Off to SWAG

Sunday sees the latest meeting of the South West Area Group (SWAG) of RMweb. It's a fun little event that is open to all, and normally features some really good small layouts, plenty of chat, pasties and cake. 

You can read about last year's event here. 

It's a little bit of a mystery exactly what will be there, but dig through the thread on RMweb, and you'll have a better idea. I've already arranged one layout shoot, and strongly suspect that it won't be the only one. I find SWAG a great source of micro layouts for BRM. 

If you enjoy quality modelmaking, and cake, head to Taunton, and all being well, I'll see you there.  

10AM- 4PM , Sunday 19th April 2026 

Staplegrove Village Hall, 214 Staplegrove Road, Taunton. TA2 6AL

 

The London Festival of Railway Modelling 2026

 

A busy show. Even busier for me, than normal. I spent the time either chatting on the stand (thanks for coming along blog readers who identified themselves) or taking photos. I managed four full shoots, plus a couple of side projects. 

Since this was the 25th exhibition, there was cake. Lots of cake. 

Above is the Warners cake, but Ally Pally also supplied cake, which I didn't get to partake in. The last slice was left for me, but the only time I saw it, it was being wolfed down by our publisher!

Never mind, I did try a slice of the work cake, and a couple of cupcakes, over the weekend. 

Pretty restrained I thought! The cupcakes were given out to the public, and it was interesting to see how often adults needed to explain the concept of ricepaper to their kids. Yes, you can eat it. I mean it doesn't taste great, but then you have a rather nice cake attached to the bottom, so stop moaning. 

Little Brian and Little Phil were out and about. We met some nuns. 

And a celebrity. 

Dad got to visit the set of one of his favourite films. 

A good time was had by all. Sorry, I'm a bit light on general layout photos, there really wasn't as much wandering time as normal. As it is, recovery took a couple of days. Am I getting too old for all of this? 

See you in Maidstone

 

All being well, as you read this, I'll be in sunny Maidstone for Rapido Railex. 

There will be modelling to look at, chatting to do, and no horrible Gipsy Tart being eaten!

Please drop in and say hello - it looks like a good show! 

Oh, and I have (as da kidz say) a beef with Rapido...

Bristol today, and tomorrow, and Sunday

 

Later on today, I should be set up at The Bristol Model Railway Exhibition for the weekend. 

My NG7 layout will be on the World of Raiwlay stand, much of the time, with me stood beside it, chatting about toy trains to anyone who will listen. 

Please drop by, it looks like another excellent show. 

More details on the Bristol show website. 

York 2025

 

To York! 

As usual, I travelled up on the Saturday so I could stroll around the city, watching buskers, and generally enjoying one of my favoutire places. I didn't worry about the NRM, but did drop in to the station, where I was surprised to see a Class 91 in the bay platform. A freind tells me that there’s quite a few still running on a daily basis on the ECML, while work on the cracked bogie brackets continues on the Azumas (aka IETs).

Anyway, the next day, after another cracking early morning stroll, I headed to the show. 

Since my hotel didn't provide breakfast (must check that next year) I shot upstars for a sausage and egg bap with cup of tea, before heading down to floor 2. I like to start as far away from the door as possible, to avoid the crowds. 

Plenty of chat on the G1 demo stand, and the narrow guage stand too. In fact, you'll not be surprised that there was an awaful lot of talking, however, I did look at the layouts and took a few photos. 

The standout for me was Penrhyn Quarries. 1/32nd scale on 16.5mm gauge track, the snowy setting looks fantastic. I pointed Tony Wright at it the bag a couple of proper photos, and he's done a full shoot, so look forward to a BRM feature, probably later this year. 

One that won't be in BRM, falling foul of the "not British" rule, is North 9th Street Terminal. Built in P87 (P4 for American models), it's full of interesting details, and captures the early New York scene as far as I can tell. 

There were a couple of 3mm (TT) scale layouts, and these buildings on Uppingham caught my eye as really nicely modelled structures. 

Whaplode is a nice minimum space O gauge model. The sort of thing I could see myself building one day. A working crane added some nice animation to the scene, and gave the operators a challenge, and the visitors something else to watch. 

Finally, Minimis really is minimum space. A sector plate replaces all the pointwork, but there is some lovely modelling on show. It wins "the layout Phil would like to build" prize easily. In fact I might have some idea along those lines in my head already for a future magazine project...

Of course there were more layouts, and even a few more photos taken. At least one will be appearing in front of my professional camera in a few months. 

But what about the food, I hear you cry. 

Well, by 2pm, the effects of the breakfast bap had worn off, and I headed upstairs. The food is good at the racecoarse, and not stupidly expensive. Since I was in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire pudding with sausages, mash and root veg seemed appropriate. Popular too, as the person in front of me, none other than Steve "Used to edit the Railway Modeller" Flint was also buying one. 

Cutlery was wooden, and not all that effective against the batter. I managed, by Flinty struggled. Being a proper Yorkshireman though, he wasn't going to waste his brass, and folded it up pizza style!

I also splurged on a little lemon meringue pie. 

Well, I couldn't not have a cake could I? Very nice it was too. 

So, while perhaps not a vintage York, it was still well worth the day out. I went in with the advance ticket holders, left close to closing, and could have happily stayed longer. York has a different feel to many other shows, and I love it. 

All being well, I'll be back next year!

National Garden Railway Show 2025

Three and a half hours work, and I'd built yet another garden at the Stoneleigh 16mm Association show. An extra three feet added to our display length allowed me a bit more flexibility with the track design. At least the 32mm gauge enjoyed some straights this time!

The trains ran pretty much flawlessly all day - working on the IP engineering coach seems to have solved the problem there. In fact, all the 32mm stuff worked well. 

On the 45mm, I tried the new Porter with some Hartland Loco works wagons, and found them less than reliable. It seems having a coupling hook on each end means they can shove each other off on the R1 curves. Should I remove the hooks? After all, they work fine on the more generous curves outside on my line. And I like the idea of two hooks for each coupling, less chance of unwanted uncoupling. 

My feeling is that the show wasn't as busy as previous years. The gaps semed to be local modellers. Everyone I talked to seemed to have travelled a distance. A friend on another stand had the same exprience. Where were the locals? 

It's a pity, because otherwise it was an excellent show. There were several layouts I'd never seen before. The trade was good too, I can't think of many who weren't there. 

Our stand was pleasently busy, with some subs sold, and lots of chat. I've, hopefully, inspired a few people to write for Garden Rail, on some very interesting topics. A fuller report will be in our June issue, complete with photos.

The London Festival of Railway Modelling 2025

Busy shows make for terrible show reports on this blog I'm afraid, and Ally Pally this year was very busy. With our stand being just inside the door, the crowds, and sadly the draughts, found us early, and on Saturday at least, kept me busy all day talking about toy trains. 

The NG7 layout went down really well with loads of interest in all aspects of its design and construction. Maybe it's a London thing, but building a roundy-roundy in a small space seemed to really catch peoples imagination. That, and kids loved watching the train go around and around. 

Sunday, was as you'd expect, a bit quieter, but this simply gave me time to get another layout shoot in, the third of the weekend. I broke my rules about not shooting when a show is open here - but the model in question was in the West hall, and there was plenty of trade to grab the punters before they got to us. 

From what I saw, the layout quality was really high, and appreciated by the audience. I asked our video guy to get some trains moving shots to accompany the various layouts appearances on the page, and he had problems because people were lined up along the barriers all weekend so he struggled to get in!

Anyway, all this means I just have a few random shots for you: 

One highlight was that on the Saturday evening, we'd booked to go and watch ice hockey, or as the Candians call it, hockey, at the rink on the side of Ally Pally. To be honest, it wasn't that exciting, the place lacked atmosphere. But, we had to walk back to the car along the front, and I finally got to enjoy the spectacle of London at night I've only glimpsed in the past. 

The photo doesn't do the scene justice sadly. Maybe I'll get the chance to try again next year. 

Anyway, a busy show with lots of chat. Thanks to those blog readers who came along to say hello. Sorry I didn't know everyone's names. As I type this, I've fallen asleep twice today already, and by the end of Sunday, I'm not even sure I could remember my own!

Stratford Upon Avon Model Railway Show 2025

 

My plans for a toy-train free weekend were thwarted by UK Modelshops newsletter dropping into my In-Box, and alerting me to the Stratford Upon Avon Model Railway Show on a previously free Sunday. 

I've always been of the opinion, often expressed, that if there is a toy train show locally, you should support it. Partly to keep the event viable for the organisers, but also because you never know what you will find. Local shows are where new layouts appear for a first trip out, and with my proffesional head on, sometimes I can bag a shoot, and even an exhibtion booking, before the layout becomes better known. 

Stratford promised 11 layouts, and in truth, apart from the ex-Chris Nevard Combwich West, none were magazine fodder, but they were still interesting. To be fair, nearly all were personal projects, and most still under construction. They worked, but lacked finesse. On the other hand, it was a great chance to chat to the builders and pick up ideas. 

 The "Layout Phil would like to build" award goes to HolyWell Town. A facinating little prototype that even in 4mm scale, fits into eight feet, plus a fiddle yard. There's a lot of operting potential too, thanks to a tiny headshunt, which is slightly longer than the real one!

Llantwy was also rather nice - basically a simple OO, with a 009 extension, that was a mass of nicely modelled cameo scenes that provided plenty for the audience to spot. 

And of course, smaller shows involve home-brewed catering. 

As I came in the door, I spotted some delicious looking chocolate cake, and an hour or so later, having been warned it was running out by one of the members, I sat down for a cuppa to try it out. Declicious - not too sweet and sickly, just how I like it.

So, nice cake, some interesting layouts, a good second-hand stall (more on that tomorrow) and loads of chat. Being a local show, I knew quite a few people and enjoyed being able to catch up with a few friends. A lovely morning.

The Festival of British Railway Modelling 2025

 

Seven days ago, I was half way through a busy weekend in Doncaster. Numbers were up, the trade seemed happy, and our new stand looked magnificent. All the panels light up so it really catches the eye, which might have helped sell more subscriptions than normal. Well, that and the free rucksack on offer. 

I am particually pleased with the seven foot square shot of St John's I took last year for a feature. OK, the camera could really do with more pixels for this sort of thing, but viewd from the aisle, it looks cracking. 

My little NG7 found a space in the corner, and I spent the weekend chatting about the model, how and why I built it, and generally waffling about the hobby. James Finister commented on his blog that it attracted loads of children, and maybe this is partly the size of the models. I'll admit that kitbashing the station is a project I've really enjoyed, and the result is very pretty. 

Being a top celebrity type, it fell to me to be interviewed by The Yorkshire Post - you can see the results here. 

I shot four layouts, but didn't have much time for other picture taking, but here's a few. 

Tony Wright had a few O gauge bits to sell off for charity. 

The Hornby Live Steam club showed an interesting cutaway model. 

And the owner of Llanfair Caereinion was away from the layout for a few minutes.

But what about cake? To be honest, I didn't find any at the show. There was probably some in the food court, but I didn't look properly. Not to worry, Saturday night involved a trip to Whitby's Fish and Chip restaurant, organsied by Elaine's Trains for a select gathering. 

Dinner started with haddock, chips and Yorkshire guacamole.

 Followed by knickerbocker glory. 

Delicious! The only trouble was that the 13 of us used up all thier large ice cream glasses!

Statfold Barn 2024

A few photos from last weeks' show. 

Bachmann launched their NG7 (7mm scale on OO track) range with some Quarry Hunslets. First impressions are that they are as good as we'd expected (the models have been rumoured for a couple of years, and much anticipated) and will convert a number of people to the scale. I am angling to do a magazine project with one...

 

 

I don't think I can use this in Garden Rail!

 

 

Filming The Titfield Thunderbolt. 

 

 

I'm not one for 3D printed locos, but this Russell looks really nice to me. 

 

 

I snagged the last piece of cake on Saturday. The barman was amazed to have gone through five during the day. I could have told him better. I should be a cake consultant. 

 

 

Nice 5 inch gauge Ruston 48DS.

 

 

Finally, my favourite layout at the show, a difficult choice as there were many excellent models on show. Look out for this in BRM in a few months time. 

Off to Doncaster this weekend

It's the Festival of British Railway Modelling in Doncaster this weekend. As usual, I'll be on one enf of the BRM stand with some modelling project you'll have seen in the magazine, and as much chat as I can manage. 

If you are coming up (and why not, it's a lovely show) then please drop by and say hello!

009 Society 50th Anniversary show

What a terrific day. 

There's no argument. This collection of 009 layouts, brought together at Statfold Barn to celebraite the Societies 50th borthday, was superb. 

It would be hard to pick a favourite as there wasn't a single duff model in the hall. Every single one was different, and none looked like a mainline station relaid in Peco "Crazy Track". It seems people are looking at prototypes and modelling them. 

I met many old freinds, and there was a lot of chat. To really appreciate the displays, I'd have needed to turn up on both days. Mind you, I'd probably have just done more yakking! If I saw you there, it was good to meet. If I missed you, sorry. 

Anyway, a couple of models that stuck in my mind were both of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The Little Himalayan Railway is a micro, but unusually well modelled. When did you last see a tea plantation on a layout? I rather like the posters on the concrete wall too. Properly faded, and loads of identical ones - just like you see in prototype photos.

Somewhat larger, is Kurseong. Again, beautifully modelled and full of scratchbuilt buildings that look like the real thing. I'd love to do a proper photo shoot on it...

You can see a video here. 

And this is just two of the 50 layouts present. I snapped away on my phone, and the better images can be found over on Flickr.