Basingstoke 2015 show, 14/15th March - Best in show, the award

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Welcome to the "show" that runs and runs. From now until the middle of March 2015 I shall be posting information about the annual Basingstoke exhibition and including photographs of the invited layouts. As in previous years Chris Nevard has agreed to provide some photographs.

As a starting point, here is a link to the website of the Basingstoke & North Hants Model Railway Society where you can get a sneak preview of what shall be covered here. If you have followed the build-up to our show in previous years then you know what to expect.

If this is the first time that you have explored a Basingstoke Show topic then you might like to see the topic for the 2014 show which can be found here. At 2,800 views over ten weeks there has to be something there which appeals to all.

Drop a line if you have any questions or wish to comment on last year's show... or just throw a brick-bat.

Adult admission price is £5, Child £4 - the same price as last year, as the year before that and the year before that. What other exhibition offers more than 20 layouts and 20 traders for the price?

regards, Graham

[BTW - in 2014 there were enough WTers present on the Saturday that a lunchtime get together was possible. Please feel free to use this topic to organise a lunch meet in 2015.]

 

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I guess that WTers generally are not that interested in the traders who attend our annual show... although I guess that most might well be customers of Squires... so this year I shall concentrate on layouts. If you want details of traders then drop me a PM.

And so on to the layouts, first up is "Old Elms Road", photos by Chris Nevard, courtesy of Model Rail.



The next photo includes an aspect of the real thing which is rarely modelled - a sand drag in the foreground.

 

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I admit freely that I have a liking for this layout and not just because the owner shares a postcode. Whilst this layout depicts Cliddesdon on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway the builder has bigger plans - to recreate the entire line. Cliddesdon is the first part to be exhibited at our Show... the next part depicts the Thornycroft factory sidings and the branch line past the factory - for those who might have an interest, the current Basingstoke ring road close to the alignment of the railway in the vicinity of Wickes and Morrisons.

These photos courtesy of a father and son team, David and Ed Smith.




The building of Cliddesdon and Thornycroft Sidings is covered here ... where you can find photos of Will Hay and friends from "Oh, Mister Porter".

 

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I expect that some of you shall recognise the next layout as having appeared in a monthly magasine in the recent past.

Poole in Wharfedale is by Tom Couling who has supplied these photographs.





Further photos and layout details can be found here.

 

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Broad Gauge layouts are pretty rare in any scale... mixed gauge layouts are even more rare... so a mixed gauge layout in 3mm scale is a very rare beast, probably unique. Nick Salzman is bringing Yeoton Wharf to our 2015 show and he has supplied some lovely photos.





For those who wish to read more before seeing the layout at the Basingstoke 2015 Show, then follow this link.

 

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Bringing a taste of topicality to the thread, Sheaf Valley is appearing in British Railway Modelling this month as well as at our show in March. Photos have been supplied by Oliver Reading and are courtesy of Andy York / BRM.

 

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Bridport Town is appearing at the Basingstoke 2015 Show. I saw Bridport Town at Warley several years back and I have had to be patient for this layout to attend our exhibition. In general I am not a fan of narrow gauge, I am very happy to say that this layout is one of my all time favourites... in my eye this layout is up there with Bucks Hill, Fencehouses, Bramblewick as one of the best in regard to character and interest.

Photos courtesy of D L Taylor whose name ought to be familiar to WTers as he posts here on a regular basis.

 

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Clydach is appearing at the Basingstoke 2015 show. This is Welsh Narrow Gauge by Richard Holder, rather nice views and really good backscene, I shall enjoy time spent watching the trains go by on this layout.

 

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Mawgan Porth... a 4mm scale layout to EM gauge, from the Winchester MRC, photos courtesy of Mick Rich.

This layout offers us LSWR in the early part of the 20th century, located on the coast of North Cornwall. The station and quay side are "separate" which gives the layout different flavours dependant upon where the viewer is standing - this makes photography somewhat interesting!

The first photo is along the quay, away from the station.


And to show that there is a railway presence on the quayside...


Towards the station and away from the quayside.

 

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Brixcombe is a GWR layout from the Farnham Club and is appearing at the Basingstoke 2015 Show. This layout is to P4 standards and very nice as well. Photos courtesy of the Farnham Club.

 

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Basingstoke Show often - probably every year - includes at least one layout which is built around a continental theme... and 2015 is no different. Zuppertal by David and Iris Guscott features elevated routes plus an overhead monorail.

Photos courtesy of D & I Guscott.

 

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With just two days to the off... and less layout photos than in previous years... this is the last post of pictures provided prior to the exhibition.

Garsdale Head in N-gauge, photo courtesy of Micheal le Marie


Redford in 3mm scale from the Bognor Regis MRC, photo courtesy Paul Hopkins

 

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For the first time the Basingstoke Show has been "opened" by an invited guest - we are pleased that Steve Flint of Railway Modeller agreed to open the show and to judge "Best in Show".

Who won?

I shall come to that...

As well as being the first time that our show has been "opened" this is the first year that the Basingstoke Club has awarded a "Best in Show" trophy - a trophy in the shape of the Hampshire Rose (supplied and engraved by Jeanette's Engraving of Viables, Basingstoke). The trophy is to be awarded annually and engraved with the names of those winners.

This year - Cliddesden, a N-gauge representation of a station on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway, there are photos in an earlier post to this topic.

So here you are... the layout and the shield in one photo.

 

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This topic is shorter than in previous years because of a paucity of photos... before the event. Sorry, I can choose photos only from those which are provided.

Heather Kay and Best-Beloved made the trip to Basing today and we benefit from Heather's pocket camera, so here some photos of a few of the layouts which have not featured previously.

Aldbourne




Garsdale Head






Leavesden