Warley NEC National Show 25th & 26th November 2023

[Chris M]

On 08/11/2023 at 10:47, E100 said:

I've taken up the BRM offer but I'm there for two days. Any idea if I can head to the Warley stand on the Saturday and upgrade to a second day ticket i.e. pay the difference (asking nicely and politely of course)? Definitely a shy bairns get nowt type question I know.

 

Alternatively are advance tickets for Sunday available on the Saturday?

That's a very good question for which I don't have an answer. I suggest you go to the information desk when you get to the show and speak with them. In the meantime I will speak with the guy in charge of the information stand to see if he can come up with a good solution for you. Could you pm me your name so I can get something sorted for you?

[Chris M]

My little N gauge layout Dawlish Warren will be at the NEC this year so I'm justified in posting a few photos here. These are courtesy of Chris Nevard and Model Rail magazine. They are a lot better than the photos I take.

Hmm - these clayhoods should not be heading West. Nice view of the estuary though.

 

William Cookworthy taking old clayhoods towards the Midlands for scrapping. That's better!

 

The trains that saved British Rail

 

Duchess of Hamilton is quite legitimate on a railtour in the 1980s

 

Parcels training heading to the North East

[Michael Hodgson]

I have an advance ticket for this year's Warley show, but won't be able to attend, so I'm offering it free to the first person to post on here that they'd like it.

[Nick G]

That's a nice gesture, Love it.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Nick G

[DLT]

9 days to go!  has anybody received accommodation details/final joining-instructions yet?

Thanks,

Dave.T

[DLT]

Has anyone tried foam gym matting to stand on behind your layout?  Thinking about the fatigue of two days standing on a concrete floor!

Thanks,

Dave.

[PaulRhB]

28 minutes ago, DLT said:

Has anyone tried foam gym matting to stand on behind your layout?  Thinking about the fatigue of two days standing on a concrete floor!

Thanks,

Dave.

The interlocking foam tiles are quite good as you can cut them to size too. 

[johndon]

1 hour ago, DLT said:

9 days to go!  has anybody received accommodation details/final joining-instructions yet?

Thanks,

Dave.T

 

I haven't.

[adb968008]

Anyone planning an RMWebbers meet up ?

 

 

[Ian Morgan]

8 hours ago, DLT said:

9 days to go!  has anybody received accommodation details/final joining-instructions yet?

Has anyone tried foam gym matting to stand on behind your layout? 

 

I had a 'provisional' booking come through on an email some months ago, but not had a final confirmation yet.

 

I use an offcut of carpet to stand on. It really does help if you are standing behind the layout for a long period. Alternatively, I prefer to sit on a stool at the end of the layout and operate it from there.

 

 

[StuAllen]

Looking forward to the event this year, are there still road works on the M42? Been a few weeks since I’ve been that way. I know the parking queues were bad last year, so thinking of heading to Coventry and  catching the train from there instead, what are the trains like? Do they get busy? We’re driving up from Sussex, and heading to Bath for their Christmas market on Sunday

[Chris M]

The M42 still had some roadworks last weekend but traffic seemed to be running ok, albeit at 50mph. I don't get to see what the big trains are like as I am in hall 5 all weekend playing with little trains. As an alternative you could book your car into Birmingham International station car park in advance. It costs £9.50, should avoid the NEC queues and is a short , mostly covered walk to hall 5.  See https://prebook.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/en/

Edited November 16, 2023 by Chris M
url added

[dagrizz]

1 hour ago, StuAllen said:

Looking forward to the event this year, are there still road works on the M42? Been a few weeks since I’ve been that way. I know the parking queues were bad last year, so thinking of heading to Coventry and  catching the train from there instead, what are the trains like? Do they get busy? We’re driving up from Sussex, and heading to Bath for their Christmas market on Sunday

Suggest you take the M1/M45/A45 as far as the Phantom Coach pub, turn left and follow Charter Avenue to its end and turn right to Tile Hill station. Big car park with free parking at the weekend. Cheap day return to B'ham Intl is £2.90. This saves parking charges in Coventry and having to tangle with Saturday traffic in Cov.

 

Graham

[rogerzilla]

There are lots of stations a short and inexpensive ride from the NEC.  Avoids the queues on the M42 and to get into the car park, which can be horrendous.  The time/aggravation saving was more important than the cost saving!

[big jim]

24 minutes ago, rogerzilla said:

There are lots of stations a short and inexpensive ride from the NEC.  Avoids the queues on the M42 and to get into the car park, which can be horrendous.  The time/aggravation saving was more important than the cost saving!

just watch the front end of the car doesn’t get nicked! 

[Michael Hodgson]

On 12/11/2023 at 19:02, Michael Hodgson said:

I have an advance ticket for this year's Warley show, but won't be able to attend, so I'm offering it free to the first person to post on here that they'd like it.

No takers ?

If anybody wants it, I'll need your address to post it before the show.

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, Michael Hodgson said:

No takers ?

If anybody wants it, I'll need your address to post it before the show.

 

Now taken 😀

[Phatbob]

On 15/11/2023 at 14:53, DLT said:

Has anyone tried foam gym matting to stand on behind your layout?  Thinking about the fatigue of two days standing on a concrete floor!

Thanks,

Dave.

I've been using the interlocking foam mats for years now.  Thoroughly recommended by my knees and ankles! ;-)

[MarkSG]

I'm thinking of taking the train all (or almost all) the way to Warley this year. Even with a change at New Street, Worcestershire Parkway to BIH is significantly quicker than my door to door driving route from home, and that's before taking into account roadworks. Although driving to Parkway first, rather than driving all the way to the NEC, does result in, at least theoretically, a longer overall door to door time from home to the NEC, I suspect that a fair bit of that will be offset by a shorter distance from the station to Hall 5 than from the car park to Hall 5, and if the traffic is as bad this year as it was last year then the headline time of using Parkway for park+ride will be quicker than the real world drive time.

 

That does, though, assume that the trains run on time. Given that I'll have to be going on the Sunday (as I have another event I need to be at on the Saturday), that may not necessarily be guaranteed. So I probably won't make the decision itself until that day, and I'll check the departure boards first before deciding whether to drive or ride.

[Ian Morgan]

Last time I went to the Warley show, they has an electric car charger in the multi-storey car park. This year, they have nearly 200 chargers in the car parks. Better still, the charger at the hotel I believe we are booked in to takes my company  Allstar card for payment.

 

[Wolf27]

Has anyone had the misfortune of using the NEC Voyage Control website for booking vehicle passes for build up? It must have been designed by someone who absolutely hates IT and anyone that wants to use it. I'm stuck in an infinite loop trying to book a slot and now think it would be easier to catch the train and walk in. I downloaded the user guide and that has 18 steps of how to make a booking. Its utterly ridiculous. I really cant be bothered and its putting me off ever wanting to go there again.

[johndon]

19 minutes ago, Wolf27 said:

Has anyone had the misfortune of using the NEC Voyage Control website for booking vehicle passes for build up? It must have been designed by someone who absolutely hates IT and anyone that wants to use it. I'm stuck in an infinite loop trying to book a slot and now think it would be easier to catch the train and walk in. I downloaded the user guide and that has 18 steps of how to make a booking. Its utterly ridiculous. I really cant be bothered and its putting me off ever wanting to go there again.

 

I managed to get it done a couple of weeks ago but it was far from a pleasant experience...

[Wolf27]

I can’t even get past the initial make a booking tab, it flashes up then disappears and take me back to the card details screen. It’s either broken or so crap it given up on itself in disgust for being so difficult. 

[Revolution Ben]

 

Hello all,

 

Revolution Trains will be at Warley again.

 

Our stand this year has moved as we have increased the size - we are on the far wall directly in front of the entrance.  For more details of what we will have in display, and a floorplan showing our location, please see the new page on our website.

 

See you at the weekend!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[Chris M]

This floor plan shows where to find Revolution Trains with a big red arrow. There is also a ring around the N gauge blocks in purple.