What determines how long you stay at a layout at an exhibition?

[andyram]

You ought to be look at a layout and have a fair idea of which season it's set in, but the exact date or even the year might be a bit ambiguous unless there is a "Man lands on Moon" or "King Abdicates" on a newspaper headline board (although saying you're modelling an exact date usually attracts the level of derision reserved for rivet counters). So it's easy to accept a layout's set period might be over a number of years, especially if it means certain public favourites can be included over the time period that might never have met in real life, if this includes a popular loco in different liveries then why shouldn't be included in the stocklist (although I'd agree having them out front at the same time wouldn't be good).

 

It's a pity one of the big manufacturers hasn't yet released 47555, as it was guaranteed to appear absolutely everywhere. It would make a good limited edition twinpack.

Just to clarify. The two models were the same number and livery.

[newbryford]

I usually stay as long as it takes to pack up and load the layout....................

 

Cheers,

Mick 

[Baby Deltic]

I usually don't hang around layouts long when things aren't running.......... after all, its best not to stay put after you've asked the operators if a replacement bus service is running.

[TheQ]

Sadly these days how long I stay at a layout is how knackered I am, it's a long way to anywhere from the coast of Norfolk. So the last trip to Warley ( 4-5 hour each way) at the NEC will probably be my last unless I can afford a hotel.

 

Once I do get to the layouts the length of time depends on the below in decending order;

 

 Is it modelled as good as I do or better (most of them are better!!)  I wish to pick up ideas!

 Is it of the region, / period or specific interest I wish to see,

 Is it being run in an interesting manner (ie not flat out trains all the time or nothing happening at all)

 I do like a chat occationally about the layout.

 I don't like huge crowds, So I tend to be there at opening time have a look round / raid the stalls for bargains, then retreat during the peak hours for a cup of tea etc, then as the crowds ease I will go back and study any particular layout or demonstration I am interested in.

The Q

[C&WR]

I usually don't hang around layouts long when things aren't running.......... after all, its best not to stay put after you've asked the operators if a replacement bus service is running.

 

Judging by Didcot Station during the Reading works I suspect that would cost a fortune for thousands of little figures standing about waiting while other little figures with clipboards & hi-vis have a fag & don't do much.  Great savings would be made on buses, though, as the very few there wouldn't be moving

[grahame]

 So why not operate from the front, admire the view against the backscene the public sees, and interact with the visitors? Must be better than staring them in the face in the vague hope they may come up with some easy to answer yet interesting and unusual question actually about your layout?

 

I'm not always a fan of front operation. Often the operator has their back to the viewers/crowd (which is rude, means they don't interface with the public and makes it hard to catch their attention) and they can block or restrict the viewing of the layout (some even seem oblivious to that fact). Obviously that is not the case on all front operated layouts, but it does happen all too frequently.

 

G.

[Suzie]

I'm not always a fan of front operation. Often the operator has their back to the viewers/crowd (which is rude, means they don't interface with the public and makes it hard to catch their attention) and they can block or restrict the viewing of the layout (some even seem oblivious to that fact). Obviously that is not the case on all front operated layouts, but it does happen all too frequently.

 

G.

 

One front operated layout I saw the other day (or at least tried to see) had two operators and they were even blocking one another's view of the layout through its letterbox viewing window. No hope of getting a good view while something was running, and even the operators looked cross at their frustration of not being able to see the layout properly. All I can tell you about it was the front fascia was painted black!

[bluebottle]

The only front-operated layouts that I can remember being operated effectively were those with hands-off coupling and small enough for the operator to remain seated to one side facing along the layout, making it easier to communicate with his/her audience.

[C&WR]

Thanks!

 

Oooh, just seen you are due at Wycrail.  I moved to the area last year and have missed every local show since - lthough I have a Rugby match in the afternnon I may try and persuade The Long Haired COntroller we can get to that late.  If we do I will come & make myself known!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Oooh, just seen you are due at Wycrail.  I moved to the area last year and have missed every local show since - lthough I have a Rugby match in the afternnon I may try and persuade The Long Haired COntroller we can get to that late.  If we do I will come & make myself known!

 

Look forward to seeing you there... My real name is Nick (we have name badges) and I am the youngest (all relatively speaking of course!) of the group.

[Kenton]

 

we have name badges

A very good sign. It at least enables the RMWeb visitor to approach and say Hello.

 

Quite often folk on here say "come and say hello, I'll be operating on xyz layout" Then when you go to the layout you find so are half a dozen others and no one knows your name or has heard about RMWeb.

 

... and that's before I introduce myself .. I understand folk running a mile when I do.

[edcayton]

One thing that makes me linger longer is the layout running to a timetable with an explanation of what is going on. I don't care if this is by flip cards or on a computer screen (although they must be in sync!). Two of my favourite exhibition layouts have been Tebay and Thirdley, both of which do or did this brilliantly.

 

Ed

[Southernman46]

My knees !!

[gwrrob]

The quality of trade as well as the layouts.Once you've seen one box shifter etc.Its a shame the specialist suppliers are being  'priced out' at the large shows as the shows are poorer for it. Also I agree with Colin in post 154 and crowd levels and behaviour.

[MarkSG]

This is a really good question, and one which made me think a lot about the answer. A lot depends on whether I'm alone or have the family with me; in the latter case I'm far more constrained by having to keep the children happy, and that usually means moving on fairly swiftly (unless there's a Thomas layout I can leave them at while I spend time elsewhere!). But, if I'm on my own, then a lot of things come into play. In no particular order:

 

Scenery. I like layouts with plenty of stuff that isn't just trains. Really good scenery I can admire for ages, like I would a work of art in a gallery (which, in a sense it is), even if there's not much going on.

 

Movement. On the other hand, I like to see things happening. If it's a roundy-roundy then I like to see trains going round. If it's a shunting plank then plenty of shunting. I could watch good shunting for hours.

 

Multiple viewing angles. I like to be able to shuffle along a layout and get different impressions from different positions. Bonus points here if the scenery has plenty of detail that needs to be viewed from multiple positions in order to be appreciated. Equally, more bonus points if there is more than one focus of operations - maybe a goods yard that's separate from the passenger station, or a branch line as well as a main line.

 

An unusual or distinctive prototype. If you can avoid the "been there, seen that" feel to a lot of more commonly modelled eras and settings then that's likely to make me stay for longer. 

 

Conversely, there are some things that tend to put me off:

 

Lighting. I tend not to stay for long at poorly lit layouts. And  by that I don't just mean dimly lit. The "planet of three suns" effect of badly positioned spotlights can be just as off-putting.

 

Too many presentation errors, particularly in the scenery. I'm not a rivet counter, but I do care about getting the setting and overall atmosphere right. Too many mistakes in this area start to grate after a very short time.

 

Jerky and unprototypical movement. I get put off very quickly by trains that accelerate as if they were E-type Jags.

 

TMDs. Nothing wrong with them per se, I just find a lot of them rather boring.

 

And some things that I'm broadly neutral about:

 

Scale/gauge/era/location. Although I do like to see something that's genuinely different (see above), I'm not too fussed about the more common combinations. Even though I've always modelled UK steam in OO myself, I can appreciate diesels, electrics and non-UK locations in a wide variety of scales.

[Debs.]

Quite often folk on here say "come and say hello, I'll be operating on xyz layout" Then when you go to the layout you find so are half a dozen others and no one knows your name or has heard about RMWeb.

 

That has happened to me! ............`following an invitation to 'say hello'; only to find that the active layout operator had never heard of the chap I `d asked-after or RM-web (it subsequently transpired the chap in question was away at luncheon and was known by his mates only by his somewhat disassociated-nickname).

[hornbyandbf3fan]

Whilst operating my layout, I found that people would stay longer if I had a big loco such as a Black 5 appear t take away a rake rather than just me shunting with my Ivatt. Although that might have something to do with it not being finished.

[Talltim]

I usually stay as long as it takes to pack up and load the layout....................

 

Cheers,

Mick 

I normally try to take the one voted best in show....

[bbishop]

This thread has been incredibly useful to the Höchstädt team as we consider how we will operate this layout in public.  However a prototypical German endstation (BLT in English) was unlikely to have signals, and so communication would be a mixture of locomotive horns, verbal commands and hand signals.  We will replicate this on Höchstädt; so if the station master and driver are negotiating a move, then that is what they would do (scaled by 1:45) on the prototype. 

 

You will find our thoughts on operating the layout on the Höchstädt thread.

 

Bill

[Gilbert]

Oh yes, and at the risk of covering old ground, there is nothing more irritating than someone who dismisses (often quite vocally) your efforts purely because 'it's foreign'. Sadly that is one of the most common reasons for people bypassing a layout, but as has been said a few times on here, you cannot please everybody and a good show (with the obvious exceptions of specialist or society shows) will have enough variety to cater for all but the most picky tastes... 

 

I recall with a wry smile - there's no point in being offended -  a show here in the south west where my own "Gilbert Junction" and another US HO layout were located in a class room in the school providing the venue. I'd say that more than half of the folk who looked in the door did not come in. Both layouts are of a fair standard and well presented with CM articles in their CVs and operating teams who were giving out useful info on things like DCC, Kadees, wooden structure modelling and US modelling in general to those who did come in.

Chris

[roundhouse]

How long do I stay at a layout?

 

Until my relief operator turns up!!!

[bluebottle]

I recall with a wry smile - there's no point in being offended -  a show here in the south west where my own "Gilbert Junction" and another US HO layout were located in a class room in the school providing the venue. I'd say that more than half of the folk who looked in the door did not come in. Both layouts are of a fair standard and well presented with CM articles in their CVs and operating teams who were giving out useful info on things like DCC, Kadees, wood en strructure modelling and US modelling in general to those who did come in.

Chris

 

That is sad, Chris. I've never been farther west than Stranraer, but having been exposed to American cultural icons throughout my life – Roy Rogers, Superman, Fred Zinnemann's“ High Noon”, Damon Runyon, Arthur Miller, Edward Hopper etc. etc. - in a sense, the US scene has more attraction for me than, say, the GWR (Nah, I won't bother with a smiley!)

In any case, at an exhibition, I make a point of giving every layout a chance to show me something of interest and getting at least one snap of each for RM web. I appreciate other's pictures when I haven't been able to attend, so I try to return the favour.

The grouping of similar layouts practised at some larger exhibitions can be useful to those whose time is limited, but one should try to show a little solidarity with the hobby's community as a whole.

I wish you better support at future shows!

[Clive Mortimore]

I have been reflecting on what quite a few people have been saying. Please could exhibition managers not invite TMDs, like mine http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/61979-hanging-hill/  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67810-brisbane-roada-new-pig-lane/ to shows as no one seems to want to see them.

[bike2steam]

I have been reflecting on what quite a few people have been saying. Please could exhibition managers not invite TMDs, like mine http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/61979-hanging-hill/  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67810-brisbane-roada-new-pig-lane/ to shows as no one seems to want to see them.

I was discussing the idea of TMD's/engine shed layout with a group of about 20 model railway enthusiasts after our last show at Blandford a few weeks ago. I seems the majority find 'stand alone' engine sheds somewhat boring, but if the shed is next to at least a double track main line where you can see the locos that come on/go off shed actually working ( after a small 'off scene' delay) to an obvious operational timetable, then that was preferred.

[MJI]

The quality of trade as well as the layouts.Once you've seen one box shifter etc.Its a shame the specialist suppliers are being  'priced out' at the large shows as the shows are poorer for it. Also I agree with Colin in post 154 and crowd levels and behaviour.

 

Well I quite like CMC but those small trade suppliers are simply essential