mcrook62 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hi All was there on Sunday and again what a great show I think the orginisers deserve a great round of applause for pulling off another Great show for us model railway buff's I drove up from London and back home on the same day and was well pleased with my day. regards mcrook62 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornbyandbf3fan Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The show went really well for me, John Seward and the rest of the Warley MRC were really helpful all weekend, the food was good and the layout worked! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I visited Warley yesterday for the fourth year running, and I found it a rather enjoyable show. We had no trouble getting there at all, a quick blast down the motorway listening to some Northern Soul not having to cue until we exited the M42 at the NEC. After short cue to enter the car park, painfully parting with £10 for parking and jumping straight on a shuttle bus from East 5 car park without having to wait we got to the hall at 10am and went straight in. At this time it was still fairly quiet so we were able to do a quick lap of the traders around the perimeter to pick up our most important purchases before having a quick food break and going back around the traders to see what else might tempt us (two trips around the traders? dangerous I know!) after having a second break we had a look around the layouts. I don't normally look at 'kettles' but the Leicester South layout by Shipley MRC was quite impressive. There was a good selection of BR blue layouts there and a few 90s/early 2000s, including Cliffords Bridge and Albert Road. My biggest disappointment was the lack of current scene layouts, counted only a hand full, one of which I'd seen before and two were small layouts I wasn't overly impressed with. Banbury was probably the highlight of the current scene for me. Their computer system is truly impressive. I would have liked to have seen some more large modern image layouts. Instead the large layouts were dominated by steam era layouts, BCB was the only big diesel layout I recall seeing. In terms of traders I was very impressed, everything was catered for. Being a Sunday, I didn't expect to find many bargains, but I did. A Bachmann DCC fitted 66 for £65 was too good to miss, but I managed to resist the Cross Country 3 car 170 sat next to it at the same price. Its a good job too, I parted with around £500 that day! Although that does include a new Lenz DCC system and power supply for £320. We left the show around 4.30 and had no trouble getting out, we had a short two minute wait for the shuttle bus and only had to wait cue about 10 minutes to leave the NEC. I didn't grumble because I knew that the Motorcycle Show and ComicCon were turfing out at the same time, in fact I was expecting to be cuing for longer to get out. The other concerns I had were nothing to do with the Warley team and is down to the NEC. Firstly there's the ridiculous prices for food (£4 for a portion of chips) and then the poor lighting. It is true that the hall lights are for set ups and general ambient light, but I have visited other shows there where the dim orange lights have caused problems for photos and made it a rather gloomy atmosphere. The NEC really should address this. Overall though it was a really good day out. Will I be visiting again? You just try and stop me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 I visited Warley yesterday for the fourth year running, and I found it a rather enjoyable show. the poor lighting. It is true that the hall lights are for set ups and general ambient light, but I have visited other shows there where the dim orange lights have caused problems for photos and made it a rather gloomy atmosphere. The NEC really should address this. I don't find the lighting too bad. I would hardly call it dim. All my layout photos were taken without flash and although there is a bit of colour cast, IMHO reasonable overall. IMHO The Ricoh exhibition was worse with some really gloomy spots. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Hughes Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The lighting is one of the reasons why I choose not to hop on the 900 bus and be at the door in half an hour. There are many factors within the range of issues that can create a less than favourable atmosphere for an exhibition, and I am convinced that creating an air of negativity only leads to a pessimistic and unhealthy viewpoint and spoils what should otherwise be an enjoyable event for others. I think poor lighting (along with floor covering) is the main thing that stops these big "exhibition centre" places being good venues for model railway shows. If you have the impression of being in a large disused warehouse that just happens to have model railways in it, the day is not nearly as enjoyable as if you are in a more "finished" (For want of a better term) location. I think two of my favourite venues were the old Easter exhibition at Harrogate Conference Centre and the one for the BRMNA show in Ottawa. Both were large venues but with low ceilings and well lit, which to my mind creates a more enjoyable atmosphere and better shows off the layouts. However, as both those shows are now defunct, maybe my view is not one held by the majority. I do recall a show not long ago where I gave up trying to buy the things I wanted off a trade stand because the dark corner of the venue they were in made it impossible to read the labels, (even with my reading glasses). As for over-officious persons in hi-viz, I don't know the exact circumstances of the incident, so can't comment directly Same here, although it seems to me that if you put someone directing exhibitors at an indoor event showing model railway layouts, rather than someone working at the side of a motorway or rail line, in high-vis. you possibly reap what you sow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungus the Fogeyman Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Well, to my mind, I enjoyed it as much as ever from an exhibitors point of view. Its hard work and long hours but, hey, if you dont like it tear your letter up from Paul Jones next year. As someone who was exhibiting in the Micro layouts enclave, I found punters liked the idea of a group of micro layouts together-it certainly worked from my point of view. Last year, the 4 foot wonder that is Snape Maltings was lost between Gresley Beat and Oulton TMD. This time round Trevanna Dries was in the right place surrounded by layouts of a similar ilk....I appreciate that micro corner was a trial run but, hopefully when its done again next year, it will benefit from stronger promotion next year. So, al in all, another enjoyable Warley. Well done Paul and the gang......... Disgusting of Market Harborough PS the reason you didnt get much time to shop Ben was because of all the sterling work you were putting in on the DEMU stand! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40F Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 "Ian walked up with a look of shock on his face & in his inimmitable Black Country whine " I bin to two f@*%in stands & there's no show discount, it's the same f@*%in price as in the f@*%in shops, so I'm not f@*%in buyin nuthin" Depends on what discount he asked for We had one idiot punter ask for £37.00 of a £230 pound loco also as regards to Short and snappy see the previous part of the post. Some people just try it on. Discounts are not a god given right and bear in mind that stalls/stands at NEC are not cheap and therefore the costs have to be taken into account and then add on hotels meals etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I don't know about anyone else, but I don't haggle over prices at trade stands. If you're not willing to pay the price on the label then don't. I was looking for a Farish 2mt for around £80, but every one I looked at was closer to £90. So I didn't buy one - I wouldn't dream of asking a trader to lower their prices for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 I don't know about anyone else, but I don't haggle over prices at trade stands. If you're not willing to pay the price on the label then don't. I was looking for a Farish 2mt for around £80, but every one I looked at was closer to £90. So I didn't buy one - I wouldn't dream of asking a trader to lower their prices for me I never used to, until we had one local trader at shows (Martells of East Grinstead, top guys) who actually encouraged you to ask for the best price - I ending up plucking up the courage to ask other traders and it's surprising how many actually do give a decent discount, sometimes on top of an already good price! Pick up something you definitely want to buy and ask, at the end of the day if the trader doesn't want to give a discount then no problem and you just say 'worth a try' etc etc/bit of bants it's all part of the fun, nothing ventured nothing gained! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 Did anyone manage to get a picture of the new Modified Hall from Bachmann? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I visited the show on Saturday, and on the whole, enjoyed the day.There was a good range of layouts and traders, with some of the traders being new names and of great interest. I could have spent a lot more than I did, but I suspect we all could say that! Some of the criticisms I have: Lighting: if you don't know or like what the hall is going to give you, sort you own out! Personally, if a layout didn't have lighting, I kept walking. Operating: Can operators please make sure, especially if they are on one of the larger layouts, that they a: know what they're doing, and b: keep something moving. It's acceptable to not have something moving on a micro layout, but on a massive layout, for a watcher to stand for 30 seconds or more and not see anything move makes them move on, I know, I heard the comment and saw it happen. As for the operators knowing what they're doing, on one of the larger layouts, one operator wasn't watching his train so the loco set off from the fiddle yard without being coupled to its train. Another fiddle yard operator realised what was happening so first operator waits for half the train to be coupled, then drives his train off leaving the other half behind. The section switch for the train behind hadn't been turned off, so it runs in to the back of the stationary stock causing mayhem. Sorry guys, when exhibiting at a top class exhibition, you must be trained and on the ball. If in doubt, practise, practise, practise! Other than those niggles, will I go again next year? Definitely. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSG Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 As for the operators knowing what they're doing, on one of the larger layouts, one operator wasn't watching his train so the loco set off from the fiddle yard without being coupled to its train. Another fiddle yard operator realised what was happening so first operator waits for half the train to be coupled, then drives his train off leaving the other half behind. The section switch for the train behind hadn't been turned off, so it runs in to the back of the stationary stock causing mayhem. Sorry guys, when exhibiting at a top class exhibition, you must be trained and on the ball. If in doubt, practise, practise, practise! I think that's a little unfair. We're all amateurs, none of the operators get paid for what they do and recruiting enough people to cover a two-day show can be difficult. Layouts built by a solo modeller very often rely on guest operators for shows, it would be impractical for one person to do it without a break all day and not everyone has a large enough pool of available friends and family to fill all the necessary shifts. Clubs, too, often use guest operators when they're exhibiting a long way from their home territory, as not everyone is willing or able to make the trip. And Warley, by its nature, has a larger proportion of long-distance travellers among its exhibitors than the average exhibition. But you can't guarantee that every guest operator will be as familiar with the layout as you are; in many cases the first hands-on experience they get is when they turn up at the show! Having been a guest operator myself in the past at Warley, and having been left in sole charge of a layout while its owner had a break, I hope I managed to keep things interesting with an appropriate sequence of movements. But when nothing happens when you press the button, and there's a moment's panic while you work out how to reset an unfamiliar DCC system, and the only person who really understands it is somewhere over in the catering area, there really isn't a lot you can do other than press on and apologise for the gap. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ELTEL Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 I think that's a little unfair. We're all amateurs, none of the operators get paid for what they do and recruiting enough people to cover a two-day show can be difficult. Layouts built by a solo modeller very often rely on guest operators for shows, it would be impractical for one person to do it without a break all day and not everyone has a large enough pool of available friends and family to fill all the necessary shifts. Clubs, too, often use guest operators when they're exhibiting a long way from their home territory, as not everyone is willing or able to make the trip. And Warley, by its nature, has a larger proportion of long-distance travellers among its exhibitors than the average exhibition. But you can't guarantee that every guest operator will be as familiar with the layout as you are; in many cases the first hands-on experience they get is when they turn up at the show! Having been a guest operator myself in the past at Warley, and having been left in sole charge of a layout while its owner had a break, I hope I managed to keep things interesting with an appropriate sequence of movements. But when nothing happens when you press the button, and there's a moment's panic while you work out how to reset an unfamiliar DCC system, and the only person who really understands it is somewhere over in the catering area, there really isn't a lot you can do other than press on and apologise for the gap. Well said that man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40F Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 With reference to post 287 So when will your perfect layout be exhibited ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I think that's a little unfair. We're all amateurs, none of the operators get paid for what they do and recruiting enough people to cover a two-day show can be difficult. Layouts built by a solo modeller very often rely on guest operators for shows, it would be impractical for one person to do it without a break all day and not everyone has a large enough pool of available friends and family to fill all the necessary shifts. Clubs, too, often use guest operators when they're exhibiting a long way from their home territory, as not everyone is willing or able to make the trip. And Warley, by its nature, has a larger proportion of long-distance travellers among its exhibitors than the average exhibition. But you can't guarantee that every guest operator will be as familiar with the layout as you are; in many cases the first hands-on experience they get is when they turn up at the show! Having been a guest operator myself in the past at Warley, and having been left in sole charge of a layout while its owner had a break, I hope I managed to keep things interesting with an appropriate sequence of movements. But when nothing happens when you press the button, and there's a moment's panic while you work out how to reset an unfamiliar DCC system, and the only person who really understands it is somewhere over in the catering area, there really isn't a lot you can do other than press on and apologise for the gap. I make no apologies for my comments, and I don't consider them unfair. The example of operating I saw was on one of the larger layouts and to my mind was not acceptable when exhibiting at a premier exhibition. I understand we're all amateurs, and the smaller layouts may well need relief operators who are inexperienced with the layout, so operational hiccups can be understood and excused then, but the larger layouts (and it was primarily to them I was addressing my comments) should have enough operators who know what they're doing that such mistakes as the one I saw simply should not happen. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 With reference to post 287 So when will your perfect layout be exhibited ? Did I say anything about a perfect layout? Please describe your perfect layout. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2014 We had our fair share of mishaps. Layout was Ok but it was us operators. Even me and Mike who know the layout well still made as many mistakes as those who only operate it when the layout is in the Midlands or further North so whilst they have operated it before they don't do it that often. Getting enough operators is hard these days (as I suspect many others find) so if we were only to have well trained and disciplined operators we wouldnt be doing very many shows. Another thing that often causes loss of concentration is when talking ot visitors. Luckily I was available a fair amount of the time when not operating to do so but there are times when this isnt the case. We arent going to be putting visitors off talking ot us becasue we also enjoy that side of it too (and then then there would be complaints about the operators on certain layouts not being approachable). There were a few times when I was operating (which was only occassionally at Warley as we had a full team leaving me to fix stock and talk to visitors) where I ended up with a train in the back of another one after getting distracted, so even the well versed ones make mistakes!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSG Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I make no apologies for my comments, and I don't consider them unfair. The example of operating I saw was on one of the larger layouts and to my mind was not acceptable when exhibiting at a premier exhibition. I understand we're all amateurs, and the smaller layouts may well need relief operators who are inexperienced with the layout, so operational hiccups can be understood and excused then, but the larger layouts (and it was primarily to them I was addressing my comments) should have enough operators who know what they're doing that such mistakes as the one I saw simply should not happen. But larger layouts need more operators, which multiplies the problem. A short shunting plank or a simple "one engine in steam" roundy-roundy can easily be operated by a team of two or three people taking it in turns to run the layout single-handed. But when your layout needs five people operating it at once, then the team of operators needs to be in double digits to ensure everyone gets a reasonable break. That can be challenging, even for a well-supported club, and even more so on a two-day show far away from home. In any case, I was there all day on Sunday and I didn't see any major operating glitches. All the layouts I looked at had things moving as frequently as I'd have expected. Some were sparser than others, but frequency is always a compromise between realism and interest. It isn't wrong to prefer a more prototypical sequence rather than continuous movement, it's just a different decision. And things do go wrong occasionally. You cannot, with the best will in the world, expect that every layout will operate perfectly all day. If you happen to see one having problems, go and look at another one for a while and then return to it later when they've had a chance to sort them out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 As for over-officious persons in hi-viz, I don't know the exact circumstances of the incident, so can't comment directly but I do have a degree of sympathy for them, as they often have an unpopular job of making sure the hall is clear and there's always someone who wants to hang on to last. Security is an issue and that unfortunately can result in a direct "get out of the hall now approach", although sometimes it can be too direct. I've had to clear halls before now and we do like to get to the pub afterwards.......... With the show being such a large undertaking, the task is correspondingly more difficult. With regard to not allowing under-16's at breakdown, it's a condition of the NEC and not Warley MRC. Cheers, Mick I have no problem with the U16s requirement and was fully aware of it having read the info supplied in the exhibitor pack, it was the way it was said that caused offence. It is an unfortunate effect of a volunteer run event and having been on the other side I too sympathise with the stewards who need to clear the hall as quickly as possible but that doesn't excuse the manner in which it was delivered. If I spoke to my customers in such a way I would soon be out of business and had I been a member of the public it could have been enough to prevent me returning. Just to be clear everything else about the event was excellent and it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 Problems and delays happen on the full-size railway, it's not unreasonable to think that they can happen on a model too! Maybe they happen more often on models but then again lots of people want a lot more trains than reality, and few people are going to model all the real systems designed to prevent mishap (a collision on a model being rather less serious than one in 1:1). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Perhaps some respect for the person on the receiving end would also be in order, as well as the English language itself. It shouldn't be down to the reader to work out what the writer is trying to say.That way, misunderstandings arise. While languages are "living things" and change over time, using it in a sloppy way helps nobody. That assumes that any contributor whose English is not well written simply doesn't care. I don't like sloppiness either but some of us have better literacy skills than others so telling people off for poor grammar does seem disrespectful. Some of are better modellers than others but if someone posted a picture of a layout that wasn't built to what most of us would regard as a high standard would you tell them their modelling wasn't good enough? I would hate to see anyone feeling unwelcome in this community because of poor literacy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted November 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2014 I make no apologies for my comments, and I don't consider them unfair. The example of operating I saw was on one of the larger layouts and to my mind was not acceptable when exhibiting at a premier exhibition. I understand we're all amateurs, and the smaller layouts may well need relief operators who are inexperienced with the layout, so operational hiccups can be understood and excused then, but the larger layouts (and it was primarily to them I was addressing my comments) should have enough operators who know what they're doing that such mistakes as the one I saw simply should not happen. Phil I take it that you have experience of exhibiting and operating large layouts. It's not an easy task and a weekend can be a very tiring event. Rostering and managing a team to cope with the various pressures can be quite difficult . Mistakes happen. On large layouts it's easier to make them due to the distances involved and communication between two operators 30 feet apart in a large noisy hall isn't always easy. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Hughes Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Problems and delays happen on the full-size railway, There's an ad from the Teamsters' Union currently running on Canadian television about rail safety. They say that a train is involved in an accident every 60 hours. Scale that down (in a rather tongue in cheek manner by dividing 60 hours by 87) and an HO Canadian layout should have some kind of mishap every 41 minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jol Wilkinson Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 That assumes that any contributor whose English is not well written simply doesn't care. I don't like sloppiness either but some of us have better literacy skills than others so telling people off for poor grammar does seem disrespectful. Some of are better modellers than others but if someone posted a picture of a layout that wasn't built to what most of us would regard as a high standard would you tell them their modelling wasn't good enough? I would hate to see anyone feeling unwelcome in this community because of poor literacy. No, that assumes no such thing. There are many valid reasons why some writers struggle with proper grammar, correct spelling, etc. but if you wish to communicate with another then it is in your own interest to do that as well as possiblle. For every writer that has a genuine reason to find written English difficult, there is at least one other that can't be bothered, or so it seems. I too would hate to see someone feel unwelcome because of poor literacy, but pointing out that they might want to find a way to improve their communications skills and suggesting ways in which they could do that would be no different to offering advice on how someone could improve their modelling skills. As the years go by I find more need to resort to the built in spell and grammar checking facilities on my pc. I could simply ignore them, but I believe correctly constructed English reduces the likelihood of misunderstanding by the reader. Perhaps we are too reticent to critique the work of others in a positive and constructive way. There is no hesitation to do it with products and service when dealing with a business, even a small one run by an individual. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm afraid to say that the most imaginitive layout I saw initially was the Peppa Pig layout. Then I saw End of the Line - simple, atmospheric, fantastic. Reminded me of those little narrow gauge lines that are gone now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.