Chatham Show - June 2012

I drove over to Chatham today to attend the annual show at the historic dockyard.  This was the first time I'd been to this show and I was pleasantly surprised by how large and well attended it was.

The show was held in a large covered shed, a former shipbuilding shelter, and despite being open to the elements at one end, the venue was comfortable and easy to get around.

There were over thirty layouts and fifty traders, with a few US outline dealers in attendance including Signal Box, Kent Garden Railways and Penguin.

I spent an enjoyable hour or so trawling through the various second-hand dealers and picked up a slightly tired but running Rivarossi E8 in Union Pacific.

I bought a brand new Athearn bulkhead flatcar from Signal Box for £11, it's in Canadian livery but I will patch it for a private owner.

The majority of the layouts attending were British outline, but there were several US layouts as well as a number of European themed layouts.


Galatia Texas - Dan Spalding HO

Railroad Crossing - Bernard Reid HO

Rock Ridge - Chris White O Gauge

CDMRC - S Gauge Display Layout

I arrived home to find I also recieved my first Exactrail model in the post today.  This is a 60ft waffle sided hi-cube boxcar in Norfolk and Western livery.  The model is secondhand from a seller in Europe, but it is in mint condition.

The detail on this model is incredible, including etched metal coupler platforms and even seperate locking bars on the doors.

I'm very pleased with this model, and I will certainly be looking to pick up a few more of these Exactrail cars, the detail is superb.