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I didn’t get to the Erith show this year, but Allan sent me a selection of photos of the N gauge exhibits.  So I’ve posted a few of them below.

An old friend to start with, but Graham Bridge’s Southwark Bridge has to come first today.  One of my favourite layouts – railways as I grew up with and still like.

Ray and Anna were exhibiting their newish layout, White Meadow Quarry.  They do know how to make themselves at home at an exhibition.

Scarlington looks a most impressive layout.

Upton Lacey and Hatch End.

Ashenden Junction.

Part of the West Sussex Group’s contribution.

Has Mr Dawes left these two behind?

So, here is the final tranche of photos from Southampton.  A quick look at most of the layouts, and some very good modelling here on the third day of posting, but not the layouts that immediately caught my eye.

It was Dinas Mawddwy’s (EM) first exhibition.  I’ve a soft spot for the Welsh railways before they were spoilt by the GWR…..

Fence Houses NCB (OO) had a good selection of industrial steam on show.

Light railway modelling at Harkness (EM.)  A very good backscene and some interesting wagons here.

Brassingdale (OO) is set in the Peak District.  I liked the breakdown train.

Pencader (EM), a major GWR branch station on the Aberystwyth line.

And, I think, the first N gauge layout, Newvaddon Parkway, set in the modern era.  Nicely done, but I’m beginning to think that modern image N gauge layouts are becoming just like GWR branch line layouts when I was younger (a long time ago).  I’m afraid that they all look the same.

Narrow gauge on Kaninchenbau (HOe)

A pretty little GWR branch line in N.  Penworth copies some of the iconic Pendon buildings in the smaller scale.  Sorry, but more my sort of N gauge layout…..

More N, with Mike Le Marie’s little Scottish layout, Kinlochlaggen.

Foxbury (TT) and clever use of the fiddle yard traverser to keep the compact layout footprint.

Finally, Tittlesworth (OO9.)

Overall, this was an excellent show.  All the modelling was of high standard, and there was a good balance of all action layouts and more bucolic branch lines.  And best of all, I didn’t buy anything (but see below.)

And a final afterword – the college canteen didn’t run out of bacon and Allan and I enjoyed a very nice and quite keenly priced breakfast.

Back today with another selection of excellent layouts from Southampton.

I’ve seen Rossiter Rise before, but I think that the layout has been extended with an underground Underground (so to speak) workshop as in the photos below.  I’ve always liked this layout.  Very compact, with a mixture of London Underground and British Railways suburban trains.  All in a station reminiscent of Baker Street, in a cutting surrounded by grimy blocks of flats.  Of note is the fact that the layout is largely pointless (so to speak) with the only turnouts being in the LUT depot at the front of the layout.  All the platforms go directly into the fiddle yard.

Wimborne (OO) is an excellent representation of Wimborne station,  modified slightly to allow an oval layout into the fiddle yard, but with all the features of the prototype.  This was the busiest station in Dorset, with trains from the LSWR, then Southern Railway, and the Somerset and Dorset Joint.  Now, of course, there’s nothing left.  We did like the accurately scale station buildings, with a couple of old Bere Regis buses in the yard, in their unusual brown livery.  (Seeing one of these was a highlight of the family holiday to Dorset around 1960.)  And plenty of interesting trains passing and shunting the yard.

Just the one picture of Fawley (OO), as I’ve recently featured it on the blog.  But it’s an interesting prototype that’s always worth another look.

Hayling Island (OO), with its Terrier in the station.

Lower Exbury is another old friend, and also always worth another look.  I especially like the dead DUWK and the live cormorant…..

And finally today, Radcliffe Road (O).  Under construction, but I appreciated the Class 73 and the 4-TC unit (actually a 3-TC, to fit it on the layout.)

Final pictures next time.

Was it really 2019 when I last visited the Southampton show, in nearby Eastleigh?  Last Saturday I kept Mr Dawes company as he drove down to the show.  An easy journey, and we even found a nearby parking spot when the college car parks had already filled up.  A cold but sunny day (help, I’m sounding like Ron here) and the birdwatcher in me was pleased to clock Red Kite, Buzzard and Kestrel as we travelled, and best of all, a raven flying over as we queued to get in to the exhibition.

And a very good exhibition it was, too.  A top quality club show, with some excellent layouts, good trade and plenty of society stands, demonstrations, and even some exhibits aimed at the junior member.  Personal favourites could take a few days, but here are four layouts that really impressed.

I’d get in big trouble with the Cha(i)rman if I didn’t put this layout first…..  As an ex-milkman, Express Dairsy Sidings (EM) was unbeatable.  A 4′ long ‘Inglenook Sidings’ shunting puzzle, it was built during lockdown (like quite a few small layouts.)  This little layout is full of character, and we (and anyone else) were offered a chance to take on a little shunting.

From a tiny to a large layout.  Eastwood (P4) is a lovely layout, based on a real station near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire.  Modelled in Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway days after the Great War (the station closed in 1951 and little of the site remains today), it offers an uncluttered view of trains passing through the landscape.  I think this probably was my favourite layout on the day.

Let’s go back from large to small.  I was rather taken by Melin Dorhyd (OO9), even if I couldn’t pronounce it.  Modelled on a real location on the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway, it’s another great (if very much smaller) spot to watch the trains go by.  An you’ll note that it has no points at all ‘out front’ – what could possibly go wrong?

And going back up in size, if not scale, we have Portsea (TT).  Portsea has been around a long time, but looks as if it has been ‘refreshed’ and new detail and bits added.  It models the Portsmouth area in British Railways days, and I particularly enjoyed the procession of Southern EMUs (and the occasional DEMU and DMU.)

More next time.

Today we have the final selection of photos from the Canterbury show.  They may be last, but are definitely not least!  If any exhibitors read this (or any other of my blogs), this is personal preference and any criticism is personal too.  I strongly support Rule 1 – it’s your railway – but it may be different from mine!!!

Lisworth Bay (N) is a very nice Southern major branch line, with echoes of Swanage and all those other holiday resorts in Devon and Cornwall.

Wittenden has an interesting mix of narrow gauge – On16.5 and On9 – all nicely presented.

Santa Maria (HO) was well modelled modern Swiss rail.  The overhead was most impressive.  It did have a few issues at the start of the show requiring application of a hot soldering iron!

Minimum space shunting at Coalhouse (OO).

Another Southern branch terminus at Bletchinghurst (OO).

I’d seen Frittenden Road (O) recently, at the Maidstone show.  Attractive light railway modelling, Colonel Stephens style.

I remain unconvinced by Brief Encounter, the monochrome model railway.  It’s clever, getting all the shades of grey right, but it still doesn’t capture the atmosphere of a well composed black and white photograph.  Or indeed the flash of colour of a train passing through a dreary industrial landscape.  Still, as I said, each to their own…..

I was taken with Four Feather Falls (OOO), all using (working) Lone Star models.  This was perhaps the commercial start of N gauge, and the models were still running very well.  I recall as a 9 or 10 year old visiting a friend and enjoying playing with the push-along version of Lone Star trains.  Still great fun.

Last and most definitely not least was the Lego layout.  It’s brilliant what you can do, realistically, with Lego and I especially liked the Blue Pullman.  Really, Lego trains are another branch of our already varied hobby.

So that’s Canterbury done for this year.  A pleasant morning out with friends and a very good show with some most excellent layouts.  And I didn’t spend much – just picked up a couple of second hand wagons.

We continue today with some almost favourites.  The first layout perhaps should have been a favourite, but is definitely an old friend.  Alpenbahn (N) started back in the early noughties as an ESNG modular layout modelling, as the name suggests, alpine railways.  These are mainly Swiss and German, but in the best ESNG tradition, anything pan-European goes.  As members moved on from the club, John Brightwell took over the club modules, moved everything to deepest Kent, and added more modules, fiddleyards, DCC and even signals.  It was good to see the layout again, and the selection of friends who had been recruited to operate it with John!

John is interviewed at 7:24 on this video!

And in case you missed it, look at these dodgy characters entering the show.  No good hiding behind the bush, Mr Dawes!

The North Cornwall Brewery is another layout seen before, but once again, it is a lovely bit of modelling and worth another look.  Plenty of interesting buildings and a mix of industrial and Southern locomotives.

Conyer Creek Signals (O) is a branch terminus and small port set on the north Kent coast.  Pre-grouping splendour is provided by the  SECR.  Some pretty locomotives and interesting wagons and coaches were on show.

Finally for today, Dydley Junction (N).  An LMS/GWR junction all crammed into 4’x2’6″.  Yet it doesn’t look too crowded – perhaps due to the use of PECO double slips and curved points, and a large traverser hidden under the hill at the back of the layout.

Last Saturday, I once again paid a visit to the Canterbury show courtesy of the Dawes bus service.  The weather had perked up a bit, and 5C seemed almost tropical compared with the past few days.  As ever, the Kent countryside looked good on the trip down (and I spotted a couple of buzzards over the motorway.)  Once we got into the show, the first topic of conversation was the fact that the heating was operational, unlike last year.  However, like last year, the caterers had run out of bacon – when will they learn?  It’s my most regular complaint about model railway shows.

However, the show itself was excellent, with some very good layouts to be seen.  A few favourites to start us off today, though of course this is personal preference – there were plenty of other good ones (to follow next time.)

As I walked into the hall, the first layout I saw was Old Parrock (OO).  Just 5’4″ long, it’s a simple layout of a LBSCR branch in deepest Sussex.  One Terrier on a passenger train, and one goods train is all that is needed.  But the scenery and buildings are beautiful.  I’ve seen the layout before, but it was good to be able to have quite a long chat with the builder.  I know that I like small layouts, but this is so simple yet so good.

Just around the corner was another of my favourites, Outwell Village (OO).  Sorry, I’m again biased by my love of the GER and their tram engines.  This is a scale representation of Outwell Basin, the largest station and yard on the Wisbech and Upwell tramway.  Another fine layout, that I can look at again and again, and plenty of movement with the tram engines shunting lots of brown wagons.  And I especially liked the fiddle yard.  A reverse turntable giving kickback access to the storage roads.  Very clever.

To finish off today, Oly Turner and Chris Matthews had two small layouts on display.  Again I’d seen both before, but both were, once again, well worth another look.  Bottom Works sidings (OO) has just 4’6″ of scenic section, and is unusual in that it models South Yorkshire in the depths of winter.  Grey skies only, a scattering of snow in the shady areas, and no bright green scatter material here!  Modelling exchange sidings for a steelworks in BR blue days allows a wide variety of diesels and battered rolling stock.

Cessy en Bois (HO) offers a brighter scene, set somewhere in south west France, but most effective when the night time lighting is turned up (or down as the case may be.)  Again, just a chance to shunt 1970’s vintage French locos and stock around, but another very satisfying little layout.

I think that will do for today, and I’ll come back next time with some more layouts, some of which might have made todays favourites.