Scaleforum 2013

[Serjt-Dave]

I hope everyone who went to Scaleforum enjoyed it as much as I did. I spent lots of money and got me Jinty. Met and chatted with few of the chaps off this forum {great to meet you guys} so Happy Days.

The only problem was every time I went and looked at the layouts the power tripped. LOL.

A big thanks and well done for all those involved in organising this event. Looking forwards to next years.

Regards

Dave

[jayell]

We have just arrived back home having spent a couple of days in Watford with my youngest daughter as well as visiting ScaleForum. I was quite impressed with the whole show, not that I have anything to compare it with, well hardly anything. It was only the second time I have been to an model railway exhibition, the first being RailWells a few weeks ago.

The best part was meeting people and being able to put some extra faces to names, even the grumpy exhibitor who shall remain nameless as I did end up getting the etch I wanted. I'l admit that I barely looked at layouts, In fact I think my wife did better than I did 'cos she dragged me to over look at a layout with the comment 'I hope your layout will look something like that' and to add to the height debate said she like the way she could look down at it and preferred it to an eye level one nearby. The layout that got her thumbs up was Nettlehope.

I spent a lot of time looking at, and spending money at several stalls. Made one error in buying 8' 6" sleepers instead of 9' ones but if I am not able to arrange a swap with the supplier I'll be able to use them on the traversers when I am ready to make them. Will now have to make a start on that turnout as I no longer have the excuse I don't have enough chairs or timbers.

A big 'thank you' to Dave Keeler for the scanned pages re coopercraft kits and GWR brake vans which Will passed on within seconds of meeting me!

I nearly forgot to mention that my wife asked if there will be another exhibition next year as she will be happy to make another visit, the fact she really liked the B&B accommodation in Walton Road that I'd selected and having a great meal in the Greek restaurant a short walk away may have something to do with it. She had spotted someone she recognised from being on the S4 stand going into the pub on our way to the Taverna but I wasn't allowed to join you there later as she wanted to watch Young Montalbano at 9 on BBC 4 (I must admit I wanted to as well).

All in all a good weekend for us both. My thanks to every one concerned in organising it and to those running it as well.

John

PS I am glad I brought along the name label I had previously used at Family History events as it turned out I had omitted to ask for a Society one. I did get asked a couple of time if I was the 'John Lewis who wrote the book' so clearly it was noticed that I had a label. I didn't get to meet my other name sake though. Paul did say you were around but clearly our paths didn't cross.

[timlewis]

Another brilliant Scaleforum. Shame it looks as though the numbers are down a bit, but maybe this is 'generic new venue syndrome' as has been mentioned, and not any kind of reaction to the specific move from Leatherhead to Aylesbury. Others have already said this, but we are very lucky to have people willing to put in the time and effort to organise it, wherever it is. Personally (and I know lots of other people think the same way), I'd make a weekend of going to Scaleforum whether it was in Cornwall or Thurso, or anywhere in between. The only thing I missed was the roof (sun?) terrace at Leatherhead, which was quite a pleasant place to have lunch or a drink, but this was far outweighed by the greater space available to circulate. (Maybe a few more exhibits could fill a bit of that space in future years?).

Layout-wise, a good selection, and lots of worthwhile stuff to see on all of them, but for me the highlight was Blackgill, which lived up to expectations, and would be stunning even if I wasn't a North-Eastern modeller myself, and it was nice to see Halifax King Cross again, always worth an extended look (particularly impressed with the sound-fitted J39). I also liked Allt-y-Graban Road a lot, and Aylesbury looks very promising.

On a different topic, thanks to David Lane for recommending The Coffee Tree for breakfast: porridge made to your individual requirements, now that's what I call service. Just a shame it's not open on Sundays.

Looking forward to next year already.

[Horsetan]

I spent an inordinate length of time being seduced by Brian Harrap's lathe for P87 purposes, and was grateful for being let loose on it. My only regret was forgetting to bring along the wheel form tools, and not being able to dig up my Roco DB Br.41 for the lathe session, so a lucky Swiss C5/6 nicked the space as well as getting a thorough run around the test track.

Apart from the fact that Stoke Mandeville is a lot easier on my car's fuel consumption (despite a certain Mr. Grout's shameless attempt to get me to burn it at a faster rate on the A41), the P87 section was the big attraction for me. I'm so very glad it was there, and I do hope it will make a reappearance in future years.

Brian, as everyone knows, is a very bad man who persists in modelling in ever smaller scales as he gets older. I thought Proto220/Proto-Z was bad enough but no, he's topped even that.

[MickRalph]

jim s-w wrote: My only gripe is that the gents who kindly did parking duties needed to actually tell people what to do rather than just standing arround expecting to be asked.

As one of the stewards on car-park duty at times during the weekend, some people simply drove past me, although I was wearing a steward's vest. It is difficult to tell drivers where to go when they don't stop to ask.

Mick Ralph

[Trevor Grout]

I spent an inordinate length of time being seduced by Brian Harrap's lathe for P87 purposes, and was grateful for being let loose on it. My only regret was forgetting to bring along the wheel form tools, and not being able to dig up my Roco DB Br.41 for the lathe session, so a lucky Swiss C5/6 nicked the space as well as getting a thorough run around the test track.

Apart from the fact that Stoke Mandeville is a lot easier on my car's fuel consumption (despite a certain Mr. Grout's shameless attempt to get me to burn it at a faster rate on the A41), the P87 section was the big attraction for me. I'm so very glad it was there, and I do hope it will make a reappearance in future years.

Brian, as everyone knows, is a very bad man who persists in modelling in ever smaller scales as he gets older. I thought Proto220/Proto-Z was bad enough but no, he's topped even that.

Lol

[Trevor Grout]

jim s-w wrote: My only gripe is that the gents who kindly did parking duties needed to actually tell people what to do rather than just standing arround expecting to be asked.

As one of the stewards on car-park duty at times during the weekend, some people simply drove past me, although I was wearing a steward's vest. It is difficult to tell drivers where to go when they don't stop to ask.

Mick Ralph

I have to agree with Jim, there was absolutly no signage whatsoever, either to the stadium (i guess that will of had an effect on numbers) or to any of the parking, I did however find it thanks to Mr Tan, where we parked our trusty steeds after a gentle gallop up the A41, but then he had to walk all the way back to get a parking voucher, these were not exactly forthcoming as he was behind me when I got mine!

[Horsetan]

.....there was absolutly no signage whatsoever, either to the stadium ....or to any of the parking, I did however find it thanks to Mr Tan, where we parked our trusty steeds after a gentle gallop up the A41, but then he had to walk all the way back to get a parking voucher, these were not exactly forthcoming as he was behind me when I got mine!

The only reason why I knew where to park was because it was the exact same overspill that RailEx uses.

When we pitched up at about 11.20am, Tom Milton, the slightly bemused-looking bloke in the high-vis who I shall forever remember as "The Ancient Mariner" on the basis that he only managed to stoppeth one of three, handed Mr. Grout a pass, but then unaccountably didn't give me one. Maybe he thought my car looked disreputable. Anyhow, I walked back to him to get the pass I should have collected. It then turned out that he didn't know where the overspill park was, so he then had to follow me back to my car. When I turned round again after reaching the car, he had completely disappeared.

Had I not had the correct pass, I would have resorted to reusing the old RailEx one (which I had kept, just in case )

[Terry Bendall]

Constructive comments on how to do things better are always welcome.

On seating, there were of course lots of seats in the viewing gallery which is accesible by lift as well as stairs and which anyone could use. There were also some chairs and tables a little way down the corridor from the cafe but these are not quite so easy to find. One of the problems about having seating areas in the exhibition hall is that these take up space that could be used for trade stands or exhibits. We did in fact have a small areas with about 8 chairs in it but I noticed on Sunday morning that most of the chairs had gone, no doubt to the stands. Another issue is the the Stadium has a limited number of chairs available, and no tables so these have to be hired in. Having more chairs means that the hire cost will increase.

On signage, there is a brown tourist sign at the entrance to Harvey Road by the Co-Op shop which directs you along to the original entrance which could be used, but the stadium would prefer that this is not done. We of course have no influence in the positiong of signs provided by the local authority but I will make enquiries to see if it is due to be moved. We will also seek permission to put our own direction signs up on the street furniture but I have no intention of doing this without permission. In any case I thought that sat navs were now an essential item for any car driver.

The power loss was unfortunate but only happened a few times late on Saturday morning. We had a plan for the power supplies but the noble Mark Tatlow who has been kind enough to deal with this aspect did it a bit differently and as things got bit warmer we caused a circuit breaker to trip out. I don't think it was Brian running his lathe. It was soon solved by running an extra lead from another circuit.

The majority of our stewards were new to the job and in the circumstances did a very good job. Please remember that without people to take on this job the show would NOT happen. Like any new person in a job we need to learn how best to do things, especially in the car park. We did have invaluable assistance from a member of the Risborough club and equally invaluable help from four members of the Epsom and Ewell Club who have done such good work for many years at Leatherhead. We could in fact have made use of a few more stewards so if you want free entry for next year this is your chance. Although I started negotiations about the use of the overflow parking on the hospital site back in late June, I did not know until Wednesday of last week if it would be possible to do so, or which car park would be available, or if we could put up signs directing visitors to it. A slow response from other people does not make things easier.

Next year we will try to get it all right.

Terry Bendall

[jayell]

One of the problems about hav In any case I though that sat navs were now an essential item for any car driver.

No!

I have no intention of getting one even though I missed the turnoff for Aylesbury when leaving Oxford and ended up driving quite a few miles down the M40 before we could turn off and arrive at Aylesbury from a different direction than expected.

John

[Metropolitan]

Are the attendance figures going to be published? I am guessing we lost out on non members?

Saturday was great but Sunday seemed absolutely dead to me? I still wonder about a one day show.......

Cheers
John A

[dcockling]

Parking yes, I'm sure that we can improve signage and directions etc, but I'm struggling with the implication that people might not have come because they couldn't find the Stadium, or that having arrived at the Stadium couldn't find the exhibition because there wasn't a sign outside saying 'Model Railway Exhibition'.

Anyone that has been to Railex ought to have known where to go as it was in the same building, but all those that hadn't been before, did they really set off to travel to somewhere that they’d never been before without any thought, planning or research as to how to get there? For those that don’t have a satnav there are those old fashioned things called maps, equally useful for those who came on foot from the station. One was actually provided in the show guide, available as a free download, so even non-members could get one. And did anyone actually arrive at Stoke Mandeville Stadium and go home again because they couldn't find their way in? That would be quite bizarre.

Aylesbury isn't 'difficult' to get to any more that anywhere else is in the middle of England, it isn't up a mountain, or on an island that only has a ferry connection once a week, nor is it like the speed of light, something that you can get theoretically close to but never reach.

Some people will have had a longer journey than they would have had to get to Leatherhead, some a shorter one, some a more difficult one, some an easier on;, all a different one.

All the Best
Danny

[jim s-w]

jim s-w wrote: My only gripe is that the gents who kindly did parking duties needed to actually tell people what to do rather than just standing arround expecting to be asked.

As one of the stewards on car-park duty at times during the weekend, some people simply drove past me, although I was wearing a steward's vest. It is difficult to tell drivers where to go when they don't stop to ask.

Mick Ralph

That's my point Mick

Cheers

Jim

[jim s-w]

I still wonder about a one day show.......

I guess you've never taken a decent sized layout to a show have you?

I would also guess the saving for a 1 day show would be less than you think.

Cheers

Jim

[Venturer]

A bit slow with this, perhaps, but I’ve not registered on any internet forum before – I’ve only just been ‘activated’.

As a first-time Scaleforum exhibitor, I would like to thank everyone for a well organised show. Well done Terry and team. I found the Stewards superbly helpful and encountered no difficulties.

Allt-y-Graban Road received many positive comments and behaved itself rather well. A few coupling fixings were about the biggest thing that went wrong. The occasional wheels off the track usually had identifiable causes and didn’t just happen.
Obviously, this doesn’t occur without good, reliable operators and I am pleased to thank Rod (Llanastr) Hall, Iain (EMGS!) and Aileen Hunter who seconded their son Matthew from his RAF base to cover the Thursday failure of regular Steve Davies of Poole. The crew was completed by the ever enthusiastic Tim Easter and on Saturday, Tony Comber (Glevum Group) who had paid to get in, spent most of the day operating the yard / branch. Thanks also to the others who covered, allowing me to answer questions, sort out minor issues and change stock. Apologies to anyone I've forgotten to mention, still getting to grips with setting up and posting on the forum.
The operator requirements are ridiculous for what the layout appears to be – 4 points, yet it takes an absolute minimum of 3 operators. It really needs 4 with a Front of House person to allow the driver/cassette turners to concentrate. With a full crew, we can work the scenic front like a continous run, as we did at the Warley NEC show last November.

A rather special highlight near the end of the show was the presentation of the MRJ Chalice for the signal box. Builder, friend, constructive critic (and non-operator) John Spencer (Ruyton Road) was on hand to collect the award. We have been duly instructed to write it up for MRJ.

I am mildly surprised no one has mentioned the binoculars, rather more visible on Sunday after EditorJames suggested the tripod. Various people have declared them ‘amazing’ and several well known figures were seen trying them. (some almost furtively). I think they can also be useful for visual fault finding – you’ll see things you didn’t know were there – usually wrong ‘uns to be corrected!

Please excuse the rambling first post, not to be repeated, I hope.

Bernie

[Metropolitan]

I still wonder about a one day show.......

I guess you've never taken a decent sized layout to a show have you?

I would also guess the saving for a 1 day show would be less than you think.

Cheers

Jim

Hi Jim. You are quite right I haven't !! And its a good point and probably the clincher!

When we get the numbers we will have a better idea of the Saturday/Sunday spilt.

Cheers
John A

[Ian Everett]

The power loss was unfortunate but only happened a few times late on Saturday morning. We had a plan for the power supplies but the noble Mark Tatlow who has been kind enough to deal with this aspect did it a bit differently and as things got bit warmer we caused a circuit breaker to trip out. I don't think it was Brian running his lathe. It was soon solved by running an extra lead from another circuit.

Next year we will try to get it all right.

Terry Bendall

I write not as an electrical expert but as someone with some past experience of power outages (caused by a broken junction box on Humber Dock at S4 North to my utter chagrin!) it occurs to me that I have only ever been asked how many 13 amp sockets I need for an exhibition layout. I always say "one" because I bring a good (!) extension lead with multiple outlets with me but in fact I probably will plug into it two fluorescent lights and two transformers, not to mention the odd soldering iron and mobile phone charger etc.

I guess there are two issues the organiser needs to address - the number of outlets required and the loads imposed by each exhibitor. I guess it would be too much to ask each each exhibitor what electrical load they will require? (I wouldn't have a clue) But they could be asked how many 13 am plugs they will be plugging into the electrical supply, even if via a multiple adaptor?

(I'm glad I am not an exhibition organiser!)

Ian

[Paul Townsend]

Another issue is the the Stadium has a limited number of chairs available, and no tables so these have to be hired in. Having more chairs means that the hire cost will increase.

In any case I thought that sat navs were now an essential item for any car driver.

We could in fact have made use of a few more stewards so if you want free entry for next year this is your chance.

Terry Bendall

Maybe the stalls that want chairs out front as well as behind (like my BGS one did) could be asked to bring their own ? After all BGS and other like stalls didn't have to pay to be there so why should S4 Socy have to pay for chairs?

Regarding SatNav, mine declared Stadium Approach as a "Restricted road" and refused to take me there; using Post Code delivered me precisely to A&E ambulance bay !!.
Not a problem 'cos I have been to Railex and easily sorted myself.

Yes please to stewarding next year, I am up for a bit. How long would I be on duty for getting a free ticket?

[LesGros]

Finding the way

For me, the most useful pre-Scaleforum aide to navigation was Terry's simple " ... follow the signs for A&E ..." I originally looked at a street-map [on line, but a paper one would have done as well]; thought, "Hmm the way in from the main roads might by a bit tricky". Really, it was quite painless. Anyone who had a really serious problem with navigation is probably in need of a bit of kindly advice, starting with the suggestion to do a bit of homework. I am not getting at John Lewis here; anybody who has never missed a turn-off either hasn't been anywhere, or is not a driver.

I think that the organisers did a brilliant job. It was my first visit; I am already looking at how I can integrate the next one with a Holiday in the area.

I have noticed that the delivery of feedback can be a bit brusque from some quarters. We should all remember that everyone involved is a volunteer. I would have been amazed if the first Scalefour outing to Aylesbury had gone off with "narry a hitch". Bottom line is that nobody died, and next year will be better as our Committee build on the experience.

So, a big thank you: to all the volunteers who made it possible; to the exhibitors who produce such inspiring layouts, to the demonstrators who showed how it can be done, and to the Traders, whose products help make the hobby so enjoyable.

[RedDragon]

It is my belief that however well things are organised there will always be someone to complain about something.

I have never been to Aylesbury before but a few minutes on the internet (google maps etc) soon gave me the information I needed to find the stadium without problems. I accept that not everyone has a Sat-Nav but most people these days have internet access so should be able to find the required information, otherwise they would not be able to get access to this site to state their perceived shortcomings on the lack of signage.
I found the parking had sufficient places to drive straight to a bay on arrival at 10.30 and the parking attendants were courteous and helpful. To find the stadium with a road atlas and a little roadside observation was very straightforward, there were sufficient signs for the railway station and the red A&E signs hence with a little logic it was hard to go wrong, isn't this how everyone used to navigate pre GPS.

As to the venue, there was plenty of space and light (for photographs). As always a good selection of traders and one of the best gathering of layouts i have seen in a while. I do hope the move to Aylesbury has not been too detrimental financially for the society and hope it continues at this excellent venue. I take peoples point about the catering, but then I had come to S4um for one reason and that was not the food, anyone who attends a few (or more) exhibitions a year will be used to this and come prepared with their own sustenance.

To all on the committee and volunteers/stewards on the day, well done and keep up the good work.

[steve howe]

My pal and I made it up from deepest Cornwall which would not have been feasible for a 1 day event. The change of venue was, I think, a wise decision with much more space to move about and a potentially larger catchment area from the Midlands and South. We took in Pendon on the way home on Sunday so are now recovering from finescale overload! I was slightly surprised not to see Pendon represented at the Show given they are only a half hour's drive from Aylesbury.

We thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the show and many thanks and appreciation to those involved in the organising.

Steve

[jayell]

I did do some route research as I hadn't been to Aylesbury or anywhere near it from where we live now although I do have memories of parts of the area having lived in Watford for some years back in the late 50s/early 60s. So I had used the AA's online route finding to sort out the way from Yeovil to Aylesbury and had a printed copy in the car.

The problem was in relating that to what I was actually experiencing as I drove the route through Oxford itself. I was looking for the turn-off for Aylesbury from what ever road it was we were on but misread the sign as being the way to a service station and before I knew it we were on the M40 and no way of getting off it until the Princes Risbororugh turn-off. I then got my Road Atlas off the back seat and soon realised I need only to carry on up that road until we arrived in Aylesbury, from the opposite direction to my original route.

In retrospect it might be easier to head along the A303/M3 to the M27 and take the Watford exit (as if I was visiting the daughter who still lives there) but head for Aylesbury via Hemel Hempstead instead of going into Watford.

I made no attempt to take my car to the stadium itself as I didn't expect to find any empty parking places so made use of the coach, the driver was very friendly and reminded us of the scheduled time table as we dis-embarked at the stadium. It cannot have been easy navigating his way through the jungle of approach roads and parked cars so deserves a big thank you.

John

[Jo Palmer]

Just wanted to add my own congratulations to Terry and the rest of the team for another great Scaleforum this weekend. We travelled up from South Devon and stayed at the Premier Inn at Tring (which I would recommend) and that gave us a very quick trip in to Aylesbury on the Sunday morning. We stayed the whole day and had a great time. We also made a mini break of it and spent time with family and also had a nice day out on the way home on Monday.

The catering was a bit poor on the Sunday (no cold options available at all), but then I've also felt that about the catering at Railex and plenty of other shows too and there is only so much ANY organiser can do to get that bit 100% right. In the grand scheme of life the change of venue made very little difference to us, when you are travelling a reasonable way a few extra miles isn't much to contend with, and unfortunately there will always be those who like and dislike venues for shows. The point is that Scaleforum is different from most other shows and so it is worth travelling to. Visitors from far and wide at Aylesbury proved this point. But pleasing everybody with the choice of location? Impossible!

As others have said, it was highly unlikely that the change to a new venue would go 100% smoothly and there were the usual hiccups, but then after all the years at Leatherhead I'm pretty sure there was never a "perfect" year there either, or at City University come to that.

So well done to all involved, another good show and I'm looking forward to attending as an exhibitor with my layout at Scaleforum 2014.

[Terry Bendall]

quote="Metropolitan"]Are the attendance figures going to be published? [/quote]

Yes they will be, after a few other more pressing things have been done.

I still wonder about a one day show.......

Wonder away John It won't happen. It is not worth it for large layouts and most of the trade would not be interested

I guess it would be too much to ask each each exhibitor what electrical load they will require?

err ... thought of that one Ian. and no it would not be too much. The layout details form sent to layout owners asks for "Electrical power requirments" , not quite the same as current demand of the layout but close. I will change it for next year. Ideally the answer will be so many amps but usually it is "one 13 amp socket." In practice there are very few layouts that come close to needing 13 amps of current and since I know how to use Ohm's law to do the calculation I usually make an estimate of the loading. Perhaps I need to issue a guidance note to layout owners. I did work out a suggested layout for the power distribution but what happened was slightly different, hence the problem.

As it happens, having organised four Scaleforums, and spent four years working with the previous organising team, I have built up a reasonable amount of knowledge of how to do the job (cue smug feeling As with anything else there is always something new to learn but there is more than one way of doing the job and usually they all work.

Yes please to stewarding next year, I am up for a bit. How long would I be on duty for getting a free ticket?

)

You have the job Paul and I should think about 27 hours of stewarding should be sufficient.

I'm looking forward to attending as an exhibitor with my layout at Scaleforum 2014.

And we are looking forward to having you nd the layout Jo.

Terry Bendall

[Brinkly]

Will Scaleforum be at the same venue again next year Terry? (Thinking ahead for booking accommodation.)

Regards,

Nick