LWMRSNews

Oh, and we have added another 7mm layout - Harlyn Pier!

To complete the layout list we have: - Ryders Green Wharf - OO9 Old Oak - OO9 El Cremallera - Continental N Weleaton - Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers Trowland - S And for the younger visitors: Hogsmead for Sodor Kindly presented by Brian Taylor of the Stafford Railway Circle. Trade details will be published shortly.

Things are moving steadily forward towards our next event. Layouts covering the 4mm Scale are include: Bishops Quay OO Market Bosworth P4 Sheep Pasture P4 Shelvington and Rydes Hill P4 Market Bosworth is making its first appearance at an exhibition. Very much a "work in progress" layout but will offer an extensive sequence of operation.

7mm layouts include : O Gauge, Aber Emlyn, Wyken Yard and our club layout Kimble. 7mm Narrow gauge: Castle Works and Pyn Valley Railway

Here is a list of the 2mm N Gauge layouts attending our next event. Abbotsford Barton Hill Bear Creek Haversack Central South Walton James Street

Following the cancellation of our Exhibition earlier this year we are pleased to announce the dates for our 44th event. The event will again be held at the Royal Leamington Spa College, Warwick New Road, Leamington Spa. Our website is in the process of being updated. Please visit lwmrs.co.uk for the most up to date details. Further information will be posted here in the coming days and weeks.

It occurred to me as I wrote that somebody might make that observation. We did all the work but had to bin the lot at the eleventh hour so the public just didn't get to see our efforts. It was a finished product so I think we can justifiably claim it as the 43rd exhibition. Anybody want one of the thousands of left over show guides before they go in the bin? They will be a rarity for the auction sites in the future!

Sorry cancelled not postponed! The 43rd exhibition is lost to the world. We will be back in 2019.

No offence taken or criticism seen in any postings so no apologies necessary people. Just explaining the detail decision making process and the difficulty of making such a decision. It was a very tough day.

A Winter’s Tale from a Warwickshire Exhibition Manager Weather forecasts early in the week suggested that the south midlands would miss the worst of the snow and we were confident that the show would be able to go ahead. We carefully monitored the local forecasts throughout Thursday and they changed frequently. A Weather Watch bulletin was posted on our website. We started to collect information from exhibitors’ and traders about journey prospects. Very rapidly it was obvious that those travelling from the south and west were unlikely to be able to make the trip safely with red and amber alerts posted for that area. Heavy snow was now forecast to fall in south Warwickshire throughout the day on Friday. Withdrawals started to come in and were immediately posted on the web site. It starting snowing heavily approximately 15:30 Thursday afternoon. Road conditions deteriorated rapidly. We started to receive phone calls and more withdrawals. At about 18:00 the amber alert area extended north to include the south and west midlands and the red zone moved in our direction. A conference call was booked with the key exhibition organisers for 19:30. Heavy snow continued, the list of withdrawals was also growing. The consensus view of exhibition team was that if would be unsafe to continue, but the insurance cover should be checked and senior Board members involved in the final decision. A further conference call involving Board members was booked for 20:30. The Exhibition Manager received notification at 20:15 from the College Estates team that the site would be closed on Friday which confirmed that the decision, already taken to cancel the show. was the right one. The 20:30 conference call was now just a formality to advise the Society Management Board. The website was immediately updated, e-mail cancellation notices were sent out by 21:45, phone calls were made and text messages sent to ensure all exhibitors were aware of the situation by 22:45. While all of the above was going on members trying to get to the club on Thursday evening failed and those at the club preparing Kimble for transport the following morning reported severe difficulties with their journeys home. On Friday morning we received a report of 6 foot deep snow drifts blocking all roads around the club. The decision taken purely on safety grounds to cancel the exhibition was clearly the right one. It's never easy to take such a decision and the safety of all involved over-rules everything else, after all it's only a model railway exhibition! We want to be able to welcome everybody again in 2019.

If only it were as simple as waiting for somebody else to make your mind up for you. Please read the following summary of the way the decision was made. A Winter’s Tale from a Warwickshire Exhibition Manager As the cancellation of Leamington exhibition has been referenced by contributors to this thread without the benefit of the facts here is a brief summary of how we arrived at the decision to cancel. Weather forecasts early in the week suggested that the south midlands would miss the worst of the snow and we were confident that the show would be able to go ahead. We carefully monitored the local forecasts throughout Thursday and they changed frequently. A Weather Watch bulletin was posted on our website. We started to collect information from exhibitors’ and traders about journey prospects. Very rapidly it was obvious that those travelling from the south and west were unlikely to be able to make the trip safely with red and amber alerts posted for that area. Heavy snow was now forecast to fall in south Warwickshire throughout the day on Friday. Withdrawals started to come in and were immediately posted on the web site. It starting snowing heavily approximately 15:30 Thursday afternoon. Road conditions deteriorated rapidly. We started to receive phone calls and more withdrawals. At about 18:00 the amber alert area extended north to include the south and west midlands and the red zone moved in our direction. A conference call was booked with the key exhibition organisers for 19:30. Heavy snow continued, the list of withdrawals was also growing. The consensus view of exhibition team was that if would be unsafe to continue, but the insurance cover should be checked and senior Board members involved in the final decision. A further conference call involving Board members was booked for 20:30. The Exhibition Manager received notification at 20:15 from the College Estates team that the site would be closed on Friday which confirmed that the decision, already taken to cancel the show. was the right one. The 20:30 conference call was now just a formality to advise the Society Management Board. The website was immediately updated, e-mail cancellation notices were sent out by 21:45, phone calls were made and text messages sent to ensure all exhibitors were aware of the situation by 22:45. While all of the above was going on members trying to get to the club on Thursday evening failed and those at the club preparing Kimble for transport the following morning reported severe difficulties with their journeys home. On Friday morning we received a report of 6 foot deep snow drifts blocking all roads around the club. The decision taken purely on safety grounds to cancel the exhibition was clearly the right one. It's never easy to take such a decision and the safety of all involved over-rules everything else, after all it's only a model railway exhibition! We want to be able to welcome everybody again in 2019.

Volunteers were called for and some of the local members came forward (including one you know well - not needed!). I believe we had 26 hardy souls turn up during the morning and apologies were offered along with an invitation to come to the club open day on Saturday 17th March 2018. We will have representatives back there in the morning.

The open day at the club house that follows 2 weeks after the exhibition will continue - weather permitting on Saturday 17th March 2018 from 11am.

Apologies to anyone arriving at Warwickshire College for the 10am start of our exhibition. Unfortunately we were forced to cancel the exhibition because the college site is closed until Monday due to weather conditions which also stopped exhibitors reaching Leamington Spa safely.

EXHIBITION WEATHER WATCH - EXHIBITION NOW CANCELLED Thursday 1st March 2018 20:45 With regret we have to confirm the CANCELLATION the 2018 Exhibition. The weather has deteriorated significantly in south Warwickshire this evening and the forecast has now changed with the Amber warning zone extending in our direction. Just after 20:15 this evening I was informed by the College Estates team that the Leamington site would be closed tomorrow and therefore it would not be possible to build the show. We will be in touch with all Exhibitors shortly. BBC Summary Weather forecast for Royal Leamington Spa We will continue to update here and on Facebook - /LWMRS and Twitter - @LWMRSNews

Here is the latest update. ​All expecting to attend the Exhibition should check their journey as we can only advise on the situation locally. I have members monitoring conditions further afield as well but have not yet received any adverse reports. ​Only travel if is safe to do so, your safety is our only concern. We want you all to come in 2019. Exhibition Weather Watch Thursday 1st March 2018 11:30 Very cold overnight heavy snow showers yesterday leaves minimal cover <10mm where snow lays. Roads are all running clear. Very windy. BBC Summary Weather forecast for Royal Leamington Spa Thursday - Gusty Winds Light Snow Friday - Gusty Winds Heavy Snow Showers Saturday - Heavy Cloud and Breezy Sunday - Light Snow Showers and Breezy The exhibition will continue regardless of the weather conditions unless we are advised by the college authorities that because of conditions on site it would be dangerous to do so. Please check back here for the most up to date information before travelling. We will also post on Facebook - /LWMRS and Twitter - @LWMRSNews Because of ill health Finishing Touches have been forced to withdraw from the show this year. The following Society stands will not now be attending the show: Friends of the National Railway Museum Gauge One MRA The following trade stands have withdrawn due to weather related travel problems: None The following layouts have withdrawn due to weather related travel problems: Chelma Canyon - Chelmsford MRC

Thanks for the good wishes gents. Thursday 1st March 2018 11:30 Very cold overnight heavy snow showers yesterday leaves minimal cover <10mm where snow lays. Roads are all running clear. Very windy. BBC Summary Weather forecast for Royal Leamington Spa Thursday - Gusty Winds Light Snow Friday - Gusty Winds Heavy Snow Showers Saturday - Heavy Cloud and Breezy Sunday - Light Snow Showers and Breezy The exhibition will continue regardless of the weather conditions unless we are advised by the college authorities that because of conditions on site it would be dangerous to do so. Please check back here for the most up to date information before travelling. We will also post on Facebook - /LWMRS and Twitter - @LWMRSNews Because of ill health Finishing Touches have been forced to withdraw from the show this year. The following Society stands will not now be attending the show: Friends of the National Railway Museum Gauge One MRA The following trade stands have withdrawn due to weather related travel problems: None The following layouts have withdrawn due to weather related travel problems: Chelma Canyon - Chelmsford MRC

Here is a statement issued by the society treasurer on behalf of the management board earlier today... “The exhibition will continue regardless of the weather conditions unless we are advised by the college authorities that due to the conditions on site it would be dangerous to do so. Please check before travelling. The most up to date information will be on our website www.lwmrs.co.uk , Facebook /LWMRS, and Twitter @LWMRSNews .”.

Latest update, The exhibition pocket guide is now available on our website. To download it, please go to http://lwmrs.co.uk/index.php/downloads/pocket-guide

Today's updates - final stand and locations for all stands. The show guide and floor plan leaflet has now gone to print, so we can't change any locations.

As usual, we have a wide selection of societies represented at the exhibition. These cover both local modelling societies which may be of interest to local modellers, and railway societies covering historical interests, preservation societies, and various modelling sales and gauges. 2mm Scale Association - Stand 6, Atrium 7mm Narrow Gauge Association - Stand 61, Balcony 1 M105 Coventry Model Engineering Society - Stand 73, Upper Balcony 2 DEMU - Stand 35, Sports Hall Double O Gauge Association - Stand 24, Atrium M002 EM Gauge Society - Stand 67, Library European Railway Association - Stand 54, Balcony 1 M004 Friends of the National Railway Museum - Stand 28, Atrium M004 Gauge 1 Model Railway Association - Stand 75, Upper Balcony 2 Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway - Stand 12, Atrium Historical Model Railway Society - Stand 41, Sports Hall Industrial Railway Society - S Stand 40, Sports Hall Knightcote Boat Club - Stand 78, Upper Balcony 2 LMS Patriot Project - Stand 42, Sports Hall LNWR Society - Stand 55, Balcony 1 M104 LWMRS Club Stand - Stand 3, Atrium MERG - Stand 77, Upper Balcony 2 OO9 Society - Stand 56, Balcony 1 M104 Scalefour Society - Stand 69, Library Stratford Model Railway Club - Stand 30, Atrium M004 Talyllyn Railway - Stand 63, Balcony 1

It does now. Thanks

Traders at our exhibition You'll recognise many of our regular favourites here this year, but we do have a couple of new traders too, ADM Turntables ***New 2018*** Stand 19, Atrium STEM Bill Hudson Transport Books Stand 47, Balcony 1 Cheltenham Model Centre Stand 39, Sports Hall Classic Train and Motor Bus Stand 32, Atrium M005 Country Park Models Stand 29, Atrium M004 DCC Supplies Stand 43, Sports Hall Eileen's Emporium Stand 36, Sports Hall Elite Baseboards Stand 17, Atrium STEM Finishing Touches Stand 21, Atrium STEM Freestone Model Accessories Stand 46, Balcony 1 Greenscenes Stand 23, Atrium M002 International Model Railways Ltd Stand 37, Sports Hall JB's Model World Stand 7, Atrium John Sutton Models ***New 2018*** Stand 74, Upper Balcony 2 Kitmaster Collectors Club Stad 64, Balcony 1 Kytes Lights Stand 8, Atrium London Road Models Stand 48, Balcony 1 LWMRS Second Hand Stall Stand 1, Atrium Metropolis Vintage Toys Stand 62, Balcony 1 Modelex Stand 26, Atrium M002 Nick Tozer Books Stand 11, Atrium Online Models Stand 16, Atrium Plus Daughters Stand 13, Atrium Rail Image Collection Stand 31, Atrium M006 Railroom Electronics Stand 38, Sports Hall RD Whyborn Stand 52, Balcony 1 M102 Roger Carpenter Photographs Stand 22, Atrium STEM Severn Models Stand 14, Atrium Skytrex (Sunday) Stand 15, Atrium Starlight Models Stand 44, Sports Hall Wrenn Specialist Stand 49, Balcony 1

Layouts at our exhibition. Now updated with stand/hall locations This year our featured club layout is Kimble - our massive 40' x 16' O gauge layout. To go with this we've booked a number of other classic 7mm layouts, including the even larger Newchapel Junction. That doesn't mean we've forgotten other scales though. Our 25 layouts cover the world, from Australia to the UK, from Spain, to Canada, with layouts ranging from 2mm scale narrow gauge up to G gauge. Periods covered extend from the 1920s to the present day. Caroline Castle Santashire, UK. Current Period 2mm/ft scale 6.5mm narrow gauge Stand 9, Atrium Barton Hill 1985-1992 Modern 2mm/ft scale, N gauge Stand 20, Atrium STEM Haversham Central 1960's Steam/Diesel 2mm/ft scale, N gauge Stand 65, Library Abbotsford BR early 1960's 2mm/ft scale, N gauge Stand 68, Library Apa Park Modern Image 2mm/ft scale, N gauge Stand 5, Atrium South Walton Australian NSW 1980's 2mm/ft scale, Continental N gauge Stand 18, Atrium STEM Bear Creek Western Canada 1990's 2mm/ft scale, Continental N gauge Stand 66, Library El Cremallera Pyrenees, NE Spain Present Day 2mm/ft scale, Continental N gauge Stand 53, Balcony 1 M103 Readham Modern Image 4mm/ft scale, OO gauge Stand 2, Atrium Bishops Quay GWR/LMS 4mm/ft scale, OO gauge Stand 25, Atrium M002 Clutton Somerset BR-WR, 1952ish 4mm/ft scale, P4 gauge Stand 70, Library Sheep Pasture C&HPR 1950/60s 4mm/ft scale, P4 gauge Stand 71, Library Criancanny Mid 1980's Carlisle Area 4mm/ft scale, OO gauge Finescale Stand 72, Library Ilfracombe East Lynton &Barnstable Rly 1930's 4mm/ft scale, OO9 gauge Stabd 57, Balcony 1 M104 Holbeach Estates Railway Lincolnshire Potato Railway 1950's 4mm/ft scale, OO9 gauge Stand 50, Balcony 1 M102 Old Oak Early 1950's GWR 4mm/ft scale, OO9 gauge Stand 58, Balcony 1 M104 Hogsmead for Sodor Thomas 4mm/ft scale Stand 4, Atrium Aber Emlyn 1930's SW Wales 7mm/ft scale, O gauge Stand 45, Sports Hall Kimble Post Nationalisation in the Midlands 7mm/ft scale, O gauge Stand 34, Sports Hall Newchapel Junction Post Grouping in the Yeovil area 7mm/ft scale, O gauge Stand 33, Sports Hall Wyken Yard Industrial 7mm/ft scale, O gauge Stand 51,Balcony 1 M102 Pyn Valley Railway England 1920's 7mm/ft scale, O9 narrow gauge Stand 60, Balcony 1 M105 Chelma Canyon American Narrow Gauge 7mm/ft scale, On30 narrow gauge Stand 27, Atrium M003 Castle Works 1930's Private Industrial 12mm/ft scale n18 narrow gauge Stand 59, Balcony 1 M105 Weleaton Preservation (Battery and Live Steam) 16/32mm/ft scale, G gauge Stand 76, Upper Balcony 2

+++ Posted Today, 21:52 EXHIBITION WEATHER WATCH - EXHIBITION NOW CANCELLEDThursday 1st March 2018 20:45 With regret we have to confirm the CANCELLATION the 2018 Exhibition. The weather has deteriorated significantly in south Warwickshire this evening and the forecast has now changed with the Amber warning zone extending in our direction. Just after 20:15 this evening I was informed by the College Estates team that the Leamington site would be closed tomorrow and therefore it would not be possible to build the show. We will be in touch with all Exhibitors shortly. BBC Summary Weather forecast for Royal Leamington Spa We will continue to update here and on Facebook - /LWMRS and Twitter - @LWMRSNews third year at our new venue and we are learning and improving the way we layout the exhibition to improve the visitor experience. The college is centrally located, on bus routes giving access from a wide area and within walking distance of the railway station or you can use the free minibus shuttle service that will operate. There is a large free car park onsite and overflow parking available. The college catering staff operate the refectory restaurant at affordable prices. We return to the Royal Leamington Spa College, Warwick New Road, CV32 5JE in March 2018. Building work has been completed and all onsite car parking facilities are now available. If necessary we have an overflow car park available using the Warwick District Council Riverside House office car park. A shuttle bus will operate between the overflow car park and the exhibition centre it we find it necessary to open the overflow car park. Posted Today, 21:52 EXHIBITION WEATHER WATCH - EXHIBITION NOW CANCELLEDThursday 1st March 2018 20:45 With regret we have to confirm the CANCELLATION the 2018 Exhibition. The weather has deteriorated significantly in south Warwickshire this evening and the forecast has now changed with the Amber warning zone extending in our direction. Just after 20:15 this evening I was informed by the College Estates team that the Leamington site would be closed tomorrow and therefore it would not be possible to build the show. We will be in touch with all Exhibitors shortly. BBC Summary Weather forecast for Royal Leamington Spa We will continue to update here and on Facebook - /LWMRS and Twitter - @LWMRSNews