
8 quid to go in, and the good news was that the first model I saw was a Garratt. A great big Garratt made of Meccano. It was a very impressive model of one of the steam locomotives now running on the Welsh Highland Railway. Chatting to the builder, it took him around 3 months to create the loco and if he hadn't been around the stand all day I'd have been tempted to grab and make a run for it (joking !). While there were several scale models of the same loco at the show, this was the one that really made an impression on me. It's almost as if the slight cartooning made things look even better. Whatever, that was something the builder had every right to feel proud of.
As it turned out, working layouts were the highlight of the show. Compared to previous years the trade was on the the thin side and if you'd turned up with a shopping list I suspect you'd have been disappointed. It's always a bad sign when one of the stand is selling sweets - at least it wasn't the infamous sickly sweet fudge this time but still not what you want at a show full of meths powered steam machines. I suppose someone will suggest it allowed the modeller to buy something for the wife if he'd overspent but I'm not sure if some chocolates, no matter how posh, would make up for an inadvertent purchase from Roundhouse !

The G1 model was the usual test track style and featured a very customer friendly board telling visitors what would be running at different times each day. Every loco operated for half an hour and with two tracks that mean the trains change every 15 minutes. In the sheds members prepared their models and chatted both to the public and themselves. I was mightily impressed with a model of "Morning Star" that was fired by real coal. I think this probably amounts to the pinnacle of steam power in engineering terms - you get to look down on those who use meths or butane to fire up !
Despite thin trade I still managed to come away with a full bag and empty wallet. Bulk buys of slitting disks and flap wheels for car restoration contributed to most of the weight but a heavily discounted book on building small steam engines was also well received. I know I'm not likely to build one myself in the near future but that doesn't mean I can't dream. Mind you, the sales lady on the Barratt Engineering stand went to great pains to try and persuade me that the J38 kit would be an excellent buy. I agreed but even at the bargain price of £960 for a reasonably idiot proof model, it's a bit more than my bank balance will stand at present. Mind you, if anyone out there wants one built for them I could do you a very good deal including painting ! On the other hand a Roundhouse "Lady Anne" would be more useful in the garden and about the same price...

Enjoy more photos from the event.
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