Spalding '22

 My first model railway show for what feels like ages.

And yes it was good. 

But...

I'll get on to the buts later.

The Spalding Model Railway Exhibition is always worth a visit if you are within reasonable travelling distance. Every year there are a few layouts that justify the admission price by themselves. I must admit I never feel that I'm the target audience. Having said which it always gives me something to think about, even though I rarely spend more than 90 minutes visiting it. 

So this year's observations. a bit scattergun, I'm afraid.

The 2mm layouts were, overall, the most impressive. Some were generic N gauge layouts you could see anywhere, but others were superb. If anything let them down it was the ground textures. Less is sometimes more. 

I found those layouts using sound less jarring than in previous years, but I still have a thing about stupidly bright lights. Dim them down a little, especially in daylight scenes.

On the subject of lights, as at Warley I found those layouts with built in lighting hardest to photograph. Partly it is because they seem to use very warm lighting, but I also wonder if it is about the spectrum of the lighting.

There are layouts that I like whilst "not being for me." Copper Wort was a prime example this year. I loved it, there was a lot to see, but I wouldn't want to emulate it in any way.

Operations on some layouts hinted at how long it is since the exhibition circuit was in full swing. I noticed a lot of hand of god, but mostly it was silly things like forgetting how to set the right path for a train. Not a big issue, and I'm sure won't be noticeable this time next year. You can forget that some layouts only get erected for exhibitions.

A real plus point is I saw a lot of engaged conversations between operators and viewers.

Sprat & Winkle and Kadees still seem good choices for couplings. Unobtrusive and effective.

People still like trade stands. They all seemed very busy. Was money changing hands? Harder to say.

Highlights?

I've always loved Bewdley, not least because it is a location I know well, but it also seems to capture that location so well. I suspect for the period being modelled things should be a little more dilapidated, but I don't care too much.

St Ruth is exquisite, again a layout I could watch for hours.

A lot of layouts featured point rodding. My photos don't do them justice. To my mind, it makes a real difference.

The atmosphere.

Before we come on to the photos I have to address the buts.

It was incredibly crowded. A good thing in some ways. Trade stand opposite layouts often meant those looking at layouts could only stand one deep. Living in the area I wasn't surprised that the number of people with accesibility issues also caused problems with flow. I'm a massive believer that if we make things better for those with access issues we make it better for everyone.

What I'm less understanding of is the number of people who stopped dead in the middle of a congested aisle to have a conversation with a family member behind them.

I long ago gave up any hope of getting into the cafe area, the queue was snaking along a corridor.

Trade stands didn't seem very focused on box shifters. That probably comes back to me not being the target audience.

Every available seat was taken, with an elderly demographic that needs addressing. In fact most of the issues come down to the show being a victim of its own success. I feel it has outgrown the venue.

Finally, there was the show guide. It was glossy and in colour, but it felt dreadfully dated, and more to the point, wasn't a lot of use in the show or afterwards trying to recall layouts. A lot of effort has clearly gone into it, but it could do with a design overhaul.

If all that sounds negative it doesn't take away from what a deservedly successful show it was.

Before the photos a quick note.

I decided to try out the Q2M  even though I, correctly, suspected it wouldn't be ideal. My biggest issue was layouts were so crowded I couldn't get into viewpoints to exploit the things it is good at. I wasn't that upset because we spent the rest of the day in Hunstanton where it came into its own.

I was more disappointed with my Google Pixel 7 Pro.

My previous pixel 6 Pro was really good in this sort of situation. But this one seemed inconsistent in when it would open the camera app, proved hard to get the right zoom level, and worst of all sometimes refused to focus. I suspect the latter might have been a humidity issue. So, by some margin, these are the worst photos I've ever taken at an exhibition.