The weather forecasts for today weren't as apocalyptic as the rest of the weekend so we took a risk and headed up to what turned out to be, sunny York.
After a morning wandering around the city we took a cab out to the show. This was a good move as the cab driver turned out to be an enthusiast and has a load of TT stuff in his attic ! We chatted trains for the duration of the 6 quid trip from the minster to racecourse. Hopefully next year he'll actually make it in the door to the event !
Apparently the weather had put a few more people off and the show was 500 down by the end of Sunday. Monday appeared to be busier though and so hopefully they have hauled the numbers back a bit.
As far as the content goes - good trade and good layouts - same as normal. On the layout front I loved the look of Kingswear in 2mm scale but wondered why nothing much happened. I've not seen the model before so it's probably one of the first shows which means it's still shaking down and working out bugs.
Anderstaff Yard also caught my eye. It's a really nice modest modern(ish) image model with bags of atmosphere. For some reason the owner had decided to set the sound on his models at a realistic level. Obviously he is under the misapprehension that sound is an aid to realism. Real modellers know it's a tool for showing off and annoying everyone. I hope this attitude doesn't catch on or I might have to revise my dislike of the aural element.
The layout I want to build was more difficult. I think it was Tony & Sue Hills circular model of an estate railway. As well as being a cracking piece of modelling, it amused the crowd by rotating, so the loco was always in the same spot and the scenery moved !
On the trade front there had been some changes with a couple of stands moving in and a couple vanishing. The balance is always pretty good. You probably have less choice of RTR box-shifters than most shows but then if you actually want to build models, the range of bits is better than nearly any other event. Mind you I managed to get out cheaply - a pack of 100 degree solder, some Mek-pac and a switch. Cheapest York for years !
The York show web site is worth a visit too.
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