Friday 24 February 2012

Model Rail Scotland

Went to the opening day of Model Rail Scotland at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow - it lasts for 3 days.

My main intention was to buy a few infra-structure items and ask some advice about their use.

I arrived just before opening time - not out of unbridled anticipation but because it suited my own timetable for the day.

I was met by a puzzling site on the concourse of the centre: a load of women/girls in tents. My first thought was that it was some kind of anti-capitalist (or anti-model railway) protest.


In fact, the occupants were fans of "One Direction" queuing overnight for concert tickets.

Perhaps I should have done the same, because when I got inside the Exhibition Centre I was confronted by the completely unexpected site of hundreds of men in anoraks (and one woman) queueing to buy admission tickets. It looked like an airport on a bank holiday.




Once inside, I took only a cursory look at the layouts and headed for Nairnshire Models, the stall run by Nigel Burkin. He really is the most helpful expert. He answered all my questions about re-wiring patiently and drew little diagrams so that I was completely clear in my mind about how to proceed when I got home.

These are the items I purchased:

Crocodile clips to hold items being soldered.



A slightly different design of snap lock connectors (Scotchlock) and the recommended thickness of cable.
A fine metal file to smooth down any excess solder on the rails.

Alternative connectors

As I say, I took only a cursory look at the dozens of working layouts. Seems a terrible thing to say (even arrogant) but I can't get excited about other people's layouts. The charm of a layout, I suspect, is in the eye of the builder - and that will apply to mine as well, no doubt.

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DJ Cam

The Beat Assassinated




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