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Doncaster Model Railway Exhibition - Feb


fiesta

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but you will be able to marvel at Mr Wright's erudite delivery

 

Totally agree he makes a fabulous after dinner speaker. Last time I attended as an exhibitor(last Donny show before going to Harrogate I think) I have never laughed so much in all my life.

 

Dave

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We had a pretty good show.

Absolute nightmare of a friday night though as the A1 was closed both ways and it took over 3 hours to get to donny from Peterborough (Via Bourne and Sleaford) - it's usually an 80 minute journey.

 

So I had a total of 45 minutes to try and set up an 18' stand - on my own. :-(

 

 

Saturday was absolutely heaving, the organisers were surprised at the numbers that turned up.

There was a proper feeding frenzy around our second hand N guage rummage box!

 

My only grumbles were that, being by the bar in the main hall, we had very little light - the stand looked fine until there were several people stood around, blocking what light was available - that was rectified on Day 2 with some IKEA spot lamps!

 

There weren't as many layouts as I might have expected - I'm sure there were more at the Peterborough show - and D+E was under represented - which is more in my interest.

 

And I'm still hearing steam trains in my sleep after spending the weekend next to the railway simulator stand...

 

On the whole a good show, though I think coinciding with Valentines day may have impacted Sunday attendance quite considerably. There only appeared to be around half the numbers on Sunday.

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Donny was the first show I have attended this year and as I was helping out on a Trade stand I didn't really suffer some of the discomforts described as I was 'trapped' almost all day. However, I must agree that the basic catering leaves a lot to be desired and the 2nd floor was not well signposted (was it signed at all?) as a feeding station. I know it was in the FREE show guide but I think this sort of thing needs BIG SIGNS and a BIG ADVERT! Let's face it, ??7.50 for a carvery was good value for such a venue when coffee was ??2/??1.50 a cup and tasted like boiler washout water with froth!

I also only saw some layouts briefly before the show opened and of course there was not much action but what lovely pieces of work! Alloa (very nice realistic colours for scenics) and Billingham, great sweeping frontage and excellent train sets; good work chaps from both.

Many thanks to anyone that I spoke with (Hi Tom and Mr Pulham) and apologies to anyone I missed or couldn't really help due to inexperience!

Donny is worth a visit and pre booked tickets are the better deal. I think it will probably be better arranged next year as they will have taken note of this year's glitches and logistical difficulties.

There were chairs behind the BRM stand on Sunday. Maybe they could go for a few more next time.

All in all I think it was OK. Very busy on Saturday morning, so make a note of this and perhaps arrive a little later?

Sunday was quiet but with more 'locals' I think.

After all this was a model railway exhibition and not a scale forum or specialist show and if some local folk decided to come along and it interested them then that is great. Most exhibitions in towns are not for the exclusive use of us modellers; please remember that.

My only complaint was/is that I suffered the dreaded air conditioning disease on Sunday night and all day yesterday and am only just recovering today (that is, bad dehydration, sore throat and very achy body). I'm also recovering from empty wallet syndrome! :blink:

Finally, if you think Donny is crowded just try York!!!!!!!!!!

Hope to see more of you in the future,

Sincerely 36E

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I must admit to being a bit taken aback by the crowds at Doncaster on Saturday. As a near-local I'll remember for next year the hint about Sunday being quieter. An area upstairs was set aside for children; tables and chairs with crayons and colouring books. This was underused, and as I noticed a mother being directed there to give her baby its bottle, I found a quiet corner to eat my packed lunch.

Alloa was the standout for me, as it obviously was for the large crowds around it. I overheard, while waiting patiently for my turn to move in closer, someone commenting, in marvelling tones, on the general authenticity: "They (The Scottish Region Study Group's operating team) even sound Scottish!" The member of the group to whom I passed on the remark, a fine example of the national prototype, was greatly amused by the compliment!

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I thought it was a pretty good show all in all. I went on the Saturday - not my first choice - and it was both very full and very hot. However you had the option of going outside for your tea and butties - for an area which wasn't signposted, the cafeteria was very full - and there were large areas round the outside with chairs. There were one or two cockups with the layout - putting the train simulator lot half way down an aisle, when they have a crowd standing in front by definition, wasn't terribly clever - but apart from that I didn't think there was a lot wrong.

 

Trade was good - got just about everything I was after - and while there were no outstanding layouts I hadn't seen before other than Totnes, the quality was pretty good overall. I confess to spending most of the day chatting to people who either I or the chap I had gone with knew. By the time we started looking at layouts it was towards 3 pm and a great deal quieter.

 

I preferred the Harrogate venue because it did have more space, but I have also stood behind a layout and frozen in there. The comparison to York is a good one, but without all the stairs. I can see why they'd want to go back to Doncaster because of the better transport links. If the crowds were up then it's obviously the right decision.

 

Finally, I second the comments about TW as a speaker; I was at Doncaster a few years ago and he nearly made me fall off my chair with laughter.

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I took the kids on Saturday and it was heaving.The return to Doncaster must have been worth it for all concerned. I was a bit pressed for time as I was going to the football, but have to say that I was pleased to leave. I must be becoming a right cantankerous old git becasue just about every layout was unviewable to my kids, even if they had had a step, and that makes it ideal for them to whine. It is a bit of an age old whine from lots of people about the heights of layouts.

I would also agree with the lack of D&E layouts. But we can't always get what we want or else exhibitions would be a bit boring.

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