tc

Like all the others above, I can only condemn the behaviour of the individual, and perhaps question what process the society has to ensure it's officials and stewards understand what is and isn't acceptable at a public event. 

On 24/05/2024 at 18:59, ianmianmianm said:

including at Ally Pally prior to Covid

I don't recall this group having a stand at LFoRM (but possibly at the Model Engineering show..?), however when looking for layouts to invite and watching the operation, I do hear some of the exchanges the operators are having. On that basis there are at least two otherwise decent layouts that have not been invited to Alexandra Palace because of an inappropriate discussion around different protected characteristics.  We must continue to aim to be a fully inclusive hobby, and I'm not going to invite people to events the MRC is involved with who are in conflict with that aim. 

The show is just about set up - here's our pre-owned stall with hundreds of items from the common, through rare to the frankly down right odd. Including a huge collection of complete Parkside, Ratio, Kirk etc kits - in the West Hall

The Club stand is set up including York Road:

Where you can also find out more about joining us - with our special show offer of a reduced rate for the rest of 2024 and a free gift.

And we've got our layouts Putnam (HO) and Lacey Dale (N) alongside under-construction Orchard Wharf (EM), alongside the layouts from our Young and Junior sections, and the kid's-can-drive layout too...

Plus the huge selection of layouts we're delighted have accepted our invitation to attend, a range of demonstrators that can pass on their tips and ideas, and some very tempting items for sale on the trade stands.

Do come and say hi to us on our main stand just inside the entrance of the Great Hall... and if you're on socials #LFORM

Tom

For those who missed the talks with manufacturers over the weekend, we've put them up on our website here:

Manufacturer Updates from 2023 London Festival of Railway Modelling - The Model Railway Club

with links to the videos.

11 hours ago, AY Mod said:

That karaoke's not getting any better. The rest of the boyband have stood up from their stools but are yet to perfect the air grabs.

The autotune had its work cut out with just the one voice...ahead of the key change in their cover of "Your Raise Me Up". A moment none of us will ever forget....

Delighted to receive the silver award for LFORM 2022 on behalf of the whole Ally Pally team - but of course like all exhibitions it is very much a team effort both with Warners /  BRM and within the MRC to bring the event together. Many thanks to all who voted for us, and also for all those who attended the show last year and this weekend. 

The MRC stand - just inside the entrance in the Great Hall - is a must-visit part of the show:

You can see the announcement of a number of new products on Saturday, plus on the test tracks you can see prototypes of a number of already announced products in action.

On Sunday at 2, its the British Railway Modelling Awards ceremony - come and see if you voted for the winners.

Find out more about The MRC - including our special show offer for new members

We've also got a series of short interviews with some of the key manufacturers, including (in no particular order)

• Fran Burke and Paul Isles - Accurascale
• Chris Hunt - West Hill Wagon Works 
• Richard Proudman -  Bachman
• Ben Ando - Revolution Trains
• Michael Revell - KR Models
• Andrew Hardy - Rapido
• Neil Morrll - Dapol

Follow our social media for confirmed times and updates, and we hope to record the interviews and upload them to socials if you can't get there :

Twitter - @modelrailclub

Instagram - TheModelRailwayClub

Facebook - The Model Railway Club

#LFORM

We've got a busy Model Railway Club stand over the weekend - just inside the door right by the BRM stand.

At Noon on Saturday is the BRMA 2021 results presentation - hopefully some of the winners will be there to collect in person.

And across the weekend we've got short interviews with a number of manufactures and retailers on what's new which we'll try to stream out on social media if the wi-fi behaves. 

All subject to the vagaries of big shows, but so far we're expecting:

Simon Kohler*, Jamie Warne, Acurrascale, Dapol, Kernow,  with a few more just checking their diaries...and anyone else we can grab as the day goes by.

Tom

* yes, we'll find a nice way to ask 'the' question so lets not pile in here.

On 04/02/2022 at 19:01, Michael Hodgson said:

I  don't know about the current rules, but I understood the original scheme allowed you to drive across London provided you stuck to certain major through routes, like A1/ Tower Bridge / A2.  I think that was required under some EU directive aimed at allowing free travel across Europe (except obviously for ferry fares and bridge and bridge tolls).  The charge applied the moment you turned off into silly little side streets though, so quite what happened if there were a diversion because of roadworks, I don't know.

We're moving off the topic, but the congestion charge is designed to discourage car usage through the very central part of London. There are very few journeys to Alexandra Palace where driving through the CCZ is the quickest route - there are plenty of ways around it including Park Lane and Tower Bridge.  The nearest the CCZ get to Alexandra palace is Euston and King's Cross. (And yes, TfL is clever enough to not divert you into the CCZ when those boundary roads are closed, or if that is the only option waive the charge in that local area.)

AP is in the ULEZ which applies to older cars and small vans, and the date of registration for cars impacted is a bit fluid as some manufactures adopted lower emission technology before others. Hence the need to check the online checker. 

Whilst many people will want or have to drive, AP is very well connected to public transport, with the regular W3 bus providing links to the front entrance from Finsbury Park and Wood Green. 

On 16/02/2022 at 10:15, Sitham Yard said:

Interesting you say that. My memories are that the last show or shows there was a sign at the top of the stairs saying that the restaurant was reserved for a private function, presumably exhibitors, in years before there were two serveries, one for exhibitors, one for the visitors and plenty of room if you picked the right time.

Andrew 

Subject to a final meeting with the venue, but in all previous years the servery has been split into 2 - one for exhibitors lunches (with some reserved tables for them) and the other half for anyone else who wants a decent lunch.  It may not be cheap, but the full lunch menu downstairs at AP has always been decent quality and sustaining for the day!

My first time at the Leeds show for many years yesterday, and as said above a great selection of layouts including a few I've enjoyed before plus some I hadn't. If you've got time to head over today, well worth the trip. 

The lecture starts at 7.30pm, but doors open at 6.30. Our licenced bar has a range of beers, wine, spirts and soft drinks plus snacks.

Guests are welcome, there is no need to book, but please note that there are stairs to the lecture room, and anyone with concerns about accessibility should contact us in advance. There is a voluntary collection, with a suggestion of £3 for non members. 

Full details are here

The funeral is on Tuesday 17th August at 11am. However Covid restrictions have seriously limited the number of people who can attend and unless you have had a personal confirmation from the family that there is a space for you please do not attempt to attend the service in person as it is at capacity. However the service will be available to view on-line, the live stream link should be as follows:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC0N1KmY3tiXID0cHu9fCsWQ/live

Or if that does not work, please go onto the St. Peter’s in Chains website at http://stpeterinchains.com

And scroll down to ‘service times’. In this section there is a link for Richard Reidy’s funeral live stream.

On 20/07/2021 at 09:16, 2mmMark said:

We no longer take the kitchen sink to exhibitions.

Only because it doesn't fit in the van! It fills a Luton pretty much entirely. The upside - you can tell if you've forgotten something if there is a space for an overnight bag in the back....

The mugs have been going fast over the last 4 days, and we're into our last carton of them. 

Saturday is pretty full for the behind the Scenes tours - a few tickets left in the afternoon. Still a few places though on Sunday when parking nearby is free.

A recording of the evening is available via our website here 

The Model Railway Club

along with the previous event with Steve Flint.

Our next presentation is from the NRM's Anthony Coulls - Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum on their exhibition of 100 years of model locomotives "Brass, Steel and Fire" on Thursday 8th April 2021. Guests are welcome, details are here

Pete Waterman joins us live via Zoom for an 'in discussion' presentation at 7.30pm on Thursday 11th March. He'll be showing us his latest progress on the O gauge 'Leamington Spa', plus giving us a preview of his latest project - a OO gauge model representing the West Coast Mainline which is being displayed at Chester Cathedral later this year.

The Zoom event is open to members and non members, but pre-registration is required HERE

The event is free, but we would ask for a donation of a "coffee" or two at https://ko-fi.com/themodelrailwayclub instead of our normal meeting collection / purchase of a drink at the bar.

We hope to have part of the presentation on our website after the event.

Hi Mark and Steve - from our Centenary magazine:

The Club Logo

The idea of a Club badge was first raised in 1923. Thoughts centred on an engine front….or was that to put on an engine front? In 1926 a design by a member of the staff of Basset-Lowke was accepted. It represented a formalised line drawing of the Greek God Hermes (or Mercury for Roman mythologists) depicted looking to the left examining a locomotive pointing towards the viewer held in his upturned hands.

This very Art Deco design with its silver outline on maroon remains to this day a very effective symbol. Known universally throughout The MRC as ‘Percy’ (G Percy Keen again - though christened irreverently by the members at large) it has long since been registered as a trade mark. Incidentally Hermes is also god of medicine, transport, thieves and robbers….take your pick.

Tom

1 hour ago, GoingUnderground said:

If you read the story in "World of Railways" you'll see that it has moved twice in its life before, Epsom to Derbyshire, and then Derbyshire to Newbury. Also the same report says "The track is built in modules on sections that can be separated, with fishplates across the joints. The straight sections are roughly 1m x 60cm." There would be little point in offering it for sale if it could not be removed without inflicting major damage. So, it would seem to me that with a bit of care and patience, and possibly some careful and well-placed surgery, it should be possible to remove it. 

Yes - most home / loft layouts are almost impossible to remove without causing substantial damage, let alone get through the loft hatch, and then very difficult to resurrect. This is one of the best we've seen from that perspective. We suspect it might have at some time been designed to be portable, with trestles. Although I'm sure it's much happier on a firm frame as it is now. We've already had some interest from people who do want to preserve and use it - hopefully some good news soon.

Partly for interest but also because it's looking for a good home, The MRC has been asked to find a buyer for this layout:

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/75-year-old-model-railway-for-sale

Vintage O gauge layout for sale - The Model Railway Club - for details

This may be a silly question, but what colour were the window bars on the 501s in green and blue days?

Most colour photos I can find are 3/4 shots and whilst I think they are metallic, it could be light reflecting off painted bars. 

Thanks in anticipation. 
 

Tom

After reading the guidelines, and undertaking a risk assessment, we've reopened Keen House (for members only at this stage) on Thursday evenings, with strict pre-booking to control numbers. Details have been sent to members - we hope to expand from Club nights to other meetings shortly.

We've restarted Thursday Club nights at Keen House, after undertaking a risk assessment and setting limits for the maximum number of people in Keen House overall, and in each part of the building. To help, we're using Doodle to enable members to "book" - so they know they will be allowed in before travelling. It also gives us a handy record for T&T should it be needed. 

We've got a polycarbonate screen around the bar, and sanitiser and wipes readily available.

Next stage is to follow the same process for our layout groups, and other groups who use our building. 

We've added more functionality to the website for visitors and members alike.

There's a comments section now in the blogs. We'd welcome feedback from anyone on RMWeb...

Primarily for members, but some of it is visible to guests, is our own mini forum. Nothing to compare with or rival RMWeb, but a chance for our layout groups and members to have virtual discussions along the lines they might in Keen House. There are some interesting threads on home layouts...

Finally, and for everyone, we've listed some of the stock we would have sold at Alexandra Palace on a new e-shop It's like all Club exhibition stalls - what we've been given and selling on behalf of members, so a slightly odd mix. But you can search and sort by scale etc. We've sold a fair amount already, and adding more as we go.

5 hours ago, Half-full said:

Another issue that could be faced is would layout owners travel any distance for a 1 day show?  The guys in my group have currently have a limit of 300 miles for a weekend show, but 50 miles for a 1 day show.

Even with a relatively short drive, loading the car up at silly o'clock in the morning (layout not insured in an unattended vehicle), drive to venue, unload with everyone else who arrives at the time the halls open for set up, set up in a couple of hours, operate all day, then pack up and drive home to unload and return the hire van. That's a long day for me, possibly even longer for the team. It's OK split over two days as you only have the set up or breakdown each day, and Friday set ups are even better as Saturday is just fun. 

Time will tell, and I'm sure we'll adjust to whatever the new norm is.