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Exhibition Report

Model Rail Scotland
25th to 27th February 2005

As the weekend of the Glasgow Exhibition loomed closer, there was a real fear that UKTS might not make it. Leviathan1949 came down with the dreaded flu bug and felt he was unable to make the journey, then the weather lady forecasted a blanket of snow to cover East Anglia and the South East from Siberia; but Matt and his Mum decided to brave the elements and set off for the far north. Many thanks at this point must go to the weather forecasters as most people heeded their warning and stayed off the roads; which allowed us to have a very comfortable journey in very light traffic all the way. Having done the journey in two halves, stopping overnight South of Manchester, we crossed the border to Scotland at noon on the Thursday and arrived in Glasgow at 1pm. After booking in to the hotel and having a meal, we were in good time to head off to the Exhibition Center to set up the stand ready for Friday.

Martin Hodgson and Doug Kightley bright and early saturday morning. Neutronic, Doug Kightley and Martin Hodgson demonstrating. Alan Howat deep in thought. One young lad has a go on Ians PC whilst Ian talks to the lads Mum and Martin keeps an eye on the lad.

Neutronic and Doug Kightley chatting with Cobos. Anonimizeruk (Gary), Alan Salmon and Neutronic. As Cab-It takes most of the pictures, thanks to Alan Howat for capturing Cab-It on this occasion. Lanton and Rule in 2mm - 1960 1970 era.

From the very first moment everyone was most helpful and guided the car in to hanger 3 right to the spot where our tables awaited. We were set up and ready to roll in 2 hours having tested the projectors and lined up the screens - nothing left to do but to plug in 'TomTom' and head back to the hotel, a drink of Hot Chocolate and then bed.

G Scale Society - Scottish Area. G Scale Society - Scottish Area. G Scale Society - Scottish Area. G Scale Society - Scottish Area.

Chessington Chalk Lane in 4mm EM gauge. Chessington Chalk Lane in 4mm EM gauge. Chessington Chalk Lane in 4mm EM gauge. Chessington Chalk Lane in 4mm EM gauge.

We had a long day on Friday, opening from 11am until 8pm but we were kept busy the whole day - there wasn't time to get tired or bored, with a steady stream of visitors asking questions and looking at what we were showing. We had a great deal of assistance from many members of the community including many that had travelled as much (if not more) than we had to be there - so a very big thank you goes out to everyone that came to give us a hand including (but not limited to) Alan Salmon, Gary (Anonymizer UK), Doug Kightley, The MakingTracks crew, Martin Hodgson (finally made it to a show!), Alan Howat and Ian MacMillan; who was giving us his usual show of the unusual such as running UK stock on US routes or walking dinosaurs and donkeys along the tracks :) It was also good to meet up with Kerr McIntosh (Cobos, author of Scottish Central) and even JonathanAG was able to make his first UKTS Live exhibition. I'm sure there were others that I've forgotten to mention but suffice to say that your help was greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you all at the next exhibition you're able to make.

The HORNBY multi track layout. The HORNBY multi track layout. The HORNBY multi track layout. The HORNBY multi track layout.

The HORNBY Live Steam layout. The HORNBY Live Steam layout. The HORNBY Live Steam layout. The HORNBY multi track layout.

With the three day exhibitions we do elsewhere we generally find that Friday is fairly quiet, Saturday is absolutely manic and Sunday is somewhere between the two - not so at Model Rail Scotland. Friday was busy though not manic by any stretch, Saturday was manic and Sunday really wasn't that far off Saturday. Visitors asked many questions and a great deal of discussions were had.

Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm. Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm. Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm. Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm.

Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm. Invercarron - Modern Image in 4mm. Highcroft and Riverside in 2mm. Highcroft and Riverside in 2mm.

As it was the last of the three exhibitions grouped together at the beginning of the year (Doncaster, Brighton and then Glasgow) we had the third in our special videos from Train Artisan showing off some of the features of their new Train Simulator 'TA Railways'. As in all the previous shows, the video was accepted very positively by those people watching it and it sparked off a number of interesting discussions about the future direction of train simulators including other products such as PI Engineerings new 'Train Master Train Simulator' (TMTS). Thank you to Cyrus at Train Artisan for taking the time to put these three videos together for us and allowing a glimpse at what might be coming in the future. You can find out more about Train Artisans 'TA Railways' by visiting their site at http://www.trainartisan.com - and you can find out more about PI Engineerings 'TrainMaster Train Simulator' by visiting their site at http://www.raildriver.com .

Auchlin G and SWR in 7mm. Auchlin G and SWR in 7mm. Auchlin G and SWR in 7mm. Auchlin G and SWR in 7mm.

Overview of the Hall from the Coffee Room Balcony. Overview of the Hall from the Coffee Room Balcony. Overview of the Hall from the Coffee Room Balcony. Overview of the Hall from the Coffee Room Balcony.

The overall quality of the exhibition was extremely high, with a nice variety in trade stands and a very large variety in the layouts that were present both in terms of size, guage and period; there was even the obligatory 'Thomas the Tank Engine' layout, though this one was a little more involved than those i've seen in most previous exhibitions. Hornby were present demonstrating their new stock on their ever-growing layout - I'm sure every time I see this layout it's grown a new loop or three.

Nettlebridge in 2mm finescale. Nettlebridge in 2mm finescale. Carnochan in 4mm. Carnochan in 4mm.

Crawford Bridge in 4mm. Crawford Bridge in 4mm. Crawford Bridge in 4mm. La Rochelle - American Engine Terminus in 3.5mm.

At five o'clock on Sunday we all started to pack away. This was made easy by all the help that we received from Alan Howat, Alan Salmon, Gary, Ian Macmillan and Doug Kightley. At 5.55pm we were packed up and saying our farewells by the car.

Perrapswil - Swiss layout in 3.5mm. Newlandsfield to Becklesbrae - Glasgow from 1940 to 1970 including the tramway in 4mm. Newlandsfield to Becklesbrae - Glasgow from 1940 to 1970 including the tramway in 4mm. Newlandsfield to Becklesbrae - Glasgow from 1940 to 1970 including the tramway in 4mm.

Harviestoun in 7mm showing the Glen Ochil Viaduct. Barnhill Camp in 4mm, winners of the Hornby Trophy for Best of the Best. Barnhill Camp in 4mm, winners of the Hornby Trophy for Best of the Best. Barnhill Camp in 4mm, winners of the Hornby Trophy for Best of the Best.

Chief Tea/Coffee maker (Cab-it) would like to thank the organisers for allowing her in to their "office" to make numerous mugs of Coffee and Tea over the three days and hope that Glasgow has now managed to replenish their stocks of Milk back to normal. There were many cups awarded to the layouts and very justly deserved; if UKTSLive! ever got an award, I think it would have to be in the shape of a 'Tea Trolley'. Thank you for making us feel so welcome and we hope the weekend proved a great success for everyone involved in putting the show together.

New Mills in 4mm - Cup winners. New Mills in 4mm - Cup winners. Hochstelle - Austrian/German layout in 3.5mm - Cup winners. Hochstelle - Austrian/German layout in 3.5mm - Cup winners.

Rheilffordd Glandyfi - The Dovey Valley Railway in 4mm Narrow Guage - Cup Winners. Rheilffordd Glandyfi - The Dovey Valley Railway in 4mm Narrow Guage - Cup Winners. Rheilffordd Glandyfi - The Dovey Valley Railway in 4mm Narrow Guage - Cup Winners. Rheilffordd Glandyfi - The Dovey Valley Railway in 4mm Narrow Guage - Cup Winners.