Whilst some of the club went south to Brockenhurst, Simon and I opted for Railex 2026, held by the Risborough & District MRC at Stoke Mandeville Stadium near Aylesbury. This is billed as a ‘fine scale’ show, and it lives up to its name.

I suppose that I’d better start in N gauge with James Street. It’s an amazing layout, full of fine modelling, but I have to confess that I’d prefer a branch line. Size isn’t everything, so I’m told. I took some pictures of the harbour area, a newly completed section with some excelling shipping on view.

Jerry Clifford’s Bath Queen Square engine sheds (2mm finescale) is a work in progress. All scratch build, including the locomotives. Perhaps its last showing before being built into his larger S&D layout.

Also on show in 2mm was Burnham-on-Sea. A classic 2mm layout being updated and renovated, it features the Burnham signature item – a working lifeboat that moves from its station along the branch tracks to the end of the pier and launching.

Some of the best modelling was on the S scale layouts, of which there were several, celebrating the S gauge Society’s 80th anniversary. The late Trevor Nunn’s East Lynn and Quayside layout is recognisable as North Norfolk – says he who had many childhood holidays there.

As Trevor Nunn got older, he built the smaller Trowland to take to shows. A charming little layout, just 8ft long. And including one of my all time favourite locos, the M&GN 4-4-0T.

Going even smaller, try Arcadia – about 4ft long in its visible section. Based on the KESR, but with a Bembridge style turntable at the end of the line to save space. And to further save space goods and carriage sheds are accessed from the off-stage sector plate.

Finally for S scale, there was Blakey Rigg, a North Eastern Railway station somewhere up on the North Yorkshire moors. A real station, close to scale.

What next? LLawryglyn (EM) is a favourite I’ve seen several times before. A Cambrian Railway twig off a branch somewhere in deepest mid-Wales. My highlight on this little line is the excellent rolling stock, in all their pre-grouping finery.

We’ll finish today with another personal favourite – Rossiter Rise. Just the one photo, as I’ve posted lots of photos of this lovely little OO line before.

It was a hot day, though not as sweltering as the following few. The cafe had wisely put iced coffee on the menu, that was very welcome to wash down a cornish pasty. I did make one major purchase – a Tim Horn baseboard kit, for my next project. But if you consider that this is about the same cost of an analogue N gauge locomotive, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable – and I don’t really need more locos!

More photos from the show next time.