Expo EM 2016

[Pannier Tank]

I live in Bletchley and, believe me, you wouldn't want it back there.

I don't know, it's a lot better here since the Leisure Centre has been rebuilt and many EM Gauge Members liked it here.

[mudmagnet]

Myself, Ray and a couple of guys from our club are planning a visit this year.

Went up last year and not a bad run from North Devon.

It's my birthday shortly after, so will hopefully get my birthday present!

[Kenton]

 

Thanks for the warning.  Is it bad enough for extra travelling time to be needed?

 

 

Not really it just affects the ring road. The recent work on the Bagshot/M3 link road roundabout at Coral Reef has just about been finished so not as bad as it has been. The A329M junction with the M4 has also been altered (improved) and the slightly confusing round-about on the A329 as you approach Bracknell from the M4 now has lights on it! All the other problems are on the inner ring road/town centre which shouldn't present a problem unless you are approaching from Ascot. IMO a lot of money spent that could have been utilised filling some of the potholes and dropped/missing drain covers. Parking at the Sports Centre is always a bit hit and miss and dependent on how many folk are using the "sports". Don't know if there is overflow provision this year.

[Horsetan]

... Don't know if there is overflow provision this year.

I'll assume there isn't any. This is ExpoEM after all, and I don't remember any such provision being made during the Bletchley era. If there was no room left in the car park, you had to stick your car somewhere else, however far away that might be.

[mike morley]

There is usually an overflow facility in the car-park of the company across the other side of the roundabout.

[Kelly]

Will be there both days this year after going last year and having a great day. Well worth the trip.

 

I'm not sure what was meant in regards scalefour shows? my experience this year was a very well run show, much like the ExpoEM shows are.

 

Anyway, another thing to bare in mind is cash, there isn't a cash point on site, and last year we were directed to the local garage which had at the time a broken cash point, so a long trek to find one ensued (with the car park being rather full decided to leave car at the time). So plan ahead on this point is my advice (imo it is true for any show, same as taking own drink/food really).

[Kenton]

Nearest cash point is in Sainsburys a short drive along the A322 towards Bagshot.

[t-b-g]

We will be there (Who said "Not again"?) with a layout.

 

Narrow Road is coming out of exhibition retirement for a very brief spell. Initially one show but arms have been twisted up backs and we will be doing EXPO North as well.

 

After a practice running session yesterday with the new operating crew, it should be quite entertaining. Not necessarily efficient or slick but entertaining.

 

We have built some new locos and stock since our last outing in 2010 and for the last few months Ken and I have been "fettling" wear and tear matters in the electrical and scenic side of things, so we have fingers crossed that we are pretty much ready for action.

 

There will also be a rare opportunity to see the "Automatic Crispin" which operated the fiddle yard on Peter Denny's Buckingham layout. This is going on display with the Metropolitan Junction Layout, which is another EM layout dating back to the very beginning of finescale modelling in 4mm scale. The "Automatic Crispin" is a electromechanical computer, which worked the points and block bells in accordance with the moves required in the timetable. It is quite something!

 

As always, I am looking forward to one of my favourite exhibitions.

 

Tony

[Kelly]

Nearest cash point is in Sainsburys a short drive along the A322 towards Bagshot.

 

There is one nearer, in a small newsagents down the road (past the second entrance that leads to the running tracks).

[PenrithBeacon]

There is always the internet. I think that any trader, not just model railway traders, who don't have an internet site are just playing. Time to get into the modern world.

 

And then there's the people who only deal in cash! Give them a wide berth.

 

If a trader wants to sell stuff they have to make it convenient for their customers. Expecting customers to traipse to the nearest cash point is unacceptable.

 

Regards

[Horsetan]

There is always the internet.

 

Not much good if you also want to see layouts. Don't think EMGS would be too keen on offering a webcam on their annual show....

[melmoth]

There is always the internet. I think that any trader, not just model railway traders, who don't have an internet site are just playing. Time to get into the modern world.

 

And then there's the people who only deal in cash! Give them a wide berth.

 

If a trader wants to sell stuff they have to make it convenient for their customers. Expecting customers to traipse to the nearest cash point is unacceptable.

 

Regards

 

Well, yes and no. In one sense, traders who don't use the internet etc may well be 'just playing' -   it may well be that they trade part time, or as a sideline, or in very small quantities, or to defray costs of something they've produced for their own use. Expecting those sort of businesses to be one click away a la Amazon is possibly slightly unrealistic. It's a bit like expecting the cakes at the village fete to have a full list of ingredients, allergens, nutritional values and best before dates printed on the back of the packaging - if they have packaging.

 

I'm also not sure what the problem with cash only is. Seems to have worked reasonably well for the last couple of millenia.

[melmoth]

The thing is unless you are doing a lot of shows and/or selling expensive goods, having a card machine would cost far too much for these traders as I think it is about £25.00 per month to hire one of these card machines to do shows on top of the monthly costs, even if you don't use it at all that month.

 

You can, if memory serves, sign up to a contract where the fee is on a percentage of sales alone, which makes more sense from the point of view of a low turnover business. Incidentally, most contracts for card payment are for a minimum of 3 years (again, IIRC). The simple answer really is Paypal, but any form of card or online payment system is academic if the business/trader doesn't have the IT skills to feel comfortable with the extra work and administration involved - and once you are handling card details and addresses there are a lot more hoops to jump through than when all you had to do was bank cash and the occassional cheque.

[Kenton]

 

Don't think EMGS would be too keen on offering a webcam on their annual show....

 

 

... and why not? A subscription access portal to a professionally filmed documentary style view of all the layouts with added interviews of the operating teams with build highlights and key points of interest. Also potential advertising for "meet your favourite suppliers" giving information on portal only special offers and "what's in the pipeline" or "down the tracks" releases. Even add in the how-to-do-it with Bob specials from the demonstration tables that you could not get to the front of the queue because Bob had gone to lunch or was busy reminiscing with Fred about the long journey up the M4, how Mrs Fred's arthritis is getting worse, and how last year the table was slightly bigger and the lunch was actually edible for a change.

 

Great for those who cannot make it to the actual hall, those who find the crowds overwhelming, just don't wish to be seen visiting Bracknell or think EM gauge is a bit too cliquey for them.

 

I sometimes think exhibitions are so last century in their approach.

[melmoth]

   

 

... and why not? A subscription access portal to a professionally filmed documentary style view of all the layouts with added interviews of the operating teams with build highlights and key points of interest. Also potential advertising for "meet your favourite suppliers" giving information on portal only special offers and "what's in the pipeline" or "down the tracks" releases. Even add in the how-to-do-it with Bob specials from the demonstration tables that you could not get to the front of the queue because Bob had gone to lunch or was busy reminiscing with Fred about the long journey up the M4, how Mrs Fred's arthritis is getting worse, and how last year the table was slightly bigger and the lunch was actually edible for a change.

 

Great for those who cannot make it to the actual hall, those who find the crowds overwhelming, just don't wish to be seen visiting Bracknell or think EM gauge is a bit too cliquey for them.

 

I sometimes think exhibitions are so last century in their approach.

 

Why stop there? Film all the layouts in their home locations and project the footage (3D, from multiple camera angles) onto a virtual rendering of Bracknell Leisure Centre. No one has to leave home.

[Kenton]

 

there are a lot more hoops to jump through than when all you had to do was bank cash

 

Bank cash! - you make it sound like suitcases of the stuff change hands (might happen at an O gauge show) but, I suspect it simply gets spent. Much on expenses the rest on beer money.

 

Why not just come prepared, price things in advance and swear to the missus that you don't give in to impulse buying. I am sure that most/all traders would be happy to fulfill the order by post and save the embarrassment of having to smuggle those unapproved items into the house on your return.

[melmoth]

And there's a good point - actual folding cash spent on model railways (authorised or not) does not show up in joint bank account statements.

[micklner]

There is always the internet. I think that any trader, not just model railway traders, who don't have an internet site are just playing. Time to get into the modern world.

 

And then there's the people who only deal in cash! Give them a wide berth.

 

If a trader wants to sell stuff they have to make it convenient for their customers. Expecting customers to traipse to the nearest cash point is unacceptable.

 

Regards

 

It is now the 21st century 99% of people pay via cards for virtually everything. If a business wants to make money then they should provide customer service whether they like it or not , if machines are £25 a month add the cost to the profit margin every other business does .

And there's a good point - actual folding cash spent on model railways (authorised or not) does not show up in joint bank account statements.

It will when the other half looks at the bank statement.

[RANGERS]

I'd avoid taking too much cash, last year I ended up spending far too much on some exquisite things I didn't really need and my wife didn't even want. Some people are so ungrateful.

[Mike Bellamy]

The thing is unless you are doing a lot of shows and/or selling expensive goods, having a card machine would cost far too much for these traders as I think it is about £25.00 per month to hire one of these card machines to do shows on top of the monthly costs, even if you don't use it at all that month.

 

 

I sometimes help a trader at shows and his card machine was costing about £37 month to rent it from the card company. However he now uses 'SumUp' where there are no monthly fees, just a single payment of £59 for the card terminal and it runs off an 'app' on his mobile phone. There is a fixed service charge of 1.95% for all debit and credit cards which is less than the previous credit card rate but more than the previous debit card rate which was a fixed price per transaction regardless of value. I think he also said the money got to his account quicker as well using this system.

 

With something as cheap and as simple as this, I can't understand why it isn't used more widely - his turnover certainly went up when customers realised they could buy more than they had cash in their pocket !!

 

https://sumup.co.uk/

 

 

.

[Horsetan]

Come to think of it, PayPal offer something similar - Dart Castings/MJT had this facility a while ago at the last St. Albans show I went to.

[Dunsignalling]

My first visit and I'll be coming by train. It looks a fair hike (20-30 minutes depending on how energetic I'm feeling) to the leisure centre.

 

Can anybody who has done it advise if it is well signed for those on foot or should I print off a map.

 

Thanks

 

John

[mike morley]

Print a map. 

Even if travelling by road, at whom the road-signs are obviously aimed, you have to keep your wits about you if you are not to get in the wrong lane and head off at a tangent.  As the pedestrian walkways dip down into cuttings and tunnels at the many roundabouts, making it difficult to keep an accurate sense of direction, the situation is far worse.

[t-b-g]

I have stuck up for small traders before and will do so again. Traders at a show like EXPO EM vary from the "proper" traders with shops and premises, complete with websites and card facilities, to the person who gets a few etchings or castings done and ends up producing extras for sale as lots of people ask for them.

 

The costs involved in taking a trade stand at a show are already considerable and in the case of somebody who may have a full time job it may involve using up holiday entitlement, paying for travelling expenses and accommodation as well as the stand rental.

 

To expect both ends of this sort of range of traders/suppliers to have all types of payment facility and to maintain a fully up to date, all singing and dancing website is great if you want the smaller part time folk to say "Sod this, it isn't worth the bother" and the things they supply might just disappear.

 

Some of these types of trader are cutting right back on what shows they attend and I would much rather encourage them to keep doing what they do rather than have  ago at them.

 

If anybody finds the lack of a website or card facilities too much of a problem, don't buy the products. Make your own instead. It is what you would have to do if these traders didn't supply the often obscure products that they have.

 

It is one of the joys of shows like EXPO EM events that these sorts of traders still come and long may it continue.

[andytrains]

It is 1.25km from the station to the leisure centre, so just over half a mile.