Hi it was nice to meet Maurits71  Ben and the crew on Horsley Fields and the team on Horseblock Lane I then bumped into Hailstone who gave me and my mate a lift home and then stayed for a couple of hours looking at my layout.
It all ran well apart from another dirty point which was soon cured I hope.
Bob

Dawn and I popped over in the afternoon,

My honest appraisal of the show was one of disappointment. The venue was fine and there was plenty of space to move around but it all felt a bit flat and soulless.

There were some beautiful layouts to be sure, but as Dawn commented to me having returned to a certain layout she liked three times to find there was still nothing moving, there were far too many layouts where there was very little action. This is I am sure at least partly a result of there being very few continuous run layouts, but you can only study scenery for so long..

I naturally stopped to watch Horsley Fields and returned to it a couple of times, great to see those TEAS at first hand, photos just don't do all the etched detail justice. I could have stood and watched that one for longer.

Had a quick look at Horseblock Lane, and I would stress that on this particular end to end layout there was plenty of movement (a fine layout to boot).

So after about an hour and a half we left, not sure if we will go again next year.

Roy

Having decided last minuet to visit the show, I was surprised at the quality of the layouts, there was some very nice layouts, the venue was nice with enough space to move, my only comment was the parking, it would have been nice to have a few more parking marshals as some of the parking in the car park was a bit silly.

It was good to see you all and @Hailstone . We also saw another forum member whose forum name was a name and letters but I can't remember exactly who it was now! I heard those driving had an interesting time getting into the show.

In the quick whip around I had I have to agree there were lots of beautiful layouts but often not much running. I don't think there was a bad one modelling wise, but Horseley Fields was the stand out tail chaser. As a small shunting layout, we do try to keep things moving to avoid the limitation of the breed.

We did get to speak to lots of people about various aspects of modelling, and give a few people a go. People are often surprised at the simplicity of our wire in tube switching arrangements.

We also had a guest operator who we were quickly able to leave to get on with it! Thank you Bob Vaughan, an absolute gent and accomplished 009 modeller many of you will have seen on the exhibition circuit.

Quote from: Cooper on November 06, 2016, 06:44:30 PM
It was good to see you all and @Hailstone . We also saw another forum member whose forum name was a name and letters but I can't remember exactly who it was now!

Well now @Maurits71 I did see you briefly, but didn't get chance to chat, sorry! You caught me at a busy moment in our minuscule fiddleyard. It wasn't you I was thinking of though...

I was not able to come this year, so sadly missed repeat encounters with Horsley and Horeseblock.  Did some work on Allanbrae, my uip and coming new one for some of the day.

One comment from 2 mates who did go was that they were slightly irritated that the programme did not readily indicate the scale of layouts, esp in the contents.  Such info can sometimes help planning your viewing priorities.  They were certainly happy with what they saw - and bought!

I enjoyed the show, and talking to the guys on Horseblock lane, got to meet Ben Ando and Maurits 71 on Horsley fields, managed to pick up a Malachite M7 with British Railways markings at a good price (it is a perfect runner) and bumped into Bob Tidbury, and spent a couple of happy hours watching the trains go by on his layout "Stonehouse" before going on to a steam gathering and barbecue in Berkshire. all in all a perfect day

Regards,

Alex

It was nice to meet Cooper and see Horseblock Lane and I've now met  Maurits71 and Ben ,(I'm sorry I've forgotten the other operators name already), on Horsley Fields,   while wandering round I bumped into Hailstone who very kindly ran me and my mate home and ended up spending over two hours in my shed watching my layout and of course putting the world to rights .He was going to come with the Bag ladies when they visited but couldn't come with them at the time .
I glad he enjoyed the visit .
I invited Ben and Maurits71 to visit after the show but of course they had to pack up the layout and then travel home ,maybe they can make it another day.
As usual the layouts were very good I liked the 2mil one with the GWR Locos including a Duke .It was scratch built as were his other Locos and we were both wondering what the forth coming Union Mills Dukedog was going to be like ,IE
Was it going to be another platform clearance testing loco like the current 08,
I can't wait to see mine test run  before they get put by for Christmas.
Bob

Forgot to mention, I picked up a lovely sweet running re-numbered banger blue early Farish 31 for a decent price from the stand next to us. A bargain compared to the prices on another stand! Looking forward to running double headed 31s soon....

I guess the name and letters was me!
Really enjoyed Horseblock Lane


Pete @ EGLM

Quote from: Pete @ EGLM on November 06, 2016, 11:48:32 PM
I guess the name and letters was me!
Really enjoyed Horseblock Lane


Pete @ EGLM

Yes, you're the one! Apologies for forgetting, but when I'd tried searching I'd guessed Peter, not Pete, and had forgotten the @. No wonder I couldn't find you! Glad you enjoyed the layout, and nice to meet you.