Events 2005

18th June 2005           - Exhibition

Having missed out on having an exhibition last year due to problems with arranging a suitable date that both our venue and ourselves were available, we had planned early, and booked the hall around 10 months before the exhibition. As it turned out too early, as at the time of booking the 2005 diary was not available, but it was noted and we were assured it would be OK and added in when available. With only 3-4 weeks to go and with other arrangements complete, one of our members spotted an advert for a Dolls house show at the same venue on the same day. After a quick check it was discovered that our booking had not been added hence the hall was 'available'. As a member of our group member is also an active member of the church we were able to arrange to use the main hall of the church (not normally used for such events). This did require a quick visit to measure up the available space and re-plan the arrangement of the exhibits, but luckily this proved to be a fairly easy task.

Moving on to the actual exhibition itself the group was showing a selection of our modules, a small hands on layout for children to 'drive' trains and a GWR branchline layout belonging to one of the members. As in previous shows we were grateful for the support of other local area groups. The Suffolk and North Essex group brought along their latest layout which they are currently constructing. The team were kept busy during the day answering questions about the construction of the supports / baseboards which differ from the normal type frames. Although not running, much of the track is laid, and they were able to statically show rakes of trains they intend to run. This looks to be an impressive layout and we hope they will be able to join us in the future with the completed layout. We were also supported by the Clacton group who brought along their Tendringham layout. We would also like to thank Ray and Carol who brought along the Society Shop secondhand items, and Simon from the Diss Model Railway Shop who brought along a range of new items.

This year we decided to make a small charge (£1) to ensure we could cover the cost of insurance and other expenses. Although we had not widely advertised the event (Society magazine and local show flyers) we attracted around 150 visitors which meant we were able to made a donation to the church in addition to covers costs.

After the success of this years show we intend to hold a similar event next year at the same time. It is hoped that we can use the same large hall we used this year, as it has the benefit of locating all the exhibits in he one location and with some further planning should allow us to have additional exhibits.

Finally the group would like to thank both the exhibitors and visitors for there support and contributing to a successful event.