The festivities of Christmas are over once again and as the decorations will be put away over the coming days, model railway shows are providing the perfect tonic.
It is a time of year that can generate much interest among collectors, enthusiasts and novices and has seen a number of groups across the country welcome a bumper crop of attendees. Christmas also provides the ideal opportunity to introduce people to not only modelling but the golden age of steam. Some models, akin to the those produced by Mamod, are working steam models generating real steam and run on fuel pellets.
Households up and down the UK would have spent the morning of the 25th assembling a train track for what could be the beginning of a lifelong hobby. For children it can provide that sense of achievement to have built something that happily chugs along the track while for the older generation it can be a great addition to a growing collection. The intricacies of certain layouts can become a real spectacle for anyone visiting and something that can take years to create.
One of the main benefits of attending model railway shows in the days after Christmas is that people can talk to experts and gain valuable insight about how they can improve their own collection. People with years of experience in the modelling world can explain how people can repair and maintain their own newly purchased trains and other steam engines. By having a good knowledge of the ins and outs of these products can prove highly important in the future.
A model railway show that really took off over the festive period was the Keighley Model Railway Club's annual Christmas open day. Telegraph & Argus reported that the Yorkshire show attracted people from all over the region to the Keighley Business Centre to see the latest layouts and displays that members had to offer. It also provided a great day out for people stuck with something to do in the days after Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Club member Mick McNamara told the news provider: "We were really pleased with how it went. It’s that time of year when people are looking for something to do post-Christmas. All the club layouts were in operation and people brought along their own trains to run.”
The Yorkshire-based model railway society is already planning its next annual exhibition which is scheduled for March 15th and 16th at Victoria Hall, Keighley. This will no doubt give people another opportunity to talk to experts about how they can expand their collection and what approach to take when they are looking to build a landscape which their trains can weave in and out of.
There are a host of model railway shows coming up in the new year which can show people that are relatively new to the modelling world what they can achieve. However, it is something that can take years of dedication and hours of painstaking work to ensure that every little piece of these designs are put in place.