Only a couple of weeks and the ESNG visit to Stuttgart will be under way.

There is more to plan this time with two vehicles going to the show.  We’ve had to decide what will go in which vehicle, and organise the food for the social on the Thursday.  Fortunately Derek has completed the two new boards needed for the show!

There are two new ideas at the show this year.  Firstly, a ‘behind the scenes’ tour, where visitors can go behind the layouts and see how they are built and operated.  Nice idea that could be emulated at UK shows?  But I hope our visitors speak English!  Secondly there will be a section of the circuit with a procession of trains from various countries, together with a commentary and PowerPoint presentation.  We have come up with this for the UK and available stock:

• Pre-grouping
  • Queen Victoria’s Jubilee train.  A flight of fancy by Derek behind an LBSC Terrier.
  • GWR 14xx 0-4-2 plus autocoach.
• Grouping
  • LMS locomotive plus private owner goods train.
  • Southern N-Class 2-6-0 plus Maunsell coaches and luggage stock.
  • Southern goods train, plus Terrier.
• Nationalisation
  • Battle of Britain 4-6-2 plus Bulleid coaches.
  • British Railways standard 2-6-4 tank plus goods train.
• Modernisation
  • Class 33 diesel plus BR Mk1 coaches (in all 5 liveries carried by this design classic)
  • Blue Pullman
• Privatisation
  • Virgin Voyager DMU
  • Class 60 diesel plus steel wagons
  • Eurostar EMU

Not entirely representative, but a flavour of British railway history.

ESNG will be well represented.  We have 5 members there for the whole time, and another 2 (plus my Michael, who appears out of the woodwork for ESNG shows) for part of it, and another 3 (plus the hon. auditor) doing a day trip on Friday.

Michael and I fly out on the Friday night, and have Saturday and Sunday there, flying home Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday are (naturally) the busiest days at the show, but the hall is big enough not to seem too crowded.  I am unlikely to have the Wi-Fi available to live-blog the show, but I suspect Allan will mail me pictures from the first two days (hint) and I’ll write it all up when we get home.

ESNG appears in the N-Club magazine, below, along with the show poster.