First and foremost, on behalf of the Newbury Model Railway Club we would like to thank all those who attended the exhibition on the 12th February at Park House school.
We hope that all our guests be it members of the public visiting us, the exhibitors of the layouts, our helpers and our traders had a good day.
A big thank you is also due to the Wash Common Scouts who did their upmost under trying conditions to ensure that parking did not become too much of an issue deflecting
opinions of the show itself.
This was our third year at Park House School and it was our intention to make this our biggest show yet at the venue. After a hectic Friday night and equally so Saturday
morning the show opened on time at 10.00 to the first of the 800 plus members of the public to pass through the doors. They were treated to a wide range of layouts covering
many different gauges in the three different Halls. We certainly hope there was something for everyone (if you think otherwise please let us know).
Falkland Vale
It was a relief to see Falkland Vale being run (see project reports elsewhere on club web pages) with relatively few hitches as this was its first outing in its current format
(and first time we have managed to run all 4 lines...ever!).
Also making its first appearance in its current format was our clubs O-16.5 layout Exdale Wharf layout. Some
people may recall seeing part of this layout at our show in 2008 and/or at Abingdon a few weeks later but that was as while operating as part of the larger Exdale Layout.
Bozo Virtual Express
Completing the clubs trio of layouts was a hands on kiddies layout which anyone (big kids and small) could have a go at running.
But that wasn't all from us! The Bozo Virtual Express provided visitors with the chance to drive their own train.
Denali View
Several of our guests depicted scenes typical from around the world ranging from those on Felberg (Scale Z) and Denali View (1/87 HO) to those on the Island of Sodor.
Close on a hundred years of British railway history (both factual and fictional) was compressed into our other exhibits and displays.
Taking us back to 1910 was the 2mm:1ft scale layout Witney Euston
Flintcombe
On the opposite side of the hall and scales in our show was the 8mm:1ft Dinas layout which represents 'the other end' of the original Welsh Highland
Railway in north Wales which makes a much heralded return to Porthmadog later in the year.
With Newbury being rooted in the midst of the old Great Western Railways territory two layouts provided a chance to soak up the charm of some of its branch lines with Avonwick
in 2mm:1ft and Bigbury in 3mm:1ft scales.
Another much lamented 'old railway' was the Sommerset and Dorset, this was represented in the form of the Flintcombe (Guage 18.83).
Tyttenhanger Lane
Our 'neighbours' from the Abingdon model railway club chose to remember Leicester Belgrade Road as it might have been in the 1950s and 1960s in 4mm:1ft/OO while
the 3mm:1ft /Guage 14.2mm Tyttenhanger Lane modeled the same time period all be it a fictional location.
With all the layouts coming in different shapes and sizes it is somewhat surprising that Two Sisters Farm was one of the smallest layouts (floor space) at the show and
yet it was one of the larger gauges.....it just goes to show what could be achieved when you want to overcome space limitations.
NS of Practical Engineers
Proving its popularity hasnt wavered one bit since it was introduced in the 1960s was a display of Minic Motorways where the vehicles proved that despite their age
they could attract the attention of those reminiscing of their youth and the 'next generation' in equal measure.
Completing the round up of our guests, the on-going
moves to preserve a piece of our past in both 4mm:1ft and 12inchs:1ft was covered by our guests from Pendon Museum and the Lynton and Barnstable Railway Association with
something in between from the Newbury Society of Practical Engineers.
First Prize Winner
After saying goodbye to the last of the members of the public it was a case of packing everything by. Not necessarily until next year as up and down the country the layouts
seen here will feature at other shows and/or in other club houses up and down the country. All the Newbury Model Railway Club layouts will be out again while we work on
them through out the year as we meet every Friday night at the Wash Common Community Centre.
Second Prize Winner
We would also like to thank Hornby and Bachman for supplying the Raffle Prizes. The winner of the first prize was William Russell and both winner and runner up can be seen here.
You can view a gallery of pictures taken at the exhibition here.
Written by Alan Robertson
You can relive some of the highlights of the day...
Note: You can click through the video to go onto YouTube to watch the video in HD.