Stafford Show

This weekend is Stafford Model Railway Exhibition, one of the largest model railway shows in the country and only half an hour away from home. Alas, was unable to spend all day there, but had a good look round. 

Firstly a few layouts that caught my eye, one I didn’t manage a photo of was an East German HO layout combining standard and narrow gauge including the transfer of standard gauge wagons onto narrow gauge rollbock transporter wagons. A great idea for a model, but was distracted from taking photos as the operators are all colleagues from work. 

Was impressed by the layout depicting a plaster works, based on the example that once stood a couple of hundred yards from home.

The availability of the bubble car creates some interesting opportunities for quite compact O gauge layouts involving shunting in the foreground (maybe addition of an industrial shunter or two) whilst the bubble car plies its trade in the background. Quite like the thought of combining early 1970’s blue diesels with the last knocking of industrial steam. 

Newchapel Jn must be the ultimate in railways for operation. With the large terminus combined with a circular rail chaser and a separate Branchline, all fully signalled and operated properly. What a dream!

The therapeutic possibilities of playing with a digger should not be underestimated…. Less is more in all senses. 

Some attractive buildings and scenery on this 009 roundy roundy layout. Doubt I’ve the space for something similar in 7mm scale but would be good fun if you did. 

Llanfair station is a place I know well, and to see it modelled true to scale in 009 demonstrated just how spacious a layout it was. And also how often we try to cram so much more in the space we have available than was ever the case in reality. 

And finally, the most imaginative baseboard design award goes to….

Secondly, some trade news for those like me who like O-16.5/NG7 models. Having withdrawn their white metal kits last year, Peco had along some samples of a forthcoming range of laser cut wood kits for tipper and bolster wagons, Penrhyn slate wagons, Penrhyn Quarryman’s Carriages (including the roofed variant that ran on the Talyllyn in the 1950s), Glyn Valley mineral wagons and Glyn Valley brake vans. Looking forward to these coming out soon. Max and David on the stand said that they were at the instruction writing stage.