7mm scale layout at Lydney show 1997/98 - any help welcome

[SD85]

(Changed thread title and edited info below for clarification).

 

This is a very long shot but I will give it a go anyway.

 

Back in the late 90s - I think it was in September/October 1997, but possibly also the year after - I was visiting family in Lydney (Gloucestershire) and there was a model railway exhibition on at the town hall there (I think a two day one).

 

One of the layouts there was a 7mm scale one of an urban shunting scene, British, diesel operation, circa 1970s. I got talking to the operator (who was an older gentleman I think) and he very kindly let me operate it for an hour or two towards the end of the show. I remember it being interesting to operate. The layout itself was fairly compact and was of a small urban shunting/goods yard, with at least one fiddle yard and possibly two (one on each end). The track plan was a sort of loop with sidings coming off both ends, and I think these sidings were accessed via a double slip built into the loop line. One of the sidings served a wagon works building. The double slip was a key point of the track plan.

 

I would like to track down this layout or its builder if possible. I don't know the name of either, however. I don't think the show was put on by the Forest of Dean MRC, as the date is too early. I have already asked about this layout to them via FB Messenger to them but received no reply.

 

If anyone could provide some info about this layout then I would be grateful. It may have been on the exhibition circuit during the late 90s, possibly in the SW/W Mids/S Wales areas maybe? Thanks.

Edited March 2, 2021 by SD85

[Fen End Pit]

Anyone got a August 1997 Railway Modeller? might have a listing in the exhibitions section?

Good luck in your search!

David

[SD85]

Thanks. I did look up the exhibition listing in the relevant RM for that year (the exhibition was on the last weekend in October), but it just gave the location and not any further details of the layouts.

 

Lydney show nowadays is put on by the FoD MRC but the RM listing makes no mention of who is actually putting on the 1997 show and apparently FoD MRC have only been holding their Lydney show since circa 2001 anyway. So who was putting the exhibition on I wonder?

 

If anyone was connected with the Lydney shows in the 97/98 era or attended them, or knows someone who put them on, even that would be helpful. A show guide or a list of the layouts which were exhibited in those years would help tremendously if one could be located.

 

Thanks

Edited March 2, 2021 by SD85

[37114]

Hi, it is a longshot but there are a few O gauge 1970's modellers in the Cheltenham area (Steve Harrod, Trevor Hale amongst others) so the chances are the layout appeared in the Cheltenham show as well. There is a list of past layouts on the website here which might provide some suggestions (helpfully it says what scale they are to save you clicking on all the layouts to see the pictures):

http://www.cheltmodrail.org.uk/alllayouts.php

 

[shipbadger]

The model railway show would have been put on by a small number of members of the Dean Forest Railway in those days.  It started as part of the Preservation Rally which used to be held in the autumn.  Preserved buses ran a circular route from Lydney bus station to the town hall and then on to the railway itself.  Later the show was held on a different weekend to the preservation rally to aid staffing issues.  Although I was involved in all the town hall shows I don't think I ever kept a programme.  Sadly the main movers behind the shows are no longer with us.  From memory the programme in those days was essentially a stand number with the name of the layout and who owned it.  

Tony Comber

[stoke_ferry]

I found an old layout plan that I must have grabbed at some point, back in 2012. It's titled Warmley Common, which I believe is in the Gloucestershire area, and it sort of fits your description so this might be the relevant one. Unfortunately I have no other details.

 

Best regards

 

Stuart

Edited March 3, 2021 by stoke_ferry
Warley should have read Warmley

[Gilbert]

It certainly appeared in the press - probably RM IIRC. I thought I'd kept the article but a quick look can't locate it.

[stoke_ferry]

If it is the layout I mentioned earleri then I've found it in an index as being in Railway Modeller May and June 2000, as the Warmley Common Light Railway. Built by Graeme Schrouder and was a minimum space industrial layout.

[SD85]

Good suggestion and I did consider it, but having looked at the relevant pictures of that layout it definitely doesn't match in terms of period. The one I remember at the show was definitely set in the 1970s or possibly later.

 

The general concept of an industrial/freight shunting yard with a double slip in the loop and the lines going offstage behind buildings is about right, though.

[Gilbert]

1 minute ago, SD85 said:

Good suggestion and I did consider it, but having looked at the relevant pictures of that layout it definitely doesn't match in terms of period. The one I remember at the show was definitely set in the 1970s or possibly later.

 

The general concept of an industrial/freight shunting yard with a double slip in the loop and the lines going offstage behind buildings is about right, though.

Pity..I just found the article!

[SD85]

This is a very rough plan of the layout based on my memories. The backscene was possibly low relief industrial warehouses? Locos were small, no bigger than an 08, and may have been something like an 04 or 05.

 

 

Even if the show guide was just a list of layout names and owners, that would still help. I remember that the layout was located towards the back of the area used for the exhibition inside the town hall, certainly it was not near the entrance, and it was up against a wall with enough space to operate it from behind.

Edited March 3, 2021 by SD85

[Derails Models]

Hi SD85 - was reading down some threads and saw on that said "Lydney Show" and as the current organiser, my ears pricked up haha! I'm also a member of the FODMRC, sorry no-one has replied to your message, that is most odd.

 

I've sent a link to this thread to my predecessor as exhibition manager who is also here on RMWeb, I'm not sure if he may be able to shed any light as I don't have records of layouts that visited pre-2017. Hopefully we might be able to trace this for you, or at least give it our best shot! As Tony says, the organisers were very different but some of the personnel were and still are members of our club now so there may be a chance we have a record or memory somehwere.

 

Dan

Edited March 5, 2021 by Derails Models

[SD85]

Much appreciated, many thanks.

[Long John Silver]

Hi SD85, following up Dan's post earlier. I ran the show from 2013 to 2017, and have attended most of them from 1996 onwards. The FOD MRC took over the running of the show in 2002, so we only have records going back that far. We started producing programmes in 2013 so there isn't much to go on. 

I'll ask around some of the longer serving club members to see if they remember anything. I think I was at the show that year, but I don't recall the layout, so I'm afraid I'm not much help. We have at least one member who models in 7mm and may know who built the layout. My wife took some photos at one Lydney show in the late 90s - it may have been 1997 - if I can find the photos, and that may take a while, there might be something there.

If I can find any clues I'll let you know.

Jon