HILLINGDON RAILWAY MODELLERS OPEN DAY -- SATURDAY 10th JUNE

http://www.hillingdonrailwaymodellers.co.uk/

Soon to be looking forward to the third open day of the year at Hillingdon Railway Modellers which is being held on Saturday 10th June 2017.

Feels like a long time since I paid them a visit so want to be bringing along a few of Dads models for a run, I will hopefully get there for the afternoon with a few items in my bag to try out and given them a run as it's always a popular day and doors open to the public at 10:00am. 

10 June	Test Track Open Day (confirmed)
26 August	Test Track Open Day (confirmed)
28 October	Test Track Open Day (to be confirmed)

Yiewsley Baptist Church
74 Colham Avenue
West Drayton
UB7 8HF

* the entrance is at the side of the church down a path and the doors at the end should be open, don't try and enter the main doors of the church. 

Owing to rental costs of the hall there is a cover charge of £4 but there will be two extensive O Gauge and OO Gauge Test Tracks available and have recently added a three track N Gauge circuit too (Pic Below) all up and running so if you have anything you wish to see get a good run do please come along.

N GAUGE TEST TRACK 

There are always plenty of refreshments available, Tea, Coffee and cold drinks for the youngster, in addition the freshly made bacon rolls are highly recommended. (just don't scoff them all before I get there!!)

It should be stressed that these ARE NOT exhibitions, so please bring your own locos and rolling stock to run. At busy times we may have to introduce time slots so that everyone can get a chance to operate their stock. Here's a short clip of one of the earlier open days YouTube LINK

Below you can see a busy picture of their 8 road yard in O Gauge it's a very extensive track and will give your models a very good run. A few photo's taken from the previous open days are below, if you read back to some of the earlier postings in this blog I have tried to show the variety of excellent models on show, these guys are truly experts in their craft I only wish I had some of their talents and skills.

People will bring a wide variety of stock to run, nearly all are kit built though and the skills / detail is incredible.

Everyone will get their turn I promise.

Exhibitions

Confirmed Exhibition Bookings for Grindley Brook

Date	Location
25/26 November 2017	The Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2017 - NEC Birmingham

This picture gives a good idea of the size of the O Gauge test track, you can give your models a really good work out here. This can also transform into an exhibition layout called Grindley Brook a scenic section replaces the long straight down the back.

This layout will be making an appearance at the NEC Birmingham as above. 

A few more pictures from some of last years Open Days, though they mostly focus on the O Gauge track there are also Test Tracks available for OO and N Gauge too. There are many society members on hand who are both extremely friendly and knowledgeable too so if you have any problems with modelling or questions they will be more than happy to try and help i am sure. 

THE BUSY OO GAUGE TEST TRACK

LONDON UNDERGROUND STOCK MAKE A WELCOME APPEARANCE

N GAUGE TEST TRACK

BRIGHTON BELLE IN "N". SOON TO REAPPEAR ON MAINLINE TOO

HOW TO GET THERE:

If you are Travelling by Car

Check here for Parking Options.

Nearest Railway Stations :

West Drayton [0.34 miles]

SHILDON OPEN DAY SAT 3rd JUNE - SUN 4th JUNE

Sat 3rd June 2017  -  Sun 4th June 2017

ADDRESS;
Locomotion NRM Museum, 
Off Dale Road, Shildon, 
Durham DL4 2RE


OPENING TIMES:  
10am TILL 5pm BOTH DAYS

ADMISSION / PARKING - FREE

Shildon Model Railway Club is holding its 8th Open Day exhibition at the Locomotion Museum at Shildon. There will be Layouts from the Shildon club and 12+ guest layouts, these will be supported by 25 + traders, local groups and special model railway stands. Special attraction will be Steam train rides (A small charge applied) Admission is FREE, Free parking, disabled access, refreshments available.

Come along, see the show plus the locomotion exhibits, meet friends old and new, bring the family and have great day out for free.

List of Layouts Attending :

Shildon OO (Club layout, above) 
Norwood Yard OO 
East Thickley HO 
Tomy Toy 

Beamish EM 

Penna Lane OO (below)

Penna Lane TMD is a servicing centre for locomotives and diesel multiple units.

West Pinfold OO 
Etherly Moor OO 
Wynyard Junction G 
Northeastfield OO 
Dans Town N 
Barnstoneworth OO 
Langholme OO 
Memory Lane OO 
Hortness OO 
Peak Forest OO 
Pick Purse Goods O 
Westward HO

RAILEX 2017 -- STOKE MANDEVILLE STADIUM 27-28 MAY

Risborough and District Model Railway Club
  - Railex 2017 Model Railway Exhibition

Sat 27th May 2017 - Sun 28th May 2017

ADDRESS:
Stoke Mandeville Stadium, 
Stadium Approach, Aylesbury, 
Buckinghamshire HP21 9PP

OPENING TIMES:
   SAT -- 10:30 - 17:30       SUN -- 10:00 - 17:00

ADMISSION:  
Adults £9.00    Children £5.00  
Family £20.00

RAILEX is a model railway exhibition that brings together the very best layouts and traders in one huge hall at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. The emphasis is on quality and Railex has some very large layouts that are not normally seen at other shows. A free vintage bus will run from Aylesbury railway station carpark to RAILEX and return up to every half hour Saturday and every hour on Sunday. Up to two children can be admitted free with each paying adult on Sunday only.

Gordon & Maggie Gravett’s Pempoul will be making its last appearance before being retired from the exhibition circuit, while Martin Stringer’s Tollesbury Quay will be making a very rare exhibition appearance. Giles Favell will debut at Railex his new layout Denton Brook, add to this the other layouts and it looks like another top quality show.

Layouts Confirmed to date (February 2017)

7mm Scale


• Denton Brook, O & 0-14 Gauge, Exhibited by Giles Favell, Denton Brook is the result of an industrial whimsy. A very minor cable manufacturer, in the early 60s, supplied by rail for the most part – this layout represents one small corner of the factory.
• Harlyn Pier, O Gauge, Exhibited by Peter Beckley, The layout depicts the terminus of an imaginary (ex LSWR) branch line on the north coast of Cornwall not far from Padstow in the BR period circa 1960.
• Pavilion End, O Gauge, Exhibited by David Hagger, Pavilion End is set in an industrial area, probably South Wales or it could be the West Midlands. The GWR and LNWR were competing for traffic and had met in an end on junction somewhere further along the line.
• Penfold Priory, O Gauge, Exhibited by Bridgend Model Railway Group, The era is circa 1930/40 in GWR days with LMS having running rights. The trains enter the scene through the overbridge, with the loco shed facilities on the left. Passing the signal cabin and coal yard, coming into the busy terminus.
• Tollesbury Quay, O Gauge, Exhibited by Martin Stringer, The Kelvedon and Tollesbury was a real branch line, though I moved the terminus to the busy little “hard” at the head of Woodrolfe Creek, the period modelled is the first few years of nationalisation.
  
  
  1:50 Scale
• Pempoul, 18.2mm Gauge, Exhibited by Gordon & Maggie Gravett, The metre gauge Reseau Bréton system once served much of inland Brittany connecting rural villages and towns to SNCF main lines, this fictitious scene depicts a small section of the railway in the last years of its life along with a taste of the area through which it ran.
  
  
  1/4inch Scale
• Boot, 3/4inch Gauge, Exhibited by Peter Kazer, Boot was the upper terminus for the 3' gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (known as Owd Ratty) and here it served the Nab Gill mine as well as the village of Boot.
  
  
  1/64inch Scale
• Tresparrett Wharf, 22.45mm Gauge, Exhibited by Maurice Hopper, Set in an autumnal scene, this model depicts a siding in the style of the wharfs' found on the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway in North Cornwall on an LSWR branch line around 1890.
• Trowland, 22.45mm Gauge, Exhibited by Trevor Nunn, Trowland is set somewhere on the North Norfolk coast, close to the salt marshes and the sea. The Eastern & Midland Railway became part of the Midland & Great Northern Railway in 1893, and we see it, as it might have been, a year or so later.
  
  
  
  4mm Scale
• Devil's Bridge, 009 Gauge, Exhibited by Eddie & Rachael Field, The Vale of Rheidol is a 1' 11½" Narrow Gauge line, which runs from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge, Our model of Devil's Bridge is set in the late 1920s.
• Horfield 1955-1961, 00 Gauge, Exhibited by Horfield Group (Bournemouth), A section of the Great Western four track main line existing Bristol North, set in the time period of 1955-1961, where a large variety of motive power and rolling stock can be seen.
• Kirkmellington, EM Gauge, Graham & Tony Bucknell, Represents a small colliery in the NCB East Ayr area of Scotland. It is assumed to be on a small single track branch line off the main G&SWR main line from Carlisle to Kilmarnock that winds its way up into the Ayrshire hills near Patna and Dalmellington from the east.
• Leeman Road (York) 1964, P4 Gauge, Exhibited by John Shaw, Part of the old steam depot at York as it was between the years 1962-1966: the steam engines were in decline and the depot’s sidings were filling up with new English Electric (class 40) diesels.
• Sidmouth, P4 Gauge, Exhibited by Richard Harper, The model seen here represents Sidmouth as it was around summer 1959 or 1960. Viewed from the front of the layout, the line disappearing to the right would continue on to Tipton St John’s, Ottery St Mary and finally Sidmouth Junction.
• Westcliff, EM Gauge, Exhibited by Richard Butler, Westcliff is a ‘might have been’ whose location is based on the Dorset seaside town of West Bay, Bridport’s harbour, as it might have evolved by the 1920s.
  
  
  3mm Scale
• Heybridge Wharf, 14.2mm Gauge, Exhibited by Mike Corp, Heybridge Wharf is purely fictitious and is situated somewhere in Suffolk at one of the last inland wharfs still operating. The railway was built under the Light Railways act as the Hey Light Railway to connect the town of Heybridge to the Great Eastern Main Line via Heybridge Wharf.
  
  
  2mm Scale
• Fence Houses, 9.42mm Gauge, Exhibited by Bob Jones & The Fence Houses Team, Our chosen period is British Rail 1952 - 1962, using steam and diesel locomotives. Many mainline workings operated through Fence Houses, due to engineering works and diversions taking place on the 'new' main line.
• Hallam Town, 9.42mm Gauge, Exhibited by Alan Whitehouse, A little terminus set in South Yorkshire in the 1970s blue period that gives a real the whole thing an 'Eastern Region' feel.
• William Smith's Wharf, 9.42mm Gauge, Jerry Clifford, The ‘Wharf’ is the latest, and smallest, addition to the series of layouts based on the fictitious North Somerset Light Railway (NSLR) as it might have looked in the 1920s.