Saturday 2 December 2006

Warley Model Railway Exhibition

Today Becky and I went to the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC in Brimingham. It's the UK's largest annual model railway exhibition with thousands attending over two days, and hundreds of exhibitors including around 75 working layouts.



Hall 1 (a vast space covering the space of several football pitches) was absolutely packed - it was difficult to move at times, and the more popular layouts had a crowd of spectators 3 or 4 rows deep. Although it was a very enjoyable day, it was also shocking to realise just how true the stereotype of railway enthusiasts actually is! OK, so I'm generalising, but I've never seen more weirdos gathered together in one place than today! Why on earth some people can't better attend to personal hygiene and take at least a little pride in their appearance I don't understand, and why is it that railway modelling seems to attract more than its fair share of those who don't seem to care about either?! My enthusiasm for model railways remains undiminished, but my desire to steer well clear of the stereotypes and those perpetuating them is all the greater!



OK, so having got that out of my system, what were the highlights? I'm already well aware that I have very high standards when it comes to models and so it's unsurprising that out of 75 or so layouts only 3 or 4 really stood out.



Top of the list for me has to be 'East Dean', a 7mm BR(WR) layout by the Hillingdon Railway Modellers and featured in MRJ 159. I was looking forward to seeing it, having been impressed with the photos I'd already seen, and I wasn't disappointed. It looked just as good 'in the flesh' as in the photographs.



A layout which I'd not come across before but which made a big impression was 'Brockholes', a 4mm LMR layout by Paul Gregory. While I had my doubts about one or two aspects of the scenery, the thing that really stood out was the way the whole scene was presented - in a very theatrical manner or, as the notes in the programme read "a painting in 3D". Oh, and SOUND! OK, not train sounds but bridsong and general ambient sounds that really made the whole scene come alive, even when there were no trains in view. I have to say this was one of the biggest things that I've taken from the whole day - when I eventually get my layout built it just HAS to have sound. Of course, realistic train sounds would be the ultimate (maybe if I decide to go down the DCC route this might be possible) but even if I don't go that far, ambient sounds such as birdsong are a must to set the general atmosphere and draw the viewer into the scene.



'Happisburgh', the 7mm layout of The Model Railway Club, is another layout I'd not come across before (although it has apparently been around for almost 20 years) and which I was pretty impressed with, although the crowds didn't allow for a really good look at this one. The same goes for Geoff Kent's EM gauge 'Blakeney' (which I had already seen and been impressed with in MRJ).







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4 comments:

  1. Matt,

    You are quite right about the overcrowding. I went to the Warley Show on Sunday this year hoping to miss the worst of the Saturday overcrowding I have experienced in the past. It clearly is a sign that this hobby is gaining strength as the Sunday attendance was massive too. As you say, with people sometimes three deep around the best layouts it makes viewing difficult.

    With the huge numbers attending this show each year why can't it be spread over three days as many of the larger continental shows are? It would also make travelling to the show by train far easier as it would avoid the inevitable weekend engineering works if one could attend on a Friday.

    I felt some of the layouts were a disappointment and looked either tired or unloved. However there were some notable exceptions which made the trip up to Birmingham from London worthwhile. I do agree that Brockholes was probably one of the best and that the countryside sound track added much to the atmosphere. East Dean as always was a joy to see. Talking to one of the operators, I was told that the Hillingdon Group are starting another O gauge layout, but this time some 32ft long in order to run full length trains as inspired by the wonderful Holiday Haunts. Because of the attention to detail that East Dean shows, their new layout should be exceptional too.

    Another layout which was inspirational was the long straight German forest layout - unfortunately the name escapes me. Once again this layout was presented as a piece of theatre and the lighting brought out the excellent colouring and weathering perfectly. I try to attend a few shows in France and Holland each year and I'm often struck by the standards that some of their best modellers display. The marvellous Telford O Gauge show this year had many continental layouts on display and was all the better for it! For my money Telford this year will take a lot of beating. Two of the best shows in mainland Europe are Expometrique just south of Paris in late November and Eurospoor in Utrecht, usually in late October. Both are easy to get to by train from London.

    Look forward to seeing some more photos and ideas for your developing layout Matt.

    Regards,
    Peter.

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  2. Yes, I forgot to mention the German layout - 'Die Dreimuhletalbahn' according to my exhibition programme - unfortunately when we were there it didn't appear to be running, although with scenery and detail like that who needs trains?!!!

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  3. Reading the comments about Brockholes...thank you very much. It's my layout! I always wanted to create a bit of my home town of which trains were a mere part. The atmospheric "bird songs" always attracted comment together with the smoking fire. By the time it appeared at Warley it was 14 years old and was retired to my loft soon after having appeared at 30 shows and won "Best In Show" 15 times. A big compliment was "doesn't it look real" but the biggest was an ex engine driver of the line watching it with tears running down his face (he was 90)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Reading the comments about Brockholes...thank you very much. It's my layout! I always wanted to create a bit of my home town of which trains were a mere part. The atmospheric "bird songs" always attracted comment together with the smoking fire. By the time it appeared at Warley it was 14 years old and was retired to my loft soon after having appeared at 30 shows and won "Best In Show" 15 times. A big compliment was "doesn't it look real" but the biggest was an ex engine driver of the line watching it with tears running down his face (he was 90)

    ReplyDelete