The Market Deeping Model Railway Club Exhibition May 2024 part 2

Yesterday I highlighted two unusual layouts and I will follow that today with a few others.

First off something that you don't see usually at a model railway exhibition, a ScFi layout curtesy of Laurie Calvert who has produced several of these layouts, plus others, over the years. His YouTube channel, Calvertfilm has a plethora of interesting and entertaining videos on all sorts of model matters. A great gut to talk with and really gets into the part with him and his parnter both in Steam Punk costum. People like this really do make a big difference to an exhibition.

It was great to see one of his layouts in the flesh and whilst many railway modellers may dismiss such layouts, I find them fascinating and they usually make a big impression on those non-railway modellers who attend shows such as Mrs. Woody.

A short video clip brings it all alive!

The whole layout is about 6 feet by 2 but packs a lot in.

This, believe it or not, is a GWR railcar, with a few ScFi additions!

Many of the lights and movements are interactive with switches for people to press!

Moving onto something very different and based on history and not ScFi we have this amazing duo of layouts depicting the exact same spot n Switzerland, just that they are 100 years apart! Take a look at the two pictures below. There are the subtle and less subtle changes such as the balloon being replaced with a helicopter, the horse drawn wagon going over the bridge being replaced with the Mercedes Actros but belonging to the same company! Whilst the owner explained the history of the layout my eyes just kept dating between the two layouts. It was fascinating and expertly executed and I have never seen it done before! You can click on the pictures to get the original high resoltution photo open up in a new window if you want a closer look.

Another first for me was to see a monochrome layout. Based on the old black and white film, Brief Encounter, the layout looked brilliant. I am guessing just working in monochrome is not easy but it is possible as this layout proves.

There is obviously a sense of humour wit the funeral parlor offering 'Buy one get one free'!

Another dock type layout in the form of Eastgate Harbour with its two teddy bear guardians!

Some wonderful ship modelling as well as the railway side of things.

This layout also had animated scenes and I was taken by this one of two brawling dockers!

Amazing the lengths to fit something in that modellers will go to. A cinema on one layout had an open roof...

...the audience and the film actually playing on the screen - and it was playing! Apologies for the poor camera focus.

Lastly, my first layout in the new Hornby TT range based on the Dawlish seawall.  Have to see if any others appear in this new gauge during the year or whether this is a lone sighting!

It was a great exhibition and I could post more photos but the ones I have posted are perhaps the type of layouts you may not see very often at an exhibition. To see so many in one is a credit to the club and exhibiton manager.

The Market Deeping Model Railway Club Exhibition May 2024,

A surprise visit today to the Market Deeping Model Railway Club Exhibition held in Stamford, Lincolnshire. I say surprise as up until 10pm last night it had been off my radar for reasons I have yet to work out! Anyway Mrs. Woody was delighted to go out at short notice to, as I carefully explained to her, buy some chocolate tiffin, so off we went. 

I have been to the last 3 events and baring the two events cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid it has now been five years since the club hit international headlines when the 2019 event was badly disrupted by four youths who vandalised some of the exhibits over night before the opening day. To see where the Club are now is a great example of people picking up the pieces and making something even better from them. This year there were some really great layouts with some unusual and never to me seen before layouts.

Starting with Essex Brick the layout exudes a character which took me seconds to recognise as being modelled on the type of interpretation of the Victorian Industrial scene that you see in the recent Sherlock Holmes films.

It is completely 3D printed - that is all the rolling stock, warehouses, vehicles, ships, cranes, people and cargo! As the builder said nothing is available in the shops!

It is a fascinating layout that needs a lot more time than I had to look at and spot all the details and cameos.

Another model full of character was this WW! layout  - A Cold Front. You just have to look at the scene itself to see this is a different layout from the norm. I was particularly taken by some of the rolling stock which had several unusual trains.

Just like this small Red Cross wagon and small loco.

Or this Swapwith Camel aeroplane in bits.

There are other layouts equally interesting and inspiring and perhaps more of those tomorrow and yes, Mrs. W did get her chocolate Tiffin. There is a lady who makes them who attends the exhibition each year and they are delicious!

Logs and platform escapades!

For some reason I had to choose today, the hottest day of the year so far, to work in the sun and get on with some logging escapades! The pile of tree parts on the front drive that I have accumulated over the Winter (all for free) and looks an eyesore (well it was free as I tell Mrs. Woody!) is getting smaller as I split and log the wood. Mrs. Woody will be pleased - I hope!

My work space with trusty cross cut saw!

After several hot hours it is a much reduced pile and a log store looking much better for Winter!

Meanwhile, as they say, things are moving, slowly, on the platform for my 00 gauge layout. The platform surface is sprayed with Halfords grey primer for that worn tarmac look and the edging stones are now being painted in a stone colour by brush. A bit of masking tape helps keep a neat edge.

Putting the surface on the base shows how this is coming together rather nicely. Certainly easier to do then my log escapades!

Long Term Projects!

What better way to spend a warm May day than at the Rocks By Rail Museum. Mrs. Woody probably has different ideas but for me it was an ideal day! First off I found that there had been some movements in the Restoration Shed with the long term project by John of the rebuilt 3 plank wagon now in service as a coal wagon. I just hope it looks as good in a few months time!

So what has filled the space in the shed? Well Mr. D, another long term project, is now inside and being worked on.

Main attention is to his engine at the moment.

As with all long term projects where the item was dismantled years ago by people no longer with the Museum it is difficult to pick up what needs to be done and what goes where! However with knowledgeable people about like Richard, Andy, John and John, it should eventually get there....

Especially when Riley the dog is on the case - I think he was wondering when lunch was going to happen!

For me it was another day of the long term project of grass cutting - once I fixed the mower which jammed up doe to a stone!

Things are moving on with Sundew's cab with Pam and Pete getting to grips with the outside paintwork which should make a real difference, again on this long term project!

I have also started to dismantle this slightly oversized pile of branches and hedge bits that has been created over three years - mainly by me as my long term project!

I filled one of those one ton builders bags with off cuts and dragged it down to the burning pit. It is going to be a slow job but if I do a bag a week I might have cleared it by the end of the opening season! Now that is a long term project!

 

The edge!

I am usually on the edge of something - normally a calamity like hitting my thumb as I continue splitting these logs....

Much to the amusement of this nest building pigeon! However, if he builds his nest at the rate of one bit at a time going by what's in his beak, then I may well finish my platform before his nest is built! 

Moving onto model making, today the edge in question is on the platform I am building for my 00 gauge layout. I have already put brick paper on the base but today I added an additional edge that most real platforms have to support the edge slabs of the platform surface.

I started by gluing some more brick paper to mounting card and let that dry.

I then cut strips four brick courses wide. The edge of the strip that would show, although unlikely to be noticed as it points downwards, was coloured in with an appropriate pencil.

 
The edge was then glued to the upper edge of the base.

At the ramped ends the strip was cut as needed.

The end result is what I hoped for.

Points, brakes and couplers - all in a day at the Rocks By Raill Museum!

Woody has been videoing again at the Quarry day at the Rocks By Rail Museum with a YouTube video about points, wagon brakes and couplers.

Back to model railways, the platform edge slabs are now finished and a first coat of grey primer has been applied to most of the platform surface. If it was not for having to replace a central heating pump, cutting the grass and having to go to the recycling centre I might have got further but certain jobs have to be given priority as Mrs. Woody tells me!

Once the slabs are painted a stone colour it should begin to look a lot better.