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Narr-O 2014 - The 7mm NGA Surrey Area Group's Open Day


AlanRogers

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Please come and join us at Narr-O 2014, a 7mm Narrow Gauge Association Area Group Member's Day run by the Surrey Area Group. Previously, we've run this in conjunction with the Surrey Area Group of the 009 Society but this year we're going it alone.

There will be at least ten layouts, of varying scales and gauges but all narrow gauge, plus society stands and trader stalls. Tea, coffee and home made cake will also be available to purchase. This is our first attempt at show-casing narrow gauge railway modelling in North East Surrey.

The venue is Merstham Village Hall, Station Approach North, Merstham, Surrey RH1 3ED which is very close to Merstham station on the London to Brighton main line and buses run between Croydon and Redhill, stopping nearby. There is also a car park but it's not huge.

The times are 10:00 opening until 16:00 closing, giving us time to clear the hall and adjourn to the pub across the road for a swift half.
Admission is £4 for adults, £2 for children or £10 for a family ticket Narr-O 2014 Flyer.pdf

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Well spotted, the date was only apparent if you downloaded the flyer. It's Saturday 16th August 2014 from 10:00 to 16:00 as advertised.

 

Parking is first-come, first-served if you want it free. There's a very large station car park close by though, as well as a pub pay and display.

 

It's an open day in a village hall by a specialist interest railway modelling group, not a show put on by a major model railway club in a college.

 

Our resources are limited, in pretty much every major sense, but we have fun railway modelling and we like to share that fun where possible.

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Thanks for that very important update (as a matter of principle I do not follow blind links to strange places especially if they are attempting to download something - but then I am a suspicious so-n-so).

 

Nice advance warning and I have made a diary note. Might be able to attend. Not exactly 'local' being London but if nothing else clashing that weekend happy to support with my entrance fee.

 

Must say that is the first time I have heard of a pub charging patrons to park! Is that a London thing or an anti drink drive measure? It would go out of business most other places with that sort of attitude to its customers.

 

10 layouts is pretty impressive considering the nature of the show. Is there a list of them, do they have an internet presence ?

 

O-16.5 is not high on my list of layouts but do have something of that ilk on my WB this week (occasionally requested).

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Pubs charging for parking is to deter commuter parking.  Most of them tend, like supermarkets, charge but it's refunded when you spend over a fiver or whatever.

 

Fairly local to me (Horley) so I hope to pop along.  I don't model in 7mm narrow gauge* but it's always nice to support local shows rather than big commercial events..

 

 

 

 

 

* yet... resisting the urge. No space, no money to start another scale/gauge combo!!! May have to bring wife as insurance.

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  • 7 months later...

Wow, just two days now before it all kicks off! I'd like to confirm attendance as follows:

 

Layouts

  • St Petrock Quay by Angus Bentley - a Cornish interchange between narrow and standard gauge featuring a working wagon lift, in 0-16.5. Angus' is a model engineer and very worthy of being shown, despite still being a Work In Progress
  • Allbroke by Douglas Meaney - a freelance 0-16.5 layout set somewhere in the South of England in the 50s or 60s, featuring narrow gauge steam and diesel locomotion.
  • Burns Junction by Brian Daly - another stop on the Rio Florida Logging Co lines. If you've seen Simpsons Peak and Bouviers Peak at exhibitions over the years, Burns Junction is the next layout in the series, modelled in 0n30.
  • Touchwood by Nick Pidgley - another freelance layout somewhere in Southern England in 0-16.5 but a stalwart layout for our group, representing us at a number of exhibitions over the last couple of years
  • Crackington Quay by Roy Parkes - the excellent, and indeed award winning Devon/Cornwall coastal small-space layout in 0-16.5 now owned by Howard Martin is journeying from Somerset to join us
  • Bodgit & Much Pottering by Brian Cameron - This is a war-gamer's first attempt at railway modelling and depicts a bucolic terminus in 0-16.5, operated to a sequence and with excellent scenic modelling
  • Old Tom's Mine by Michael Reed - an exercise in minimum space modelling, Old Tom's Mine is an industrial layout in 0-16.5 showing  that you don't need a great deal of space to model in larger scales
  • Watchet Town by Peter Jackson - our last freelance layout set this time in Somerset, depicting a might-have-been line in real places, assuming that a line that might have been required actually got built, albeit to narrow gauge

Societies

  • Crawley Model Railway Society - this is perhaps our nearest club with an active narrow gauge section, having a large 0n30 layout on the exhibition circuit and an 0-16.5 layout under construction. 
  • East Surrey 16mm NGM - this very active area group of the 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers Association meets locally and has brought along their layout Lower Chaldon with battery-operated trains. Sorry, but we couldn't allow live steam.
  • 7mm Narrow Gauge Association - we're delighted to have the Publications, Publicity and Modelling Goods sections of our parent Association's sales arms present at our little show
  • East Surrey MRC - this is the resident club at the venue and it would be churlish not to invite them! As their layout is 00, it could be argued that it is also narrow gauge ...  :nono:

Traders

  • Michael Tucker - Not strictly a trader because Michael doesn't sell anything but he does make the most exquisite buildings on commission, and then donates his takings to charity!
  • The Avalon Line - Howard Martin is bringing his minimum gauge offerings from deepest Somerset, together with the recently acquired Arbeia Models line of scenic items, started by one of our own members!
  • 3mm Scale Model Railways - though strictly the retail arm of the 3mm Society, Malcolm and David are local and sell items that are relevant to more than just TT scale modellers

 

We will also have copious home made cakes for sale, together with tea and coffee to wash them down with. Doors open at 10:00, and we'll be throwing you out at 16:00 so that we can put it all away and quaff a well-earned pint across the road.

 

Several members here have promised to poke their noses around the door. Be sure and make yourself known, and perhaps have a mini-meet over some of the aforementioned cake? Putting a name to a face would also be appreciated, at least by me!

 

More details are available on our web site - http://surrey.7mmnga.org.uk/

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For those attending wanting parking, there is also plenty on both sides of the A23 bridge over the M25 which is only a short walk from the hall.

 

These spaces are normally used by commuters during the week so there should be plenty of spaces at the weekend.

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On the Facebook Event, somebody has questioned disabled access. We have responded:

All invited layouts are in the hall, which has level access from the street through the foyer, off which are the toilets. Catering is also in the main hall.

The traders are up on the stage, which is accessed by four or five wooden standard stairs with a handrail. The stage does however slope slightly towards the audience, in normal amateur theatre fashion.

The resident club's OO layout is upstairs. These are stone, standard and have a handrail as well. This is included in the event as a courtesy to them; it isn't narrow gauge but they do meet there.

We have left 8' gangways wherever possible, for wheel chair users. Traders will happily cooperate with those that cannot get onto the stage. Sadly, we can't do anything about the resident layout.

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Good to be able to pop along this afternoon even if only for a short while and at least put a name to a face.

 

Some nice little layouts there, although I know if I started trying to make something in a fourth scale I'd probably get shot.

 

One day perhaps...

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It was hard play, for which read I stressed about the setting up, the weather, the footfall, the catering and so on but I still enjoyed myself.

 

To cap it all, we even managed to turn a small profit, which was looking all that likely come half time.

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Alan, could you message me please with dimensions of the hall main space (non-stage) and an idea of the hire costs for one day?  It may well be a suitable venue for a modular meet but I don't want to clog up your thread with discussion.

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