Warley Show 2014

I visited the Warley Show at Birmingham NEC today, it was much easier to get to from Leamington compared to London and although the show seemed smaller than in previous years there was still an excellent turnout of traders and layouts.

Sadly with the Signal Box having closed there wasn't the usual selection of new US bargains, but I did find several traders with used HO stock, some of it very expensive but there were some bargains to be had here and there.

There was a good spread of US layouts, including 'Grain and Beer' by the AMRL (American Model Railroaders of Luxembourg) and the NMRA stand was in attendance as usual.


'Colorado Bluff'
An interesting layout, mostly running older rtr stock by Bachmann and Lifelike.  The emphasis was definitely more on running fun than authenticity. :)

'Great Western Railroad'
A freelanced logging railroad with a very nicely detailed winter theme.  Lots of small scenes to reward the onlookers.

'La Rochelle Engine Terminal'
Another very nicely detailed layout, but a little less interesting to watch as it was focused on light engine movements in and around a roundhouse and turntable yard.
 

'Silver Pine Creek'
Another nicely detailed layout, this one was deliberately built very low to allow younger spectators to have a good view, and allow the rest of us to see the very intricate street scenes from an aerial vantage point.  This layout is currently for sale.
 

'Grain and Beer'
A very detailed layout with hundreds of working lights and a custom built enclosure to keep the light levels down.  The spectator barrier was a little too far back on this one so it was difficult to get a good look at the details in amongst the brewery buildings.
 

There were also some very nicely detailed British Outline layouts that caught my eye including 'Clarendon' which featured a very convincing station forecourt and a custom glass roof.

 

'Glenuig' was a very nicely detailed West Highland layout which took me straight back to my childhood, with the BR blue class 26's hauling provisions away from the quay.
 

'Avyn-A-Llyin' A beautifully detailed layout with a really convincing beach scene and pier area.  The waves on the shore were fantastic.
 

Here are a few shots of the trade stands.  There were many bargains to be had, but also a few traders who seemed to be confusing the prices of new items and secondhand!

 

I picked up a very nice Kato F40PH fitted with DCC and Sound, although I had to resist the matching passenger cars as I'm on a tight budget after the house move!

I also bought three secondhand Kadee short wheelbase cars for my HO Rock Island layout 'Godinez' these kadee models really are beautifully detailed and will fit right in on the layout with some weathering being the only detail needed.

Hallmark Brass GP50

Although I'm currently building a pair of modern geeps using Railpower GP60 shells, I couldn't resist picking up a second-hand bargain on ebay.  This is my second brass locomotive and it is a Hallmark GP50 factory painted for Santa Fe.

 
A pretty decent model, slightly let down by the lack of see-through fans and the distinctly oversized truck gearboxes that prevent the trucks from looking properly see-through like an Athearn or Atlas as the gearbox is visible as a square shape behind the truck sides.

This model was released in the early 90's and compared to most of the models of the time it would have been very impressive.  The various road-specific details include antenna frame, air conditioner and (non-operational) rooftop beacon.  There are no air-hoses or lift rings, and the walkways do not feature etched treadplate.

I don't model SF, but I'm sure this model won't be difficult to repaint and convert into a Norfolk Southern locomotive in the black scheme.

I'd really like to add some more brass locomotives to my roster, especially an SD40 or a Dash-9, so I will continue to keep an eye out for more ebay bargains.

Geep Wreck - Proto Packaging Claims Another Victim

I picked up a nice looking mint condition Proto GP9 in the early maroon paint scheme, but unfortunately the curse of the Proto 2000 packaging struck while it was en-route to me in the post.

These older Proto models are designed to be shipped with the body shell and the chassis in separate parts of the box.  The seller didn't realise this and shipped the model in one piece.  There is too much room in the box and the model was free to slide back and forth in transit. So much so that the front pilot ended up completely mashed and most of the rooftop details were shorn off.

It was certainly a sorry sight when I opened the box.  Turned out that the seller was a top bloke and he sorted everything out for me, but I now have yet another unexpected basket case for the 'to do' box.

I was hoping to put this unit straight to work on Godinez, but with the damage it's sustained it will take a while before it sees the rails again.

If you are buying a boxed Proto on eBay then be sure to e-mail the seller and ask them to dismantle the model before shipping.  It's unlikely to make the journey in one piece otherwise!

London Festival of Railway Modelling 2014

I'd often heard of the Ally Pally show but never attended it, so today I took the tube over to North London to visit the show for the first time.  Alexandria Palace is similar to Crystal Palace in many ways, a hill overlooking the city with a TV Antenna.

The venue is a large glass-roofed hall and it was packed with exhibits covering two large rooms with over forty layouts and stands to browse through.

There were several US layouts alongside the various continental and British models, and I was particularly impressed with the large multi-module freemo setup from RS tower. 

It was a little difficult to spectate as the layout doubled back on itself a few times and the inner run was not as accessible to spectators.

The front section of the layout featured the same town scene that was at last years NMRA convention, and it's a nicely detailed scene with multiple mainlines and even some street running for good measure.

The layout that interested me the most was the excellent 'Sweethome Alabama' from Jon Grant, this is a layout that I have seen on numerous websites including Jon's own Youtube blog at  https://www.youtube.com/user/JonGrant4472

The layout is much longer than I expected, and it packs in an enormous amount of authentic US railroading detail, with lots of nicely detailed scenes and a nice selection of buildings and vehicles.

The quality of the modelling is second to none and the layout certainly drew a crowd of admirers throughout the day.
 
Another model of interest was 'Overlord' a British outline layout depicting the preparations for D-Day with some beautifully detailed boats and military equipment.

Overall the show was definitely a very worthwhile visit, the range of exhibits and traders was great, and the BRM stand and video presentations were really excellent.  

The show runs for the whole weekend, so if you are in the London area then I highly recommend checking it out tomorrow or put a note in the diary for next years show.