RJS1977

Looks to me from that photo to have some rail supports, rather than just being a wooden beam bolted to the wall.

One of the original models of the Starship Enterprise, which was used in filming the original series of Star Trek and which was kept in Gene Roddenberry's office until it went missing in the 1970s has now been rediscovered and returned to Gene Roddenberry's son.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/long-lost-uss-enterprise-model-returned-star-trek-109386944?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR08G32QShRG3oAzPiMwbgrYpIwRDTjaJjsnVd8tfJQnYuP8v1nUWX-YJTQ_aem_AdUuUUjS5Urmcxa5MZMZKdMXn4E2nh-qyvPX-mq97UhuimXjlLsjmrQAtZ5Np2ZnG2e-bgni2hmTEVQh7lm9108W

On 14/04/2024 at 12:07, 33C said:

Imagine "starter sets", containing chassis, choice of bodies, (steam or diesel), pack of options and paint, glue, brush and transfers. How much? £20-25 fair? Some great artwork on the header and, in a blister pack style, Airfix style, so you see what your getting. Almost a CKD or pocket money kit. (Hornby can nick this idea...)

Reading through this discussion, I wonder if perhaps what's needed is a 16.5mm version of the Kato chassis that are so common under 009 models these days.

10 hours ago, kevinlms said:

There was an Australian send up of a detective show, where the lead character was Hugh Jarce.

Jonathan Agnew used that one in a practical joke on Brian Johnston in the early 90s.

A Test Match had just concluded and Johnners was to announce the presentation party on to the pavillion balcony to present the trophy and medals. Aggers gave him a list of members of the party to read out, but Johnners didn't notice that Aggers had added an extra name to the list until he had read it out.

"The Managing Director of Cornhill Insurance. Mr Hugh Jars."

On 06/04/2024 at 20:12, BoD said:

Do they own the stock?  On their website they say that they raise funds for the purchase of stock for the NYMR.  No stock appears as assets in their accounts.

It's quite common for heritage railways to be split into an operating company (whose accounts are published on Companies House) and a Trust/Charity who hold the assets. That way, should the operating company get into financial difficulties, the assets are safe, avoiding the scenario that happened at Llangollen a few years back.

On 17/03/2024 at 20:27, AY Mod said:

It was Paddington last week. 😇

Did he want to build a model of Salisbury station as well? 

Making a model of Television Centre out of Mr Curry's new carpet is one thing....

That reminds me somewhat of the 009 Society area group that organised a "Car Boot Exhibition" at the time when outdoor events were allowed but indoor events were not!

On 15/02/2024 at 20:55, melmerby said:

Mmm. Talking Motorhomes.

Who's going to be the first to exhibit a layout in a Winnebago?

 

Could be a good idea, take your hobby on holiday with you!😉

There was an article in the "Destructor" many years ago giving advice on purchasing either a redundant single decker bus or a large van such as a pantechnicon and converting it into a "railway room" that could be driven to shows.

More recently someone was advertising trailers designed to look like railway carriages that could have a layout built in them, again with the intention that they could either be parked up as railway rooms at home or towed to one of the larger exhibitions. 

I heard nothing more of either idea. I suspect, apart from the expense, that building a railway room on wheels might just be too easy to steal!

Back on the subject of IETs, I don't think the timing issues are just a simple matter of the units being underpowered when on diesel.

Looking at today's entries on Realtime Trains for Up trains calling at Reading (deliberately chosen over Paddington to avoid any recovery time that may be in the schedule between Reading and Paddington), it appears that most trains (whether from the SW, Bristol, South Wales or Hereford/Worcester/Gloucester/Cheltenham were either on time or only a couple of minutes late. There's certainly no consistency of lateness to suggest that being underpowered is an issue. Neither did there seem to be any indication of a lack of power going over Dainton or Rattery.

In fact of those trains from the SW that were significantly late, the most consistent stretch for losing time was on the downhill, electrified stretch between Newbury and Theale! 

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

But were they adequate for the expected increase in passenger numbers which they would bring ?  (They were designed for that, not the passenger numbers already being carried).   Their big problem is that while increased frequency was intended to handle the total numbers on the core section of route between Reading and Birmingham that doesn't meet the peak demand - either pre-Covid or now.

 

Some benefit resulted from the 'Covid timetable' which used sets in pairs over that core section but that doesn't always work due to lack of onboard staff to cover two sets on one train and many have in any case now reverted to single set operation (and back to massive overcrowding on that section of route on many trains).

 

From personal observation I think part of XC's problem is the generally very heavy loading on that section with much lighter loading north of New St and lighter - but still good load factor - loading south of Reading.  The ideal answer would be to add an additional set to certain of the heaviest loading trains in either direction between Reading and Wolverhampton. (the latter to avoid the congestion at New St)  but that would come with a cost in both train and staff resources and achieving ideal balances for the extra set wouldn't be as simple as it might sound.   I wonder about the future because I doubt that a 5 car IET would be able to match Voyager sectional running times.

Unfortunately the frequency on the Reading-Birmingham route hasn't yet got back to pre-Covid levels in that most of the Reading-Newcastle services (the ones that went direct between Leamington Spa and Birmingham) aren't running.

I think the original decision to run half-hourly shorter trains between Reading and Birmingham came about because of the then requirement to turn cross-country services in platforms 3 and (the old) 7 at Reading to free up capacity on the through lines. This increase in frequency resulted in an unexpected 40% increase in passenger numbers!

The downside of the half-hourly frequency with shorter trains was that only half of the trains called at Birmingham International (owing to lack of capacity between Leamington and Coventry) meaning that they could get very crowded if there were big events on at the NEC.

Scott

I've just noticed those rather nice-looking coaches in the background of your photos of the castle. 

They look too long to me to be the Hornby or Hattons generic coaches - so what are they?

Richard

I'm slightly late to the party here in replying - but this is marvellous news!

And good to hear too that Warley are as delighted as everyone else that there will still be a National Show.

Well done to Warley in putting it on for the last 30 years, and well done to Warners for picking up the baton. I know how much work is involved in putting on even a small village hall type show but that must pale into insignificance compared to that needed for the National Show. 

5 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

So the needs of a group of people at a model railway show are rather outside what the NEC, London ExCel and others are likely to provide. Some exhibition layout builders recognise this and provide suitable height legs, lighting gantries, etc. for their layouts. Other rely on using venue tables and lighting, which is usually not the best way to display your work. Some traders and national modelling or line Societies have their own purpose built stands, others sit behind a low table. If you want something better suited to your needs, it seems you have to provide it yourself.

Though many of the traders and societies at Warley did use what the NEC provided in terms of the metal frameworks that surrounded their stands and had their names on (I'm not sure if these included tables/shelving or if the traders had to provide them themselves). I've seen the same frameworks used at the LAMMA agricultural show and doubtless they're used at every other event at the NEC as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI8cTdciChc

On 31/01/2024 at 20:41, paulr1949 said:

I also thought it was a good show (as usual). I made it down from Kent via Eastleigh and the service bus as it arrived before the heritage one. I was amazed at not having to queue at all at 1100 on Saturday, I hope it doesn't mean that the numbers were down a lot.

I have to say I didn't notice an particularly long gaps on Wimborne - maybe I was just there at the right time. I tend to go round the hall(s) looking at the trade for what I need first and then return to look at the layouts loinger. I managed to find most of the bits I needed, including "Percy" for grandson from the club secondhand stall (oh and an M7 for myself to replace one that no longer runs very well)

Eastwood as has been mentioned looked very good to me.

When I arrived at 10:00 on the Saturday, the queue to get in was about 100m long, and by the time I got to the front of it, it was 100m long behind me!

I heard someone say they'd had 1000 visitors through the door by Saturday lunchtime!

Encouragingly after the sad news of Hattons and Warley, there were a good number of children there - at one point I looked over the top of one layout ("Hayling Island" I think) to see 7 little faces looking at the layout behind it ("Portsea").

On 28/01/2024 at 17:29, sjrixon said:

Headed down today with my son. Parking was crazy, but lucky that the road parking permit area didn't apply on a Sunday.

 

His favourite was the lego layout....

 

Loads to see, spent a good 4hrs. And didn't spent too much, I did two passes of the Dart casting stand.. I need to do some painting! 

Eastleigh Lakeside Miniature Railway (about 10 minutes' walk from the show) is well worth a visit too.

But yes, plenty to see this year - I arrived at 10am on the Saturday and didn't leave until 3.

5 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

 

 

And then there are "reversed sets" as there was in HST days.  Again it should not happen and is often avoidable but no effort is made to rectify the situation which also leads to everyone travelling the "wrong direction" to that which was booked.  It also leads to reserved seating for Cornish stations being in that part of the train which does not fit in the platforms.  The latter point is even more of a problem on a 10-car when one cannot walk through to alight from the "Front 5" and must travel on to the next long-platform station and return.  Assuming that a return service is still available.  

Some of the reversed sets in recent weeks will have been due to the flooding affecting various parts of the network. Owing to flooding between Swindon and Bristol Parkway trains from South Wales were reversing at Bristol Parkway and running to London via Bath. This inevitably meant that sets were reversed for part of the journey, and depending on where trains were when the direct route was restored, might have led to trains being "permanently" reversed (a train leaving Swansea, reversing at BP, running to Paddington and then directly back to Swansea will arrive back in Swansea the opposite way round to how it set off).

I'm not quite sure wnat the situation was on the Somerset Levels this time round, but on past occasions flooding there has led to sets reversing at Exeter St David's and running to Paddington via Yeovil Junction, which could have led to reversed units in the West Country.

That signal looks nice! What make is it?

12 minutes ago, eldomtom2 said:

That may very well be true if you actually look at the prices (bearing in mind of course that measuring inflation, cost of living, etc is an inexact science), but that is not the public perception.

 

And a comment on recent posts - absolutely railway enthusiasm is alive and well. But not all railway enthusiasts are interested in model railways.

From what I remember of my 40 years in the hobby, for a long time, bogie coaches were  £10, bogie diesel/electric locos were a little over £20 and bif steam tender engines were £50-£60. At the time, I think wages were rising reasonably quickly (at least keeping up with inflation). In the 90s there were some issues with exchange rates etc that led to Lima prices going up a bit, but otherwise modelling prices were quite stable.

The first of the post-China models like the retooled Bulleid Light Pacifics were IIRC about £75. Since then, we've seen prices continue to rise, partly because of other economic pressures like the fall in the pound, raw materials costs and Chinese wages, whilst UK wages have risen much more slowly, but also by the "arms race" between the manufacturers in pushing for ever more detailed models (whether the consumer wants them or not). I think a comparison of prices vs wages since 2000 or 2010 would tell a different story than since 1980.

Of course there's also a psychological factor. One of the traders I see regularly told me some years ago that his sales dropped off when tender locos passed the £100 mark.

Well said, Wombat!

Whilst the modern railway may not capture the imagination to the same extent as it did in past years, there are certainly young people about who are just as fascinated by it as I was 30 years ago. There are two young lads in my club who seem to spend most of the time at the clubhouse discussing (and showing video of) what they saw last week and what they want to go out and see this week. A lot of it goes over the heads of some of the older members....

What the modern railway does lack though is the operational complexities of things like shunting, and turning locos.

I was thinking earlier on - what if the hobby did collapse?

From a purely selfish perspective:

If Hornby collapsed, I'd be sad for nostalgic reasons (my first loco being a Hornby 101 tank), but I wouldn't lose much sleep over it. Nor would I be upset if Bachmann, Rapido, Accurascale disappeared. I've got more than enough locos and rolling stock.

If Peco disappeared, a little bit more of a problem. No new track. However as I have a large layout of my own that is far from complete scenically, I'm not too likely to be building any new layouts for a while. On the other hand, as I (so far) haven't ballasted the track, if I did decide to rip it all up and build something new, I'd have plenty of track to re-use!

Perhaps more of an issue would be the scenery suppliers. But I'm capable of making buildings from card and wood, and have been around long enough to remember techniques like dyed sawdust or making hedges out of pan scourers.

I think what I would miss most is the exhibition circuit (five of my "regular" shows have now ceased since the pandemic). That's where I get chance to get out, meet people, see what other people have been building, and (occasionally) display my own. Arguably I spend more of my time going to shows than I actually do modelling!

But what would sadden me most if the hobby disappeared is that future generations would not have the same opportunity to enjoy this wonderful hobby that I have for the last 40 years.  Even now we hear of young people hanging around on street corners, anti social behaviour etc because "we're bored". I can honestly say that thanks to model railways I have never been "bored" in over 40 years, and it saddens me to think of the young people who are missing out.

I now have somewhat Milliganesque visions of a jailer opening and closing the dungeon doors every time train goes through!

Remember that the railway line in the tunnel is going straight through the foundations of that castle! ;-)

On 09/01/2024 at 21:33, 009 micro modeller said:

The Deviationists are perhaps an atypical example, as I understand some of them were not from the railway enthusiast background more typical of Ffestiniog volunteers (although obviously others were), and that they instead joined specifically to help with the Deviation and weren’t involved with the initial restoration phase either. There was a documentary about the Ffestiniog that made a lot out of this point, but in some ways it’s a very good example (and perhaps a bit ahead of its time) of a heritage line managing to engage with volunteers who aren’t railway enthusiasts per se but can have some sort of interest in a specific project.

 

Railway volunteers all have different interests, skills and abilities.

Some like doing the operational work, others prefer maintenance/restoration, be it buildings, track, or locos/rolling stock.

Still others prefer the "big projects" - creating new buildings, extending railways, etc and tend to move on when a particular project is complete.

Perhaps the HRA should organise a "civil engineering pool" of people who enjoy and have the skills for the bigger projects, who can be called upon to assist any heritage railway that has a "big job" on, whether that be a planned extension/development or a sudden need for "boots on the ground" by unsuspected events such as a landslide.

Genuinely gutted, especially coming so soon after the news from Hattons, however one of the organisers did say in RM about five years ago that they weren't getting any younger and that this point would come, so in that sense, no surprise. Indeed, I would not have been surprised had we not had any since Covid.

So a big thanks to the Warley team for the 24 enjoyable shows I have attended since 1998 (and also for Coachman for giving me a lift to the strike-affected 2022 show). I think virtually every time I entered the Hall at 9:15 on Saturday and was there until the show closed at 18:00 (and usually missed things!), As the "National" show it really was an opportunity to see layouts and traders that don't normally make it this far south. Unlike Ally Pally, Doncaster and GETS which are all somewhat awkwardly placed for public transport, for much of the country, the NEC really was as accessible as it is possible to get.

Whilst clearly putting on a show of this size is too much for one club, I think the National show is too important to lose.`

I would like to suggest the formation of a "National Exhibition Organising Committee" comprising representatives from national societies (such as the 009 Society, GOG, etc), regional associations (CMRA, W&WE), manufacturers, traders and publishers to look at keeping the show going on a hopefully more stable footing.

Hall 5 is made up of 18 "squares" formed by the roof supports. If we allow the three nearest the door to be taken up by the manufacturers and biggest traders, that leaves 15 squares. If a different society or association could be given a "square" and effectively organised a "sub-exhibition" (much as the 009 Society did at Warley 2023), with the "National Organising Committee" being responsible for the overarching items like dealing with the NEC, insurance, publicity etc, this would spread the workload much more thinly and make it more manageable.

Finding a group of people in one club willing to put on a show big enough to take up most of Hall 5 is a very difficult task. Finding 15 groups of people spread across the country willing to organise smaller "sub shows" may be more managable.