On the rails: Pilgrimage to the NEC…

There are better model railway exhibitions, but none with quite the same ‘gravitas’ as one hosted at the NEC. It is with a little trepidation I make the journey each year, but the draw of catching up with friends from across the industry and the country is strong enough to brave trains on the weekend…

Top to bottom: 2022 Tornado at Birmingham International, 2022 Planet Industrials, 2023 ordering my Revolution 66, 2024 Maple River, 2024 friends from the trade.

This will be only my 6th visit, but it seems like I’ve been attending for much longer. I am writing this in anticipation of the journey, I’ll be leaving Ruabon shortly before ten and arriving in time for the lunch rush! I’m lucky though - trains on Saturday are busy but usually relatively reliable… 

My first visit was with Narrow Planet back in 2019. It was in the bar that weekend where Steve and I hatched a plan for Planet Industrials RTR - I think I drove…

Coming back after the pandemic in 2022 with our stand, selling models to the public. A wonderful and crazy experience - perhaps one day to be repeated. I’d gone down to Bexhill the week before to do the custom weathering so we prepped everything down there and drove up together. I took the train down, but bad weather meant it looked like a difficult journey home on the Sunday. Luke from the Ffestiniog gave me a lift home!

2023 I came along as a punter, travelling down with George Williamson and meeting Steve at the show - I remember the 009 Society having some sort of event on - and no problems with the trains either. 

Last year I was helping with Maple River. There was talk of magazines and lots of blog readers to meet. I’d used the train again and a storm meant I relied upon the help of fellow North Wales residents John Wooden and Chris for a lift home on the Sunday as otherwise my partner would have needed to come out in it to pick me up from Ruabon…

So this year - train again, parking myself at Ruabon. A chance to have some quiet time in my head with some headphones in - and then a busy show I’m sure… see you there? Report perhaps tomorrow… until then, more soon…

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