The Chatham show was last at the Historic Dockyard some 12 years ago.  Was it really that long since I visited the place?  I visited the show on Saturday along with Messrs Dawes and Atfield and had a pleasant morning out.  Much of the dockyard looks much the same, though they appear to have improved a lot of the tourist attractions.

My impressions of the show back at the Dockyard?  Perhaps mixed, much as in the olden days.  Good:

• The show had lots of layouts, and some excellent ones – about 50 layouts (I didn’t count them.)
• Plenty of trade and a good variety (but annoyingly no speciality bookshop.)
• Well laid out with plenty of room between exhibits – never felt crowded.
• Everyone was friendly, and it was easy to talk to the layout owners.
• Parking was easy and cheap.
• I ran into a number of friends, that always makes for a good visit.

Less good:

• Many, if not most, layouts were familiar from the southern England exhibition circuit.  There were a number of ‘fillers’ and layouts that seem to get into every show at the moment, that were barely worth a look.
• Despite claims that the lighting is better in the shed, it’s still terrible.  Layouts needed their own good lighting, and those without suffered.
• Two catering points wasn’t enough. I queued for an age for a coffee and bacon roll.
• The portable chemical toilets were still habitable on Saturday morning, but I hate to think what they’d be like Sunday afternoon.  (Memories of exhibiting at Gaugemaster…..)   And no water to wash in them isn’t acceptable.

So the show was well worth the visit, but talking to a steward, the Chatham club has had to relearn the venue after a 12 year gap.  I’m sure that some things will be addressed next year.

One to the layouts, now, that will stretch over three or four posts.  I’ll start with the usual few favourites.  Interestingly, these are all layouts that I’ve seen before, but these (to me) were still the pick of the crop.

Graham Muspratt’s Canute Road Quay (OO) is a lovely little slice of Southampton Docks.  Just a shunting puzzle, but a very well detailed one.  I had a good chat with Graham, who works for Kernow Model Rail these days, and he thought that he could pack up the layout and leave before the trade stand next door had cashed up for the show…  Sound on the layout is a module and speaker under the baseboard, giving shunting sounds, plus road traffic, plus seagulls.  Much better for a small layout than having just sound in the engine.

Staying with the Graham’s, Graham Bridge’s Southwark Bridge continues to delight me as it’s railways as I remember them – south London on a viaduct.

Next, Terry Tew’s Rossiter Rise (OO).  Another familiar layout, but he always seemed to have added a few more details between shows.  I would have loved to have been on the platform with that variety of stock passing through!

Ray Taylor and Anna Bass’ Ambleton Vale is again familiar but always worth a good look.  I was amused by Anna explaining to a small boy, with nose pressed against Perspex, exactly why the loco had to run round the train – “Otherwise it would hit your nose.”

I’ve seen Mark Pretious’ Merstone (OO) a good number of times, but it’s Isle of Wight and a lovely model, so I have no reason not to include it here!

And it had one of those lovely IOW 2-4-0T locomotives running.  Another tick….

Express Daisy Sidings (EM) shows how attractive a small ‘Inglenook’ style layout can be.

And finally for today, Ballyconnell Road (3mm scale, 15.75mm gauge.)  What isn’t there to like?  A circular layout built to the correct Irish 5’3″ broad gauge.  None of this TT120 rubbish!  I would love to have an N gauge layout like this, with a central operating position, but I thing that I just don’t have room.