Basingstoke The 2016 Show - and the Best in Show is....

[Dog Star]

Basingstoke Model Railway Exhibition, 12th/13th March 2016, starts here.

Regular readers - this being the fourth time of presenting the show through Western Thunder - will know the format and not need any introduction. To new readers, I shall be providing photos of some of the invited layouts plus links as to where you can find details of opening times, exhibition venue/location, traders, heritage bus service, contact details... with regular updates by way of additional photos to keep the thread fresh.

The Basingstoke Club has a website with a summary of the "dry details" of the event... this topic shall include photos of the layouts where available and is interactive - please feel free to comment on the layouts, the traders, the refreshments, even the weather!

The good news for 2016? Basingstoke MRS is pleased to announce that the admission prices are unchanged for the third or fourth year in a row!!!!!!

Adult including Senior is £5.00.
Accompanied Children is £4.00.
Family (2+2) is £14.00.

And so to the first layout of the 2016 Show. Whilst this thread is about, primarily, the 2016 show I wish to start with a return to the 2015 Show so as to:-

a/ remind readers about the winner of the "Best in Show" award for 2015;

b/ introduce a layout which is appearing at the 2016 show and which presents some of the social history of Basingstoke;

c/ announce a "guest" judge for the "Best in Show" of 2016.

So this is where I started for the 2015 thread...

<<quote>>
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 is close to the alignment of the railway in the vicinity of Wickes and Morrisons.

This layout is built by a father and son team, David and Ed Smith. Photographs courtesy of E. 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".
<<end quote>>

So, turning to the current layout, a model of the Thornycroft factory and sidings which were accessed from the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway. Another layout from Dave and Ed Smith who built the "Best in Show" of the 2015 Show. The web-site for the layout has so many photos from which to choose... here is a small selection which show, to me, how the modelling has achieved a real sense of space and intrigue as to what is round the corner. As before all photos are by Ed Smith.







Well, that covers two of the three reasons given above... and now for the third reason. In the past members of the Basingstoke Club have chosen the "Best in Show". This year I have invited a retired railway employee, who is well known within the modelling world, to do the honours. For those who remember the early days of British Railway Journal and Model Railway Journal the name of Mike Romans might be familiar for Mike contributed much to those journals through the letters pages. Mike the Stationmaster, which is his username on RMWeb, is in charge for 2016 and I am sure that his selection is going to be authorative and possibly controversial.

regards, Graham

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Cliddesdon looks perfect!
Such exquisite and evocative modelling!
I always drive this way to Alton and enjoy looking for the old embankments and cuttings.
I remember the station masters house was for sale around 25 years ago, but I couldn't convince the boss to go for it!
Did part of the Thornycroft factory become Eatons bearings (or engineering?) I used to have to oil their huge gas meter.....
I really must nip up the road to take a look at this layout!

 

[Dog Star]

Time for photos of another layout and this time I have chosen an American theme in 'HO' scale - Pine Bluffs's Freight Yard from the Alton Model Railway Group. Here is what the Alton club has to say about their layout...


<<quote>>
Pine Bluffs Freight Yard is one element of a modular layout from the American Section of Alton Model Railway Group.

The Section created the fictitious Pine Bluffs and Ceda Falls Railroad in 2002 and has been exhibiting ‘Pine Bluffs Depot’ since 2006. The new Freight Yard layout continues on from the Depot (the road bridge being the division between the two elements). Modelled in HO scale (3.5mm to 1ft), the ‘Freight Yard ‘ layout is designed to combine continuous ‘train watching’, including ‘passing loop’ operations, with the variety of small freight yard switching.
<<end quote>>

Photographs supplied by Alton MRG.

 

[Dog Star]

Gauge One at model railway shows is not a common occurence so I am rather pleased that Basingstoke has Worcester Road attending our Show this year. These photos show the superb modelling and attention to prototype detail. Photos from, I believe, Steve Harrod.






The atmosphere of these photos is just how I remember visits to BR(WR) diesel depots in the late 1960s...

 

[Dog Star]

The original 82G came to our show about five years back and the layout was a real hit with visitors... feedback suggested that distance is no object when the layout is a "must see" example of modelling. The 82G shed staff decided, some years back, that the depot allocation was often more than the depot capacity so an extension to the shed was built... and at the same time the team adopted DCC for the layout. We are pleased that Nigel Smith accepted an invitation for this year and I think that you shall enjoy the visible and audible operation of a fine model.

Photographs courtesy of Nigel Smith of the Warley MRC.

 

[Dog Star]

Bishop Street Yard is a 4mm scale layout featuring BR and LT in close proximity, as this is a layout for which I cannot find any web presence I am not able to expand further. I believe that the photographs are from John Long who is the owner.





regards, Graham

 

[oldravendale]

Ooooh! Period LT and widened lines. I may well try to make it just for this one! I fear the house move - or clearing up the boxes - may intervene, though.

Sadly I remember all these locos and the LT stock for real. I feel old!!

Brian

 

[Dog Star]

Period LT and widened lines. I may well try to make it just for this one!

I shall be pleased to see you then... and make sure that you see more of the show since we have some very nice layouts this year. If you choose the same day as Heather (@Heather Kay) then we might get a WT meet.

regards, Graham

 

[Heather Kay]

That would be fun! It's most likely Best Beloved and I shall visit on the Sunday.

 

[oldravendale]

As I say, at the moment I'm unsure whether I can make it or not. However, if things are far enough progressed at home I may just take the Sunday off.

Brian

 

[Llangerisech]

Llangerisech is booked to attend this show and has been requested to display in Blue Diesel mode, which should prove popular with forum members. So, a 2FS Cambrian layout with loads of Rat variants and we allow a couple of hydraulic visitors that by rights shouldn't be there. I attach a couple of photos and I'm busy adding more details.

See you there.

Nigel

 

[Dog Star]

Ackthorpe is attending the Basingstoke Show this coming weekend, 12th and 13th March. Here is a superb photo of the layout by Chris Nevard courtesy Model Rail. Maybe too clean given the subject / location, there is no denying the modelling content.



If you come to the show then please say hello, look for the old man under the Red Hat. Heather Kay says that Sunday is the preferred day for her... so any other WTers visiting that day could have a meet-up. The Club does not have a test track at the show, however pack your Tizer / Mars bar / Lyons fruit pie and while away the time looking over the wall at the Engine Shed.

regards, Graham

 

[Dog Star]

Mike Romans, a career railwayman of more than 30 years, was the judge for Best in Show layout and I asked Mike to select a railway which was operated in a realistic manner. We had roughly twenty layouts and the choice was not easy... Mike made a first cut to leave five layouts in contention... and then gave me a "best three". The reason why Mike gave a best three is that he started judging before the show opened and looked at the "infrastructure" noting matters such as track formation, placement of signals, presence (or absence) of trap points. Once the three most likely layouts had been selected Mike then returned to each of those layouts to observe operation of the service. In the end, the three most likely winners were separated by simple details like:-

* trap points on goods exits to passenger lines;
* head / tail light correct for class of train (including side lights for brake vans);
* correct colour light on buffer stops (buffer stops adjacent to running lines do not have red lights);
* inter-lock between trap and signal.

Yes, minor matters when compared to the effort that most of us put into engines and coaches.

Ackthorpe was the best in show whilst Harlyn Pier and Tidworth were very worthy runners-up.

thanks to those of you who came... good to know that the show gave pleasure.

regards, Graham

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Mike Romans, a career railwayman of more than 30 years, was the judge for Best in Show layout

My sister works in a signal box and it was almost the same story. When she, her then small children and I visited a show many years back it was the position or lack of signals she commented to me on whether colour light, semaphore or ground.