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Clubs confirm exhibition displays for big Manchester show

The show, at Manchester’s Event City between Friday 2 and Sunday, March 4, promises to be the largest of its kind ever held in the north and will showcase the full spectrum of modern modelling.

The Manchester Model Railway Society will present a showcase display of its railway layouts which includes a ‘hands on’ activity layout where visitors are invited to have a go at driving. MMRS will also run a painting and lining demonstration to entice the railway modeller.

Visitors will also be able to see the increasingly popular 16mm scale on 32mm gauge track (2ft narrow gauge) in the form of the Timpdon Lake Railway display.

The layout, which shows that 16mm modelling need not be confined to the outdoors, features a range of engine sheds and a model version of Wharf station. For lovers of detail, the layout also has a number of working scenic dioramas including flashing train spotters, working swing rail bridge, a welding repairman and even a smoking barbeque.

Also exhibiting at the show will be the Gauge 1 Model Railway Association, showing off the impressive Dobson’s Bridge layout. This has been designed to show working models of steam and electric locomotives pulling appropriate rakes of coaches. The display has a track gauge of 45mm (1¾in) with 10mm (1/32nd) scale models.

The confirmed HO scale layout is Three Rivers Wharf, a small American dockside ‘switching’ layout. The time period is early post war and the layout features scratch-built ship models with kitbashed and plasticard buildings.

Exhibition manager Avril Spence said: “To have these layouts confirmed already is very exciting – they are bound to be a real draw for the serious enthusiast as well as newcomers to the world of modelling.

“We are confident that a number of other clubs and societies will be confirming their exhibits in the coming weeks.”

The sister show of the Northern Modelling Exhibition, held annually in London, regularly attracts upwards of 15,000 visitors and, knowing that there is a really strong modelling tradition in the north of the country, organisers are expecting this event to grow in popularity year on year.

Full details are available at http://www.meridienneexhibitions.co.uk/