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The Warley Show - NEC Birmingham

25th - 26th Nov 2017

CRAIG WEATHERLEY reports back from one of the biggest events on the model railway calendar.

H Class from the Bluebell Railway.

On the 25th and 26th November 2017 the Warley model railway group held their 50th anniversary show at the NEC in Birmingham. Promoted as the biggest show in the country, it attracts all kinds of modellers from all over the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere. They come and to see all the latest 'sneak-peek' production samples from the main manufacturers, and also browse the variety of different traders who attended the show.

14XX from the Severn Valley Railway.

FIJI Narrow Gauge Locomotive from Statfold Barn Railway.

Every year the Warley show has 'centrepiece' full-size locomotives. This year was no exception with some very special locomotives on display. There were two Narrow gauge locos; 'FIJI', a locomotive from the Statfold Barn Railway, and a Decauville - and two standard gauge locomotves; a 14XX from the Severn Valley Railway, and the H Class in SECR livery based at the Bluebell Railway (which I rode the footplate of recently, you can read about that here.)

Building the stand.

On the Thursday before the show James, Matt L and I drove up to the NEC to start building our stand ready for the weekend. On the Friday Matt T, Artur and Warren came up with a second van with the rest of our stock and counters to complete the build. It took some time but with blood, sweat, and tears the six of us finally had the stand finished Friday evening and ready for the busy weekend ahead.

During the weekend we were joined by DCC Concepts who had released their new plug and play ground signals, and they gave help and advice to anyone who had any questions about their range. We also had a Marklin Myworld play table for the kids!

The Layouts

On the Sunday I had some free time to prise myself from the stand and go and take a look at some of the layouts that were in attendance. Some really caught my eye, like 'Ijsselstein' - which is a Dutch diorama which was featured in the November edition of Continental Modeller. It used perspective modelling techniques to give illusion and depth to the diorama and create a 3D world to which you were draw into.

There was a 009 layout on the Launceston Steam Railway stand which was great (above).

Another layout that caught my eye was an O Scale layout ‘Ellenton Road’, which was based on the Midland Railway (above).

On the Sunday as the show drew to a close we started to break down the stand, and pack it back onto the vans. Two-and-a-half hours later the stand was loaded up and ready for the long drive home back to West Sussex.

I would like to thank the Warley Model Railway club for their time in organising such an amazing show, and to all the customers who came and said hello and brought a few bits from us.

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