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Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2018 - 24th and 25th November

Liam

By Liam,
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Phil Parker

Phil Parker

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100% agree, Clive.  I do wonder whether exhibitors where "the modelling was great but nothing much was actually running" have given much thought to the fact that a show the vast size of Warley can take an entire day to get around and you still don't get to see everything.  So unless you've explicitly gone there to see that one model - or have been completely captivated by one model and willingly sacrifice seeing other things - the most time that most of us can hope to devote to any single exhibit is measurable in minutes, and then maybe go back again towards the end of the Show to the half a dozen that made the most impression.

 

 

Almost certainly not. You build a layout to take out on the circuit over several years and many shows. No-one spends a couple of years building a layout just for Warley.  If every model needs to have trains thrashing around every second then every model needs to be little more than a tail-chaser with a Hornby 0-4-0 pulling a random selection of stock. There were some cracking vintage layouts at the show that ticked those boxes.

 

I'm all for keeping things moving, but every layout is different, that's what makes the hobby interesting. Some are frenetic, some slow. Slow is fine if there is a lot more to see than a moving train, both Sidmouth and Line street are in this catergory. Yes, I like to see trains move, but on neither of these is this the be all and end all. 

 

Warley is a massive show as you say, and I'd argue that there is no way to see every layout for a long enough period to enjoy all the modelling in front of you in a single day. The only plan that works is to look at the plan in advance and work out what you really must see. After that, visit other shows around the country where you have more time to see less models.

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chrisf

chrisf

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Nice to see you and chat yesterday, Chris. Did you find any other ideas for your coal wagon?

 

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to come and say hello while I was in my little corner opposite Squires. It's always nice to see and chat to old and new faces. Thanks to Barry for the invitation and the NEC staff for looking after us so well - except whoever organises the traffic when the car parks are emptying.

 

I didn't, Jon. For those who are puzzled, I want to make the sides of a wooden coal wagon bow outwards, as they did.  I've used a rubber to force them apart but the problem is how to make them stay like that once the rubber has been removed.  The current favourite idea is to use a hair dryer.

 

Chris

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chrisf

chrisf

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In a glass cabinet, as Darius has shown above in post #558.

 

This cabinet was located inside the Bachmann Collectors Club area, so unless you were able to flash your members club card, or sign up for membership on the day (they had a membership joining area for that), you wouldn't have been able to gain access.

 

That would explain it.  I am not a member of the collectors' club.

 

Chris

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KarlW

KarlW

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Well after having gone to Warley on the Saturday, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There were plenty of layouts to see, and although I didn't get a chance to have a look at some of them when they were in full flow (the closest I got to Lime Street for example was as they were starting to get the trains running at the start of the day), there were plenty of options there to keep my interest. One of the layouts that I had a good look at that was really nice was the Sutton in Ashfield Town layout - lots of attractive scenery and also several LARGE freight trains that were running. I'll admit that my personal preference for layouts are loops rather than end to end, mostly as I like the idea that trains are going somewhere rather than just going from side to side in something like a marshalling yard, but there were other layouts like Tidmouth and Lime Street that were appealing to me despite my preferences.

As far as people at the show went, I didn't have many instance of rucksack shoving (although I did have a couple of occasional dances across the floor with other people trying to make room for me, as you do) but what both my father and I did come across occasionally was the case of a person either barging or sliding their way in front of me at a trader stall while I was browsing. Some people were polite and courteous, asking if you could move out of the way briefly or swapping in and out to give people chance to reach something they wanted, but there were a few occasions where I was browsing around looking for coaches or a particular loco and I'd all of a sudden find myself subtley nudged out of the way for someone else to grab something. All in all, nothing too unfamiliar to me - my other hobby is miniature wargaming and I'm well accustomed to seeing people charge towards certain stands to go for certain deals/items (i.e any Forge World stand at any wargaming show).

Got a chance to see a few people, and picked up a fair amount of stuff to get me started with my first layout, so all in all I was very happy with the day and my dad and I have already started thinking about making plans to go to next year's show, so an overall thumbs up from this newcomer! :D

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Phil Parker

Phil Parker

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There didn't seem to be so many rucksack issues this year for me. Wider isles might have helped. I agree with Peter about wheely suitcases though.

 

Mind you, when catching the cable-train to the airport (for a burger, not a flight), I was lightly walloped by a multi-colour, padded tail attached to someone from Comicon. Definitely a first!

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KarlW

KarlW

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There didn't seem to be so many rucksack issues this year for me. Wider isles might have helped. I agree with Peter about wheely suitcases though.

 

Mind you, when catching the cable-train to the airport (for a burger, not a flight), I was lightly walloped by a multi-colour, padded tail attached to someone from Comicon. Definitely a first!

 

I saw the suitcases too! I figured they clearly had a lot of stuff to get :lol:

 

As for ComicCon crowds, I got caught up in a crowd of people going to one in Swansea before - how people can wear costumes so padded in the middle of May I'll never know :D

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Kelly

Kelly

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Don't Stormtroopers have genetic eyesight defincies? That's why they never seem to hit anything. And can I ask if anyone has said "Wow, a Dalek with the lid off.." ?

 

(Sorry, known Comicon joke from my Trekkie Neighbour whose Wife also uses a Scooter).

 

That and their helmets restrict vision further. It was a comment in jest as it has usually been people paying attention more to their phone than in a particular costume.

 

However, never had 'Dalek with the lid off' comment, though it has been alluded to that my scooter is a Davros chariot by Natalie!

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RichardS

RichardS

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Hi Phil

 

It is getting a balance of modelling and running. I have seen Liverpool Lime Street in the past....goodness how I missed it at Warley when I was there all weekend...and I have been impressed by the modelling but for a big layout there is very little movement. All layouts will have period when there isn't a train moving but this should be kept to reasonable minimum.

 

It is the small scale moving models that sets railway modelling apart from many other forms of model making. There are other wonderful modelling pursuits where movement in important but unlike aero modellers or powered boat modellers, our modelling is one that can take place indoors. Therefore layouts were there is little movement can become very well modelled dioramas not model railways.

So Clive are you suggesting a movement threshold over which a 'scale model thing' qualifies as a model railway.

Personally I thanks that's a stupid idea but I'd be interested as to how the scheme would work.

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Phil Bullock

Phil Bullock

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Well. This was the first show for Narrow Planet outside of specialised narrow gauge events and what a trial by fire!

 

I was quite anxious about the scale of the thing and the arrangements for unloading and breaking down, but in fact everything ran very smoothly from our point of view and the stewarding was excellent.

 

46056821011_104104db68_c.jpg

 

We decided it was worth investing in a shell stand to make an impression, it's certainly the most professional looking display we've put on so far and the two-aspect frontage made it easy to work with the level of interest we had.

 

Thanks to everyone who came to see us, whether making a purchase or just having a look at what we do. The level of interest from people outside our narrow gauge sphere was really encouraging and I hope we'll get a chance to come back!

Repeat order of some signal box name boards in 4mm from me gentlemen ....many thanks! 

 

Phil

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Ron Ron Ron

Ron Ron Ron

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Up the line was a superb layout, the constant sound of the artillery barrage in the background reflected on a small scale what it must have been like every day....very poignant.

 

 

In total agreement there.

Not to mention the barbed wire fence you had to stand behind to view the layout.  ;)

A nice little touch that may have gone unnoticed by a number of observers.

 

 

 

post-6858-0-69072000-1543258559_thumb.jpeg

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Andymsa

Andymsa

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I agree with most of the comments made so I won't repeat them but just to say I had a fairly enjoyable day. It was good to see the layouts from railway challenge. One thing I did notice that some traders started packing up at 4 and this number increased closer to finish time. And the layouts I went back to see had stopped operating in some cases and were just chatting amongst themselves. So I decided to call it a day and head for the crush on the trains, luckily only had to go two stops where I had parked. £12.00 to park No more to be said about that.

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Willie Whizz

Willie Whizz

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.... No-one spends a couple of years building a layout just for Warley.  If every model needs to have trains thrashing around every second then every model needs to be little more than a tail-chaser with a Hornby 0-4-0 pulling a random selection of stock. There were some cracking vintage layouts at the show that ticked those boxes.

 

I'm all for keeping things moving, but every layout is different, that's what makes the hobby interesting. Some are frenetic, some slow. Slow is fine if there is a lot more to see than a moving train, both Sidmouth and Line street are in this catergory. Yes, I like to see trains move, but on neither of these is this the be all and end all. ...

 

 

Oh, Phil, that's rather disappointing and not really fair given that I'd explicitly said, in two posts if not more, that what you describe as "trains thrashing around every second" was emphatically not what I was going on about.

 

"Slow" is indeed fine if there's a lot more to see than a moving train - but once you've seen it and there's still nothing happening, it does rather take away the point of it being a model railway not a diorama.  As somebody said not long ago, the key point if you're going to try to operate something like a real timetable - irrespective of the size of the layout - is to minimise the real-time gaps.  

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john new

john new

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A fantastic piece of modelling has its place in an exhibition, of course it does, and I can admire it as that; however, that does not necessarily make it an entertaining exhibit with the ‘grip or magnet’ factor that keeps you watching. Obviously it is never at Warley but one of the layouts I like is the signalling school layout at the NRM, scale modelling it is not but it makes up for that in so many other ways.  

 

The ‘grip’ factor is not a finite product as every viewer has their own criteria, for some it is operational fidelity, for others movement and for others again the fidelity to scale.

 

Take a parallel with the world of a theatre. Sometimes it puts on a serious, heavy, hard hitting play, sometimes a comedy night, musicals, or a band, often the cast are professionals, sometimes local am-dram groups.

 

A model railway show is rather like a multiplex theatre/cinema but with crafting as the play’s cast not actors and putting on everything at once.

 

Very few coming through the gate will like everything, but hopefully can see good bits even in what isn’t their favourite genre.

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john new

john new

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Could be more to do with the actual amount as the G1 display was all live steam

 

Keith

 

If steam is permissible in the venue we now have a rolling road for our 9 1/2 gauge Webb compound.

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