SteamAle

Workington Model Railway Exhibition, is to be held 'AT LAST' again after having had to cancel last year due to Covid 19 restrictions. There will be no restrictions or special requirements in place for visitors other than to provide a contact phone number or e-mail address for Track and Trace, which will only be used if somebody who attends subsequently tests positive. Ten Layouts have been booked to attend, several of them with a very local interest. Maryport is presented by Bill Moon, of Workington, and is based on his memories of times past, when he used to sit and watch the trains. Cockermouth Covid 19 is another new layout from Andrew Holland, who lives at Lowca. As the name suggests it was built during the first Covid lockdown using bits and pieces from around the house. The main board is an old door. Recycling at its best! To increase the operational interest some of the sidings have been replaced, on the model, that were removed many years before the period being modelled. Port Solway is a large layout, built by members of the Newcastle Model Railway Club. It is a 'might have been' layout that brings together the North Eastern Railway, who extended their line from Carlisle to the coast, and they allowed the Maryport & Carlisle Railway running powers, to add operational interest. Nearly all of the stock is scratch or kit built to Scalefour standards. Recently added is a rake of chauldron wagons, which were the first type to be used to move coal from the collieries to the coast. There is so much to see on the layout that you do need to allow plenty of time for a good look. Graham Morfoot, from Spalding, is making a welcome return with another of his layouts, Ellasweet Beet Factory. As the name suggests it is all about the sugar beet industry, that is prevalent in the east of the country, showing how this essential foodstuff was moved from the fields to the customer. One lump or two? Two more regular attendees are Les Nehrlich, from Preston, with Upper Cwmtwych, an 'N' gauge layout showing an emergency servicing and refuelling depot for diesel locomotives. Terry Tasker, from Southport, brings Wulstanton Road, another 'N' gauge minimum space layout, showing what you can make in a small space, that has lots of operational interest being run in the period between the 1990's and today. Another regular attendee is Marc Dobson, from Dalton-in-Furness. Scratchy Bottom, yes there is such a place! A large 'O' gauge layout that just seems to have 'grown' over the years as more stock has been built or acquired. To add some more variety Ray O'Neill, from Workington, brings an American switching layout, Franklin Falls NH. Ray likes to spend time shunting freight cars (goods wagons in English) and uses cards to decide which one will go to where, on the layout. No two sequences are the same as a result! After trying to persuade him to bring a layout, for some time, Ian Blenkinsop, from Seaton, has agreed to bring one of his layouts, again a small one, called South Galleons. It is described as a 'pastiche of Deptford in the 1950's'. The attention to detail on the layout has to be admired, as there is so much to look at, that the trains rolling through are almost incidental to the model. Rod Moore, who used to run the Cumberland Toy Museum for many years in Cockermouth, has an interesting display of card models. Nearly every modeller has at en time or another used card on their layout and Rod 'shows you how' you can as well. He is more than happy to talk and let you have a go at making something yourself. Finally Brian Irwin will bring some of his Garden Railway models indoors to show how easy they are to run. The event is supported by a group of trade stands that will be able to provide almost anything the modeller needs. One of which is coming all the way from Bognor Regis.To help individuals get the most from their models, demonstrators 'showing you how to' will be on hand. If it is making a layout from scratch using finescale track, weathering your models, building kits or models from scratch then somebody will be able to help. The venue is served by regular bus services from Workington and Whitehaven railway stations, using Service No:- 29. On Saturday, via Lillyhall, it stops right outside the Energus building. Sunday there is a 20 minute walk from Harrington Road. Energus building, Blackwood Road, Lillyhall, Workington - Post Code CA14 4JW, where there will be free car parking and outstanding refreshments. The exhibition will be open from 10am until 5pm on Saturday 20th November and, from 10am until 4pm on Sunday 21st November. Admission costs have been held for the NINTH year at £5.00 for adults with accompanied children free. Also included is a free programme listing everything on display while stocks last. Further details on the website: solrail.co.uk