A day out in Brighton

I took my son over to Brighton for the Model-World show today. This isn't really a model railway show at all, it's an entertainment event, and a very commercial on in many ways. But then it uses the Brighton Centre - usually home to top music gigs, shows, and party conferences, and is popular enough to have people queuing round the corner to get in (tip - find the back entrance, just don't tell anyone!). The other thing that is different is the range of models on display - trains, boats, planes, cars, tanks, fairgrounds, doll's houses, sci-fi - you name it and someone has made a model and brought it for display.

Not just models too, in this picture you can see two separate miniature railways giving rides, a mini Carousel (for little kids) from Hollycombe, on the left a coach from the nearby Volk's Electric Railway, and outside is a full size traction engine. Demonstrations too, such as this one of radio-control lorries and diggers, moving soil from one place to another. I know these are just big toys (who are we kidding, so are trains), but fascinating to watch, lights and sounds included.

This is all great for children: my son had a go at sailing a radio control boat, colouring a picture of a lifeboat at the RNLI stand, racing a slot car (he won too, more by the "tortoise and hare" method than the Lewis Hamilton effect), and making an Airfix kit. Well actually I helped rather a lot with that last one! But it shows how "hands-on" this show is, and why it is so popular. From my perspective the selection of model railway layouts, while good, wouldn't justify the entrance price, but as a day of family entertainment it is great.

Talking of the model trains, my friend Tim Sanderson from the local 009 group was showing his "Elmgate" layout, a super little layout I've previously had the pleasure of operating, and good to see 009 represented. In fact it wasn't the only 009 layout there. Amongst the other layouts were two separate models of (or at least closely based on) Buxton, one in 00 and one in N, and showing why it is such a good prototype to pick. You can see more photos here, though I didn't manage to photo that much with an excited boy in tow. One model that I did really like though was this fine diorama of Dolgoch station on the Talyllyn, in a large scale and capturing the character, even without any running trains.

Brighton Modelworld

I took my little boy along to the Brighton Modelworld show today. This show covers all sorts of modelling, from Lego to Model Engineering, dolls houses to radio control racing cars, boats to planes, and even robots. It is a show firmly aimed at the family, but judging by the good range of trade support, it is well supported by enthusiasts too. However, to be honest, from a model railway point of view, many smaller shows are far better! There were some excellent layouts, but to my mind too few, and much of the rest of the show was similar to last year. That said it is good to look at the skills of modellers of other subjects, and the radio control tanks are fun, plus the show is very interactive - we had a ride on a real steam train (see below!) and made a model aeroplane from polystyrene. Like I said, it is aimed at the family, and my son loved it!

On the model railway front I thought the best layouts were Overlord, the well-known model of a dockside in the midst of D-day preparation, and County Gate, possibly the most impressive 009 layout currently on the exhibition circuit. Now I must apologise for the poor standard of photo's, as ever photographing models is difficult whilst holding onto a 3-year-old!

This is based on the proposed extension of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway to Minehead, featuring not just stunning scenic work, but superb running and computer control, and also a well-thought-out imaginary history including freelance loco's and railcars that "might" have been built for the extension. One example of the latter is this Mallet "River Avon":

The builder of County Gate, John De Frayssinet, had kindly offered to give my son the "guided tour", which he was very excited about. As well as being allowed to view the layout close-up, and see the back of the layout with the stock, hidden tunnels, and computer control, the highlight for him was being allowed to drive a train! The deep concentration on his face hides his excitement, but don't worry my hand was not far from the controller stop switch!

So many thanks John!

You can find a few more of my feeble photos here.

Chaos at home ...

It's been pretty manic recently. After a plumbing leak a few weeks ago, we've had the decorators in doing the lounge, and the house has been turned upside-down. While it's nice not to be doing the decorating myself, it has still meant limited work on the layout. Having said that some evenings forced to sit in the dining room has provided the oppotunity for some painting! Also we bought a new Computer just before Christmas, which was great apart from a persistant fault. After weeks of wating hours on the phone to technical support, we've sent it back (tip - don't buy a Dell!) which has meant another distraction from the layout.


Before the builders moved in I did get chance to realign some of the uncoupling magnets, which should make them more reliable. If they are off-centre to the track both couplings swing the same way, rather than apart. While I had the board on it's back and the hot-glue-gun out, I tidied up the wiring. I used bits of wire tags, dozens of which seem to be used to attach children's toys to their card packaging, though the sort that come with freezer bags or just offcuts of wire would do. Attach them to the board with a spot of hot-glue, and when solid twist around the cables. This prevents them getting snagged when the board is moved, and keeps things tidy.

Last Saturday I took my little boy to the Brighton Modelworld show. It's the first time I've been to that show, and from a model railway point of view it isn't great. The layouts are scattered through the multiple crowded halls of the venue, however there were some nice layouts (including the Sussex Downs group's Everleight - sorry I didn't have time to help out guys!) and the other models - cars, boats, planes - were interesting too. My 2-year-old loved it, though I got pretty tired from lifting him up! Also taking photos was pretty difficult, so here are just a few shots to give you a taster.

Unfortunately, with a family do this weekend, and another business trip next week, I might not be able to do much on the layout. I do need to pull my finger out though, as the show is on the 7th March! I haven't even made the layout legs yet - but I have bought the wood!!