SHMRC Portsmouth Model Railway Exhibition on Saturday 18th November 2023

[kipford]

The South Hants Model Railway Club will host the annual Portsmouth Model Railway Exhibition on Saturday 18th November 2023 at:

 

Admiral Lord Nelson School on Dundas Lane, Portsmouth, PO3 5XT

 

Opening time between 10:30 and 16:30.

 

As usual we have a carefully chosen selection of top-class model railway layouts and demonstrators, supported by a loyal band of traders and ‘gauge’ societies.

 

There is limited parking at the school, but the Ocean Retail Park opposite the school has free unlimited parking (except for McDonalds which has a time limit).

 

We are aware that money is tight for many people and we have tried to kep our admission prices as low as possible at £7 for adults with accompanied children (under16) going free. Card payment facilities will be available.

 

Layouts

Westcliff                                             4mm/ft, EM Gauge

Richard Butlers multi award winning piece of GWR by the sea celebrates its 20th anniversary since it first appeared at the 2003 SHMRC show as a layout under construction. Westcliff is a ‘might have been’ whose location is based on the Dorset seaside town of West Bay, Bridport’s harbour, as it might have evolved by the 1920s.

 

Drsw y Nant                                       2mm/ft, 9.42mm gauge

Nigel Ashtons beautiful 2mm Fine Scale model of a GWR passing station. Drws y Nant is a passing station on the GWR Ruabon to Barmouth route, situated between Bala and Dolgellau in a wooded valley in Mid-Wales.

 

Flintcome                                           4mm/ft, P4 Gauge

An old favourite from the East Dorset Gang of Four, the layout represents the end of a fictional spur running to the south west from the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) at Sturminster Newton.

 

Foston Mills                                       7mm/ft, 0 Gauge

Stubcroft Farm Studios Railway Circle presents a slice of the North Holderness Light Railway running from Beverley to North Frodingham in East Yorkshire, a “very nearly built” railway.

 

Hepton Wharf                                    4mm/ft P4 gauge

South Hants MRC are honoured to have in its care, two classic layouts associated with the late Iain Rice and the late Don Leeper. Hepton Wharf was one of the very first ‘cameo’ layouts and is well known (perhaps notorious!) for having been built in a weekend at Scaleforum in 1993. The layout was subsequently modified to include a passenger platform, signalling and a second fiddle yard.

We intend to maintain this layout in working condition, more or less as built, as a tribute to Iain and Don and to show the ‘state of the art’ in 1993.

The second layout is Longwood Edge which is not quite completed and which we hope to complete and show at our exhibition next year.

Both layouts are covered extensively in Iain’s book ‘Creating Cameo Layouts’.

 

Modbury                                             2mm/ft 9.42mm gauge

Ian Smith’s Modbury 2mm Finescale layout represents a Great Western “might have been” through station in South Devon as it could have appeared in the Edwardian period, c.1906, with the track built to represent baulk road.

 

Lee-on-the -Solent                            4mm/ft, P4 gauge

South Hants MRC. The Lee-on-the-Solent Light Railway was a bold town planning attempt of the late 1800s. The promoters hoped that here was a watering place with everything going for it: a splendid beach, a pleasant climate, superb views across to the Isle of Wight, the sheltered areas of the Solent for boating. Sadly, the line became a burden to the SR and consequently the last train ran on 29th October 1935.

The layout was originally built by, Colin Hayward, and It was one of the early examples of a layout built to P4 standards and it made its debut at the South Hampshire Railway Modellers exhibition in October 1981.

 

Northport Quay                                 7mm/ft, 36.75mm gauge

Presented by David Holman, this is a ‘cameo’ layout, representing a small harbour in County Mayo on the north west coast of Ireland, Inspired by the Westport Quay branch., The track gauge in Ireland is 5’3 [or 1.6m], so in 7mm scale that means scratchbuilt, 36.75mm gauge, with Code 100 flat bottomed rail. Stock is likewise all kit or scratchbuilt.

 

Tidworth                                             4mm/ft, OO gauge

Ian Blackall’s layout set in the NSE era. A ‘What if’ layout looking at what could have happened if the ex-Midland & South Western Junction Railway route had survived between Romsey and Swindon via Andover Junction due to its importance as a secondary route from the North to the docks at Southampton and the military line to Tidworth was upgraded to a public service

 

Yewston Road                                   4mm/ft OO gauge

David and Alison Barker. Yewston Road is a former LNWR motive power depot somewhere in the north-west of England.  Originally built as a home layout by John Hilton of Romsey and never exhibited, it was purchased in 2014 and after some additional work is now being exhibited.

 

Yard No. 2                                          4mm/ft, P4 gauge

By David Barrett, The layout is based in the general London area with a LNWR warehouse and small coal yard located off of a minor route operated by another company. This was a common practice not only in London but elsewhere. As a result, the operation could be by a number of different companies with a flexible timescale.

 

Widley and St George                      4mm/ft, OO gauge

Our layoutfor the younger visitors. Come and drive trains pulled by Thomas, Percy and friends. A small fee is payable to pay for the layout upkeep.

 

Traders

Modelstock - ABS 4mm

Book Law Publications

Coastal DCC

Squires Tools

Model Railway Developments

C&L Finescale

Dingo Servo Mounts

London Road Models

Tim Horn Lasercutting

The Model Shop

Wheels of Southsea

 

Societies

EM Gauge Society

2mm Finescale Society

Scalefour Society

MERG

 

Demonstrators

Soldering: Roger Sawyer

Scenic  Modelling: Roy Hickman

From 3D CAD to 3D Print: Duncan Redford

 

SHMRC Club Stand

If you are interested in learning more about the SHMRC, please come and visit the

club stand and talk to one of the members who can tell you all about us and what we have to offer.

Also on the stand, we have an Inglenook shunting puzzle which is operable but still to be completed scenically. All visitors are welcome to visit the stand and try their skills at shunting wagons.

 

More details of layouts, traders, demonstrators and societies, plus details of how to get there, can be found on the Club's website - https://www.shmrc.org.uk/exhibition/

 

Please note this list is correct as of 05/10/23

Edited October 13, 2023 by kipford

[kipford]

NEWS FLASH!

The 4mm scale range of ABS is being relaunched and the new owner has chosen the SHMRC show for the occasion.

 

The new trading name is : Modelstock – ABS 4mm

 

The following was supplied by the new owner for inclusion in our show guide:

 

Modelstock is the new home of the ABS 4mm model railway kit and accessory ranges which were acquired in 2020 after the very sad passing away of Adrian Swain. Adrian was an excellent modeller and caster snd his kits and accessory packs have always been extremely popular.

We will be reintroducing as many of the ABS kits and detailing packs as is viable and also introducing some new vehicles which Adrian had been working on which never got to market owing to his declining health. It is also planned to facelift all of the original kit instruction sheets in both printed and electronic form, improving the exploded drawings and assembly information using modern CAD and publishing tools.

A website is under construction which will include a webshop where all the currently available kits and accessories can be purchased online and posted out to you. You can find us online at www.modelstock.co.uk

 

So if you want know more come along to the show and meet the new owner and see what his plans are.

[Jol Wilkinson]

An excellent line up, promises to be a great show as usual and looking forward to it.

 

Will I be able to claim the furthest travelled visitor award (169 miles from Felixstowe)?

[EmporiaSub]

6 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

An excellent line up, promises to be a great show as usual and looking forward to it.

 

Will I be able to claim the furthest travelled visitor award (169 miles from Felixstowe)?

But I’m coming by ferry……

[Jol Wilkinson]

On 06/11/2023 at 20:29, EmporiaSub said:

But I’m coming by ferry……

Sadly we have had to cancel our trip to Portsmouth so I won't be able to ask how the ferry trip was. We were supposed to be going to the IOW on Sunday but our visit had to be postponed which made the weekend trip too expensive for just the visit to the show.

[Donw]

I will be on the ferry. I was going to be on foot but a quarter of an hour from the bus stop in heavy rain means we will take the car over.

 

Don

[brightspark]

Just finished packing a few things for the EMGS stand. Do come by and say hello. I will bring along a couple of my Airfix loco's including the model of 34055 described here. Plus my conversion and upgrade of a Hornby Merchant Navy described here.

[Tim V]

Cracking show as always, highlight for me was Drys-y-Nant, a station I visited near 50 years ago.

 

Catering is the high point - school dinners - but couldn't take cards. Then I remembered - kids don't have cards!

[Donw]

It was a really good show all the layouts were of top quality.  Things that stand out for me Modbury especially the railmotor. Drws y Nant capturing the feel of the place. Northport Quay especially the boat. Foston Mill especially the river and millpond. I liked the sound of the surf on Westcliff as well as the modelling. A good day out.

 

The Fishbourne to Portsmouth ferry was fine.  I am glad I took the Van. My legs felt the standing  up all day apart from the chance to sit at the 2mm stand for a while chatting. If I came over on foot I wouldn't have appreciated the walk from the bust stop.

 

I enjoyed the school dinner rather better than in my day.

 

I probably spent more than I intended with the traders but that probably helps them.

 

Don

[Gilbert]

Sorry I missed it...

Chris

[EmporiaSub]

22 hours ago, Donw said:

I will be on the ferry. I was going to be on foot but a quarter of an hour from the bus stop in heavy rain means we will take the car over.

 

Don

Hardly got wet in the end, the rain wasn’t as heavy as expected.

09.45 FastCat was heaving, bus journey on the mainland was straightforward, and the final walk was in the dry.

Anyway, enjoyed the show, excellent quality of layouts even though my interests are either Continental or BR (and later) diesels.

I did especially enjoy Northport Quay, 7mm Irish Rail layout, and a 5’3” track gauge replicated too.

[EmporiaSub]

A small selection of the layouts.

[Bungus the Fogeyman]

Quote

Sorry I missed it...

Chris

So am I, I was hoping to purvey some quality railway literature to you at a keen price🤣.

Seriously, the Book Law team had a good day amid some excellent trade and quality layouts. I was particularly taken by the Irish O gauge, although it was nice to see the old stagers of Hepton Brook and Lee on the Solent again ( although my suggestion that a Class 73 and a couple of VEA vans would look nice on Lee was met with some stony stares!). I also liked Chairman Dave's inglenook shunting plank, which he evidently cobbled together very quickly (any photos of it chaps?) which looked very effective with a weathered B4 and a handful of wagons. It was also pleasing to see that there was always some young person happily shunting away on there when I walked past. Other clubs may wish to take note- if we're going to attract youngsters into the hobby, belting Thomas round a track is fine and dandy for the under 5s but those slightly older require something more absorbing to attract them in, and this inglenook seemed to be doing just that!

Just my thoughts on a very good day. Well done chaps and chappesses!

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

 

PS Picked up the bargains of the day from the second hand stall. A Hornby coke wagon for a poorly octopus (£6) and a handful of p4 points, including a double slip, for the princely sum of £2!!

[OwenTheSignal]

First time visit to the SHMRC show in Portsmouth yesterday. Very impressed by the variety of layouts and particularly how many were to finescale gauges. Nice also to see a good range of layouts representing railways from outside the south, including included L&Y, NER and Irish locations
 

First up, photos of Hepton Wharf. Really nice to see an Iain Rice layout, built with Don Leeper and team. Astonished to read on the Scalefour site that the core of it was built over a weekend!!!

 

Album of the show (photos of more layouts being added today): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB3TSt

 

Love a railmotor and the L&Y Kerr Stewarts were particularly attractive

 

LNWR gunpowder van on the wharf, with the Lancashire or Yorkshire(?) hills in the background

 

In the yard

 

 

Up the lane

[OwenTheSignal]

Next up, Lee-on-the-Solent. Loved this model of a local station on the beach.

Enjoyed seeing several models of prototypes in 4mm/P4 that I'm hoping to build as part of my own LSWR line in Gauge 3, including the O2 (already have a kit) and particularly the fruit van that was a regular sight at local stations in south Hampshire during strawberry season.

 

Album of the show (photos of more layouts being added today): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB3TSt

Terrier 735 (bought from the LBSCR) draws into the station with a short mixed train. Lovely view along the seafront, very nicely modelled 

 

Close up of the LSWR Terrier. Nice to see the quirky LSWR roof mounted push-pull equipment modelled. This was replaced fairly quickly by the LBSCR air-operated system after the grouping

 

O2 207 with a short goods train. I prefer these low-roof O2s over the later high roof examples

 

O2 with the fruit van, a classic local Hampshire scene in peak fruit season

 

The O2 ready to depart

 

Some local coal merchants

[brightspark]

I thought that it was a very enjoyable show. 

In previous years bacon sandwiches were offered before the show opened and the same this year. But as I had to park the car the trolley had finished it's rounds. So I headed off the cafeteria and was surprised to find that they are offering a full breakfast service. Duly noted for next year.

 

The EMGS stand had a lot of traffic and for interest I will break down the enquires.

• Quite a lot of  people were curious as to what EM gauge was and I was able to spend some with them explaining scale and gauge and how we ended up with OO being the manufacturers choice size.  Of note that many people had not heard of EM or P4 or any of the odd scales. So for them, this was a revelation that there was life beyond the Hornby trainset. 
• Next we had a few people who are aware of EM, wanted to know more. This ranged from what scale is it , is it the same as OO? and can I run EM on OO track. These enquiries were almost the same as the group above.
• Then we had some people who would like to have a go at this but considered that their collection of locos etc was too big a task. When I suggested that they consider a small project, like the Inglenook that was next us (and my Daisy Sidings) a whole new world opened up to them.
• We then had a few people who were seriously considering having a go and talking about how to go about conversion of locomotives and building track.  Of course the EMGS sell a ready to plonk point and track. Plus the kits etc from the likes of C&L.  The common question is can I just pull the wheels out? To which the answer is, it depends. Diesels quite likely, steam engines - no. And the gentleman who wanted to convert to Irish standard gauge, you will need new axles. 

To add further comment to Bungus the Fogeyman a couple of posts back, the last and most interesting group that were the children. One still being carried in their mothers arms who was studying each locomotive on display with keen interest. Slightly older kids showed interest in EM gauge as in the first para above. With one showing a great deal of interest in the AJ couplings, who must have been around 9 or 10. 

So kids do not always need or want Thomas the Tank and we should not afraid of showing them so-called finescale. That is the future of the hobby - exposure when they are young. As well as showing them that there is more than a train set.

 

I also grabbed the chance to walk around the show. I only managed a quick look at each layout, some familiar others less so. Hepton was a delight to see and to be able to get up close. There is a lot more detail in there than I realised. The various 2mm layouts were all outstanding.

I had to congratulate Jerry Clifford (Queensquare) for having a painted model on his display.  As I normally see his models in ex-works unpainted brass. This is, of course, a bit of light hearted banter, but I was delighted to see his finished models and wow! the painting and lettering are superb. 

 

It was also great to see the ABS range coming back onto the market. There was nothing there for me this time, but hopefully some more of the castings will come back into production. 

 

I had with me some modelling to do, a wagon kit, but succeeded in touching none of it.

 

So a successful day.

 

Andy

[Bungus the Fogeyman]

Quote

So kids do not always need or want Thomas the Tank and we should not afraid of showing them so-called finescale. That is the future of the hobby - exposure when they are young. As well as showing them that there is more than a train set.

Stu Davies (Lapford 34102) and myself once considered doing Thomas the Tank Engines Terminus (Knapford was it? I can't remember) in EM just to hack some of the rivet counters off a little while back!

As daft as it may sound, using the Rev W Awdrys books as a research source isn't such a bad thing. Anybody who has seen Tom Fosters work will know just how good it can be....Just a thought!

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

[kipford]

On behalf of the SHMRC I would like to thank all the exhibitors, traders and of course the general public who attended our show yesterday. Numbers were about just above last year so we are happy bunnies. Everyone we spoke to, Layouts, Trader’s and the visitors all seemed to have enjoyed themselves. We think the choice of layouts presented something for everyone to enjoy along with a nice, varied selection of trade support. A couple of weeks to get over the show and we resume planning for next years show, which layout wise is pretty much there. Anyway thanks to all again and see everyone same place on Saturday 16th November 2023.

Jol

Sorry you could not make the show, I was looking forward to meeting up again, but you would not have won the furthest travelled. That goes to two gentlemen from Fort Worth in Texas who were on a trip to the UK and in their itinerary chose our exhibition to visit! I had a long chat with them and they were very impressed with variety of scales, layout and standard of modelling we had on offer

Bungas,  

Good to know you had a good show. The couple of photos I took at at the beginning of the week of the Inglenook are rubbish but I have included one which had the LED light from my workshop in place before I finished the proper pelmet, I was too busy getting it as far is it was and also doing stuff needed for the show to take any more. As you said it was popular with the older of our young visitors. With my own Brighton East layout we regularly let youngsters have a drive a exhibitions, after all the worst that can happen is they hit the buffers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by kipford
Photo edit

[brightspark]

1 hour ago, Bungus the Fogeyman said:

Stu Davies (Lapford 34102) and myself once considered doing Thomas the Tank Engines Terminus (Knapford was it? I can't remember) in EM just to hack some of the rivet counters off a little while back!

As daft as it may sound, using the Rev W Awdrys books as a research source isn't such a bad thing. Anybody who has seen Tom Fosters work will know just how good it can be....Just a thought!

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

Ah yes. Tom Foster has approached the subject very well and from a different angle by removing the faces and using the Reverends background story. This is a nice departure away from the traditional Thomas presentation.

I would love to see your Knapford done in the same style.

 

[Donw]

I never got to have a look at the Inglenook  it was so busy with Kids the levers are a good idea I suspect the kids enjoy that. When I used to take an exhibition layout out, I used to let them have a go on the controls. They had little trouble with that but absolutely had no idea what shunting was about.  Of course they wouldn't have seen it done for real whereas being in my Seventies I spent a lot of time as a kid watching shunts. 

Judging by the standard yesterday  I would be proud to be invited.

 

Don

[queensquare]

The  Portsmouth show is consistently one of the best of the year and this years was no exception. A superb range of exhibits and traders, well done to all involved.

We were kept vey busy on the 2mm demo and Roadshow, helped greatly by the fact that there were two of the best 2FS layouts on the circuit in attendance.

Looking forward to next year already,

 

Jerry

[drduncan]

Demonstrating 3D printing I didn’t stop until about 3.45. I even had to proffer excuses to one group of listeners in order to get my lunch before the excellent catering closed. I suppose demonstrators are doing something right if they don’t get to see the show! 
 

Again there was lots of interest (I wish I was getting a commission from Anycubic) ranging from what is it and how do I do it? To more detailed questions about software and specific design issues - as well as what can go wrong and why.

 

It was, from start to finish an excellent day. Well done Dave and Jonathan.

 

Duncan