Sunday 12 February 2012

A LEGO Outing...

Hi everybody. Today was another very rare outing for my LEGO Model Railway layout. The 9ft x 4ft display had not been exhibited since March last year when, interestingly, we took the booking for today's show! The venue was a large Church Hall in Hobs Meadow (Solihull) and, after a brisk run up the A45 in the frosty conditions, we made it there for around 8:30am. With the 1-day show not opening for another 2 hours we had plenty of time to set up, starting with the track and then moving onto buildings, figures and finally the wiring and of course the stock. I took the film below over the course of the day...

There were two rooms: the Hall itself and a Scout Hut next door. The event was organised by the West Midlands devision of the G Scale Society (45mm gauge) to raise funds. I think I counted about 9 layouts of various sizes from N Gauge up to 45mm, with a few traders thrown in for good measure. The turnout (so I thought) was very good and we had plenty of interest and questions. The Hall itself got very full towards Lunchtime as people continued to gladly hand over a very reasonable £3 per adult for entry to the show. There was also a Cafe area where various hot & cold snacks could be purchased as well as various drinks. The organisers kept us exhibitors well supplied with cuppa' after cuppa' as well as providing expenses and even a packed lunch for each of us; very nice! I had a little snoop around the show myself, including the Scout Hut next door. I must admit, it was well worth £3 of anybodies money, maybe even £5 for an adult at that. The show closed after a busy day at 4:30pm and we were back on the A45 by 5pm; fully loaded and homeward bound! Funny really; the layout takes 2 hours to set up and around 15 minutes to take down again! All in all, a very enjoyable day and I must thank the organisers for their hospitality and for having us. It was nice to see the LEGO out and running again. It doesn't get as many outings as it used to but we still have the 2013 Warley show (in 18 months!) to look forward to. Thanks all. Sam...

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