Worthing Exhibition 2016

I enjoyed a visit to the Worthing model railway exhibition with my son today. I'll start by being a little controversial: at first I found a lot of the layouts a little uninspiring... perhaps it's because my tastes are a little off-beat, perhaps because there was no narrow gauge (I made it 10 OO, 1 EM, 3 N, and 1 O, which could be considered a poor balance), and arguably a rather narrow range of themes (BR steam dominated). Maybe a lot of club layouts, which can tend to be unadventurous - and a number of them are widely seen. However I should say it wasn't a lack of quality, the layouts were a high standard, and the selection probably appealed to most visitors. There were a couple of layouts with over-loud DCC sound which quickly became tiresome, which I moved on from pretty quickly (when it can be heard across the room it is definitely overdone!) , a shame as the modelling was good on both. Anyway, here's a few of my favourite shots, click on the pictures to see them larger.



I did like the simplicity of Foldham (OO, Mike Denwood), which showed that a compact and easy to build layout could be attractive. Details like the burnt out shed gave it life.



Kayreuth (N, Ian Hogben) is a German crowd-pleaser layout full of cliches and trains (and trams) whizzing by. But it is well built and detailed, giving it character beyond the commercial parts that make it up, such as this well-modelled motorway (autobahn) contraflow.



New Bridge Street (OO, River MRC) is compact and well detailed, with a strong setting (London), this street scene caught my eye.



Pevensey Beach (OO, Pevensey Bay MRC) is a nice layout, but it is the station concourse that really caught my eye. The detail of the building and canopy is well executed, while the cut-away building showing the parcels office interior is an unusual (and brave!) move.



Summer Springs on the Cut (OO, Andrew Knights) is already a favourite of mine. It's an idyllic and well-modelled scene, which will hit a chord if you ever read Arthur Ransome.

So that shows I did find quality and inspiration. The trade support was good too - some good second-hand stalls (good for my son to spend his pocket money), and my usual favourite (Squires - I always find something I need!), plus some specialist traders as well as the bigger shops.