MARK HOLLAND tells us about this annual continental preview day, held last week.
Sunday the 8th of April was our annual continental railway day, BAHNFEST, which took place at our headquarters at Ford in West Sussex.
The eager shop staff ready to serve.
This day, as with our other events held throughout the year, gives enthusiasts and beginners alike the chance to chat to our staff, view some layouts and gain insights or inspiration for their own projects.
The new Jim Button items from Marklin.
Along with an increased display of new release and current items from a range of continental manufacturers such as Noch, Faller, Fleischmann, Roco, Marklin, Trix HO, Minitrix, and Piko, we also had a few layouts on display, to get the creative juices flowing.
Our Noch display, showing off the Noch Sound Scenes.
Representing the smallest of the scale options we can offer in Model Railways; my colleague Jeff Ware displayed and ran his Marklin Z Scale layout, showcasing what you can achieve in a coffee table sized area and proving that small doesn’t have to be boring!
John Hills, who you may know as a regular guest at our events, was displaying his HOe layout. This is HO scale but running on N Gauge size track, giving you Narrow Gauge, although my colleagues do tell me that the sleeper spacing is different! Showing off an interesting layout in a relatively small space, populated by Minitrains locos and rolling stock. This is a scale that is gaining popularity in the UK due to ever expanding ranges and the space saving to be had by working in Narrow Gauge.
Displaying the 'standard' size of continental model railways, another of my colleagues, Matt Lovell, was displaying a DCC powered HO Scale end-to-end layout. Showing the interest that can be created from a relatively simple layout with digital extras. He spent a fruitful day providing demos of our new DCC05 Prodigy WiFi unit and what can be achieved with this system that can be controlled by Android or Apple devices.
James building the new Car System layout. Come into our shop to see how he's getting on with it!.
Last but by no means least, James Hickman, with not a single piece of rail in sight! Showing off the Car System from Faller, this demo kept him busy displaying the system talking to many interested visitors about its varied uses and the fun you can have with it.
That rounds up all the news from Bahnfest for 2018, thanks to everyone who attended and to Mr Hills for displaying his layout. See you again in sunny West Sussex soon for our G Scale Day on Sunday 27th May, 2018.