RMweb Premium melmerby Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 16, 2014 Mulling this over having given a mixed review: Would I go again? yes What would I do differently? I would make more effort so I got the most out of it. Having seen exactly what it was all about I would go with a different approach. Although it was correctly described in the publicity, seeing it in the flesh is worth a thousand words. I had a small shopping list which i hoped to get some of, but the traders there were not the right mix. (I actually only spent £5 and that was from a rummage box!) I wouldn't bother with the shopping and concentrate more on the layouts/demos/theatre Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 As an operator on Vale Of Oxbury, on its 5th outing now, this was, (in our opinions as I also speak for Carl, Mike & Adrian), the best organised, easiest to set up and dismantle, a perfect venue for us, and it was great to meet so many on the Saturday social event. The food in the Devere was excellent, rooms were spot on, and only 2-3 minutes from the layout throughout the weekend. We couldn't fault it really, so thanks to Andy & the team for the invite. For those of you that know Vale Of Oxbury, at the close on Sunday, we had the stock away, all boxes packed up and the layout dismantled, and everything in the van, in just under 35 minutes !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I have just had another thought most if not all shows aimed as a society or specialist group attract a smaller footfall. Telford O gauge I understand gets just over 2000 people while the Scalefour society have just over half that number, I have no idea what the N gauge show gets, maybe someone could say. If the show is something is advertised as something different maybe that is another reason David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Playing with Carl's new 25 ( just acquired ), on a rake of petrol tankers running around the bay loop, on Vale Of Oxbury ( Sunday 4pm) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I have to second the commentary made by Pete (Trisonic) - and further, whinging about distance/cost/attendees/lack of "whatever", is both sad and amusing. I WENT to a show in the US this past weekend, nearest one to me, and the ONLY Model Railroad show (laughingly called that, in actuality an indoor car-boot sale more like it) in at least 400+ miles. It was "only" 6 USD to get in but for that all that was there were about 4 dozen vendor TOPS (the term vendor should be used LOOSLY!!), mostly old duffers trying to palm off tables of crap from their basements, many of it at way inflated prices, 80% of the stuff being Lionel/O Gauge, much of it rusting and tired, three really REALLY tatty "layouts", if you can call roundy-rounds with little or no scenery a layout, it ran for about 6 hours and was in a nutshell poor at best. There were NO demonstrations, NO presentations and NO industry/publication representatives present, oh and NO food/beverage vendors in the hall either. Why did I go? I was too optimistic that it'd be a reasonable thing to attend, and because the NEXT one is in November, then I think we have to wait till May for another, but that's just the Spring version of the tired event I attended - I had hoped to pick up at least some PECO track but no vendors there had any of that even (or NEW ATLAS, not that I'd buy that!!)! They're POOR events even if you model US outline, and can't begin to compare to the wealth of almost weekly choices you have in the UK. I'd gladly choose to pay 11 Quid entry and see the numerous vendors and variety of "real" layouts that were there and, like Pete, hope to visit a future RM Live event. I applaud the organizers and wish everyone the best for the future events, and hope the vendors/traders found enough punters spending money to return. The reviews and pictures I've seen would have me attend in a minute even if it was 15 quid to get in! Count your blessings, attend if you have an interest and support the organizers of the event, the vendors and exhibitors, "please"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 I wouldn't mind driving 100s of miles if my petrol was only 2p a gallon or whatever.... Edit..(bored watching Liverpool play football) current av price according to t'internet US $3.80/gallon, UK $9.50/gallon, both based on per litre price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 I wouldn't mind driving 100s of miles if my petrol was only 2p a gallon or whatever.... Maybe Phil, but personally I think I'd rather take the train...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Anotheran Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 I will definitely attend next year. What's more, I'd like to see the option on line to buy a ticket for both days as after this year I would do that... I simply ran out of time as I only had 9:30 to 16:45 on Saturday. What would I change... well there was one layout rather marginalised out on the left hand edge of the hall as you come in (sorry I can't remember the name). It may have only been a simple small N gauge roundy, but there were some nice touches and the owner (or rather his dad when I was there) was very enthusiastic to talk about it. No layout should have been stuck out in the cold like that. Because the concept is doing as well as seeing, with all the demos associated, I would like to have seen more information on the layouts as to how things were done. Maybe a one sheet questionnaire that could be displayed that said something like "track - C&L hand built", "trees - hand-made from hemp string!", "baseboards - 9mm ply" "grass - static using Noch", "train control - DCC using Lenz", "points control - servos using MERG kits" etc. While this year I could ask all those questions myself I suspect next year the crowd will be bigger and I'll struggle so to do. And the one thing that I really liked about this show, that may be harder if the crowds are bigger, is being able to see round the back. If it's about doing rather than just seeing, then the back is as important as the front. I see the layouts as demos almost as much as I see the demonstrators as demos! As before... great show... and I'll be back, for two days! Neil Edit: and as for the name... how about "RMLive - The British Railway Modelling show" - has the draw of the RMWeb brand for members, but uses the mag name that states to the general public that have no idea what RMLive refers to, that it is about railway modelling. Of course it would be made even better if we could persuade the likes of Jason/Sandside/Bacup from the latest issue to detach his layout from the walls of his home and get it out and about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branksome71B Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I wouldn't mind driving 100s of miles if my petrol was only 2p a gallon or whatever.... There was a time it was a quarter of the UK price. As a regular US visitor I know the price has continued to rise; currently around $3.50 per gallon, UK is around $9. There are precious few gas guzzlers to be found in the US today (apart from 4X4). One frequently overlooked reason that fuel is cheaper in the US is distance of travel. Over price the product and nobody would make visits down the road to shops over 100 miles away. The UK continue to whinge over cost but we still go to work with just the driver in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 We might continue to whinge over cost, as you put it, but the serious point is that for some it is a big factor in the decision whether to attend an event that is over the horizon from where you live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Or drive on lpg? My local garage is expensive at 74.9p/l, Morrisons 10 miles away is 64.9p......and I've been running on it since year 2000 at about 20k miles per year. Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 No layout should have been stuck out in the cold like that. I agree and our apologies to Chris, the owner. There had been a change of layout but there would have been space of course to bring Little Oak Drier closer to other layouts but sometimes things look completely different in the hall in 3D compared to a 2D floorplan. We'll have a better visualisation of what will look good where now having had a weekend's experience when things get planned out. To Chris's credit he's tentatively offered something very interesting and different for the next show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dagworth Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 Edit: and as for the name... how about "RMLive - The British Railway Modelling show" - Then you'll get the moaners complaining that it's all British prototypes, or the moaners that "it was advertised as British so why is Fred's German layout in it?" You can't win no matter what you do... Andi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Anotheran Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 To Chris's credit he's tentatively offered something very interesting and different for the next show! Yes, he actually told me as much when I spoke to him. Which I was really pleased to hear as I thought he may have decided it wouldn't be worth it given his location. Andy, I hope you took my overall comment as very positive (even though the critical words outnumbered the positive ones in my post) as my view overall wsa very much positive...; otherwise I wouldn't be considering two days next year! Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Live - Railway Modelling Inspiration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Centurion Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I couldn't go - too far and family stuff to deal with. I must confess I am puzzled though about what made it so different to other Warners shows or RM Web Live events, most likely I expect you had to be there. I have been to numerous numbers of these other events - Ally Pally, Peterborough, is Warley a Warners event? Anyway these are always good shows with a good mix and what seems to be a large number of bums on seats so to speak. I was pointed to this forum by a former member who said this was the best one to be on, and he was right. He also advised me there is some animosity towards this forum from some other former members and I have seen glimpses of this elsewhere but this only seems to be a small handful of people. I would fully expect a lower than perhaps expected turnout is connected to unavoidable clashes (Expo seems to be popular though again too far for me anyway) and other more hard to pin point reasons. I don't travel great distances, the only exception being DEMU and didn't make that this year but when looking to see if I will go it's simply a case of what's on offer i.e. traders and layouts. Anything on top (like presentations and "zones") is a bonus. As for the social this is hit and miss, sometimes I will be hours chatting other times I won't speak to a soul - but this aspect is impossible to arrange by the organiser unless an actual meeting place is formed but in the past I have not got on with people who I thought I would by chatting online not met before and conversely hit it off those I had dismissed as a keyboard warrior lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteScR Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 The above gives the impression that (you believe) all shows are organised by the same bloke who can therefore choose which show to put up, which I can assure you it is definitely not the case! These shows are set up by a whole myriad of organisers, that have little or mostly none input in what any of the others are doing. Not really true. There are lists available to show organisers indicating what is taking place and when. The CMRA for example issue a list of events for the coming year well in advance and then there is the UK Modelshop Events directory. When I was an exhibition manager I used these resources all the time to avoid unnecessary clashes with other events. Warners will need to decide whether they wish to run another large commercial model railway show, and hope to attract the best layouts and trade, or just provide a socialising event for RMWeb members. The smaller RMWeb days were probably just as good from the socialising aspect I expect, and at much less cost and risk. I know from talking with serious modellers that the large commercial shows are a bit of a turn off, and that the smaller society or gauge specific "expo" type shows are best. I tend to agree. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 and can't begin to compare to the wealth of almost weekly choices you have in the UK. That is precisely the point, though. If RMweb Live had been one of only four shows taking place in the whole of the UK over the course of a year, the distance to travel and entry cost may have seen more worthwhile. However as things stand, not only are there much bigger shows around for the same price, even some of the provincial shows (like Basingstoke) seem to have more on display at a lower price, though admittedly without the demonstrations and lectures (which apart from floor space were probably fairly cheap to put on - my colleagues and I doing the cardboard kit demonstration didn't receive any expenses - and certainly it would be a rare demonstrator who would require van hire!). Indeed as someone mentioned, the show at the STEAM museum the same weekend was a slightly lower price - and included entry to the museum! The Great Electric Train show next month at Gaydon includes 26 layouts, plus demonstrators (including at least one who was at Coventry), plus entry to the Motor Museum - for the same price as the Members' Discount to RMWeb Live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Flynn Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Well I for one give thanks to the team for a great day out I enjoyed the talks - 3 off Cad work demo brilliant Static grass / tree demos great Had a really good private talk to Simon from Hornby Met up with Dave Jones and examined his samples Caught up with Chris on the China clay N gauge layout Had a good Chat with Andy (bodgit) Nice talk to Andy York Spent some money with Skytrex and a £30 Vitrains class 47 from mag sales stand Free parking and the home team won there match Ok it was light on attendance but it was easy to walk around and a pleasure not being knocked all over with rucksacks? And my final comment from small Acorns grows big and better things? Hugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 16, 2014 To be fair there was a healthy number of visitors who'd made round trips of more than 300 miles for a day at the show and overseas visitors who'd juggled their plans to fit the show in; I don't think distance is necessarily the issue for attendance. The locations is as centrally accessible (excluding air travel) as you can get if you give a weighting to population centres. I'd also say it's probably the venue (along with EM North) which has the shortest time for a major show from a motorway to walking in the door. As one "overseas visitor" (though I still feel that Cornwall and not Australia is home") and one who probably travelled the farthest in total to attend I would like to say that I was not disappointed with my day, nor with the content, but did feel the numbers present were a little light. Yes one more "big name" layout might have drawn more people. One more major retailer likewise. But this never was a layout exhibition and was always billed as something a bit different. The skill zones worked for me. I drew a lot of inspiration from those I spoke with and ticked all my "hope to" boxes. I was in the hall from 9.30 to 4.30 without a break and didn't notice the passage of time other than tired feet! It's true that I would not have come 12000 miles just for the event. It happened to be on while I am in the country for an extended family visit. But I would have gone anyway had I been living here permanently. I sincerely hope the event is repeated even if there is a change in venue or format. But please don't change what was good. The hands-on and accessible nature and skills-based demonstrations really did bring something different and the RMweb camaraderie to life. Don't become another layout exhibition. With respect to the hobby as a whole we have plenty of those. Saturday (and I'm sure Sunday too) was refreshing and different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Robert Shrives Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 Hi , I hope all who went had a good time on balance , I was at TINGS all weekend - very busy saturday and Sunday was good some feedback from those who visited both - both had good points but aimed at differing sectors and allowed a bit of a "growth pole" effect with folk visiting both over the two days. Centurion, Warley NEC exhibition is run by Warley club, having outgrown its old home so time ago and now is in Hall 5 which is the largest undivided hall at the NEC- used for the big Civil engineeering shows its floor has a 200+ ton capacity , this helps with the large loco centrepiece and all the extra models operators always bring !. The show is 22/23 Nov so hope you get to come along! The show is run by the club and has a volunteer committee of 12 or so that push the beast along assisted by all the active members and many friends on the weekend. Last year 17000 visited over the two days. The surplus on the show helps fund the clubs activites and local charities in Dudley and district. Like the RM Web live events it started small and has grown so hopefully future events will grow for Andy and RM Web. and sorry for hijack but Centurion did ask who ran Warley ! Cheers Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40F Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 . One more major retailer likewise. But this never was a layout exhibition and was always billed as something a bit different. The skill zones worked for me. I drew a lot of inspiration from those I spoke with and ticked all my "hope to" boxes. I was in the hall from 9.30 to 4.30 without a break and didn't notice the passage of time other than tired feet! I feel the trade was about right to many box shifters would have ruined it especially with the numbers through the door. I fully agree with the other posters that more emphasis should be put on drawing the general public as well as forum members. I would think that 10 to 20% of " members" are active at any one time and not all of those could make it to the show. As for the Arena staff as everybody else has stated very friendly and helpful. This was a steep learning curve for everybody and lessons will be learnt and comments taken on board so we shall await the next event with anticipation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I couldn't go - too far and family stuff to deal with. I must confess I am puzzled though about what made it so different to other Warners shows or RM Web Live events, most likely I expect you had to be there. I have been to numerous numbers of these other events - Ally Pally, Peterborough, Actually the more I ponder it, the more I wonder as well - it had all the feel of a standard Warners event - maybe its just that there are so many things going on in RMweb that the small sub-set of topics I interact with wasn't well represented? - I probably spent as long talking to members and ex-members of my own club (who I hardly ever see) at RMweb, and met almost as many friends at the Derby open day on the Saturday as I did at RMweb live on the Sunday. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Endacott Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 ...sorry for hijack but Centurion did ask who ran Warley ! You had better let Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council know about this because they think they run Warley (and lots of other parts of the West Midlands as well.) Geoff Endacott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Line Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Not really true. There are lists available to show organisers indicating what is taking place and when. The CMRA for example issue a list of events for the coming year well in advance and then there is the UK Modelshop Events directory. When I was an exhibition manager I used these resources all the time to avoid unnecessary clashes with other events. Unfortunately some groups or individuals in the hobby are doing the exact opposite of the collegiate and friendly hobbyist methodology suggested by Pete and ignore other events or book the same or immediately prior dates to existing shows... in what appears to be an attempt to play off the back of them and or hijack their trade, exhibits and visitors. (this does not include this event this year i hasten to add!). Furthermore i would not take the aforesaid sources or any other single source inc this forum as a definitive guide as to whats coming up in years to come, for a variety of reasons events have been missed of some or delayed in presenting details and so on resulting in their not being registered... also they should not be assumed in any way a full representation over 3 months ahead as many don't rush to put details up that far in advance as they rightly perceive the visitor will pay little charge as to what they might be doing that far in advance.. cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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