Finally for October, and not an exhibition as such, but Canute Road Quay has been kindly invited to be on display at the Southern Railways Group AGM at the Cornerstone Centre, Camphill Rd, West Byfleet KT14 6EH.
The Group was formed over 40 years ago to study and disseminate information about the Southern Railway, British Railways (Southern Region), its successors and minor railways in southern England. It is well worth being a member by anyone with an interest, both historical and or modelling in the Southern Railway.
If you are coming along to any of the shows, please drop by and say hello.
p.s. the title is once again a nod to a favourite band of mine…
Canute Road Quay is on the road again and appearing at two exhibitions the next two consecutive Saturdays.
B4s ‘Caen’ and ‘Trouville’ shunt on Canute Road Quay
The first this Saturday 25th March is slightly unusual as it the Guidelines Publications Spring Show. This is the first of a series of seasonal shows that bring together traders from all the modelling and collecting genres covered by its magazine titles. This will include toy soldiers and historical figures, model railways, military and aircraft modelling, fantasy and sci-fi figures and models, as well as car, truck and farm models, to name a few.
Other familiar Guidelines Railway titles that often contain excellent Southern content includes British Railways Illustrated and also Railway Bylines.
The springtime show will take place at the established venue for Guideline’s shows, Haverstock School, 24 Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, North London NW3 2BQ.
The venue has great public transport links and also free parking.
The show is open from 10.30am to 5pm with a £6 entry fee, although earlier bird access from 9.30am for £10.
Alongside Canute Road Quay will be 16 other layouts covering a wide range of genres in scales from N to 0 and including 009, 0-16.5 and 0N30. The show is open between 10.30am and 4pm entrance fee is £5.
Both venues have free parking If you are coming along to either show, please drop by and say hello.
p.s. the title is a nod to a favourite Aylesbury based band of mine…
This is always an excellent show organised by the very friendly Stafford Railway Circle, and is the first in their now to become regular weekend date slot in September. This year the show is going to be bigger than ever before and located in the main Bingley Hall at the Stafford County showground which provides more space and much better facilities.
Saturday: 10.00 – 17.00
Sunday: 10.00 – 16.30
Admission Prices: Adult: £12, accompanied children under 16 free.
At Stafford County Showground in Bingley Hall, ST18 0BD.
The County Showground is situated 3 miles to the east of the town on the A518 in the direction of Uttoxeter. A free bus service will run from Stafford railway station to the venue on both days. Details (subject to confirmation) can be found here.
Hopefully some of you will be able to visit the show and if you do please come and say hello.
Note: Canute Road Quay will be back in colour for the exhibition.
With apologies to David Bowie… regular readers may have spotted a slight change to the layout of my little corner of the world wide web. The previous WordPress theme (page style) I was using had become obsolete and was causing a few back office and functionality issues, so I therefore have adopted a new WordPress theme that hopefully solves some of the issues and gives a similar but slightly fresher look.
The downside, and there is always a downside of course, is that the positioning of images, annoyingly, align differently and so has affected the visual appearance of previous posts. Please bear with me and accept my apologies as I either find a work around and / or slowly manually correct past posts.
It is good to be at exhibitions again, especially as many Model Railway Clubs/Societies have lost such valuable income from the lack of exhibitions during the pandemic, so if you are able to visit the show, and support the Silverfox DCC MRC, please drop by Canute Road Quay and say hello.
My presentation is titled “Where the sunshine comes soonest! Modelling the Southern” Illustrated with my own models I will explore my reasons for modelling the Southern, my own time period of 1946 to 1949, provide a virtual tour of both Fisherton Sarum and Canute Road Quay and provide thoughts and ideas how the complexity and variety of the Southern can be modelled.
The lecture starts at 7.30pm, but doors open at 6.30. The Model Railway Club licenced bar has a range of beers, wine, spirts and soft drinks plus snacks.
Guests are welcome, there is no need to book, but please note that there are stairs to the lecture room, and anyone with concerns about accessibility should contact The Model Railway Club in advance. There is a voluntary collection, with a suggestion of £3 for non members.
I am pleased to advise that the Astolat Model Railway Circle exhibition on Sunday 16th January is GOING AHEAD which makes a welcome change at a time that has seen many shows cancelled. I look forward to attending this pleasant show with Canute Road Quay. Please come along, say hello and support the Astolat MRC.
See Canute Road Quay at the Astolat Guildford show on Sunday 16th January
Doors open at 10:00 am and close at 5:00pm. Entry prices are £6.00 for Adult, £3.00 for Child (under 14) and £12.00 for family (2 + 2).
Important Covid Advisory Information. In light of the latest government guidelines all adult visitors to the January exhibition will sensibly be required to wear masks and will require evidence of at least double vaccination or proof of a recent negative Lateral Flow Test to gain entry to the Surrey Sports Park buildings.
I have been advised that the Stafford Railway Circle Exhibition that Canute Road Quay was due to attend on 5th & 6th February 2022 has been unfortunately cancelled.
The show organisers have advised: “In view of the rapidly worsening Covid situation caused by the Omicron variant, Stafford Railway Circle has decided that it is not possible to proceed with this exhibition. We deeply regret that we have to cancel it and hope that our exhibitors, traders and would-be customers will understand why this decision has been taken. Our sincere apologies but hopefully you understand.”
Unfortunate but understandable, I hope to be there in 2023.
Canute Road Quay is also scheduled to be at the Astolat Model Railway Circle exhibition in Guildford on Sunday 16th January 2022, I am aware that the organisers are monitoring the current situation and will advise further in due course.
This weekend 4th/5th December sees the fourth World of Railways Virtual Exhibition, and a weekend filled with entertainment for all ages, model railways of all shapes, sizes and scales, plus informative model ‘how-to’ advice, and interviews with the brands who bring us the models we enjoy, including a in a couple of different interviews yours truly…
The virtual show organisers, Warners/BRM, have introduced a range of new features, including: guest modelling panels answering your questions, and a Christmas shopping segment you’ll not want to miss. Fan favourites remain, including the hugely popular Kids Zone, competitions, puzzles, exclusive interviews and more.
Also included are a behind-the-scenes look at the 121 Collection, a trip to the Severn Valley Railway, and a visit to the Crewe Heritage Centre, to name a few.
A #BigWORshow wouldn’t be complete without its competitions! There’s something for all the family across the weekend, from ‘spot the difference’, puzzle games and colouring for younger viewers, with a fabulous selection of prizes to win for adults, from a Hornby Queen Elizabeth and limited edition Merchant Navy, to an Oxford Rail modern air-braked Warwell and Bachmann BR Mk. 1 coaches.
I will start by apologising that this post is not really about model railways (but a little creeps in along with 12″ to the foot railways!)
Restrictions due to COVID19 has prevented model railway clubs and societies having their usual meetings, let alone model railway exhibitions from going ahead. This meant that appearances of Canute Road Quay at shows including the Epsom and Ewell MRC show back in April fell by the wayside. This week I was advised that the Beckenham and West Wickham MRC show on 17th October has also understandably been cancelled, this along with previously announced cancellation of the excellent Chiltern Model Railway Association show in Stevenage in January next year means Canute Road Quay will not be leaving the cottage for some time. Details of any exhibitions booked for next year and still at the time of writing going ahead can always be found on my Exhibition Diary page here.
The loss of these exhibitions is understandable but a great shame, although a number of virtual shows have taken place its not the same and for most model railway clubs and societies they were an important source of income, so once they are back up and running hopefully next year, please support your local show!
A tease of a “Making Quay Changes” post to comeA view of the cottage in my “view from the cottage series of imagesMy local Jay sits atop my LSWR boundary marker
It does mean that I have been able to do a photoshoots for my Making Quay Changes series which I hope that you are enjoying, there are at least three more in the pipeline so watch this space, and I welcome any requests.
As lockdown rolled into May and beyond, as experienced by many, keeping ones headspace on the straight and narrow was sometimes a challenge.
I remembered the adage “it’s ok to not be ok” and “seeking help is a positive not a negative step”, people are there to assist, and your local front line NHS such as your GP is a great starting point, mine was fantastic!
I took the opportunity to make use exercise time to enjoy the lovely part of the Chiltern Hills that my cottage is set in and undertake more photography, ranging from: scenic views, sunsets, the splendid Red Kites that now once again grace the area, other birds, visiting animals and some arty views and angles to take in texture, foliage and clouds etc.
I posted many of the photographs on my twitter feed @grahammuz with the hashtag #viewfromthecottage but have now also created a gallery of some of my favourites on my gallery page here, check them out if you have a few minutes spare.
Catching up on kit builds
I also managed once the mojo had returned to catch up on some simple model making and build a few wagon kits that had been in the will do sometime pile for well quite some time. They are at the painting stage now and will likely appear in a workbench post soon.
In other news after 15 years in the Road Safety and Traffic Management, I decided to apply for voluntary redundancy, so am now in furlough for my notice period that finishes at the end of September.
I then start a new job that by of a tease before it is officially announced will be in… wait for it… the model railway industry!
It’s all pretty exciting really and will definitely improve my work life balance and I am really looking forward to getting my teeth into the new role, so again watch this space…
In the meantime stay safe and well, both physically and mentally, it’s good to talk!
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The model railway world and mainly Southern Railway meanderings of Graham 'Muz' Muspratt
