Great Central Railway model event 2015

To Quorn for the first MREmag.com exhibition stand!

With the magazine under our control we decided it was time to do some events handing out leaflets and encouraging new readers. You can make an on-line mag as good as you like, it still needs readers, especially if you want any advertisers.

The event runs for three days, Friday to Sunday, and I was otherwise engaged for the first two. Sunday though, I was there to talk to people and give them little bits of paper.

The show takes place in a giant marque at Quorn station. Visitors can ride on real trains as often as they like as well as spending time enjoying an excellent selection of model ones.

Both layouts and trade were very good.

Those with models had a bit to complain about as the tent got very hot - causing the bridge deck to buckle on a superb 4mm scale Connel Bridge for example. The floor was also very bouncy in some areas providing miniature earthquakes every time someone walked by. For long layouts, this was a serious handicap.

That's a shame as the selection of layouts was as good as you'd see anywhere. I loved the tiny slate quarry, Hornby Magazine's Twelvetrees Junction (especially the bits I built), a crowd pleasing museum that set the purists frothing and many others.

By late morning I was feeling hungry and so decamped to the Bistro (pretentious for a preserved line, what's wrong with a cafe?) to buy a sausage roll and really superb Victoria Sponge cake. It's probably good that were busy after this as I could have munched another slice or two...

One very unusual demo showed the building of O gauge steam locos in cardboard. The results were as good as many kit-built examples and proved that persistence and skill can overcome a slot of financial limitations if you really want. OK, you'll still need to buy motors, gears and wheels, but even so, you can have models if keen enough. More on their website.

After a busy day, I was happy to escape after packing up. The rest of the team don't have my exhibition experience so we feeling it more than I was.

If I'd paid to come in, I'd have been a very happy punter. Numbers were 30% up on previous years and there were a few moans that the trains were packed. Next year, perhaps a few more coaches? After all, the 9F could easily handle them!

Photos from the GCR Model Event on Flickr.