Stamford 2024

Regular readers will know of my enthusiasm for loco model railway shows. Get a good one, and the layouts on display will be punching well above the weight of the event, and so it proved at Stamford. 

I'd gone along to photograph Harbourne St Mary for a future issue of BRM. While there, the Market Deeping club, who run the show, had asked me and my boss to judge the best layout competition. 

Comparing one layout against another, when they are all so different is really difficult. We got the list down to six, and over tea, decided to award the prize to Daisy Lane, a 4mm scale MPD with some really nice detail in the buildings (no roofs, so you can see this) and a set of weathered stock. Part of my reasoning was that I've seen MPDs done so often with weathered buildings, and stock straight from the box, it's nice to see things done properly. It's also a modest size, the sort of layout people can realisticaly aspire to building. 

And yes, I have got a photo shoot booked in later this year. It definitely needs to be on the page. 

So many other layouts stick in my mind though, such as the 3D printed Essex Brick. Not realistic, but with a real Steampunk vibe going on, and it all works automatically.

Brief Encounter achieves something that again, I've seen tried, but rarely as successfully - a monochrome layout. Sat in the hall, it really stands out with it's grey colouration. Sadly, the baseboard is so packed, it wouldn't work on the page, but if you get the chance to see it for realy, don't miss out. 

Trade was good, but not brisk thanks to a well-publicised stunning day outside. The sort of weather that makes most people head for a pub garden rather than an exhibition hall, even one with excellent cake. I felt for the show manager. As he said, you can't control the weather. 

Anyway, there are more photos on Flickr.