A question for layout exhibitors...

[ngaugepaul]

Can anyone give any tips as to how they transport there layouts to exhibitions so that they arrive in one piece.
The roads have so many speed humps, pot holes etc that surely they can get shaken to pieces.

[ntpntpntp]

.. Continental Modeller (and indeed the other magazines my layouts have featured in) didn't offer to send a photographer...

Really?  Andy Burnham and a photographer came along and shot Königshafen in a St John's hut for the CM article photos of my layout back in 1997 

[port perran]

Can anyone give any tips as to how they transport there layouts to exhibitions so that they arrive in one piece.
The roads have so many speed humps, pot holes etc that surely they can get shaken to pieces.

Just by car. I always take glue and some clumps of greenery just in case but by and large everything is fine.

[ntpntpntp]

Can anyone give any tips as to how they transport there layouts to exhibitions so that they arrive in one piece.
The roads have so many speed humps, pot holes etc that surely they can get shaken to pieces.

My baseboards are all a standard size. I have hardboard/stripwood endplates for each end of each board, hardboard sides which slot into the endplates and a hardboard top so that I end up with "coffins" which slide into the back of my SUV (and before that into an estate car). The boards are then locked together with metal pins and strapped down for safety, along with stock boxes, toolbox, lighting rig, stools etc.




I've never experienced any damage as a result of layouts travelling in the car or in a van.

[silly moo]

I was a member of a club with an extensive N Trak modular layout. The modules are handily designed to fit on the back seat of a car. It's always a good idea to design a layout with the proposed transport vehicle in mind. Otherwise consider using blankets, cardboard, an old mattress, foam rubber or lots of bubble wrap to protect it during transit.

[GScaleBruce]

.. Continental Modeller (and indeed the other magazines my layouts have featured in) didn't offer to send a photographer...

Really?  Andy Burnham and a photographer came along and shot Königshafen in a St John's hut for the CM article photos of my layout back in 1997

Nope, nothing. I was a little disappointed, tbh, because a professional photographer would have had better lighting, a better camera and better lenses for the task. @Yet_Another kindly did the honours for Steinheim.

[Chris Morris]

My 7ft by 3ft 2in layout in the back of my Civic

[Chris Morris]

Jiggling layouts around in the back of a car can't be good for them but so far my layouts have always worked when I set them up at an exhibition. The cold air at night then sudden warm up when the show opens can cause issues; this is especially the case at Stafford where the halls can go down to zero overnight but are about 20 degrees by 10:00 in the morning. You often see layouts that were perfect on Friday night struggling on Saturday morning.

Although I have not done any real damage at exhibitions putting they layout back up at home however hasn't always gone to plan....