My first layout, Robins Run has been invited to the Great Central Railway Model Event, which is being held on Friday/Saturday/Sunday 19th/20th/21st June 2015 across all four of the line's stations.
http://gcrailway.co.uk/modelevent/
Robins Run will be located at Quorn in a very large marquee that will have the majority of the layouts...
The GCR Model Event 2015
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Less than a month to go until the next outing for Robins Run.
So I better get the layout set up and get the buildings painted and fixed into place...and sort out the lighting. I used to have a set of LED strip lights, but I now have a number of 10Watt LED spotlights that should give a bit more light.
If anyonefancies a trip up to Leicestershire, do let me know and I'll find you something to do....like play trains!!
So I better get the layout set up and get the buildings painted and fixed into place...and sort out the lighting. I used to have a set of LED strip lights, but I now have a number of 10Watt LED spotlights that should give a bit more light.
If anyonefancies a trip up to Leicestershire, do let me know and I'll find you something to do....like play trains!!
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Preparations just about finished ready for the show.
I've completed the village area with representative scenery as opposed to detailed gardens, etc. Track cleaned and dead spots sorted out (I had to tweak at least four track joints..difficult to do when the track is "built in"). LED floodlights mounted on a new aluminium and wood frame. Whole board vacuumed to remove all the loose bits!
Just the final preps and load the car tomorrow afternoon to go an set up.
The show is on Friday/Saturday/Sunday and located mainly in a huge marquee at Quorn station.
I've completed the village area with representative scenery as opposed to detailed gardens, etc. Track cleaned and dead spots sorted out (I had to tweak at least four track joints..difficult to do when the track is "built in"). LED floodlights mounted on a new aluminium and wood frame. Whole board vacuumed to remove all the loose bits!
Just the final preps and load the car tomorrow afternoon to go an set up.
The show is on Friday/Saturday/Sunday and located mainly in a huge marquee at Quorn station.
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Good luck with the show. 
Mike
DON'T knock it at least I am trying to do something, with only one good hand.
DON'T knock it at least I am trying to do something, with only one good hand.
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Good luck with the show tomorrow, I'll be interested to learn how everything copes with the relatively high humidity generated in a marquee, especially overnight when temperatures drop and condensation forms.
I would be tempted to take a lightweight plastic sheet to cover the layout overnight to prevent the dust and moisture forming a 'mud' on the track, which then transfers to the wheels, a phenomenon I have experienced a few times on other layouts I have exhibited under canvas.
I hope everything goes well, look forward to your after show comments.
Best regards, Noel (Dollimore).
I would be tempted to take a lightweight plastic sheet to cover the layout overnight to prevent the dust and moisture forming a 'mud' on the track, which then transfers to the wheels, a phenomenon I have experienced a few times on other layouts I have exhibited under canvas.
I hope everything goes well, look forward to your after show comments.
Best regards, Noel (Dollimore).
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Good luck Doug! Please share some pictures of Robins Run in action and some of the additional details! Shame it's a bit far north for me or I would have been there!
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Good luck Doug!
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Thanks for all the good wishes....
This show seems to be getting very well established. It's getting to be almost as big as the Warley show at the NEC....although as one of the show organisers said, it'll be judged on whether it makes a profit or not.
The show is indeed held inside two very large marquees, probably sized at around 60 x 150ft each! I've covered the layout with a cotton sheet overnight to keep dust and moisture off....and I'm sure it'll get quite warm during the day. One of the other layouts have an issue with a track bed on a bridge expanding and warping. They're having to make an emergency adjustment in the mornimg before the show opens!
It's amazing how small a world we live. Today alone, I've met at least three different guys I know through my involvement at the Tramway Museum, one being an ex-volunteer, and another a 1940s reenactor. And I've received more invitations to take my layout to shows!!
This show seems to be getting very well established. It's getting to be almost as big as the Warley show at the NEC....although as one of the show organisers said, it'll be judged on whether it makes a profit or not.
The show is indeed held inside two very large marquees, probably sized at around 60 x 150ft each! I've covered the layout with a cotton sheet overnight to keep dust and moisture off....and I'm sure it'll get quite warm during the day. One of the other layouts have an issue with a track bed on a bridge expanding and warping. They're having to make an emergency adjustment in the mornimg before the show opens!
It's amazing how small a world we live. Today alone, I've met at least three different guys I know through my involvement at the Tramway Museum, one being an ex-volunteer, and another a 1940s reenactor. And I've received more invitations to take my layout to shows!!
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Day one was a mostly good day. There were plenty of visitors to the layout not only from other stands and exhibitors, but from the general public.
Despite the GCR show being quite a big show at a location that attracts a lot of visitors, there is a drawback. With the marquee being on a gravelled area and having lots of gaps in the walls, etc, the atmosphere was not all that friendly to the layout. Wheels dirtied quite quickly and at one point I almost ran out of powered units that would actually run! The wooden flooring was also somewhat bouncy, making railing up the HST first thing in the morning a bit like standing on a Cake Walk!!
Day one ended with a complimentary ride from Quorn down to Leicester and back on a steam hauled train, and then it was back home where after a rest, I spent the best part of an hour cleaning wheels on all my powered units and removing stray bits of scenery flock from a couple of jammed gearboxes.
Day two (today) started with not only a couple of cups of coffee, but a jolly good half hour clean of the track, which was changed from a very dull grey colour to a nice and shiny appearance. And not surprisingly, I had no issues getting two trains running....however I was very cautious with the HST, and only ran half the set to avoid derailments whenever the leading loco started stuttering!
At ten, the crowds rolled in and it got quite busy. Again, a lot of amazed faces having seen T gauge for the first time. The show remained fairly busy up until mid afternoon when the rainy weather started sending people home.
I'm back at home now....and still have a wheel cleaning session to do.
Overall, a good show so far...one day to go. I'm surprised there's a good awareness of T within the modelling fraternity and I had comments that quite a few had seen Alan's Lakeside Park as well as Robins Run...and even T in a briefcase and guitar case! The general public were mostly amazed at the small size of the scale.....the most common question being "Does T stand for tiny?"
Despite the GCR show being quite a big show at a location that attracts a lot of visitors, there is a drawback. With the marquee being on a gravelled area and having lots of gaps in the walls, etc, the atmosphere was not all that friendly to the layout. Wheels dirtied quite quickly and at one point I almost ran out of powered units that would actually run! The wooden flooring was also somewhat bouncy, making railing up the HST first thing in the morning a bit like standing on a Cake Walk!!
Day one ended with a complimentary ride from Quorn down to Leicester and back on a steam hauled train, and then it was back home where after a rest, I spent the best part of an hour cleaning wheels on all my powered units and removing stray bits of scenery flock from a couple of jammed gearboxes.
Day two (today) started with not only a couple of cups of coffee, but a jolly good half hour clean of the track, which was changed from a very dull grey colour to a nice and shiny appearance. And not surprisingly, I had no issues getting two trains running....however I was very cautious with the HST, and only ran half the set to avoid derailments whenever the leading loco started stuttering!
At ten, the crowds rolled in and it got quite busy. Again, a lot of amazed faces having seen T gauge for the first time. The show remained fairly busy up until mid afternoon when the rainy weather started sending people home.
I'm back at home now....and still have a wheel cleaning session to do.
Overall, a good show so far...one day to go. I'm surprised there's a good awareness of T within the modelling fraternity and I had comments that quite a few had seen Alan's Lakeside Park as well as Robins Run...and even T in a briefcase and guitar case! The general public were mostly amazed at the small size of the scale.....the most common question being "Does T stand for tiny?"
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Final day over.....it was a family day. Lots of kids.
The day started with the usual half hour track cleaning session. It was amazing how dirty the track was! Here's a photo I took showing the before and after:
Despite there being many families, there was still some interest in taking a look at dabbling in T. Many TGauge.com magnifiers given away....and a fair number of cards for the forum.
The show finished at 4:00pm....and I was driving off site at 4:35pm. The first layout to leave!
And I've been invited back next year.......with The Bridge!
The day started with the usual half hour track cleaning session. It was amazing how dirty the track was! Here's a photo I took showing the before and after:
- IMG_2047_red.JPG (138.49 KiB) Viewed 16045 times
The show finished at 4:00pm....and I was driving off site at 4:35pm. The first layout to leave!
And I've been invited back next year.......with The Bridge!
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NoelDollimore
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:38 pm
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Hi Doug.
Well done, flying the flag for the 'big T', glad it all went well with not too many headaches, track gets terribly muddy during exhibition running in any scale but it's so critical with 'T'.
If I may highlight one area that usually gets overlooked, having worked for ten years in a model railway shop as service engineer, 90% of our customers who complained of bad layout performance 'even after having cleaned track and loco wheels' hadn't thought to clean their rolling stock wheels, after prompting on this they were surprised to find performance improved no end (as they weren't laying down fresh mud for the loco wheels to pick up again).
If asked, I always recommend, 1) Clean ALL rolling stock wheels, 2) Clean All loco wheels, 3) Finally clean track, that way you end up with a more reliable running session.
I normally use a glass fibre brush to do all the cleaning as it polishes the track and wheel surfaces and doesn't allow the dirt to key into any abrasions made by even the finest of grit papers.
I hope I'm not 'teaching granny to suck eggs' but over the years I've met many modellers, some highly experienced, some novice, and quite a few admitted they'd not thought about cleaning non pickup wheels.
As an aside, I don't know how long you've been at Critch, but your name sounds somewhat familiar.
I don't know if you were involved at the time or if you would remember, but a number of years years ago I brought my 00 scale working bus layout 'On the buses' up to one of your festival weekends and we were situated in the hall at the head of an LT tram, the memory jogger may be that the buses all had working brake lights when they stopped.
Best regards, Noel (Dollimore).
Well done, flying the flag for the 'big T', glad it all went well with not too many headaches, track gets terribly muddy during exhibition running in any scale but it's so critical with 'T'.
If I may highlight one area that usually gets overlooked, having worked for ten years in a model railway shop as service engineer, 90% of our customers who complained of bad layout performance 'even after having cleaned track and loco wheels' hadn't thought to clean their rolling stock wheels, after prompting on this they were surprised to find performance improved no end (as they weren't laying down fresh mud for the loco wheels to pick up again).
If asked, I always recommend, 1) Clean ALL rolling stock wheels, 2) Clean All loco wheels, 3) Finally clean track, that way you end up with a more reliable running session.
I normally use a glass fibre brush to do all the cleaning as it polishes the track and wheel surfaces and doesn't allow the dirt to key into any abrasions made by even the finest of grit papers.
I hope I'm not 'teaching granny to suck eggs' but over the years I've met many modellers, some highly experienced, some novice, and quite a few admitted they'd not thought about cleaning non pickup wheels.
As an aside, I don't know how long you've been at Critch, but your name sounds somewhat familiar.
I don't know if you were involved at the time or if you would remember, but a number of years years ago I brought my 00 scale working bus layout 'On the buses' up to one of your festival weekends and we were situated in the hall at the head of an LT tram, the memory jogger may be that the buses all had working brake lights when they stopped.
Best regards, Noel (Dollimore).
Knowledge is of no value unless it is shared, if you can remember it !!
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
Hi Noel
Once seen....never forgotten!!
Yes, It's probably me you remember seeing at Crich. I've been helping there for ten years this year...and I would have been a helper at the event you were at.
Once seen....never forgotten!!
Yes, It's probably me you remember seeing at Crich. I've been helping there for ten years this year...and I would have been a helper at the event you were at.Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
well done Doug and thanks for the update.
good luck with the wheel cleaning.
good luck with the wheel cleaning.
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GibbModels
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:51 pm
- Location: somewhere in England ;)
Re: The GCR Model Event 2015
I'm The kid who you gave the forum card! I've ordered my class 66 body now! thank you.
I run TStandsForTrains over on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2SiEh ... A/featured