is always senseless, but this has really struck a chord with many of us and people outside the hobby.  The Market Deeping Just Giving page is amazing and shows just how good people can be.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/market-deeping-mrc

 

Tim

 

Excellent interview Tim

Can I have your autograph?

[Mallard60022]

Just been a section on R4 Evening News. Was a positive and thoughtful piece.

Phil

[Coldgunner]

On 18/05/2019 at 17:24, NHY 581 said:

I consider myself to be quite a robust type of chap but I have to say I had tears in my eyes when I saw the images of the damage. 

 

Rarely am I lost for words but this is simply awful. 

 

 

Rob. 

 

Its the picture of the smashed Black 5 that chokes me up. Amongst all of the carnage, the focus on one very personal item is the hardest bite to take. I'm so sad that this is so near to me and practically local. No amount of money can replace the blood, sweat and tears gone into those creations.

[ELTEL]

BBC East Midlands News on channel 960 on Sky Box had a report on Exhibition vandals 

 

I expect it will be shown again after the BBC National 10:00 News 

 

Eltel 

[Dunsignalling]

Mr Davies was also interviewed on Radio 4's PM programme earlier this evening.

 

John

[SHMD]

"Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg" have just donated 5 Grand - WOW!
 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

the fund has just topped £75k!

 

 

[KDG]

7 minutes ago, big jim said:

the fund has just topped £75k!

 

 

Amazing

[RLWP]

I found this very touching:

 

Quote

Anne Hodgson

May 20, 2019

In memory of my late husband a keen model railway enthusiast

£100.00

 

Richard

[deltic17]

What terrible news...

I had often wondered about security overnight at exhibitions and this just goes to show what can happen when things go wrong....how could anything think to destroy such is beyond all of us.

Very sad for those who have lost items or that are damaged beyond repair.

The justgiving page I see has so many donations & support from all round the world.

Amazing support from the model railway and wider community.....

 

[Nick G]

Posted on the crowdfunding page:

 

 

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

May 20, 2019

Dear guys from Stamford Model Rail Road Club, we can´t believe it! We had tears in our eyes as we saw the pictures :-( Our thoughts and best wishes are with you! Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

£5,000.00

[Martin S-C]

5 hours ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

Maybe the publicity over the press and radio may get more people to find out more about the hobby and visiting shows or joining clubs.

 

David

This is the silver lining to the cloud. Its early in the day and also a little crass perhaps, due to all the personal loss, despair and heartache this incident has caused, but this event may turn out to be an actual positive boost to the hobby (or at least the public face of it).

I would have thought that the bulk of the disinterested public see Hornby train sets and think there isn't much more to the hobby than that, but the figure of £8000 being placed against one model loco could well create a readjustment in the public mind about what happens at these shows and what efforts go into the creation of the models.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Martin S-C

[Mike Storey]

26 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Posted on the crowdfunding page:

 

 

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

May 20, 2019

Dear guys from Stamford Model Rail Road Club, we can´t believe it! We had tears in our eyes as we saw the pictures :-( Our thoughts and best wishes are with you! Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

£5,000.00

 

That is frigging extraordinary, even more than from Sir Rod, which itself was incredibly generous. What an incredible hobby that we are part of.

 

Just goes to show. This is such a brilliant community.

 

[Irishrailwaymodeller]

In spite of everything, there are more good people than bad in the World!

[Marcoblanco]

Wow well done everyone for showing human spirit.. I actually appealed to mr vine and nicky Campbell  on sat night via twitter to give coverage to this story in the hope that it would generate some positivity... Hope it helped :-) 

[Martin S-C]

It's reported that Sir Rod has offered a donation of £10,000. Even so the generosity of Miniatur Wunderland is wonderful.

[didcot]

What a fantastic response to a terrible event. The hobby should be very proud. Words fail me, the way everyone has rallied round to help is very humbling. I hope those who have lost so much have a crumb of comfort from the reaction. 

 

Matt 

[Right Away]

I have no words which are printable which describe the type of human sub-species who seek delight in engaging in such thoughtless, heartless actions.

 

No penalty or indeed, insurance claim can ever compensate for such a loss; full marks to those who have been able to contribute. It's small wonder many of us prefer to keep our own railways quite private affairs, which is a shame.

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Right Away

[wagonbasher]

I don't know the individuals or the show but as a serious modeller those pictures and Peters words tonight on radio 4 cut straight to my heart.   I cant imagine the pain and emotion.  It is a modellers time and care and skill they invest into their models that is the irreplaceable, no compensation can replace.

 

Thoughts are with everyone who had invested time and their models in that event

 

Andy 

[PaulBee]

Quite the range of emotions have risen to the surface over the past few days.

 

I'm a bit of a recluse when it comes to my modelling activities. I hang around the forum (probably more than I model) but haven't really had the courage to contribute or post details on any of my mediocre (at best) modelling endeavours.

 

I know just how much time goes in to my mediocre efforts, but this news hit quite hard when I sat and reflected on the extraordinary amount of time, passion, commitment and investment that must surely go in to these show standard layouts.

 

I felt completely numb and very sad, swiftly followed by anger, when news later surfaced that suspects had been identified and later released on bail, to continue with their lives while those affected were left to pick up the pieces.

 

However, I have to say that reading all the sympathetic comments and words of encouragement on here and the Just Giving page really lifted the spirits.

 

What a remarkable group of people there are in this hobby, on the forum and in the wider community.

[Dagworth]

I feel for those who had exhibits in the untouched hall too, they must be going through a whole range of emotions. 

 

Andi

[BobM]

Just to add my best wishes to all concerned, the events reported underline how horrid in the extreme some folks can be at times, but the display of kindness and messages of support coming in from all corners of the world is heartwarming.......

 

Added my donation to their pot too....'we all stand together' 

 

Regards always....

Bob

[Trains4U]

I spent the evening at the MDMRC clubroom, talking with the club members and listening to whats going on. (Thanks for the Tea!)

 

I think its fair to say that they are all completely astonished by the response to the events of the weekend.  The members seemed to be in good spirits, and the messages, support and pledges have left everyone feeling very emotional, but the St. Neots club, the owner of the other damaged layout and Paul from P&D Marsh were certainly at the forefront of their minds and of the conversation, the concern for them being palpable.

 

Peter addressed the members describing the events of the Saturday and of the subsequent response.  He and the club as a whole expressed a great deal of gratitude to the staff and students of the Welland Academy, who have been extremely helpful and supportive as well as being absolutely distraught and disgusted that something like this could have occurred in their school, and to the Police, who have been incredibly understanding, and who are treating the incident very seriously.

 

It is far too early for plans to emerge with respect to the donations. There are several ideas, but the club first need to take stock and arrange their working group.  The plans will be communicated by the club in good time.

 

What is apparent is the considerable weight of responsibility that these donations has placed upon the club, and it is clear that the sums involved are almost reaching a point of embarrassment, with the genuine concerns regarding how to distribute the funds and donated items without negative repercussion.

 

My view remains unchanged, the donations have been made to the club for the club and for those affected.  In a week (or less), the media circus will have moved on, and the club will be left with a legacy that perhaps wont be subject to quite as much scrutiny as feared.      My experience of the MDMRC are that they are a tremendously generous organisation, but there should be no shame attached to spending a good sum of this money on the club and its activities, and I hope that they don't forget themselves when helping everyone else.

 

I think a lot of good will come of this in the end - the story has touched a lot of people and the response shows that innocent hobbies like ours are deeply ingrained in the national psyche.

 

Peter and some of the others still have interviews over the course of the week, and I believe that "The One Show" will be filming a feature on Friday, so the circus will keep rolling for a few days yet.   Though frankly I'm surprised Peter is still able to talk!    I hope he gets a well deserved break soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Trains4U
(Typo)

[sjgardiner]

It's the worst fear I have as someone who exhibits, some ways worse than theft as that may be recoverable without items being damaged. Its definitely gotten the attention of modellers around the world and I know I'll be even more vigilant than I already thought I was about what I leave at a venue overnight.

 

Sad that it comes to this, but also good to hear Trains4U's post that the club members are already working hard to figure out how to make good come from this.

 

I made a small donation as much as a Pay it Forward type gesture to make sure those affected who lost their models know that the rest of us in the community worldwide care and are aware of their suffering. A far greater loss would be if people quit our fabulous hobby because of an event like this. Model Trains are a way to bring people young and old together, seeing such senseless vandalism just makes me sad.

 

All my best to the members of the MDMRC and all exhibitors who were impacted by this weekends events.

 

Cheers,

 

Stephen Gardiner

Toronto, ON, Canada