We were lucky enough this year to be asked to provide 2 layouts for the show. We took our Chairman’s “Witham Valley Tram Museum” layout and also, for a second weekend in a row, our “Shuntingdon” OO layout.
Witham Valley received much interest and conversations about trams across various parts of the UK as it is unusual to see a purely tram-based layout.
As for Shuntingdon, well we promised to fix the ‘possessed’ automation on the shuttle section and make it more reliable. By accident we may also have made it more enjoyable for operators and the public. Two hours with some wire and a screwdriver on Friday night saw the automation bypassed for the show and a stud&probe system also installed for point control. It means the 2nd operator now actually drives the shuttle line but this has cured the reliability issue and improved the operator experience but also allows us to stop the active train at the station mid-run.
The Shunting section was a popular as ever. Lots of crashes, lots of head scratching and a fair few individuals surprising themselves once they’d accepted the challenge.
Educational? Model train driving and point operation skills, communications skills between friends and family members, history lessons on how stuff moved around the UK before lorries, bar codes and satnav dominated the scene. A lucky few teenage model railway owners who demonstrated skills on the shunting section then also got a chance to go behind the layout and operate the shuttle line for us so hopefully they got a feel for being in front of the public at show, and maybe that will inspire the next generation to entertain us at weekends.
Another thoroughly enjoyable weekend that was made all the better thanks to our good friends at the Boston MRS and the wonderful catering they provided to keep us all going for both days. Thank You for inviting us.