York 2026

 

An early morning photoshoot saw me into York show nice and early this year. Finishing my work just as the doors opened left me with the whole day to wander around looking at layouts, perusing the trade and chatting to people. Far nicer than my normal rush around. 

I'm not going to try to bring you the whole show, there are plenty of YouTubers out there who make it their mission to do that, I'll just mention a few displays that appealed to me, and I managed to get an acceptable photo of with my 'phone. 

First up, I finally had the chance to see Maggie and Gordon Gravett's Port De Crozon, seen at the top of this post. It really is a lovely layout. The unusual high-quality modelling of an unusual subject in an unusual scale - 1:50. The thing that struck me most was the colour palette - muted but very consistent. Nothing stands out, and the colours suggest a quiet village on a sunny day. I was also pleased to see the tower that I remember watching Gordon build many, many years ago at the Chiltern Assoc. show. I'd always wondered where it would end up. 

Sticking with finescale, Old Parrock by Paul Rhodes looked like a chunk of Pendon had been lifted and brought to the show. OK, it's East Sussex, but the modelling techniques looked like the best of the Oxfordshire team, and Iain Rice. 

 

I'd love to have a go at building something like this in TT:120. Enough stock is available to make it practical, and with a scenic section only 4ft long, it would fit in the space I have available, even if the time required wouldn't. 

Larger, but to my eye, very distinctive, is Coniston, by the Morely Model Railway Group. It's a truism that you should be able to identify the location a model is set in without any trains being seen, and this is very much the case here. One look at the station, and I knew we were in the Lake District. 

Novelty always appeals to me, and the Roundhay team seemed to have decided to model the Lincolnshire Potato railways!

Roundhay is a particular favourite of mine. Regular readers will remember that my NG7 layout for BRM was based on it. 

Finally, the most eye-catching-for-Phil layout had to be Janice and Myles McGregor's Studio Tour. Imagine you were visiting a behind-the-scenes theme park based on the Harry Potter films and books, and this is the model of your day out. 

I'm a big fan of interesting ideas, but, and it's a big but, they need to be matched by the quality of the resulting model. Poor execution is a waste of good ideas. This is not the case here. All the modelling (from someone who is new to the hobby!) is really well done. I'd happily see these snow-covered houses in a mainstream publication, ignoring the Potter angle. 

We also saw Ford Anglias and boats on The Dark Lake, operating smoothly and effectively. Statues spun, and there were other working features. Potter-heads will delight in spotting the scenes, most of which passed me by in the same way as the books and films. I was alone in this, though, judging by the crowds in front of the model all day. 

As I say, there were so many quality layouts to be seen, a days entertainment was assured. I've only covered a few. 

But, what about the cake?  

One of my first stops was the restaurant, and how about a rhubarb and custard eclair? Delicious, even if Little Brian was unimpressed with the addition of yellow stuff to his favourite vegetable!