what is the greatest attendance at a model railways exhibition?

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi Ronnie

 

It was all the bodies in the way that prevented me from knowing what the layouts were like.   One I did get a good view of and enjoy was Dunwich. As for Hursley I had enough of queuing that day so didn't bother to join the long line in the hall as well.

[Clive Mortimore]

I have had a little bit of a thought about the opening question. I don't think it is the number of bodies through the door that is important. I agree you need enough to cover the cost of putting on the exhibition but surely the most important thing is that those who do attend enjoy themselves. Show A might have several tens of thousands of people attend with only a 50% enjoyment where show B has a couple of hundred who stay all day and go home very contented. Which one has been the success?

[Anglian]

I think I must have had a very good day at the MRJ show. I waited for about 20 minutes to get in and another 20 to see Hursley. I had over an hour with a perfect view of Chipping Norton, ditto Dunwich and as much time in front of Buckingham as I wanted. The layout I couldn't get near was the NE one, was/is it called North Shields?

[davefrk]

No, it was the year after Falkirk. I can't remember exactly where it was held, but possibly near Perth. I do remember that I didn't think I could easily get there so I gave it a miss.

 

Was it the old mill at Blairgowrie?

 

Dave.

[flubrush]

The number were put down to organisers managing to get it reported on the local TV news on the Friday before the show.

 

That was standard with the Glasgow show - certainly during the 1970s when I was still at BBC Glasgow.  One of the news cameramen at BBC Glasgow was a very keen railway modeller and he always managed to persuade the Newsroom to cover the show so that he could get down to the McClellan galleries on the Friday afternoon to film a bit of coverage.   The story was usually tacked on at the end of the news as a filler piece and it always seemed to get broadcast. :-)

 

Another factor which helped the Glasgow show attendances was its venue in the McClellan galleries in Sauchiehall Street.  Sauchiehall Street was,  arguably,  the most popular shopping street in Glasgow and there was a huge potential attendance in the hordes of disaffected fathers and children who had been dragged into Glasgow on Saturday by their wives/mothers for a big shop in all the clothes and fashion shops.   I do remember being dragged round places like C&A as a child, being bored out of my skull,  when a few hours respite in a model railway exhibition would have been heaven. :-)

 

Jim.

 

Jim.

[billbedford]

Was it the old mill at Blairgowrie?

 

Dave.

 

 

Yep, that's the one.

[dibber25]

ABC claims for 2013:

 

Railway Modeller: 41,159 http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=342

Model Rail: 29242  http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=12377

They don't seem to have BRM registered.

 

Cue debate about whether these figures can be trusted.

ABC - Audit Bureau of Circulations figures can certainly be trusted. They are the only figures that CAN be trusted. The ABC is an independent auditor and once your figures are audited by ABC, you can't make any false claims about your circulation. If you do, you get thrown out. Those magazines who are not ABC members can quote any circulation figures that they like, so there's an incentive NOT to join ABC if you think your audited circulation might be lower than you hoped. It's a complex process - you can't, for instance, give copies away to boost your figures. The quoted circulation is the number of copies actually bought.

[darren01]

Hi

I was at Warley three years ago and as told that 21.0000 through the door on the Saturday!.