York MRS 2012 (Includes Mike Cook tributes)

[Guest Tom F]

Trade did seem a little thin this year but perfectly OK, all this rant about RTR traders infuriates me - go to say Ally Pally and you have multitudinal box shifters but essentially they are all selling the same stock, so why do you need so many apart from selling the floor space from an organisers point of view. And why buy RTR at a show anyway? - i prefer to go to my local shop and buy it where I can get better prices and get it out of the box and test it!

 

 

Well said that man...although I did pick up the Hornby B1 61138, mainly because they were selling like hot cakes from all accounts and was the last one left, and at a good price. But York is about so much more that RTR trade as you very much say Andy C.

 

Yes a great day out and a great show, roll on next Easter!

 

Absolutely, that and Nottingham are the highlight of my modelling year....shame they have to be so close...it doesn't give the wallet time to recover!

[Butler Henderson]

Think where York and a lot of shows suffer trade wise is the loss from the circuit of Townsfoot and The Midlander who could have been relied on to bring a wide range of stuff along with RTR. RTR has also seen the sad loss of C&G.

[Andy C]

Think where York and a lot of shows suffer trade wise is the loss from the circuit of Townsfoot and The Midlander who could have been relied on to bring a wide range of stuff along with RTR. RTR has also seen the sad loss of C&G.

 

Gawd, the Midlander. There have always been, and still are some miserable looking traders on the circuit, but that guy (cant remember his name) took it to a whole new level

[Andy C]

Dennis - I think? Wouldn't win the "happiest chap in chesterfield" award, that was for sure!

 

 

Dennis - thats the man, made Leonard Cohen songs sound uplifting.

[waggy]

Think where York and a lot of shows suffer trade wise is the loss from the circuit of Townsfoot and The Midlander who could have been relied on to bring a wide range of stuff along with RTR. RTR has also seen the sad loss of C&G.

I think either Rural Railways or Caistor Loco would be fill the gap left by the above.

[Davey]

It was my first ever visit to the York Show today, and I have to say I was impressed. Proper model railways and not train sets, which so many of todays shows seem to be burdened with. I'm not into foreign railways, but I have to say that Pempoul was exceptional. Modellling of that calibre lifts modelling into what I would term as an art form.

 

Well done to the stewards too, who were very helpful and went about their duties quietly and efficiently.

[newbryford]

Gawd, the Midlander. There have always been, and still are some miserable looking traders on the circuit, but that guy (cant remember his name) took it to a whole new level

 

I once asked him for some copper clad sleeper strip - his reply was along the lines of "I've got some under the stand, but I haven't time to look for it". Needless to say, I never went near his stand again.................

 

Cheers,

Mick

[chrisf]

As Tom F has already said, I was there yesterday. Quite where the morning went is a good question but a good answer might well be nattering with friends, which is both an occupational hazard and a great pleasure!

 

I felt that the show was a fitting tribute to its creator with a very good mix of layouts and trade. Many of the layouts have been at other shows already this year so I concentrated on others. I was very taken with Egypt Brewery, a minimum space in EM which is a lot more than a shunting puzzle and sported some distinctly overscale day-old chicks, minus sound [that was a cheep joke but clearly not a very good one]. Herculaneum Dock was seriously impressive: I was only eight when the Liverpool Overhead ceased and thus not lucky enough to see it for real but it lives on in model form. Angel Bank, based on the Clee Hill complex in Shropshire, cunningly concealed Michael Delamar of this parish and would have been even better with a Sentinel of some description. Once again it was possible to compare the approaches of Gresley Beat and Copenhagen Fields to capturing the first mile or so out of the Cross. I would not like to be the clown who was heard to describe the fine buildings on Gresley Beat as Metcalfe kits! The quarry on Ynysybwl [see Southampton thread for pronunciation guide] must be one of the best corner-fillers around.

 

The traders at the finescale end of the spectrum seemed a lot less gloomy than at Nottingham. York, I felt, struck a better balance between the various types of trader, managing not to overload in any one sector.

 

Travel was three hours each way on the A1, which I had to myself for about 15 minutes on the way up but then few other silly so-and-sos would have good cause to be abroad at that hour. Tesco, two miles short of the venue, dispensed petrol at 138.9 which is at least 3p more sensible than where I live. Purchases were, for once, carefully targeted. The short length of chain alleged to be in the Ratio water crane kit is absent but hey, I've always wanted to make it from fuse wire.

 

Chris

[ELTEL]

Dennis Hutchings as "The Midlander" oh what a happy chap.

 

A earlier comment said a " Rural Railways" which was the replacement for the Midlander at the Stafford exhibition a very good trader

 

All the club members have a bet on who is last to pack up on the Sunday night after our exhibition Rural Railways or Modelex all a bit of fun on the wind down

 

Eltel

Stafford Exhb Mgr

[50A55B]

I unexpectedly found myself in York over the weeend so paid a visit on Saturday. I heeded the advice on the show website, parked well off site and walked the rest of the way only to find there were spaces virtually outside the entrance. No queue to get in, but the venue was busy until mid afternoon with big crowds at many of the more impressive displays. Good speciallist trade support but slightly disappointing on the rtr front and the prices were higher than at Ally Pally.

I would like to put in a mention for the guys on the Bachmann stand who helpfully (and without prompting) got the Blue Pullman mock up out of the display cabinet to demonstrate that it would close couple (the impression from the way they were displayed was that there would be a disappointingly large gap between vehicles). Half the set was displayed on its side showing the high level of underfloor detail including some which will be invisible when the unit is upright - truly impressive. They couldn't have been more helpful, which was something of a contrast to the response I got to a query on the Hornby stand at Ally Pally (and in a relatively quiet moment as well).

[James]

I went to York yesterday and thought it was really good - the standard of layouts was excellent! It felt like York used with some of the very best layouts on the circuit were present. Some years there have been some exhibits which have been well below par but none of that this year. My only worry is that it'll be hard to maintain is next year!

 

Trade was good - a few traders missing but some of those not there used to sell over priced second hand RTR so no great loss really!

[D9020 Nimbus]

Think where York and a lot of shows suffer trade wise is the loss from the circuit of Townsfoot and The Midlander who could have been relied on to bring a wide range of stuff along with RTR. RTR has also seen the sad loss of C&G.

 

There was a particular lack of 'N' gauge support this year (my main area of interest), not helped by the non-attendance of N Gauge Lines due to illness. What I like to see at shows isn't box shifters (like an earlier poster, I prefer to buy locally when I can), but stands that sell items not readily found elsewhere—for example, weathered and/or detailed locos and stock. In previous years, TMC met this requirement, but weren't present this year.

 

Getting the balance right is difficult. Many shows are biased too much in favour of RTR. I would have suggested Wigan as a show which gets the balance about right in my opinion. To be fair, I've purchased items for several of the traders present at this year's show in previous years. Some specialist traders I'd have liked to see would have been Nairnshire Modelling Supplies and Bob Russell (BR Lines).

 

I had no problems with the layouts on show—there were some superb examples of modelling, notably Pempoul, Copenhagen Fields, Gresley Beat and many more. I'll certainly be back next year.

 

Finally, the saddest aspect of the show was that Mike Cook didn't survive to take charge of his 50th show. I wish his successors well—they have a tough job living up to Mike's record.

[Brit70053]

John,

 

I thought I remembered seeing boxes of Peco track on Tower Models stand?

 

steve

 

Hi Steve 1,

Yes there were packs of flexible track lengrhs ('00' and '0' at least) plus a variety of turnouts/ points available on Tower Models stand, but what I wanted was Large Radius (3rd & 4th) curved sectional or set track pieces and my enquiry at Tower's stand, as with other traders, drew a blank.

Short term memory lapse also led me to omit that one of our party was looking for a Gaugemaster analogue controller which he couldn't find either.

 

To emphasise, we all four of us enjoyed the Layouts on show which were all to a very high standard as would be expected at York and we did spend a fair amount at the specialist stands, but, we could have probably spent between £300 to £500 more between us had various items been available.

 

I take the points made in other posts on this thread that York has evolved, for various reasons, into more of an enthusiast modellers exhibition, but have been used over the years to being able to obtain required items, basic and specialist, in one go, while enjoying the exhibited layouts at the same time.

 

I suppose I'll just have accept that this is how things are developing and adjust my shopping habits accordingly.

 

Regards,

 

 

 

John

[Steven B]

I spent a very enjoyable few hours at the show on Sunday. Was suprised not to have to queue to get in - were numbers down or were those on the cash desk more efficient this year? Hopefully the latter!

 

The layouts were great. Some suffered from lack of movement but the overall quality was supurb.

 

It'd be nice to see someone like Cheltenham Model Centre or The Signal Box attend - with N Gauge Lines dropping out there was very little British N to be seen - I was hoping to pick up a few of the new Farish Mk1s but came away empty handed.

 

Similarly it would be good if BH Enterprises would make the trip up north.

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[CWJ]

Just got home from the show, and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of entrance queues (I normally go on the Saturday, when the queue is a mile long), healthily-busy-without-being-crowded attendance levels and variety of exhibits. Highlights for me were the French metre-gauge layout (I can't remember how to spell the name but someone has already mentioned it on here) and the general quality of 2mm scale layouts, even though I'm a 4mm modeller. There seemed to be a trend for deep scenic layouts of which only a small part is filled with railway tracks; I found this really showed the advantage of small-scale modelling. Oh, and seeing Realtrack's Class 144 and 143 models in the flesh was very impressive. There was a reasonable selection of 4mm RTR stock for sale but neither the variety nor the prices of a major online retailer, as you'd expect.

 

I only got buffetted by one backpack all morning, which must be a record, and never had to struggle to see a layout. For me, York is the perfect balance between a friendly-but-small local show and the chaotic mosh-pit that is Warley. I also live in York, so I might be biased...

 

Cheers,

 

Will

[fiesta]

We went Sunday and it did seem a bit quieter than previous years. However, a cracking show in my opinion, really top class layouts but then we were under the impression that as it was the 50th anniversary that Mike had arranged for all his best layouts to attend - may have got that wrong - and although there were less traders did think it was because there were, or seemed to be, a lot more layouts than previous years with it being the "50th" show. So sad that Mike wasn't able to be there but no doubt hope he has been looking down on the show over the last 3 days.

 

For me - nothing bad about the show - I couldn't get over the standard and quality of the layouts - not one bad one. But then I love the York show - never been yet and not enjoyed it!

 

Thanks should be passed on to all those who were involved - too little credit given where it is due - a good job done by all.

 

Here's to next year!

[RANGERS]

I suspect the decline in trade is in common with many shows around the country, a combination of spiralling fuel costs, three nights accomodation and food in higher priced tourist areas, made worse by the premium rates over Easter, declining numbers of visitors and less cash to spend from those who are there. All in all, the takings required to cover those kind of expenses are often beyond many.

 

The trader losses over the years, C&G/ Brians Kits & Bits, Slaters, Fox Transfers, D&S Models, Wakefield Model Centre to name but a few, have mostly ceased trading or given up show appearances so there is a message there somewhere. All had their own specialities and all are sadly missed as they have no equivalent replacements. Even Cheltenham Models, who came in for the last couple of shows seem to have given it up this year.

 

There are some traders who could fill the gaps, particularly with finer scale items and the bits and pieces which were notably missing from this year's show. Rural Railways are one suggestion and as they travel great distances (Spalding, Peterborough etc) they could well be up for it. Caistor Loco cover similar ground and add in reasonably priced RTR and they're fairly close to hand, little over an hour away. The list is probably endless but if trade support continues to decline, the revenue and ultimately, the viability of the show could become questionable, particularly in such a prestige venue where the costs are largely outside the control of the organisers.

[LNERandBR]

I went on the Sunday and dispite having to detour via Boston to pick up some freinds from the Boston MRS managed to arrive just before opening. There was a queue but once opening time arrived it quickley went down.

 

The quality of the layouts didn't disappoint, although I had seen some of them before at other shows.

 

York is definalty more of a modellers show. There are many traders which you don't see elseware. As for the lack RTR trade Tower had some as did Digitrains however Caistor Loco would be a fine addition to the list of traders. They regually attend the Boston Show as our main RTR trader.

[Bomag]

After several years not going, I thought that the outstanding line-up was good enough to try again. As I was not looking to buy anything we decided to go about lunch time Monday to minimise crowding/queuing.

 

I take my mother who is in her 80's and has been spotting since the 30's (having cleared all the A4s prewar including 4469); the last time we went she had an interesting discussion with Mike Cook about too many people for the space and too little running on the layouts which resulted in a refund for her!

 

This time we got to York and asked about disabled parking to which the answer was that the few spaces had been full since 10am. She just managed to stagger from the normal car park with her seat, stopping a couple of times, only to find a queue. It wasn't a long one but it took about 10 min to move about a metre. By this time ones parental's temper was twanging; so we went to Beningbrough Hall where the NT knows how to organise getting people in and out without stress (the food was better as well)

 

There are some things that organiser's cannot influence. In this case the car parking and the number of people on the gate are under the control of the organiser. The consolation was that when queuing we got to see Copenhagen Fields!

[CWJ]

Bomag - an elderly person who clearly (taking a seat with her) doesn't enjoy the best mobility shouldn't be expected to queue with everyone else in this day and age. There's something wrong there. Perhaps one of the organisers reading this could see if it's possible to tweak the admission arrangements next year?

 

Cheers,

 

Will

 

PS. I forgot to mention on my post the large number of stewards, parking assistants and other (presumably) volunteers at the exhibition - well done, and thank you!

[SquireBev]

Enjoyed my day at the show on Saturday, though I must admit I spent more time scouring the trade stands than I did looking at the layouts.

I haven't the patience to shuffle through the throng to be allowed a momentary glimpse of one corner of a layout. But that's just me, not a dig at the show organisers.

 

However, definitely bigger buses needed on the shuttle to and from the station.

[Andrew1974]

After several years not going, I thought that the outstanding line-up was good enough to try again. As I was not looking to buy anything we decided to go about lunch time Monday to minimise crowding/queuing.

 

I take my mother who is in her 80's and has been spotting since the 30's (having cleared all the A4s prewar including 4469); the last time we went she had an interesting discussion with Mike Cook about too many people for the space and too little running on the layouts which resulted in a refund for her!

 

This time we got to York and asked about disabled parking to which the answer was that the few spaces had been full since 10am. She just managed to stagger from the normal car park with her seat, stopping a couple of times, only to find a queue. It wasn't a long one but it took about 10 min to move about a metre. By this time ones parental's temper was twanging; so we went to Beningbrough Hall where the NT knows how to organise getting people in and out without stress (the food was better as well)

 

There are some things that organiser's cannot influence. In this case the car parking and the number of people on the gate are under the control of the organiser. The consolation was that when queuing we got to see Copenhagen Fields!

 

So...if I have read this correctly the disabled spaces were full and there was a a small queue, that admittedly wasn't moving very fast, so you went somewhere else instead? (Although the fact you are comparing the food makes me think I may have misunderstood...as you must have got in to consue the food!)

 

Assuming I have got this correct you are of course free to do as you desire, however I think (IMHO) this is being a little harsh on the organisers. I could not make it this year (bit disappointed about that to be honest) but have been many times as a 'punter' before and think the organisation is generally very good, especially compared to a mumber of other events (both railway related and not).

 

The fact that last time you went you managed a refund because it was busy and not enough was moving for your (or your Mum's) liking suggest to me that there was always going to be something that was not good enough!!!

[micklner]

Easier if you get advanced tickets.

 

 

 

 

Has anyone got any pictures especially Gresley Beat please

[Mod5]

Sadly in life it is not possible to be all things to all men no matter how hard the organisers of these shows may try. It is difficult no doubt to accomodate everyone no matter what age but it would be better if we do not let this thread descend into an unseemly argument.

[Butler Henderson]

Nothing wrong with the bus on Sunday - a Yorkshire Coastliner presumably on its day off, suspect Saturday was a problem sourcing large enough vehicles particularly as the operator, Transdev York, was also involved in the Moorsbus operation - the only Saturday in the year when the Moorsbus operates.