Rail-Ex 2020

Gavin Sowry

Gavin Sowry

Garden Railroader and Raconteur
Country flag
A train show, a real live trains show, with thousands of visitors. Yes folks, that's what we have just closed up on at our local Stadium.

Rail-Ex 2020 (the New Zealand version) was a roaring success, well the echo continues tomorrow as we are doing a 'community service ' event for some of the schools.

Here's some of my pics from today.

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Best put this up first (to curry favour with you blokes), the Wellington Garden Railway Group. All photos taken in down time, by the way... too busy when the punters were in.

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This little cameo was placed to attract maximum attention (hence the photo). HO scale.

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Missing, one letter from HMQ. Yes, 100 years old, Hornby. In the box at the front was an actual 100 year old train set.
 
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But wait, there's more (do you fellows get that on your TV ads?)

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Some of the European fans lugged this 100 miles to exhibit at the show.

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From a first time exhibitor, a spot of freelance BR, called Loch Doone Railway. 'Well, I finished it in the lockdown', he told me.

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... and an old favourate, with a new addition. I'd repaired the water vat, and rather than box it up again (to only get broken, again), I mounted it on the layout.
 
Nice collection of pics, we are missing shows over here in U.K. at the moment. Who knows when they will start up again?
 
Finally, a few shots for the family album.

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G3, and my display (all 5 tables).

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G4 mastering the controls of the kiddies U-Drive Marklin layout.

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G1 and GF, both graduated College last week. Layout is from 'overseas'..... 250 miles away.
 
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dunnyrail said:
Nice collection of pics, we are missing shows over here in U.K. at the moment. Who knows when they will start up again?
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Boy, it was a close run thing. We were always on the alert for a last minute close down (things happen rather fast over here). Got home Friday evening from show set up, and the TV was 'Breaking News" on a fresh Flu case, 400 miles away thank goodness, and we expected an instant alert level change...... which, fortunately, didn't come.
 
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You know you've 'made it' in this hobby when a well respected member of the fraternity stops you, and says 'Your badge is wrong, you are not an exhibitor, you are an exhibitionist'.

Hello mate, .... good bye mate.
 
Nicely done Gavin!

The last exhibition we attended was in March (place), in March (month)....
 
Right, Monday morning, breakfast all done, now off into the depths...... 5 school loads of 'visitors' coming in the Rail-Ex Plus today.
This will be a new experience. Mind you, I've been a school bus driver in my time, so I'm partially bullet proof, just worrying about my fellow exhibitors.
A goodly percentage of the layouts have stayed behind for this community service, traders have all gone back to the quiet life in country suburbia, with their two customers a week.
 
... all that remains of Rail-Ex 2020, is the wait for the cheque in the mail (well, e-mail request for bank details).

A small 'after match' function at the local bar, ended up being a running session at Taita Gorge. One suggests an early night, afterall, some of us have jobs to go to in the morning.

All up, a fantastic weekend.
 
Last nights post aftermatch running session ended with a rather embarrassing derailment during pack up. GD hit the wrong button on the TE controller, and in the worst possible place, we had a pinch off' derailment. Clean up resulted in one dislodged LGB coupler (screw hole mount had 'worn')...... then said GD pressed more wrong buttons, and unlinked the receiver. Grandad has 'forgotten' how to do the relink without recourse to the instructions. All day worrying at work whether I was going to get it to work, again. Got home, read the instructions.... we have control, again.

Now, if the garage was a mess when I was 'doing trains', you want to see it now. SWMBO has started doing Christmas while I was at the show.... say no more.
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Only 'cause someone else has mentioned it already this season, .... I think (somebody better have, or I'm in trouble here, besides, hasn't Boris cancelled Christmas this year?).
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You were definitely not the first though I cant put my finger on the one who was as I forget who it was.
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Only 'cause someone else has mentioned it already this season, .... I think (somebody better have, or I'm in trouble here, besides, hasn't Boris cancelled Christmas this year?).
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That's no excuse at all! Where would we be if we all did things just because someone else has?
 
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