I attended last year so I knew what to expect, and the show did not disappoint, with over 85 layouts in all scales and over 150 trade stands.
I bought my ticket online so I was able to get into the hall early and have a quick look round the traders for bargains, as usual The Signal Box had a big pile of reduced US outline stock and I picked up a Walthers flexi-van and an Atlas RS36, there wasn't much else of note on any of the stands, and some of the second hand HO was obscenely overpriced (badly repainted blue box locos for £40 on one stand!).
I spent the rest of the day looking at the layouts, and there were plenty of great models to look at, including several US layouts.
Burlington Central - Perth MRC - N Scale
Union Pass - Leeds MRS - N Scale
Four Corners - Warley MRC - HO Scale
Roundhouse - Ian Lamplin - Ho Scale
There were a couple of layouts that really stood out in terms of presentation, including two that used a very large surround in order to focus the viewers attention on the scene.
Veldhoven 1935 - Modelspoor - HO Scale
(Viewed through a picture frame)
The Blue Tram - Loek Bronkhorst - HO Scale
(Constantly changing day/night lighting cycle)
Cliffhanger - John de Frayssinet - 009 Scale
(Impossible to get close to all day, crowds three deep admiring
the wall of cliff and trees that almost touched the floor)
As for purchases, there were slim pickings for second-hand, and the few second hand US locos that were in evidence were overpriced, so although I spent a lot of time hunting around, I didn't find much worth buying.
Other than LSWR and Macs Models there weren't many US seller, and no bargains other than the usual Signal Box sale. I picked up a couple of low priced specials from them including an Atlas RS36 which I hope will be suitable to fill the empty roster on my Rock Island layout.
Atlas RS36 - Brand New but no outer box
I also picked up this Walthers Flexi-Van IV set, brand new with 70% off from Signal Box, a really beautiful wagon which is probably a little too early for my era but I couldn't resist such a great looking piece of intermodal equipment.
