Eaton

I have it on good authority that a layout list is soon to be available as soon as our Exhibition Manager has solved the latest conundrum. He is busy consulting his crystal ball trying to predict the cost of fuel in October so that he can balance the cost of transporting layouts to Wigan. Something of a budget headache he tells me. I feel that maybe something of an understatement!!

There will obviously be more details to follow such as a layout list, trade support and demonstrators when these are all confirmed and supplied by our overworked Exhibition Manager. At the moment I'm not sure that 'Pies' are on his radar but if you have preferences please let me know and I will pass on the information. However I must warn you that Pie Supply is in the hands of the Sports Centre catering department over whom we have limited influence.

I'm just very pleased to have some form of the RMweb back, many thanks to everyone.

I can confirm that the previous post is indeed correct and for the reasons stated. We were delaying the announcement until Steve Roberts, our Exhibition Manager had contacted all those concerned which he informs me has now been completed. To say this cancelation is a disappointment is something of an understatement but also something of a relief. Even in good times we needed all our ducks to be in a line to ensure that our event was successful. Ours is a rather precarious position as we do not have the support of a large Model Railway Society behind us, we are simply a group of friends who took it upon themselves to continue to host this event when the old Wigan & District Model Railway Society disbanded in 2006. As a consequence a financial loss would be catastrophic. If we had been given the opportunity we would certainly have gone ahead with Wigan 2021 but it would have been with some trepidation and more than a little reservation. Preparing a Budget was going to be a nightmare for our Exhibition Manager due in main to all the present uncertainties. The practicalities brought about by social distancing and the impact that this would have upon the Exhibition would be quite profound. It was almost bound to result in fewer layouts as greater space would have to be created to aid visitor circulation and the said social distancing. There would need to be a small army of staff to control the movement of visitors and the toilet arrangements would require some creative thinking to say nothing of the catering arrangements. We would anticipate a small riot if would couldn't provide a cup of tea for our exhibitors. We would on reflection not wish to hold an event that was substantially different from our previous exhibitions and it was looking that this was indeed going to be the case. We are now putting our energies into returning in October 2022 when hopefully a clearer picture will have emerged, fingers crossed that is.

Unfortunately our exhibition due to take place this October has had to be cancelled. The uncertainties at this present time make organising the event a very risky enterprise in every respect. What we intend to do, wherever possible, is to reorganise this years show but hold it in 2021. Hopefully life will be on a more 'normal' footing by then.

Difficult to quantify, but in some ways its a double edged sword. Some visitors, particularly those with children come along expecting every layout to have exploding volcanoes, landslides and crashing locomotives and go away slightly disappointed. I would have hoped that in the second series the production team would have made time to visit a layout at the more serious end of the hobby. A trip to Pendon, a visit to Little Bytham or Liverpool Lime Street, a five minute insert would have been sufficient, perhaps in place of the silly challenge. But what do I know about television.

We have had our meeting and there will, as you would expect to be changes and tweaks to next years show. However our best laid plans are often thrown out the window by decisions that are made by the Sports Centre often involving the catering. We are pleased to confirm that this years attendance was an improvement on 2018, so we are moving in the right direction and presumably we must be doing something right. Thank you once again to all those people who contributed to an enjoyable if tiring weekend and we hope to see all our visitors next year.

Now the dust has settled we can reflect on a successful exhibition,or so our Treasurer informs us, which means that we can start to think about next years exhibition with a degree of certainty. As a small group we would like to thank all those people who over the weekend contributed to the success of our venture, be they layout builders, owners or operators, after all it is your creations that our visitors come to see. We are also value the support of our loyal traders and we hope your trip to Wigan was both enjoyable and profitable. Most people would consider our exhibition to be a two day affair but to the 'heavy gang' it is a five day logistic effort and to put is in very simple terms without the effort from this group of supporters there is no show. That effort is both acknowledged and appreciated. What is most gratifying is that visitors come to support our event in sufficient number to encourage us to continue to organise the Wigan Exhibition and it is to those visitors that we say a big thank you. If you have any suggestions as to how the Exhibition could be improved then we would be happy to hear them as we have a meeting in the coming week to discuss this very topic. Please be aware that there are some issues beyond our control such as catering and car parking but never the less we could pass on your observations to those that are responsible.

Having only just recovered from last weekend the Wirral & Wigan consortium are taking 'Newhaven Harbour' to the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes this weekend. Such stamina is either commendable or foolhardy. I wish them well.

Regarding the cafe situation. As the Sports Centre is being redeveloped the kitchen that used to supply the cafe in the first hall has gone to be replaced by the small kitchen in the new Coffee Shop. We are told that this is progress and part of a new Grand Plan. Please understand that the 'reverting back' was not our idea as factors like the catering and the car parking are completely outside our control, unfortunately, as is the use of the Gym on Saturday between the two Halls. Not an ideal situation.

Can I just say that I have never modelled in N Gauge as it is a scale that has never appealed to me, but that does not mean that I cannot appreciate fine 2mm modelling. The 'Vale of Oxbury' was superb exploiting its advantage over OO in that you can fit a lot into a smaller space. This being the case I am sure there was a temptation to overcrowd the layout as there is in any scale and in doing so the realism is destroyed. Not so on the Vale of Oxbury the space comes across as vast, it really does look like a Vale. The most noticeable feature on the layout is the merging of the scenery with the backscene which appears almost seamless. This may have a lot to do with the fact that it was the backscene that was constructed first and the layout built around it, rather than added as an after thought. This has enabled the colours in the landscape to be matched almost perfectly adding much to the illusion of depth. There is also a clever use of the trees and woodland, splitting as they do, the layout into smaller undulating sections. Another aspect that emphasises the scope of the scale is demonstrated in the operational schedule. A long forty wagon coal train trundles through the station which is contrasted with the simultaneous arrival of the single coach auto train from the branch. One very long, the other very short, you can do this in N gauge, difficult in OO almost impossible in O.

'Whithorn' was definitely my favourite layout at the show because there was just so much to see. That is not to say that there weren't other layouts well worth a lengthy gaze distributed around the two halls, but just that Whithorn ticked all my boxes. It suited my preference for layouts that reward you the more carefully you look. Alisdair, the builder, is obviously concerned with creating the illusion of depth and to this end he has used some very clever techniques. If you look at the join where the baseboard meets the backscene you will notice how the landscape dips away below your eye level so that the hard edge is invisible and your eyes is draw seamlessly into the distance. This is further enhanced by the N gauge cows which strangely don't look out of place but in fact add to the illusion. Things that would otherwise destroy this illusion like the low relief house behind the station have the half relief element disguised by a strategically placed tree. The Co-op Dairy complex is a skilfully modelled collection of buildings sitting completely at home in the landscape. It is obvious that the builders of Whithorn have a good eye for observational detail which is evident in the use of natural landscaping, after all the landscape is not just green but a subtle changes of tone and colour faithfully replicate here. It is all so beautifully harmonised by the use of desaturated colour and careful weathering that nothing looks out of place. When you finally let your eye wander to the right hand end of the layout then the understated detail really rewards the careful looker. Note the silage pile covered with a tarpaulin weighed down with tyres or the mother comforting the baby in a pram or the line of washing with the cheeky bra or the old mini rusting in a garage. I had a mini of that vintage and I can tell you the rust patches are in exactly the right places. I never got round to noticing the trains there was just so much to see. Whithorn you made my day.

Regarding 'Whithorn' there is one strange but clever anomaly. You will have to look very carefully to spot it.

My mistake, now corrected. I think you are right it certainly looks to be a rather special layout.

TASTER No.22 is our last Taster before we swing into full scale Exhibition preparation. Hopefully they will have given you a good idea of both the quality and the variety that is on offer at Wigan this year. Even more importantly we hope you will come and visit and see for yourself.

The Car Park referenced above is indeed still free and there should be direction signs outside the venue. However for those people leaving it late to set up on Friday, you need to be aware that there is a semi final involving the Warriors across the road at the DW Stadium so expect congestion. Kick Off is 7.45.

Regarding Nig H's post concerning Advance Tickets, our Exhibition Manager tells me that all Tickets are sent by post and we do not issue tickets through a PDF file, so presumably if you opened it up it would be blank. So in answer to your question bring the Ticket that arrived in the post.

I

I've passed on your query to our Exhibition Manager who should get back to you.

Regarding the posts concerning 'Newhaven Harbour' I would draw your attention to Tim Roger's article 'The spirit of Seaford' on page 844 of the October issue of the Railway Modeller. In it he fully acknowledges the work of the late Colin Parks and explains the work that has since been undertaken to ensure that the layout maintains a presence on the exhibition circuit as a tribute to its builder.

I do stand corrected, I did realise that Newhaven Harbour was not their original concept but was not aware of who the original constructor was, so thank you for putting the record straight. However a lot of work has been undertaken since the original purchase including turning the layout for an inside 'L' to an outside 'L'. Looking at the information I have from the group it is indeed OO.