York Model Railway Show 2011

I'm writing this in an effort to remain topical having just got back from the show. It has been a very long day so I'll stick to bullet points.

• The show was excellent.
• The layouts got better the higher you went. That's not to say the stuff on the ground floor wasn't any good, it's just that my favourites were on the top floors.
• The best layout, in my opinion, was the 3mm scale Everingham. Looking at it I can't understand why we bothered with 14.2mm gauge when 12mm looks as good as it does here. Soldered track helps a lot by keeping the rails small.
• Best stock had to be the Sealane trams. Fantastic models built from cardboard, perspex and bits of metal. See the current Railway Modeller Mag for details.
• The trade was good as ever. I picked up a couple of magazine projects and could have spent considerably more.
• If you chat to lots of people then it is easily possible to spend 6 hours in the show and still not really have seen all the layouts properly.
• Carpet is much nicer to walk on than concrete.
• My friend Tim's RoadRail bus is a sight to behold. I really want a Colin Flannery kit to build one just like it but can't really persuade myself I have a use for it. Mind you, Tim turned down £400 for the completed model so maybe there is room for a RTR version.
• Bachmann's new 3F looks like it is going to be very good.
• To stick high density foam together for scenery building, you need Hot Wire Glue from TerraScenic.
• Mike Cook is very much still around.
• The tea in the exhibitors tea bar has improved since I last drunk it.
• The fish and chips is very filling and reasonably priced. Apparently the beef wasn't so good, dodgy vegetables apparently.
• The chocolate cake was heavier than you might think and a touch sickly. OK but I couldn't manage a second piece without an hour or two between helpings.
• If you miss the M18 junction it adds an hour to your trip home.

More photos on Flickr. I seem to have picked up on a lot of wierd stuff.