Exeter Garden Railway Show

Well, I've finally found some time to write about our trip down to Exeter to the Exeter Garden Railway Show yesterday. After a two hour drive (thanks Ray!) we arrived at about 11 am. First impressions on going into the hall were that it was larger than I expected, and on wandering around we certainly weren't disappointed. A good number of layouts, with live steam power dominating :-) Also a good number & mix of traders. We spent a relaxed few hours, wandering around taking in the sights, sounds & smells.

Everyone was very friendly, and we had lots of interesting chats with vendors & exhibitors. It was nice to meet & chat to David Hicks, whose Bagnall Wing tank I'd admired in GardenRail a few years back. Likewise Colin Binnie, whose steam motor looks ideal to base something home-built upon, and also Tolhurst Model Engineering, who kindly took the time to show us how their multi-fuel options worked in their Quarry Hunslet. Very clever, and the attention to detail on their locos looks second to none. Definitely time to start saving! (I fancy 'Dolbadarn' with the full cab!). I also met up with an old family friend John, who was exhibiting the garden Tram layout. He lived a few doors down when I was growing up, and bares at least some responsibility for getting me into railways in the first place!

There were some lovely models being run; the standard of the layouts was excellent, with Sticklepath, Mendip Vale & Southdown having a particularly good level of scenic detail. It was fun to see what I think was one of Tony Bird's Crackers running. The Gauge 1 layout was certainly impressive.

All in all an excellent day out - we'll definitely be back next year!