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After a weekend off from show visits I managed to head over to the Nottingham event on Saturday. I really enjoyed this show when I visited for the first time last year and had been looking forward to it all week. (And that had nothing to do with the Rams win over Forest you understand!!) Perhaps the organisers needed to help fund some new players for the City Ground. I did think that the £8.00 entry fee was quite expensive. I know hiring the hall and bringing in layouts may not be cheap and that the organisers have to cover their costs somehow, but when compared to Stafford which was £7 for three halls and, I reckon, more exhibits it did seem a bit much. The show guide, at £1.50, was also 50p more than the Stafford one! That said, the show was excellent with plenty to see and some fantastic exhibits. I certainly enjoyed it once again and spent a long time there, so maybe I just about got my £8.00's worth. There were plenty of excellent layouts to see. The Scottish section was superb. Although not a diesel fan I did enjoy the B.R blue era Bannochbrae which ran with DCC sound locos. The scenics certainly brought back memories of my honeymoon in the Highlands of Scotland. Also reminding me of this particular holiday was the N gauge, Loch Oran which was based on the Crianlarich junction which I had travelled through on the way to Fort William. I also enjoyed the steam era Culreach which I think I have seen in the pages of Hornby Magazine. One layout which I had seen in the magazine was the GWR branch line terminus layout, Potterbourne. This too was excellent and showed just what operation can be realistically crammed into a small space. It ran very well too - unlike some layouts I saw on the day. My favourite layout, without doubt, was Stoke Summit. A huge model of the location of Mallard's record breaking run. This seemed to attract a huge crowd all day. It is a massive model, very impressive. I managed to squeeze into the crowd at one end of the scenic section, right by the tunnel mouth. Here I could look along the whole length of the layout to the curve under the bridge at the far end, straining to see if a train was approaching, whilst suddenly seeing another emerge from the tunnel beneath me. Above the tunnel a footpath was modelled about at my eyeline. As I stood there a constant stream of Eastern region locos passed by - A1, A3's and A4's on passenger trains, Austerity 2-8-0's on freights, a V2 on a parcels and a K3 on a shorter passenger train. For just a few minutes reality blurred and I got a sense of what trainspotting was like in those days when steam reigned supreme. As someone who was born in the 1970's this may be as close as I will ever get!!! Congrats to the owners and builders of this model. It truely was the highlight of the show for me. Although my wallet had been lightened considerably on entrance, I still managed to make some purchases. I am not a diesel fan, but I could not resist a Heljan model of the Railbus. This small model will go into the loco roster for my Skaleby West layout. I also picked up some point motors for this model too and a few trees. Now to get on with the modelling!!! Oh and I need to be nice to the wife...Belper in 2 weeks!!!

Another week and another blog entry. It is a month since I started this blog, and at the time I saw it more as an appeal for help than something I would update regularly. Now it seems that I have settled into a habit of updating it each week. I hope that people are finding these thoughts and experiences of a show organising virgin of some interest. Here is the latest! The show - taking stock! After my intial appeal for layouts a month ago I was overwhelmed with the response and offers of help I received. Understandably things have slowed up at the moment. At present there are 5 layout owners booked and confirmed, bringing 7 layouts between them. Three of these layouts have been allocated space in the school hall. The other 4 are still planned for other rooms. A 6th owner has confirmed their attendance. All I need to do is decide which of his two show layouts I want. They differ quite a lot in size, so I have decided to wait and see what else I may get before I confirm arrangements with him. A colleague, who visits our school once a week, is a member of the Belper model railway group. He has promised to bring his layout, although this is still to be finished, and I am continuing with my own construction project (see below). So technically I can probably say that I have 10 layouts of different sizes and gauges attending the show. This week I have also confirmed the booking of two trade stands. This gives me three traders definitely attending so far. There are still some tables still to be sold though. So what next? Well I am still waiting on a few replies.... - One preservation society was approached at a recent exhibition and expressed an interest in the event. Despite taking my details I am yet to hear from them. - A model railway group expressed an interest at the same show. This would involve them bringing a layout and having a trade stand. They also took my details but no reply yet. - One local railway based charity have promised to take a stand, the arrangements need to be confirmed. - I am awaiting confirmation from 3 layout owners. No panic yet though, the date is still a long way away and people are probably so busy with all the shows that are happening locally at the moment. Mind you, any further RMWebbers who could help with layouts would be welcome. The school is keen to have some kind of tombola or raffle. My wife has kindly offered her services and is going to contact companies for donations of prizes. I hope that she has more luck than me after I drew a blank from both Hornby and Bachmann. Both stating that they only supported charities local to them. At least they replied I suppose. The show layout The baseboards for Skaleby West returned from the workshops (aka my dad's garage) at the weekend. They are now fitted with the under frame supports and back and side boards. The model is now starting to resemble the skeleton of a show layout. I have loosely laid out the track onto the cork track bed to give an impression of how the final model will look. The first shot gives a general view of the whole baseboard. Whilst the second is a close up of the small goods yard area. At first I was a bit worried that the tunnel holes were not big enough, but a quick test with a Hornby coach has cleared up this concern. The next jobs will be to paint the backboards. They currently sport a rough layer of undercoat and will be covered with a grey / blue colour to resemble the sky. This paint was used on the bedroom walls and gives a decent backdrop to my permenant Skaleby model (see other blog). The other job will be to lay the track and fit the point motors. Now that will be a challenge!

An excellent story. I have never been to Canada, but hope to see the loco when it visits the NRM in the next couple of years. The model looks great and is a fitting tribute.

Another week has past since my last post about the show. The last seven days seem to have been spent with some kind of measuring implement or another in my hand. So here is the latest. The show This week I have raided the school's P.E store and blown the cobwebs off the long athletics tape measure that is only usually dragged out for the summer sporting events. I have measured the basic dimensions of the main hall and used this to create a "show plan" grid on my computer using scale "1 foot squares". Whilst my class were enjoying / enduring a session in the hall learning "first aid" from a visitor I was busy hunting for plug sockets and adding these to the plan. It beat getting bandaged up anyway! I have also started to measure the two long corridors in the school which are wide enough for some of the smaller layouts offered so far! November may seem a long way off, but I want to keep on top of things. Taking a little and often approach I hope to keep things ticking over and avoid a mad rush at the end of the year. With that in mind I have started to place some of the layouts on the floor plan already. Three of the seven layouts confirmed have been, provisonally, allocated space in the hall. The other four are all smaller layouts and should go in the corridors or a smaller room once I have finished the measuring up. I am sure the staff think I'm mad. Not a day seems to go by without me measuring up some part of the school! So 7 layouts confirmed so far! As it stands I am waiting on confirmation from three others who have previously expressed an interest. I have another exhibitior definitely coming after chatting to him at Mansfield. All I need to do is decide which of his show layouts I want. Even if all of these confirm I still think I could fit three or four more layouts in, possibly more so I will be continuing to keep an eye out during future shows. I also have a couple of other exhibitors on the possibles list and need to speak to them to confirm space. These include some practical demonstrations and at least one static diorama. As for trade stands I have two confirmed and contacted another today. I also have three others still to get back to me. Everyone stocks different stuff so it should give me a good range of products available if they all agree to come, and it will put some money in the kitty too! As someone who often distracts himself from the school paper work by messing around on dtp programmes, I have already made a start on designing a show guide. Some layout owners have kindly sent me some stuff and that has gone in already, photographs and all. I have sold one piece of advertising space and will be trying to sell more nearer the time. Phew! It's only when I sat down to write this blog that I realise just how much I have done this week! I really had better get back to writing those school reports!!! Just before I do I had better update on The layout My kind father took the baseboard away last weekend to begin work on the supports for underneath, allowing the board to be raised to accomodate the point motors. The supports have now been fitted and he is adding the side and backboards this week before he returns the boards to me. I will upload a photo once this has been done. Whilst at the Mansfield show I did purchase a couple of tunnel portals for each end of the layout and some ballast. I also bought a Gaugemaster backscene print. This was not quite in the plan, but I couldn't resist it. More updates soon!

It's a great layout and I would never have known it was 23 years old. That pier is superb!

I certainly enjoyed the show. It was great to see, and speak to so many friendly faces. I'll certainly be visiting again next year. All help with school show welcome!

It's all looking very good. I hope the show was a success.

I must have a very understanding wife! Five shows in five weekends! Mind you I am taking her out for a meal this evening in return for today's "pass out" to the Mansfield show! I have never been to this event before and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The venue was a bit hard to find, not knowing Mansfield very well and I did drive past it once. Never mind! I got there in the end. The show is on two floors in lots of different rooms in the St Peter's Church Centre. It is a bit like a rabbit warren with lots of different places to find, but the show map made things nice and clear. Some great layouts too. It was nice to see "Hatton Parkway" which I remember from a series of articles in the Hornby Magazine. I am not a modern image fan, but I did enjoy seeing this particular layout. I have also seen St Minions in a magazine recently and it was also nice to see this layout "in the flesh". It shows just how much you can realistically pack into a small space. The display space was even smaller than "Board Lane", the ironing board shunting layout which I saw for a second weekend in a row. I am looking forward to welcoming "Board Lane" to our show in November - just a pity I ran out of time and didn't get to speak to the owner of St Minions. The two stand out layouts for me were the O gauge "Tummel VIII". I saw this at the Nottingham show last year and loved it. The layout is a lovely model of a Scottish branch terminus and depicts it very well - the "protesting cows" were a rather amusing addition! Avyn-a-Llyin is the second stand out layout of the show. This narrow gauge layout had lots to see. The scenics were fantastic with a beautiful wooden pier on one corner of the layout. Superb. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to Thomas layouts. But the N gauge one on show here was using the Hornby Railmaster control system. This is the first time I have seen it used and it looks fantastic. Unlike the other shows I have visited recently I did actually end up spending money on some scenic items as work gathers pace on my Skaleby West show layout. I picked up some ballast, a Gaugemaster backscene and a couple of Skaledale tunnel portals for each end of the layout. I did hang an admiring glance over the newly released Heljan "Railbus". There was no price on this so I hate to think how much it would have set me back. Although not a diesel fan, I have ridden on one of these at the North Norfolk Railway and thought one would add something different to my smaller layout. Maybe next time then! The show did seem to have a really friendly atmosphere. It was great to chat to so many people. Some were quite interested in attending my school's show too which is encouraging. More on that in my next show blog! Oh and the bacon sandwiches were nice too - biggest I've had so far! Now 5 / 5 - don't think there is a local show next week. But its Nottingham the following weekend so I think I will need to save money until then!

As a GCR volunteer I am so pleased that you enjoyed your visit. You really should catch the train down to Quorn and Woodhouse Station and take tea in the NAAFI tearoom (under the stairs). Pure living history!

I have been given a "pass out" providing the wife recovers from the flu in time. If not I may just come and bring baby girl with me! Hope to see you there.

Sorry! I stand corrected. Congrats to the Nottingham MRS. Ilkeston Woodside is a great layout. And I will be definitely going to Nottingham on the Sunday of the weekend.

I look forward to seeing pictures of the layout and the other characters.

Well I managed it! Four weekends in February and four model railway shows visited,.....and my wife is still talking to me! Result!!! This is another small show, but I really did enjoy it. Lots of very good layouts to enjoy. The club's own model of Ilkeston Town station in 00 gauge was excellent a really good depiction of the branch line terminus from the days of the LMS. The scenics were excellent. The Soar Valley M.R.C layout, Aylett End, is one I have seen a couple of times before. It is also very nice and there always seemed to be something happening. The last couple of times I saw it it seemed to be worked by sound fitted locos, on this occasion it didn't seem to be the case though. Despite this I still very much enjoyed watching the action once again. Now that I am in the middle of sorting out the exhibition for my school, any show visit seems to involve looking for exhibits. Today was a big success. I liked Chris Trafford's ironing board layout "Board Lane" so much that I asked him if he was free straight away. Layout booked - just need to put him somewhere in the floor plan. It was a great little shunting layout in 00 gauge fine scale and I could have watched it for ages. How impressive to fit so much in such a small space! Great credit also goes to the Ilkeston Woodside MRC members. This was their 10th annual show and their 25th anniversary. They were such a great help to me. A chance conversation with a member produced all sorts of help with the possibilities of layouts and trade stands. A big thanks to all, with support like that no wonder they have been running for so long. I look forward to seeing them at our show in November. My only disappointment - well two actually! 1) I still can't find the dry stone wall pieces I need for the rear of the station on my Skaleby layout. I did buy a book to help with my ideas for Skaleby West though, so my money didn't stay in my pocket this time. 2) I picked the wrong time to go to the canteen. Just as the exhibitors lunches were being given out! No bacon ready for the general public! Not going to complain though, the exhibitors need their lunches and the cup of tea and cake was nice instead. Apparantly the bacon sandwiches were very nice - so says my father in law. Yes! 2 weeks after we bought him his first Hornby train set for his 65th birthday he is now firmly bitten by the modelling bug and Trowell was his first show. He spent more than me too!!!! So 4 shows in 4 weekends. Can I make it 5 in 5??? Well there is the Mansfield show on Saturday and Sunday. I wonder if the wife will babysit.....

Love the pictures. I'll admit to being a Skarloey railway fan too and much prefer the engines in the books too. Be good to see a few more of them!

This week has been another busy week as my return to work saw the date of our show confirmed and a start made on booking layouts and exhibits for the event. The show The date has been confirmed as Saturday 10th November. A big thank you to those people who have got back to me already. So far I have confirmed 5 layouts for the show and reckon I have at least another 5 or 6 layouts as possibles as well as a couple of trade stands confirmed and a couple of other exhibits. Things are beginning to take shape and it is nice to see the show plan beginning to fill up. I have even gained permission to use a couple of other rooms in the school so I do have some more space available to me. The layout As mentioned previously, I have committed to building a layout for the show. This may be a big ask and things have moved rather slowly this week. "Skaleby West" will be a small 4 ft x 1 ft layout featuring a small single platform station, passing / run-round loop and a small goods facility. I showed a picture of the track plan in my last entry. I have now tested this, briefly, and things worked ok. Today I have laid the cork base for the track work. My home layout, Skaleby, uses the gaugemaster ballested foam underlay - but Skaleby West will be hand ballested. This will be my first attempt at this. I also plan to install point motors on this new layout, something which Skaleby also does not have. The next task will be to install the extension pieces under the baseboard in order to lift the baseboards to allow the point motors to be installed underneath. The back board will then be fitted before I turn my attention to permenant track laying and the installation of point motors. One small bit of luck is the offer from my father to take on the woodwork. As someone who is a bit of a DIY "duffer" this will be most helpful.

Must have just missed it! ######!!!

It looks great. Did it not appear on the Saturday?

Yes and you can tell the boss it's for charity!

Thanks Kelly. Not sure what has happened with the last blog entry. It appears to have been uploaded twice.

Thanks. I must admit that I probably haven't quite appreciated yet how much work I have taken on. The November date seems to be so far away that I am probably in blissful ignorance, and think that I have plenty of time. I am sure that things will turn into a blind panic sometime in the future! My plan with Skaleby West is to take a "little and often" approach to the work, ensuring that I am ready to add the scenics during the 6 week summer holiday. That will probably be when the bulk of the work will get done. But as my blog title says...."The best laid plans of mice and men....." * Not sure what has happened with the last blog entry. It appears to have been posted twice!

Just over a week ago I broke up for my school's half term planning a relaxing week at home with my wife and new daughter. I had even hoped that I could end my modelling drought by restarting work on my home layout of Skaleby. But like the best laid plans of mice and men life does not always work out how you expect it. Visits to two model railway shows and several local model shops failed to find the dry stone wall pieces that I needed for my planned half term project. And with no other parts of Skaleby really providing me alternative inspiration, things have remained static in that area. But that was not to be it of course. A flippant comment made during a school fundraising meeting has landed me with the job of organising a model railway show at the school. This will be to raise funds for our "fifth anniversary appeal". It also landed me with the job of providing a layout of my own for the show. Sadly, Skaleby is not portable so I have decided to start another layout which will be Skaleby's little brother and one that will be built specifically to attend shows. So here is where we have got to now: The show Throughout half term I have been frantically researching show dates for the end of the year. The school's headteacher wants the event to take place in 2012 in order to fit in with our year of fundraising events. I have checked the dates of as many local shows as I can think of, and have come up with a list of prospective dates that won't clash. These will be taken to the governor's meeting later this week for confirmation. At present I am 99.9% certain that the show will be on Saturday 10th November and will take place at Weston-on-Trent Primary School in South Derbyshire. Once the date is confirmed I will be turning my attention to creating leaflets and posters to advertise the event. I have been very humbled by the response I have received from fellow RMWeb members and the offers of layouts I have already received. As this is a new show, and one that is being run to raise funds for the school, I have already stated the fact that I am unable to pay out much in the way of expenses. This has not stopped the layout offers coming in and I am really excited by the offers I have had. At least one layout offered had appeared on the "hit list" I dreamt up during the last few days. I have also received two definites for trade stands too, and that was from the first two people I asked! My recent visit to the Sileby show even brought up the possibility of a couple more layouts too. I am so amazed how easy it was to discuss this with people. As someone who admits to being quite shy, it was a big effort to actually ask people face to face for help. Thanks to all of those for being so helpful and understanding. So I hope to be able to formally announce the date soon and will then start finalising the list of layouts and looking for trade stands. It is all quite exciting! The layout I never thought a week ago that I would be contemplating another layout build. I have so much to do on my permanant home layout, Skaleby, that starting another one would be a ridiculous notion. But I have promised to show a layout of my own at our show. In reality, building a show layout has always appealed to me anyway and so this is a good excuse, even if the Weston show may be the only one it ever visits! As I am on a deadline and need to construct the model in just 8 or 9 months I have decided on a small micro layout. I have already purchased wood for the baseboard which will be 4 ft x 1 ft. The railway has been given a working title of "Skaleby West" and will feature a small branch line station complete with passing / run-round loop and a couple of goods sidings. This will allow me to transport some of my smaller stock over from Skaleby. I am not intending to model a particular region, and will make things deliberately freelance and vague. That way I could choose to run the model as ex GWR, Midland or even North Eastern region as I have appropriate locos and stock for these areas. So far I have played around with the track layout and have come up with what I think will be the final track plan. This is shown in the picture below. So far the board is sat on the top of the rabbit hutch which shares the railway room with Skaleby. I just need to run a few trains to check the plan is operable.

Just over a week ago I broke up for my school's half term planning a relaxing week at home with my wife and new daughter. I had even hoped that I could end my modelling drought by restarting work on my home layout of Skaleby. But like the best laid plans of mice and men life does not always work out how you expect it. Visits to two model railway shows and several local model shops failed to find the dry stone wall pieces that I needed for my planned half term project. And with no other parts of Skaleby really providing me alternative inspiration, things have remained static in that area. But that was not to be it of course. A flippant comment made during a school fundraising meeting has landed me with the job of organising a model railway show at the school. This will be to raise funds for our "fifth anniversary appeal". It also landed me with the job of providing a layout of my own for the show. Sadly, Skaleby is not portable so I have decided to start another layout which will be Skaleby's little brother and one that will be built specifically to attend shows. So here is where we have got to now: The show Throughout half term I have been frantically researching show dates for the end of the year. The school's headteacher wants the event to take place in 2012 in order to fit in with our year of fundraising events. I have checked the dates of as many local shows as I can think of, and have come up with a list of prospective dates that won't clash. These will be taken to the governor's meeting later this week for confirmation. At present I am 99.9% certain that the show will be on Saturday 10th November and will take place at Weston-on-Trent Primary School in South Derbyshire. Once the date is confirmed I will be turning my attention to creating leaflets and posters to advertise the event. I have been very humbled by the response I have received from fellow RMWeb members and the offers of layouts I have already received. As this is a new show, and one that is being run to raise funds for the school, I have already stated the fact that I am unable to pay out much in the way of expenses. This has not stopped the layout offers coming in and I am really excited by the offers I have had. At least one layout offered had appeared on the "hit list" I dreamt up during the last few days. I have also received two definites for trade stands too, and that was from the first two people I asked! My recent visit to the Sileby show even brought up the possibility of a couple more layouts too. I am so amazed how easy it was to discuss this with people. As someone who admits to being quite shy, it was a big effort to actually ask people face to face for help. Thanks to all of those for being so helpful and understanding. So I hope to be able to formally announce the date soon and will then start finalising the list of layouts and looking for trade stands. It is all quite exciting! The layout I never thought a week ago that I would be contemplating another layout build. I have so much to do on my permanant home layout, Skaleby, that starting another one would be a ridiculous notion. But I have promised to show a layout of my own at our show. In reality, building a show layout has always appealed to me anyway and so this is a good excuse, even if the Weston show may be the only one it ever visits! As I am on a deadline and need to construct the model in just 8 or 9 months I have decided on a small micro layout. I have already purchased wood for the baseboard which will be 4 ft x 1 ft. The railway has been given a working title of "Skaleby West" and will feature a small branch line station complete with passing / run-round loop and a couple of goods sidings. This will allow me to transport some of my smaller stock over from Skaleby. I am not intending to model a particular region, and will make things deliberately freelance and vague. That way I could choose to run the model as ex GWR, Midland or even North Eastern region as I have appropriate locos and stock for these areas. So far I have played around with the track layout and have come up with what I think will be the final track plan. This is shown in the picture below. So far the board is sat on the top of the rabbit hutch which shares the railway room with Skaleby. I just need to run a few trains to check the plan is operable.