National Festival of Railway Modelling - NEC 23 - 24th November 2024

On Friday morning 22nd November, Stephen drove to Staines, where the layout and all sundries were loaded into the two cars. The drive to Birmingham was in lovely sunshine and good time was made. Despite the complicated arrangements proposed for unloading the layout, on the day, all of the perimeter doors were accessible to exhibitors and we unloaded everything straight into our exhibition space. Chris arrived soon after and unloaded his stock boxes.

63 layouts and many other attractions

Our spot, in the bottom left corner.

We were soon ready for business.


The three of us then drove to the Travelodge at Birmingham Airport, made ourselves comfortable and headed for the bar for dinner and a few drinks. Warners (the show organisers) were providing breakfast and lunch in the exhibition hall, so early next morning we made a bee-line to the NEC. We were ready when the doors opened and the crowds appeared.


Stephen and Geoff on duty.

Ted joined us on the Sunday, which made it easier for us all to take an occasional break and look around the show.

Chris and Ted on duty.










Unfortunately, the rain arrived at closing time, but not as bad as it later became. Packing up went smoothly despite everyone leaving at the same time. The drive down the motorway was horrendous with numerous floods bringing everything to a crawl. By the time we hit the M25, it had eased, making the finals legs less stressful. The following sunny morning, Stephen headed back to Staines and the cars were unpacked. Another show completed!

Geoff has received some enquiries for further exhibitions, which will be formally submitted by the organisers in due course. 

Wednesday 20th November 2024

Being two days away from the NEC show, the aim of the day was to get everything ready to load into the 2 cars, ready to drive to Birmingham.

However, first on the agenda was to review Geoff's octopus... The organisers dropped a bombshell a few weeks ago stating that 'Daisy-chain' electrical supplies were not permitted. This is weeks after we told them we only needed 1 socket outlet for the layout (because we daisy-chain additional socket outlets to suit the display space). Geoff had therefore produced a bespoke power distribution unit. A single plug top with a long lead fed into a black connector box with 3 hard-wired 6-outlet power strips on long leads. An ungainly 3-legged octopus, but one that hopefully satisfies the organisers. And yes, it's been pat-tested.

We used the list prepared for the Salisbury show and managed to pack just about everything in 2.5 hours. 

There is more than this!

We also want to display information about the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association, but had nothing to put the leaflets on. With space in the cars at a premium, we found an old cardboard box and produced a collapsible pedestal, that was painted matt grey.



Finally, we reviewed the photos on the blog from when we packed the two cars for the Salisbury show to remind us what went where.

Roll-on Friday. 

Wednesday 13th November 2024

With two weeks until the NEC show, Chris and Ted came down for a final test-run. The new exchange track sections were explained and practiced, and a wider range of stock tested. On the whole, things went well. Over lunch, the setting up/taking down elements of the show were discussed further. Not everything was falling into place - hall access and power supplies are still a concern and will need investigating once we arrive on-site, but on the whole, we are as ready as we'll ever be. 



Wednesday 6th November 2024

Worklist:  Add more figures. Spruce-up the cows!

Geoff always keeps an eye out for more 3D printable figures and has amassed quite a few, so painting them was Geoff's job of the week. When dry, Stephen glued them into place. The range of figures suits the theme of the inaugural Open Day of the railway well, and no doubt, a few more will appear.

A female companion for the old man.


A father and daughter.

Another hiker.

A few more visitors on the back of the ticket office queue.

We have a horse on the front of the station and a herd of cows. From time to time they look a bit dull and dusty, so they get a brushing, but they remain fairly dull. This time we decided that the livestock should have a bit of a sheen. Varnish was considered, but before attempting this, Stephen suggested furniture polish. Some was squirted into the can cap and applied to a 'test subject 1' with a cotton bud. After a while, kitchen paper was used to buff it up, giving a pleasing soft sheen. Geoff then found some satin varnish, which was applied to 'test subject 2' , by brush. Once dry, the effect was almost identical. However, Stephen preferred the polish option, so the rest of the herd got polished!


To apply figures to both boards simultaneously, two boards were set-up together which created an unusual scene.


Planning for the NEC show continues. Copious emails and the odd Zoom meeting are in progress to unravel the logistics and paperwork for the exhibition. We are slowly getting the hang of things, but it has been daunting. Where to meet up, where to unload the layout, pre-booking hall access and parking, what receipts are required? Some issues are still unclear such as layout power provision, so there will be a few things to resolve on the day. However, we (a confirmed team of 3 and four operators for the 2 days) are looking forward to the show, and the experience.


Wednesday 30th October 2024

Worklist:
Make up a second Gaugemaster controller for the Bachman loco's.
Add some more foliage.

At the last running session, it was noted that Chris's Bachmann Hunslet's were not performing very well. As Geoff also has one of these superb loco's, a solution was urgently required. One of layout's standard AMR controllers was swapped for the 'spare' Gaugemaster controller, which worked perfectly. Geoff had a second Gaugemaster controller, but it did not have a suitable connector for the control panels, so this weeks task was to rectify this.


Geoff's Bachmann Hunslet

L - R: The existing 'spare' Gaugemaster controller, the new modified Gaugemaster controller and one of the AMR controllers.


We normally hold the controllers with the cable coming out of the top, so to prevent any ambiguity, arrow stickers were applied over the Fwd/Rev lettering. (Why didn't we do the spare?)

The rest of the session was spent touching up some repaired ballast and augmenting the foliage in various places around the layout. We also found the collection of animals Geoff had recently 3D printed and painted. Hopefully, homes for them will be found next week.

With only a few weeks until the show, we will have one more full running session. Final details and instructions are coming through from the organisers which are being scrutinised closely.