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andyram

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  1. andyram

    Butterley 2013

    By andyram,

    This year was the third year of Butterley's Midland Rail-ex event. I have been fortunate enough to visit the last two shows and was very much looking forward to this year's event. I had read a one or two concerned comments from people on RMWeb, with these worried about parking and signage at the event. I wondered whether these would be an issue this year.
    Arriving at Butterley shortly after 9am on Sunday parking was certainly not a problem. There was plenty of space in the car park, and there were plenty of stewards to direct you to a space to ensure that they got as many cars in as possible. With an overflow car park available too there seemed plenty of space available and I heard no complaints during the day.
    The queue had been dealt with quickly and there was no delay at the booking hall when paying the entrance fee. On the platform the staff kept us all informed about the various loco movements and arrangements for the train services to the exhibition site at Swanwick Junction. At Butterley the station buffet and gift shop were both open as was the AMRS building all of which provided things to do whilst waiting for the train.
    The first train left on time at 9.30am and deposited us all at Swanwick soon after. With the show due to start at 10am I was surprised that we were allowed access to the event some 20 minutes early. Whilst this meant no hanging about it, it did lead to some exhibitors not being ready. In the station building the Bachmann Collectors Club stall was unmanned and covered over with a sheet. The "Glen Roy" layout was all set up, but was also unmanned. A similar situation was found in the Diesel shed where one layout was also not operating and two trade stands were unmanned with one still covered over.
    This certainly is not a good start to the day. I do not blame the exhibitors for this as the event was advertised to start at 10am and so I guess they were all working to this time. But surely there is a security issue to have unmanned trade stands and layouts when the general public are allowed to enter. We all know that there are the odd "light-fingered" individuals who sometimes attend such events.
    It is clear that the organisors have not quite got the start of the day sorted yet. The same thing happened two years ago, whilst last year the first train was excessively delayed to "kill time". In my opinion if the event is due to start at 10am then the first train should take that into account and should not arrive at Swanwick until this time. Perhaps the first train should be timetabled later, or if the need is to move people from Butterley quickly perhaps the first train could pass through Swanwick, run to Riddings and stop on the return!
     
    That criticism aside I thought the show was excellent once again with a good range of trade stands and layouts. The buildings were well sign-posted and the map in the show guide was very clear. I think the organisors had listened to concerns from those less mobile vistors who felt that there was too much walking to do. As a result there were no exhibits in the West Shed this year, with the nearer Stationary Engine building used instead- although these exhibits were upstairs.
    Amongst the highlights of the show for me was the excellent "North Bridge". This small layout is crammed full of detail right down to the litter in the track bed and the detailed building interiors. The sound fitted locos add to the effect. I have seen this layout many a time before and never fail to be impressed. Other excellent models included "Poole in Wharfedale" complete with the moving vehicles on the road, the Ilkeston group's superb "Kimberley" layout filled out the chapel building very well. I do hope people managed to find this model.
    Iron Mould Lane is a fine model of an iron and steel works. Lots of detail and sound here too. My young daughter certainly recognised what it was trying to achieve, pointing and shouting "hot, hot" as one of the blue liveried Austerity tanks shunted a torpedo wagon. I think she recognised this vehicle from a steel works model seen at DEMU Showcase earlier in the year. What a memory for a 20 month old!!
    I did get back to see "Glen Roy" being operated later in the day. This is a very good model with lots of operational interest in a small space.
     
    The theme for the full size railway was stated as "shunters". Sadly this was a bit of a let down with the advertised display of shunting engines not being present. The small Peckett tank "Whitehead" was involved in some shunting during the day and made some light engine runs up the Codnor branch. Not really enough for it to be classed as "theme" though. At least the service trains catered for all though with both sets "top and tailed" by steam and diesel. Sadly I missed any steam haulage as having been diesel hauled by a class 47?? in the morning I had the same loco on the return as it relieved the Jinty for it to be coaled and watered. Never mind!
     
    All in all another great show and congratulations to all of the organising team. I am already looking forward to the 2014 event.
  2. andyram
    As anybody who has read my other blogs will know, I already have two model railway projects ongoing at present. My permanent home based layout, Skaleby, is a 00 gauge shelf layout currently undergoing a protracted construction in our spare room. Its little brother, Skaleby West, is a micro layout, built for my Weston-on-Trent exhibition last year. This has an extension in the advanced planning stage.
     
    So the last thing I really need is another model railway project!
     
    The fact is, I had never really considered starting another project. My main aim was to make progress on the Skaleby West extension - but one innocent comment changed all of that.
     
    A recent trip out saw my eyes fall upon a Bachmann G gauge "Thomas" set. This contained Percy, two troublesome trucks and an oval of track + controller at a much reduced price. Now I am quite fond of those original characters from the Island of Sodor. I was brought up on a diet of Rev Awdry stories. It is what got me interested in steam and model railways. My 20 month old daughter is developing a similar interest (perhaps aided by a few preserved railway and model railway visits with daddy!!). She can already control my father in law's "track mat" layout, asks for the "choo-choos" everytime she visits there and can name a number of the Thomas characters - including shouting out "That's right" everytime she sees Ferdinand - one of the awful new characters added by the vandals that currently own the franchise. Her favourite character is Percy.
     
    Upon arrival home I happened to mention this "bargain" set to my wife, expecting her to produce the sort of usual stock wife answer we hear all the time eg "that's nice" / eyes roll upwards etc. Did she? No! What she said was - "why don't you buy it for the garden?". Even an excuse of lack of funds from me did not produce the sensible response from her. Instead I got "why not use your credit card!".
    Up until that point a G gauge garden layout had only been a distant dream - something that would be nice to have but never likely. Up until that point I have never really liked the SWMBO tag that many RMWeb users give their spouses. But on this occasion I am happy to adopt it.
     
    And so I have my third model railway project.
     
    Since that fateful day I managed to dig out an old Hornby magazine "Garden Railway" supplement. This gave guidance as to how to build a semi-permanent G gauge layout. This is what I am planning at present. For the time being the track plan will make use of the basic oval from a, soon to be purchased, set. It will give my daughter the chance to control a train on a continous run - something that is not possible on Skaleby or Skaleby West. There will be scope to expand the set some time in the future if and when funds permit as I have to be honest money is not readily available at present!
     
    Getting started
    During the last year I have gradually been extending the flower bed which runs down one side of our back lawn. The plan had been to extend this to the rear of the garden and further widen it at the far corner so that we got rid of some of the poorly laid areas of lawn around our bird table. This area we planned to cover in plastic sheeting, before adding a layer of decorative stones / gravel. Work commitments had rather halted progress during the last 12 months. But after identifying this decorative area as a perfect place for the initial starter oval of track I had renewed motivation. I dug the whole thing out this afternoon! The accompanying picture shows the progress made so far - amazing what the promise of a layout can do!!!

  3. andyram

    Ruddington 2013

    By andyram,

    A free Saturday gave me the chance to visit the Ruddington show today. This show, like the Midland Rail-ex at Butterley, spreads its exhibits around several buildings on the Nottingham Heritage Centre site. The main exhibition takes place inside the loco shed, with the layouts and traders tucked inbetween the various items of rolling stock. Space is certainly limited. Inside the shed there were 4 traders and 7 layouts. The best of these was the 0 gauge "Camden" shed model which I saw at the Derby show earlier in the year. This is a superb model and displays a large collection of wonderfully detailed Midland Region stock. I wish I had space for an 0 gauge model, especially the "Duchess" class models seen below on the turntable.


    Even larger than this was the G scale display which featured a variety of American stock, complete with sound and smoke! This layout also featured a Isle of Man loco and a Bachmann "Thomas". Perhaps, considering my daughter's interest in the little blue engine, I could get away with purchasing one as an excuse for a garden railway!
    A large American modular layout dominated the middle of the shed. Impressive in size, but not my interest, so I skipped past this one. Near to this was a young lad with a display of Lego trains - good to see younger children involved in exhibiting.
    A tram layout depicted a film studios, complete with a model of a Lancaster Bomber. My mother would have appreciated this, she has a real interest in WW2 aircraft and the Lanc in particular.


     
    Other layouts in the main shed were the N gauge models "Derwent Valley" and "Sumwhere Valley" both featured a constant stream of passing trains.
     
    Beyond the main shed the other areas were rather difficult to find. There was little signage and the "show guide" (printed A4 sheets) didn't provide a map. The visitors centre is very small, but featured one well stocked trade stand and two further layouts. It was good to catch up with Malcolm Hughes again as he displayed his collection of clockwork Hornby. Next to him was the modern image "Meadow Lane TMD" which is another impressive small space layout.
    The final building was at the far end of the site near to the station for the impressive miniture railways. The building contained one demonstration and two layouts from the Gresley and Wychnor group. I do enjoy watching the excellent "Glen Roy" and the operators are always friendly.
     
    That is 11 layouts in total - slightly less than the 12 advertised visitors. The site does have four layouts of its own which are present all year round. The 0 gauge Millhouse Lane is superbly detailed, but is outshone for me by the large 00 gauge model which depicts Ruddington Station in the latter days of steam. These are well worth seeing.
     
    In all the show was enjoyable, although I will suggest that better signage would improve things ensuring visitors do not miss anything. Perhaps the show could also expand into one of the other sheds - the road transport building for instance as this would allow a better range of layouts to be included. The only 00 gauge steam era layout was "Ruddington"
     
    The highlight for me was the use of steam on the line to Loughborough Junction. This was the first time I had seen steam used on such services during a model railway weekend. I had never previously travelled the full length of the line so this made my visit worthwhile too. I would also recommend the bottled Good Owld 63 ale which was on sale in the buffet carriage.

  4. andyram
    The need to get leaflets out to promote our own show at Weston has sent me off to some events this year which I would not normally have attended. As someone whose railway interest is very much preserved steam (with my model railways falling into the same category), a pure diesel and electric event is not one which would normally interest me. That does not mean I have anything against those who model these forms of railway - everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their own interest! I just prefer steam!
     
    I had intended to visit yesterday - but a sleepless night with my daughter and a few household chores put paid to that. Sadly that meant I could not get any leaftlets into the first day of the show. At least I got there today, laid a few out in various locations, and saw a few being carried around during the day, so my visit will prove worthwhile in that respect - especially if these people turn up in November!
     
    As regards the show itself I have to say it was excellent. I never expected to enjoy a diesel and electric show as much as I did. There was a good range of layouts and traders spread amongst the four rooms. Everything was easy to find thanks to a colour coded map in the show guide. Without doubt this is the best show guide I have seen for quite some time - full colour with a full page dedicated to almost every layout, illustrated by plenty of pictures. My congratulations to whoever produced this, it really is superb - and it was free too!
     
    I had seen some of the layouts at other shows. I have viewed Loch Tat on several previous occasions. I do like this N gauge model. The superbly modelled loch scene, complete with fishing boat, always takes me back to my honeymoon in the Highlands a few years ago. Also bringing back memories of those two weeks in Fort William and Inverness were the models "Rannoch Moor" and "Dalmally".
    Dalmally has a track layout which is based on Killin Junction. The Killin - Loch Tay branch is one I hope to model in the future, having bought a book on the line from a book shop in Fort William. It is nice to see a modern take on one of these stations.
    Rannoch Moor is a lovely depiction on the West Highland line. I loved the curving viaduct at one end. The trains services gave a good impression of those which can be seen in Scotland today. I did raise a smile at the charter train set stored at the back of the fiddle yard, complete with a steam interloper in the form of a Hornby "Black 5". Interestingly it had disappeared when I returned to the layout a second time. Had someone really been asked to remove it????
     
    The Hornby demonstration stand also had some steam interlopers. The models of "Duke of Gloucester" look very impressive. That is definitely one for a future shopping list. The DCC sound display was interesting and my daughter was certainly captivated when Simon Kohler set one of the sound fitted steam locos going on a rolling road! She was leaning forward wondering where the noise was coming from. Mind you, it did seem to upset a couple of other punters to hear a "steamy" at the DEMU show. Thanks Simon!!
    Returning to non-steam issues though. The new Sentinel shunter looks fantastic and did spark ideas for a modern shunting puzzle layout. I bet I am not the only one to be impressed enough with this model to think along those lines!
     
    I've mentioned my daughter a couple of times. At 18 months old she has already attended more than 10 events during her short life and she certainly enjoys them. We had only been inside a couple of minutes when she got excited by the steady stream of trains on the large 00 gauge layout - "Coppell". She was craning her neck over the security barriers to view an oncoming train shouting "Here it is" to the amusement of those nearby. But her favourite layout, and mine too, was "Rhydwyn Fawr". Set in a steel works this 7mm O gauge model featured in a recent issue of Railway Modeller. It looked good in the article, but it is even better in the flesh. The freelance industrial engines were busy moving the various stock around the different levels. The appropriate sounds and lights gave a great impression of a working steel mill. So much so that my daughter pointed to the large building and proclaimed it to be "hot, hot!". A brilliant layout, I could have watched it all day and so could my daughter. She dragged me back to it three times and moaned when I took her away.
     
    So to finish off. I may not have an interest in diesel and electric modelling - but this event was very enjoyable and well organised. I will certainly be back next year.
  5. andyram
    Part 1 – George Pepper

    George, a retired widower, is the lone resident of “Yew Tree Cottage” – the thatched dwelling which peeps its way through the trees at the top of the embankment next to the tunnel.
    A keen gardener, George bought Yew Tree cottage following the death of his wife, Mary, last year. At the time the cottage was in quite a state of disrepair. Throughout last summer George was often seen out in the warm sunshine, clad in his overalls, bringing the building back to its former glory. He repainted the doors and windows and trimmed back the various ivy plants which had threatened to engulf the walls. Rumours have suggested that the back garden is immaculate too. Not that many people can confirm the statement. The cottage’s rear is well hidden and very few people have ventured inside the cottage since its new owner arrived.
    George is a quiet fellow who keeps himself to himself. You would think that he would not upset many people, but sadly that is not true. Aside from gardening, George has another passion – bees! He has several bee hives at the rear of the house, and has recently added a further hive at the side of the house. The bees often have a habit of venturing down to the station to frequent the stationmaster’s developing station garden. This does not go down well with the passengers.
    Here George can be seen attending to his newest hive, appropriately clad in his immaculate beekeeper’s overalls. No wonder he has gained the local nickname of “The Spaceman”.

     
     
    In truth George is nothing more than the latest figure added onto my Skaleby West exhibition layout. He is a Harburn Hamlet figure, purchased from the Bakewell exhibition recently.
    This has been the only development on the layout of late. A few problems at work have taken up a fair amount of my time and so I have not been able to turn my attention to any serious modelling of late. The extension remains un-started and I am beginning to wonder if it will ever get done.
    I have continued to operate trains on my home layout, Skaleby, throughout. Here is a shot of my Standard 3 tank arriving with a passenger train.

    Planning for this year’s Weston show continues though. Although, after such a stressful week, the last thing I needed was the school summer fair, it did give me chance to have a few leaflets and posters on display. I keep printing these out and dropping them off at every show I visit so hopefully it will produce a decent crowd.
    This year I have also written off to two of the four major modelling magazines. I plan to do the others in the next month or so. Not only am I trying to get a free advert in each magazine’s event diary, I am also trying to get a small feature on the show or even one on the layout. Sadly I have heard nothing back yet.
    I am reaching that crucial point though where I need to discuss the accommodation with the headteacher. I will need an extra room in order to fit all the layouts in. Hopefully this will not be a problem as I will be taking out one of the attractions from last year’s show. The crèche / children’s room which was dreamt up by one of the other members of staff did not receive enough support so will be dropped this year. The member of staff is leaving the school in July anyway so someone else would have had to run it. Removing this should allow me the chance to have an extra room for exhibits. Fingers crossed!
     
    Until next time…
  6. andyram

    Bakewell 2013

    By andyram,

    Yesterday I spent an enjoyable few hours at the Peak Model Railway Show at Bakewell. I visited the show for the first time last year, and was looking forward to this year's event.
    The venue is very nice - a spacious and well lit hall with plenty of room to walk round and view the exhibits. There is a well priced cafe too with some very nice bacon rolls!
     
    This year's event featured a number of impressive layouts. The Lancashire and Yorkshire layout "Calderwood" has a number of impressive cameo scenes along its length. The station is very detailed in particular. It also features working signals and they are operated realistically with communication between fiddle yards via a series of bell codes. When I saw this layout at Derby a year or so ago there was lots of bells, but no train movements in five minutes. I was pleased to see a much more frequent service this time - with three passing freight trains in a similar time.
    Mentioning cameo scenes - there were lots on the impressive P4 layout Cheddar S & DJR. This contained descriptions of the scenes printed on the front in order to bring the layout to life. The model ran well, and the Prussian blue engines looked superb under the lights.
    There was also plenty to see on the "Museum of transport" layout. This attended the show last year. It may not be one for the purists perhaps, but I do like it. It is something different with the wonderfully modelled exhibition buildings, a superb harbour complete with an excellent model lifeboat, and the canal with the operating boat is a feature not seen on many other layouts. How many others have an operating hot air balloon! The model also features two "demonstration tracks" in OO gauge. At the front the automated GWR railcar operated to and fro, while at the rear, sound fitted DCC steam outline models operated a shuttle service. The museum demonstration line feel was represented by a Castle class loco' hauling a single GWR auto coach. Elsewhere on the model a 009 track also ran constantly with many superb models on show. I recently purchased, on a whim, a 009 model from EBay. It was painted in the Rev W Awdry Skarloey Railway livery and represents "Duncan", minus the smokebox face. I have considered a small 009 layout for this to run on, but not being experienced in this scale I need to research more as to how to go about it.
    Back to the show and there was another layout which was returning for a further year. Glen Gillie was this year presented with its "Loch Inch" extension. I was very impressed with this model last year. It also features lots of great scenics and cameos. The distillery is a superb model, complete with an air freshner filled with whisky to give off the appropriate smell! The extension features a detailed loch scene, a small halt serving a camping coach and a ruined castle which was thronged with little visitors. This really is an excellent model with lots to see.
     
    Other impressive models were the Scottish layout "Glen Roy" and the model of Idridgehay. There was also plenty of trade stands, although I was a little short of the "folding stuff". I did pick up a Harburn Hamlet model of a beekeeper - complete with an open hive. It made me smile and I decided that this figure would become the resident of the cottage on my show layout Skaleby West.
     
    An enjoyable show and a perfect escape from my paperwork for a few hours.
  7. andyram

    Fiddling around

    By andyram,

    An update on Skaleby West
     
    This week has been the school's half term holidays and I had hoped to get cracking with the Skaleby West extension. Sadly one or two family issues have prevented the development of the additional board. But I have managed to make progress elsewhere!
     
    Today I had a free afternoon whilst my wife was visiting her mother, so I turned my attention to the fiddle yard for the layout. This was built in a bit of a rush prior to last year's show and appeared with the facia board only painted in a white undercoat.
    After a look around the tester pots in B & Q I found a nice maroon shade and used this to paint the board in something resembling Midland Railway colours. Although Skaleby West's location is vague, I did run the layout with Midland region stock at the show so decided to lean this way for the colour scheme.
    Whilst painting the board I took the chance to erect the whole layout in our front room. This is the first time the whole layout has been erected since the Weston show last year. Even at only 8ft in length it certainly filled a good proportion of our front room. I am not so sure what my wife would have made it!

    Skaleby West invading our front room today. Note the newly painted fiddle yard.
     
    With the layout up, and a few hours of freedom it would have been rude not to have a little play! I connected up the controller, placed a short train in the fiddle yard - turned the control knob and....nothing! This was a sense of de-ja vu! The same thing happened during the set up at Weston. I fiddled around with a few things, but got no luck. Upon further investigation I soon discovered the reason. The cable from the adaptor was almost completely broken! I am not sure how that happened - but clearly the controller would not be any good without a new adaptor.
    I connected up my spare controller. That didn't work either. This was becoming the Weston show all over again.
    Now both controllers are former train set models. One of the old black and red type, and one the newer version. Both are fairly lightweight and so I was not too concerned by their failures. They were going to be replaced anyway.
     
    A few months ago I had been gifted a Gaugemaster controller by my father in law. He has been developing his own layout and has a habit of buying things before he has completed his plans. The controller was one of two purchased and became surplus to requirements once he had finalised his plan. I duely received it, and this was always earmarked for use on Skaleby West. I decided to have a go at wiring this up today.
     
    I connected the wires to the controller and then used crocodile clips to make a temporary connection to the track at the tunnel end. I powered up again and the Bachmann "Jinty" 47279 duely moved! Success? Actually no! The engine moved a short distance forward, then the controller cut out and the engine stopped. This was the pattern for the next half an hour or so. When travelling towards the controller the engine would move slightly, then stall as the controller cut out. Yet when travelling in reverse, away from the powerpoint it ran sweet as a nut!
    I fiddled around again.
    I then;
    - switched the connectors over.
    - turned the loco around.
    - checked the connections on the controller.
    - disconnected and re-connected all wiring.
     
    Nothing seemed to work. I was beginning to despair!!
     
    Finally I swapped the loco for my Standard 4 tank 80120. This ran smoothly in both directions both as a light engine and with a short freight! I then tried the Jinty again and it ran perfectly too! I was totally bemused at that point, and still am! What on earth happened there??
     
    At least the layout was running and inbetween my planned job of track cleaning I was able to enjoy half an hour running some trains - my first proper operating session since the show last November. Sadly after the half hour my wife text to say she was on her way home - cue a mad clear up to return the lounge to its proper condition before she arrived home.
    I did at least take a few shots during the short operating session. I hope you like them!

    Skaleby West station is seen through the tunnel. The troublesome "Jinty" can be seen in the distance.

    47279 is posed in the platform at Skaleby West.

    Finally working 47279 arrives with a passenger train.

    The Jinty passes the signal box as it runs round its train.

    Ivatt 4 number 43160 arrives with another passenger train.

    The Ivatt runs round its train.

    Ready to depart.
     
    And so the layout is safely packed away. I'm not sure when I will get to operate it again. Apart from the obvious need to get on with constructing the extension board, I do need to solder permenant wire connections for the Gaugemaster controller. That should be fun. The last time I used a soldering iron was at secondary school.
     
    As far as the second Weston show is concerned I have not done too much. The main work has been on publicity. I have contacted various publications and another website to try and get adverts in the events diaries. I know it now appears on another prominent website which is good news. Leaflets were out on both days at the Derby show and quite a few appeared to have been picked up. I aim to put some more out at Bakewell next week.
     
    Until next time...
  8. andyram
    It has been a while since I updated this blog. But a few hours spent on Skaleby West has prompted me to provide the latest news on progress / lack of progress on the layout and on the second Weston on Trent show.
     
    Skaleby West was constructed last year. It took me nine months from starting it at the end of February, to completion for its debut at the first Weston show last November. Now my plans are to extend the scenic section by constructing a second 4ft x 1ft scenic board. Unfortunately the extension remains at the planning stage. Heavy work commitments have prevented me from making a physical start. The baseboards have not even been built. There are now just 6 months until the second Weston show. At this point last year the baseboards for the original Skaleby West had been built, painted and the track had been laid on the cork base. The holes had been drilled for the point motors and three of the four motors had been fitted. Should I be worried??
     
    My heavy workload should ease soon, and with a half term holiday just a week or so away I may just still manage it. My Dad has been primed to help out with the baseboard construction so that should help things along. There is less track to lay on the new board and no point motors to fit. Should I get the board constructed and track laid before the 6 week summer holiday then I may have a fighting chance.
     
    The modelling has been restricted to more repair work on the original Skaleby West. A couple of station lamps and one of the figures were re-glued onto the board and the track has received a thorough clean. A few trains have been run today.
     
    At least the Weston model railway show is not similarly stuck in the starting blocks! In fact it is bursting at the seams. I am still tying to juggle the 20 layouts which are on my confirmed / provisional list in order to try and fit them in. That extra room looks like it will be needed. I also have another trade stand to fit in. I am sure it will all turn out in the wash!
    During the last few weeks I have worked hard on publicity. Adverts have been sent to several magazines and websites. Leaflets have also been taken to many local shows. It was quite encouraging when I made a second visit to the Derby show last Sunday. All of the leaflets I had dropped off on Saturday had gone! I'm glad I had taken some more! Let's hope all those people come.
     
    Until next time...
  9. andyram

    Derby 2013

    By andyram,

    It has long been a tradition that my Dad and I always visit the Derby show on the Saturday. We have done so right back to the days of the Assembly Rooms, and the late opening until around 7pm. We always used to do the Darwin Suite first to get the foreign stuff "out of the way" (it is not our thing!). Then we would do the balcony, great hall and finish off in the foyer at the top of the stairs before a spot of lunch and a pint (when I was old enough) before going around our favourite exhibits again.
     
    These days the Assembly Rooms venue and the late opening have been condemned to history. But the Derby show remains a must visit date on our calendar.
     
    Today we were there not long after opening allowing me to drop off some leaflets for the Weston show. We then spent an enjoyable few hours at the event. It was nice to catch up with some fellow RMWeb users - seeing Don operating the "Layout in a T.V" and hearing an update on his Bridgnorth model. It was good to see Pete Harvey again and to not ignore him this time as I almost did at Mansfield. Nice to see a steam interloper on his mainly Diesel layout.
    The show was as enjoyable as ever and there were some excellent layouts. One of the highlights for me was the Taff Valley Railway model "Ynysybwl". The detail in the back gardens of the buildings were superb. It was interesting to see the fiddle yard on view, and it seemed to be partial scenic too. Without doubt this was my favourite layout in the show.
    The LNER layout "Fryupdale" brought back a few memories of holidays in North Yorkshire, taking inspiration from such locations as Sleights and Glaisdale. I loved the bridged section over the river, which really did remind me of a section of the NYMR.
    There did seem to be a lot of more modern D&E layouts this year including Meadow Lane TMD, Crimson Road, Oil Drum Lane and New Bryford. Despite favouring steam era models, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing these. New Bryford being the pick of them aided by the sound fitted models.
     
    Amongst the many trade stands I managed to pick up a Gaugemaster photo backscene for my, as yet unstarted, Skaleby West extension. There were a few other things to tempt me, but somehow I managed to keep my hands in my pocket.
     
    Still an excellent show and congrats to all concerned. I look forward to the next one...well actually the wife has told me she wants me to take our 17 month old daughter out for a couple of hours tomorrow whilst she does the cleaning. I wonder where I can take her..................
  10. andyram

    WestonRail 2013

    By andyram,

    I wonder how many small villages can boast two different model railway exhibitions a year, in two different locations, organised by two different groups of people. I doubt there are many. In fact Weston-on-Trent in South Derbyshire may just be unique in that sense.
    Last year I organised our first ever exhibition, located in the village school. This was successful enough for a repeat to be planned for this year (Saturday 16th November). This weekend sees another event in the village. WestonRail takes place on the Ukrainian camp on the edge of the village and is organised by the NMRA.
     
    Now I have been working in the village for 13 - 14 years and I have only recently found out about this show, which I believe has been running for several years. The first I heard about WestonRail was when speaking to someone at our event last year, who claimed to have visited this show in the past. The second time I heard about it was from a trader who booked a stall for our event for this year. Apparantly they had stood a previous WestonRail event.
     
    For the first time I actually saw an advert for the show. It featured in the "show diary" in the last two issues of the Hornby Magazine and as it fell on a weekend I was free I thought I would go along - take a look, and also try and leave a few publicity leaflets for our event.
     
    Now I will be honest at this stage. My expectations for the show were very low. Both the people who I had spoken to previously had rather negative things to say about their experiences. I was also aware that the show catered for people with an interest in modelling American railroads - something which is not necessarily my cup of tea.
     
    I am pleased to report that the show more than exceeded my expectations. I was made very welcome at the door and there was plenty of space to walk around the two halls of exhibits. To be fair, the show is mainly aimed at members of the NMRA, but non-members are more than welcome. It is described as a "modular meet" and many layouts were of the modular type. There were certainly some very large models. The N gauge modular layout was huge, almost an entire model railway system in miniture. This allowed for some rather lengthy train formations, and I happily watched the action for quite some time. It was very entertaining.
    There was a very nice model of "lumber company" layout in the second hall - complete with a barge being loaded and unloaded by rail. The name of the model escapes me, but it featured some very impressive scenics.
    The event featured a number of specialist trade stands as well as the Bachmann stand which sold spares and returns from their international range. I did hang my nose over one of their 00 gauge tramcars, but resisted the temptation to buy.
     
    All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I certainly feel that those people who spoke to me in the past were unfair in their criticism of the event. If you like American layouts you will love this - and I recommend you get across to visit the second day tomorrow. As a non-American modeller I have to admit I did enjoy the event too. I would like to thank those people on the door for making me feel so welcome. The hall is very spacious and ideal for a model railway show with seemingly plenty of parking on site. My only criticism is one that I know our show suffered from - signage! I know where the Ukrainian club is - but others don't and it is easy to drive past. A couple of road signs would help others find the event.
  11. andyram
    The Easter holidays are here, and a break from the constant round of planning, marking, teaching and assessing student teachers. A chance to spend some time with the family and catch up with some modelling. Here is the latest update....
     
    The layout
    Despite the granting of planning permission for the extension to Skaleby West, and the placing of an order for the wood, there has been no physical progress as regards the second scenic board. That does not mean things have been at a standstill however. The early part of the Easter break has seen me tackling a few more jobs on the orginal board.
    Some of the scenics for Skaleby West were completed in a rush, in order to get the job done for last year's show. The buildings, with the exception of the cottage, were simply placed onto the layout with no additional detailing. They served their purpose, but I always felt that the Skaledale signal box looked a little too clean and fresh out of the box. So on Easter Monday, whilst watching the Rams record their ninth successive win over Leeds on Sky tv, I set about the model with the weathering powders. This was a little nerve wracking as the only item I had previously weathered was the station's red telephone box. Initially I used some "brown muck" and dry brushed this down the cream top of the 'box, ensuring the powders were worked into the corners and the recesses between each "plank of wood". The same colour was then dry brushed over the brick work, and lightly over the roof. Quite a bit of the powder did fall onto the cinder ground cover. I brushed this into the scatter material and it does seem to blend in like a "sandy soil". I am not sure yet whether to leave this or re-cover it with fresh scatter material as I am not sure about how effective the current look is.
    Once I had finished the brown I added a dry brush covering of "black muck" to the signal box. This blended in quite well. I then followed this up with a liberal covering of hairspray. I used this method on the telephone box and it seems to work well. The hairpsray does seem to fix the powders without leaving a "sheen".
    The completed signal box can be seen here. The weathering does appear subtle as the hairspray does remove some of the powders as it is sprayed.

     
    I then used the "black muck" powder to weather the grounded van body which acts as the office for the coal merchants. This can be seen here.

    I am quite pleased with the effect on both models, although I may add a touch more weathering to the signal box as I am not sure it is weathered enough. I still have plans to detail the interior of this model too.
     
    During the last few days I have taken advantage of the layout's "temporary" location in the lounge to run a few trains. I am not able to fit the fiddle yard board in, so the Peco loco lift has been used instead, meaning short trains only. For the benefit of my daughter, my 25 (ish) year old model of Thomas the Tank Engine visited Skaleby West complete with Annie and Clarabel. But recently it has been my large Prairie tank, number 6134 that has been used to shunt wagons in the goods yard. Here are a few pics of the locomotive stood at the platform.


     
    The poor scratchbuilt goods shed remains in-situ at present and can be seen here with the wagons awaiting their turn to be unloaded.

     
    And so with a week and a half of my break remaining I hope to make further progress. At the very least I want to have picked up the wood and made a start on finalising the plans for the second board. I do know that this will likely feature a single track running through, with the scenery depicting more of the village scene - beyond that my plans remain a little bit hazy.
     
    The show
    After a busy few weeks at work things have been a little bit quiet in terms of the show. Apologies to those people awaiting emails from me, I have not forgotten, I have just not got around to it yet. Expect to hear from me shortly.
    I have started sending out more publicity leaflets and I have finalised the final trade stand for the show. Things are continuing to take shape.
     
    Until next time....
  12. andyram
    In my last blog entry a month ago I mentioned that I had begun the hunt for layouts to make up the 2013 Weston on Trent model railway show. With plenty of time until the November date I was expecting things to move slowly! I was wrong! The period around the school's half term break produced a rather manic spell when everything seemed to happen at once!
     
    It all started with a visit to the Sileby show where I had discussed the show with three layout owners. One of these was booked and another is on the reserve list. Then I went to Trowell and was offered the chance to have the Moxley Heath O gauge layout again. This was duely booked and things started to take shape. And then it happened - my email went into meltdown. Not a day went by without at least one show related email and some came completely out of the blue - like the message from the owners of last year's exhibit - Guy's Cuttings, offerring to return with one of their other layouts. These were N gauge monsters and led to some hasty remeasuring of the hall before I could finally feel confident that I can squeeze their 21 foot long Watts Crossing layout into the show.
    Other emails brought even more exhibits. One owner responded to my request for his layout, agreeing to come and offerring to bring his mate with him, complete with an additional 009 model. The offers just kept on coming.
     
    I was feeling fairly settled that things were progressing well...then I went to the Mansfield show. I had always intended to visit, and also wanted to chat to another exhibitor as well as having a first look at their layout. Not only did I do that, I came away with other potential exhibits too. During the day I spoke to a couple of other layout owners, both were keen to attend this year's Weston show. Apologies to them that I haven't yet been in touch. I will be soon!
     
    Following the Mansfield show I was finally able to sit down and take a breath. All of a sudden the floor plan was looking a lot more full. In fact my problem could now be fitting everyone in. I was speaking to our headteacher's husband at a school social the other night. He suggested I look at trying to blag another classroom. He may have a point - especially as offers kept on coming. I arranged the final trade stand for the event - they offered to bring their layout too! Then I was walking around Burton toy fair. My dad, who was standing the event, called me over. A gentleman had picked up a leaflet for the Weston show and was wanting to bring his minic motorway layout!!! I really could not believe it!
     
    So as I write this blog I have 16 layouts as good as booked. If I add those from the Mansfield show I will have 19, and I could push the total up to 21 with those two recent offers. Things really have come together, and it has definitely all happened at once.......
     
    The layout
    If the progress on the show was not enough - the same period brought a significant development with my show layout. The Skaleby and District council have formally passed the planning consent for the extension to the line. In real terms my wife has given me permission to construct the second scenic board. The wood is on order and so I can start to develop my plans. At present I plan to build the second board to fit at the goods shed end of Skaleby West, providing an extra run from station to fiddle yard. I plan to represent a little more of Skaleby village on this board, and have bought a couple more Skaledale buildings for this purpose. More updates soon.
     
    Until next time....
  13. andyram

    Nottingham 2013

    By andyram,

    Ok, it was not at Harvey Haddon and the show was spread out over a number of locations. Ok, if you hadn't purchased a show guide you may have struggled to find everything, and ok there may have been parking problems. But Nottingham 2013 was a great show and great credit should go to those who organised the event in a relatively short space of time. It is not their fault the previous venue was unavailable, and it was not their fault that the weather caused some of the parking problems. (I remember a Stafford show where many cars had to be towed off the car park!!).
     
    Some people do not like change, clearly!
     
    Now the reason I am labouring the point is that, on Saturday, I observed a visitor verbally abusing one of the stewards in an aggressive manner about the above issues. It was disgraceful behaviour. If the gentleman in question reads this I hope he is totally ashamed of himself. Ok, he may not have been happy over some elements, and he is entitled to his opinion. But there are ways and means of making your point and that was not the correct way!
     
    This was the first show at the new venue and I am sure it has been a learning curve for the organisers and they will learn the lessons of this for future shows. But they are on the right track. There were plenty of signs and stewards to direct visitors to the different parts of the event. Maybe a free map with your ticket would help - after all the Mansfield show does this! The catering was good, and the entry fee slightly cheaper. And there was a good range of exhibits, well organised and logically grouped together.
    Highlights for me was the gigantic model of Leicester South which depicted the Great Central Railway. The large goods facility, complete with working wagon turntables was superb. Other excellent layouts were Sutton, Thurston, Borchester and Yarborough. All were excellent large layouts.
    I had been looking forward to seeing Gamston Bank. Sadly, like others who have commented, it seemed to be having a few technical problems whilst I was stood there. I did not get to see too much action. The layout was still an impressive model!
     
    The show had a few hidden gems including the Scottish region layout - Dalmally. This B.R blue era model depicted a modified model of a real station on the Glasgow to Oban line. Its track layout taking inspiration from such locations as Killin Junction. I have developed an interest in the Killin branch after reading articles and books on the line to Loch Tay. Seeing this model was very interesting..maybe a model of Killin Junction could be a long term personal project. Now there is a thought!
    Another little gem was the N gauge modern image model of Stoney Lane Depot. Such detail packed into a relatively small space. Superb!
    And what a shock. Here is me - a self confessed steam modeller praising modern image layouts. They must have been that good!!
     
    There is always the odd model built in a strange place. The "Shoerack Shuttle" was located in a room which I almost missed. This was built in an Ikea shoerack and showed what could be done when space is very limited. Another excellent model.
     
    Overall a great show. And a good starting point at this new venue. I believe that the show will be there for another two years at least and I am sure the organisers will learn lessons from it. But was a great show. Well done to all concerned.
  14. andyram

    Mansfield 2013

    By andyram,

    If you are free tomorrow (Sunday 3rd March) I recommend you get over to Mansfield for the second day of this show. I am sure you will not be disappointed!
     
    I first visited the Mansfield show last year and found it to be a very friendly show. This year's visit was the same. I only expected to stay for about an hour, but ended up staying for over three. So many of the exhibitors and visitors to this show are friendly and are willing to chat. Of course it helps that many are RMWeb members.
    I have only been a member of this site for about a year or so, so still consider myself a "newbie", but there were so many fellow users who said hello and wanted to chat that I was made to feel very welcome. Even one of the stallholders asked my name and conducted business on first name terms - it is just those little touches!
     
    As for the layouts there were some very impressive ones on display too. Several familiar models were present - Jim Read with his excellent "Moxley Heath" and "Dava" with his new layout "Coney Hill" which is coming along a treat. It was great to see the Ixion O gauge tank engine running on this layout. What a nice model and very smooth runner too.
    Redgate Models "Fourgig East" was on display again. It is still a work in progress, but is looking a very nice model. It was nice to watch Ian at work with tooth brush and ballast.
    I saw Andy Peters' "Glen Roy" for a second week in a row. This time there were a few steam interlopers on this B.R blue era layout - these had DCC sound too. The Black 5 was an excellent model - wish I had the cash for one! Oh well I can't be greedy. I did pick up a lovely Bachmann D11 today. Not sure what to tell the wife!!
     
    Upon visiting the show I expected to be voting for Kirkby Stephen West as the best in show. A truely impressive 00 gauge model of the S & C. I did watch this for quite a while. The scenics and the procession of trains never disappoint. There is always something new to see, and to raise a smile. The "Rivet Counter detector van" was still doing its rounds, and has been joined by a builders van - neatly belonging to Bob!
    However "Mozzers" Coombe Rock layout gave me a dilema! Now I am not usually a fan of U.S layouts. Nothing against them, they are just not my thing. But the detail in this was superb right down to the details inside the buildings including the card game in the saloon bar and the drunk slumped outside. So much to see - this really is a fantastic layout and it made choosing which to vote for very tricky!
    I could mention all the layouts as they were all great. I enjoyed the two modern image layouts Dudley Road and Peter's Street and one or both could be winging their way to Weston at the end of the year. In fact there could be a couple of other layouts being added to the show from today. That was completely unexpected - but I will tell more when I update the Weston show blog.
  15. andyram

    Trowell 2013

    By andyram,

    My half term break ended as it began with a visit to a model railway exhibition. Like Sileby last week, the Trowell show packs a lot into a relatively small venue. It is always a good show and this year's was no different. I had been looking forward to the event all week, and it looks like I was not the only one. Throughout the morning the show was packed with a very good crowd.
    The show featured three very large layouts. The Ilkeston group's own layout "Kimberley" was on display on the stage. This is an excellent model of the through station in B.R days. The model was making its exhibition debut and it looked fantastic. I was particularly impressed by the detail in the gardens of the buildings near to my vantage point. There was plenty of action and both myself and my 14 month old daughter enjoyed watching the passing trains for quite some time.
    Kimberley was in contrast to Westwold. This 00 gauge 1950/60's model was being exhibited by the Caistor MRC. A spectacular model indeed with loads of detail - it was let down by a serious attack of Gremlins. Nothing seemed to be running well, and I never saw a train travel the entire length of the model untroubled. Such a shame and I really felt for the operators it must be terrible and very frustrating when things like that happen.
    The third large layout was "Tummel" an O gauge Scottish terminus which I have seen before. This is an excellent model with some lovely cameo scenes. O gauge models look great and I really admired their Standard 4 tank and Scottish Director as they entered the station.
    Another Scottish based model was Andy Peters' "Glen Roy" which features digital sound B.R blue diesels. This was also a lovely model and attracted a good crowd.
    The show gave me a chance to view Jim Read's "Moxley Heath" O gauge layout. This attended my Weston show last week. Despite being in the same room as Jim on the day I never got a good look at the model. It is amazing how he has managed to fit a working O gauge model in such a small space. It was nice to chat to Jim again and he has even suggested that I would like to attend Weston again this year if he is free. Fingers crossed!
    Opposite Jim was John Bottomley's "Torridge" layout. This features in the latest issue of Railway Modeller and depicts a West Country terminus complete with milk depot. This is also a lovely detailed model, with scenics achievable for all. Torridge is booked to attend the Weston 2013 show and I look forward to seeing it there.
    One other stand out model was "Tom's Shed" which was built for a recent Hornby Magazine 3ft challenge. What detail. This really depicted a working steam shed very well in such a small space. A real credit to its builders!
     
    There were other exhibits too, all excellent, which made this show another enjoyable event. I did manage to pick up a couple of things for my next modelling project....but that is for another blog!
  16. andyram

    Sileby 2013

    By andyram,

    After a particularly long and frustrating INSET day I have broken up for the much needed half term holiday and what better way to celebrate than by visiting a model railway event.
    This is the third successive year I have visited the Sileby event and I have always enjoyed it - this year was no exception. For a relatively small location, the Syston Model Railway society always manage to pack in lots to see, and there is always some excellent layouts on show. This year the stand out layout was the N gauge model of "Melton Mowbray (North). I have seen this featured in a prevous issue of the Hornby magazine, but had never seen it "in the flash". What an excellent model, packed full of detail which accurately represents the location. A big well done to those involved.
    Once again there were some old favourites on show. For the second show in succession I was able to view Mike Kelly's "Everbury". This was at the Stafford event two weeks ago. An excellent model and my 14 month old daughter certainly enjoyed the action!
    Other familiar layouts included the Soar Valley club's "Aylett End". This Southern region model features DCC control and many sound fitted locos. The scenics are excellent and I always enjoy seeing this model.
    Godric's Hollow is a OO gauge layout based on a SDJR branch. I believe it is fairly new to the exhibition circuit. I have seen previously it at last year's Loughborough and Burton events. Each viewing sees more and more progress made. For a "minimum space" layout it certainly has lots of operational interest with passenger services, general freight and services to the local dairy.
    Board Lane was also present. Chris Trafford's shunting layout, built on an ironing board, visited my own show last November. It was nice to see him and the layout once more.
     
    Amongst the layouts I was seeing for the first time was the O gauge model "Trebudoc". This small country branch station is just 9ft in length. In such a small space there was lots of operational interest and the ex GWR models looked superb.
    Alston was another superb N gauge layout, complete with an excellent viaduct model. Sadly my daughter decided to get hungry at that point and so I did not get enough time to view it. I hope I will get to see it again sometime in the future.
     
    During my visit I did get to chat to one or two layout owners about them potentially exhibiting their layouts at the Weston on Trent show in November. These are useful contacts and hopefully will lead to me adding more layouts to the show before too much longer.
     
    With wife and daughter hungry I took a detour on the way home, treating them to lunch in the Butler Henderson's cafe at Quorn and Woodhouse station on the GCR. During our visit I glimpsed two Leicester bound services through the window. The first was the DMU passenger, the second the diner which was hauled by Ivatt 46521. I also got the briefest glimpse of 6023 King Edward II on a Loughborough bound service.
    Incidently the food was very nice, the service not so good. Quite slow with not all meals served at the same time. As a GCR working member I was a little disappointed.
  17. andyram

    The hunt has begun

    By andyram,

    Now I appreciate that winter services into Skaleby West are rather infrequent, but is that really an excuse for a couple of members of the local gentry to use the track bed to exercise their steads? I wonder what those passengers, sat on the platform waiting for the next service, thought about the arrival of a couple of members of the Skaleby Hunt as they passed through the station in the "four foot".
    Considering Skaleby West station is built on land within the estate of Skaleby Manor, perhaps Lord and Lady Skaleby feel that they are within their rights to use the line in this way.
     
    In truth the errant horse riders are actually a pair of pre-painted Langley Models figures - purchased from the Stafford show last weekend. I just could not resist them. I do like the Langley Models goods and was looking for some figures to add a little more life and interest to my exhibition layout. Their presence on the track was actually because I had just glued the riders onto their horses and wanted to keep them upright whilst the glue dried. They have now taken up residence in their planned location - on the dirt track which crosses the top of the tunnel - see the pictures below.

     
    The Stafford exhibition began a run of show visits with Allestree, Sileby, Trowell, Mansfield and Nottingham all coming up in the next few weeks. This will begin my own hunt - a hunt for layouts for this year's Weston on Trent show.
    In my last post I appealed for layouts, sadly no offers came. I am not worried however. After all I did not start planning the 2012 show until February anyway. This year I do have a number of things sorted for the show already.
    6 traders have confirmed their intention to attend. I just need one more and I am looking into that.
     
    Several layouts have already been sorted with several exhibitors from last year agreeing to return with other models. This week I have confirmed another layout. At the latest count I have organised 8 exhibitors bringing up to 10 layouts. This still leaves space for 7 or 8 more. During my upcoming show visits I will be on the lookout for a few more layouts for the show - and if there are any RMWeb users out there who are interested in attending please get in touch.
    Meanwhile I am still working on the planning consent for the extension to Skaleby West - will the powers that be (the wife) pass the application?? With half term approaching I am hoping to finish the repair work to the layout and add some more detail. I have a few more Langley items awaiting attention.
     
    Until next time...
  18. andyram

    Stafford 2013

    By andyram,

    And so it begins! The Stafford exhibition begins my model railway show expeditions for this year. Stafford is always one of my favourite events and I have been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now. It always promises to be a big event with three halls packed full of impressive layouts and trade stands.In many ways it did not disappoint again this year. There were many large and impressive layouts to view. Just a shame my digital camera has decided to have a mood and won't let me download my images from the day.
     
    Having arrived, just after 10.30, my father and I spent a good 5 hours looking around the halls. Amongst the exhibits were some old favourites. These included "Romley Midland" which features a regular procession of trains to and from its small terminus station as well as trains from the colliery branch. This enters the line from a fiddle yard at the rear of the layout. There is always plenty to see. The scenics are excellent, although everything does seem a little too clean and perhaps the layout would benefit from more weathered stock - just a personal opinion though. The layout was up for sale and I am sure it will give its new owner many hours of pleasure.
    Poole in Wharfedale is another layout I have seen before. It featured at the Derby show last year. This is a lovely through station on a Yorkshire line with a wonderful scenic station, regular traffic and the added action of a working road way across the rear which adds to the scene. This was one of my favourite layouts in the show. Well done to Tim Couling and Harvey Whitmore for an excellent model.
    Another familiar model was Mike Kelly's B.R blue era OO gauge layout - "Everbury". I have seen three layouts built by Mike - Cromer, North Bridge and Everbury. All are excellent. He has great skill in adding little cameos and set pieces to the scenics to keep you interested - and there is always a train moving too. I tried to get Mike to bring a layout to my Weston on Trent show last year. Sadly he was away. Maybe I will have better luck this time around! Despite not being a diesel fan - I liked Everbury and spent quite a while watching the action.
     
    Everbury did seem to be part of a theme running through the Stafford show this year. One criticism I have of the event is that it seemed to be "top heavy" with diesel layouts. Not being a diesel fan this was disappointing, but I am sure that the modern image fans had a great day.
    Now I do enjoy some modern image / diesel layouts and I admired some of the many such layouts on show. Grange over Sands was another excellent model. Lots of detail was packed into this N gauge model, and my father was able to vouch for the authenticity of parts of the layout. The search and rescue helicopter "hovering" over the coast was a nice touch, as was the camera hidden away in a diesel which transmitted images of passing trains to an adjacent screen.
    Loch Tat was another excellent N gauge diesel model. I have seen it several times and it always brings memories of my honeymoon in Scotland a couple of years ago. The Loch itself is beautifully modelled, and the boat is very similar to one I photographed on Loch Linnhe during my stay. This layout won the best in show award. Congratulations to Adrian Lambourne.
     
    Of the "steam era" layouts I enjoyed the North of England line in N gauge. This featured in a recent issue of the Hornby magazine so it was great to see it in the flesh. Lots of scenic detail and set pieces in this layout too!
    The Lancashire and Yorkshire based "Calderwood" was another finely detailed model. This was also seen at Derby last year. I was pleased to see a lot more action taking place on the layout this time around and it was much more enjoyable to view as a result.
    Another excellent layout was the narrow gauge based "That Damn Railway". This depicted the building of a dam in Wales around the turn of the last century. There was a massive dam wall, with working cranes on the top, a narrow gauge line which zig zagged up the hill and lots of action on the steep gradients. The scenics were superb, with an excellent depiction of the worker's village. In my opinion this was the pick of the show.
     
    Two other layouts stood out for me. Firstly St George's Quay. This O gauge model was extremely detailed and included a working depiction of the coal being loaded into the waiting boats.
    Secondly was the "Somewhere in Belgium" model. Ted McElroy's shunting layout had lots of First World War detail. Now many people turn their noses up at shunting layouts, especially the "shunting puzzle" type. Here the operator worked to sequence five of the wagons onto the number 1 road in the order given on printed cards. I have tried something similar on parts of my home based layout and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst watching the operator I was trying to second guess his moves.... I reckon I may have solved the puzzle quicker than he did...but then again, maybe not!
     
    All in all an excellent day out. I managed to pick up some Langley models stuff for my own exhibition layout. I can't wait for the chance to add them to Skaleby West later this week.
    Well done to all who organised the Stafford 2013 event. I did enjoy it. Can we have a few more steam, and less diesel layouts next year though!
  19. andyram
    On Saturday I enjoyed an all too brief visit to the Great Central Railway's winter gala. What a spectacle. A constant stream of trains on the double track main line section with a good mix of passenger, freight and TPO workings. Gorgeous sunshine and snow lying on the ground made for great photographic conditions. I am sure those who are lucky enough to have a lineside pass enjoyed the show, especially those who positioned themselves around Swithland Sidings. Here trains were looped for others to overtake and, in the case of the TPO, were terminated here. I certainly enjoyed watching the Swithland action whilst sat in the looped DMU. Just a shame a couple of grumpy old men behind me didn't stop complaining throughout the time we were stationary. According to them the DMU was looped due to late running and the timetable was well behind. Shame they hadn't read their timetable booklet as the train was actually running on time and the stop at Swithland was planned!
     
    The GCR put out a number of locos on the day - star of the show was the blue King 6023 "King Edward II", looking immaculate. It was joined by visiting GWR 2-8-0 3802. From the home fleet there was:
    King Arthur 777 "Sir Lamiel"
    Standard 2 78019
    Ivatt 2 46521
    Red 8F 48624
    Jinty 47406
    N2 1744
     
    That is 8 steam locos and a DMU. A pretty good show!
     
    Just a shame I couldn't stop long. But here are some pictures from the day.

    Ivatt 2 46521 waits on the Mountsorrel Branch.

    Red liveried 8F 48624 waits to depart Loughborough Central with a short freight.

    The King at Quorn.

    6023 departs Quorn.
  20. andyram

    2013 Here we go again!

    By andyram,

    More details on the Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire model railway show!
     
    Here we go again!!!!
     
    2012 did not exactly have the most optomistic of starts. I saw the year in, practically on my own, whilst watching the BBC's "New Year Live" coverage on the lowest possible volume setting in order to avoid awaking my sleeping wife. My 2 week old daughter sucked away on her late night bottle before bed and I made do with a small glass of celebratory wine. I did wonder how much time I would find to indulge in railway modelling. At the time I thought that there would not be much.
     
    How wrong I was!
     
    During 2012 I managed to visit approximately 15 model railway exhibitions, built my first ever exhibition layout and displayed it for the first time at Weston-on-Trent model railway show. This was an event I suggested to my school's headteacher as a fundraising idea and promptly landed the job of organising it. Having had no previous experience of organising a show - no wonder I titled this blog "What have I let myself in for?"
     
    Well guess what?
     
    It is happening again! The Weston-on-Trent show will take place on Saturday 16th November 2013 and I have the organising role again and so here we go once again!
     
    The show
    As mentioned above, the date for the show will be Saturday 16th November (10.30 - 4,30). I have begun the search for layouts once again. Last year I did not start the planning until February, this time I have something of a head start. Several of the trade stands who attended in 2012 have rebooked for this year. One trader is not returning so I will be on the look out for a replacement. I have an idea, but need to check their availability.
    A number of exhibitors from 2012 own more than one layout and several have already confirmed that they will attend this year with something different. At the last count I have 6 layouts booked with four more in the pipeline. Last year we had 17 layouts attend and I hope to reach that total again. Once again I am appealing for help. If any local RMWeb user has a layout they would be interested in bringing to the Weston show then please do get in touch. The event is being held to raise funds for the school so we are looking to keep our expenses down as much as we can but we can pay small amounts in some cases as we did last year. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!!
     
    Skaleby West
    Skaleby West is the name of my exhibition layout. It has a scenic section of four feet x one foot with a fiddle yard of equal length. This was built from February 2012 and debuted at the Weston show last year. Technically it is available for other exhibitions and I am planning to exhibit at the Weston 2013 show again and so I plan to further develop the layout during the year. But what is there to do?
    I outlined in an earlier entry that there are a few jobs to finish on the original scenic section. This includes wiring the points, hiding the underneath of the cutting by adding a front to the layout, replacing the goods shed and undertaking some repair work. With the latter job in mind I have moved the layout back into the lounge and plan to tackle this over the next few weeks. I have already given the track a thorough clean in order to get the trains running again. The layout was tested with my Bachmann "Jinty" which was used a lot to test the layout during last year's build.
     
    The testing showed up an issue with the points. One or two do not seem to be making a good electrical contact so I will need to look at these to try and solve the problem.
     
    The thing is - even if I complete these jobs it may improve, but not really change the look of the layout. I feel like I want to do something else to make Skaleby West look different for the next Weston show. In my mind I am thinking of an extension to the scenic section, possibly by adding a second scenic board. The current layout has a three sided back board. I am not sure I want to cut this to fit in a second board so I may build the second board in a similair way, effectively making Skaleby West a modular layout. I have not got a final plan for any extension yet - mind you I have not gained planning consent from the wife yet!
     
    Until next time.....
  21. andyram
    Last Sunday I was sitting in the spare bedroom catching up on school work. I had lifted the window blinds and was enjoying the warmth of the Autumn sunshine which was streaming through the window whilst I beavered away on the laptop. I suddenly noticed that the sunlight was hitting Skaleby West which was lying dormant on top of the rabbit hutch. The natural light created some great effects and I could not resist taking advantage and taking some photos. I hope you like them.

    The sun peeks through the trees, casting shadows over the thatched cottage.

    A view of the cottage taken from track level.

    A quiet moment on the platform.........

    .....is disturbed by the passing of a light engine as Pannier tank 5775 passes through.

    The Pannier returns with a short freight.
     

    And finally another picture from the Weston show as Ivatt tank 41324 is seen at Skaleby West with the final train of the day.
  22. andyram

    One week on - the future!

    By andyram,

    Back in February I started this blog entitled “What have I let myself in for?” With the Weston show now over I have had a chance to reflect on that, and also to look to the future!
     
    The layout - Skaleby West
    I had always wanted to build an exhibition layout, and organising the Weston show gave me the excuse and motivation to get on and do it. I thoroughly enjoyed the nine month build, and have learnt many new skills during the period including hand ballasting, using static grass and even a poor first attempt at scratch building.
     
    The layout returned home from the show unscathed and has found itself back in its original home on top of the rabbit hutch in the spare bedroom. Under the bright lights in this room I have to reflect that it looks ok. True enough it is not the world’s best layout and there are many faults – the goods shed for instance and the gap in the scenery at the front of the board by the tunnel. Despite these faults I am still quite proud of it. So what now?
     
    Skaleby West was always built primarily for the Weston show. That is what kept me motivated throughout the build. Now the show is over that motivation has gone, for now at least. In its present location I can’t even run it and so it may have to be mothballed and stored away in the loft for a while.
    I do want to finish the model. The points still need wiring, the goods shed will need replacing again, there is more detail I would like to add and I have considered adding a second scenic board. For transportation I have also thought about some sort of protective “box” which would cover the front and top of the model.
    I suppose any such work would probably be done with an exhibition appearance in mind. In theory the layout is available for show visits (with wife’s permission of course!) At the end of the Weston 2012 show there were no more in the diary………..
     
    The show – Weston-on-Trent
    Without doubt the show was a success. We raised plenty of money and I have received so many kind emails and messages of congratulations for the show. I thank everyone for their feedback, including the constructive criticism we received. All feedback is useful. It was nice to pass on the kind comments about the catering to the rest of the staff who did such a great job. I know they appreciated it. Many said that they don’t receive such kind comments from people who visit our other fundraisers which are more aimed at the school community. Many praised the politeness and friendliness of our visitors.
     
    The money raised, along with the kind responses we received, pretty much made the decision for us. There WILL be a Weston-on-Trent 2013 show. I can now reveal that the date has been set for Saturday 16th November 2013. Therefore I am issuing an appeal for layouts again. I know some people from this year’s show may return with other layouts so I am a little way down the line already – but I will need more.
     
    So as my blog title said back in February. “What have I let myself in for?” Maybe now I should rename it “Here we go again!”
     
    Here’s to next year. And in the meantime here are some additional shots I have taken of Skaleby West during a free hour today.

    What might have been!
    The milk taken stands by the goods shed. I dropped this wagon whilst packing stock prior to the Weston show and broke the coupling.

    Two shots of Jubilee class 45659 "Drake" as it exits the tunnel into Skaleby West.

    Standard 3 tank 82020 pauses at the platform.

    82020 shunts the goods yard.
  23. andyram

    The Longest Day

    By andyram,

    According to my diary the “longest day” is the summer solstice in June when we have more daylight than on any other day. For me the longest day was, without doubt, Saturday 10th November, the date of the Weston-on-Trent model railway show.
    The show has been nine months in the planning, and the subject of many a blog entry here on RMWeb. Now the day has been and gone. And what a day it proved to be!
     
    It all started the night before as I began to pack up Skaleby West for transportation. The layout has never been out to a show before and so this was a learning experience. I really did not know how much stock I would need. I filled a single Bachmann stock box with freight vans and wagons, and another with locomotives. I do have a vast collection of locos and so it was a tough choice to decide what to take. I decided that I wanted to take as many factory weathered locos as I could, and that I wanted to run with a Midland Region feel. After a lot of decisions I settled on a collection that featured Fairburn tank 42267, Standard 4 tank 80120, Standard 4 75065, Black 5 44762 and unweathered Ivatt tank 41324 which I “borrowed” from the working fleet on Skaleby, my permenant home layout. I also added unweathered Midland 3F 43474 and Jinty 47279 to a bag of stock to act as spares.
     
    Things did not start well. As I loaded up the stock box I managed to drop my milk tanker on the floor, snapping the coupling off. Gutted! The wagon has never been operated and will now need repairing before I can use it. Not the start I wanted – and it was the first of several mishaps.
     
    On the morning of the show I was up at 5am. After a fairly relaxed breakfast I began the task of loading up the car. Having never done this before it took a while. The task was made more difficult by the need to do the loading up in the dark, and as quietly as possible to avoid waking my wife and daughter. Thankfully I was able to complete the job in time to get to school for just after the 7am opening up time. I was rather surprised to find a stallholder sat on the doorstep. It seemed the caretaker had opened up and then disappeared. After sorting the stall holder out I began to unload Skaleby West. Sadly the journey had taken its toll. Some of the trees had shed their leaves, part of the station fencing had fallen over and two station lamps had become detached.
     
    The next couple of hours passed by in a blur as I set about erecting the layout and repairing the damage, in-between directing exhibitors and stall holders to their “pitch”. Things did seem to be settling down until one of the other staff members, Chris, came though to tell me that the gas boiler wasn’t working in the kitchen. I’m not quite sure whether that was before or after she had contrived to lock herself in the staff toilet! She did have quite an eventful morning!!
     
    A few frantic phone calls for help and we did get the boiler relit so we could fire up the ovens ready for the lunch run and also begin supplying the thirsty with valuable teas and coffees. I left them to it and raced around distributing lunch and exhibitor passes, ensuring the show guides and voting forms were ready at the front door. Then someone asked the question…where are the toilets? Whoops. Forgot to put up the signs! I hadn’t actually made them! A quick bit of delegating and that was sorted!!
     
    After a quick intake of breath it was back to the classroom to finish erecting Skaleby West. By now there was about an hour until opening. The stock was placed on the layout; the controller connected up and……NOTHING! The whole layout was dead! I set about cleaning the track. Still nothing! I tried substituting the controller. No good! More track cleaning, more controller testing. Still nothing!! The Famous Trains group who were setting up next to me almost saw a grown man cry. After all this work, surely I wasn’t going to have to leave the layout as a static exhibit! I had been looking forward to running it! Off went the power at the plug, the connections taken apart and then reconnected. The power turned back on and……..IT WORKED!!! The relief!! I then ran a couple of test trains before heading off around the school to see how everyone else was getting on. This was about the only time that I got to see some of the exhibits. Whilst I had seen some of the layouts at other events there were a few, exhibited by other RMWeb users, that I had only seen in photographs. I have to admit that I was pretty pleased. All the layouts looked great.
     
    At 10.30am I checked that everyone was ready and we opened the doors. It was a little disheartening to see only a handful of people in queue. I suddenly feared that there was a risk of an embarrassing failure on our hands. Thankfully the show started to fill up during the first hour, and there was a steady stream of people throughout the day. Spending the day operating Skaleby West, it was great to meet some friendly people including some who had been following this blog. A big thanks to all of those people who gave feedback. I knew we would not get it right first time. Clearly the road signs were not clear enough, and many felt that we could have charged a little bit more for the food and the tickets. I thank people for their comments. It was great to hear so many positive comments too. I hear that people were impressed with the quality and number of layouts on show. So a big thanks to all of the exhibitors. Here are some shots from the day.

    Irton Road

    Ilkeston's Thomas layout.

    Chris Trafford's "Board Lane"

    Alan Cheadle's "Friarsgate".

    Two shots of the impressive N gauge layout "Guy's Cuttings".

    Summat Colliery

    Busy times at Summat Colliery

    Malcolm Hughes' Suitcase Layout.

    Ken Jones and his Waterfall Junction layout.

    Belper Modular Layout

    A Layout in a T.V!!

    Famous Trains' Darley Green layout.

    Rolleston on Dove

    A busy tiime at Skaleby West
     
    So then, nine months ago I did not have a clue how to organise an exhibition. I didn’t even know if I would get any layouts, let alone enough to fill a show. RMWeb has been a great help. I would like to thank all of the users who offered their advice and to those who brought their layouts a very special thank you. Without you there would have been no show. What a great website this is!
     
    Nine months ago I had never really considered building an exhibition layout. But Skaleby West has been developed during this time and made its debut at the show. Admittedly it was not finished but I hope it passed muster! After its early niggles it ran fairly well. There were a few stalling issues and the Standard 4 tank derailed constantly as it crossed the points at the start of the fiddle yard. The loco had never been run before and it was with sadness that I had to take it out of service. This did allow the Jinty to step in and it ran impeccably all day. I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed operating the layout for the public. This may be its one and only exhibition outing but I do intend to finish it. I will add the extra detail, wire the points and plan some kind of box to transport the scenic section safely should it ever venture out again. I will also complete the fiddle yard as the track was just loosely laid for the Weston show. You never know when it may be needed again….
     
    Well actually it could be next year!
     
    The show certainly can be considered a success. We made just under £700 profit for the school which helped us to reach our £5,000 target for the year. 8/10 people who left the show apparently said “see you next year” and I believe there were other positive comments. So it looks certain that the show will happen again next year…date to be confirmed. I feel quite relieved that we were successful and quite proud as well. But I would like to thank all those who made the show a success. All of the staff worked tirelessly in the kitchen, all the layout owners and traders who supported us. Also a big thanks to all who visited for your support and comments. I hope we will see you next year!
     
    Finally I would like to congratulate David Rae whose layout, Irton Road, won the best in show prize after the votes were counted.
  24. andyram

    It is almost here!

    By andyram,

    I can't quite believe it. The Weston-on-Trent model railway show is almost here! The last nine months have flown by. It only seems like yesterday that I was suggesting the show during a fundraising staff meeting back in February. So much has happened in the mean time. The show, and the layout, have dominated my thoughts. Now the nerves are really jangling. Will the show be a success? Will we make some money for the school? Have I done enough advertising? Will enough people come through the door? Were my measurements accurate? Will all the exhibits fit in? Will all the exhibitors turn up?
     
    Only time will tell.
     
    One thing is for sure - the school is set up and ready. After a monumental attempt from the staff we have the hall, classroom and corridors set up and ready to receive their exhibits. One layout is partial set up in the classroom and Skaleby West is as ready as it can be. Just some packing up to do tonight,
     
    Let's hope it goes well!
     
    Whatever happens the last few months have been an interesting experience. I hope people have enjoyed reading about my experiences. If any RMWeb user visits the show tomorrow I hope you will have an enjoyable day. Please remember that it is our first attempt. We may make mistakes, please be patient with us! If you do come please come and say hello. I will be there all day operating Skaleby West. It will be great to chat to some fellow RMWebbers.
     
    And if you are coming here are some pics to wet your appetite.

    The main hall awaits the exhibits.
     

    The main corridor is also ready.
     

    An additional Skaleby West photograph for the show guide.
     
    Hope to see you tomorrow...
  25. andyram
    So, as I write this blog, there is now less than three days to go until the first ever Weston-on-Trent model railway show. Now is the time that things should be coming together. As far as the layouts are concerned that is very much the case. Most layout owners have replied to my recent email and confirmed their attendance and how many operators are due to be coming. That will help us to sort out the free lunches for them and hopefully ease the growing panic amongst the ladies who are running the refreshments on the day. The planning meeting on Monday saw some very stressed ladies!!
    The problem is, as this is our first show, we just do not know how many people to expect. We could have just 50 people through the doors, or we could have ten times that. It is impossible to make a prediction which makes stocking up on food very difficult. We don't want to waste profits by ordering too much, but we don't want to order too little and run out within the first hour. It is a difficult balancing act and it is causing some stress amongst the ladies at present.
     
    Am I stressing? Well maybe just a little! Whilst the layout owners have been brilliant at replying with the necessary informaton, the same cannot be said of the traders. Despite being asked two weeks ago to send payment in advance, I am still waiting for several of them to come up with the money. Worryingly one of these claims to want an advert in the show guide which is due to be printed on Friday and the ad hasn't been sent either. The last thing I want is to be printing the guides on the morning of the show!
     
    I also need to put the finishing touches to Skaleby West. Sadly modelling time has been eroded as my ten month old daughter has chosen the perfect time to turn into a diva. Anyone who saw her smiling and charming people at Burton on Sunday...do not be fooled! Actually, to be fair, a serious case of teething has caused some very restless nights which has restricted the time I have had to finish the layout. I have had to grab whatever time I can. Last night I stole ten minutes, before heading out to the Rams match, to glue down the cork on the fiddle yard board. Tonight I have turned my attention to detailing the platform. Earlier in the week I added signs to the station fencing, station lamps and benches. A pile of baskets were glued onto the platform in front of the station building and some more "goods" were added to the platform in the good's yard. Now I have added the figures to the platform and added the station name board. Here are the latest pictures,

    The newly installed station name board, trolley of milk churns, benches and people.

    A general view across the platform showing the additional detail including signs, people and pile of baskets.

    Further details to the top of the tunnel. A single man watches the action from the top of the embankment and a garden roller leans against the cottage wall.

    More goods added to the good's yard area. The goods shed still needs some attention before Saturday.
     
    And so as time continues to tick I still need to finish the fiddle yard and add more detail to the layout. The show guide needs finishing and I need to make some road signs!!! I almost forgot about them!!!
     
    Until next time....
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