Abrail 2026

 

How has this show flown under my toy-train-seeking-radar for so long? 

It first came to my attention when the guys building Duxbury at the club mentioned they were taking the layout. That was just after they had inserted four feet in the middle of it - cue some hard work bringing it up to standard! A job well done, judging how well the layout ran at the show with some seriously impressive length trains. 

Seeing I had a free weekend, I thought a visit to support them was in order. Then I spotted that there were over 40 layouts. "There must be some that are blokes called Dave who've just nailed a bit of track to a plank to make up the numbers." I thought. 

I was wrong. 

There were over 40 layouts, and all of them were good. Some were great. No Dave's nailing Peco to wood here!

I'm not going to try to run through the lot. There is YouTube for that, but take some sea-sickness pills first, judging by the videos I've seen. 

Instead, a couple of highlights. Basically, the layouts I'd like to build. 

Rye Sands is a beauty. OK, there's nothing much here, but what there is, is superbly done. Loads of atmosphere. Based on a prototype, we are firmly in pre-grouping territory, with lots of curved-ended wagons. 

Sheep Croft is a very buildable layout, with plenty of operating potential, yet not very long. Perfect for a home-based layout that can be left out all the time for impromptu operating sessions. The 3-link couplings were challenging, but the low operating height made things a little easier for those shunting, as well as putting the model on the eye-line of shorter visitors. 

One issue with the show was the venue. Lovely as the college was, its classroom time, and with so much on show, the place becomes a bit of a rabbit-warren. I'll admit, I missed the building full of N gauge layouts, and didn't realise until I had a proper look at the programme back home. This is annoying, as if the quality of these was as high as the rest of the show, I'd have enjoyed them. To be fair, there is nothing that can be done about this. Exhibition centres aren't found on every corner, and when you locate one, the hire costs can be horrific. 

Catering was better than expected. Branded Costa, it turns out this is just the coffee and some of the food, but there were extra goodies on offer for very reasonable prices. I enjoyed the chocolate shortbread for only £1.50 a slice. Less than half what you'd pay in a proper chain coffee shop. 

To be fair, the trade side was OK, but not special. Mind you, I still managed to spend a few quid, which I'll explain tomorrow. 

Will I go back - YES. This is a cracking event. In future, I'll have a layout-booking hat on, and look at the programme properly, so I don't miss anything!