NMRA RH October 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Mixing it with the British (Outline modellers that is) Mike and Martin Ford Going to a model railway exhibition always has its risks, whether you visit as an exhibitor, trader or as a member of the paying public. As an exhibitor you hope that some visitors will take an interest in what you’ve tried to achieve from a wide range of aspects - operation, scenery, representation of the original if one existed, or the concept if the layout is free-lanced. You are also hoping for a well organised exhibition, decent access to unload/load, reasonable operating space, copious cups of tea (or coffee) etc. As a trader you hope for a constant stream of visitors thrusting pictures of the queen into your hands or transferring money to you whether it be contactlessly or not. As a member of the public you are hoping to see some decent quality layouts, operating without too much interference from the big hand of god, without prolonged periods of inactivity and without indifference from the operators. We’ve pretty much given up going in the role of the general public, due to seeing/experiencing at first hand too much of the finger prodding, inactivity or indifference. wedges of cash that were being thrust into our palms. Pity we had to hand it over to someone else, but it was an experience none the less. It was in the role of exhibitor that we attended the Sleaford Model Railway Club’s annual exhibition on 2nd June. Although only scheduled for a single day it was sufficiently local for us that the journey was neither difficult nor time consuming (30-minute drive). We arrived early at St. Georges Academy in Sleaford having negotiated a road closure into the site (courtesy of activity from the local fire brigade). The weather was extremely humid, precipitating a torrential downpour as we pulled up to unload. Fortunately the main unloading doors were covered with a sort of veranda which prevented an unnecessary soaking. We had co-opted Richard Brooks - a fellow Black Diamonds member - to assist and Richard was already there. Having located, and communicated with one of the club’s organisers, we determined where we needed to be in the exhibition hall and began setting up. Within the hour, we were good to go - trains were ready to run, and equally (more!) importantly we had found were the tea was dispensed, and the bacon sandwiches! As is usually the case we were the only representative of the North American scene (sometimes there may be two of us but it is unusual) - we were surrounded by British layouts of various gauges, and traders catering primarily for the British modeller. The public were admitted at 10.00 am and it soon started to look like it was going to be one of the better exhibitions. There was a lot more questions from the public, some genuine real interest We were visited by a variety of people ranging from an We’ve done the trader bit, more in the role of assistant - just accepting Richard Brooks Honing his DCC skills - Padden Flatts at Sleaford RailEx 2018 - Photo Martin Ford 20 ROUNDHOUSE - October 2018
We tend to act as trainee recruitment officers if someone admits to being a closet American Railroader. We always take NMRA publicity material to hand out and encourage interested parties to seek out their nearest venue/Division and go along and see what it can offer them. We returned home with our stock of ‘promo’ material seriously depleted - an unusual yet pleasant change from the norm. Holding Up the Traffic - Padden Flatts - Photo Martin Ford American gentleman who felt quite at home when seeing a snapshot of the Midwest. It turned out that his interest was in continental modelling as he was in the midst of a massive project to recreate Berlin’s main terminal and surroundings. Later in the day an elderly ex-mariner from the coal freighters which sailed between the eastern seaboard of the US (N&W, C&O, B&O piers) and Japan in the 50s was drawn to a large articulated steam engine slumbering on the team track lead. Although it was not the locomotive he thought it was (A, Y, H8, EM-1), a Big Boy never fails to draw the interest - they really did have a very good press officer, although they are not the largest steam locomotive in spite of statements to that effect. To clarify we operate a small switching layout set in the Midwest in 1967, power is usually GP20’s and/or SW7’s - occasional non-era specific locomotives have been known to make an appearance (Challengers, Big Boys, Turbines, U50’s and Centennials). These locomotives are not used operationally but do provide stimuli for conversions with the public. In summary it was a really good exhibition for a lot of reasons, mainly because of the visitor quality, but organisationally also. The Railway Society had an increased visitor total, had complimentary reviews and generally were well pleased with the day. Thanks to Richard for his assistance and to the organisers for giving us the opportunity to play trains. We’ll be at the Lichfield show later this year (15th September), Soar Valley in 2019 with other bookings to be confirmed if any fellow NMRA members want to come along and chat. Mike and Martin Ford October 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 21
Page 1 and 2: OCTOBER 2018 Inside this issue: Mod
Page 3 and 4: Welcome to the October issue of Rou
Page 5 and 6: On Thursday 2nd August, David McLau
Page 7 and 8: Model Railroad Planning in 1995, an
Page 9 and 10: I wanted a polished marble floor an
Page 11 and 12: Photo 5 - This Bachmann USRA light
Page 13 and 14: Car Number 4097 a 50 ft. single doo
Page 15 and 16: Back2Basics Back2Basics You’ve bu
Page 17 and 18: and dry before doing this) but the
Page 19: The U.K.’s Premier North American
Page 23 and 24: Routes served included Toronto-Wind
Page 25 and 26: The next part added was the Ridgewa
Page 27 and 28: To add a new loco click on the ‘N
Page 29 and 30: ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - DIVISION 12b -
Page 31 and 32: October 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 31

NMRA RH October 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?