Not so much a visit as an annual pilgrimage. Through wind and rain the M27 was travelled in search of the perfect exhibition. This one is always pretty good so expectations were high. Set in several rooms and using the college cafeteria staff for refreshments, the format changes little from year to year. Highlights were the trio of Ian Rice layouts displayed side by side and the rather nice NER O gauge in the main hall. The runner up (but not in the usual sense) was the 4mm scale Shap layout; large, and some would say boring visually. It did though do two major important things: it perfectly represented the high featureless windswept vista, and moreover operated in a totally realistic manner. It's hard to replicate the long periods between trains at such a site, but this got it just right, even down to the banker returning light after its duty. The modelling could be described as slightly dated, but I totally got what they were trying to achieve, If I were to be totally honest. Everything else here was a model railway, this was a model of a railway. Subtle but important difference.
Events curtailed the stay, and though possibly not quite up to previous years shows, a damn good day.
Show: 9
Catering: notwithstanding a recalcitrant coffee machine 7
Parking 7
Speed of fire brigade response 10.
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