JAMES HICKMAN reports back from our G Scale show.
A sunny 27th May, at 9 in the morning, staff at GM HQ began the building of our outdoor track for our G Scale Day. This event showcases the products on offer in the largest of the model railway scales. With stock on show from the likes of LGB, Piko, Pola, and Preiser on display, our G Scale day showcases the variety and fun G Scale can offer modellers.
Opening up our back room gives us more space to display the stock available in the scale. You wouldn’t think that one day either side of the event this is where all your parcels get packed!
Each year we aim to have something different on sale and to view. This year we had three guest displays as well as our large demonstration track.
Brian Taylor’s layout on display in our shop shows that you don’t need a massive area to run G Scale in. It can be fitted into smaller gardens, or inside the house as well.
Broke Brick Mountain owners Sid and Charlie, who some of you may recognise from a recent television appearance playing trains in the highlands, highlight some of the models and stock used on their layout. These guys also had a smaller themed layout adjacent to our demonstration layout outside.
This is the storage yard for our layout. We were using rolling stock primarily from Piko, however we did have some other brands, demonstrating that they can happily be run together.
Another feature of our demonstration layout is that it is a digitally controlled layout run by the Roco RC10820 Z21 control system, which allows you to control your layout from your phone or tablet. Here Pat Pettett, our G Scale aficionado, shows how easy it is to use the apps for wireless control of the layout including point-work and accessories.
We also like to keep the next generation of modellers entertained, and to do that we had Percy and the Troublesome Trucks on a separate layout, so they could join in the fun and have a go themselves.
At the end of the day, the sun was setting and sadly we had to disassemble the layout and pack it away for another day. G Scale models don’t need to be packed up and brought in at home, the track is made of brass so can be left out all year round.
Once we had tidied up, we relaxed in the knowledge of having completed another successful event, and had some fun doing it too. Thank you to all those who gave up their time and effort to bring their displays along, and most of all, thank you to all you who attended the event. Our next event will be our Model Railway Open Weekend in early September, and we will be hosting many more amazing displays. We look forward to seeing you there!